Into The Hollow Hole We Go Again

Chapter 8: A straightfoward test

Momiji's Perspective

Yoruichi san's proposal had caught me off guard and left me a little confused. Nevertheless, I just nodded my head and followed her lead.

With that, we made our way over to a training field surrounded by sakura trees. The sight of them left me feeling nostalgic and reminiscent of a distant memory I couldn't fully recall. But just as I tried delving deeper into my memories, I was snapped back to the present at the roaring voice of a young man who looked around my age.

I hadn't really paid attention to what he said, so it caught me by surprise when he and Yoruichi san started fighting. They both seemed to be enjoying what they were doing, so I let them be as I sat by and watched.

A few moments later, Yoruichi san paused the fight by holding back the young man's head with her finger and spoke. "Hey, how would you like to try and fight that girl over there?"

He turned his intense gaze to me and gave a cocky smirk and scoffed before speaking. "Why should I want to bother with someone who's so inferior to me?"

"Because if you try and take a swipe at her, you might get to see me at my fastest speed," Yoruichi san replied haughtily with a smug grin. The young man grinned with his newfound motivation and spared no time in redirecting his attack to me.

I wasn't stupid enough to dare waste my time trying to talk my way out of this, but I didn't know what else to do. Right as the boy was about to take a clean swipe at my throat, my body froze, and I shut my eyes waiting for the impact; but it never came. When I regained control over my movement, I opened my eyes to see that I was-

Falling from mid-air?! I looked around and saw a black hole closing up behind me. It usually only arrived under dire circumstances, which must mean that that boy most certainly would've killed me. I gulped a bit at the thought, but I quickly returned my attention to the situation at hand. I was pretty high up if I hit the ground going at my current speed I would be fatally injured.

"Focus," I heard two voices call out to me. Suddenly without even thinking, I moved my legs and pushed them out from below me and stopped mid-air. I don't know how I did it, but I stopped gravity's pull on me. I looked down to see Yoruichi san watch me with a mildly amused face along with the young man whose entire body was portraying complete and utter shock.

I didn't know what to think of this at first, but as I looked up to the azure sky above me, I felt my breath get taken away. I adored heights; there wasn't anything I loved more than being closer to the sky.

"There, see? You did it," I heard those voices in my head again. Who were they?

"O-oi, how is she doing that?" The young man shouted at Yoruichi san. Before she answered, I started panicking after the weight of my situation finally caught up to me. I was FLOATING in the AIR, and a young man was waiting below to KILL ME!

The panic overwhelmed me, and I lost my footing on the air and fell. I crashed and landed on top of the young man, sending him to the ground. "A-ah, I'm very sorry!" I apologized as I crawled off of him and brought myself to my feet; I dusted off the dirt from my shihakushou and reached out a hand to help him up. He huffed in annoyance and got up on his own, leaving my hand hanging open for no reason.

"Well, it looks like you have more than enough potential to become a shinigami," Yoruichi spoke from behind me. She laid a hand on my shoulder before walking ahead of me and stopped to continue her sentence. "It looks like we can confidently put you through this training without hesitance now."

I was starting to feel uneasy with her sudden change in attitude as she turned around to face me. Kisuke san had come walking up behind her holding an odd-looking object in his right hand. He threw it up into the air, and it glowed brightly, leaving me blinded for a split moment. When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing in a forest. It was just me and no one else, but when I looked up, I saw a hummingbird watching me.