"Kentaro, me and this kid are going to have a nice talk, and that talk may or may not include a side of sake. For both our sakes, it'd be best if you could be honest when you tell Lisa you didn't catch me drinking again. "

"Understood"

The door slams shut, leaving me alone with the Captain of the 8th division. The man pulls out a bottle from under his desk and uncorks it, pouring some out into a bowl.

*Sigh*

"I never know how to do these things."

...

"Would you like a drink?"

'I think I'm underage.'

"You think? Well, better not risk it. I swear Lisa has a 7th sense for these sorts of things. The last time I tried to offer a drink to a minor, she slapped me so hard I thought I'd pass out. Honestly, that girl didn't hold back one bit."

"Anyway, it's time you and I had a talk. Just think of it like a chat between friends. "

"Alright, let's start with this. What was the first thing you fought?"

'The first thing I fought was likely a hollow. It's hard to remember; I was different then. I was smaller and far, far stupider. All I can remember clearly was that I was... hungry.'

"You tried to eat a hollow?"

'I tried and failed. It turns out they turn into particles when they die.'

"Well, I hope you've had at least something to eat since then."

'I think it was a soul reaper who fed me. He seemed nice, but when he tried to take me to the Soul Society, things went wrong.'

"What do you mean he tried to take you to the Soul Society? Do you mean he performed Konso?"

'He tried, but it didn't work. There was something wrong with me and I had to go through the long way.'

"Through the Dangai, huh? Seeing as you're here, I guess you must have made it. Still, though to think a Konso wouldn't work, could you have awoken your Soul Reaper powers in the World of the Living? "

'Soul Reaper powers? If they have something to do with this Zanpakotu of mine, then that's around the time I got it.'

"Alright, it's time for a bit of a heavier question. Kid, how many times have you faced death?"

'..'

"Once?"

'..'

"Twice?"

'..'

"Jesus kid, no wonder you awoke your Zanpakuto so early. You must have burnt up every last bit of potential just to last another minute. In fact, looking at how badly you're hurt, I'd say you're still burning up your potential. "

'Is it really that bad?'

"Honestly, the fact that you can pretend to be fine with a hole that size gouged out of you is a little scary. If I were any braver, I'd send you right back to the 4th and let Captain Unohana take care of you. "

"Sorry, didn't mean to dampen the mood."

"How about this? Just promise to never bring harm to the Seireitei or any of its members, and I'll end this here."

'...'

"The one who wounded you, they were a soul reaper, huh."

'Yeah'

*Sigh*

"I was hoping that wasn't the case. How about this: leave out the part or any of its members, and promise never to bring harm to the Seireitei. "

'I can promise you that much. I don't know much about this place, but it sure seems nicer than where I came from.'

"Alright kid, you passed. How about a drink in celebration?"

'...'

"Ah, you failed the cool check. Ah well. You'll still get to go to the academy, though. Your background may be shady as all hell, but no one else needs to know that. All they need to know is that I can personally vouch for your character. "

"Now for the love of Soul King, go and get some rest. If that wound gets any worse, Captain Unohana will have my head, literally if I'm not lucky."

'Uh... Where should I sleep?'

"You are welcome to spend the night in my chambers. It might be smelly, but it can't be worse than the squad bays."

The man stands up and leads me to his bedroom. It'd be cozy if I could ignore the empty bottles of alcohol lying just about everywhere.

I lay down on the floor and, for the first time in my afterlife, I actually fell asleep.

Once again, I find myself in that empty sky, but this time something is different. Below me I can see a mirror, and connected to it are a series of chains that vanish into thin air. As I look closely, I can almost sense something behind it, a blackness that wasn't there before. An emptiness that threatens to swallow -

"Would you stop picking at that? I know it's not the prettiest thing in the world, but it's the only thing holding your soul together."

'The scary-nice lady called you my Zanpakuto spirit, but something tells me that's not all you are.'

"Well, aren't you a smart cookie? I won't say you're wrong, but you're not entirely right either."

'Then what exactly are you?'

"Pray do tell me what exactly are you?"

'I'm an Arrancar.'

"Bzzt. Wrong answer. You were an arrancar. Sadly for the both of us, Aizen stole my golden goose, and now we only have so much time before you regress into a mindless beast."

'Captain Unohana will fix me... right?'

"That lady? I'll admit she's pretty good, but you already know that's not what'll fix you."

'I need to eat souls, don't I?'

"Bingo, you need souls to patch this hole, but even that's a temporary solution. To put it simply, you're on a timer, and each Soul Reaper soul will buy you about a month. "

'I... I can't'

"There is another way, but I'm not a huge fan of it."

'What is it?'

"Are you sure? It'll be rather unpleasant for the both of us. "

'Tell me.'

" Sigh* This void will eat your soul until nothing is left. If you don't want to feed it other people's souls, then the only thing you can do is to feed it your own. "

'Won't I die if that happens?'

"The trick is to strengthen your soul so that there's more soul to devour. Basically, you're bearing the cost all on your own, and the only way you can survive for any longer is to get stronger. "

'So I just need to get stronger?'

"It won't be easy. You'll have to constantly push yourself to the limit, and even then, because of your injuries, you'll grow slower than other people."

'You appear to be... unusually helpful.'

"Oh kid, if you die, I die with you, and if I die, I swear to the Soul King himself that I'll drag you to hell with me."

'Hell isn't real. Right?'

"...."

'Well, since you're being so friendly, would you mind teaching me how to use this mirror?'

"Oh that? Come on, kid, you should already have some idea of how to use it. If you really want to use it that badly, I suppose I can offer you a test. "

'A test?'

"Don't worry, it won't kill you... probably."

Suddenly, Zentai no Ana snaps his fingers and a chain below me snaps. The darkness threatens to leak out, but he holds out his arms and pushes it back. Suddenly, from the darkness, something oozes out. It's a dripping white fluid, but as soon as it escapes from behind the mirror, it begins to try and pull itself together into a shape. At first it looks like a man, and then it looks like a woman, but it quickly shifts into a little kid. It cycles through various forms until it gives up and remains a strange and blank caricature of a human being. It's almost like a mannequin, but without a discernible face. It stares at me, and before I can even react, it charges at me.

I lower my stance and dive to the side, but this thing is quick to follow. It swipes at me with its arm, and for a brief moment I believe I have avoided it, until its arm extends into a goopy mess.It strikes me and my head is filled with...

"Help me kill m-kill m-mothe-fath-ahhhhhhhhhhhh"

I pull back and just as suddenly as it started, the jumbled up mess of thoughts and sensations ends. I reach down to my side to grab my sword, but all that I grab is a small hand mirror.

The thing charges at me once again, and in desperation, I place the mirror between us. Its arm slams into the mirror, and instead of bouncing off, it is sucked in. Soon I sense that the arm has appeared somewhere else, and as I look below me, I see a hand emerging from the chained mirror.

"Huh, so it still works even when in your soul. That's nice."

Suddenly, I pull on the mirror, forcing the connection to close, and with a cacophony of shrieks, the creature cries out.

The arm falls back into the blackness, and for a moment I swear I see a pair of jaws chomping it into pieces.

The creature quickly reforms its arm and comes in for another charge, but instead of dodging to the side, I stand my ground and hold the mirror up. The creature simply sidesteps the mirror and begins to swipe. In a panic, I push on the mirror and it begins to expand. Before the malformed thing can reach me, the mirror expands to the size of a small shield, and I use it to block the creature, and once again a part of the creature is sucked into the mirror.

I cut off the connection, and once again it reforms, but it is smaller than it was before. I groan in frustration, but before I can get started with the next exchange, my thoughts are interrupted by a

"Come on, kid, you should know by now that a mirror isn't a weapon."

'If this mirror isn't my weapon, than what i-'

Suddenly, I pull my arm back for a punch. The creature goes in for a lunge, but instead of striking, I duck to the side and pull out a kick. The sensations are unpleasant, but I can tell that I left a mark on them.

*Snap*

Just as suddenly as the fight had started, the creature was pulled back into the darkness. The chains join back together and I am left panting on the ground.

"Honestly, you did better than I thought you would. It's a bit sloppy, but I can see that the training you did with your "friends" paid off."

'I don't like the way you said friends.'

"Heh, you'll understand when you're older. For now, try to get some rest. "

'You know, you never explained what exactly you are.'

"Sorry kid, I'm afraid you aren't cool enough to know that. I guess you can say that you failed the cool check. "

'Oh, you mother-'

With a jolt, I return to consciousness. The sunlight streams in through the open windows, and to my utter shock, I find the Captain is still asleep. As I sniff the air, I find that the scent of booze has somehow managed to intensify.

PREV INDEX Next