[DISCONTINUED] Strive | Bleach

Chapter Thirty-Two: Monkey and Common.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Monkey and Common.

Short chapter, but I ain’t givin’ no damns ‘bout it. Although, I will give a damn about this announcement! Only TWO more chapters away until Abaron’s departure! Give or take.

This chapter is dedicated to MusicAnimeLuvr, for showing such appreciation towards this story, as well as encouraging me to continue on with my dream. Thank you very much!

Abaron’s POV

Bounts… I-I don’t think I’ve ever once heard about them before. Based on the other’s silence – meaning Ichigo, Renji, Chad, Orihime, Uryū, Jinta, and Ururu – neither have they. The Mod Souls – Lirin, Noba, Kurōdo and Tolo – seemed to be fully aware, but remained silent. But Kisuke, Tessai, and Yoruichi seemed to know enough not to be as confused as we were.

“I don’t get it,” Uryū said, staring over at them. “A Bount?” From his robe, Kisuke pulled out a glass vial filled with pink liquid. Connected to the stopper was a little stick with a ball of light at the end.

“This Reishi came from a Bount.”

“That’s great,” Ichigo said, resting his hands on his legs to prop him up. “So what the hell’s a Bount, anyway?” Kisuke and Yoruichi exchanged glances with each other before he began to speak.

“It was quite a while ago, when I was in the Department of Research and Development. I encountered some residue that looked a lot like this. It’s a mysterious Reishi that reacts to special components of a human soul. Upon further investigation, I traced it to a tribe called the Bount.”

“A tribe?” I repeated.

“I use that term for lack of a better word because the Bount are few in number. They’re like the Quincy; a human with special powers. Quincy have the power to kill Hollows and destroy their souls entirely, which, unfortunately, led to their downfall. A Bount has the ability to absorb human souls. They do this for nourishment.

“Another difference is the Quincy are all born human and die human. Bounts, on the other hand, are born human, but somehow, by absorbing living souls, they are able to live forever. That’s as much as I could find out. Unfortunately, I’ve never been lucky or unlucky enough to encounter one, myself.”

“So these Bounts never die?” Ichigo concluded, boredly.

“That’s right,” he said. “The human souls which they absorb are sustenance to live an eternal life. That quality distinguishes them from every other living being. Over the years, they have also been known as another name—vampires.”

“Ordinarily,” Yoruichi said. “But the Bounts operation is to extract the soul from a human who has died while the Konso is being performed on them. But that’s not what I saw. The Bount I saw was different. This one was trying to absorb the soul of a living person.”

“So… what happens to the person who has their soul sucked out?” I asked nervously. “What happens to them?”

“It’s the same as when a life is taken—the only thing left behind… is death.”

“Though, we’re still not completely sure it’s a Bount,” said Yoruichi. She looked over at Kisuke, who was closely examining the Reishi sample. “Could it have been some kind of mutation or variant?”

“Well, you never can tell,” he responded, before the two of them crossed their arms and fell into silence once again. Then, Ichigo slammed his hand down hard on the table, nearly knocking over the tea Tessai made for us. I caught them before they spilled.