Some time to Reflect (Frost)

It had been three days since he found the sword. And for three days he stayed in on the mountain. It wasn't a large mountain, only 400 meters at the tallest point, But the thick forests on it made climbing it difficult. He was near the top, sitting meditatively, on a cliff that overlooked the city below. His new sword was sitting across his lap, its black sheath reflecting an eerie glow from the setting sun. Not that Kazu would have noticed. He had been meditating in that same spot since he arrived there several hours ago. He was focusing so hard that the physical strain was making his body tremble. But despite the strain, he continued. He wan't to focus his energy sense to its maximum range, His goal was to be able to sense things across several kilometers, but for now it was just barely a hundred feet. But, he could only focus it in one direction at that distance. So, he didn't sense what was lurking in the shadows of the forest behind him.

The Kuro could feel light breeze against her thigh deep dark blue fur, well normally after a day like this were she had been hunting hollows inside the city, Kuro would lay down at a high places to see the pretty sun set as her old self would do. She would normally come to this place but it had been a week since she had last be there and rested, again, Again! it was like every time, anywhere she had found a good place, to relax there were always someone else taking her favorite spot when she came back. Did she really have that good a taste? Or were she really that unlucky?.

Kuro had already activated her ability to more or less invisible, if the person would look at her, he would have a hard time see that she actual were there, as if her skin had become like glass letting the sun light through her body, the only flaw with her ability were that the edge would became a little distorted but only if he were looking directly at her and looking for something. She were slowly creeping op on him strying to see how fare she could go before he would notice her

Kazu's meditation was being disturbed, but not by an outside influence, but by something his mind kept drifting to. Mom....he thought, a tear forming at the corner of his closed eye. His thought were of his mother, He missed her terrible, but had pushed those feeling aside while he was in Karakura Town. But, coming back to Okinawa had re-awakened those feelings, making his heart ache. The smell of this place, the warm air, the sight of the ocean beyond the city below him, all these things reminded him of the time he had with his family. Time that was taken, so cruelly, from him. He was sitting there, shirtless, gloveless, and tears streaming down his face.

He opened his eyes, and wiped the tears away. "Theres nothing I can do about it now..except get stronger." He said out loud. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the thoughts. He got up, and slowly walked over to the cliffs edge, setting his sword next to him. He hung one foot off the edge of the cliff, and propped the other up, resting his arms and head on his knee, looking out over the city.

Kuro froze as she suddenly heard him speak up about his Mom, one time before someone had see thought her ability, through her disguise, like it had been nothing. It didn’t look like this human or what he were have even notice her, that she were there, only about 4 meters away from him, right behind him and with a quick struck to his back she could kill him off, but what would be the point of killing a person when she already were full nothing really and the taste of a human soul didn’t taste as good as a hollow..

“why cant you do anything about it?” said she with a curious voice after see that he were suffering, again she had let her voice slip infront of a person that could be indanger to her, her voice sound like a girl or woman about the 18 years old. well Kuro wernt really that normal a hollow, maybe when the hunger or anger took over her she were but sometime her old self would speak up, that little part of her old soul that were still trapped inside the hollow to suffer and see how she made people suffer

The voice startled him. He didn't think anyone came up this far, or that anyone would find him. He gave a quick glance over his shoulder, and not seeing anything but the forest behind him, he looked back out over the city. "Brave enough to talk, but not enough to show yourself. Can't say that I blame you though. I mean I would be scared of someone that was sitting with a sword next to them too." He said, with a chuckle and a slight shake of his head. "But If you would prefer to remain hidden, I'll stay facing this city, while we talk. The names Kazuhiko, whats yours?" He said, his voice calm and friendly.

Kuro almost frozen to stone as the guy looked her way or more directly at her, she were trying to stay comply calm and standing still for that long he would look towards her, maybe it haven’t been such a good idea to talk after all, maybe she had walk right into a ambush without knowing it.. But as he began to talk it calm her a little down as it were assuring in some way, “I would prefer that please.. My name is Kuro Kami” said she slowly it were easy to hear that she weren’t sure about anything right now maybe a little suspicious also but kuro did lay down on the ground still a little away from him as she were too tired to do anything else than holding her ability up

Kazu smiled when she said her name. He didn't know why, but even though she interrupted his meditation, he was still calm, still focused, and most importantly his powers were silent inside of him. The latter brought him a sense of peace that he had forgotten, peace that he had before his powers awoke. "Kuro-Kami....what and interesting name..." he said softly in english. Realizing he had switched languages he switch back to japanese, "Don't worry, I won't hurt you, I have no reason too." he said sensing the hesitation and suspition in her voice. "And, besides, hurting women goes against my beliefs. It is nice to meet you Kuro-Kami" he said pausing for a second before he continued, "So are you here to see the view as well?"

“i don’t really know about that Kazuhiko, but yea Im here to see the view” said Kuro as she lay about 3 meters behind him, still having her eyes almost looking every were to see if it were a trap or even something else that could hurt her, but It didn’t really look like that, so she were slowly calming down again tough the only thing right were his sword that gave her a cold chill running over her spine it remind her of the shinigami... “so why a you here besides seeing the view? If I may ask Kazu? If I may call you that...”

He chuckled a bit at her comment. He leaned back on his arms, and, swung his other leg out and let them both hang off the cliff. "Why do you think someone with a sword come and sits on a cliff overlooking a city? Maybe I'm an assassin....maybe I'm a ninja? Or maybe I'm a superhero?" He said, letting out a laugh before continuing "Ninja I have been accused of, but no the cloths were too tight for that job, and plus I personally don't like killing. I am just a kid that was born with a terrible gift." he said, letting out a heavy sigh at the end of the last statement. "I was just up here meditating, taking some time to reflect if you will, and experiencing something I haven't felt in over ten years." He smiled alittle, but the smile faded quickly as he thought back to how he got here, and what his 'gift' had cost him.

”hmm so you cant be ninja, because you don’t got the cloth for that? because you cant find any? soo then your not a ninja and then you don’t like to kill people, then you cant be a assassin either because they would like it I think” said Kuro a little sleepy but also think a lot about what she were saying, since it were pretty difficult to follow others way of thing, when you were a hollow because of that hunger that would always be in the back of her mind. She were still laying in the grass a little behind him, looking out over the city to see the sun set, it had always been a way to calm herself, when she haven’t been a hollow, a monster but the sun set did that ones in a while it had did to her when she were a human letting her mind think about else then what were curing going round inside her, because it were more the old kuro right now that were on the surfers talking with Kazu
“So you got to be a superhero with a trouble past? correct me if im wrong” said she curious again, it were something new to talk like she had been a normal human again that were the most fun part of it

Kazu got quiet after her last comment. He never once consider himself a 'Hero'. "Hero....no...I'm no hero..." He said just barely above a whisper. "Hero's save people, Hero's protect the people close to them. I'm not strong enough to do that. And even if I was. I have no one to protect." He said, his tone and face both somber and quiet. He held his hand up and took his glove off. "I just have this sword, and this gift. This terrible gift." He said, closing his hand into a fist. As he spoke dark blue swirls of energy started forming around his raised hand. The energy began to spiral slowly, at first, inward towards his hand, then after a few seconds the spiraling energy looked like a small storm cloud. He opened his hand and the energy dissipated almost instantly in a small flash of light, making a loud cracking sound as the rapidly dispersing energy made a small smoke cloud.

Kuro almost got a little anger over the boy and his out burst about been not strong enough, but then again it were like he didn’t have any self esteem, maybe something bad had, ones happe to the ones he had loved and he couldnt do anything to save them. In someway kuro knew a little about how that felt, her parents had die in a carcrash, when she had been human and she had to take care of her little brother the only family she had left. But her little Brother that had been her first victem as she became a hollow and she couldnt do anything about it before it were to late. Kuro looked towards the boys hand, as she squissed her eyes a bit together to see what were going, so were a person with ligthing abilitys or? Well she didnt really knew right now, he were maybe still a shinigami since he had a sword, but he didnt carrie the same ropes as them...

Kuro slowly sad up on her back legs again with her front legs support her like a cat would do. “ ones my father said to me. Keep walking” she pausted for a moment and then begant to talk again” never stop, keep walking never look over you shoulder just keep walking. And i think i know what it were he meant with that, because else you will end up sitting in your own missery and feeling sorry for yourself and never do anything about it, what i mean with it is that if you couldnt protect the ones you loved before you have to work to get stronger and then use that power to protect someone else.. i hope in someway you understod the point" said Kuro slowly as she were still holding the hunger back inside her mind, she were still looking at the boy before letting her eyes look over the sun set ones more to calm down the hunger in a way

Kazu thought about her words for a long time. The sun was almost completly set now, and the lights of the city dazzeling to say the least. Her words made him alittle angery, but he didn't let it show. "I look back to the past to learn from my mistakes. I know I said I wasn't strong enough, but thats part of the reason, I think, that my grandfather wanted me to have this." He said, resting his hand on the sheathe of his sword. Where his hand touched the sheathe a very faint blue glow could be seen. "The problem is He never trained me on how to use weapons. And thats why I am up here I guess....To reflect, and clear my mind so I can focus on training to get stronger." He said confidently. A sly smirk came across his face when he spoke next, "Now just need to find some ninja cloths that fit.." he said jokingly.

Kuro listen to him closely in someway she knew about it but then again why had she tough about it when she had been a hole a soul after she die before a truck, there she had only been following her fathers word to keep walking, while she try to change the fact that she had died wight made her only go crazy inside her head “oh so I really got a ninja here?! Then I were wrong after all” said she almost laughing while she looked at him, something about the boy made her think about her little brother the had ones knew, Kazu were a little like him in a way but then again, she didn’t wish for kazu the same fate as her brother had have " well maybe your grandfather knew that you were going to reflect about it so you could lean your own way to fight as you want?"

"Its ok you can laugh" he said still chuckling from the ninja comment. "no your weren't wrong, I was joking, I'm no ninja. That would be like calling me a shini-...." He said, stopping himself from finishing that sentence. He didn't know why this girl was comfortable around him, even after he displayed his power. But he doubted she would believe him if he tried explaining shinigami.

"you mean be call like a Shinigami? or am I wrong about that.. kazu?, do you rememberer what I said to you before, when you said you didn't want to hurt me, because I were a woman?.." said She slowly while she thought about if she should revile herself or stay hidden from the boy, Well he knew about shinigami´s, then he had to knew about the hollow also.. but it were just if he were going to attack her out of no were because she were a hollow or if he were going to do somthing else.. Kuro slowly stand up again on her four legs and her tail scraped across the ground as it slowly wag from side to side, because she were begin to became restless about the thought to revile herself or stay hidden

Kazu's head sunk when she said shinigami. Although he regretted doing it, he turned his 'sense' back on. Nearly instantly he sensed another strong signature in close proximity to him. "So you know about shinigami. But I Doubt your one. So that means you can tell I'm not one, mainly because I'm still alive, but also because I don't wear their robes." He said with not a hint of emotion in his voice. "So that means your either a gifted human like me, or..." His voice trailed off, he refused to finish that statement. He refused to believe she was a hollow, to him hollows were bloodthirsty monsters that thrived on torturing and killing humans, and she had made no attempt at killing, or even hurting, him.

”im sorry kazu, i´m not a shinigami or even a human anymore... but i am a hollow, a monster...” said Kuro as her voices kind of snapped or crakel leaving a little more cat a like voice even thought it were easy to hear it were still her “Kazu, im sorry...” Kuro said as her body slowly began to became visible again, it was like her feline body suddenly began to block the sun light ones more as it had never been able to do such a thing.

kuro looked like a mix between a lion, a wolf and a leopard, she stretch her feline alike body and sat down were she had been all the time still not want to get to close to the Kazu as she wernt sure if he would attack her. Her body were mostly cover in a big dark blue alike fur, but her head, legs, spine, and tail weren’t cover in that fur instead you could see into the white bone skin looking as it were a protective layer like the feline hollow mask. From her neck and all the way along her spine there were spikes of bone sticking out of her back as a remind of how she had die, her tail also looks more or less like a spine itself, while the tip of the tail, had 3 blades attracted to it looking like a bone whip almost

Kaz was silent for a long time. He didn't move, he hardly breathed. His mind was racing with questions, but he just stared out over the city. His face showed no emotion, no hint of what his thoughts were. After a long, heavy silence, he looked over his shoulder at her. His look wasn't that of fear, it was more like he was studying the hollow. After a few seconds he turned his gaze back out toward the city.

"So why didn't you attack me?" He asked, his voice calm, yet cold, as he spoke. "I thought hollows hunted down and killed humans like me. But, you haven't attacked me. So that means your not a monster." He said looking back over his shoulder at her, a little smile on his face.

“its because your a little like my brother and I got the controle more or less now, I dont want to see what happende to him happen to you...i am a monster kazu.. nothing more nothing less..” said kuro with her cat alike voice as she slowly would stand up on her legs ones more and stretch her worn out body.. “just don’t think that every hollow you meet a alike me.. the most would have killed you in a instance and eaten you soul after having you killed by fall down from here or something worse..”

why didn’t he flee away from her, why were he not trying to kill her? as anybody else would do, even among the hollows it were common to kill another and then devour what was left of them, he remind her so much about her brother.. kuro turn her head away from him as she saw that little smile on his face

A look of confusion came across his face when she turned away. He looked back out over the city, the expression on his face was almost sad. "I know what its like to loose the ones you love. I watched my mother and father die." his voice was quiet when he spoke, "I know how to handle hollows. But I get what your saying, you had a perfect opportunity to kill me. But your different than the others, you chose not to attack me. So I guess I should thank you." He stared silently out over the city for a few seconds, then grabbed his sword and stood up slowly. " Monsters attack without mercy. Monsters let their hunger and their rage consume them. Monsters attack and kill the innocent, without reason or provocation" he said, his voice was as somber as the expression on his face. He turned to face here and slung his sword across his back. "Monsters can't control the gifts they've been given." He said looking at the ground, "Your not the monster here..."

"my mother and father die in a car crash, when I were young, the only ones that suvieve were me and my brother and well after i die and turn into a hollow he were the first person i killede.." said she still having her face turn away from him, she didnt want to look at him right now, well her mask werent going to let out a signt of her emotion but she just could take looked at him right now, because inside behind the mask she were having a hard time right now... the only reasing because she were so human as a hollow were because of the old self that were still there inside battling with the hollow kuro, in a way trying to take over the control, it were only at few times like this were the hollow were tired and exhausted from the endless hunting for prey that she would have the force and the chance to take over for the hollow, you could say it were like having a split personality, you could say that the were the old kuro and the hollow kuro...” dont thank me okay...”said kuro and looked back towards him “ in a way your really pretty strange really, but then again you could say the same about me...but kazu...” said she gently stopping herself in her own trags, maybe the boy were right or maybe not she didnt knew but when the sun had gone all down, she wouldnt be herself anymore she would be the hollow thirsting for the flesh of others of her kind

Kazu laughed at her comment about him being strange, he rather liked being strange, it suited him. He glanced over his shoulder at the last few minutes of daylight began to count down. "Well, I hate to cut this short, but its time for me to go. I have to get down this mountain before the last of the light is gone." He said as he began to walk toward the forested mountain behind her. He stopped right next to her, and reached down and patted her on the top of her head. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You take care of yourself." He said, putting his hands in his pockets. He started to walk into the forest, but stooped at its edge. "I'll be in Karakura Town from now on, so if you need someone to talk to, you'll know where to find me." He said without turning to face her, and pulling the hood to his hoodie up over his head. "See ya" he said, as he vanished into the forest.

Kuro made a little purr as he patted her on the top of her head and looked back over her shoulder at him as he walk away, kuro wasn’t really sure about if it were he were going to be fine, he were kind of care free in a way and she were pretty confuse about it “ I will finde you soon then..” kuro said and made a little yawn as she looked back towards the last of the sunset “are you finisth now? Girl.. im staving.. “ kuro shook her head a little and looked around an then lay down her on the grass again.. “when he is gone im finisth, and then we can switch... good Im staving for more he looked tasty anyway... dont even go there... ” kuro got back up on her feet and looked as the last of the light dispirited turning the day into night, she then turn around and began to walk towards the forest “time to eat...time to become stronger”