That Nostalgic Summer Rain (Bleach/Kara no Kyoukai)

[X] "-Once my wound heals."

The wound came to heal, in time. Asagami didn't notice the exact moment her wound had healed. Supposedly, if Fujino could feel the pain the healing was supposed to involve, it would be easier to determine when it was done, but as insensitive as she was, Fujino couldn't rely on that.

Over time, though, Fujino kept checking the wound. Once she couldn't feel blood around where the cut was, and once she felt the cloth over her stomach recovered, Fujino could gather that the process was at least almost done.

Still, it wouldn't do to assume it was done before it truly was. She didn't want to cause any problems, and who knows what could happen if she started moving around early?

So to be sure, Fujino flickered her ESP on briefly, bracing herself for the pain just in case. Nothing came, and Fujino waited for a moment to be sure that she really wasn't feeling any pain. Turning her ESP back off again, Fujino pushed against the wall to stand up again.

"It seems that the wound has healed, Tatsuki." Fujino mentioned.

"It's all good?" Tatsuki asked. "Doesn't hurt?"

"I don't feel anything from the wound." Fujino responded. "Shall we go, then?"

"Off to the graveyard?" Tatsuki asked.

Fujino shook her head. "Tsukabishi had said I should have something to eat once the wound healed. I should listen to his advice before we deal with all the last fairy."

"Oh, yeah, right." Tatsuki replied. "I've got some money on me, and there should be a bus route between here and the graveyard. Or, well, near enough, and there's a good fast food place near there."

"Perhaps I should eat something more nutritional?" Fujino asked. "If it is supposed to help me with the aftereffects of the healing, then perhaps it would be better to eat something healthier."

"They have salad." Tatsuki shrugged. "And besides, the main thing was exhaustion, right? I'll just get you an energy drink."

"Absolutely not."

Tatsuki laughed lightly.

"You are making fun of me." Asagami realised.

"It's just too easy." Tatsuki replies, still chuckling to herself.

Asagami sighed. "I am leaving."

"Don't forget your umbrella." Tatsuki noted. "The rain's let off a bit, but it's still raining a bit, and it could start up again."

"I suppose I need my cane as well." Fujino replied. "It should be somewhere around here."

She paused.

Oh, she had lost track of where it was during that whole incident, hadn't she? And she didn't really want to use her ESP for something as minor as this, either.

"Tatsuki, could you get my cane and umbrella, please?"

"Sure, gimme a sec." The girl replied, moving around the building. It took her some time to fetch both umbrella and cane, but she had handed both to Asagami before long.

"Thank you, Tatsuki." Fujino said.

"No problem." Tatsuki replied.

Making her way towards the door, Fujino tried to think some more about what Misaya had said about her last fairy.

"Tatsuki." Fujino mentioned, as she felt the door at the end of her cane. "Didn't Misaya say that her fairy in the graveyard was luring in stronger Hollows?"

Tatsuki stopped moving behind Fujino, and seemed to take a moment to think.

"...She did, yeah." Tatsuki replied. "So you're thinking there might be a lot of Hollows at the graveyard?"

"Possibly." Fujino replied. "Assuming the Hollows are being lured to Misaya's fairy specifically, they should be seeking it out, so they should be distracted from anyone else nearby. But using my psychic power attracts Hollows."

"...So you're thinking that the graveyard might be really dangerous once you use your power." Tatsuki summarised."

"Essentially." Fujino continued. "In which case, it would be important to determine where Misaya's fairy is first. I could eliminate it at a distance, but if a Hollow attacks while I am distracted, I don't think I would be able to stop it before it hits me."

"So what's the plan, then?" Tatsuki asked. "Do I look for the fairy first and tell you when I've found it?"

"I suspect I will need to borrow your eyes, Tatsuki." Fujino confirmed. "It should be enough if we go far enough into the graveyard to find where the Hollows are gathering. Once we do that, we can simply go away from that end of the graveyard, and I can kill Misaya's fairy, and whatever Hollow she has it controlling at the time."

"Then we run, right?"

"Yes." Fujino continued. "Hopefully, the Hollows won't be able to follow us once I stop using my ESP, but if you see any of them following us, we might just have to kill them all instead."

Fujino hummed in thought before she gave a final, conclusory statement. "The worst case scenario, as far as I can determine, would be if we are attacked before finding the fairy. In that case, I would need to use my ESP in order to defend us, and then hopefully deal with any more that are coming. You should run, in that case."

"No way." Tatsuki replied. "I managed to throw that Hollow here around a bit earlier. I should be able to hold off Hollows long enough for you to take care of them."

"That's too dangerous." Fujino replied. "You could be hurt."

"And so could you." Tatsuki pointed out. "Besides, I gotta know. That thing with Ouji's Hollow earlier, I'm not entirely sure what happened. I just kinda acted on instinct and moved faster than I knew I could. Tsukabishi had said that the pills I was taking to not get my memories eaten were gonna reinforce my body to let me fight Hollows at some point, so is it happening already, or was that just adrenaline or something?"

"This might not be the best situation to test if you can defend yourself against a Hollow." Fujino countered.

"Then we just need to be more subtle." Tatsuki sounded somewhat dismissive as she talked, in a tone of voice that Fujino would usually picture someone using while shrugging. "But here, how about we make a deal? If a Hollow does attack us before we find Ouji's fairy, you kill it, then we run and wait a bit. I'll carry you or something."

Asagami took a moment to think about it.

"As long as you promise to be safe." Fujino decided ."In that case, I can accept that deal."

"Alright." Tatsuki said cheerfully. "Let's get going then."


It had taken a while to get there, but once they had eaten lunch, the two girls made their way to the graveyard.

As they approached the gated away plot of land where the dead were buried, Fujino felt a creeping chill crawl down her spine. She didn't know what it was exactly, but it felt as if, the closer she came to the graveyard, the worse the feeling got.

Why was with the sudden sense of foreboding?

"Fujino? Is there something wrong?" Tatsuki asked.

It took Asagami a moment to realise that she had stopped moving.

"Sorry, Tatsuki." Fujino sighed. "I just have a bad feeling."

"...Should we be worried, then?" Tatsuki asked. "I mean, you're the psychic."

"I'm not currently using my ESP." Asagami explained. "And my power is clairvoyance and telekinesis, not foresight."

"If you say so." Tatsuki replied. "I don't see any Hollows from here, but it's a big place. Uh, just so you know, there's a bit of a walk between the entrance and where the graves are, and there's a bunch of trees around the path, so not seeing anything here doesn't mean yet, I guess."

"I understand." Fujino accepted the answer. "Still, this should be the location where Hollows gather. Perhaps that sense of foreboding was related to that and if that is the case, then we should start being careful moving on from here."

"Yeah, alright." Tatsuki's footsteps starting moving again as she spoke. "I'll let you know if I see anything."

Scanning the ground in front of her with her cane to ensure the path before her was clear, Asagami continued forward, ignoring the way the air seemed to stagnate as she moved deeper into the graveyard.

The soft rain around Asagami intensified slightly as she walked, but not enough to overpower the sound of Tatsuki's footsteps. The raindrops bouncing from her umbrella were soothing, a nice counterweight to the lifeless atmosphere that was permeating more as she walked further into the location.

"Wait, stop." Tatsuki's voice suddenly became very quiet, and it was hard to hear, but the alarm in her voice was enough for Fujino to listen to her instinctively. Tatsuki's footsteps moved backwards, closer to Asagami.

"Hollow." Tatsuki explained in a whisper. "Not looking our way, doesn't look like it has a fairy on it anywhere."

"So it should be heading towards the one we're looking for." Fujino reasoned. "We should follow it."

"Yeah." Tatsuki accepted. "But give it a second. It was kinda close, so let it get ahead a bit before we try to track it."

"We need to be careful." Fujino agreed.

A moment passed, before Tatsuki let out a relieved sigh. Speaking louder than she had a moment before, she spoke again. "I think that's far enough. Let's go."

She paused for a moment.

"It was going through the trees." Tatsuki pointed out. "It might be hard for you to get through if you try to avoid everything with your cane. Here, take my hand, I'll guide you."

"Thank you, Tatsuki." Fujino accepted, briefly tucking her cane under the arm holding her umbrella before stretching her hand outwards. A warm hand took hers, and Fujino nodded as she secured her grip. The rain fell on the outstretched limb lightly, but it was a pleasant feeling altogether.

Tatsuki's arm tugged at Fujino's, and the blind girl made sure to tread carefully, as she followed her friends guidance.

"Careful there, Fujino." Tatsuki said, after a moment. "Tree root sticking out. Don't want to trip there."

Tatsuki stopped moving ahead of Asagami, as the girl felt around with her foot to find the root. Once Fujino had stepped over it, Tatsuki moved once again.

"Thank you, Tatsuki." Fujino commented.

"You don't need to thank me f-"

Tatsuki stopped talking very suddenly, and her grip on Fujino's hand tightened. Fujino stopped moving herself right away, and waited for Tatsuki to confirm if they were in danger, or if it had passed.

"...Sorry." Tatsuki whispered, after a moment. "Hollow. As I was saying, you don't need to thank me for basic things like telling you where to walk."

"If you insist." Fujino whispered back, as Tatsuki's hand started pulling her forward again. "What happened with the Hollow?"

"It had stopped moving for a moment." Tatsuki explained. "Didn't notice for a bit, so I was worried it had heard me talking to you."

"Is it still within sight?" Fujino asked.

"No." Tatsuki answered. "But I saw which way it was heading. It had just stopped for a bit there."

"And there isn't any other Hollows around, is there?"

Tatsuki stopped again suddenly. "Coast looks clea-"

She cuts herself suddenly as she grabs Fujino's other arm, and pushed. The sudden force swept Fujino off her feet, and her body hit a tree a moment later. She felt no pain from the collision, but the surprise was enough to disorientate Asagami, and she didn't realise Arisawa's reasoning until her verbal warning came.

"Hollow!" She shouted, as the sound of something rushing through the air came closer. It was obvious, in hindsight. Fujino should have realised it the instant Tatsuki started moving her.

Activating her ESP, Fujino didn't waste time to observe the Hollow closely enough to determine its exact attributes. Instead, once she identified it, charging through the space Fujino had stood a moment before, she focused her vision.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend."

The Hollow's torso shears in two as it approaches Tatsuki, who had moved to stand her ground against it. Unlike last time, however, the Hollow's body did not fall on Tatsuki. Fujino had torn it apart with too much force, and its legs collapsed on the spot, while it's upper body shot upwards, high enough that Tatsuki was able to duck under it.

The Hollow died, and Fujino took a moment to catch her breath.

"Sorry." Tatsuki spoke first, as she watched the Hollow's body fade away. "I saw it coming and my first instinct was to move."

"It's fine, Arisawa." Fujino replied, taking a moment to savour the lingering pain in her back, where she had hit the tree. It had an odd feeling to it, unlike most other things Fujino had felt in what little time she could feel. The texture of the bark was a new one for Fujino.

And on top of that, it was raining. The rain was intensifying, and Fujino was starting to feel her clothes grow damp as she rested against the tree trunk.

"Fujino?" Tatsuki asked, after a moment. "Are you okay?"

"Oh." Fujino replied, snapping back to the present moment. "My apologies, Tatsuki. I had spaced out."

Oh, right, Fujino realised. Her ESP was active. There should be Hollows around that could sense it.

This was bad.

"Tatsuki, keep an eye out." Fujino advised her. "There could be more Hollows coming."

"Wh- Oh, shit, right." Tatsuki interrupted her own question. "Your power."

"I know which way that Hollow was heading." Fujino explained. "So I'll see if I can kill it now. If a Hollow comes too close, let me know so I can deal with it."

"Got it, got it. "Tatsuki replied, the concern heavy in her voice.

The rain was getting heavier, Fujino noted briefly, as she tore her focus away from Asagami and shifted her sight. Past the trees, there were graves, and just past where the first graves were, Fujino saw the first of the broken tombstones.

The first Hollow Fujino saw was pushing itself off the ground amongst the remnants of one of those shattered gravestones, before charging further into the distance. Following it with her sight, Fujino took a moment to realise what she was looking at.

There was easily a dozen Hollows gathered, in various states of harm, in various different shapes and sizes. One flew above the others with batlike wings, another lurked low to the ground like a lizard, and a third, frog-like Hollow leapt around the gathering Their focus was not united, Fujino observed, as the frog-like Hollow's tongue surged towards the Hollow bat, and threw it into the ground. It was chaotic, it was bestial, and as the bat ripped off the frog's tongue and began to devour it, Fujino couldn't believe that these creatures had once been human souls.

And in the centre, where all of the Hollows were gathered, was one that resembled the ones Misaya had controlled. Where the others were animalistic, bestial, and rampaged with a primal instinct, the one that stood in the centre was featureless and plain, even it's mask paved into a faceless expression of its simple nature. If the other Hollows were too wild for Fujino to believe them human, then this one was too streamlined, too unnatural in its design, to be the soul of any living thing.

But she had grown distracted.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend."

The Hollow's head spun. It did not react, and it felt more like undoing a screw than tearing apart a sentient being. Before long, the head was torn asunder, and the closest Hollow- A turtle with a screaming mask in the centre of its shell- Suddenly shot forward, it's head extending to bite into the featureless Hollow's chest.

It's fangs descended, and the characterless Hollow's fists closed around the turtle's neck, squeezing it until it detached from the rest of the Hollow.

Fujino just starred, for an instant. The Headless Hollow wasn't dead?

No, more than that. As Fujino observed it, she watched as a second head began to form. As it did so, its arm extended, stabbing into the turtles skull, and as Fujino watched, she observed as the head of the turtle Hollow slowly lost its form, briefly resembling the one of its attacker, before fading into the fairy-controlled Hollow's arm as the Hollow in question finished regenerating its head.

It had healed. A new mask had formed on its face, and it continued to devour the turtle, as the other Hollows tried to take the chance to pounce on either target. The bat Hollow ripped off the turtle's leg before taking to the skies, and the frog attempted to jump on the faceless Hollow back. Misaya's Hollow moved its arms backwards, at an angle that would have been impossible for a human being, and its shoulders crushed the frog on its back.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend."

The Hollow's entire upper torso tore apart this time, shearing in two as Fujino put more force into her telekinesis. A Hollow shaped as a pig darted forward, biting into the legs left behind, but before Fujino could even think of relaxing, the frog Hollow dissolved into the sleek arms. Before it had even hit the ground, Misaya's Hollow had regenerated once again.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend."

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend!"

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend!"

"What's going on?" Tatsuki asked suddenly. "Fujino, what's the problem?"

"It's…" Fujino took a moment to wrestle with the frustration boiling within her, to no avail. "It's not dying!"

"What?"

"It just keeps healing." Fujino explained. "I can't see Misaya's fairy, but the Hollow keeps healing!"

At the gathering of damned souls, Fujino saw the lizard-like Hollow turn its head in her direction, and took the moment to deal with it.

Repeat the phrase enough, and it becomes a curse.

"Bend!"

The lizard, at least, died like it was supposed to. But now, everything was looking Fujino's way. Even Misaya's Hollow had began to stalk towards her.

"They're coming." Fujino mind raced. Perhaps it was the ESP talking, but she really wanted to kill the weaker Hollows right now. It wouldn't be hard. The lizard had died instantly, and it wasn't healing. But Misaya's Hollow was approaching, and if she started killing, it could reach her before she had the chance to run or kill it.

The plan was, if this happened, to turn off her psychic power and run. But Fujino had just seen her target devouring other Hollows, and Misaya had said it was gathering power. Absorbing the frog had let the Hollow regenerate a lower body almost immediately. If Fujino left it to devour the rest, would it be able to heal even faster? Should she try to kill its food, so she could make it as easy to kill as possible?

[X] She couldn't afford to let it get stronger. She had to stand her ground.
[X] That was the ESP talking. Follow the plan. Get some distance first.