27Hello again everyone! This is Sentinel07 along with ThisWillBeFun, bringing another chapter of The Little Soul Reaper.
So, a modest amount of reviews for the first chapter. Not bad, given that we're probably using a more obscure character. Anyway, we'll see how things go this time around.
Now, a fact or two:
Words in italics represent a characters thoughts
Well, I guess that really is all we've got to say before hand. We'll let you all be the judge here as we continue to get this story rolling.
Now, a disclaimer: We don't own anything of Bleach or anything else referenced in this fic. Those belong to their respective owners.
Now, hit it!
(BEGIN)
Chapter 2: Refusal to the Call
"NO!" Yuzu shouted while darting off of her pillow like a catapult. She blinked a couple times before looking around and seeing that, for whatever reason, everything seemed calm. This unsettled her to no end considering the images of the last night were permanently ingrained in her skull. She was just left to wonder why everything seemed as normal as ever.
'Maybe it was all just a dream,' she considered. 'The Soul Reaper, the monster, everything. But it felt so real...'
She just decided to shrug it off and headed downstairs. However, that was the point when Yuzu noticed something out of place on the stairs: blood. There, in plain view, were drops of dried blood exactly where she remembered her brother being pounded on before. A quick look to her right only made her disbelief lessen. Where was once a wall now stood a gaping hole that revealed the entire interior of the entire house to all the entire neighborhood. That left very little for Yuzu to doubt.
"About time you woke up!" Karin shouted from beyond the gigantic gap in their home. Yuzu then rushed down the staircase and headed outside through the now uncovered hole of the house. Her brother and dad were there as well, still looking intently at the damage.
"Oh, thank God you're safe!" her dad cried in joy before leaping to hug his awoken daughter, to Karin's intervention via a good sock to the head.
"Of course she's okay!" Karin yelled at her fallen father. "You knew nobody was hurt! We didn't even get woken up by the accident!"
"Uh, what happened here?" Yuzu asked her older brother, though she was certain she knew the answer. Although, Karin's comment about nobody getting hurt did leave her more than a little curious as to the authenticity of her experiences.
Ichigo sighed. "I'll be honest, I have no idea. The neighbors and everyone else reported a stampede of angry escaped elephants, but I still find it weird that none of us were even woken up by it. Yet, here we are with some type of giant hole through our entire house. It's just...weird."
"I suppose we're used to weird by now," Yuzu chuckled nervously while looking at her twin and dad, the former holding the latter in a hold.
"Yeah, weird meaning I'm gonna to have to work overtime for months to get that fixed!" Isshin complained with what little breath he had left. He then turned to Karin with the same annoyed look. "Think you could let me go? There's actually more to deal with collateral damage other than staring at it."
"Fine…" Karin grumbled while releasing her father. "It's about time we head to school anyway. You about ready, Yuzu?"
"Wait, it's time already?!" her sister shouted while looking at the clock beyond the gap. "No, no, no, no, no…" Her mantra kept going on as she got out into her regular clothes and got ready for school. Even her siblings were surprised at how swiftly she moved at the risk of being late. After she got her backpack, she quickly dashed towards her sister and tugged her by the arm, causing them to both run down the streets at an ungodly speed. "Bye, guys!" she yelled at her brother and dad who watched in amazement.
"Hey son."
"Yes, dad?"
"What do you suppose the world record is for preparation time?"
Thanks in large part to the younger twin's speed, it didn't take too long before they had arrived. Karin exhaled as Yuzu slowed down, finally allowing herself to rest her strained arm.
"Geez, Yuzu. I felt like my arm was going to come off," Karin groaned.. Yuzu sheepishly smiled and offered an apology.
"Sorry. Guess I kind of lost myself back there."
"Well, whatever," her sister shrugged. It was all she could get out before they were on the receiving end of more yelling.
"Karin! Yuzu!" cried a couple of girls running down the hall. The twins looked to see two of their classmates rushing towards them. One had long black hair flowing down to her plain grey skirt and white shirt, while the other had short brown hair with a more colorful t-shirt and blue jeans. It didn't take long for them to identify them as their classmates Naoko Nabatame and Saori Kunieda.
"Are the rumors really true?" Naoko asked them out of the blue.
Yuzu wasn't quite sure what the girl was referring to, but nonetheless started to feel nervous at the question. She wasn't quite sure what rumors about her could have spread around the school, but the last night made her memories of the rest of the week rather hazy. "W-what rumors?"
"Your house! They say a hoard of elephants escaped and ended up crashing into your house." Naoko said all of this without a hint of irony, as if it didn't sound like the most insane thing in the world.
"Uh…" Yuzu could only stammer.
"See? I told you it was too crazy to be true," Saori scolded to her friend.
"Huh? But didn't they say so on the news?"
"It's called ratings, Naoko. They'll say anything outlandish to get people's attention."
"Oh, believe me, it was true," Karin admitted with a proud grin.
"What?!" both of their classmates shouted at the same time.
"Is this true, Yuzu?" Saori asked.
Yuzu nodded timidly. "Y-yeah...we were asleep, though, kinda…" To be honest, she wasn't sure if what she was saying was a lie or not. She certainly didn't want to lie, but she really couldn't tell if what she remembered even really happened. All she knew was that she remembered was the Hollow thing in great detail and had no memory of any kind of rampaging elephants. Just thinking about the possible explanations of the night left her head in a spin.
"That's amazing! You're so lucky," Naoko replied with glimmering eyes. "I wish something exciting like that would happen to me. All around town, there's always something breaking, exploding, cracking, whatever, and I'm never there!"
"Yeah, shame we're never in mortal danger enough," Saori snarked. "Still, I guess this has been a rather eventful morning, what with the elephants and the new girl and all."
"What new girl?" Karin asked.
"The new student from Kyoto. She just arrived here this morning out of nowhere. What did she say her name was again? Rika? Reiko?"
"I can't really remember," Naoko admitted. "But she's in the classroom talking it out with some of the other girls. She seems rather nice."
A new student in addition to all of this? If Yuzu's head wasn't spinning already, it was now. She wasn't sure if she could take anymore surprises for one day, and it wasn't even 9:00 yet. Still, she went with her sister and classmates towards their homeroom. She could hear chatting as they entered and her jaw nearly dropped when she saw the source of it all.
It was a girl with short black hair with small strands hanging down between her eyes. She had rather light skin and violet eyes that were glistening while she continued giggling with the other girl's. Yuzu stared at the girl's face as it caused replayed the memories of the night before in her head. Even if she looked rather different than their last meeting, there was no use denying her identity.
It was that Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki, no doubt about it. The only problem was that she looked...younger. Even though the girl wasn't sure she wasn't hallucinating, she could swear this was a version of the woman from last night about her own age. In fact, even her clothes looked similar to her own. In fact...
"What the heck?! Are those MY clothes?!" Yuzu thanked whatever god was out there that no one could hear her thoughts. Soon enough, the mini-Rukia approached her, smile still on her face.
"Hello, my name's Rukia Kuchiki. It's a pleasure to meet you~!" she greeted in an almost sickeningly sweet voice, even for Yuzu's taste. Rukia offered a hand for Yuzu to shake, which she just stared at for awhile. However, she couldn't help but do a double take when she saw what was on her hand.
There, written in clear English was written "Don't make a sound until after school or you will never make one again." That was enough to shut Yuzu up for awhile.
'This girl is going to be the death of me.' This ended up being perhaps the most anxious days Yuzu ever felt. Every time, Rukia put her eyes on her, she flinched a bit. To be honest, Yuzu began to wonder if the raven-haired girl was enjoying this kind of torment.
Later in the Day
"What was that about?!" Yuzu frantically asked Rukia after the two found a nice, quiet spot of their own during the lunch period. It took forever for her to convince her sister to leave her alone considering how jumpy she was being all day. Though, she finally decided to allow Yuzu try and make a new friend, no matter how scared she seemed to make her. To be honest, Karin kind of liked the new girl's style. She could tell there was more to her than her nice-girl exterior.
"What do you mean? I was just getting the message across," Rukia replied nonchalantly.
"Message across? Never mind the fact that I almost got killed last night…." Right as she said that, a light went off in her head, making her shiver even more. "Wait, last night really happened?!"
"Yes, it happened. How else did you think I got stuck having to pose at your school?" replied Rukia.
"But what was up with the whole elephant story?!"
"Oh that? Well, that kind of thing happens when I have to do some memory work."
"Memory work?"
"What happened last night can't be public knowledge, I imagine you can agree to that. To avoid this, I changed everyone's memories. However, the effect is random, so I have no effect on what they end up remembering." Rukia looked thoughtful as she said this. "You know, I should find out what these "elephants" are. Are they really big enough to..."
"Never mind!" Yuzu nearly shouted. "Why are you here, why are you small, and why the hell is any of this happening?!"
Her hysterics were quickly cut off with a punch to the side of her face. Yuzu sputtered for a second before looking at her attacker, who was now wearing a strange red glove with a skull on it. She then tilted her head down at about forty-five degrees to notice the body laying right in front of her. It was her body. Already shaking in fear, she looked down at the current form she was inhibiting and saw the same black kimono from the night before.
"What is thi-!" Yuzu was slapped across the face before her hysterics could continue. Somehow, the slap did make her feel a bit calmer, but she was still more than a little freaked out over the appearance of her new Soul Reaper form over her own unconscious body.
Rukia sighed. "I suppose this requires some explanation."
"Was that really necessary?" Yuzu asked.
"Anything to calm you down before you attract a crowd."
"What about my body?!"
"Oh yes, that…" She stared at Yuzu's unoccupied body. "Maybe there's a good dumpster somewhere that can hold it temporarily."
"No, you are not putting my body in a dumpster!" This was starting to become the angriest Yuzu had ever been in her entire life, as her face was already starting to turn red. "Why is my body like that anyway?"
"Well, it's obviously an empty husk without your soul."
"MY SOUL?!" Now her face was officially red.
"Yes. See this?" Rukia showed off her glove. "This is my Gokon Tekkō. It allows me to take your Soul Reaper form out of your physical body, as you can plainly see."
"Soul Reaper…?" Yuzu stared at her current form in awe. "This...I'm still a...what did you do to me…?"
"Last night, when things looked bad, I tried transferring some of my powers to you. Judging by how much you wasted that Hollow, it seemed to work. However, something unintentional happened."
"Like what?"
"I don't know how, but you ended up absorbing nearly all of my spirit energy. I only intended to give you half, but you took it all."
"Oh...I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Things happen, and the only reason we're all still alive is thanks to you. So, I'd say a "job well done" is in order here." Rukia actually flashed a genuine smile for once, which made Yuzu feel a little better.
"So, what happens now?"
"Well, in normal cases, I'd return to the Soul Society immediately. However, I can't do that in my current condition. I'll have to recuperate for some time before I return. With that in mind, I rented this Gigai from a friend."
"A Gigai?" Following Yuzu's question, Rukia pointed to herself.
"Normally, I can't be seen by anyone unless they have a pretty strong sixth sense, as you already know. For me to interact among normal humans here, I need this Gigai for me to place me soul in. As you can probably tell, it can be made for any situation. You're already aware that I'm usually much bigger than you are."
Yuzu tried to process Rukia's information, leading to another question. "Wait, so why are you a kid now?"
Rukia grinned a bit before responding. "Well, I'm kind of tied to you now, so I have to be able to fit in at your school. Hence, my Gigai was made this way."
"This is so confusing." Yuzu felt like her head was spinning from all the information. Rukia gently tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.
"It'll all make sense as time goes on. Back to business, as of right now, I can't do my job and fight Hollows right now. Until I regain my powers….." Rukia gave a brief dramatic pause, before dramatically pointing in Yuzu's direction. "Yuzu Kurosaki, you must take my place as a Soul Reaper and protect Karakura Town!"
There was an eery pause as the wind swept by the area, not another sound being made. The two girls continued to stare at each other, with Rukia's growing more annoyed with each passing second. After nearly two minutes, Yuzu finally said something.
"No."
Rukia was visibly shocked to receive that particular answer. "No?"
"No."
"Wait, so 'yes'?"
"No, no as in 'no'."
"...pardon?"
Yuzu mumbled something, but it was barely audible to even her own ears.
"I'm sorry, what?" Rukia asked. Her question was only awarded with another mumble. "Could you please speak up?"
This time, she could barely make out the words "I...Soul….er…"
"Please speak up."
"I SAID I CAN'T BE A SOUL REAPER!" Yuzu finally shouted, her face flaming red once again. "Last night, whatever happened, I'm still not sure, was the most horrific thing I've ever had to go through! Karin almost died, Ichigo almost died, you almost died...I almost died!" She was starting to become even more exasperated, with tears even starting to stream down with each painful memory. "And that skull monster...the Hollow are whatever you called it, the monster! Dear God, the monster…"
Rukia was starting to look worried and tried to put her hand on the girl's shoulder to comfort her. "Yuzu, please, listen to-"
"NO!" she screamed while swatting Rukia's hand away. For a rare moment in her life, Yuzu's face held nothing but contempt. "Wasn't it your job to get rid of that thing, anyway?! Wasn't it supposed to not be able to...weren't you…" Her enraged face started to drain, almost being washed away in her tears. "Just leave me alone, okay? I can't do what you do. Ever. I can't fight. I'm not you, I'm not my sister, I'm not my brother, I'm not Tatsuki, I'm not...I'm not a Soul Reaper."
Rukia's face softened up a little, but then began harden. "Yes, you are. You have no choice. I hate to be the one to force this role upon you, really I am, but the moment you agreed to drive my blade through your very being, both of our fates were forever altered. We are now part of the same destiny, whatever it leads to. More importantly, we now share the same duty."
Yuzu sniffed a little while trying to wipe away her tears. "I can't do it…"
"Yes, you can. I mean, you did, remember?" She flashed the same smile from before, one that actually made Yuzu feel slightly better. On the robed girl's face started to grow a weak smile that showed the slightest bit of confidence on her part. "So, what do you say now? Will you accept the responsibility that comes with your power and aid those in as much need as your family once did?"
"...maybe," was all Yuzu could answer. "Still, I was hyped up on spirit juice or something back then, so I doubt I could do it again."
The last comment was enough to cause Rukia to crack a wry grin. "Really now? How about we see then?" She then took out a tiny, pink cellphone out of her pockets covered with tiny rabbit accessories. After looking at it for a little while, she closed it and put it back. "Okay then, time for a test run."
"Huh?"
And before Yuzu knew it, Rukia instantly grabbed her arm and stormed off away from the school. Apparently, no one other than Rukia heard her screaming.
Before long, Rukia landed in a nearby park, not noticing Yuzu almost landing face first in the ground.
"What the heck was….."
ROAR!
That familiar roar brought Yuzu's attention forward, making her shake again as she saw a kid with a severed chain in his chest on the playground, looking very similar to that girl she talked to at times. However, a ways to the left, was the last thing she really wanted to see: Another masked monster, making its way towards the young boy. This one was very insect-like in nature, with a body as dark as the previous one. It had six sharp legs, all sharp to the point.
"Well, here we are," Rukia stated casually. "Well, I'll just leave this to you."
"Leave this to me?!" Yuzu shouted back. "You can't just expect me to just-!" She looked about ready to finish her sentence until she remembered the young boy that the Hollow was going after. The boy had apparently noticed, yelling as he tried to get away.
"Help!"
Yuzu wanted to move, but her feet felt like lead. Despite that little speck of confidence earlier, here she was, fighting against another monster like before. Slowly, her hand reached over her shoulder for her oversized Zanpakuto. Still, her hands did nothing but shake as she got into a ready position. The Hollow was slowly gaining ground on the helpless Plus.
"Well? He's going to be eaten if you just stand there," Rukia said nonchalantly.
"H-How can you just say that?!"
ROAR!
Yuzu flinched as the beast roared again, getting ever closer to the kid. Things seemed to be moving in slow motion to Yuzu, watching the beast get closer and closer. As much as she wanted to, her body wouldn't listen to her will. Despite wanting to move, her mind repeated the same things over and over, "I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this."
It echoed constantly in Yuzu's mind. Was everything that happened last night all for nothing? Back then, she looked like some heroine jumping out of the shadows to face the impossible odds being placed on her. Now, she was just what she knew she was: a kid. What could she possibly do in this situation? Now, she and the little ghost boy were going to be….
"IDIOT! What the hell are you doing?!" Yuzu immediately turned to see Rukia glaring straight at her. "You think you're the only one who's afraid?! Everyone has fears, but sometimes you have to overcome those fears! Are you going to let that kid perish because you were too scared to help?!"
Yuzu just stood there, still shaking a bit as Rukia's words began to sink in.
"Sometimes, you have to take a chance to do what's right. Don't think about it too much, or it'll be something you'll regret for the rest of your life!"
"Lady, help!" the Plus screamed as he tripped over his own chain, plummeting him to the ground. The grinning insect of a Hollow just stood above the boy, eyes glowing in hunger. It raised a single one of its four pinchers to go in for the kill. The boy could do nothing but close his eyes and hold out his arms.
CLANG!
The Plus opened his eyes at the sound, only to see a small, brown-haired girl in a black robe with a large sword, holding off the monster that had been chasing him. He may have never been able to read expressions that well when he was alive, but he could tell by her face that the girl was just as scared as him. However, she was still doing something about the strange monster.
Yuzu exerted some more force on her blade, allowing it to go straight through the beast's leg with ease. It of course responded with a loud screech she was way too familiar with, but its screams were interrupted by another subsequent slash at its other leg. The Hollow may not have been too intelligent, but even it knew the next strike would be aimed towards another leg. Barely able to stand up as it was, the beast opened its large maw and shot it towards the little pest.
Somehow, Yuzu saw this coming. As the Hollow tried attacking with nothing but its bare teeth and long tongue, she didn't hesitate to redirect her attack. Just as quickly as she darted towards the leg, she turned around to swing straight at the head. The Hollow didn't even have a head to scream with as its soul was purified.
The boy just watched in awe as he saw the girl stare blankly at the former location of the monster. Once all the fragments of the thing were blown away, her expression looked like she was waking up from a deep slumber. The small Plus had nothing to say but a subdued "Wow…"
Rukia clapped slowly as she walked over to the victorious Reaper with a smug smile. "See? I knew you'd be a natural. How do you feel?"
"Like I shouldn't be alive," Yuzu responded while breathing in heavily.
"Good. That boy shouldn't be either. But, I guess it just goes to show you."
Yuzu responded with a nervous giggle, but that was when something dawned on her. "I did it…"
"Yep. Not even a trace of blood or injury. I'm honestly impressed…" She grinned while putting her hand on the girl's blade. "...Soul Reaper."
"Soul Reaper?" she gasped, still waiting for the euphoria to clear up. "You really think I can do all this?"
"This meaning what you just did? Yes. Although, there is more to being a Soul Reaper other than cutting Hollows down." She directed the attention towards the awestruck Plus. "It's also about lifting the other spirits up."
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"Place the bottom of your zanpakuto's handle on the boy's forehead." Yuzu didn't quite get the the introductions, but she lifted her sword as instructed. She saw the bottom glow a bit as she brought it down, leaving a small mark on the young boy. Before she knew it, the boy lit up into a ball of light, slowly disappearing until nothing was left.
"Okay, what just happened?" Yuzu asked.
"That's another part of a Soul Reaper's job: helping souls pass on. What you just performed was a Konso, which is what sends lost souls to the Soul Society."
"Wow." Yuzu had to admit that it was sort of amazing, if not still a little weird. She was still getting her mind wrapped around the whole concept. As she turned around, she saw Rukia playing on her little phone again.
"Well, nothing else it seems. Looks like a job well done." Rukia smiled at Yuzu, giving a small thumbs up. However, her face suddenly turned complentative. "Although, I feel like we're forgetting something…"
And just like that, a light bulb went off in Yuzu's head.
"MY BODY!"
"You are so lucky that no one found my body during lunch period!" Yuzu exasperatingly told Rukia once they were back at the school. Yuzu's body was laying right where they left it, since Rukia didn't get to use her dumpster idea.
"Oh calm down, nobody noticed so we should be good to go." Rukia then flashed a smile at the new Reaper. "You did good today. First couple of kills is always the hardest, but when push came to shove, you answered the call."
"Heh heh, thanks, Ms. Rukia," Yuzu thanked. "Thanks for putting up with what I did back there."
"No thanks necessary, really," she smiled sweetly. Then, a bulb seemed to go off in her head. "Although... if you want to thank me, perhaps you can help me with something." Yuzu's eyes widened with expectation at those words.
"Sure, just name it. I'll help you with whatever you need."
"Good." And with that, Rukia reached into her back pocket. Yuzu waited with a determined look on her face. She figured it must be something pretty serious for Rukia to ask another favor. She waited with baited breath, just waiting for Rukia to come out with it, until she whipped out a….
A juice carton?
"Can you open this for me? I've been trying all morning," Rukia asked with all seriousness in her voice.
And with that, Yuzu fell to the ground. "That's it?" she groaned.
"Yes. I saw many of the other children drinking from these and I was given this as part of my in-school lunch. It appears the plastic straw is the main key, but I have been unable to locate the proper insertion. Could you help?"
The Soul Reaper gave out a large sigh of disbelief before simply holding out her palm. "Hand it over." Rukia gave the girl her juice box, who inserted the straw with surgical precision. Her new classmate gladly accepted it back with a look of great contentment.
"Thanks," she smiled before starting to drink from the elusive box. "They had nothing like this back at the Academy."
"Wait, they have a school for Soul Reapers?"
"Of course," Rukia answered before resuming her drink. Yuzu was hoping to hear some more, but after a while of awkward silence, she understood that was all she was going to get. It took rather long for her just to finally say "Don't you have a body to go back into?"
"Wait, I can just slip back into it?"
"Of course you can. Did you think it was some complicated process or something?"
"...Yes."
Rukia just snickered as Yuzu got back into her body, feeling almost as red as before.
(END)
And another chapter is in the books. Hope you all enjoyed this after the little wait. Not much else to say but enjoy and let us know of your opinions in the review section. ThisWillBeFun and I will get to work on Chapter 3 right as we're finished recovering from this chapter.
With that said, I'm Sentinel07, and I'm signing out!