Business as usual

When the message came she had been in the middle of a set of pushups. Sweat made her skin wet and on her nose, her brow and her belly little pearls of sweat were forming and, after a moment of struggle, fell to the ground and into the towel that was there for this exact reason.

31...32...33…

It wasn't her first set and it wasn't her first exercise. She had no duty this morning and planned to use the time.

38...39...40…

At the precise moment when she pushed herself up for the 40th time and curiously watched a drop of sweat instead of falling running from her collarbone down her chest and disappear between her boobs, the message came.

She sat back on her knees. Some strange energy readings in outer Rukongai. Could be nothing, but it could also be an intruder of some sort. Readings were unclear, so some Shinigami were dispatched to check it out and report back. Hanako was one of them and should meet others at the southern gate.

Quickly she jumped to her feet and out of her training clothes, freshened up and jumped back into the Shihakusho. The last thing she added was her sword, which had leaned against the wall, never more than one fast step away from her. It had no name, but it was hers and she liked the feeling of the grip in her hand and the reflections of light on the blank steel of the blade. She slid it under her obi on her left side and walked out the door.

A few minutes later she arrived at the gate. There was lots of traffic, both to and from the Seireitei, but no one in particular seemed to be waiting or looking for someone. Maybe she was a bit early. Hanako looked up and frowned. The sky was grey and heavy clouds crept slowly westward. The wind carried the threat of rain later this day.

Huh, curious. Why did she think "the threat of rain" when rain normally was considered something good? It never struck her before with such clarity that she disliked rain or even the possibility of rain. Really curious.

Hanako frowned. That cheeky boy was to be her partner? The first impression wasn't really that hot. She nodded a greeting to his wave.

"Don't call me that, I'm..."

...not a rookie? Really? She had intended to say exactly that. But she did join the Gotei only recently. So in fact she really was a rookie. Still, it bothered her, especially the way the boy said it.

"Don't call me rookie." She said simply after just a moment of hesitation.

"My name is Yamada. Hanako Yamada. 4th division. And no, not really. It is a job we are ordered to do, and that's that."

She started walking out of the gate. Quite suddenly the noises snd the smell of the Rukongai were around her. This were one of the first memories. This, the shinigami at the gate that had helped her, and the pain. Everything beyond...white, empty, blank. Since she had come to the Seireitei she had never actually left it. What lied out there, she didn't know. Well, she did know. There were maps and reports that she read, but in her own memory just a blank spot with 'there be dragons' written across it. She didn't even realise that she unconsiously moved easy and swift through be busy Inner Rukongai as someone who had spent her entire life here.

She watched the boy while they walked. He looked rather frail, compared to her, but she knee that this didn't tell anything about his actual strength. On his back she saw two sheaths that carried tantos. Two blades, and really short ones. Again, that didn't tell anything about him. Hanako didn't know to much, or so she always thought about herself, but she did know that the appearance of a shinigami and his weapons were just a facade, smoke and mirrors, to hide what they really were.

She walked silently for now as she didn't really feel any urge to make conversation.

Ritoru Box? Unusual name. Little Box. Maybe he had given it to himself. Maybe it was some kind of trophy. A nickname he had adopted for whatever reason. But who was she to judge someone for his or her name? Hanako Yamada...it meant as much as ‘Average Jane’ and was given to her, because she couldn’t remember her own name. It could as well have been Jane Smith or any other name, as almost any language had a name for someone, who didn’t have on of their own. Hanako hated her name, because it always reminded her of her past, or more like a lack thereof. But since it was the only name she had and she got as used to it as everyone else, she kept it. She tried to use it as a motivator, to at least work on a future for herself. She tried to avoid calling the name a reminder since it didn’t make much sense having a reminder for something she couldn’t remember.

She walked a few more minutes in silence before she finally spoke again.

“A chaperone? Then I doubt you are really that weak. If someone really sent a chaperone for the...”

No, she wouldn’t refer to herself as Rookie.

“...freshly graduated Shinigami they must have obviously thought I need help. Why would they send you, if you’re weaker than me? Don’t bullshit me.”

She steered around a larger group of people, standing in front of a store. The village they were in right now ended rather abruptly in a few dozen meters and after that only fields and woods stretched into the distance for kilometers.

“Why do you think so many of these folks turn in a false alarm just to get some attention? As I understand it there are many who don’t care much for a visit from us. Don’t really know, though.”

The last words she said more to herself than to Ritoru, but he probably heard anyway. The two of them were now entering one of the woods. The trees surrounded them and from one moment to the other they walked in deep shadows. A bush rustled somewhere...

Hanako's eyebrows wandered a few milimeters towards her hairline, her face showing some amusement.

"Soul Rickets? Don't you think that is a bit exaggerated? I doubt something like that even exists."

Ritoru shure had a strange view of the world. Or he was just messing with her. Either seemed to be possible. Probably both. Still remarkable that someone acting and looking as young as him would have made it into the Gotei. He seemed so careless…
Suddenly she remembered having read about a Captain that, too, had the body of a child but was one of the most powerful Shinigami of his time. She couldn't remember his name or any of his details.

When Ritoru asked where she would hide, if she was a big, scary monster, she stopped and looked around. It was a good question. They were near the small settlement in outer Rukongai from where these reports originated. So there was actually a possibility that someone was hiding in these woods. But it could be anywhere. The trees stood tall and had full crowns, blocking much of the light, and there was also a thick underbrush. The two Shinigami were moving on a small, but well trodden path. It wasn't exactly free of vegetation, but walking was a lot easier here.

A strange sensation overcame Hanako. Somehow these woods looked familiar, although she didn't have a single conscious memory of this place. Suddenly she felt a few drops, heavy and cold and then, from one moment to the other, heaven opened it's floodgates. It didn't just rain, it poured down.

"Figures…" Hanako grumbled quietly. The rain made quite a noise on the leafs above and around them. It sounded like the drops tried to rip off some of the trees branches. She walked forward, a few steps away from Ritoru, to a big oak tree.

Something came crashing down through the branches. Hanako dove to her left but she reacted just a fraction of a second too slow. Something grazed her right leg.
When she touched the ground, she rolled, jumped to her feet and had her sword in der hands in what seemed to her like slow motion. It felt excruciatingly slow to her, when in fact her senses and reactions had just sped up and the soul equivalent of an adrenaline rush played tricks on her mind.

However, the thing that had come down, whatever it might have been, was so fast that even a mere heartbeat later it was only a shadow, jumping out of sight in the distance, an eerie snickering fading away in the rain.

"What the…"

Silence. There wasn't a single sound to be heard, except for the rain on the leaves. Hana stood and looked down to her leg. She had been lucky, there was no real injury. Her Hakama was torn, which was a nuisance, yes, but other than that she couldn't even see a scratch.

"Ritoru, are you…" she started and turned to look for her comrade. But he was gone.

"Box?"

She went back to where the other one had been standing a few moments ago. Nothing. She looked around if he maybe was unconscious and lying in the underbrush. But no, there was no one. She went back to the small track on which they had come. After a few seconds she saw it and her blood went cold. There, in the mud, still visible albeit barely, were tracks, footprints left behind by shinigami sandals. But it was only one set of tracks. Only one. She ran back the way she had come until she reached the end of the woods. Still only one seg of tracks. Beyond that, were the rain had been falling to the ground unhindered, nothing could be seen anymore. In the distance was the last village they had crossed. She didn't want to go back and ask if they had seen Ritoru. Hana couldn't decide which answer she would have liked less. If they had...or if they hadn't.

The snickering! Hanako spun around. It came from deeper inside the woods. It sounded like someone mocking someone else. There, again! Then silence again.
Hana looked back at the distant village and back into the woods. Water was running over her face, drenching her clothes and sticking her hair to her head and face. It dripped from the tip of her blade, which was still in her hand.

Cautiously she turned away from the village and walked back into the shadows under the trees. Alone. There were so many questions in her mind. Questions she didn't want to ask herself now, because she dreaded the answers. Only one question was there now: what had it been that had cut through her Hakama? What had vanished into the woods?

Slowly she went on and after a while she could see a little bit more light straight ahead. A clearing? She could see shadows move and felt some spiritual pressure. Hollows! She was sure of it. And it touched something inside of her. Hollows, rain, trees...suddenly she felt dizzy and quickly hid behind a tree to rest a moment and wait for it to pass.

With the power of a little explosion the tree exploded just above Hanako's head. Pieces of wood flew in every direction and she was showered in splinters. Cursing Hanako rolled away in the same moment that a something crashed through the remains of the tree.
She slashed blindly at the thing and felt a hit and heard a howl.

When she struggled back to her feet she faced a large black dog. It was easily twice as heavy as her, packed some mean looking claws and his head was a pure white dog-skull. A Hollow? It snarled at her, ducked and jumped. Like in slow motion Hanako saw the beast fly towards her, front-claws outstretched and fangs bared. Well, not that it had a choice with the last bit.

Again the adrenaline rushed through her body. Her senses sharpened and time seemed to slow down. In an instant she became aware how badly she was prepared for this. Yes, she had managed to graduate from the academy. Yes, she knew which end of the sword had to go into the enemy. But she also knew that she was a lone greenhorn, here in outer rukongai, against a Hollow and probably pretty much fucked.

She lunged with her left foot forward and executed a yokomen'uchi. In the same motion she bent her knees and head so the dog missed her by just a few milimeters. She could feel his dirty coat brush against her hair. Behind her, the hollow crashed into the underbrush. At her feet one of the claws was lying.
She turned around. There was a calm in her now. She wasn't afraid. She willed herself not to be afraid. Being afraid wouldn't do her any good now. She was in this mess and she was alone. Turning her back and fleeing would mean certain death. So she would stand her ground and go down fighting, if she had to.

To her surprise the beast didn't attack. It snarled again but then it turned and ran. Or more like: it limped. Still it was fast, way faster than Hanako, especially because it moved in a straight line, downright carving a new path into the underbrush.

As fast as the short fight had begun it was over and silence fell again on this part of the wood. Hanako was positively confused. It was definitely not a reaction she had expected. Another attack, more relentless, yes, but flight...no, she hadn't expected that.

Hanako took a few seconds to check on herself. She wasn't gravely wounded, only a few scratches and bruises, miraculously. Once again she looked back in the direction where the Seireitei had to be. She could go back and get reinforcements. But then again she had come here with reinforcements, with Box. But he was nowhere to be found. Something here was really fishy.

After just a moment of hesitation she turned away from the way back and followed the aisle the hollow-dog had created.

It was getting dark. The shadows, cast by the trees, made it even darker. Through this darkness Hanako crept like a black cat, hunched over, trying to make no sound. Her heart was pounding and her mind was racing. What was all this? Why did she have this feeling, this unpleasant feeling that something was not right?

Not only was it dark but eerily quiet. Aside from the rain, that still poured down, there wasn't a single sound. Was it drowned out by the continuous rustling, hissing and swooshing the drops made when they hit the leafs? No, there simply wasn't any sound. A forest should have sounds. But here…

A short way ahead the dusk became a little bit brighter as if the trees opened up. Hanako now scampered from tree to tree, trying to stay behind cover as much as she could. Suddenly there were noises. Screeching and growling and also some voices. Carefully Hanako inched forward. The shine of fires was filtering through the trees and she could see that there was a clearing ahead with some houses or huts on it. And some silhouettes, that were moving.

Hana crept closer. She could see that it was the huts that were burning. The orange light bathed the whole scenery in a soft light, as if it wanted to take the edge from what Hanako could see. The whole populace of the small village, men, women, even children, lay in the mud the small square in the village center had become. Motionless, like ragdolls. But Hanako knew there were no dolls.

Now she could see who or what was giving off those strange noises. There were three figures. One was the hollow-dog she had fought earlier, but his severed claw was regenerated. The other one was small and looked like a humanoid without legs. It moved around on its hands, had long, filthy hair and a white mask that was shaped like a grotesquely disfigured human, frozen in terror. The third one she couldn’t quite make out. It was small but blurred and dark as if the light from the fires didn’t reach it. A shiver went down Hanako's spine.

It felt so strange...so familiar. But for the life of her, Hana couldn't remember why. But then again she couldn't remember so much.

Suddenly a voice snarled: "Come forrrwarrrd, girrrl."

Hanako froze. How did they know she was there?

“No use in hiding, girrrl. We knew you where therrre frrrom the verrry beginning.”

She swallowed hard. Where they bluffing? They had to be. She risked a peek aroung her cover. They were staring at her. All of them. At least those, whose faces, or better: masks, she could see. They voice was right. There was no use in hiding. Hanako collected all her courage and stepped forward.

“Finally. I was beginning to think you don’t have it in you.”
She swallowed again. She still couldn’t see the third Hollow properly. Was it this one who was speaking?

“What is this?” she asked. “WHat are you doing here in Soul Society?” she asked. They were pretty stupid questions and she didn’t know herself why she asked them. As if a Hollow would be interested in making conversation.

“This is a meal. And a mighty fine one. We just thought you’d make a great desserrrt.” the voice said, and while it spoke it became deeper, mightier and louder. The soundwaves throbbed in Hanako’s ears, as if a giant was shouting at her. She became light headed and suddenly she saw more Hollows standing there.
‘Not good’ she thought.

Then the dog and the one without legs attacked.