A New Chapter [Solo]

The first thought that reached the dual minded bleariness of Hibiki and Akki was of the pain. It was in every portion of their body, like white-hot flames, roaring just beneath the skin. Next came feeling. They were lying on their back, on the ground, and a shabby blanket was draped over them, as they could feel the cold spots where there were rips and tears. They had yet to open their eyes, hearing the sound of milling voices all around them, as if the place they slept was right next to a crowded street. They reached within themselves for the familiar ability to Resonate with their surroundings, tapping into their miniscule reserve of Reiatsu. The resulting flood of feedback pierced the shared mindedness of the two, drawing a gasp from deep within their lungs as their eyes snapped open. Hibiki struggled to the forefront and stemmed the vicious tide. He lay there, panting, trying to make sense of what had just happened. It all came rushing back to him, like some twisted, cheap horror movie.

The Hollows that had appeared out of nowhere, the desperate struggle to escape, the chase through the woods. Then, he had encountered the man- Kaoseu Enjel- his father. From there, it all played out like a dream. A fight, Hollows dying, the feeling of being crushed, and knowing he wasn't going to make it. The desperate battle, the feeble attempt to escape to Hueco Mundo. The final, manic push of Akki when they were about to be overrun, though in vain. Then, as they were fading to black, the pain of a blade piercing flesh, followed by a cool sensation spreading through him as he embraced death. Then, nothing. He had awoken here. His eyes, staring at the dilapidated ceiling, from which dozens of patches of cloth hung, began to water as he played again the feeling of what had just happened.

With Resonance, he could feel subtle energies, emotional disturbances, things of such nature. Whatever he had just done had touched everything within a much larger radius than he was used to. Even more than that, he had sensed no emotional energies. This was something much more raw, as if he had touched someone's soul. He steadied himself, and closed his eyes, fearing what he was about do. He slowly reached for the reserve of Reiatsu that was usually a tiny pool, used in conjunction with several of his abilities. As he touched it, the reserve seemed to respond, and flowed through him. This was no small reserve. This was a measurable force of raw Spiritual Power. With a sense of control only developed from using his abilities which so relied on it, Hibiki ebbed the flow to a steady stream, and used it to feel his surroundings once again. The sheer number of people around him was astounding. Very few had more than the equivalent of a grain of power, but it was still something.

Slowly, Hibiki opened his eyes and stood. He was in a tiny, ramshackle building, and all along the floor were a number of individuals, ranging from about the same rate of recovery as he was, to barely alive. An old man was sitting in a chair close to a small, blanket covered doorway. He held an ancient, bony finger to his lips and stood. His crooked shape walked to the frame, and he beckoned with a hand, without turning around, and walked through, pushing the blanket aside. Hibiki traced his way through the mass of bodies, trying not to step on splayed fingers, or loose toes. Finally, he passed beneath the doorway, and into glaring sunlight.

All around him was the bustling noise of a city life. However, this city had to have been the most shanty of all. The buildings were all wooden, most either abandoned, run-down, or overcrowded. The streets were unpaved, instead covered with sun-baked, downtrodden sand, silt, and dirt. Children darted here and there, as adults scolded and tried to focus on their menial tasks of laundering and cleaning. Hibiki noted several things as he looked on. Most of the children seemed to be on their own, and congregated in one place. The next thing he noticed was what he didn't notice. The scent of various foods that should have been aplenty in an open air market in a place like this, were utterly minimal. Not only that, but no one seemed to be going anywhere near the three stalls he counted, even though most of them looked to have no food at all. As he watched, he saw a single child running down the lane, full tilt. Quick as a flash, his hand darted out, and the boy had snatched a whole loaf of melon bread from a vendor, tearing off again. Hibiki's stomach growled, and then he heard the old man, as he watched the vendor pick up his cutting knife and make chase.

"Oooh, not only is he hungry, when no one here ever gets hungry, so are you? This is very curious indeed. If you don't stop that vendor, he'll kill the boy. Not that it matters much."

Hibiki barely heard the man after the "stop" had come from his mouth. Like a bullet from a gun he was off, weaving in and out of foot traffic. He caught sight of the vendor cornering the wide eyed child.

[color=orange]"Please, take it back, just let me go, please!" the small boy begged. The vendor snatched the boys outstretched wrist, and tore the bread from his fingers. Maintaining an iron grip, he put his straining, reddened face close to the child's and uttered harshly,

"Oh, I'ma take tha bread, an' one-a these lil hands, ways ya can't take no more-a nothin'. "

The sneer on the man's face and the crude words he used, as well as the fact that he was threatening a helpless individual infuriated Hibiki beyond anything he'd ever experienced. The man raised his knife, taking careful aim. The boy's eyes locked with Hibiki's, and to his surprise, not a single tear rolled down his face. And then Hibiki was there. The bread vendor never got the chance to lower the blade. Hibiki grabbed his wrist and jerked violently to the right, effectively breaking the joint. The knife clattered to the ground, the baker's grip slackened. Rounding on Hibiki, the baker's left fist came whirling. But Hibiki wasn't there. he had ducked. He reached into the air with his right hand and snatched the loaf of bread from the baker's hand. Simultaneously, he wrapped the awestruck child under his left arm, and kicked off the ground, hard. He used the baker's beet-red face as a launching point to get to the roof behind them. From there, Hibiki carried the emaciated boy with him back to where the old man was still sitting outside. he sat down hard, the child still under his arm.

Hibiki let the child down, and he went to take off, but Hibiki's hands were like a viper, and he caught the boy by the wrist as he tried to take off. He did not squeeze or try to hurt him, though he kept his fingers in the iron-clad hold, until the boy stopped struggling. Hibiki looked at the ground next to where he sat, between himself and the doorway, cast in shadow enough that he would not be soon. Realization dawned on the child, and he sat down gingerly next to Hibiki. Both relaxed then, and Hibiki broke the bread in half, handing the larger of the two to the boy.

"What's your name?" Hibiki asked. His voice wasn't hard, but it wasn't soft either. The kid couldn't have been older than 13. Hibiki's natural instincts to lead and protect had kicked in, which was the only reason he had saved this boy, but he could see the determination in his eyes, a strength few had developed so young.

"Yoin... My name is Yoin." said the boy. There was no fear in the voice, no admiration, only a measured level of thanks and a wariness that developed only in the hardiest of individuals.

A cackle from the old man brought both of their analytic attentions to him. A grin as wide as his face was plastered there, all gums under his greyed and dirty beard.

"The both of you. Who'd have thought? No one ever gets hungry here, and yet..." muttered the old man, his glittering black eyes analyzing the both of them expertly, an immense intelligence playing out from them, disguised by his raving, senile appearance.

"Where is here, exactly...?" Hibiki asked. He had already guessed at the answer, but he didn't want to accept it. If it were true, that would mean something he couldn't fathom.

"Here? This is Rukongai. The outside edge. This is where the untalented folk go. No more sickness, no hunger, no, not unless you're talented, then you're hungry. Are you talented? Do you belong with them? Up there, in the middle of Soul Society?" asked the old man, leaning in, his voice becoming more earnest, more intelligent, and less like a raving lunatic.

"If this is Soul Society..." Hibiki began, "does that mean-"

"You're dead." supplied Yoin. Hibiki nodded, accepting that fact. He knew a Shinigami could transfer their powers to a human temporarily, but there was no way that he would have felt the piercing of the first blade like that if that was what had been done. Not only that, but he knew, somewhere deep down, that his father was dead, that there was no way he would be able to give the powers back. He had become a full-on Shinigami, that much was obvious. He nodded to himself, and wordlessly reached into the Reiatsu that was within, and forced it to remain steady. He tried to gauge his own level of power, but was disappointed that he could not. Instead, he gauged Yoin's, and discovered that he had a relatively high level of Reiatsu, especially in comparison to those around him. He tried to measure the old man's, but couldn't find enough to grip onto. He gave up eventually, and pushed the Reiatsu back down. The entire thing had taken but a second.

He stood, and nodded, knowing where he needed to go, and, realizing that they were likely to meet someone on the way, what with his previous, careless bursts of unrestricted Reiatsu, before he had ascertained what it was. A pang went through him as he realized he would no longer be capable of using his powers, though he shook that off, knowing they wouldn't matter in the long run. He looked down to Yoin.

"You're coming with me."

Yoin wordlessly held his gaze, and swallowed his last bite of melon bread. He stood up and brushed himself off. The old man now was cackling wildly as ever, as he stood up and stooped back into the building, mumbling to himself.

"Where to?" asked Yoin, curious and cautious at the same time. Hibiki turned and began to walk, waiting for whoever or whatever may come. Without looking back, he answered, "The Shinigami Academy. We're gonna be Soul Reapers."