𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 | 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 [MINOR EDITING]

⁴⁴ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴘɪᴄᴇ

When my captain meant that it was time, he certainly meant it. At first, I'd thought him to bring a bunch of men from our division along with us, but now that I've arrived to the official Senkaimon, I realize I'd thought wrong.

"It's just going to be us, sir?" I ask to clarify, having not seen another Soul around us.

"Yes, I'm afraid that it is," he says. "Central Fourty-Six asked us to treat this quietly, so only they, us, and the Head Captain presently know about the situation."

"I-I see... I can't believe this is something that even has to be done," I mumble, almost ashamed to speak on it. "Captain, have you ever...?"

"... ever killed a human being for the safety of others?" he assumes I'd meant to say. "No. Not exactly. Our job explicitly deals with the deceased and with Hollows. We protect the World of the Living from the Hollows.

"On one of my first assignments while I was still a student had me cross paths with a violent young man, though he was only violent because of the Hollow that had been controlling him, manipulating him from within his own body. This Hollow's ability to do this made him undetected by us Soul Reapers, so it was able to go around absorbing other Souls without being caught. We searched for it for weeks, and only finally found it... when the Souls were no longer enough for it."

I frown. "It made him kill other humans to absorb their fresh souls," I guess. Captain Ukitake nods.

"It was a simple coincidence but it was lucky for us. That Hollow was killed, along with the human."

"What?! I thought you just killed the Hollow, why the boy, too?" I ask.

"The purpose for such a great need to find this Hollow stemmed from its ability to attach itself so tightly to its host. I did say that it took weeks to find this Hollow. We did try, Abaron. I tried to save that boy."

I mean to just let out a breath, but my throat catches, and it comes out as a whimper.

"Abaron." My Captain puts his hand on my shoulder to steady me. "Are you sure you wish to do this? I can take care of this for you--"

"No, thank you, sir," I say. I remove his hand for my shoulder. "This is all my fault, so I've got to be the one to fix it."

"... very well, then," my Captain says, in the same moment the doors of the official Senkaimon begin to swing open. "Let's be off."

*

I have always considered myself to be an understanding person. My empathy knows few bounds. I can even empathize with a Hollow if need be, though I don't condone doing that, personally. I can almost always sense what someone feels, and why they are feeling it. So, most of the time, I'm able to think of something to say that lightens the mood of the situation, or makes someone laugh in a time of crises. Now, maybe I shouldn't have done this with Captain Ukitake, but at the very least, it made things a little better, if not for a moment.