Another one posted!
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Only eight hours remained until Arisawa Tatsuki’s Hollowification would be complete. The problem, however, was that she was just sitting there in a daze, doing absolutely nothing. It was understandable—any normal human suddenly kidnapped and thrust into this state would be stunned—but that wasn't going to help the experiment progress.
“Hey. Just keep sitting there, and you’re going to turn into a Hollow. You okay with that?”
“Shut up! I’m thinking! I’m trying to figure out how to become one of those Soul Reapers!”
The girl shouted back irritably. She seemed to think she could just think her way into it, but if becoming a Soul Reaper was that easy, everyone would do it. First and foremost, you have to meet the Zanpakuto residing within your soul.
‘Come to think of it, meeting a Zanpakuto doesn’t instantly make you a Soul Reaper. Hmm. Since she’s human, I should probably guide her through a growth method similar to Ichigo’s.’
“If you want a tip: look inward. You know, meditation. Most importantly, remember that a Soul Reaper’s Spirit Ribbons—their Reiraku—are red. Focus on that, and you’ll understand what I mean.”
If I gave her that much of a nudge, she’d surely figure out the rest. Someone trained in martial arts usually has plenty of experience with the kind of meditation required to look deep inside oneself. Tatsuki looked at me with a strange glint in her eyes.
“Hey. Why are you telling me this?”
“No reason. Just for my own amusement. And you’ve only got eight hours left.”
I answered her question honestly. My reason for helping was purely to ensure the experiment stayed interesting; nothing more, nothing less. She didn't seem to realize how little time she had left, so I made sure to remind her.
“When I become a Soul Reaper, I’m definitely gonna land a hit on you!”
“Heh. Feel free.”
What a spirited test subject. To think she could lay a hand on me just by becoming a basic Soul Reaper... she had guts you rarely see in a human.
My mind was a mess. I didn't even know why I’d been dragged here in the first place, and the fact that this 'Soul Reaper' business was somehow connected to Ichigo only made my head hurt more. On top of that, the realization that I was going to turn into one of those monsters from earlier in just a few hours made the throbbing in my skull even worse.
“Hey. Just keep sitting there, and you’re going to turn into a Hollow. You okay with that?”
Seriously, I felt like my brain was going to explode just from thinking, and yet this nutjob had been watching me this whole time. That smirking, cheeky tone of his was getting right on my nerves.
“Shut up! I’m thinking! I’m trying to figure out how to become one of those Soul Reapers!”
I snapped at the lunatic and dove back into my thoughts. Usually, a 'Soul Reaper' refers to a being that guides the dead or heralds death. Is that what I’m supposed to become? Or does it mean something else entirely here? Then, the nutjob spoke up again.
“If you want a tip: look inward. You know, meditation. Most importantly, remember that a Soul Reaper’s Spirit Ribbons—their Reiraku—are red. Focus on that, and you’ll understand what I mean.”
Out of nowhere, he gives me a hint and tells me about some 'red Spirit Ribbons.' Now that I think about it, he’s been pestering me for a while now, almost as if he’s impatient for me to become a Soul Reaper.
“Hey. Why are you telling me this?”
“No reason. Just for my own amusement. And you’ve only got eight hours left.”
I asked out of curiosity, but of course, his answer was insane. He wants me to become a Soul Reaper just for his own 'fun'? It’s hard to be this far gone, but this guy was clearly, fundamentally mad.
“When I become a Soul Reaper, I’m definitely gonna land a hit on you!”
“Heh. Feel free.”
‘Once I become this Soul Reaper thing, I’m definitely getting my revenge.’
I watched him smirk and sneer at me, and I vowed internally that I’d put my fist right in his face. Following the lunatic's advice, I decided to try meditating first. My heart was racing and my mind was racing, so centering myself seemed like a good idea anyway.
“Whew— Haa—”
I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. One, two... I counted in my head, letting the numbers fade away. Emptying my mind, I sank into a deep meditative trance. Some time later, when I opened my eyes, I wasn't in that cell anymore. I was in a strange place—an incomprehensible, upside-down world.
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Post! Post! Post!
Um, it’s not that I’m not writing 'Biroedo' because I don’t have a story. It’s just... well, to put it simply, I couldn’t remember the details. I was surprised to see so many people giving me advice on how to write it, haha. Perhaps my phrasing was a bit off. I have a general plot in mind, but I’ve forgotten the specific content, so I was asking if there was any way to fix that. I suppose rereading is the only way, isn't it?
While the Tatsuki plotline might seem a bit forced, I didn't throw it in without thinking. As I mentioned before, since Ruel can't really pull a betrayal on Ichigo by pretending to be his friend now, he kidnapped Tatsuki to mess with Ichigo instead. Plus, the standard Hollow-side story is a bit lacking in content once you team up with Aizen, so I introduced Tatsuki as a new narrative element. In short, the story hasn't gone off the rails!
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