A Pure Sword, A Pure Soul (Bleach)

After answering Mai's question, you dart in between the boy's ghost, and the monster, which has toppled the climbing bars off to the side of the playground.

The Hollow's venomous arm comes down at the boy, and you grab it just above the dripping claw.

"You should pick on someone your own size," you say to the many-legged beast, before you thrust-kick it just below its mask, sending it careening back into the trees. The monster rights itself midair, turning back to face the playground and the ghost of the boy, where it thinks you still are. But you're already behind it, hacking off a pair of its tentacles when it lands.

The Hollow spins, still agile despite losing two of its legs. A pair of its sharp, venomous arms lashes out, coming at you from either side. You catch one arm with your left hand, again just above the venomous stinger. The other arm you catch on the flat of your knife's blade, held against your forearm in a reverse-grip. You sever both limbs, one by crushing and twisting it off barehanded, and the other by simply hacking it off with your knife.

The Hollow roars, in pain and shock, before it darts backwards, seemingly in an attempt to escape.

Again, you're faster than the monster, and you catch up to it before it can gain any real distance. You hack the Hollow's mask clean in half vertically.


Breathing only as hard as you would after a good warm-up, you return to Mai and the ghost of the boy.

The Soul Reaper is gently talking to the boy, though she stumbles over her own words. "S-so my friend is gonna send you to the Soul Society, i-it's a place where you w-wo- where you won't have to worry about being hunted by monsters. And she's go- she'll get rid of that chain for you."

"Excuse me," you butt in gently, "I send him off to the afterlife by cutting the chain?"

"N-NO! NO NO NO! I mean, well- No, ABSOLUTELY not!" Mai looks even more scared than she was while the Hollow was tearing up your house, and her tone borders on angry. You're surprised.

"So, what do I do then?"

"First you calm him down, t-tell him about the Soul Society," she wraps her hand around your right hand, which is still holding the hilt of your blade, and gently lifts the knife. "Then, you tap the end of your sword against his forehead, which purifies the soul."

You nod, "alright, what do I say about Soul Society?"

Mai puts a hand to her chin, thinking for a moment, "I usually just say that it's a nice place where you don't have to worry about Hollows."

"Y-you're gonna send me to the afterlife?" The ghost says, looking at you in awe, after you kneel down to his level.

"Yeah, it's-"

[] "-A really nice place, where you won't be hungry, or hurt, or sad. One day, you'll meet all the people you remember from your life there too."

[] "-A nice place, you don't have to worry about monsters or sickness, and there's plenty of nice people there."

[] "-Just like earth, except you don't have to worry about the stuff you have to worry about here. You'll find someone to take care of you on the other side."

[] "-not a place I've ever been. I couldn't say anything about it, but my friend seems to think it's a nice place."

[] Write-in (subject to QM approval)

Please vote in the plan format.

A/N: Been a busy time of year for me, plus both of these updates are pretty beefy. No real translation notes in this one, but the Hollow Bounty board is getting an update. Unarmed won out in the end as the third vote, the knife is just a cooler aesthetic than basically Zangetsu.

"I…" you try to begin, words failing you as you try to decide between lying to your brother and telling him the absolutely insane story of you turning into a ghost-samurai. "You should ask Dad, his car's still in the driveway and I gotta get to school. You know how early Kanawanatake starts."

"Alright Chiyu," why he doesn't use the nickname you insist on, you'll never know. Well, you will know, because you do know. He's just being an annoying older brother. "Hey, are you feeling okay? You sound-" he thinks a moment, "I dunno, off."

Before he can put a hand on your forehead, though after he lifts up your hair to do it, you dart away. "Sorry So-Bro," you use your own irritating nickname for him, shifting your tone to be more upbeat, "just running late! I'll uh, see you tonight, I hope!"

With that, you're off for the very eventful day.

~~~~~~~~~~

It's not about saving ghosts, you realize even as Mai asks the question. Maybe you realized it even before she asked, maybe you realized it even as you first awakened your Soul Reaper powers. Maybe it's been that way all along. No, it's about fighting the monsters, the rush of it, that it feels good. You don't know why you feel that way, but you do know that you can't tell Mai that that's how you feel.

"These monsters have been making ghosts I talked to disappear for my entire life, and even before that," you say, voice steady and serious. You really aren't much of a liar, but for some reason, you feel like you have to be right now, "now I know they're targeting me and the people around me? I need to do something about that. I don't like to see ghosts bullied, much less eaten."

"O-oh. Good, that's a good answer," Mai seems to take it as truth, and lets you go to fight the Hollow.

~~~~~~~~~~

"-a nice place," from what Mai said, it seems like it is, "somewhere where you don't have to worry about monsters, and you'll never get sick. It's where all the good people go. So yeah, you'll be okay."

The ghost boy smiles and nods, "Thank you nee-san. I'm gonna miss everyone but, I'll see them all again, right?"

You cast a sideways look at Mai, who just shrugs minutely.

"Someday," you answer, planting the pommel of your zanpakuto on his head.

The boy's small form is enveloped in white light, which slowly sinks into the ground, into a circle of blue light glowing under his feet. To your surprise, when the light fades, a black and purple butterfly appears from where it was, taking wing into the sky.

"What uh…" your earlier lie and desire to go back to school completely obliterated thanks to the strange display, "what just happened? What was the butterfly?? Why did he go down???"

"Konso, soul burial, it's what Soul Reapers use to purify Earth-Bound Souls and send them to Soul Society. Y- the Soul, he- well, they don't go down per se." She stumbles over the next part harder than you've seen her stumble over anything yet. When she finally calms her breathing down, she's able to get it out, "That's the s-s-s- the konpaku, the soul's physical form breaking down as its purified to be reformed in S-Seire-" she quite literally bites her tongue at that point, "Soul Society! Get reformed in Soul Society, n-n-no-not the other uh, yeah. The other part of Soul Society," the Soul Reaper flails her hands in front of her face, "not THAT part, that's not Soul Society. So, like, say, 'down' isn't really down. Um, Hell it is down, I guess. C-c-cosmologically speaking that is. But Sou- Souls of the Living um, d-dead ones. Those? Um, Earth-Bound Souls, Hell is- it's not. I-it, well I h-hear, people say. Other Soul Reapers! That when you see a Soul go to Hell it's really- it's really… I don't know, it's-it's insane, different. A sp-sp-spes-spectacle."

"What about the butterfly?" You ask again, awareness at having missed an entire period creeping in.

"That's a hell butterfly, I-I thought they c-came from the World of the Living? M-my Lieutenant told me that…" She seems incredibly disappointed in herself for not catching what you assume is a lie. "Y-y-you haven't- you've never seen one?"

"Um, no." You answer conclusively.

"Oh…"

With that… revelation? Why do you feel like Mai learned something deeper than you did? Even though she told you about Hell being a real place that opens in some spectacular fashion and oh wow you hope that you don't get to see that. Or maybe you do, just to see what's so incredible about it.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Dude! You were gone for like an hour, how lost did Koukin-sensei get?" Ryo doesn't even try to be quiet. After you get back.

"Shut up," you hiss back in an attempt to shut him up. "It wasn't even that long."

"Almost," the big jerk doesn't back down. Even Mio will back down if you use a tone that harsh, but you're certain Ryota would verbally spar with you if you had your knife to his throat. "It was like forty-five-"

Thankfully, Ms. Rokougi bounces an eraser off of both of your foreheads, ending the would-be argument.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shortly after that episode, class ends.

Conflicted over your long and completely ludicrous day, you avoid your friends and hurry home right after your club activities finish. You don't even stay to help clean up, which is completely unlike you. The club president says as much after you're back in your street clothes, though you use the excuse of the 'truck crash' to swiftly return home.

When you get home, both of the twins are there, yet Soichiro is noticeably absent. You know he isn't involved in any club activities, so he should be getting home slightly before you are even if you don't stay after for your club.

It's kind of disappointing, seeing him not being there, what with the house still being banged up and all, but then again, you aren't really sure what your father told him. Either way, it's an older brother's job to step in and take care of the family at times like this! At least, you think it is. Your dad has really weird standards, so it's not like you can say it with any certainty. And, to be fair, it's not like you're the model big sister, you've even been told sometimes that it seems like you're more focused on yourself. Either way, whatever, you're here now, and that's what matters, right?

Actually, it's not like your older brother being here would matter much. Neither you nor he really got into those battle royale games, and that's what your father is entertaining both of your younger siblings with, yes, even Natsu, who you know feels more comfortable working a stove than a video game controller.

"Hey all," you greet weakly, as you hit the stairs. "Everything's good?" It's fishing for a response, but you're not sure what else to say.

"Great!" Dad responds with signature zeal, "talked to the adjuster on my way home from work-"

"Daddy! You can't be talking on the phone while you're driving," Natsu admonishes your father, while you see Tousuke taking items from in front of them in the game while both are distracted.

"It's fine dear, it's the eye of the tiger! I'll teach you about it someday, I know you won't misuse it like your elder brother or sister have!" Dad grins down at your sister, and you just have to roll your eyes.

"Daddy! No matter what sort of eye you have, distracted driving is dangerous! I would think you'd be more cautious after what happened last night," your sister complains, turning back to the distraction of the game. Maybe dinner will be takeout tonight, that would be different.

Dad chuckles at that, "Either way, it was a total windfall. Really not sure how that worked out, guess they caught the guy."

"That's good," you allow. "How long should it take?"

Dad shrugs, "I dunno, a week maybe. They were pretty confident it'd be a quick job."

"Wow, that is fast…"

"Yeah. But how should I know, it's carpentry, not brain surgery. So I'm not the expert," Dad quips, and for some reason it's Tousuke who gives him the pity-laugh and not Natsu.

"I suppose…" Your hand finds the railing, and you start to ascend. "Well, um, call me for dinner, whenever you're ready."

"I will, Shu-nee," Natsu flashes a thumbs up before she disappears from view.

It's weird, seeing them all together, playing some kiddy game that it's really only your little brother's thing. But they seem to be enjoying themselves, and it's taking everyone's mind off of yesterday. Not that they actually remember yesterday, maybe just as a nightmare, maybe not at all.

~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, as in, a lot later, a tapping on your window distracts you from the music playing in your earbuds as well as the contemplation still playing in your head. Popping the headphones out of your ears, and slurping up the last takeout noodle dangling from your lips, you look over at the window, knowing exactly what you're going to see.

To the polar opposite of any kind of surprise, it is in fact, Mai Koukin. Actually, you are somewhat surprised. She isn't standing in your already-opened window, or somehow hovering with Soul Reaper magic, rather, she's barely balancing on your windowsill, fingers of one hand pressed against the top of the frame.

"What the-!" You scramble up, opening your window and getting her in while making as little noise as possible. "What do you think people would say if they saw someone- my teacher -standing outside my window?"

The Soul Reaper catches her breath, eyes wide for a moment, before she calms down. "Wow, that was a lot tougher than I expected…" She looks around your room, seemingly not impressed, and answers you. "I-I suppose it wouldn't be untoward, r-right? You make it sound b-bad, but we're both ladies, and your father is an apothecary, no?"

"He's uh- yeah, he's a doctor, yeah that's right," you're starting to doubt this Soul Society place is that great, it must be pretty anachronistic, if Mai's social skills and expectations are so skewed. "Why are you here?" You have to monitor your tone, hyper-aware of not only your creeping father, but also of your overly-concerned sister.

"I'm going to train you tonight," she declares emphatically, before cutting off your obvious follow-up question. "Don't worry, you won't be tired tomorrow if you leave your body asleep here. Let's go."

"Won't you be tired?" You follow up the preempted follow-up.

Mai shakes her head, "I don't think that's how it works."

With that, you're out of your body and carrying the embodied Soul Reaper across town, in the direction of the three radio masts which blink languidly in the distance.

The Soul Reaper directs you to the edge of town, really at the edge of the suburbs, to a park that straddles the road leading into the more rural areas far out from the bigger city.

"We have to go out this far?" You say, your turn to breathe heavily.

Mai dusts herself off, "It will attract less attention. There are a lot of strong souls around, and flaring up your spiritual pressure could get their attention or worse, attract Hollows." She then claps her hands, somehow exuding confidence. "So, what do you want to work on?"

Pick Two:

[] Actually using your sword. You have it, and you can kind of use it, but the katas you're familiar with aren't quite right for fighting monsters, also you're not sure the balance is correct for swordfighting. But that might just be you. (Zanjutsu: Novice > Student)

[] Fighting unarmed is your bread and butter, so why fix what isn't broken? You are a black belt, after all. Besides, your sword feels more like an extension of you than any practice or tournament blade you've ever used. (Unarmed Combat: Student > Competent)

[] Moving fast is both really really fun and super useful. So far the Hollows have been pretty slow, even if they have all been pretty big, and you can tell that's going to be the case for most of them. It will also mean you can get back to class quicker. (Movement Arts: Student > Competent)

[] This power you can feel inside and all around you, that Mai called Spiritual Pressure. You know that she was able to do some kind of magic using hers, and you think that would be useful to know. Even if she doesn't have the time to get you started on the magic that will actually work on Hollows right now, learning to leverage your Spiritual Pressure will be useful no matter what. (Reiryoku Manipulation: Student > Competent)

[] It seems that you can make yourself stronger by… well, you're not really sure exactly how you can do it, just that you can do it. It's not the same as enhancing your movement speed, and it isn't the same sensation Mai's spell left on you, but it does seem useful fighting the monsters. (Physical Enhancement: Novice > Student)

~~~~~~~~~~

Training last night was a mistake.

As it turns out, your body isn't merely asleep when you leave it, it's catatonic. That means it doesn't get any of the restorative effects of sleep, and that it just lays there limp on your bed for six-ish hours. And what's even worse than feeling like you just got beaten by sticks all day, is the fact that your mind isn't rested at all. So you feel not only the most profound physical malaise ever and the feeling like your body is full of lead, but you're also so sluggish that you can't even keep up with your friends' routine, much less keep pace with it.

Maybe it would be a small consolation that Mai seemed to be feeling it just as bad as you were (her physical body must have gotten zero sleep, catatonic or otherwise), if you weren't paranoid about her Hollow-phone ringing and sending you on a mission.

Well, the noise of that will wake you both up, so you can just rest your head behind your textbook during history…

~~~~~~~~~~

There it was again. That chiming noise again, louder than it had been the day before. Yet it seemed like the Teacher's Assistant, Koukin-sensei, was completely unaware of it. Her head was down at her desk, wait, was she sleeping?

Eidou Iwaba, 2C's Class Rep and top-ranked student in Second Year at Kanawanatake, glanced back at his hours-younger sister, Tenko, out of the corner of his eye. From his peripheral, he could see Makiyou in a similar state as the substitute. Helpfully, Tenko shrugged, though she did mouth 'might as well,' so that was something.

Steeling himself, Eidou waited for Rokougi-sensei's gaze to wander to another corner of the room before he acted. Brazenly, unimaginably, the Class Rep flicked a balled-up piece of paper at the back of the TA's hand supporting her head.

Koukin-sensei jerked up, heard the spiritual noise, and let out a sharp gasp.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Yes, Ms. Koukin?" Rokougi-sensei's harsh tone shook you awake, and the sound of Mai's spirit phone made you straighten up completely.

"I uh- the pap-paperwork, Ms. Rokougi!" She declared, slamming a sheaf of papers into the desk and shooting up so fast her chair almost fell, "I'll be needingastudent ohMakiyou'lldolet'sgogo GO!"

With that, you run out of the classroom behind the Soul Reaper, and find your body stashed behind the air conditioning unit on the roof once more.

"It's s-s- i- I er," Mai stammers off, staring at the phone and blanching.

"Focus, I know it's tough but," you make a 'get on with it' motion with your hand.

"Six whole ri straight north," she manages, and hops on your back once more.

~~~~~~~~~~

It takes a lot longer to get to this Hollow's location, the back lot of some kind of shipping center, practically abandoned at midday.

"Oh- oh no," Mai dejectedly says as she observes the situation on the ground.

You step out in front of the depowered Soul Reaper, putting yourself between her and the Hollow. Said Hollow is huge, easily the biggest one you've seen. It's body is pretty uniformly navy blue, though its face is covered by a mask in the shape of a sperm whale's head, and it has a row of bone plates running down the length of its spine, to a tail tipped by an anchor-shaped weapon. It has two column-shaped back legs, and a pair of similarly tubular arms eached tipped by a mitten-shaped hand.

The monster's appearance isn't what concerns you though. No, that would be the blood covering its exposed teeth, and the few links of a chain dangling from its mouth. Looks like you were too late.

"We're t-too- Chiyu, don't-"

Mai's plea falls on deaf ears as you rush the Hollow, driving your knife deep into its neck. Or at least, that's the intention. Instead of your blade neatly cleaving its head off, or punching through its neck, the Hollow moves faster than you would have thought possible. Your blade instead bites deep into its shoulder, but not deep enough to cause any real damage. The Hollow lets out an angered roar, throwing you back with a swing of its arm.

You fall back beside Mai, fatigue setting in harder as the initial adrenalin rush burns off, and the smaller amount of the steady stream comes in.

"Ch-Chi-" Mai clears her throat, holding up her phone again so she can read off of it. "You shouldn't fight this one, w-we have to let it go th-then it can- I'll re- cal- report that it was L-Land-Landlub-b-ber, and that I co-couldn't take it down, o-o-okay?"

"What's so special about this one compared to the other ones?" You eye the Hollow as it circles you and Mai, keeping a wide berth.

"Th-this is L-Landlubber, i-it's killed t-ten S-Soul R-r-reapers," she manages to choke out.

"Oh-" you're cut off, but not by Mai.

"So you've heard of me," comes a deep, gravelly, monstrous voice from the Hollow.

"They can talk?!" You blurt out, incredulous. "I-" your eyes are as wide as saucers, "HUH?" You gesture wildly at Mai, as if expecting an answer.

She just shrugs. "Seems like something you would know."

"WHY?" You manage to get over the shock enough to lower your voice, "Why would I know that?"

"W-well it's like this, I mean- every Soul Reaper knows they can, c-c-an't- I mean you can see spirits so I figured?" Mai seems more nonplussed than usual.

"Okay, well-" You raise your blade, facing the Hollow again. "We'll talk about this after I get some sleep."

"Don't be so cocky, little Soul Reaper!" Instead of charging you, like you expected, the Hollow lowers its head, exposing a blowhole-like opening, and shoots a beam of concentrated crimson spiritual pressure straight at the center of your chest.

It's only your reflexes that save you from taking the full force of the attack. You manage to get the flat of your knife between the attack and your body before it hits you, but that just means the force of the strike carries you off your feet and skidding away.

As you stand up, you see the Hollow bear down on Mai, and you maneuver yourself in between them. The Hollow, despite its earlier display of reflexes, doesn't have the fastest movement speed. Your own is more than enough to intercept it, and you even manage to catch it in the midst of reaching out to grab your fake-school teacher and real-Soul Reaper instructor. The big, meaty piece of the Hollow's hand that makes up the 'fingers' portion of the mitten finds itself on the ground, black blood leaking from the wound.

The Hollow roars in pain, cursing as it backs off.

It lowers its head again, but this time thanks to the closer distance, it has less time to charge up its attack, so you can bat it aside instead of blocking it. Still, the impact makes the bones in your arms rattle, and you're barely prepared to block its sweeping tail.

The impact from the fire hydrant-sized anchor is barely caught on your blade, which means all of the force and momentum is transferred into your body, actually knocking you off your feet. The Hollow tries to pounce on you, but you roll to the side. And when you get up, it's gone. A wide hole in the pavement where it landed.

"I guess that's what it has," you say, moving to a more defensive position next to Mai. "And the energy thing."

"N-nnn-nobody under the ran-rank of Fourteenth Seat should even fight this th-thing!" Mai once again tries to get you to run.

"And what rank are you?" You counter, starting to feel rumbling under your feet.

"F-fi-fi-"

The Hollow bursts out of the ground, and you move away, grabbing Mai in your arms and depositing her behind a trailer.

"Fifth, fifteenth, or fiftieth?" You ask, wanting to get the answer out more than anything else.

She holds up one finger, indicating fifth. "A-and th-they only go up to twen- to twenty," she glances out at the lot, and points, indicating the Hollow is moving to your side.

"Higher numbers are weaker?"

"Yeah."

"Good to know," you nod, knowing you have the strength of the (presumably) fifth (but maybe the seventh? You don't know, a Lieutenant sounds like the #2 guy, but that might outrank First Seat?) strongest person in one of these 'divisions'. It makes this Hollow not seem like that big a deal.

You dart out from behind the trailer, dodging an energy blast which impacts the side of it, leaving a sizable dent but only a small puncture. Once more, you get alongside the Hollow, and once more it twists its body enough that your reverse-grip strike only catches it on the side. Still, this strike is a lot more effective than your initial attack. Instead of a shallow hit in a bony area, this one rakes along the Hollow's side, cutting a black cash deep into its flesh.

Once more, it roars in pain and rage, and bats at you with its tail. Your more stable grip on your knife allows you to effectively block the tail this time, and you leave it with a pair of deep lacerations at its base.

When the Hollow turns to face you again, there's more than rage and hunger in the glowing yellow eyes set in its mask. There's fear.

Something about seeing such a proud, monstrous hunter fearing you puts a grin on your face, and you go after it with renewed vigor.

Once again, the Hollow lowers its head, sending a blast of energy at you, and again, you dodge it completely. It's a good distraction though, as the Hollow attempts to burrow underground, likely to escape this time. You manage to grab it by its strange tail accessory, but that just rips off thanks to the damage you already did to it.

The Hollow screams in sheer pain as its tail tears away, remaining in your arms. Naturally, you drop the flailing appendage, but don't follow the Hollow underground, instead opting to track it with your (limited) spiritual sense.

It turns out not to be necessary, as a bolt of lightning descends from the sky and pierces the asphalt of the lot, snuffing out the Hollow's spiritual pressure.

"Well well well, that was certainly quite the show," the quip comes from a nondescript bespectacled woman, her bobbed black hair bouncing as she lands on the pavement between you and the smoking hole. Her eyes are concealed behind the glare of a pair of round glasses, and she's dressed in a slate gray button-down and matching baggy pants, all under a long blue coat. She cut a strange figure on a warm spring afternoon. "It's nice to finally make your acquaintance, Chiyu-kun." She sticks a hand out, as if to shake yours.

"Um, who exactly are you?" You back off half a step, eyeing the new arrival warily.

"Ah, my bad, my bad," with a flick of her wrist, a business card appears in her hand. "I'm Kori Kagami, sole owner and proprietor of the Mirror Mirror Specialty Shop. As I said, pleased to meet you."

"Right…" you trail off, more questions than you can count popping into your head. "And that has what to do with me?"

"Oh, everything, I assure you," the store owner, Kagami, nods, business card disappearing with another flick. "As I'm also the chief supplier of Soul Reapers on their missions in these Zones! Well, the ones under equipped or otherwise dissatisfied with what they've been given. I'm also always happy to lend a hand to a Soul Reaper in need."

Mai has finally arrived where you and this Kori Kagami character are. Based on her expression, it seems like they know each other.

"Now, let's get out of here before Koukin-san and I get booked for being in the middle of all this property damage. That Hollow did like making holes in the ground after all," she passes a business card to you, which you can't help but catch. It's a pretty neat card, all things considered, with sharp text and a holographic logo. "I think it would be best if we all head to the shop now, I'll figure something out to get you two out of Kanawanatake."

[] Okay… if that's what this mysterious stranger who Mai seems to know wants. She seems like she'll be helpful at least. And it's better than explaining… whatever your initial excuse for getting out of class was.

[] No no, absolutely not. You'll come to the shop after school, you can make your own excuses and you'd rather just have a normal rest of your day. Probably with a nap, you'll be by as soon as possible, Mai in tow.

[] Not happening, not until tomorrow at least. You want a good night's sleep, without any interruptions. You'll be by when it's convenient, you're the one this Kagami character approached, not the other way around.

[] You… don't think so. Not until something changes your mind anyway. The offer was nice, and the thought of a Soul Reaper supplier is interesting, but you don't have a need for any of that stuff yet. At least it doesn't seem like you do.

A/N: I'm so so sorry for taking so long with this, as you know things were quite hectic, but we should be back on a more regular schedule going forward. Thanks for all your patience, and better times are ahead!