"Last night was exhausting," Makoto yawned as he sluggishly made his way downstairs. After he came back from the Kurosaki's he made sure to write down as many of the recipes that Yuzu had told him about as possible and as a result had stayed up much later than he expected. "Yuzu really went all out on those recipes, there were even some of them I had never heard of. To think she's younger than Ichigo and that she is this capable at home, not to mention her naturally kind personality she really is a ray of sunshine."
"And Karin wasn't too bad either. She reminds me of Ichigo with her rough exterior but she's just as kind deep down, when she isn't trying to infuriate you." Makoto thought to himself a subtle smile crossing his face before it quickly dropped, "Honestly I don't know how they turned out the way they did with the way Mr. Kurosaki acts."
Makoto entered the living room, taking a quick glance at the papers scattered on top of the coffee table filled with recipes and techniques on how to make various foods and dishes he had written down last night. "Well on the bright side if I do ever get a girlfriend at least I have recipes that I can cook for her." He chuckled to himself before grabbing the remote sitting on the couch and switching on the TV. It had become part of his morning routine to switch on the news while he made his lunch. With his already limited knowledge of Bleach and his even more fragmented knowledge of Japan he thought it wouldn't be a bad idea just to help him get to know his surroundings. Plus it helped him learn more about Karakura town and its surrounding areas.
He made his way into the kitchen and began making his lunch when the words of the reporter caught his attention. "The incident occurred just outside of Karakura station just after 7:30. Witnesses report that there was a loud crash followed by a firm shaking of the ground. The section has been quartered off for now. As of the moment no one is sure what caused the explosion…"
"Explosion? At the train station? That's not too far away. What the heck could have caused that?" Makoto thought, as he examined the TV screen more intently. "There aren't many things that could make an explosion that big, and I doubt you'll find many of them in a train station. Could this be some sort of terrorist attack?" The news continued covering the incident for a couple minutes longer before switching over to the weather.
"I guess it's a good thing that I don't take the train to school but I still hope no one got hurt. Oh shoot I better get going." He said, glancing at his watch. He quickly finished making his lunch then switched off the TV and walked out the door.
As he made his way down the street he saw Ichigo walking out of his house and called out. "Hey Ichigo."
"Oh, hey Makoto," Ichigo replied, as Makoto walked up to him. "Listen, I want to apologize for last night. Once my family heard about your engagement everything seemed to spiral out of control, and I know that you're not particularly keen on talking about it."
"Relax Ichigo," Makoto replied, holding up a hand to signal that he didn't need to apologize. "It wasn't your fault. Your sisters were curious and you just answered they're question honestly. Besides, it would have turned out the same way even if you didn't."
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, surprised.
"I would have told them," Makoto shrugged, "All they did was ask logical questions that followed from what I stated and I'll admit some of the stuff I say can be kinda confusing."
"Hey, can I ask you something Makoto?" Ichigo questioned.
"I'll answer to the best of my ability," Makoto answered with a playful grin.
"What happened to your parents?" Silence fell over the two of them as the grin on Makoto's face dropped into a sorrowful expression
"I…don't know," Makoto replied quietly, as his gaze turned towards the floor.
"What?!" Ichigo exclaimed incredulously, his eyes wide with horror. "Do you mean they're…"
"It means I don't know," Makoto interrupted, a tinge of anger in his voice, "I'm not sure if they're alive or dead. Sick or healthy. I want to give you more information but that is all I can tell you."
The two stood there in silence, not a word passing between the two of them. "I'm sorry Ichigo," Makoto said, as he relaxed the fist he didn't even realize he had clenched. He looked down at his feet. "Can we please not talk about this?"
Ichigo nodded before they continued. The two walked silently, neither of them knowing how to restart the conversation without possibly antagonizing the other, so they continued on silently towards the school. It was several minutes before Ichigo finally spoke to him. "Hey Makoto you go on ahead. I have somewhere I want to stop by before school."
"Sure," Makoto said with a sad smile. "See you at school." He waved goodbye and parted with Ichigo, continuing on towards school. He walked down the empty streets not a soul in sight as his steps quietly echoed off the pavement. "I shouldn't have lost my temper back there. It was bound to be asked sooner or later."
Makoto looked around at the streets around him, noticing a black cat staring at him from atop a brick wall, its brackish eyes staring him down. The cat felt familiar like he had seen it somewhere before but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Oh well, it didn't matter.
Makoto gave a small smile before posing a question to the cat, "What were your parents like?" The cat remained silent, not even meowing in reply. "Do they like you?" No answer once more.
Makoto chuckled slightly to himself before looking up at the sky, "I wonder what mine are like and whether they would like me or not?" He asked, fiddling with the ring on his finger. "I wonder where you are?" The cat once again remained silent, its eyes still fixed on Makoto.
"Ha. Look at me," Makoto said to himself, turning his eyes back to the cat. "I'm so hopeless that now I'm talking to a cat. Guess this is what happens when you feel you don't belong anywhere. But hey at least I still have you right." For the first time the cat moved, turning its head down to look behind it. With that it leapt down from the wall and scampered off down the street Makoto had been walking on.
"Figures," Makoto said in a dismal voice. At that moment there was a loud roar that Makoto had never heard before. "What was that?" He asked, scanning the area around him but found nothing. He listened for the sound again and sure enough there it came. It was close by from the sound of it. "That doesn't sound good. I better go see what's going on."
He dashed through the streets of Karakura intent on discovering what was the cause of this sound. As the sound got closer the more he got an uneasy feeling about the way he was heading. The air seemed to become heavy and still, it gained a taste of fear and regret, but even scarier, whatever it was that he was approaching felt like pure evil and death.
Then he heard it. Not too far ahead there was an explosion as he watched a giant hole appear in a building. Next was giant gashes at least three meters high and far deeper than any weapon or blade he knew could make. All around people began to panic and flee away from the site, scared for their lives.
Makoto looked around at the fleeing people and among them was someone he did not expect to see. It was the little spirit girl he had seen on the day he met Ichigo for the first time. She ran by him with a terrified look on her face. What was she doing here? This place isn't near her lampost? And why… was she covered in blood?!
"GRAAAAH!"
There it was. The sound Makoto had heard before. The terrifying roar sent a chill down his spine. He tried to run but his legs were frozen, his mind was blank. He slowly turned around and there charging right at him was a giant creature. It looked like a giant praying mantis but far, far more dangerous. Its size was at least two stories tall with giant scythe-like arms and an eerie white mask sat where its face would be and a hole right in the center of its chest, and the only thing Makoto could feel coming from it was malice.
"What is that thing?!" Makoto shouted, pointing at the creature with a shaky hand.
"What does it look like, it's an explosion," said someone in response.
"Wait, are you saying you can't see that thing?" Makoto asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"Kid I don't know what you're talking about but we have got to get away from that explosion," the man replied before running off.
Makoto stared at the fleeing man in shock. "He can't see that thing," Makoto said to himself in shock. "How can he not? It's as big as a house." Makoto slowly turned around to look at the approaching being. "What are you?"
The creature smiled menacingly as it snarled towards the stunned human, his merciless eyes boring into Makoto. Why could only Makoto see this creature? Was there even a creature that was like that in the world of Bleach?
Makoto tried to run but all he could manage was a small step back. "Why is the air so heavy? I can't move. What's wrong with me?" The creature smiled maliciously as he slowly approached, his scythe arms raised to deliver the final blow, when something snapped in Makoto. His hands rose up in front of him as if grabbing around some spectral weapon. Wind wrapped around his limbs as he sneered at the creature. The air that once felt so dense seemed to dissipate at the force of power around Makoto as he stood there.
"What is going on? What is this force I'm feeling?" Makoto thought to himself, as his gaze shifted back to the monster. "And why does every fiber of my being absolutely abhor this monstrosity?" The wind whipped around him faster and faster causing the monster to recoil slightly, but that only seemed to delight it more as its face broke into a wide and wicked grin while it licked its lips in anticipation. It screamed out, its voice echoing off the surrounding buildings causing their windows to shatter as it lunged towards Makoto, mouth agape as if to swallow him whole.
"Makoto!" screamed a voice from behind him, "Get out of there!"
Makoto gasped at the sound of the voice. It was Ichigo. What was he doing here? The barrier of wind around him collapsed, the anger he once felt replaced with fear and uncertainty as his breath became ragged and uneven. His legs buckled under the weight of the air as it suddenly reverted back, bringing him to his hands and knees as he struggled to maintain consciousness.
"MAKOTO!"
It was at this moment Makoto felt a gust of wind and heard the sound of metal being scraped against wood. He heard the monster let out a pained roar as he felt a liquid splatter on his back and head. He felt the air lift and his breath return to its normal rhythm as he brought his bowed head up to see what had happened.
Standing there before him was a girl in a black kimono-like top with a matching pair of baggy black hakama pants tied with a large white sash at her waist. Her feet were covered in a pair of white socks and straw sandals with a katana in her hands, positioned between her body and the injured creature.
Makoto watched there wide-eyed as the girl jumped high into the air, well over the creature's head and cleaved its face right in two, causing it to disintegrate into thin air as she once again landed gracefully onto the ground with barely a sound. She had destroyed that creature effortlessly without even receiving a single scratch. She gave a brief glance over her shoulder back at him, her deep purple eyes meeting his gaze through a gap in her black hair before she turned and disappeared as mysteriously as she came.
"Who was she?" Makoto whispered to himself, as he shakily got to his feet.
"Makoto!" He turned around to see Ichigo running up behind him, a worried expression on his face. "Are you alright?!"
"I don't know," he replied, looking back at where the monster had been, "I think so. What was that?"
"Some kind of explosion by the look of it," Ichigo responded.
Makoto whipped his head around to look at his friend and was about to say something when he realized where he was looking. Ichigo was staring at the spot where the girl had disappeared from. Had he seen everything that happened but wasn't saying anything about it to him. Why would he do that? If he had seen that thing, why would he not say something? Questions raced through his head when he remembered asking the same question earlier. That fleeing man couldn't see it either. Could that mean that thing, whatever it was, was similar to the little spirit girl?!
"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked as he looked at his friend.
Makoto replied as he returned his gaze to the spot where he saw the girl disappear from. "I heard a loud crash and people shouting and screaming so I went to see what was happening. But I guess I got caught in another one, and ended up collapsing."
"Maybe you should go home?" Ichigo suggested.
"No. I'm good," Makoto replied with a smile, "The explosion caught me off guard and with all the people running frantically around me, it just freaked me out and I had a panic attack."
"How can you say that with a smile on your face?!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Was there something wrong with what I said?" Makoto asked.
"You had a panic attack and you're brushing it off like nothing even happened!" Ichigo exclaimed incredulously.
"Of course that's what he notices," Makoto tartly thought to himself, "He doesn't even think about why I might be having a panic attack. Have to say that seems like a typical thing for him."
"It's not that big of a deal," Makoto replied, trying not to let his sarcastic thoughts seep out into his voice. "Besides, I don't want to miss a day of school for something as minor as a panic attack."
"Last time I checked a panic attack isn't minor," Ichigo snarked back.
"I'll be fine Ichigo really," Makoto said as he smiled trying to further emphasize that he really was alright.
Ichigo stood there a couple of seconds before rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine," he growled out. "But at least let my dad give you an examination to make sure you're alright."
"Your dad is the last person I'd go to!" Makoto said as recoiled in fear. "Half the examination would be him asking about all the different plans I had for when my fiance got here. And with the way he was acting yesterday I don't even want to attempt that. I'd rather not have to go through that talk again."
"Then at least go to the nurse when we get to school," Ichigo said in a forceful tone.
"Fine," Makoto accepted begrudgingly. He would rather go through the brief inconvenience of a check up from the school nurse than Ichigo dragging him back to his house after school to deal with his dad. "Though I'm telling you everything is going to be alright."
"Just do it," Ichigo drawled out as he brought a hand to his face. "Sheesh! Why is it you actively put yourself in dangerous scenarios? What do you think you are some kind of god?"
To that a Makoto grinned and with a sarcastic chuckle he replied, "How did you know? I'm a death god that helps shepherd lost souls to the afterlife."
"Shut up!" Ichigo yelled, giving him a swat on the back of the head. "Now let's go, that way you can go to the nurse before class starts."
"Alright," Makoto said in a resigned voice, "Speaking of school, did you finish that errand you needed to do earlier?"
Ichigo looked back at where he had run from as if looking for someone or something before turning back to Makoto and replying. "It doesn't matter. I can do it on the way home." He then began to walk down the street as if nothing had happened. "Well, are you coming?"
"Yeah," Makoto replied, as he gave one last glance at the spot where he had seen the girl disappear before hurrying after his friend.
________________________________________________________________________________________
"Damn it, this has got to be one of the worst stains I've ever seen," Makoto said to himself as he threw his blazer back into the washing machine and started it up once more. He had managed to make it through the school day with it, but had taken every chance he could to remove it. "Even though no one can see it, I can't bear to wear something stained in the blood of another creature. And I can't go to sleep until I finish this otherwise I'll be thinking about it constantly during class."
He walked out of the laundry room and into the area behind the kitchen. "I may as well make lunch now and place it in the fridge for tomorrow," he said, moving over to the fridge and peering inside. "What if I try one of those recipes the Kurosaki's gave me? It's not like I'm going to be going to bed anytime soon. What was it I needed again?"
Makoto quickly walked over to the coffee table and looked through the pile of recipes that he had written down, riffling through the pages. "Not this one. Nor this one. Nope. Seriously, where is it?" He knelt down inspecting beneath the table. "Ah ha there it is."
He grabbed the page and stood back up. "Okay. First I'll need to get some soup and cut the veggies. He turned back towards the kitchen only to stop in his tracks. There standing right in front of him was the small blackhaired girl from before, her eyes gazing right at him.
"How the hell did you get in here?!" he screamed at her, his eyes wide with fear. "What are you doing in my house?!"
The raven haired girl jumped back slightly at his sudden outburst, her hand moving to the sword at her side. "Shoot!" Makoto thought, as he instinctively ran towards her attempting to wrestle the sword away from her grasp. He may not know how to use it, but the likelihood of him surviving with it in her hands was much lower.
His vision went black and he saw images flash before his eyes. First was a city with dirt roads and run down houses. "What is this place?" Makoto spoke aloud, though he heard no reply. He had never seen a place like this before and yet he harbored an intense amount of resentment for it. "Where am I?
Next that appeared was that of a man with black spiky hair. He wore the same clothes as that of the girl with the only difference being an emblem that he wore on his left arm with the number 13 on it. He seemed like an intimidating man to Makoto but for some reason there was a strange fondness towards him as if had met with him thousands of times. "Who is this guy?" Makoto asked, as more and more of these visions flashed before him, all containing the same man.
Next the same man staring back at him with his sword drawn, another with him holding a long trident and water wrapping around his limbs. Then came another of him standing next to a woman giving her a side hug and squeezing her in close. The woman was about the same size as him resting her head on his shoulder as she smiled fondly. "Who are these people and why do I feel so bad seeing them?" Another came of these two, then another. They seemed so familiar and friendly to Makoto. "These two. I know them. They seem so familiar. Where have I seen them before?"
Many more of these images passed through his head, each one more pleasant and happy than the last. It felt like he was watching a story fold out before him. "Why is this happening?" The world around Makoto grew brighter and brighter until he was fully enveloped in the surrounding area. Grassy meadows, buildings with shoji screens, people all around as far as the eye could see.
Then, Darkness. Rain. He found himself in a forest, heavy rain was pouring down around him. It soaked his clothes, chilling him to the very bone with no sign of house nor home in sight.
"What happened?" Makoto said, looking at the scenery he now found himself in, a deep sense of unease washing over him. "Where am I?" There was a crash of thunder as lightning illuminated the sky and with it a sinister looking creature.
It was a huge monster with six appendages but Makoto was unsure what they were as he walked on them like legs but what connected at the joints weren't feet but hands. On its back was a mass of dark red tentacles wriggling ever which way in an unsettling manner, and like the creature that morning this creature where Makoto expected its face to be was instead a large white mask with burnt orange splotches around the hollowed out eye sockets.
Makoto screamed as he stumbled backwards trying to get away from the monstrous being, accidentally tripping and landing flat on his back. The creature noticing this smiled maliciously as it licked its lips with its long red tongue, coating the teeth like protrusions on its mask with a shiny coat of saliva that glistened with every bolt of lightning that crackled across the sky. The tentacles on the creature's back started to convulse and writhe uncontrollably, before lashing out towards Makoto. He watched as his surroundings swirled around him and his vision blurred till he felt like he would vomit.
"AHHH!" Makoto screamed.
He recoiled, falling backwards onto his rear end as he gasped for air, every inch of his body drenched in a cold sweat. He was back in his house on the floor of the living room. "What…" Makoto panted.
"What the heck just happened?" Makoto looked up to see the raven haired girl staring back at him just as confused as he was.
"That's what I would like to know!" Makoto yelled, "You're the one in my house!"
"You can see me?" the girl asked, stunned.
"Yeah I can see you," Makoto said, "Now stop changing the subject! Why are you in my house!"
"Normally humans aren't able to see me," the girl replied, ignoring his demands for an answer. "But considering that you ran towards a hollow instead of away from it I wouldn't call you normal."
"You still haven't answered why you're here yet," Makoto yelled.
"Did anyone tell you that you are incredibly annoying," the girl snapped back.
"Then explain who the heck you are!" Makoto exclaimed, his patience diminishing by the second. "For all I know you broke into my house armed with a sword and now you're telling me that I shouldn't be able to see you standing in the middle of my living room."
"Yes. That is because I am a Soul Reaper," The girl replied.
"Soul Reaper?" Makoto parroted back.
"Okay. So let me get this straight," Makoto said, holding up his hand. "You are a Soul Reaper, correct?" The petite girl nodded her head. "And the reason people can't see you is because you are a spirit being from this place called the Soul Society?" She once again nodded. "And your job is to fight off evil spirits?"
The small girl once again nodded. "Yes, that is correct."
"And I'm just supposed to believe this is the case because…" Makoto said, trying to fish out more answers about this vague topic.
"Why wouldn't you believe it?" The girl said in reply. "You tried attacking that creature that I saved you from earlier today. Not to mention I'm standing right here in front of you."
"Well you could be a wacko that is in need of medical assistance," Makoto replied sarcastically.
"Oh really," She glared back, "And what would that make you?"
"Clinically insane," Makoto said in a flat voice. "But in all honesty I'm more inclined to believe you than not."
He knew that everything she said was probably true because of the conversation he had with Jay. While he neglected to mention the existence of Soul Reapers at the time Jay had mentioned something about this Soul Society place so he knew its existence was real, but that only left him with more questions.
"The thing I'm more intrigued by is why you appear so real," Makoto said, looking her up and down. "Most of the spirits I've seen before now looked translucent to some extent, but you seem like any normal human."
"I will forgive you for that offensive comment due to your ignorance but I won't tolerate it further," said the girl as she pulled out a sketchbook. "We Soul Reapers are nothing like you lowly humans, but I will enlighten you so that you do not make the same mistake twice."
She then flipped open the sketchbook and showed the contents of the page to Makoto. On the page were a couple of poorly drawn creature heads. "There are two types of spirits in this world," she began explaining, "The spirits you are speaking of are the Plus. The other type of spirits are known as Hollows. These spirits attack and devour the souls of all beings, living or dead."
"And that creature that I saw you kill earlier was this kind?" Makoto asked, pointing to the picture with a mischievous grin.
"Yes, it was a Hollow," the girl replied.
"And that would make you the long eared dog thing, except holding a katana and wearing a kimono," Makoto said.
He then felt pain spread throughout his skull as the girl brought the sketchbook down on his head. "It's a rabbit!" she yelled at him, her eyes blazing with fury.
"Sorry," Makoto groaned in a pained voice, before sitting back up once again. "But if your job is to fight and kill these Hollows then how did you end up here?"
"Well," the girl said as she turned her eyes to the ground in embarrassment, a faint tinge of red dusting her cheeks, "I was following you. I never saw a human charge at a Hollow the way you did and when you raised your reiatsu attempting to scare it off it only seemed to affect you more. I had to make sure it didn't have any adverse effects on you."
"So you were stalking me because I raised my ries-too?" Makoto replied, arching an eyebrow at her.
"I wasn't stalking, merely observing!" she said as she crossed her arms across her chest, turning her head up and to the side.
"That's exactly what a stalker would say," Makoto deadpanned.
She then turned back to him with a thought. "Is it possible that interacting with that Hollow allowed you to see me?"
"If that was the case then how did I see you earlier?" Makoto replied. The petite Soul Reaper opened her mouth only to close it immediately after. "That's what I thought." The girl's face contorted with anger but before she could do anything Makoto hunched over slightly grabbing his shoulders.
"What's wrong?" she asked, worried as Makoto dropped to a knee panting.
"This feeling…" Makoto said, his eyes wavering as he looked back into the girl's eyes. The air had grown heavy and still, its weight like he sat at the bottom of the ocean, all the waters around him crushing his very existence, like death was present all around him. It could only be one thing…
"One of those Hollow things is nearby," Makoto said as he struggled to his feet.
"That's not possible," the girl replied in a disbelieving tone, "The way you are reacting I would have felt it by now."
"Look Soul Reaper," Makoto said as he grabbed the arms of the girl staring her directly in the eyes. "I don't know why this is happening but I can most assuredly tell you I am not making this up. Whatever it is that I am sensing is almost identical to that monster from before and if these things are as bad as I think they could be, then something has to be done."
Makoto stumbled over to the window and opened it. "It's coming from that direction," he said as he raised a shaky hand down the street.
He felt a gust of wind and a slight pressure on his shoulder, as the girl leapt out into the moonlit streets. He then leaned out the window trying to regain any semblance of control over his collapsing body. What is going on? He was fine earlier, so why could he barely stay standing now?
"At least that Soul Reaper would be able to handle it," Makoto said to himself, as he let his back slide down the wall till he was comfortably resting on the floor. "Well I guess I found the evil spirits in Bleach. But I never expected to meet a Soul Reaper. If Jay were here he would probably be freaking out right about now."
He waited there for a couple more minutes for the pressure to lift but it never happened. "What's going on?" Makoto said to himself quietly, "That girl should have taken care of this guy by now. So why do I still feel this pressure?"
There was a long bone chilling roar followed by an explosion as Makoto felt the pressure intensify around him. "That roar was a Hollow!" Makoto cried out, "What's going on, why hasn't that girl taken care of it yet? Someone is going to get hurt if she doesn't hurry up." A piercing shriek rose above the noise of the roaring Hollow, and it came from the last place he wanted to hear.
"Was that Karin?" Makoto said, standing up in an instant and turning around to look out the window. He hadn't realized earlier the direction he had pointed in was the direction of the Kurosaki's residence and now it sounded like Ichigo and his family were in danger.
"My, my sounds like something awfully bad is happening over there," Makoto looked to his right to see a man wearing a long black coat with a green and white striped bucket hat on the top of his head. In his hand was a small cane that he leaned on as he listened to the unfolding events.
"Who the heck are you?!" Makoto yelled, "No, forget it. I don't have time to be messing around with you. I need…" Suddenly a large pillar of light appeared down the street in the direction of the Kurosaki's and a few seconds later the heavy air dissipated as well, leaving Makoto to wonder what just happened.
"Now that's something you don't see every day," he heard the man say before turning to him. "I would love to stay and chat but it seems I'm needed elsewhere. Good evening boy."
The weird man walked down the street a bit before stopping and turning back to the confused Makoto. "You know your help might actually prove useful in this case. That is if you're willing," he said with a smirk before he turned once again and continued walking down the street, leaving Makoto standing there alone to watch the mysterious man disappear into the shadows down the street.