You're not a Soul Reaper, are you?

"You know, it should be about time for our first class of the day. Do you need me to carry you?"

'Eh, I'll manage. The exercise will make me stronger anyway.'

"Suit yourself"

Hitsugaya walks back to the building, but before he disappears behind the door, he pauses for a moment.

"Do you even know what your first class is?"

'.....'

"We really need to do some sort of orientation or something for you. This is beginning to get a little ridiculous."

"I'm sure Aiko would be delighted to show you around; anything to make her feel important."

"Hmm?"

Hitsugaya seems to have seen a ghost.

"...."

For a single moment, I am torn. I can either let Hitsugaya get away with calling me short, or I can chuck him in front of this charging bull and hope I'm not gored as an afterthought. I know that it's not a good idea, but...

'Oh Aiko, Hitsugaya here was just telling me all about how you use your fake position to compensate for your inadequacy.'

"Oh you little"

"Don't try to pin this on a little kid. Hitsugaya, I hope you're ready for a little bit of corporal punishment! "

"Banks, I swear to the soul king himself that if I survive this, I won't ever let you sleep again!"

"Get back here!"

The two rush down the hallway, and the door quickly slams behind them. I have been vindicated, but I have no idea where I am. I try to sniff the air, but to my dismay, the scent of soul reaper is simply scattered everywhere. I focus, but before I can separate the scents-

"To think you would've ended up here, my little pseudo."

I punch out with all of my strength, to the point where I feel something within me snap. He catches my hand without even blinking.

"Would you like to hear something interesting?"

'The only thing I want to hear is your scream.'

"You are a spicy one, aren't you?"

The air around me tries to stir, but an overwhelming pressure keeps it still.

"Did you know that if a powerful soul reaper descends into the world of the living, that their mere presence will cause an increase in the spiritual energy of their surroundings?"

I pull on the world around me with all of my will, but I still can't seem to wrench my hand free.

"20 years ago in Jigami, the spiritual energy began to decrease. Isn't that strange? "

I kick out, but he merely steps aside, and I struggle to maintain my balance.

What do you want?

"I just want to confirm something."

I pull harder and harder to the point where the bones in my wrist begin to come apart.

"That was your fault, wasn't it?"

With a final wrench, I can feel the ligaments begin to tear, but the skin itself stays together, almost as if someone were forcing it.

I fall to the ground, covered in sweat.

'AIZEN!'

"What was that about Aizen?"

Hitsugaya

"Yeah, I managed to shake her off for a bit, but more importantly, you don't look too good."

'Did you see him?'

"See who? Aizen? I don't think a captain would waste their time here...

"What happened to your hand? "

'It's nothing; let's just head to class.'

Hitsugaya doesn't seem too happy with this explanation, but he leads the way regardless. We make our way through a myriad of hallways until we make it to the classroom. Hitsugaya opens the door, but suddenly his pale skin turns even paler as I hear

"Hitsugayaaaaa"

coming from inside the classroom.

Aiko pushes her way out of the door, and she towers over me and Hitsugaya.

"You didn't think that you could escape your punishment." Did you? "

She looks down, and suddenly she stops in place.

"Your hand... Banks, are you alright? Do I need to take you to the school nurse? Wait, we don't have a nurse... Should I take you to the 4th? But that's so far away, we'd be late. But if it's for your health, then surely the teacher wouldn't mi-"

'I'm fine. I just tripped on the way here and tried to catch myself. It'll heal within a day.'

"You can't be serious. Can you even lift your hand like that? How will you take notes? "

I try to lift my hand, but the tendons have already been torn apart. I pull and push on the air around my hand, forcing it up. I overshoot it a bit, but as I get the force just right, I smile smugly at Aiko. The nerves in my hand are not too pleased with me.

"You idiot, don't try to move it, you'll just make it worse. Look, I carry a first aid kit with me in case of situations like this. Let me try and splint your hand, and for the love of all that is holy, don't try to do anything with your hand. "

She pulls out a little pouch from somewhere within her robes. She pulls out some bandages and a stick from the bag and begins to wrap my hand. She uses the stick to hold my wrist in place, and she quickly assembles her makeshift splint. It's not pretty, but it's better than the ugly purple and just generally wrong-looking wrist that it was before.

She pulls me into the classroom, and before I even recognize what is happening, I'm already sitting down. The door opens behind us, and we all stare as our Sensei enters the room.

"Alright class, normally I'd ask you to split into pairs so you can demonstrate the various forms of Zanjutsu, but seeing as I am generous, I'll let you go over the basics again first."

He then leaves the room, and the students stand up and follow him. We make our way through a series of hallways until we reach a set of doors leading outside. As I step outside, I am tempted to block the sun with my hand, but as it lies limp to my side, I decide against it. We make our way to a tall building, and upon entering it, the other students make their way to a sword rack and pick up wooden training swords. I lay my mirror on the ground and awkwardly grab a sword with my left hand. We spread out into a single file line, and our teacher stands in front of us.

"Zanjutsu is the art of the sword. In other words, the term is meaningless. "Art is art, and while you can talk about particular schools or types, trying to define it as a whole is a lesson in futility."

The other students seem to have heard this already, but he continues unperturbed.

"The school taught here is kendo, and while there are many individual forms and styles, the core idea is simple. You either strike, or you counter a strike. I'll let Banks here be an example. "

"Banks!"

I come forward and point my sword towards my teacher.

"Pointing your sword at your instructor? bold, but that attitude should make things easier. I want you to strike me. I don't care if you put all of your heart into it or if you barely move a muscle, I just want your sword to touch my body. "

I stab forwards with all of my might at his throat, but he merely steps aside and lets me sail past. I try to regain my balance, but he smacks my back with the sword and sends me to the ground. I try to get up, but it's difficult with only one hand.

"See? He attacked, and I countered. We both had opposing goals, but I came out on top. Why is that? "

A chorus of voices calls out

"Experience."

"I see I've drilled you well, but the truth is that the answer doesn't matter. Whether it be experience or instinct or even blind luck, you need to find what you do well and master it. "

"Sensei, how can one master luck?"

"I have no clue, but I know for a fact it's possible. I wouldn't recommend trying it, but when all else fails, luck is all you have. "

"Again"

I lightly slash down at Sensei's chest, but he easily knocks my blade aside and slashes into my side. I once again tumble to the floor. I catch myself with my good hand and scramble to my feet.

"Again."

This time, I lower my stance and slash at his side with moderate strength. He blocks my blade, but for a brief moment, everything is still. With my momentum spent, I am able to redirect my blade upwards and slash at his face. He merely leans back, dodging my strike by a hair, and gently bonks me on the head with his sword.

"You don't have experience, and you don't have luck, so you'll have to rely on your instincts."

"Alright, everyone split off into pairs and spar. Land 3 strikes to win, and once you win, pair off with another winner and spar again. The losers will spar with each other, and if they win, they will spar with the winners. Understood? "

"Yes Sensei!"

The class split off into pairs, but I wasn't sure who to spar with. A man called me over,

"Yo Banks, spar with me!"

'Do I know you?'

"I'm Iseri Kichirou, but you can call me Isi."

'Isi huh? So should I just attack you or are there some rules I'm missing?'

Isi slashes down at me without saying another word. I try to block his sword, but he overpowers me and bonks me on the head.

"There are no real rules, but I suggest not getting distracted."

I lower my stance and slash at his knees, but he merely jumps back and I end up missing. I take a step forward, but before I can even tell what's happening, he has already poked me in the chest with a stab.

"That's two. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed. I thought that someone able to keep up with Hitsugaya would be more impressive than this. "

This time I stabbed and stepped forwards. He dodges by stepping to the side, but with my feet below me, I am able to quickly strike again. I slash out to my side and he barely manages to block. We struggle for a moment, but eventually he overpowers me. I let myself be pushed back and I managed to avoid getting struck. We're back to our original positions, but what I'm doing clearly isn't working.

'Instinct huh?'

"What was that?"

What is my instinct? Why am I fighting? I'm fighting to get stronger, aren't I? But why do I want that? No matter how much I think, I still end up with the same answer. I'm tired of being hungry.

Instead of slashing at a person, I'm cutting up a piece of meat. Sure, it has some skin in the way, but I should be able to rip it off with enough force. I throw my sword out, only keeping a light grip on it. Isi parries, but he seems to be caught off guard. I step forward and lower my stance to the point where my knees are nearly touching the ground. I dash forward and slash up with all of my strength. Isi tries to block, but he simply can't handle an attack from this angle, and I manage to hit him on the underside of the thigh. I almost feel tempted to take a bite right here, but I can't eat meat with the skin still on. That'd be uncivil-

I fall to the ground, coughing. I try to stand, but the pain I feel in my chest is unbearable. Isi is calling out to me, but I can't hear a thing. All I can feel is pain and hunger. I crawl along the ground, ignoring my crippled hand and reaching out to my mirror.

I touch it and suddenly the pain begins to recede. I'm still hungry, but I can at least think now.

I hold onto it like a drowning man clings to a rope, and Sensei stares down at me.

"Are you alright, kid?"

...

"It's against protocol, but I'm taking you straight to the 4th. Whatever's wrong with you is clearly getting worse, and I will not let any student of mine die without a fight."

He picks me up and carries me, but it's all I can do to cling to my mirror. He brings me through the hallways until eventually I am hit by the blinding sunlight. I'd cover my eyes, but I can barely move as it is. Sensei covers my eyes with a piece of cloth, and the world around me goes dark.

"You've really made a mess of yourself, haven't you?"

I try to force my eyes open, but it's almost as if there are weights tied to them.

"Don't try to move; you'll only make things worse."

"What's wrong with him?"

"It's a case of spiritual particle poisoning. The concentration out in the Rukongai is so low compared to the Sereitei that just breathing the air here can cause problems."

"Is there anything you can do?"

"Just some bed-rest will fix him right up. Now shoo, I need to tend to my patient. "

"You can stop pretending to be asleep now. He's gone."

I try to force my eyes open, but I still feel too weak to even attempt such a thing.

"You must be in worse shape than I thought. Here, drink this. "

She props up my head and I feel a warm liquid flow down my throat. Out of instinct, I swallow before feeling an overwhelming urge to cough.

"Would you like to know what happens to a hollow that doesn't feed?"

I can't say anything, and I have the feeling she doesn't expect me to say anything either.

"I could tell you that they died, but that wouldn't really be doing it justice."

"You see, a hollow trapped without food will eventually start to eat itself. Most of them die from their wounds, but a few survive. "

"The ones that survive have their holes expand until eventually there's nothing of them left.

"Not a scrap of their spiritual pressure is left behind; it's almost as if their souls just ate themselves....."

I don't know how you're hiding your spiritual pressure from me, but I can tell that you're not a soul reaper. Are you? "