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The padding of feet resounded down the alleyway as the young boy charged ahead of the smaller girl, fear evident in his pale green eyes. The girl tried to keep up, but tripped over her untied shoelace, a small ‘oomph’ passing her lips as she collided with the ground. Her face bounced off the pavement, the sound of cracking bone keen in the air as her nose shattered from the impact, blood erupting from her face. She couldn’t move. Fear rooted her to the spot as a looming shadow strode over to her, lifted her limp and fragile body from the ground and laughed before drawing her to his mouth.

The boy didn’t stop in his running. Even after realising that his sister was no longer behind him, his feet pounded against the ground, dirt kicking up around him as he moved. Tears streamed down his pale, young face as it slowly dawned on him that whatever that massive beast had been that was on his tail probably had his younger sister. He couldn’t go back. Not now. That thing would surely take him too! No, he had to get to their other sibling. She was just ahead, he could hear her calling out their names even over the echoing staccato his feet slapped against the earth.

“Ryan! Kira!” the voice was more mature than the boy who was running towards it, a good six years older at the very least. There she was! Just ahead. Ryan allowed his eyes to lift from his feet to rest on the girl. Anxiety marked every inch of her young face as she ran forwards towards her brother.

A massive foot crashed down inches from her face, cracking the pavement and causing shattered pieces of concrete to fly up around it. Several larger chunks collided with the girl’s face, marring her flesh, blood welling to the surface of the lacerations, trickling down her cheeks. A horrifying bellow echoed around the area, causing the girl to peer up, her face a mask of absolute terror. Looming over her was a massive bear like beast of black, a hole in the centre of its chest. Its head was turned towards Ryan, piercing goldenrod eyes fixed on the boy as he stopped dead in his tracks, quaking in his boots – literally.

The sunlight reflected off the bone white mask of the Hollow, adding to its formidable appearance as a pawed arm lashed out and swiped at the child, taking him off his feet and up towards his mouth. There was a sickening crunch of bone as the boy was dropped into a sharp fanged chasm that served as the Hollow’s mouth, jaw grinding. With a disgustingly audible gulp and a grunt of satisfaction, the Hollow turned its attention towards the girl, immediately advancing on her, clearly not sated despite having eaten both her siblings.

Blood stained its long, fierce looking teeth, mouth open as it leant towards towards her, showering her with blood and gristle. Bile rose in her throat at the smell, knowing that the Hollow was covering her in particles of her own siblings. Vomitting, completely ignoring the beast for a moment as it leered over her, the girl allowed the tears to spill from her eyes. They were gone. She hadn’t been able to save them.

The chain protruding from her chest jangled as she lifted her head and started defiantly up at the Hollow. Four years she had had to stay here, watching her siblings, completely unable to interact with them. And then the hollow had come after her and instead of absorbing her soul, it took the lives of her younger siblings. She hated Hollows. Had seen many of them in her time as a spirit.

“Then DO IT!” she yelled at it, wiping her mouth as she glared up at it. “You’ve taken them. You wanted me. SO DO IT!”

A paw swung out as the Hollow took the challenge. The claws were deflected by two swords, cross over each other as two woman appeared clad in black uniforms. The white haired woman stood with her back to the hollow, sword laid over her shoulder. The other woman, blonde in hair, was placed at her side, katana up in a defensive stance so the blade rested over her companions.

“We’ve been looking for you…” the blonde woman purred, her pale blue eyes glittering like iced diamonds. “You sure know how to evade is, don’t you Horntail?”

The Hollow let out a bellow of frustration, thorned tail whipping around from beneath his massive form to lash out at the light golden haired woman. She deftly leapt back as her companion vanished from sight for a split second before reappearing at the girl’s side.

“Stand back. We’ll handle this,” she said quietly, taking up a defensive stance before the spirit teenager. The girl could only watch in awe as the Hollow made another attack, bringing a massive paw-like foot down at the blonde woman. She didn’t even blink as her blade rose up to meet the attack, the snow-haired woman instantly springing into action. Her feet landed lightly on the Hollow’s foot before she ran the length of its leg, digging her blade into the flesh as she went. Scoring a long, deep wound along the limb, she sprang back from an aerial swipe, her partner flashing into view to deflect the attack.

The blonde woman shimmered from view again, appearing on the hollow’s shoulder, katana slashing out towards its neck. As the white haired woman blinked to the other side, two swords swiped at the bone white mask, a laceration renting it where the blades hit. As the mask split and shattered, there was a howl of fear and longing as the beast dissipated into nothing, leaving the two woman staring at each other.

In a sudden display of excitement, the two women high-fived. “We finally got him!” the blonde exclaimed, sheathing her blade with a delicate flourish.

“Took us five days, though,” her companion replied, slipping her sword into the sheath at her back. She sighed, and it seemed like the weight of the world had suddenly lifted from her shoulders. Slumping visibly, she landed softly on the ground. “Could you do it, Quartz?”

Quartz. The blonde haired woman now had a name. She nodded her head, turning pale icy eyes to the trembling young teenager. “I am Quartz Borealis. Lieutenant of the Sixth Division of the Gotei Thirteen. My partner here is Ito Shikoba, Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division. We have come to take you to Seireitei.”

The girl blinked at her, a dumbfounded expression on her pallid, scared face. “Se… what?” she asked, stumbling over her tongue as she tried to form the name. “I… Why?”

“That hollow has been following you around for five days. We were sent to investigate. We soon discovered that you house an amazing amount of raw spiritual energy which attracted Horntail to you. Now that he is dealt with, we are to send you to Seireitei. Or Soul Society, if you will, where you will learn to control your energy.”

“What… are you?”

Ito laughed. “Shinigami.”

“Shinigami?” the girl murmured. “Death reapers?”

“Or Death Gods, depending on how you view it,” Ito responded with a wry smile.

“Now. Caitaryne Merecah, I’m going to have to insist you let me perform your burial.

“Burial? And… how do you know my name?” Caitaryne was shocked from her stupor by the sudden use of her name.

“I told you. We’ve been watching you for a while. We have our ways of finding out information.” Ito yawned widely. “Quartz will perform your burial and you can finally be at peace.”

“What… does that mean?”

“I press my sword, this part –“ she indicated the butt of the sword to the girl, “to your head. It releases your spirit from the binds of earth and allows you to pass through the gate into Soul Society.” She lifted the weapon and before the girl could comprehend what her words meant, the butt of her katana brushed against Caitaryne’s forehead.

Caitaryne stared incredulously at the two woman as her body slowly dissolved into particles, passing over into Seireitei. Ito and Quartz looked at each other.

“Think she’ll be okay?” Quartz asked, concern on her face. “She’s just lost her family…”

“We all start some where, Quartzie,” Ito said, no unkindly as she lifted her blade and performed a small series of flourishes. A wooden door materialized from nowhere, opening slowly to grant the two shinigami lieutenants direct access back to Seireitei.

“I guess you’re right… nothing like getting thrown in the deep end, right?”

“Right.”