Fanfiction: Through Her Eyes Updated: Chapter 6
Only made you guys wait 3 months this time. What a shock! *headdesk* Here's Chapter 6!
Through Her Eyes: Table of Contents
Through Her Eyes: Chapter 6 (FF.net version)
Disclaimer: The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize.
Chapter 6: World of the Dead
The man named Urahara Kisuke led us past rows and rows of candy, stopping in front of another paper screen door that slid open to reveal an insanely tall and muscular man.
He bowed. “The tea has been prepared as requested tenchou.”
“Ah… thank you Tessai.”
I was about to enter after Kuchiki when the giant suddenly stepped in front of me, effectively stopping me in my tracks.
"If I may, Shirataki-dono…” and without further warning, lifted the arm that was in the cast to eye level, inspecting it closely, though what he was looking for with the cast in the way was beyond me. Then, he gently took me by the shoulders and spun me around, nodding to himself as I turned in circles, before finally stopping me and stating how happy he was that I looked much better today than I did last night, thoroughly confusing me until I saw his glasses glint in the light.
Urahara waved a fan at me. “Come sit down and have some tea Shirataki-san. Although Tessai did an excellent job healing you with his kidou, that leg of yours still needs some rest before it’ll be back to its original condition.”
Kuchiki set her cup down on the table. “So you were the one who saved her from the hollow last night?”
Snapping the fan shut, he pointed it at her as if he were announcing the winner in a contest. “Correct!”
“Then why didn’t you replace her memories?”
“Because with her reiryoku, the false memories would have faded away in a matter of days, if they even took.”
“But you know that’s against the law!”
“My dear Kuchiki-san,” he smirked at her from under his hat. “If I followed the rules, you and your fellow shinigami would have no place to pick up supplies when on missions in the human world.”
She huffed. “Speaking of supplies, did you get that thing I asked you about last night?”
“Of course! It’s in the back. Jinta, could you go get it for us please?”
The red-head scowled. “Why me? Make Ururu--”
A low growl of “Jinta-dono…” sounding from the giant Tessai sitting next to Urahara, stopped the brat in mid-rant and sent him scurrying out of the room. He was back before long with a big box that he plopped down next to Kuchiki, who promptly opened it to check the contents.
I craned my neck to look inside but couldn’t tell what the contraption was. A ping-pong ball robot thing?
“Er… what is that?”
“It’s something that should help Ichigo improve his aim when it comes to fighting hollows. We’ll see how well he does against it later today.”
“Since you’re such an important customer and are only borrowing it, I won’t charge you anything for its use. Besides…” The fan was flipped open again as gray eyes observed us from underneath the green and white- striped hat. “You didn’t come here today just to help Kuchiki-san pick that up, did you, Shirataki-san?”
I blinked at him over my tea. “No, but…” Setting down my cup, I ran a hand through my bangs, not knowing how to start. My eyes flicked over to Kuchiki for help.
“She wants to become a shinigami. I told her that it was impossible since she’s a human, but she--”
“Ah re, ah re… impossible you say?” A slight chuckle came from behind the fan. “Not true if one has enough potential and reiryoku.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“So there’s a way?”
“But of course! Although it will be dangerous, so the real question is, are you willing to risk your life in order to become a shinigami?”
Kuchiki frowned. “Wait, are you--”
“Possible death in exchange for the ability to protect my family doesn’t seem that threatening after having considered actually dying to keep them safe. My answer is yes.”
The fan closed with a snap as Urahara stood up.
"Very well then, come back in two days time. Your arm should have completely healed by then, and we will have had everything prepared.”
I glanced down at the cast with a raised eyebrow.
“Last time I checked, broken arms didn’t heal within two days.”
“Ah… but I believe that the last time you checked, there were no such things as shinigami and hollows.”
“Tch! Touché…”
“So long as you take your medicine once every hour, all your injuries will be completely healed by the time you come back”
“Medicine? You mean the thing that looks like rat poison?”
A deep rumble that sounded suspiciously like “Why, I never!” came from the giant seated by the door.
“Yes Shirataki-san, that’s why I so kindly left it behind for you, free of charge too!”
I smirked. “Oh, how very generous of you… but do consider using a new label so that it doesn’t make your customers feel like they bought poison instead.” Looping my messenger bag over my shoulder, I picked up the box that Kuchiki had come to pick up. “Anything other instructions?”
“No, I don’t believe so.” And turning his back to us, the green-clad man started to walk out. “Tessai, could you escort our guests out? I need to get started on the preparations. Jinta, Ururu, come with me.”
The walk back from the shop was terribly quiet as Kuchiki seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and glancing up at me occasionally.
Finally fed up with waiting for her to bring up whatever was troubling her, I stopped, propping the box against a nearby fence. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
“This training that Urahara has in mind for you, it’s highly dangerous, and you won’t be able to back out once you’ve started. Even if you don’t die, life’s not going to be as simple as before.” The words tumbled out in a rush as she gazed earnestly at me. “Are you sure that you want to go through with it? Being a shinigami isn’t just about killing the hollows that threaten you and those you care about. You’ll also have to protect souls you’ve never met before, perform soul burials, and chase after any hollow that appears. It’s not going to be easy, especially since you’ll have to lead a double life.”
“I know it isn’t, but it’s the life that lets me stay with those I love.” I sighed and scuffed the road with my sneakers. “It’s not like I’m not scared, because I am. I’m horribly afraid that I’ll fail, that I won’t be able to become a shinigami, and that even if I do become one, I won’t be able to protect people. But I want to do this. I need to do this. It doesn’t matter how tiring or troublesome this may get, or how much training and running around I’ll need to do… whatever it takes to keep my friends and family safe, I’ll do it.”
Kuchiki shook her head and looked into the distance. “You humans, always thinking with your hearts instead of your heads… Why do you guys have to be so emotional? Losing yourself to your emotions, losing your logic, it only leads to your death…”
I studied her. The unfocused eyes, the slightly hunched shoulders, and the arms wrapped loosely around her torso all made me wonder if she was just thinking about ‘us humans’.
“You do know that you’re pretty emotional yourself, right?”
“Kuchiki’s aren’t emotional!” The purple eyes were now fiercely focused on me.
Raising an eyebrow, I gave her the most incredulous look I could summon.
“You become angry when I say you’re emotional, and when Kurosaki insulted your drawing skills. You’re worried about me and, I suspect, Kurosaki as well. Besides, throwing yourself in front of a hollow just to save a human that you barely know ranks pretty high up on the emotional ladder.”
“I was merely fulfilling my duty as a shinigami!”
“If that was the only reason, the best thing to do would have been to attack the hollow when it went in for the kill. If you were really only relying on your logic, you would have seen that letting yourself be grievously harmed would have done no good to either you or Kurosaki. Losing one person is always better than losing two. Using the distraction that Kurosaki provided would have been the perfect time to finish off the hollow. And yet you didn’t.”
“But--”
“Face it, you’re just as emotional as the next person.”
There was complete silence for a couple minutes as she stood there with her hands on her hips, glowering up at me, while I merely stared back at her, silently daring her to contradict what I had just said.
Finally she gave up and turned away from me with a huff. I heard her mumble, “Kuchiki’s shouldn’t be emotional,” as she resumed walking.
“I don’t know who told you that, and I don’t know why they told you that, but being emotional is part of being human. You can’t go through life making judgments based on only logic while, bottling everything else up inside. Eventually, that bottle’s going to shatter.” I shifted my hold on the box we had brought back from Urahara’s Shoten. “Now this contraption is heavy, and it’s yours, so are you going to help me with it or not?”
/-/-/
I spent the next two days dividing up all my free time between my friends and family, with most of it dedicated to Teison. After karate at the dojo with Tatsuki, I would grab an afternoon snack with her and Orihime, then head back home and help Teison with his homework so he would finish faster and I would be able to take him out to the arcade or park. The days usually ended with me reading a book with him on the sofa while mom and dad read their newspaper on either side of us. The night before I was supposed to meet Urahara again, I gave each of them a tight hug, causing Teison to sputter loudly about how he couldn’t breathe, and my parents to give me odd looks as dad ruffled my hair and mom asked if I was alright. I could only smile tightly in response and be thankful that what little precious time I had with them had not been interrupted by any more hollow attacks.
On the agreed upon afternoon, I arrived at the candy shop after saying goodbye to Tatsuki and Orihime at the dojo. Looking at the unassuming storefront with a rapidly thumping heart, I wondered if I was making the right choice. After all, I didn’t need to do this. Kurosaki was already a shinigami, and as Kuchiki said, I could just throw all the hollows I come across onto him. I could refuse to go through with this and just continue on with my life as it was now. Of course, hollows would pop up every now and then, but I was sure that with some effort on my part, I would be able to pretend that they didn’t exist. I mean, walking into that store meant walking towards possible impending death. Sure, I had been pretty adamant about becoming a shinigami, but that was right after I’d been attacked by hollows two days in a row and had just found out about a completely different world interlinked with ours. Now that the initial shock was wearing off, I started to wonder if I hadn’t completely lost my mind when I agreed, no, demanded to do this.
I had just taken a step back when images from the past four days flashed across my mind and stopped me in my tracks.
The terrified looks on the girl and Kurosaki’s face as the hollow bore down on them. The paralyzing terror I had felt at facing those drooling teeth.
The frantic need to protect Teison as we ran back home with another hollow closing in on us. The utter lack of strength I had felt upon coming face to face with the monster, mere golf clubs as my only weapons.
The horror of hearing Teison’s voice and knowing that he had left the safety of the house because I hadn’t been able to fend off the hollow. The worry that infused Teison’s face when he hovered above me, holding back tears as he begged me to let him help fight something he couldn’t even see.
The sight of Teison’s small body flying through the air like a rag doll. The wrenching anguish I had experienced as I crawled towards Teison and begged him to please wake up, dreading the worst when he continued to be oblivious to my desperate pleas.
The white-hot anger I had felt upon seeing the monster’s despicable grin as it loomed above me and Teison’s limp form.
The overwhelming guilt and hopelessness I had been drowning in when it seemed like the hollow was about the finish me off.
Why was I hesitating now? Did I really want to experience those feelings of fright, pain, and powerlessness again? Did I really want to have to stand there uselessly and watch someone else protect my loved ones for me? Would I be able to live with myself if anything happened to Teison, knowing that I could have prevented it if only I hadn’t been too scared to risk my life? Would I be okay with letting other people hunt down the monster while I tried to continue on with life despite the fierce desire for revenge that would be burning inside of me?
The answer was no, no, and no. I didn’t want to have to experience all that again. I didn’t want to see the fear in other people’s faces and not be able to do anything more than throw a cup of coffee at the cause of that fear. I didn’t want to see Teison’s face creased with terrified alarm as he tried to be brave. I didn’t want to feel the helplessness I felt whenever I encountered one of those monsters.
Balling my hands into fists, I glared at the storefront, as if it was the reason for my momentary hesitation. Shifting my weight forward again, I marched towards the shop, determined to survive whatever method Urahara was going to use on me. As I approached, the door slid open to reveal the very man.
“Ah, Shirataki-san, right on time! We just finished with the preparations.”
I followed him into the store, expecting to be lead to the back again, but instead, he stopped at the ledge in front of us and bent over to fumble with something. Straightening, he lifted a section of the ledge, revealing a large hole. I peered down into it, but aside from a ladder attached to the side, I couldn’t see anything but seemingly unending darkness.
Muttering to myself about how deep it was, I almost missed the slight pressure on my back before there was a sudden flash of light, and I was falling down through the very hole I had been studying.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH-GUH!”
A painful jerk on my chest suddenly spun me over to face the direction I had come from, bringing me to an abrupt stop. Opening my tightly shut eyes, I found myself hanging face-up in midair by a chain, but instead of the murky blackness I hadn’t been able to making anything out of, I was now surrounded on all sides by light blue.
A shout came from above me. “Oy! Daijoubu?”
Glaring up at the tiny square of light with a little dot in the middle of it, I felt my anger rising.
“What the hell do you mean by asking if I’m alright? You just pushed me down a fucking deep hole with no warning whatsoever and expect me to be alright? Are you fucking kidding me?!? I’ll tell you how I am, I’m pissed off! Get your butt down here so I can beat the crap out of you!”
“Well, if you insist!” came the all too cheerful reply before I felt a moment of weightlessness.
Oh shit…
“AHHHHHHHH-Oof!”
“Why hello again!”
Opening my eyes yet again, I shot daggers at the grinning man who had somehow managed to catch me as we both fell through the air. “I’m going to kill you.”
“Ah re, ah re… that’s not a very nice thing to say to the man that saved your life just a couple of days ago.” Gray eyes glinted down at me. “Besides, if you attacked me right now, I would be forced to let go of you in order to defend myself, and since we’re still so high up…”
The amount of daggers I was shooting at him increased. “Don’t you dare!”
The only reply I got was a slight chuckle that vibrated through his chest. Before long, the clicking of his getas touching solid ground interrupted the one-sided glaring contest; we had finally reached the bottom. I started to look around me before shortly realizing that Urahara was still carrying me with one arm.
“Uh… you can let me go now…”
“But you said that I wasn’t allowed to-oof!”
Losing my already long lost patience, I silenced the man with a well-placed elbow to his stomach, effectively making him release me. Finally free of the annoying man who was now cradling his midsection and dramatically sobbing about how he didn’t deserve such abuse, I studied my surroundings. We were in what seemed to be a huge underground cavern with uneven dirt terrain. Well, maybe a step up from a cavern… After all, there were some trees (whose leaves were starting to turn brown) scattered around, and the blue I had glimpsed earlier turned out to be the ceiling and walls that were painted to look like the sky. The place wouldn’t have been terribly impressive if it weren’t for the fact that the whole area was huge and all underground. I turned to ask Urahara about it all, but the question quickly died in my throat when I caught sight of what was lying on the ground next to him.
“I-Is that… ME?!?”
Popping up from his previous fetal position, opened fan placed firmly in front of his face again, the shop owner cast a careless glance at the body on the ground before focusing his eyes back on me.
“Why yes, Shirataki-san, I do believe it is!”
“But I-- my-- you--” I pointed distractedly between me and my body.
“Ah… Shirataki-san? Please don’t forget to breathe…”
I barely heard the amusement in his voice as I continued to mumble to myself and gesticulate somewhat wildly. “I’m here… and there… but here… and HOLY CRAP! WHAT’S GOING ON?!?”
“Take a look at yourself.”
“I AM!”
“No, no, no… not your body… you!”
“Me?” I looked down at myself. “What’s different about-- Is that a chain sticking out of my chest?!?”
“Took her long enough.” Came an obnoxious voice from behind me. It was Jinta.
I scowled at him. “Shut it you, now is not a good time to annoy me.”
“Ooo… so scary!” He made face. “What’s a mere spirit going to be able to do to me?”
“Spi-- wait! I’m a spirit?”
He rolled his eyes. “Duh…”
“As in one of those dead people I see around town?”
Urahara spoke up. “Precisely! Though you’re not dead yet. I merely separated your soul from your body. So long as that, your chain of fate, remains unbroken, you can still return.”
“So, I’m still alive?”
“Actually…”
The sound of something heavy whistling through the air made me turn around quickly, only to catch sight of Tessai swinging a huge axe down onto the chain, neatly severing me from my body.
“You were still alive.”
I gaped at them in shocked silence.
Pulling down his hat to cover eyes that were gleaming with wicked mirth, Urahara smirked at me.
“Welcome to the world of the dead.”
--------------------
Any thoughts?
Through Her Eyes: Table of Contents
Through Her Eyes: Chapter 6 (FF.net version)
Disclaimer: The only character I own so far is Shirataki Rika. I merely borrow and play with the ones you recognize.
Chapter 6: World of the Dead
The man named Urahara Kisuke led us past rows and rows of candy, stopping in front of another paper screen door that slid open to reveal an insanely tall and muscular man.
He bowed. “The tea has been prepared as requested tenchou.”
“Ah… thank you Tessai.”
I was about to enter after Kuchiki when the giant suddenly stepped in front of me, effectively stopping me in my tracks.
"If I may, Shirataki-dono…” and without further warning, lifted the arm that was in the cast to eye level, inspecting it closely, though what he was looking for with the cast in the way was beyond me. Then, he gently took me by the shoulders and spun me around, nodding to himself as I turned in circles, before finally stopping me and stating how happy he was that I looked much better today than I did last night, thoroughly confusing me until I saw his glasses glint in the light.
Urahara waved a fan at me. “Come sit down and have some tea Shirataki-san. Although Tessai did an excellent job healing you with his kidou, that leg of yours still needs some rest before it’ll be back to its original condition.”
Kuchiki set her cup down on the table. “So you were the one who saved her from the hollow last night?”
Snapping the fan shut, he pointed it at her as if he were announcing the winner in a contest. “Correct!”
“Then why didn’t you replace her memories?”
“Because with her reiryoku, the false memories would have faded away in a matter of days, if they even took.”
“But you know that’s against the law!”
“My dear Kuchiki-san,” he smirked at her from under his hat. “If I followed the rules, you and your fellow shinigami would have no place to pick up supplies when on missions in the human world.”
She huffed. “Speaking of supplies, did you get that thing I asked you about last night?”
“Of course! It’s in the back. Jinta, could you go get it for us please?”
The red-head scowled. “Why me? Make Ururu--”
A low growl of “Jinta-dono…” sounding from the giant Tessai sitting next to Urahara, stopped the brat in mid-rant and sent him scurrying out of the room. He was back before long with a big box that he plopped down next to Kuchiki, who promptly opened it to check the contents.
I craned my neck to look inside but couldn’t tell what the contraption was. A ping-pong ball robot thing?
“Er… what is that?”
“It’s something that should help Ichigo improve his aim when it comes to fighting hollows. We’ll see how well he does against it later today.”
“Since you’re such an important customer and are only borrowing it, I won’t charge you anything for its use. Besides…” The fan was flipped open again as gray eyes observed us from underneath the green and white- striped hat. “You didn’t come here today just to help Kuchiki-san pick that up, did you, Shirataki-san?”
I blinked at him over my tea. “No, but…” Setting down my cup, I ran a hand through my bangs, not knowing how to start. My eyes flicked over to Kuchiki for help.
“She wants to become a shinigami. I told her that it was impossible since she’s a human, but she--”
“Ah re, ah re… impossible you say?” A slight chuckle came from behind the fan. “Not true if one has enough potential and reiryoku.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“So there’s a way?”
“But of course! Although it will be dangerous, so the real question is, are you willing to risk your life in order to become a shinigami?”
Kuchiki frowned. “Wait, are you--”
“Possible death in exchange for the ability to protect my family doesn’t seem that threatening after having considered actually dying to keep them safe. My answer is yes.”
The fan closed with a snap as Urahara stood up.
"Very well then, come back in two days time. Your arm should have completely healed by then, and we will have had everything prepared.”
I glanced down at the cast with a raised eyebrow.
“Last time I checked, broken arms didn’t heal within two days.”
“Ah… but I believe that the last time you checked, there were no such things as shinigami and hollows.”
“Tch! Touché…”
“So long as you take your medicine once every hour, all your injuries will be completely healed by the time you come back”
“Medicine? You mean the thing that looks like rat poison?”
A deep rumble that sounded suspiciously like “Why, I never!” came from the giant seated by the door.
“Yes Shirataki-san, that’s why I so kindly left it behind for you, free of charge too!”
I smirked. “Oh, how very generous of you… but do consider using a new label so that it doesn’t make your customers feel like they bought poison instead.” Looping my messenger bag over my shoulder, I picked up the box that Kuchiki had come to pick up. “Anything other instructions?”
“No, I don’t believe so.” And turning his back to us, the green-clad man started to walk out. “Tessai, could you escort our guests out? I need to get started on the preparations. Jinta, Ururu, come with me.”
The walk back from the shop was terribly quiet as Kuchiki seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and glancing up at me occasionally.
Finally fed up with waiting for her to bring up whatever was troubling her, I stopped, propping the box against a nearby fence. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
“This training that Urahara has in mind for you, it’s highly dangerous, and you won’t be able to back out once you’ve started. Even if you don’t die, life’s not going to be as simple as before.” The words tumbled out in a rush as she gazed earnestly at me. “Are you sure that you want to go through with it? Being a shinigami isn’t just about killing the hollows that threaten you and those you care about. You’ll also have to protect souls you’ve never met before, perform soul burials, and chase after any hollow that appears. It’s not going to be easy, especially since you’ll have to lead a double life.”
“I know it isn’t, but it’s the life that lets me stay with those I love.” I sighed and scuffed the road with my sneakers. “It’s not like I’m not scared, because I am. I’m horribly afraid that I’ll fail, that I won’t be able to become a shinigami, and that even if I do become one, I won’t be able to protect people. But I want to do this. I need to do this. It doesn’t matter how tiring or troublesome this may get, or how much training and running around I’ll need to do… whatever it takes to keep my friends and family safe, I’ll do it.”
Kuchiki shook her head and looked into the distance. “You humans, always thinking with your hearts instead of your heads… Why do you guys have to be so emotional? Losing yourself to your emotions, losing your logic, it only leads to your death…”
I studied her. The unfocused eyes, the slightly hunched shoulders, and the arms wrapped loosely around her torso all made me wonder if she was just thinking about ‘us humans’.
“You do know that you’re pretty emotional yourself, right?”
“Kuchiki’s aren’t emotional!” The purple eyes were now fiercely focused on me.
Raising an eyebrow, I gave her the most incredulous look I could summon.
“You become angry when I say you’re emotional, and when Kurosaki insulted your drawing skills. You’re worried about me and, I suspect, Kurosaki as well. Besides, throwing yourself in front of a hollow just to save a human that you barely know ranks pretty high up on the emotional ladder.”
“I was merely fulfilling my duty as a shinigami!”
“If that was the only reason, the best thing to do would have been to attack the hollow when it went in for the kill. If you were really only relying on your logic, you would have seen that letting yourself be grievously harmed would have done no good to either you or Kurosaki. Losing one person is always better than losing two. Using the distraction that Kurosaki provided would have been the perfect time to finish off the hollow. And yet you didn’t.”
“But--”
“Face it, you’re just as emotional as the next person.”
There was complete silence for a couple minutes as she stood there with her hands on her hips, glowering up at me, while I merely stared back at her, silently daring her to contradict what I had just said.
Finally she gave up and turned away from me with a huff. I heard her mumble, “Kuchiki’s shouldn’t be emotional,” as she resumed walking.
“I don’t know who told you that, and I don’t know why they told you that, but being emotional is part of being human. You can’t go through life making judgments based on only logic while, bottling everything else up inside. Eventually, that bottle’s going to shatter.” I shifted my hold on the box we had brought back from Urahara’s Shoten. “Now this contraption is heavy, and it’s yours, so are you going to help me with it or not?”
/-/-/
I spent the next two days dividing up all my free time between my friends and family, with most of it dedicated to Teison. After karate at the dojo with Tatsuki, I would grab an afternoon snack with her and Orihime, then head back home and help Teison with his homework so he would finish faster and I would be able to take him out to the arcade or park. The days usually ended with me reading a book with him on the sofa while mom and dad read their newspaper on either side of us. The night before I was supposed to meet Urahara again, I gave each of them a tight hug, causing Teison to sputter loudly about how he couldn’t breathe, and my parents to give me odd looks as dad ruffled my hair and mom asked if I was alright. I could only smile tightly in response and be thankful that what little precious time I had with them had not been interrupted by any more hollow attacks.
On the agreed upon afternoon, I arrived at the candy shop after saying goodbye to Tatsuki and Orihime at the dojo. Looking at the unassuming storefront with a rapidly thumping heart, I wondered if I was making the right choice. After all, I didn’t need to do this. Kurosaki was already a shinigami, and as Kuchiki said, I could just throw all the hollows I come across onto him. I could refuse to go through with this and just continue on with my life as it was now. Of course, hollows would pop up every now and then, but I was sure that with some effort on my part, I would be able to pretend that they didn’t exist. I mean, walking into that store meant walking towards possible impending death. Sure, I had been pretty adamant about becoming a shinigami, but that was right after I’d been attacked by hollows two days in a row and had just found out about a completely different world interlinked with ours. Now that the initial shock was wearing off, I started to wonder if I hadn’t completely lost my mind when I agreed, no, demanded to do this.
I had just taken a step back when images from the past four days flashed across my mind and stopped me in my tracks.
The terrified looks on the girl and Kurosaki’s face as the hollow bore down on them. The paralyzing terror I had felt at facing those drooling teeth.
The frantic need to protect Teison as we ran back home with another hollow closing in on us. The utter lack of strength I had felt upon coming face to face with the monster, mere golf clubs as my only weapons.
The horror of hearing Teison’s voice and knowing that he had left the safety of the house because I hadn’t been able to fend off the hollow. The worry that infused Teison’s face when he hovered above me, holding back tears as he begged me to let him help fight something he couldn’t even see.
The sight of Teison’s small body flying through the air like a rag doll. The wrenching anguish I had experienced as I crawled towards Teison and begged him to please wake up, dreading the worst when he continued to be oblivious to my desperate pleas.
The white-hot anger I had felt upon seeing the monster’s despicable grin as it loomed above me and Teison’s limp form.
The overwhelming guilt and hopelessness I had been drowning in when it seemed like the hollow was about the finish me off.
Why was I hesitating now? Did I really want to experience those feelings of fright, pain, and powerlessness again? Did I really want to have to stand there uselessly and watch someone else protect my loved ones for me? Would I be able to live with myself if anything happened to Teison, knowing that I could have prevented it if only I hadn’t been too scared to risk my life? Would I be okay with letting other people hunt down the monster while I tried to continue on with life despite the fierce desire for revenge that would be burning inside of me?
The answer was no, no, and no. I didn’t want to have to experience all that again. I didn’t want to see the fear in other people’s faces and not be able to do anything more than throw a cup of coffee at the cause of that fear. I didn’t want to see Teison’s face creased with terrified alarm as he tried to be brave. I didn’t want to feel the helplessness I felt whenever I encountered one of those monsters.
Balling my hands into fists, I glared at the storefront, as if it was the reason for my momentary hesitation. Shifting my weight forward again, I marched towards the shop, determined to survive whatever method Urahara was going to use on me. As I approached, the door slid open to reveal the very man.
“Ah, Shirataki-san, right on time! We just finished with the preparations.”
I followed him into the store, expecting to be lead to the back again, but instead, he stopped at the ledge in front of us and bent over to fumble with something. Straightening, he lifted a section of the ledge, revealing a large hole. I peered down into it, but aside from a ladder attached to the side, I couldn’t see anything but seemingly unending darkness.
Muttering to myself about how deep it was, I almost missed the slight pressure on my back before there was a sudden flash of light, and I was falling down through the very hole I had been studying.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH-GUH!”
A painful jerk on my chest suddenly spun me over to face the direction I had come from, bringing me to an abrupt stop. Opening my tightly shut eyes, I found myself hanging face-up in midair by a chain, but instead of the murky blackness I hadn’t been able to making anything out of, I was now surrounded on all sides by light blue.
A shout came from above me. “Oy! Daijoubu?”
Glaring up at the tiny square of light with a little dot in the middle of it, I felt my anger rising.
“What the hell do you mean by asking if I’m alright? You just pushed me down a fucking deep hole with no warning whatsoever and expect me to be alright? Are you fucking kidding me?!? I’ll tell you how I am, I’m pissed off! Get your butt down here so I can beat the crap out of you!”
“Well, if you insist!” came the all too cheerful reply before I felt a moment of weightlessness.
Oh shit…
“AHHHHHHHH-Oof!”
“Why hello again!”
Opening my eyes yet again, I shot daggers at the grinning man who had somehow managed to catch me as we both fell through the air. “I’m going to kill you.”
“Ah re, ah re… that’s not a very nice thing to say to the man that saved your life just a couple of days ago.” Gray eyes glinted down at me. “Besides, if you attacked me right now, I would be forced to let go of you in order to defend myself, and since we’re still so high up…”
The amount of daggers I was shooting at him increased. “Don’t you dare!”
The only reply I got was a slight chuckle that vibrated through his chest. Before long, the clicking of his getas touching solid ground interrupted the one-sided glaring contest; we had finally reached the bottom. I started to look around me before shortly realizing that Urahara was still carrying me with one arm.
“Uh… you can let me go now…”
“But you said that I wasn’t allowed to-oof!”
Losing my already long lost patience, I silenced the man with a well-placed elbow to his stomach, effectively making him release me. Finally free of the annoying man who was now cradling his midsection and dramatically sobbing about how he didn’t deserve such abuse, I studied my surroundings. We were in what seemed to be a huge underground cavern with uneven dirt terrain. Well, maybe a step up from a cavern… After all, there were some trees (whose leaves were starting to turn brown) scattered around, and the blue I had glimpsed earlier turned out to be the ceiling and walls that were painted to look like the sky. The place wouldn’t have been terribly impressive if it weren’t for the fact that the whole area was huge and all underground. I turned to ask Urahara about it all, but the question quickly died in my throat when I caught sight of what was lying on the ground next to him.
“I-Is that… ME?!?”
Popping up from his previous fetal position, opened fan placed firmly in front of his face again, the shop owner cast a careless glance at the body on the ground before focusing his eyes back on me.
“Why yes, Shirataki-san, I do believe it is!”
“But I-- my-- you--” I pointed distractedly between me and my body.
“Ah… Shirataki-san? Please don’t forget to breathe…”
I barely heard the amusement in his voice as I continued to mumble to myself and gesticulate somewhat wildly. “I’m here… and there… but here… and HOLY CRAP! WHAT’S GOING ON?!?”
“Take a look at yourself.”
“I AM!”
“No, no, no… not your body… you!”
“Me?” I looked down at myself. “What’s different about-- Is that a chain sticking out of my chest?!?”
“Took her long enough.” Came an obnoxious voice from behind me. It was Jinta.
I scowled at him. “Shut it you, now is not a good time to annoy me.”
“Ooo… so scary!” He made face. “What’s a mere spirit going to be able to do to me?”
“Spi-- wait! I’m a spirit?”
He rolled his eyes. “Duh…”
“As in one of those dead people I see around town?”
Urahara spoke up. “Precisely! Though you’re not dead yet. I merely separated your soul from your body. So long as that, your chain of fate, remains unbroken, you can still return.”
“So, I’m still alive?”
“Actually…”
The sound of something heavy whistling through the air made me turn around quickly, only to catch sight of Tessai swinging a huge axe down onto the chain, neatly severing me from my body.
“You were still alive.”
I gaped at them in shocked silence.
Pulling down his hat to cover eyes that were gleaming with wicked mirth, Urahara smirked at me.
“Welcome to the world of the dead.”
--------------------
Any thoughts?