Chapter 20: Strawberries
Apparently I'm not dead, or at least not any more dead than usual.
I really don't want to think about what just happened.
-Remembering myself as thousands of people who all died is... unpleasant.
I feel kind of... sticky. I try to push myself up off of the ground, but there is a thick black fluid essentially gluing me to the ground. I use my will to push it out of the way and get my feet underneath me. As I stand, I look down at my body. My chest has a hole in it, which, while disappointing, is not entirely unexpected. My clothes have been torn to shreds, and I'll need to fix that at some point. I pat my head and feel something cold and hard covering the top of it. Looks like I'm back to being an Arrancar.
More importantly, my body
-It's longer than it was!
I grew!
'Hahahahaha, suck it past Tom; the new Tom is taller!'
-That feels familiar for some reason...
I seem to be in a massive pit, almost as if something had devoured the very ground itself and replaced it with a thick, black fluid.
I cannot help but notice the shards of hollow masks slowly floating around on the surface.
I sniff the air, and it seems...
Empty.
There are no spiritual particles, nor even any souls. Even the crystal trees are dead and empty.
Sitting at the bottom of the pool is a blade, white as snow and covered in a thin film of black goo. I pick up my Zanpakuto and shake the fluid off.
Suddenly, a delicious smell fills the air. It smells like... strawberries. I slash down at the world, ripping a hole in its fabric. I jump through the void and fall into it.
I force the running current around me to stay still and begin to think.
That smell, it's not Aizen. Regardless, I'd rather see what could cause such a strong smell than stay here.
I look down at my body and examine the hole in my chest.
-Yeah, I'm going to need to cover this.
I use my will to essentially mush the threads of my clothes back together. It's ugly and leaves some pretty obvious lines behind, but it'll at least cover me.
I pull on the smell and condense it into a trail. I grab it in my hands and begin to follow it. The current around me tries to move me along, but I pull on the world and force it to be still. I calmly walk until eventually I reach a wall of sorts. I slash down with my Zanpakuto and jump through the hole.
I land on the ground in front of a teenager with spiky orange hair and a sword bigger than his body.
He seems surprised.
"Who in the hell are you?"
'Who in the hell are you?'
"I asked first, numbnuts."
'It's Banks.'
"I don't have time for this; get out of my way!"
I stepped to the side and let the boy pass. He smells delicious, but for some reason
-I'm just not hungry.
The ambient spiritual energy of this place is too low to be anywhere but the world of the living.
-What's a Soul Reaper doing here?
I sniff the air, and I smell the familiar scent of cooked meat. There are quite a few hollows in this town. I don't think I've ever seen this many hollows in one place.
The strawberry smell is strange. It's almost like a fog is covering this entire town. It's not particularly concentrated, but it's just about masking everything else. I can smell the hollows, but not much else.
-These hollows—could they have smelled the same thing?
I decided to try and follow this kid. The smell coming off of him is only marginally stronger than the ambient scent, but it's a start.
He seems to be looking for something—or perhaps someone. I jump from rooftop to rooftop, keeping my distance, but it doesn't seem to be needed.
-This kid has the observational capabilities of a potato. I could probably play a trombone behind his back without him noticing.
Along the way he slashes through a couple of hollows. They didn't stand a chance.
-He seems to be at least somewhat capable.
Finally, he stops in front of a boy holding a bow made of spiritual particles, a girl, and.....
-Is that his twin?
I stand on top of a nearby tree, hoping that these weirdos don't see me.
"I finally found you, Ishida, and I won't be satisfied until I beat you down."
-I'm glad I didn't try to stop him earlier. He seems... violent.
A hollow jumps down from behind the spiky-haired boy. The boy with the bow shoots at it, but before the arrow hits, the spiky-haired boy deflects the arrow and cuts the hollow in half.
-Jesus, talk about brutality.
"That's right, you do understand."
"This fight is between you and me."
"So quit talking about who took down more hollows!"
"Let's settle it between the two of us!"
"Say something, Ishida!"
The twin pipes up
"Hey, Ichigo!"
"What? I'm bus-"
"the sky."
I look up and see hundreds of hollows congregating around a crack in the sky.
Did I miss a memo? Since when has this been a thing that can happen?
'What the hell?'
They turn around and face me. Clearly my disguise of holding a two tree branches in my hands did not pan out.
-Oops.
"What are you doing here?"
-I guess his name is Ichigo. Wait, what does that make his twin? Ringo?
The girl seems more surprised to see me than the other three.
"That uniform... are you a student of the Shinō academy?"
'Eh kind of. I was in Hitsugaya's class last I remember.'
"Hitsugaya graduated 16 years ago."
'Erh, time travel?'
"Ichigo, this kid is strange."
"I can't feel his spiritual pressure."
-I guess the bow guy is Ishida. I'd be more surprised if he could sense my spiritual pressure; even Captains had a hard time feeling it, and that was before I died.
Ichigo steps forward, putting himself between me and everyone else.
"What do you want?"
'I smelled something delicious, so I came to take a look. It smelled like strawberries.'
"It smelled like me?"
'No, I mean, yes, actually, but no. It smells like how Soul Reapers smell.'
Ichigo turns to the girl.
"Rukia, do soul reapers have a smell? Should I take a shower or something?"
"No, Ichigo, Soul Reapers don't have a smell. At least... I don't think we do."
She seems to be questioning her entire existence.
Suddenly Ishida starts running towards the mass of hollows in the sky.
"Wait, you saw how many there are."
"Are you scared, Kurosaki? If you're scared, then observe from there. Victory will be mine."
He launches multiple arrows into the sky, completely evaporating a couple of hollows.
-Those hollows weren't purified or consumed. They're just gone. I thought that this guy was some kind of nerd, but he's actually a little scary.
"Down here, Hollows! The last Quincy, Ishida Uryu, will stand and face you!"
Ichigo seems confused.
-Which is fair; I don't know what that means either.
"The last Quincy?"
The girl crosses her arms and begins to explain.
"They went extinct 200 years ago, the Quincys."
"Actually, to be exact... they were exterminated by the Soul Reapers."
-Yikes.
"In soul society, there's a lay habit of referring to soul reapers as "balancers," or in other words, regulators."
"Regulators?"
"The two flows of souls between the world of the living and the Soul Society are constantly exchanging. The two worlds have a soul balance, and it is the work of us soul reapers to maintain it."
-Wait, was that what I was supposed to be doing? I don't think I was ever a real Soul Reaper, but still, I feel kind of bad for not doing my job.
"Then the Quincys appeared. Quincys destroyed hollows. What this means is that souls that went to the world of the living didn't return to the soul society. If left alone, the balance between the two worlds will crumble."
"It'd be the end of the world."
-I really hope that all of the souls I ate weren't integral to the balance of the worlds. I mean, I didn't have a lot of choice, but I'd feel bad if my actions ended the world.
"Talks between the Soul Reapers and the Quincys were held countless times. The Quincys stubbornly refused to address the complaints. So, the decision to annihilate the Quincys was handed down. Do you consider that to be the Soul Reapers' arrogance?"
Ichigo runs off, leaving me behind with Rukia and Ringo.
-Is Ringo actually his name? Should I try calling him that and seeing if he reacts?
'So should I help him, or would that be me overstepping on your relationship?'
"Our relationship is strictly professional, and no, you should not go help. I don't know who you are, but someone who hasn't even graduated from the Shinō academy wouldn't be able to do much."
'Harsh, are you not even going to show a little respect for someone taller than yourself?'
Ringo pipes up.
"You're the same height."
Suddenly, a cracking sound rang out through the air. I look up and see two hands pulling the crack in the sky apart. A Gillian slowly pokes their head out.
'Amateur'
Rukia doesn't seem to hear me as she starts explaining. The scent of fear is coming off of her.
"It's a Menos."
"A Menos?"
"It's a gigantic hollow said to be born when hundreds of hollows pile atop each other and intermingle. I've never seen one outside of textbook illustrations."
"Menos Grande. It's impossible for such a thing to come out. This is the Royal Special Affairs Department's jurisdiction. That's not something a single Soul Reaper can fight."
-I'm pretty sure the drunk guy could kill one of those in his sleep. I'd be more surprised if he hasn't at this point.
Rukia starts running after Ichigo. I chase after her only to see her being stopped by a man in a hat and wooden sandals. Out of everyone he is by far the calmest.
-It's almost as if he's asleep.
"Urahara, are you trying to get Ichigo killed?!"
He places his fingers in the air and shoots out a stream of spiritual particles at Rukia. They wrap around Rukia, and she starts to fall to the ground.
"Hardly. But still, please just watch quietly. That goes for you too Mr..."
'It's Banks.'
"This fight is a necessary one, for you and for him."
Ichigo charges blindly at Gillian before being knocked back by a kick. Ishida shoots his arrow at the face of the hollow, but it barely leaves a mark.
-These two are weak. I'm guessing that Mr. Hat here is forcing them into a crisis so that they'll get stronger.
"You know, I don't think we've met before. Are you perhaps new in town?"
'This is my first time in this town. Besides, are you sure about this? Forcing a child into a life-or-death situation seems to be rushing things a bit.'
His eyes shift for a moment.
"I'm afraid we don't have the time for anything else."
Ishida grabs Ichigo's Zanpakuto, and his bow swells up.
-Jesus, is that just his spiritual pressure leaking? What is he, a literal sieve?
Ishida ties the sword to his head, and he seems to be arguing with Ichigo.
Suddenly, the spiritual particles in the air began to gather.
'Hit the deck!'
"Oh, come now, you're not afraid of a little thing like this, are you, Tom Banks?"
"Ichigo, Run! If that thing hits you, then there won't be a single atom left."
Ichigo charges straight at the Gillian, and a beam of spiritual particles is released. It slams into his blade, pushing him to the ground. However, something's wrong.
-This kid, is he getting stronger?
Suddenly the smell of strawberries begins to erupt, growing stronger and stronger.
-The delicious thing I smelled—it was him!
He struggles under the blast of sheer spiritual pressure and begins to push it back further and further. Suddenly the beam is split, and a line of spiritual energy begins to slash through the Gillian.
It's not nearly enough to kill a Menos, but the damage it does seems to be enough to drive it back. The Gillian steps back through the crack it had ripped open and pulls it shut behind it.
"See, I told you not to worry. Now let's go somewhere else and we can talk in private."
"If I do, will I get to eat the kid?"
"Nope. Eating children just so happens to be illegal in this town."
'Sorry, force of habit.'
Suddenly, the smell of strawberries begins to overflow. I look over and can see the sheer amount of spiritual particles leaking from Ichigo beginning to stain the air itself. Ishida begins to absorb it into his bow, shooting arrow after arrow into the sky.
:Are you sure that you don't want me to help?'
"They'll manage; anyways, let's get going. You and I are going to have a very, very interesting conversation."
We stroll through the town, going down street after street, until eventually we end up at a worn-down store with the words 'Urahara Store' plastered on the front.
'I'm guessing that you're Urahara?'
"Your observational abilities are truly astonishing."
He slides open the front door, and we step inside. He walks in as if he owns the place, which he probably does. The store seems to be filled with various candies, but as I sniff the air, I can't help but notice that they aren't candies.
-Are those souls? No, not quite. They're something else...
'So what exactly did you want to talk to me about?'
"Oh, this and that. For example, what exactly do you want from this town?"
'Honestly? I'm not too sure. I just popped in because of a nice smell. I can leave if you want.'
"Oh, and go where exactly?"
I look down at my body.
-Sure, the hole is covered, but something tells me that I won't get away with claiming my mask fragment as a fashion statement.
'Yeah, that's the question, isn't it? Hueco Mundo just doesn't jive with me, as for Soul Society...'
-Oh, I just remembered. That scary nice lady said that she'd kill me when the time came... If I were to go back now... would she still kill me? I really don't want to find out.
"Well there's always another option."
'Oh?'
"Yeah, you could stay here."
'Eh. Being in a world where only a few people could see me would probably get old pretty fast.'
"If only there were a way for spiritual bodies to take a physical form. Oh, would you look at that?"
He pulls out from behind him what seems to be a dead body wearing some casual clothes..... It has no skin.
Did he have that ready ahead of time?
"A gigai with your name on it. Come on, I know you want to try it out."
'I'm not too sure about this.'
His expression abruptly changes. He seems... cold.
-I've only noticed just now, but I can't smell him. I thought it was Ichigo's scent covering things up, but even now I still can't tell what his scent is.
"You know, a certain Soul Reaper Captain has his eye on this place. Wouldn't you like to meet him again?"
He points to the "Gigai" on the floor.
"All you have to do is step into it."
'I have a better idea.'
I use my will to pull on the gigai in front of me. It slips on my body like a glove.
-Oh god, I have flesh again.
'Ewwwwww'
"Ha ha ha ha, you'll get used to it. Now, we can't have you sitting around doing nothing all day. How about I enroll you in the nearby high school?"
'Aren't I a little old for that?'
"Nonsense. Souls age slower than humans. Why, in Soul Reaper terms, you're practically a spring chicken! Besides, aren't you at least a little interested in our resident substitute soul reaper, Ichigo?"
'He does smell nice, but if I can't eat him then there's not much point.'
*Sigh*
"This is why I don't like working with hollows. Half of you think of nothing but fighting, and the other half think of nothing but eating."
'I think of other things.... sometimes. Fine, I'll try it.'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Lanius_Cruiser
Lanius_Cruiser The tale of Tom interesects with the main cast. Honestly, this was quite fun to write.
— New chapter is coming soon — Write a review
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone