Well, actually, you had a few questions, but the first was most pressing. You cross your arms, staring at Rukia intently.
"So… what would I do with half of your ghost money again?" You ask. Rukia opens her mouth to answer, but quickly closes it, thinking.
"There's an exchange rate." She finally explains. "It's pretty much a rip off, admittedly. Urahara-san sells food and items of all sorts for the prospective Shinigami, though, so it's not like there's a shortage of things to buy. It's just a bit useless in your normal everyday life."
"Right, and next question. Who is this Urahara?" You ask pointedly. Rukia flushes a little.
"Right, um…" She didn't sound too sure of how to explain it. "He is a shopkeeper who sells gear for Shinigami to use. Mostly stuff for our missions or for long term stays in the human world. He's eccentric, but he's not too difficult to get along with. You'll understand when you meet him."
"Huh…" You weren't reassured by that. "Is he a Shinigami?"
"Was. Retired." Rukia answered, offering you the juice box. "Just how do you work this?"
You flinch.
"You don't know how-" It was starting to hit home just how alien this girl actually was. "You take out the straw and pop it through the top." You demonstrate it for her, but Rukia just stares as if you performed magic, taking the box and sucking from it absently.
"Hmm… Interesting." She muses. "Thank you."
"How does a Shinigami retire?" You ask. Rukia falls silent for a moment.
"Normally, you don't." She answers at last. "I don't know what happened. All records of him were erased. Poof, gone. All I know is what he's told me, which isn't much. I saw his Zanpakuto, so he definitely was a Shinigami." She sighed. "He probably took a spiritual injury and couldn't continue on."
"Spiritual injury?"
"There are two locations on the body, the Soul's Rest and the Soul's Sleep. Damaging them isn't really possible under normal circumstances; their spiritual organs, not physical ones, even as a Shinigami fighting spirits it's difficult to hit them." She explained. "Destroying both removes a Shinigami's power in its entirety. Losing the Soul's Rest seals your spiritual power, while the Soul's Sleep would destroy your Zanpakuto." Rukia hummed for a moment. "They're more akin to a spirits heart. Injuries to them are really rare, permanent ones even less so."
"And you know how to hit them?" You ask. Rukia laughs.
"I can think of maybe ten people who might now." She answers. "And only two of them could actually perform it consistently. It's not something a Hollow can do, nor is it something you need to worry about." She hummed to herself. "Any other questions?"
"Just one." You pause for a moment. "I have a voice in my head. It… well, speaks in red."
Rukia stared at you for a long moment.
"What's the name of your sword?" She asks. You flinch.
"Uh… Medraut?"
"Not Sode no Shirayuki?"
"Of course not! You got a point?"
Rukia just palmed her face.
"How does this happen to me?" She asked. "Even for someone who took another's powers, you're abnormal! Your supposed to have my sword, not your own!"
"What?"
"Let me spell it out." Rukia looks at you dead in the eye. "You don't have my Shinigami powers."
"But you j-"
"You used my powers to kick start your own." Rukia finished, ignoring you. "You're never going to have a normal life again, Kurosaki Ichigo. Losing the powers you've developed will cause huge damage to your soul, possibly even Soul Destruction." Rukia sighed, gripping the juice box with both hands. "You're… uncommon." She glances at you. "Not the first, but not the norm. You are in the small set of cases which is why what I did was illegal."
"What happens now?" You ask. Rukia glances down, thinking.
"You are a Shinigami now. No choice about it." She muses. "I'll help you get set up, even after I'm gone, but you're going to have to be responsible for the lives you touch from now on."
"Wh-"
"Because being near you will turn regular humans into mediums." Rukia interrupts you. "You don't have the option of turning away from the other side anymore, Kurosaki."
"And what if I want to!" You declare. Rukia flinches, before standing up and drawing forth an odd, tiny sword from her pocket.
"I give you a Soul Burial now, and you move on to the next life." She answered. "You either look after those you affect, or you do the right thing by everyone else and pass on."
You feel your hands clench for just a moment, before a soft voice whispers in your head.
"But for you, that isn't a choice at all, is it?"
"… I'll help." You finally state. Rukia nodded.
"I know." She answered. "The voice is that of your sword. It's a being that exists within you, an expression of the truth of you."
"That makes no sense." You grumble. Rukia smiles.
"No, it doesn't." She admits. "But considering what some of the Captains are, I suppose it makes sense. A Zanpakuto spirit blurs the line between human and monster, often quite literally. It's an expression of the you underneath, rather than the you that you show to the world. Repressed truths, personal thoughts, suppressed desire, these are all shown by the Zanpakuto."
"And it's not a sign I'm going crazy?" You ask. Rukia shook her head.
"If you can understand it, then your fine." She answered. "If it sounded like gibberish, then we'd have cause for concern."
"It sounds like a girl…" You mutter. Rukia shrugged.
"Gender is a human concept." She answered. "It could mean any number of things. Opposition between your internal and external thoughts, an inherent passiveness or aggression to the nature of the sword-"
"Gender issues?"
"Unlikely." Rukia shrugged. "I mean, it could, but it's a minor issue to most people, only skin deep. A Zanpakuto based around something like that would be odd indeed."
"So let me get this straight, my sword is the personification of my mental issues?" You ask. Rukia just smiles.
"No, Kurosaki. The you that you put forward to everyone else is the mental issue." She answers. "Your sword just says what you really want to say."
"Then why does she call everyone stupid?" You ask. Rukia shrugs.
"Maybe you feel frustrated with the world." She answers. "Anything else?"
[ ] Any last questions?
-[ ] Write in.
-
Afterwards, you…
[ ] Encounter a Hollow.
[ ] Go visit Urahara.
[ ] Try to patch things up with Karin.
[ ] Spend time with a friend.
-[ ] Who?
[ ] Write in.
