27Hello, this is Sentinel07 along with ThisWillBeFun, and welcome to another chapter of The Little Soul Reaper.
We continue to get positive support for this fic. We must be doing something right, so we'll just keep doing what we do. So, as usual:
Disclaimer: We own nothing of this series. If we did, the anime wouldn't have ended so soon. 366 episodes just isn't enough.
Anyway, why keep you all waiting? Let's get the ball rolling.
Hit it!
(BEGIN)
Chapter 3: Unwanted Company
Before now, Yuzu didn't think there would be a time where she would just want to crawl into a hole somewhere.
"And so you see," Rukia sobbed while helping herself to the "complementary" tissues she ordered Yuzu to get, "I have nowhere to go, not even the streets. Every time I tried staying in a dark alley to sleep, I would either be beaten by some horrible thugs or be unable to sleep in fear of them. I'm not even old enough to make a living for myself, so it's a wonder I was even allowed to enroll myself into your daughters' school." She blew her nose into one of the tissues. "I just thought it'd give me somewhere to go, somewhere where I could be normal…" She looked sadly down at the floor while subtly turning her head forty-five degrees to the right, that way the lighting would glare off the tears in her right eye. "It wasn't until the bell rang and I noticed I had nowhere to go that I realized that could never happen…"
Although Yuzu had to commend Rukia's acting chops, she thought it was working a little too well on her dad, who was looking more emotional than a widow at her husband's funeral. As much as she hated to act like her siblings, seeing her father fall for such a story was making her lose a teensy bit of respect. By the looks of Ichigo and Karin, she could see their remaining respect simply drain away. Apparently, they weren't as convinced by the poor girl's story as their father. Even Rukia noticed this, as she turned to look at Yuzu and gave a strange look that basically told her to play along a little better. Yuzu wasn't quite sure how one could convey such a specific command through a simple expression, yet there it was.
"Y-yeah, Rukia here really has n-nowhere t-to go, dad," Yuzu tried to tell her dad. She was never one to lie and always felt the ultimate guilt whenever doing so. Luckily, her sadness for lying did help a bit with her performance, even if her siblings were starting to look at her weird. "P-please don't j-just leave her all alone! She's r-really nice and good a-and…"
"Say no more!" Isshin shouted, trying his best to hold his flowing tears. Yuzu just sighed in relief. Man, she was going to feel guilty for months because of all this. "Any friend of Yuzu's is a friend of ours! Of course she can stay!"
"WHAT?!" Ichigo and Karin shouted simultaneously.
"Dad, you can't just believe every sob story a little girl gives!" Ichigo tried to reason. "Remember that girl that tricked us into giving her a free operation by pretending to be a street urchin?"
"But we were just helping out a defenseless little girl!" their dad defended.
"Yeah, and her parents expressed their gratitude after they came to pick her up."
"DO YOU KNOW NOTHING OF HONOR!" Isshin yelled while planting one of his fists right up against his son's skull. "When a defenseless citizen needs help and comes asking for help, it's just wrong not to! Why else would I form my own clinic?!"
"Right...so, you're all up for allowing in total strangers with no available background information just because she seems defenseless? Yeah, and you wonder why we're running low on money with business decisions like that."
"SHUT UP!" He went in for a kick to the stomach this time, only to have his leg caught by his trained son. Ichigo then placed his dad's face firmly against the wall. After a few seconds of darkness, he got back out and bowed over to Rukia. "Sorry you had to see that. My son's a bit of a punk." He felt his head against the wall again, followed by a slightly quicker recovery. "But he means well. I'm sure once he gets to know you, he'll be fine."
"Like hell I will!" Ichigo shouted. "Karin, you're not just going to let him do this, are you?"
"I really don't care," the sister responded while flipping through the magazine in her hands. "But if Yuzu trusts this girl, I suppose we can trust her for now."
"What?! But how do we even know who she is?!"
"I know Rukia!" Yuzu spoke up, much to everyone's surprise. Even Rukia was looking at her in disbelief, every one of them shocked to see the timid Yuzu...act out. Although, the looks were starting to make to make her nervous again. "Er, sorry. It's just...Rukia's a nice girl and I know it."
"You've only known her for a day!" Ichigo tried to reason in his usual, shouty way.
"I've known her longer than that." She glanced over at her raven-haired friend. "I met her yesterday, away from school. She's...a nice person, really. If you don't trust her, please, trust me."
Ichigo honestly didn't know how to respond, considering this was probably the first time he had really seen his younger sister really talk against him. Sure, she and Karin had the occasional twin disagreement, even if Yuzu usually walked away before it ever turned into an actual argument. He made a mental note to change his softened expression into his usual scowl. "Yuzu, are you sure about this?"
His sister's expression hardened. "More than ever before."
Ichigo gave her one more look just to make sure, giving Rukia another look before sighing. "Well, if you're that sure…."
And that apparently that was more enough Isshin to re-enter the picture.
"YEAH! You can have the pull-up bed in Yuzu and Karin's room for now! Oh, this is going to be so GREAT!" And he then rushed right over to his disturbingly large poster. "Oh Masaki, isn't this wonderful! We have been delivered another daughter!"
Needless to say, it was enough to make someone hurl. Even Rukia, with over a century of experience on her, had never seen such a spectacle so strange in her life.
"Uh, thank you, sir," Rukia bowed respectfully. "I hope you don't mind if I ask for some extra sleep clothes for the night?"
"I'll let you borrow some of mine," Yuzu offered while leading her new guest to her new room, stopping by her dad on the way. "Thank you so much, dad."
"Anytime!" he responded while giving a hammy thumbs-up. This was immediately responded to a quick kick to the head by Ichigo. "The hell I'd do that time?!"
"I'm still not sure I like this," he answered simply. "If we end up being robbed, at least I'd already have my anger out."
Karin just flipped through her magazine some more before turning to her twin. "Make sure not to let her touch my stuff." Yuzu nodded.
And on that note, the discussion of the mystery girl was over…..for now.
Later that night
"That was your great plan?!" As much as Yuzu wanted to keep herself quiet, she couldn't. For all Rukia's confidence going into this, Yuzu couldn't believe that sob story was the best she could come up with. In fact, while she thought that, "And why do you have to sleep here anyway?!"
"One question at a time, thanks." Rukia just continued to smooth out her sleepwear, which was actually Yuzu's. Both girls were currently in "their" room, while Karin was probably watching TV or something.
"First of all, as you're not well-experienced in this, it falls to me to make sure you don't die. Staying close to you is the best way to do that, especially if a Hollow shows up. You don't even know how to use Shikai."
"How to use what?" Yuzu was really confused. Rukia just sighed.
"You know what, this would be better explained when we have more private time. It's late and we should rest. I talk to you more about it tomorrow at lunch. Expect to be busy again."
As Rukia got herself settled, Yuzu just groaned. So much for hoping for a peaceful lunch break.
The next day at school
"Hey Saori, I hear your big sister's the big track athlete star again!"
"Well of course, that's all she ever focuses on. She's such a workaholic at it."
Saori and Naoko were happily chatting about their personal lives, while Yuzu just sat at her desk with her head propped up on her hands. The morning was so chaotic with Rukia around. Since Yuzu did all the cooking around the house, she now had yet another mouth to feed, along with her family. With the added stress of Hollow fighting and Soul Reapers, it was almost beginning to weigh the girl down.
Rukia was continuing to charm the pants off the guys and even get the admiration of a few girls. Just what was up with that girl's appeal? They barely even knew her! Was it that fact that she was short? Or was it the face? It kind of drew Yuzu nuts to wonder how she could garner such a large crowd in so little time.
Lunch Break
When Yuzu went out for lunch break, she proceeded towards where she and Rukia first went out to fight a Hollow. However, she immediately gasped when she saw that Rukia was standing next to one of those machines that fires tennis balls at you.
"Rukia, what are you doing?!"
"Doing what?"
"With that ball thrower! You're not supposed to take that from the athletic field. It's not allowed!"
"Really? Huh, you learn something new every day." Rukia's nonchalant attitude with this was really beginning to frustrate Yuzu, but she didn't have time to focus on it. Immediately, she felt a force through her as Rukia's gloved hand ripped her out of her body and into Soul Reaper form.
"Can't you warn me before you do that?!"
"Sorry but last I checked, your lunch break doesn't last all day. Let's move along, shall we?" Rukia walked back over to the ball thrower, putting a hand on it. "This is going to be used for training. You've got a ways to go, so I figured I'd borrow this."
That actually reminded Yuzu of what happened last night and the fact that Rukia mentioned something that she didn't elaborate on.
"Wait, before all this, what's a Shikai?" Yuzu asked. You never said."
"Oh right, I forgot." Rukia cleared her throat before continuing. "A Shikai is the release of a zanpakuto's power. By knowing the zanpakuto's name and a release command, the power of both Soul Reaper and sword increases."
"Wow." Yuzu was genuinely impressed by that, even though she didn't understand most of it. "Wait a second, the zanpakuto's name?"
"Yes, all zanpakutos have a name, as does mine. Knowing the name is very important when it comes to a Soul Reaper and his or her sword," she explained further.
"So, what's mine then?" Yuzu asked curiously.
"You don't have one." Yuzu's face dropped a bit. "I don't know if you've noticed, but your sword is just a bigger version of mine. The reason for this is because you absorbed my own spirit energy, so you're essentially living off my power. Not to mention, the only reason why your sword is so big is because of your uncontrolled powers. To put it bluntly, you don't have a Shikai either, so it's a moot point."
That was disappointing to say the least. Granted, it made sense somewhat to Yuzu. This wasn't her strength; it was Rukia's. Rukia noticed the down look, softening her look a bit.
"Sorry to be so condescending. That's why we need to work on your training, to make up for what you don't have." She slapped her hand on the machine. "I've filled this thing up with balls that are marked. This is to train your reflexes and speed. Some of them will be marked as Hollows, and others marked as Pluses. Get it?"
"So….you're going to hurl balls at me?" This wasn't making Yuzu more confident at all.
"Well, I'm not. This thing will." With that, Rukia suddenly jumped back, right after pushing something. The machine immediately started rumbling.
"Uh oh." Just as those words uttered out of Yuzu's mouth, a tennis ball with some bizarre bunny design shot right at her, hitting her square in the head. "OUCH!"
"One shot and you're already dead. Come on, pick it up!" Rukia barked like some kind of drill sergeant.
Yuzu reached for her sword, although the balls started coming out faster. She saw that some of them had some kind of bunny design again. She ducked as one flew over her head.
"Which one are the Hollows?!"
"The evil ones!"
"That doesn't help! Which ones are those?!"
"The ones with the evil bunnies on them!"
Like that helped. Yuzu brought her sword up and bounced one of the "Hollow" balls away while trying to dodge the others. The drawings weren't that different, though. How was she able to tell? She ended up just trying to swat anything she could away. Actually, she ended up swatting a ball that had Rukia's design on it.
"Hey, I'm not evil!"
"Could have fooled me," Yuzu grumbled.
Things didn't go much better after that. After a while, Yuzu did manage seem to catch on a bit, being able to dodge the "good bunnies", but more often than not, the "evil bunnies" managed to hit her. One stray ball actually hit her unconscious body right in the stomach, something that made her cringe since they forgot to move it, again. Thankfully, once the machine was out of tennis balls, Yuzu was allowed to return to her body.
"Ow!" Yuzu cringed as she clutched her slightly bruised torso.
"I'm sure that should heal soon enough. Better hurry up though. I think class starts up again soon."
"R-right…" With that, the two headed back to the other children, Yuzu still rubbing her bruised side. They eventually made it to the playground, where Saori and Naoko were waiting with a strange looks on their faces. Yuzu couldn't help but feel rather embarrassed as she looked at their confused expressions. "Uh, hi, guys."
"What were you doing away from everyone else?" Saori questioned.
"Ooh, were you two breaking some rules~?" Naoko chirped in more genuine curiosity than vindication.
"N-no, we weren't doing a-anything wrong, I swear!" Yuzu was beginning to shiver in guilt of lying once again. She didn't like the feeling at all, not at all. "I was just...helping show Rukia around. Yeah, Miss Koizumi said I should help, so I did, and now we're done. Right, Rukia?"
"Not really," she responded with little emotion, much to the shock of her partner. "See, I kind of saw the tennis ball thingy hanging out in an open door, but it just looked so interesting and I always wanted to see how it worked, so I kinda convinced her to let me try it out, and I'm so sorry!"
"W-wait!" Yuzu stuttered before leaning in to talk more upclose to Rukia in order to whisper. "Why'd you have to tell them?"
"I dunno. I think it's best to live the truth than live a lie."
"That's exactly what we've been doing!" Yuzu wanted to shout, but still tried her best to keep her voice down. "You've been making me do that."
"I know, and I am eternally grateful. No use in fibbing where we don't need to."
"But what if we get in trouble?!" she shouted out loud, clearly audible to the other two girls. Uneasily, she turned back to her fellow classmates and gave a weak smile, who were more than a little suspicious.
"Sweet!" Naoko cheered. "Sweet little Yuzu finally broke the rules! I knew all she needed was a little push."
"P-please don't tell," Yuzu pleaded. "I...please don't."
"Don't worry about it," Saori brushed off. "It's just the one time. I shall grant you my presidential pardon."
"You really gotta idolize your older sister, don't you?" Naoko giggled. "Nerd."
"H-hey, it was just a joke! Just you wait, in a few years, I'll be student council president of Karakura High."
"Sure, keep dreaming."
"Uh, so we're cool?" Yuzu asked unsure.
"Yep, cool as ice!" Naoko answered with a thumbs up. "I doubt anyone would even believe you, anyway. Still, you must be quite the troublemaker, Rukia."
"Uh…" Rukia sweated. "Just call it basic impulses. Although I'm trying to change, I'm still a bit of a street kid."
"Then I guess it'll be fun to get to know you! C'mon, I think the bell's about to ring!"
"R-right, let's go," Yuzu said in great anticipation to finally enter the safe zone of the school building. She grabbed Rukia by her arm before anxiously dragging her inside, leaving their two classmates watching in curiousity.
They weren't the only ones, though. From the other side of the schoolyard, Karin sat with a similar expression, if one a little more concerned. Never before had she seen her twin just run off like that, much less to somewhere knowingly off limits. Then again, this Rukia chick hadn't been there for those times. Maybe it was just Ichigo's concerns bothering her, but she knew something had to be up with this strange new girl that they'd allowed into their own house.
After school
"Phew, I almost thought that class would never end," Rukia said as her and her partner walked out of the school's front doors.
"You're one to talk," Yuzu grunted. "You seemed pretty good throughout the entire day. I mean, you already have boys flocking over you."
"Sorry for making you jealous," she smirked back. "I wish I could just turn them down and just say I'm not interested, but I hear that only motivates them further."
"And where do you hear that?"
"Funny you asked." Rukia grabbed her rabbit-shaped backpack and started taking out a book to present to her friend as an answer. Meanwhile, Karin was wondering just what kind of book would cause Yuzu to turn that certain shade of blue. It was weird to think of all the strange things she'd seen her sister take up in such rapid succession. First, disappearing during lunch, then inviting the new girl into their house, then managing to actually stare down Ichigo, then disappearing again while breaking a firmly established rule, then attempting to lie about said event, and now she could swear she heard Yuzu use sarcasm. Things were obviously changing at a surprisingly fast rate, and Karin wasn't liking it.
Maybe a talk was in question. With that thought, Karin ran on over to the two girls, before tugging on her sister's shirt.
"Uh, Yuzu? Think I could talk with you for a second?" She glanced at Rukia's surprised expression. "Alone."
"Uh, sure," Yuzu answered with a similar expression. "Rukia, head home without me. I'll catch up."
"Sure," the girl nodded. "Just try not to take too long, okay?"
"I'll try not to hold her up," Karin added. "Best if you get there before Ichigo, though."
"Right. I'll see you two later then." Rukia then continued down the sidewalk as the two sisters moved moved more towards some bushes for extra security. Whatever Karin wanted to talk about, she obviously wanted to keep the conversation away from Rukia. This made the former Reaper start to worry more than a little as she walked down the street.
Once Karin made sure the coast was clear, she turned to Yuzu with a look of slight embarrassment. "Sorry about separating you two like that, I just really needed to talk about you about some things."
Yuzu gulped. "S-sure...shoot."
"Listen, I...I'm starting to have second thoughts about Rukia. She seems all nice and sweet and all, but it's just that you've been acting kind of...weird, lately."
The Soul Reaper had to try not to sweat or change shade. "W-weird?" she asked nervously. "H-how?"
"Like that!" Karin said. "You're quivering. Hesitating!"
"Am not!" Yuzu snapped.
"And now you're getting angry!" her twin shouted back. "I don't know what's happened to you, Yuzu, but you've been acting even stranger than usual, mainly ever since that Rukia chick appeared."
"Rukia has nothing to do about this." Yuzu's expression hardened to an intensity that reminded Karin of her siblings' "argument" the night before. "What I do is by my own choice."
"Then why are you doing this?! How come one day, you're normal, regular Yuzu, and the next, you're able to stare down Ichigo and lie."
The last part made the girl's heart sink. However, Yuzu quickly tried to suck in up to retain her exterior. "I could always lie...I just never had a reason to before."
"Then what's your reason, huh? Why do you need to lie now?"
"I…" Yuzu tried to dig deep into her mind to find a proper excuse, but she couldn't find anything. How could she explain the sheer responsibility she had now and the insanity that it insured? As much as she was willing to fight for her family and whoever else, the idea of being dishonest towards those she cared about was beginning to weigh more heavily on her heart. There wasn't a moment's hesitation when deciding to thrust that sword through her chest, yet here she was, unable to give a simple response to the girl she had spent her entire life next to. She probably hesitated a little too long.
"Well?" Karin asked after a long period of silence on her sister's part. "You got an answer?"
Yuzu could only gulp while trying to straighten her appearance. "No. I really can't tell you."
"And that's all you have to say?"
"Yes." She looked down. "Sorry. Although, it's not Rukia's fault at all, so don't bother her about it. I'm not going to lie, but I am kind of changing, maybe for the better, maybe for the worst." Yuzu could start to feel tears building up, but used all her might not to let them show. "Please don't worry about me or Rukia. I think we all have our own problems to work out."
"I suppose you're right," Karin replied with a glare. "I'm going to go ahead and be honest as well: I think my own problem may be staring at me right now. We're twins, Yuzu. I know when something's really wrong with you. So, I won't bother you or that Rukia chick, but you better know that I'll always be worrying about you."
The silence that followed was almost unbearable. Karin had her usual scowl, while Yuzu tried her best not to burst into tears. After a solid minute without any addition to the conversation, Karin took it upon herself to start heading home by herself.
"W-wait!" Yuzu called out, causing her sister to cease her travels. "I...I understand everything you're saying and I understand. Just know that I'll never stop worrying about you as well, okay?"
Karin looked back with a slightly softened expression. "I know. At least that I can rely on." With nothing else to be said, she went back on her merry way, leaving Yuzu to decide whether to follow or stay behind. She chose to stay behind, for whatever reason. To be honest, she wasn't quite sure. Maybe that's why she couldn't just leave right then; there was obviously a lot she had to think over.
"Sorry about all that," a familiar voice said from beyond a pair of bushes, causing Yuzu to jump. The source of the voice appeared from the cover, revealing Rukia once again.
"Were you listening the entire time?" Yuzu asked in a rather bored tone. In all honesty, she wasn't that surprised at all.
"Actually, yes. Sorry, but you know I couldn't just let her-"
"I understand. I was just as on the edge as you."
"Yeah…" Rukia gave a sorry look to the ground before facing her partner. "Listen, I know how much I must be asking you to sacrifice. Not only have I asked that you help me physically, I feel I may have robbed you a little of your integrity."
"It's fine, really," Yuzu assured. "It is a little emotionally draining, but as long as it's to protect everyone I lie to, I should be fine."
Rukia was able to form a small smile. "That's a good way of seeing it. C'mon, let's go back to your home. I haven't gotten any alerts, so we should be free for the night. How about we just relax for the rest of the day? Maybe I could try and make it up to Karin. You know, just to make sure there's no hard feelings between us."
The idea caused Yuzu to feel pretty better, even gaining a warm smile of her own. "Y-yeah. That'd be great. Though, how about we take the scenic route? I don't need to get home too early?"
"Sounds fine to me." On that note, both girls started walking along the path to the Kurosaki Clinic.
It wasn't long before the two girls arrived at the clinic, though much later than the usual amount of time. When they got there, they were surprised to see the house surprisingly empty, with the exception of Ichigo simply looking through some textbooks at the kitchen table.
"Uh, hey, Ichigo," Yuzu reluctantly greeted, feeling a bit concerned that he was the only one around. "Where is everyone?"
Her brother just sighed. "Well, dad's doing inventory while Karin's helping him."
"Karin's helping dad with work?"
"I know, I'm a little scared, too." He looked at the raven-haired girl before glancing back at his little sister. "Did...something happen that might be causing her to act so weird?"
"Uh…" Yuzu wasn't sure how to answer, really. She glanced over to Rukia, who simply gave a small nod. "Yeah...we got into a bit of a...talk."
This was enough for Ichigo to actually close his book and give as concerned a look as his permanent scowl would allow. "A talk? You mean a fight?"
"Not really. Just...a talk. It wasn't much of a fight. She was just a little concerned about some things."
"Like maybe allowing a strange girl into our house and within smothering distance of both of you?"
Yuzu scratched the back of her head nervously. "No, no. Just personal stuff, really."
"You are aware that Karin didn't even leave the couch last night, right?"
"Yeah...it's not like that's nothing new, though."
"Right, but the girl is."
"I have a name, you know," Rukia said indignantly.
"You, I'm ignoring," he said without even turning his head. "Anyway, what did she talk about?"
"Nothing, just-"
"You can't just ignore me like that!" Rukia said with an incensed frown on her face. "Do you just ignore everything you don't want to have around you?"
"Pretty much." He turned back towards his sister. "Now, what were you two-"
"You can't just ignore everything around you, idiot!" the girl interrupted again. "Man, no wonder you didn't notice your house being destroyed by...elephants."
All three of them glanced at the gigantic hole in the house's wall. To be honest, they were actually beginning to forget about it. Ichigo merely cleared his throat. "You know, nobody really noticed that, not even the neighbors." His gaze started to wander a little. "You know, that night is still a little hazy. I feel like I remember something about it, but I just can't remember what I…" He noticed both girls sneaking off to their shared bedroom. "Hey, wait! This isn't over!" Yuzu jumped up a little as Rukia merely shoved her into the room before closing the door behind them.
"Damn girl…" he grumbled underneath his breath before returning to his books.
Inside the room, Yuzu was right in Rukia's face again.
"What was that for?!"
"He was asking questions that he's not ready for the answers for," Rukia replied plainly. "I have to say, though, it's a wonder that he can remember anything about that night, even if it isn't clear to him. He really shouldn't. Perhaps good spirit energy runs in the family."
"But can we really keep this from him? You may not know it, but Ichigo's pretty smart. I bet he could figure it all out if he wanted to."
"Well, if he ever does, I'll be impressed." Clearly, Rukia wasn't interested in talking more about it. Even as dinner came and went, Yuzu couldn't get Rukia to open up any more. It kind of made for an awkward dinner, what with Rukia's silence, Karin and Ichigo's questioning stares, and Isshin still being the dumbass that he is.
Afterwards, once things were settling down, Yuzu was about to get ready for bed, already fluffing her pillows for maximum comfort. Karin was still in the family room, doing her own thing while not speaking a single word of the incident earlier. Yuzu could only sigh before Rukia suddenly rushed straight into the room, toothpaste still in her mouth and looking very much alarmed.
"What's going on?"
"Yuzu, get down!" Rukia yelled quickly, right before getting her glove and pushing out Yuzu's soul before she could even protest. However, Rukia just kept on pushing afterwards, until her and both of Yuzu's forms hit the ground. Luckily, this was before the giant claw of a Hollow came phasing through the wall like a stray tree branch right where Yuzu once laid. The hand reached the edge of the bed before clawing the rest of its body into the room. What revealed itself was a horrifying, muscular abomination, much more human-like than the two before. While the others were mainly composed of bones, this one seemed to consist mainly of body tissue, barely held together by the bone running down from its head, all the way down its body. Even its head looked more like a human skull, even displaying long, brown hair through the back. Still, there wasn't much time for either girl to even care about the Hollow's appearance, instead going for better cover as the monster just loomed over them, not even caring enough itself to reveal its full body.
It did not shriek, it didn't barely made a sound other than the small creeks of its moving flesh. Slowly, the beast moved its other arm, ready for another attack. Just as the last, this one was dodged as Yuzu moved away from her corner, Rukia following afterward with the other's unconscious body.
"Yuzu, attack the head!"
"Right!" Yuzu unsheathed her sword and swiftly jumped on the Hollow's slowly retracting arm before launching herself towards its menacing mask of a face. With all the power at her disposal, she swiftly swung her sword straight down the monster's head, a giant crack forming straight through the middle of its mask. Slowly, the left side of said mask began to crumble onto the floor, leaving the respective of its face exposed. Even as Yuzu descended, she still managed to catch a glance of the Hollow's true face.
For the longest time, she wondered what lied underneath the mask of the horrifying monsters she had worked so hard to fight. Sure, she had only fought two before, but each encounter was permanently rendered in her mind, making her constantly think of more questions as she replayed each encounter repeatedly, sinking in every detail. One question she was meaning to ask Rukia at some point was if the faces of the Hollows simply looked like mask, or if there was actually more to these beasts underneath it all. Yet, there was no questioning what she saw now. She had barely reached the ground yet, but she could still see the true face of what she had been fighting, of what she had just attacked: a young man with long, brown hair and hazy blue eyes.
"It didn't go deep enough!" Rukia shouted.
Yuzu could only stare as the Hollow grasped its, no, his face in pain, giving the trademark Hollow shriek. Apparently, the beast no longer saw much use staying around this dangerous girl and began to envelop himself back into the darkness he appeared from, phasing right out of the room. As he did, the two were able to catch a glimpse at the rest of his serpent-like form, including a long tail that looked ready to crush the life out of anything it pleased. Apparently, neither girl was worth that effort right now.
"Damn, it's getting away!" Rukia yelled while scrambling over to where she dropped her cell phone earlier. She immediately began tracking the Hollow down as quickly as she could. Before long, she had its destination located. "Come on, we got to go, quick. I'll lead the way." She began running towards the window, opening it and getting ready to make a fair jump. Before making a leap, however, she noticed that her partner was not following, instead merely staring at the window with a blank expression. "Yuzu, let's go!"
"What the heck was that…?"
(END)
Another chapter in the books. Hopefully everyone approves. Feel free to review and let us know of what you think.
Things should be interesting from here on. (This is ThisWillBeFun here, adding a wink face to the end of my friend's sentence for emphasis. ;) There.)
For now, Sentinel07, signing out!