Bleach: Hollow Reaper

9: Seperate Paths and Painful Memories

After the battle with the three Adjuchas and their small army, the Demon and the Shinigami quickly found a new base in another cave a little lower than half way up to the ceiling. They rested, regained their strength and continued to train, learn, teach and hunt. These years were productive for both of them, however, the time was drawing near for the two to start following their own paths.

"Ashido." The Shinigami turns as his face is illuminated by the ball of reishi on the ceiling. The familiar mantis' mask hangs from a cloak of fur draped over his shoulder. His eyes meet the Demon's, wondering why his ally would call him by his name instead of 'Shinigami' or 'Swordsman' as it had taken to calling him these past years. "What's up?" The Demon stands from its seated position against the wall, lifting its blade over its shoulder as he walks past Ashido to the cave entrance. Raising his brow in curiosity, the redheaded Shinigami follows, looking out over the dark expanse. In the distance, a few Gillians wander aimlessly, shuffling around like lost sheep. "Going hunting?" The Shinigami's vocabulary has shrunken since meeting the Demon, neither being that great at holding a proper conversation but having improved their understanding of each other by leaps and bounds, long talks are no longer needed in most situations other than the few lessons Ashido would still give the Demon.

The Demon shakes its head, shifting its gaze skyward, towards a large hole that let the pale light cascade into the dark forest. "I'm leaving." The Demon states matter-of-factly, without leaving any room for discussion. "So that's why you've been acting weird lately." The Demon doesn't say anything in retort, silently acknowledging the Shinigami's words. "Where you going? Not like there's much to see 'round here. Even if you do go topside, I doubt it's much better than down here." The Demon finally shifts its attention back to Ashido, gazing at him for a moment. "Doesn't matter. I want to see it." The two stand in silence for a while once more, contemplating their futures. "You really wanna do this, huh? Don't think I've seen you...want something, well, ever. What changed?"

The Demon turns to face the redhead, now giving its full attention to the first being it had ever considered an ally and possibly even a friend. "Seen it. Too strong for down here. Adjuchas go up. Find stronger prey." Having been with the tall Demon for so long, the Shinigami perfectly understands its ally's broken speech. "You sure that's why they're going up? Plenty of reasons to do that." The Demon shakes its head, dismissing the redhead's claims. "Hollow's reasons to go up are few. Fun, food, fighting or fear." The Shinigami tries to come up with an alternative reason but fails, grumbling underneath his breath about how predictable Hollows are.

Relenting, the Shinigami places his closed fist on the centre of the Demon's chest, just below the hole and smiles wistfully. "Just try not to die." "Not coming?" Ashido blinks in surprise, not even having thought of the possibility that the Demon would ask for his company. The Shinigami looks back out to the wide expanse of the forest, spying the Gillians now devouring one-another. "Maybe some day. For now, I think my place is here." "Why? You're not Hollow. Ashido belongs in the Soul Society." The redhead lets out a short chuckle at the perceived concern from the lumbering creature. "The Soul Society is just one place for me to work. This is another." "Don't want to go home?" Ashido shakes his head. "The Soul Society isn't my home. Rukongai* is. Well, more specifically, South Rukongai, District 32." The Demon takes note of the lonely smile on the Shinigami's face.

"Why won't you return?" Ashido thinks for a moment before coming up with an answer he feels appropriately sums up his thoughts. "I can help more by staying here. Think about it. A Hollow I kill today, could have gone on to kill someone, break apart a family, become an Adjuchas or worse. If me staying here can prevent that from happening, then so be it. I can actually make a difference." The Demon doesn't speak, though it somewhat understands what its ally is talking about. Something heavy. Something the Demon, who currently seeks nothing but the destruction of all things Hollow, would never be able to fully understand. "Demon." The two turn their heads to face each other. "When you leave, you should try to find a home for yourself. Hell, maybe even a family." "Why?" Ashido chuckles, seeing the Demon's confusion. "Something like that tends to fill that hole in your chest. Not literally, of course. But that sense of longing, loneliness, once you've got people you can call a family and a place you can go home to...I don't know..." Ashido's words trail off, unable to complete his sentence. "Not Hollow." "No, not Hollow. Complete, happy, powerful...whole."