"Haaaah, finally."
School has finally ended.
I throw myself onto the couch
"How does one building drain this much out of a person?"
Other than talking with Ichigo and seeing his casual life…
A smile appeared on my lips.
it does deserve it.
Totally!
I stood up slowly. Today we had a meeting.
Keigo had apparently decided we were all going after school.
Bowling, then food at some place Keigo swears is popular.
Oh… what will I wear?
I held my forehead
This brat…
I moved upstairs while whining about how tiring that brat is.
Thanks to him I had to curse… to my new Parents!!
Gaaaah! For god sake how did you become something like that??!
I hope Ichigo never sees it.
Haaah… I have to do something about it. I can't even imagine what would happen if Ichigo saw this side of me.
Sssshk— I opened the wardrobe… and exhaled deeply.
***
After wearing the most plain and normal clothes.
I left the house.
Glanced at Ichigo's house as I—
Grrr…k
I stepped back with the sound of the door opening.
Ah? Is he leaving? Then we c—
"Onii-chan, You're going out?"
"Yeah"
"We're too"
"Huh?"
Why did I hide for god sake?
Haah…
"We're just going to walk."
"Nothing better to do."
"Tch… Then let's go."
They started walking together as I left hiding.
His kind sister in the middle, the wild ones on either side of her.
"So? Where are you going?"
"Meeting some idiot"
"Figures"
"Friends?"
"Something like that."
Hm.
I watched until they turned the corner.
How warming…
Silence.
I wonder how they are doing.
***
I took another path from them.
It would take longer this way, but i didn't want to interrupt.
I walked along the riverbank, heading to our promised destination.
It was quiet. Just the sound of water and wind.
I looked at my phone,
No new messages.
Just Keigo. He probably sent fifteen already but I haven't checked since leaving the house.
I scrolled—
Yep. Fifteen.
Haha.
I put it back in my pocket.
Hm?
I slowed
Someone was coming my way.
"What?"
Small. Young. Maybe eight or ten years old.
Her hair was messy and her face was—Terrified?
I straightened u—
THOOM. The ground shook slightly.
…
My stomach dropped.
THOOM. THOOM.
Of course…
A Hollow was chasing after her. I can't see it clearly but yeah.
Of course it was a Hollow, what els—
"This way!" As the little girl was going to pass next to me I grabbed her wrist and pulled her off the main path.
"Ahhh??"
Her eyes opened wide. "You can— You can see me? Hic… hic… help me, no one was hearing me—" her eyes became watery, wiping them with her sleeve as she ran.
"What happened—? How long have you been running?"
"Since— since the park— I don't— I don't know—!!"
Since the park.
That's far.
She'd been running that whole time??
THOOM. THOOM.
Ugh.
I looked around frantically.
It's impossible to beat that thing.
What I c—
THOOM. Closer.
Uh…
There.
A gap in the fence. Construction site.
I pulled the little girl harder. "Do you have any energy left?"
The girl wiped her eyes and nodded weakly. "I— I can't hold anymore."
"When I say go— use everything you have. We're running for that gap over there."
She looked, then looked back at me.
Nodded.
"Go."
We sprinted.
Full speed. Everything we had.
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM—
My heart was going to explode.
The gap was close—
"Now!" We threw ourselves through it.
Crashed to the ground on the other side, rolled, scrambled to our feet.
THOOOOM.
The whole fence section exploded behind us.
Dust and twisted metal rained everywhere.
The hollow was inside.
We ducked behind a thick concrete wall.
Pressed flat.
Silence.
THOOM. THOOM. Slow now.
I shifted along the wall—
Ghhh.
I looked down.
My left arm caught on a rusted rebar sticking out from the wall.
...
Ah.
I pulled free quietly.
Blood was spreading fast through the sleeve.
I pressed my hand over it.
It was warm.
I looked at the little girl and pressed a finger to my lips.
She nodded.
We held our breath.
…
THOOM. THOOM.
Still circling.
Think, think, think.
Haaah. In the end…
I picked up a broken chunk of concrete from the ground.
Looked at the hollow's direction.
Looked at the open street outside the broken fence.
I threw it hard. Full force.
CLANG— it bounced off a metal pole somewhere far outside.
Silence.
Then—
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.
…
I exhaled slowly.
"We move now." I grabbed her wrist. "Quietly."
"H-hai" Little girl was finally looking relieved.
---
THOOM. THOOM. It stopped outside.
We froze.
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM. Coming back.
I looked at my arm.
The sleeve was soaked dark.
And the wind—
Haaah.
Of course.
Why not.
I gave it a decoy but left the real trail wide open…
"RUN!!"
We bolted from behind the wall.
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM. THOOM—
Right behind us again.
Angrier this time.
Like it knew it got tricked.
The girl was stumbling.
"Don't stop—!!"
THOOOOM—
The ground shook hard.
SLASH.
…
…
…
A sound cut through everything.
Clean. Sharp.
The pressure vanished.
Just like that.
Gone.
We stumbled forward and caught ourselves against a wall. Both gasping.
A figure landed behind us.
Black robes. White sash. A blade.
A Shinigami.
His eyes stopped on us for half a second.
Then moved on.
"...Hollow, eliminated."
"Thank you for rescuing us. Shinigami-san." I cut in before he spoke.
He glanced at me. "You can see me?"
"...Yeah?"
He didn't ask more than that.
He turned to the girl instead.
His expression shifted. Gentler. Just a little.
"You've been wandering for a while." he said quietly.
The little girl blinked.
"You know me?"
"Not personally." He crouched slightly to meet her eyes. "But I know what you are. And where you should be going."
The girl went quiet.
I looked at her properly for the first time..
There was a chain on her chest.
Broken…
She wasn't alive, was she.
"Are you ready?"
The girl looked at me.
Then back at him.
"...Will it hurt?"
"No."
A small pause.
"...Okay."
He pressed the stamp gently to her forehead.
A glow.
Soft. Warm.
The girl waved her hand with a warm smile. "Thank you, onii-chan."
I smiled.
"Take care…"
Then she was gone.
…
The Shinigami stood.
Tucked his blade away.
Looked at me once—
Then disappeared without a word.
Like he was never here.
I stood there. Holding my arm.
…
I pulled out my phone.
Called Ichigo.
Two rings.
"What."
"Ichigo-san… something came up."
A pause.
"...What kind of something."
"Umm." I glanced at my arm. "A small accident."
"Accident." Flat. "What accident."
"Nothing serious. Just… I won't make it today. Sorry."
Silence.
Keigo screaming something in the background.
Ichigo's muffled voice— "Shut up."
"...You sure it's nothing serious."
"I'll make it up to you guys later. Promise."
"Tch."
"Ichigo-san."
"What."
"Tell Keigo-san and the other two sorry for me too."
"Tell them yourself."
"I'm telling you—"
"Oi— KEIGO. Hikaru's not coming."
A distant devastating wail.
"WHAAAAT—"
I laughed a little.
Immediately regretted it.
Pain flared sharp up my arm.
Ghhh—
"...Go get that looked at." Then he hung up.
Ah….
I stared at the phone.
Then tucked the phone away and kept walking.
Left arm held tight against my ribs.
Jacket wrapped around it.
One step. Two.
Pain with every one.
I took a different street back.
Longer.
A lot longer…
As the riverbank path ended I got closer to… the park.
I slowed.
Low voices heard.
Cryings.
A woman's voice, broken at the edges, saying a name over and over.
Saki. Saki. Saki.
I stopped at the park entrance.
There were people gathered near the fountain.
A mother on her knees on the ground.
A man beside her with his hand on her back, his head down.
Two officers standing to the side looking at the ground.
Yellow tape further in.
Neighbors gathered at a distance, murmuring quietly, hands over their mouths.
…
I stood at the entrance.
The mother was clutching something.
A small shoe…
She pressed it to her chest and didn't let go.
The father wasn't crying.
He was just staring.
That kind of stare.
Where you're not looking at anything.
Where there's nothing left to look at.
"…"
The wind moved through the park.
Rustled the leaves.
Quiet.
I turned and left.