Chapter Thirty-Two: Monkey and Common.

Short chapter, but I ain’t givin’ no damns ‘bout it. Although, I will give a damn about this announcement! Only TWO more chapters away until Abaron’s departure! Give or take.

This chapter is dedicated to MusicAnimeLuvr, for showing such appreciation towards this story, as well as encouraging me to continue on with my dream. Thank you very much!

Abaron’s POV

Bounts… I-I don’t think I’ve ever once heard about them before. Based on the other’s silence – meaning Ichigo, Renji, Chad, Orihime, Uryū, Jinta, and Ururu – neither have they. The Mod Souls – Lirin, Noba, Kurōdo and Tolo – seemed to be fully aware, but remained silent. But Kisuke, Tessai, and Yoruichi seemed to know enough not to be as confused as we were.

“I don’t get it,” Uryū said, staring over at them. “A Bount?” From his robe, Kisuke pulled out a glass vial filled with pink liquid. Connected to the stopper was a little stick with a ball of light at the end.

“This Reishi came from a Bount.”

“That’s great,” Ichigo said, resting his hands on his legs to prop him up. “So what the hell’s a Bount, anyway?” Kisuke and Yoruichi exchanged glances with each other before he began to speak.

“It was quite a while ago, when I was in the Department of Research and Development. I encountered some residue that looked a lot like this. It’s a mysterious Reishi that reacts to special components of a human soul. Upon further investigation, I traced it to a tribe called the Bount.”

“A tribe?” I repeated.

“I use that term for lack of a better word because the Bount are few in number. They’re like the Quincy; a human with special powers. Quincy have the power to kill Hollows and destroy their souls entirely, which, unfortunately, led to their downfall. A Bount has the ability to absorb human souls. They do this for nourishment.

“Another difference is the Quincy are all born human and die human. Bounts, on the other hand, are born human, but somehow, by absorbing living souls, they are able to live forever. That’s as much as I could find out. Unfortunately, I’ve never been lucky or unlucky enough to encounter one, myself.”

“So these Bounts never die?” Ichigo concluded, boredly.

“That’s right,” he said. “The human souls which they absorb are sustenance to live an eternal life. That quality distinguishes them from every other living being. Over the years, they have also been known as another name—vampires.”

“Ordinarily,” Yoruichi said. “But the Bounts operation is to extract the soul from a human who has died while the Konso is being performed on them. But that’s not what I saw. The Bount I saw was different. This one was trying to absorb the soul of a living person.”

“So… what happens to the person who has their soul sucked out?” I asked nervously. “What happens to them?”

“It’s the same as when a life is taken—the only thing left behind… is death.”

“Though, we’re still not completely sure it’s a Bount,” said Yoruichi. She looked over at Kisuke, who was closely examining the Reishi sample. “Could it have been some kind of mutation or variant?”

“Well, you never can tell,” he responded, before the two of them crossed their arms and fell into silence once again. Then, Ichigo slammed his hand down hard on the table, nearly knocking over the tea Tessai made for us. I caught them before they spilled.

“While you’re sitting here thinking, it’s still out there!” he shouted. “Did you ever think there might be more victims?!”

“You always get right to the point,” Kisuke whined with a grin. He pulled out his fan. “Such a strong sense of justice.”

“Cut the sarcasm,” Ichigo grumbled, rolling his eyes.

“So, I’ve been thinking…” Very suddenly and unneeded, he shut his fan and pointed at the Mod Souls. “Lirin, I think you should go to Ichigo’s place?”

“Huh!?” She grimaced. “C’mon!”

“What… are you talking about?”

“I think it best if Abaron, Chad, Orihime, and you have a little support,” he told him.

“But… why?” Orihime asked.

“These Mod Souls can be very helpful because they all contain Reishi Sensors.”

“Sensors?”
“Specifically designed to detect Reishi waves. In other words, it appears the enemy is now targeting living humans. And seeing as you three humans have such high abilities, I’m sure they’ll look at you as very tempting prey.”

“If they’re attacking humans, then why does Abaron need one?” Ichigo asked. “She’s a Soul Reaper.”

“Correction,” Kisuke said, pointing his fan at me. “Because of your connection, she’s now part human, meaning that it’ll be much more difficult to distinguish her from you. She is also half Quincy, though not enough to consider her to be near enough as a full one. Of course, there’s no guarantee they’ll notice you – any of you. So we must do what we can to defy them.”

“Hm, I see…” Uryū pushed up his glasses. “W-wait a minute, where does that leave me?”

“Well, you see, Uryū, as I was trying to explain—“”You don’t have any abilities anymore!” Lirin told him, in total disregard of his conscious feelings. His body went rigid and his shoulders tensed up. A moment later, his finger twitched in either embarrassment or frustration. Both were incredibly spot-on.

Sighing, Ichigo patted his shoulders. “Oh, yeah, that’s right,” he said.

“Now then, Kurōdo,” Kisuke looked over at him. “I think you should go over to Orihime’s place.” He nodded seriously before a dark pink rose over his cheeks as he looked over at her.

“W-well, I guess if I must…”
“Stop staring, you perv!”
“I’m sorry.”

“Noba, you go with Chad to his place.” He nodded, too, and zipped up his hood.

“Why are you doing that?” Lirin asked him irritably.

“And Tolo, I want you to accompany Abaron while she’s here in the World of the Living.”

“What?”

“Yes, sir,” he said. He wasn’t angry like Lirin, or hormonally excited like Kurōdo, or shy, like Noba – he even refused to look my way! He was unfeeling. Oh, but don’t worry, you little brat, I feel exactly the same.

After I was kidnapped, Tolo had begun to enjoy mocking me for my lack of intelligence, which led to our unrelentless arguments and the flipping of chessboards when he beat me. In all unfairness, I had never played the game before, so it was an easy win. I just didn’t want to look dumb in front of him.

Abruptly, Lirin stood up. “Alright, fine, since I haven’t got a choice,” she said. “But once the trouble starts, you’d better stay out of my way!”

“What are you talking about?” Ichigo asked her. “You’d better stay out of my way.”

“Yeah? And who was the guy who couldn’t defend himself against our attacks?” She smirked. “Oh, that’s right—Ichigo!” For a minute, I thought he was going to explode, but when his shoulders slumped and his muscles relaxed, as well as telling her to shut up, I knew he wasn’t going to argue that she was wrong. Because she wasn’t wrong; they beat him and Renji up bad.”

“I may have forgotten to mention this before, but I think it would probably be best to hide you in stuffed animals to avoid suspicion,” Kisuke told them.

“Stuffed animals…?”
“R…really?”

There was no room – or time – to complain about the going ons, as it was almost eight at night. Only Ichigo and Uryū had curfews, but because Chad and Orihime lived on their own, I was sure they hadn’t really set one for themselves.

After Kisuke removed Lirin’s, Noba’s, Kurōdo’s, and Tolo’s pills from their Gigai, we – aside from Uryū, who was still sulking after Lirin’s comment – kept them on us. Tolo’s was purple– just like his hair, unfortunately, which made me want to crush it, very much so.

But it also reminded me of my mother. Why for? I honestly have no idea. I sworn off my connection with her many, many years ago, at least two hundred and twenty-five, give or take. I stared down at the little pill.

“I guess I’ve got choice but to let you tag along with me, huh?” I said to it. There was a slight vibrating feeling coming from it, so I clenched it in my hands and went back inside after the others turned the corner, going their separate ways, and headed for Tessai’s kitchen.

And what a kitchen it was. Of course, I wasn’t the only one hoping to get something to eat. Renji was, too.

“Say, Renji…” Jumping, he quickly shut the door of two cupboards. Then he sighed in relief, probably thinking I was one of them. Believe me— we hadn’t forgotten when Jinta flicked our hands with those elastic bands of his.

“What do you want?” he asked irritably.

“Does Kisuke have any fruit?”
“Fruit?”

“Yeah, fruit. I’m craving either apples or strawberries.” He raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Even after all this time, I still find it hilarious that you’re named after produce,” he said, continuing on his search.

“I-It’s not my fault!” I shouted. Pushing him aside, I opened the refrigerator – again, another amazing thing made by humans – and scanned it quickly. Why? Because I could hear three pairs of footsteps coming our way, which meant that Kisuke and Yoruichi were done with their conversation from earlier about.

The only fruit I could find was an almost too-ripe banana and a mango. But I didn’t like those fruits!

“There are some oranges and a bag of apples over there,” Renji said, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb at the cupboards. Giddy, I ran over to them, plucked out two apples, and ran out a doorway different to the one I entered, just as Kisuke entered. There was a shrill yelp and a clatter of metal items, and then, silence. A few seconds after, the rubbing of bristles on glass filled my ears.

I laughed quietly before peeling the orange and tossing the remains into the garbage in the hallway that led to the extra rooms before walking into my own. I was thankful that I was given one with the view of the sky. It was a full moon tonight, and the sky was filled with the same, luminescent glow as the last time I had stared at it. That was just hours before we left for the Soul Society, to save Rukia.

Rukia… I wondered how she was doing. Shōri said she’d be able to restore her spiritual energy she lost from when she gave Ichigo her powers.

Shōri… I recalled her expression, just before Renji and I left for the World of the Living. She was mad that she couldn’t come with me. But why would I let her? From what I learned from being in the Academy all those years ago – which wasn’t much, aside from me hating Kidō and excelling in Shunpo  – Hueco Mundo was a very dangerous place to be.

It was literally filled to the brim with Hollows, of every kind.

Gillians: the largest, yet most simple-minded type of Hollow, and even though I’ve been lucky enough not to encounter one, I’ve heard that Ichigo has. And it was strong.

Adjuchas: they might be a lot smaller than the Gillians, but they are also much stronger, and slightly more intelligent. Only by a little bit.

And the Vasto Lordes, well… let’s just say I don’t plan on going on a trek just to run into one of them. From what was in the package Kurotsuchi gave me for his samples, meaning a slip which defined who those creatures were, they were supposedly a lot more diligent than the Captains.

More diligent than the Captains… well, maybe not the Head Captain; he’s the strongest – not to mention, the oldest – of us all.

By the time I finished running those thoughts through my head, the orange was gone from my hands.

“I guess I was hungrier than I thought,” I muttered. I ate the one apple quickly, stowed the second into the pocket of my sweater, and left the room again, this time to the front of the shop, where Kisuke held his merchandise.

On top of selling Soul Reaper goods to the Soul Reapers who enter the World of the Living, Kisuke also sells human’s goods, such as candy, magazines, newspapers, accessories, and gifts—like stuffed animals.

***

“Nope… No, not this one, either… No, too girlish- but I don’t think he’d mind as much. What is this thing? It’s like, a blob of cute, white stuff.” Shuffling through the merchandise, I finally found the one that would suit Tolo perfectly. “Hey, Kisuke!” A few moments later, he came trudging into the room.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“How much is this one?” I asked, holding it up to him.

“Nah, just take it,” he said, shoving it back. “Don’t worry about it.” I chortled.

“Nice try, Urahara,” I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out money. “I’m not doing any of your dirty work for a stuffed animal.”

“What about for strawberries?” he inquired, and before I could even speak, my voice was faltering.

“Y-ye… no, thank you,” I managed. “And besides, you don’t have any!”

“Not in the upstairs fridge, we don’t.”

“What are you getting at, Kisuke?” I furrowed my eyebrows. “Wait a minute… this isn’t about the strawberries now, is it?” Whipping out his fan, he placed it in front of his face.

“No,” he said, trying to hide his amusement. “Well, maybe. Okay, it’s not. The other day, I was thinking of opening a delivery service to the shop, for those who live out of this catchment. I talked the details over with Tessai—Renji, too, but he’ll be too busy to test out the waters. So, I’ll give you the stuffed animal for free, and you can deliver the first package for me! So, what do you say—“

“Fine, fine, I’ll do it,” I grumbled, purposely cutting him off. I knew he was going to try to guilt me next, but I just was not having it. “But I want those strawberries now. Like, right now.” Completely out of nowhere did Tessai appear at Kisuke’s side, holding a large bowl of… strawberries.

“You manipulative—“”—wonderful! Thank you, Tessai.” Nodding, Tessai set the bowl on the ground and disappeared through the back, only to return carrying a somewhat large, rectangular package, at least the size of one of the magazines I saw earlier. Though, this one was slightly thicker. Tucking his fan away, Kisuke took it from him and handed it to me.

“So,” he went on. “Once you’re finished up, you can head on out.” He pointed at messy, black scrawl on the top of the package. “That’s the address …” He pulled out a folded wad of paper. “Here is a map on how to get there.”

“Kisuke—“”Don’t forget—customer satisfaction, and if you’re late on delivering it – by nine-thirty, I should add – then the price of the item gets docked off your pay, okay?” Raising the package over my head, I swung it down on his. For a second, I thought I missed, but when he doubled over, diving face-first into the bowl of strawberries, I knew I hadn’t.

“I’m going now,” I said, tucking it inside my jacket. Bending over, I grabbed a handful of them and stuffed them in my pocket. Then, I took out the money and threw it at him. “Goodbye.”

***

“Oh, what a mistake this’ll be…” Taking the stuffed animal from under my arm, I shoved Tolo’s pill through a thin slit in its mouth. A moment later, the creature’s beady eyes brightened and blinked, adjusting to the lighting of the street lamp.

“What is this?” he asked, examining his paws.  

“Well… I think it’s a racoon,” I said. “I think. It could be a panda with a striped tail, but I don’t know.”

“Ah…” One of his ears twitched. His tail shook brusquely before going stiff. “You know that once we are put inside these things, we can’t change?”

“No,” I said. “But why does it matter?”

“It matters. It matters much. And now, I’m thinking up several collaborations I could compose with Lirin that could kill you by using a feather and a dumbwaiter.”

“What’s a dumbwaiter?” I asked. “And why a feather?” He stared as hard as he could at me, but with his little eyes, he was making it hard for me to take him seriously.

“No reason,” he said. “Let me see that map.”

“Er, okay.” Pulling it out, I handed it to him, but, seeing as he had no fingers it slipped from his grasp and to the ground. “How about I hold onto it for you?”  

“Fine.” And so I did. For three minutes, he studied the map, until pointing at a street, labelled…

“It’s just a row of warehouses,” I said when he was finished. I stowed it away in my jacket, tucking it in beside the package.

“It would appear so,” he agreed. “We’d best hurry, or we’ll be late.” I scoffed.

“I don’t get paid, anyways, so what’s the rush?”

“Customer satisfaction.”
“I don’t care.”

***

“What the hell, Kisuke! These people don’t even live in town!”

“There’s no point in complaining when we’re already here,” Tolo pointed out.

“I can do what I want, so be quiet.” For a little while, I actually thought I was lost. The address that was on the slip of paper had led us right where I knew they would: a street filled with a dozen identical warehouses, each of them at least sixty or seventy feet tall and lining either side of the moonlit road. There was no one outside, no one to come and get the package. Aside of the hooting of what I only guessed was an owl, there were no other hints of life.

I walked to the warehouse labelled “5”, the one designated on the paper. For a way inside, I checked around the left side for some kind of door where I could knock, get the money, and get back to the Shop without having to be put in the awkward position of me to knock on the large, overhead door. Maybe when I was done, I could get some sleep, or maybe even some training. If something came up and I needed to use my Bankai, it couldn’t hurt to get a head start.

But of course, much like my spiritual energy, my luck is quite limited in the World of the Living, meaning that there was no door, and somehow, I just knew there wasn’t going to be one on the other side, either.

So I walked back to the front, stopping just a few feet away from the steel overhead. I raised my arm, balled my fist as tightly as I could and let it rest against the door. Taking a deep breath to try and get rid of the profuse redness that was growing thicker on my cheeks, I slammed my wrist against it.

“Delivery from Urahara’s Shop,” I shouted. My voice and knock echoed all the way down the road. When there was no reply, I deflated.

“I knew it seemed weird that they were warehouses,” I told Tolo angrily. He sighed. “Mark my words, Mod Soul—I am going to murder your creator.”

“They have been marked,” he said. “I guess we came all this way for nothing, then?” Clutching the undelivered package deathly tight under the arm Tolo was holding onto – my shoulder, really – I spun on my sore heels and began making my way out of the yard. But I never even got more than ten meters away, as my joints went stiff at the sound of metal scraping against other metal.

We turned around once more, to see that the same large overhead door was slowly – very slowly – rising upwards, allowing the faded September moonlight to stream through the entrance.

We inched closer to the opening, curious as to why whoever was inside took so long to open up. Stepping over the warehouse’s threshold, I peered around, searching for the one who opened it.”

“Hello?” I called. Tolo ducked down behind my back, holding on to the hood of the jacket. “I’ve, uh, got the package you ordered from Urahara’s Shop here.”

Very suddenly, a chill rose up my spine. My instinct was telling me to leave, to just drop the package and run. But I needed that money, or Kisuke would find a way to tax me for leaving the delivery unfinished, even without him paying me for doing his literal dirty work around the house. But I couldn’t help but wonder about something… why would a human who wasn’t local – or even remotely close – to Urahara’s Shop want to purchase something from a dingy place as there?  

“I had a feeling he’d send you.”

Hearing these words, I froze in my hesitant tracks. Tolo’s grip on my hood tightened, to the point where he was almost choking me. I had only one thought, and it was about the most recent predicament that had been conversed about amongst all of us. Could… could the people who ordered this be Bounts? But I seriously doubted it.

“And… just what do you mean by that?” I asked cautiously. To keep an eye on my surroundings, I began turning in a circle, hand on my Soul Candy, ready to digest.

“When I heard that you came to Karakura Town the other day, I knew Kisuke would send you here, sooner or later.”

“Why’s that?” I pulled out the pill and tucked it in between the crooks of my two fingers.  

“Just a guess. He’s always enjoyed setting people up… if you know what I mean.” I glared into the shadows.

“Unfortunately, I do,” I said, pushing back the image of the Hōgyoku being extracted from Rukia’s body. “And I won’t be letting anything like that happen again.”

“Rukia!!” The sounds she made… the dead look in her eyes… the way her body hung limp on his arm… It made my heart burst with anger. Aizen retracted his hand, and pulled out a small clear orb that I recognized to be what he was looking for. Rukia collapsed to the ground, her head bowed toward her knees.

I swallowed the pill, jumped out from my Gigai, and into the darkness.

“You can come out now,” I said, pulling Bōkyaku off my back. “I’m not gonna be patient and just wait for you to attack.” Gliding my hand over her edge, I sighed. Only a little longer now.

“Attack?” the voice mused. “Why would we attack you?” I frowned.

“You are we? There’s more than one of you?” The voice chuckled. I went stiff once again. The laugh was familiar. It was so familiar, and I didn’t want to guess who it belonged to.

“Yeah. There are about… eight of us.”
“Eight?”
“Yeah.”

“A… and, d-do the eight of you… have names?” I asked.

“Yeah, we’ve got names.” My glare intensified.

“Alright, then tell me them! I’m not going to stand here and wait any longer! Come out here now!”

“Well, if you insist…” In a blinding white light, the entire warehouse was ignited. It took several moments for my eyes to adjust, only to see… t-to see…

“Y…you!” I staggered backwards into my Gigai, gasping and gaping at the eight figures, ranging in height and size that stood above me.

The warehouse looked as though it had been vacant for some time. There were three levels that appeared to be knocked out of place to make room for something. Crates and large wooden and metal boxes were stacked and towering and tilting over each other, threatening to fall and spill its contents. Least to say, I wish that I had seen them first before the people who had been in my thoughts all this month, and if I were awake during my imprisonment, then, too.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t understand. I didn’t understand.

How could I have possibly understood or even grasped the possibility of my Captain, Shinji Hirako, as well as all the other Captain-class fighters that escaped to the World of the Living one hundred and ten years ago, being here, now?

I just couldn’t… understand.

But they weren’t Bounts, and I was relieved, because I wasn’t at all prepared to fight them on my own. I’ve had to rely on my friends to help me since my imprisonment. I hated doing that, especially when they had their own problems and issues.

But at the same time, I was scared. I didn’t expect them to be so… so… just here. Shōri said they were in the World of the Living, I know that. But… why Karakura Town? What’s so special about this place that they’d need to take shelter in a warehouse like this?

There were so many questions I wanted to ask them, even ask myself, because I was afraid of their answer. I was afraid of what they’d say.

“C’mon, c’mon, say something, Abaron!” I jumped, startled by my Captain’s order.

“I-I…” That’s it? That’s all you can say!? C’mon, c’mon, stop being so strange! “I… I don’t understand! H-how is it that you’re here? Is it a coincidence that you’re in Karakura Town?”

“Not at all,” Shinji said, crouching down on the second level’s floor where he, Lieutenant Hiyori Sarugaki and Captain Love Aikawa stood. “We came here to see you.”

“… really?” I said, incredulous.

“Of course not,” Kensei said irritably, rubbing his wrists. He was standing off to the side of the third level, alongside Lieutenant Lisa Yadomaru and Captain Rose – Rōjūrō – Ōtoribashi stood, staring down toward me. “We’ve got our reasons.”

“Yeah!” Lieutenant Mashiro Kuna jeered happily from beside Hachigen Ushōda from the Kido Core. “Not everything’s about you, y’know.”

“I-I never said anything like that!” I shouted heatedly.

“She isn’t wrong,” said Hiyori. “You’re all Shinji’s been talkin’ about for the past two days.” She suddenly smirked. “After all, he always used to stalk you back in the Soul Society and go in your room when you were sleeping and—“

“Stop lying, Hiyori,” Shinji snapped, his voice dry. “I never did anything like that!”

“O’yah? Then how is it you told me, huh?”

“I never told you anything! And even if I did do something as creepy and p-perverted as that, why would I tell you!?”

“I dunno!”

“Stop shouting at each other!” I said over them – well, tried, anyways – completely embarrassed by what the topic was. “Ev-even if Captain did, uh… go into my room when I was, er… sleeping, it’s not that big a deal, really! It was ages ago.” But still, if he did, I will kill him. Well, I’ll try to. Attempt to, really.

“But I never went into your room!”

“Yes, you did.” Hiyori sniggered before adding, “You perverted dumbass.”

“Perhaps this isn’t the time,” Rose pointed out, stopping him from dragging the argument on. “Maybe we should tell her why we are in Karakura Town.”

“That would be nice,” I agreed. “Oh, wait—the package.” Turning back to my Gigai, who had previously been staring wide-eyed at the others, eagerly ran into me, making the sudden rush of air into my artificial lungs painful. Tolo was sitting on my shoulders, no doubt after realizing my Captain and the others weren’t human. I pulled out the package and held it up in the air.

“Yes!” Love cheered from above. A moment later, he was standing in front of me, claiming it for himself and shoving money into my hands. It was ten dollars more than the actual price, but I wasn’t complaining.

“What’s in there?” I asked him. “Some kind of book?”

“Not just any kind of book, Abaron,” he said, plopping down on a green couch nearby. “It’s the book—the new edition of Shonen Jump Magazine.”

“Shonen Jump?” I shook my head brusquely. “I’m not going to ask.”

“I wasn’t going to answer.” Without another word, he stuck his nose in between the pages and read.

“Abaron, who are these people?” Tolo whispered into my ear.

“They’re Captains and Lieutenants from a while back in the Soul Society,” I said with a smile. “Shinji was my Captain, and I was his co-Lieutenant alongside Aizen.”

“Sosuke Aizen?”
“That’s the traitor.”
“I know that.”

“What…?” I shook my head again, just as my Captain and the others appeared on the other couches. “So then, what are you doing here?”

“Just a little bit of research on someone,” Shinji answered slowly. “And someone else.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, Kisuke told us about something we found very interesting.”
“Which was…?”

“The fact that one human and a supposedly locked-up Soul Reaper end up getting possessed by Hollows after a certain experiment that occurred in some guy’s basement.”

“Oh.” I laughed, and shook my head for a third time. “I guess that should’ve been obvious. But… how do you know about Ichigo?”

“You really haven’t changed,” Kensei grumbled. “That sucks.” I glared at him.

“And just what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re an idiot, that’s what it means!”
“Well, y-you’re rude!”

“Oh, shut up!” I glanced over at Lisa, who looked very irritated. “I’ve already got a migraine, so I don’t need you two idiots adding to it.” I apologized, while Kensei ‘tch-ed’ indifferently—and it reminded me of Ichigo.

“Captain, you still didn’t answer my question,” I pointed out. “What do you want with me and Ichigo?” Throwing himself into one of the single seated sofas, he yawned before staring up at me.

“Isn’t it obvious?” For the fourth time, I shook my head. “You’re a Soul Reaper. Ichigo Kurosaki is a Soul Reaper. You’re part Hollow. He’s part Hollow. People like that don’t exist within the Soul Society’s laws. People like that, people who have anything to do with breaking or defying those laws doesn’t belong with the Soul Society.”

“And why’s that?” I asked through my teeth. People who have anything to do with breaking or defying those laws doesn’t belong with the Soul Society—what a load of crock.

“The Soul Society knows about you two,” he went on. “They know about your Hollows, their strength, and the threat that they – and you – pose against them and this world. They won’t hesitate to kill you.”

“I’m sure they would,” I said, rolling my eyes. “And that’s why you guys found a way to control them! You helped Shōri, even when hers was still dormant. So you can—“

“Dormant?” he repeated, sitting up. “You think hers was dormant?”

“W-well, that’s what she told me,” I said.

“She lied,” Love said, not taking his eyes of his book. “Her inner Hollow was wide awake.” My eyes widened involuntarily. “Have you asked her about her scar?”

“Her… scar?”

“She had to keep cutting and cutting and cutting to keep it from taking over her soul,” Hachigen said wearily, as if reminiscing. “It’s on her stomach. She hasn’t told you, or shown you?”

“No,” I said, refusing to shake my head for a fifth time. “But… why would she hide something like that from me?”

“To keep you from running scared,” Lisa said.

“Why would I run?”

“You’re still afraid of Hollows, Abaron. You’ve never lost that fear. And that’s why we’re going to help you.”

“Help me… do what?” I asked. In the time it took for me to blink, Shinji was standing in front of me, hand up in my face.

“I think we’re gonna skip the exercise practice… and get right to the training.”

“What?” Hiyori was on her feet, absolutely enraged. For what, I didn’t know.

“Yeah… are you ready, Abaron?”
“R…ready?”

“Are you ready to control your inner Hollow?”