Chapter 18 - Another Hollow?

Arriving back home, Jin surveyed his surroundings. Familiar forestry surrounded him, and charred grass crunched beneath his feet. The sun hovered high in the sky, casting wide shadows through the wooded park. A gentle breeze carried the familiar industrial scent of a modern city to his nostrils.

"It brought me back to the same spot, then," Jin mumbled to himself.

Since he didn't want his family to think he went missing or something any longer, he started walking home. Along the way, he materialized his phone in order to text his family to let them know where he was, but it immediately blew up with messages and missed calls. Most of them came from his parents, but he also saw a few from schoolmates and even one from his younger brother.

Sighing, he sent a message in a group text to his family.

[I'm fine. Stayed with my friend for a bit to help him with a job. Shut off my phone to save battery, but I'm on my way home now. Sorry I didn't give more details beforehand. Will talk to you soon.]

"Well, my battery hasn't gone down since I joined the chat group, but hopefully they buy it," Jin grumbled.

Suddenly, he felt the hairs raise on his arm upon encountering a cold and unnatural atmosphere. Instantly, the energy within his power veins fluctuated and helped him maintain full composure despite the eerie environment.

Wary of his surroundings now, Jin turned his head looking for anything out of the ordinary. It didn't take him long to discover the source.

Not far ahead of him, he saw a six-legged black mass of a creature devouring what looked like a semi-translucent dog. The creature itself had an elongated face white as bone. Sharp teeth bored into what Jin assumed to be the soul of a recently deceased dog. Sizewise, it stood about as tall as a great dane with the body of a six-legged pitbull, though it had no tail.

Almost the exact same moment Jin laid eyes on it, it sniffed the air and whipped its head toward him. A long jagged tongue lolled out of its mouth and drooled as though it just encountered the tastiest slab of meat it had ever seen. The next moment, it left the remains of its current prey to dissipate into nothingness and dashed at him.

"GRAAAAHR!"

Taking a stance, Jin casted a freeform barrier. A thick rectangular barrier that looked like cloudy glass materialized between him and the hollow. The next second, it slammed into the barrier and whimpered. A few cracks spread through the glass-like wall.

'Good. Magic works on it. Didn't have time to add more magic to that barrier, though. Well, this hollow seems rather weak compared to the last one I saw, so let's just get rid of it before it draws any attention.'

"Barrier Magic: Prism Blade."

One of his barrier blades materialized above the hollow. Then, as though using telekinesis on the hovering barrier blade, he waved his hand. The blade plunged directly into the top of the hollow's mask. It screamed in pain and thrashed wildly.

"What?!"

A startled exclamation coming from behind Jin made him whip his head around. Laying eyes on an orange perm, Jin's face blanched.

'What the hell is he doing here?'

The two guys stared at each other, unsure how to handle the situation. This lasted for a few seconds until two giant purple doors with large skeletons protruding from them appeared behind the hollow. The doors creaked open. Deathly screams echoed from deep beyond the opening. Chains shot out from within, stabbed the hollow, and dragged its flailing body inside.

'...That's a lot creepier in real life,' Jin thought. 'Still, why did the Gates of Hell appear even though I didn't use Soul Reaper powers? Did I remember its functions wrong or something?'

While he pondered the quandary of the Gates of Hell, another person ran up to the orange-haired kid while panting from exhaustion. The girl looked like she was in her late teens thanks to the school uniform she wore. Her black hair curved outward before curling back in until reaching her shoulders. After taking a good look at the scene, her brows furrowed.

"Huh? Who are you?"

'Well, this is awkward. This isn't how I wanted to get in touch with Soul Reaper stuff. Hopefully Aizen isn't paying any attention here right now.'

"Nobody important. Enjoy your walk in the park, miss," Jin said before turning around and walking away.

"Wait!" The girl called out to him.

Jin simply waved without looking back, but footsteps sprinted up behind him. Frowning, he instinctively moved to protect his back and casted a quick barrier. The girl slammed into it and fell backward.

"Are you alright, Rukia?!" The orange-haired kid explained while running over to help her.

"Ah, yes, I'm fine," She said in muffled words while holding her face. Then, she looked up at Jin and asked, "What was that? It wasn't Hado, right?"

Jin looked down at the girl, sighed, and reached out a hand to help her up. She nodded in thanks before accepting his assistance.

"Don't run up behind somebody like that next time."

The girl simply stared at him with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.

"Are you a Soul Reaper?" The orange-haired kid asked. In contrast to Rukia, he looked especially confused. When he asked that, Rukia winced, barely pretending he wasn't there.

"...No."

"So you really can see him…"

"That should be obvious after what just happened…" Jin retorted.

"Are you a quincy?" Rukia warily asked while taking a few steps backward.

"Also no. Now, I'd rather not get involved with Soul Reapers right now, so please go about your business elsewhere."

"Wait, don't go yet! Uh, can we exchange contact info? I think it would be good to keep in contact and help each other if the need arises," Rukia offered.

Raising brow, Jin thought for a moment before pulling out his phone and saying, "Well, I guess I don't mind. Just don't bother me if it isn't important."

"Good. I'm Kuchiki Rukia, and this guy is-"

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Right. I'm Hideyoshi Jin. Just call me by my given name."

"If you see any hollows, then please call me," Rukia said.

"Sure."

'Probably best if a Soul Reaper kills them anyway so that Soul Society doesn't get on my ass like they did to the Quincies.'

The three exchanged phone numbers. While they did so, Jin inwardly noted that, unlike their counterparts in the story he knew, the two used smartphones. He wondered if modern technology could affect the Bleach future he knew of.

Making a mental note to keep a careful eye on the events of the nearby Karakura Prefecture, Jin gave a casual and friendly salute and said, "Well, it's nice meeting the both of you, but I've got stuff to take care of. Let me know if you need anything that doesn't involve conflict with Soul Society."

Rukia's eyes narrowed briefly, but she nodded a second later. On the other hand, Ichigo gave a thumbs up and said, "Sure thing."

Once Jin left, Ichigo said, "I thought you said only Soul Reapers could fight hollows. Also, what's a quincy?"

"Don't worry about it. Now, get back to work! There's another hollow nearby!" Rukia growled while kicking him in the side.

"Ouch! I'm on it already. Geez."