Chapter nine: Package.

Chapter nine.

"You can see spirits?" / "Doesn't that wall look nice!?"

"Huh. Now that you mention it, it does look… Wait, no!" Ichigo managed to snap out of his trance staring at the wall, his intense stare glued on me again.

I am not gonna lie, this situation is so random, I need some time to process things. Think, think, what to do?

"Wait." I told him, raising a hand up as I managed to get his attention. The path was clear for me to follow. "You can see spirits!?"

Flip-the-script on him, that was the most obvious thing to do here. If he is able to tell I am able to see spirits, then that naturally means he is able to see them as well.

"W-Well… Yes, I can, but…" Ichigo began, hesitating a bit as he verbalized a response. Alright, that's good enough.

"Well, unfortunately, I can see them as well." I replied in an instant, I mean, if he could see them as well, there's nothing wrong with admitting that much, right?

"Unfortunately?" Ichigo asked, walking closer as I signaled for him to take a seat on my bed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just that." I told him, leaning back on the chair as I saved the incomplete drawing inside one of the desk's drawers. "I don't like them."

"Um… Isn't that a bit…?" Ichigo muttered as he threw a discrete glance at the spirit. Strange, it looks like he does care about them.

"Oh believe me, she knows." I replied without thinking too much about it, this specific spirit had been around me for long enough to understand that much.

"I…" I watched as he shifted around in his seat, his mind processing what he had just learned. "You know something about them, then? Spirits, I mean. How come just some of us can see them?"

"I know a little." I replied as I stood up and began looking inside another of the desk's drawers. "Here."

I handed him a transparent file folder and he grabbed it without thinking too much about it, then he asked.

"What's this…?" Ichigo opened the folder and began taking a look inside, his fingers turning one page after the other.

"I like drawing stuff that I see." I told him, walking near him as I looked at the pages over his shoulder. "Spirits, for example."

"Wait." Ichigo said, his orbs widening as he made a stop on a specific page. "You mean… You mean these things exist!?"

"...?" I blinked in surprise, taking a better look at the page he was staring so vividly at. It was just the drawing of some hollow.

"... Yes? I mean, he used to exist, at least." I replied, the briefest hints of a smile coming to life for a split second as I muttered that last part.

Still, that was a little weird. He can see spirits, so how come he is surprised about some random hollow?

"Used to?" Ichigo looked even more confused than he did a second ago, if that was possible. Just when he was about to ask about it, I raised a hand to stop him.

"Later." I told him, glancing towards the door as I felt mom's spiritual pressure approaching. God, it's so helpful knowing these terms at last!

Before Ichigo had the chance to even question what I meant, mom barged through the door with an excited smile and some stuff to eat.

"How did you…?" He asked, his confusion skyrocketing as mom showed up.

"How did I what?" I asked, dedicating the most innocent and oblivious look I could muster to him as mom smiled at us.

"Is something the matter?" Mom tilted her head, a questioning look directed at us as she left what she had prepared on the desk.

"No, it's…" Ichigo managed to shake off the questions from his head as he muttered a response. "It's nothing."

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

Haru's conversation with Ichigo had proved to be a confusing one, leaving both of them with lots of questions and few answers.

You'd think the both of them would have held a conversation after Haru's mother left the room, but their chat extended for so long that it was just not possible.

That left Haru with tons of questions that needed to be answered and so, when in search of answers, who else could he seek but the local talking cat and mysterious shopkeeper?

"... Then he just left." Haru's words left his mouth as he finished his story in a frustrated manner. "I'm not sure what's happening here."

"My, my." Urahara said as he sat right in front of the teen, smiling as he heard what he had to share with him. "It would seem someone has experienced some interesting events since we last saw each other."

"Care to explain things, then?" Haru asked him, his gaze wandering until it landed on the black cat sitting in the corner of the room.

"But of course! Where should I start, I wonder?" Urahara pondered out loud, something about his tone making Haru feel like the man was messing around. "Let's see… You mentioned someone else, using a 'spiritual bow', if I am not mistaken?"

"Yes, I did." Haru replied, there was stuff that still remained unclear to him, and part of it was because of a lack of understanding of his very own self. "Ūryu Ishida, I think that's his name, he called himself a Quincy. His techniques seemed similar enough to mine, or so I assumed at first."

"I mean, it still doesn't make much sense to me. He's a human with powers, I am a human with powers, sounds like the same shit to me."

"Well, there's some fundamental disparities in the core of those very powers that differentiates them." Urahara explained, raising a single finger as he spoke. "In regards to the very nature of those powers..."

"... I don't imagine this must come as that much of a surprise, but yours share a lot of similarities with those of hollows."

"This stuff is kinda complicated." Haru complained as he stared at the ceiling, still, he did understand what the blond meant.

Whenever he absorbed a hollow it never felt like something foreign, quite the opposite in fact, it felt familiar.

"Then what about Ichigo? What's his deal? He feels… Odd." Haru trailer off, recalling his talk and meetings with the orange haired kid. "Is he not the same as me?"

"I'm not sure." Urahara replied, waving his fan as he met the teen's gaze. "I would have to take a look at him first."

"That so?" Haru squinted. It sounded reasonable, but he couldn't quite shake off the feeling there was more to it. "I'll see what I can do about that, then. That should be all."

The moment the teen began to stand up, a sudden thought flashed through his mind as he sat back down.

"On second thought…" Haru said, his hand resting on his chin as he gazed at Yoruichi. "There's something else I have been meaning to talk about, but it's less about me and more about… Well, you two."

"About us?" Yoruichi asked, resting her chin against her frontal paws as her feline orbs settled on him. "What is it?"

"You mentioned before that Shinigami are regulators of souls, balancers, right?" Haru began, thoughts of Orihime's brother flashing through his mind. "You regulate souls, but, in what sense?"

"That's a good question." Urahara jumped back in the conversation, closing his hand fan as he decided to take over this explanation. "Mind if I take over explaining this one?"

"I don't mind." Yoruichi replied, still resting on the floor as her gaze kept wandering between the two.

"Alright, then… The Soul Society might be a difficult concept to grasp having never seen it." Urahara said, pointing upwards as he spoke. "To make it simple to digest, think of it as a separate world. Then imagine there's a constant exchange of souls between that world and this one."

"It is a Shinigami's duty to maintain that exchange in balance, keeping the constant flow of souls intact."

"Makes sense." Haru replied, smiling a little as he asked a different question. "Then that means it is possible to send souls from here to there, right?"

"You are talking about Pluses? Well, of course." Urahara replied, using his cane as support as he stood up. "In fact, that's where they should be; this is the World of the Living, after all."

"I have a favor to ask, then." Haru said, standing up as well as he faced the man. "If I bring a soul here… You could send them there, right?"

Before, Haru believed spirits like the girl and the girl's dead brother would all become monsters no matter what.

However, this changed things, this meant there was a way to spare some of them from becoming hollows, thus preventing them from harming humans.

"I sure can." Urahara replied, pointing his cane at the teen as he smiled. "I could do it this very second, in fact."

"I'll be back in a second." Haru did not waste even another second, vanishing from the store as he rushed to his house.

"Well… He's gone." Urahara noted, whistling as he knelt near the ground, his fingertips grazing the trails of green light.

"So it would seem." Yoruichi said in response, still refusing to move from her spot on the floor. "You think he'll be back soon?"

"Oh, I have a feeling he will." The blond man replied, his unreadable smile having remained throughout the entire conversation. "Still…"

"He ought to take care of that spiritual pressure of his." He muttered, the little lines of light vanishing at last from his sight. "He's been leaking it for so long, it's no wonder he comes into such frequent contact with spirits."

"Will someone else take notice before he does, I wonder…?"

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

You'd think travelling through the entire town in mere seconds would be, if not outright impossible, at least somewhat tiring.

However, Haru was feeling more energetic than ever. Hell, there's an argument to be made for him actually being happy.

'Weird…' The teen thought, making a stop near the same apartment complex he had grown used to. 'What is this feeling…?'

'He's just a ghost, I don't care about them.' He stated in his mind, green light following each of his steps as he couldn't help but smile.

'Then what is this feeling?' His smile turned into a grin, was it because of her? It could be. Her spiritual pressure felt similar to his, so perhaps that's the reason behind his attachment?

"Alright." Haru came to a halt in front of her door, realizing that perhaps he should have thought a little before arriving there.

'Hang on a second.' He thought, his mind processing the fact he couldn't just barge in and ask for a minute of privacy so he could have a talk with her dead brother's spirit.

'What if I…' He took his phone out, but shook his head in denial soon after. 'Nah, it wouldn't work. No one would fall for that.'

'Still…'

Haru began writing a message, quick and to the point as he decided it was worth a shot. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

'There, done.' He thought, sending the message as he decided to reread it in a flash. Fuck, what a shit plan.

[orihime, think i forgot my wallet in the bathroom last night lol, could u check rq?]

'I must be the dumbest human on the planet to think anyone would bother walking to their bathroom after a message like this.' Haru blushed as he saw the text, face palming the more he read it.

"...?" Mere seconds after, he heard a noise through the door, the sound of something being knocked over, falling to the floor and then, quick steps.

'Don't tell me…' Haru thought, a loud 'thud' that sounded a lot like a door being closed reaching him from a distance. 'It worked!?'

"..."

"There's no shot she did it, right?" He asked, an amused smile on his face as he imagined her rushing to the bathroom.

Deciding it was best not to tempt his luck, he knocked once, it was the softest knock he could manage so that the girl would not be able to hear it from the bathroom.

"You." Not a second later, Sora's face phased through the door as he decided to investigate who was behind that door.

"Me!" Haru replied, nodding at the spirit and sounding a lot more enthusiastic than usual. "Mind if we go for a walk? Walls here are so thin, she might hear us."

'What's with the change of attitude…?' Sora thought, squinting at the teen as he gave an affirmative nod in response to his request.

"Sure."

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

Human and spirit walked down the sidewalk, none of them talking for a while until the spirit decided to break the silence.

"So? What is it?" Sora inquired, levitating near the teen as he decided to ask the question that was bothering him.

Sora wasn't quite sure how to feel about Haru, he was helping his sister, and he was thankful for that, no one had bothered to do so.

But there was just something… There was something about his look whenever they met glances that ticked him off.

Something in his look, the contempt, it almost felt like the teen was glancing at something he considered to be lesser, lesser than human.

However, this time it seemed to be different, something about his upbeat tone and mannerisms… Did something change?

"Well…" In turn, the teen decided to speak his mind. "I might have found a solution to our little… Situation, so to speak."

"You… You have!?" It took the spirit a second to process the meaning of those words. "You are not kidding, right? You found a solution?"

"Well… Yes." Haru replied, realizing he should have probably explained what the solution was straight away. "You might not like it, though."

"What?"

"Believe me, it's better than the alternative!" Haru assured him, lifting his hands up to appease the spirit. "It's just…"

"Listen." Haru sighed, making a stop as he turned to face the ghost. "I found certain beings that… Well, take care of business, if you catch my drift?"

"Certain beings?" Sora asked, calming himself down as he listened to the teen. "I'm not sure I follow."

"Don't panic, alright?" He told the spirit, breathing in as he decided to just let the words out. "This might sound bad but… Shinigami."

"You found…?" Sora couldn't even finish the sentence, the implications of such beings even existing in the first place was hard to accept.

"It's not as bad as it sounds!" Haru said, rubbing the back of his head as he looked for a simple explanation. "These shinigami are in charge of sending spirits to the afterlife, that's the solution."

"The downside is, of course… You'll not be seeing her again for… Well, let's hope it's for a long ass time."

"I… I need some time to think about this." The spirit managed to get out, his gaze traveling down to his sister's apartment. "I need some time, please. You can talk with these shinigami, right?"

"I mean… Sure?" Haru replied, it was not like time was of essence but he would prefer to get things done soon, if possible. "I'll see what I can do… There's also another spirit girl I'll be talking to, so… You have time until I manage to convince her, alright?"

[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]

[I couldn't find a thing, I'm sorry! I even looked inside the bathtub, but I couldn't find it.]

I felt a little bad after reading Orihime's response to the dumb ass message I sent her, I had her looking for a nonexistent wallet for god knows how long.

'What a sweet girl.' I thought with a smile, walking inside my room as I looked for the last spirit I intended to take to Urahara.

Sure enough, there she was, laughing as she glided around the room, performing some cool stunts mid-air.

"Yo." I greeted her, and that was enough to make her stop dead in her tracks. It was not often that I was the one to start a chat, but I was in a good mood today.

"Haru-kun!" The girl said, and I scowled at her as per usual.

"Don't push it." I told her, but still managed to smile nonetheless as I signaled her to come down.

"What is it?" The spirit girl asked, almost touching the floor with her feet as her curious nature got the better of her.

"...?" I was about to tell her what I had in mind, but the sound of the door bell made us both face the hall.

'Mom will get it.' I thought, facing the spirit again as I sat on the bed.

"I met someone interesting." I told her as I allowed myself to fall on the bed. "They can take you to the afterlife, you could go meet the rest of your family."

"Y-You mean that!?" The spirit's sheer scream of happiness almost made me sit back up from bed. Shit, that was loud. "I can go see them!?"

"Yup, according to what I heard from them." I assured her, staring at the ceiling as she began flying laps around the bed. "I'll get it arranged as fast as possible. I'm just waiting for someone else to decide."

"Someone else…?" The girl asked me, only thinking about it for a second before deciding it was not important enough to make her stop celebrating.

"Haru!" I turned to the door, realizing I had forgotten to lock it. Mom screamed something to me, but I missed it.

"Yes!?" I asked, unwilling to move from the comfiness of my bed. Her scream reached me again, this time even louder than before.

"I said, there's a package for you!" This time her words got to me loud and clear, and so, unwilling as I might have been, I stood up.

'A package…?' I thought, walking out of the room as the spirit followed my every step. I arrived at the living room in no time, and there, mom handed me a small package.

"You expecting something?" Mom inquired, and I gave her an odd look as I took hold of it. I wasn't expecting shit.

"No." I ripped the package apart, not wasting another second and deciding to find out just what was inside of it.

Small as the package might have been, it was far too big taking into consideration what was inside of it. Nothing but a black card.

Standing there with mom to the right and the spirit to the left, I read the name on the card out loud.

"Xcution?"

End of chapter nine.