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CHAPTER 5: Becoming a Reaper?
The sliding door of Urahara Shoten clicked shut behind them as Kisuke and Sakura returned to the shelter of the inconspicuous store. Sakura had to admit, no one would guess that it was anymore more.
She was welcomed by the other residents of the store. A man who was so tall he earned an ache in her neck to meet his eyes, with a prominent handlebar mustache and long sideburns. Tessai Tsukabishi he introduced himself. His demeanour was curious towards Sakura.
What took Sakura aback was the two children, who lived there as well, and apparently employees. A young boy with bright red hair and harsh eyes, giving a gruff greeting as Jinta. Lastly, a young girl, named Ururu, with pitch black hair that fell like silk, she had big blue eyes. She shuffled through her greeting and bowed towards Sakura, which seemed to have annoyed Jinta as he pulled on her bangs.
They went to the upper level of the shop that had been converted into a living space, where Sakura was served warm tea and snacks. While the gesture was an attempt to make the atmosphere more comforting, Sakura wasn't exactly eager to embrace anything that could drop her guard just yet.
Kisuke claimed to have more to share with her regarding her condition; she would've been willing to walk into a dungeon or torture chamber if it meant she would receive more information.
She sank into a seat at the low table, her fingers wrapped around the teacup. "How did that Hollow even get into my world?" she demanded. "I've never seen anything like it before. And those things aren't exactly conspicuous."
Kisuke held up a finger, his face becoming stern. He seemed to be able to switch between the two in ways that made it impossible to discern his true thoughts and intentions, and that's what was so off putting for Sakura. "Before we begin, you need to understand: we're about to blur the lines between the living and the dead."
Sakura clenched her jaw but nodded, allowing Kisuke to paint the full picture for her once and for all. Kisuke grabbed a pen and notepad, sketching quick, rough illustrations as he spoke.
"There is more than one world," Kisuke began, tapping the page, his pen gliding across the paper. "First, there's the World of the Living. Your Earth, my Earth. Parallel dimensions, separated by barriers."
He drew a series of spheres, each labeled differently, but he was linking them together through lines cutting through each one. "But between these worlds exist other realms. Hueco Mundo, where Hollows dwell. And the Soul Society, what you might call the afterlife, where spirits pass on after death."
Sakura frowned. "So, it's like… heaven?"
Kisuke smirked, but there was something that made her instincts spark. "Well, it's better than hell."
Something was behind that answer, but Sakura chose not to try looking underneath it for now. She already knew that this conversation was going to bring about enough unpleasantness without her mining for more.
"But there is more than one world of the living. We have theories here about that, including alternate dimensions and realities. You come from the same world as we do, however, it's in a different dimension completely separate from our earth. But it's also connected. Hollows," Kisuke continued, sketching a monstrous figure, with the skill of a five-year-old. "can tear through these barriers. They invade both the World of the Living and the Soul Society, seeking souls to devour. That's their sole purpose."
Sakura's stomach twisted. "And Soul Reapers?"
"They're spiritual soldiers with two duties," Kisuke said. "First, to guide lost souls who have died to the Soul Society. Second, to exterminate Hollows."
Sakura held up her hand, "You said that there are separate worlds, but I said before that I've never seen a hollow or heard about these creatures before, and it turns out they've been lurking?"
"Not quiet," Kisuke interjected, circling one of the spheres on the page, labeling it Sakura's world.
"Now, your world is… special. It has a barrier, but it's like an extra thick layer of protection that isn't as easy to break through, in fact, for a while it was down near impossible. Normally, Hollows can't even sense it. It's like a dead zone to them."
Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Then how did one get through?"
Kisuke sighed, "Somehow, the barrier was decayed in a certain area. Not enough to collapse, but enough that a powerful Hollow could force its way in. Or perhaps that hollow was the cause of it, I'm not sure."
"So more of them could appear?"
"Maybe." Kisuke shrugged. "But right now, you should be more concerned about yourself."
"Meaning what?" Sakura's face pulled as if she was smelling something foul.
"You are a soul reaper now, but you still have to get a hold of your power before that hollow inside of you resurfaces. The hole hasn't closed up, that's proof enough it's still lurking."
"I thought it was destroyed." Her fingers lightly grazed over the hole that had stopped its throbbing; it now felt like a natural part of her body, of her flesh, and Sakura didn't like that one bit.
"Not destroyed, just suppressed.Mm. Think of it like holding back a flood with your bare hands. Right now, you're just barely keeping the tide from swallowing you whole. But eventually?" He shrugged. "Your arms will give out. It's also bonded to your soul. Frankly, you're lucky to be alive. The history is that this doesn't end well for you."
"So there's a history behind this?"
"Isn't there always?"
Sakura sighed and her shoulders slumped in surrender, "What do I have to do?"
Kisuke opened his fan, "You wanna know?"
Of course, she did, and he knew it enough that she didn't have to dignify a response.
"Well, fine, but you might die from this."
"What happens if I walk away then?"
"You'll be consumed by the hollow and suffer an agonizing end."
"Then there's no choice, so tell me what I have to do."
"It's simple," Kisuke pointed his fan at her, "You're going to train as a soul reaper."
..
..
..
"Didn't think I'd be coming back here so soon,"
The wooden stairs groaned underfoot as Kisuke led Sakura deeper beneath Urahara shop. She could barely fathom the lengths to create something as big as this underground area. But she had a feeling it wasn't done by any natural means. At least not by her standards.
"Why did you build this place?" Sakura quipped, glancing up at the clear blue skies. While knowing they were artificial, without the ladder leading into the hatch, no one would guess that. Or like a very well-executed genjutsu.
"Why for training, of course," He had a wide-mouthed smile, wagging his cane around. In her observation, Kisuke appeared perfectly capable of walking around without its use, and that wasn't naturally held as an accessory. It was something that became impractical when it had no practical use. Sakura had learned that from working with enough elderly people who, despite having crooked spines, despised needing a third leg to hold themselves up. But they kept it with them because it served a purpose.
What kind of purpose did it offer this man?
While an insignificant detail to the naked eye, to a shionbi, every movement of their subject of interest was like gold. Sakura wanted to know the full intentions behind her 'savior'. No action of giving was ever without the take.
He talked about training, but Kisuke Urarahara didn't strike Sakura as a man interested in battle or had even been on the field. As a shinobi, she'd learned to read people; the way they carried themselves, the tells in their posture. Kisuke moved like a man who'd never held a sword, all loose-limbed and careless. But there was something amiss when she attempted to agree with that conclusion.
Though the best warriors were the ones who could keep on their mask of normality and walk amongst the crowd. That's what made them the most special.
"Alright," His voice called her to attention, "First thing we need to do is get you to turn back into a soul reaper, so hop to!"
Her arms which were limp, turned to stone. "How am I supposed to do that?"
Kisuke shrugged at her, "That's for you to figure out."
"What? You talked about training as if you had everything figured out! You're the one who clearly knows about soul reapers."
"Well, you're not going to be able to do this training without your zampakuto,"
Sakura blinked. "What? I don't even know how I turned back to normal!" She looked down at herself, ordinary clothes, no sword, no black robes.
A harsh response was issued when Kisuke appeared in front of Sakura, taking his cane and jamming the tip right into her sternum with enough force to knock the wind out of her. Pain exploded, but it wasn't in that concentrated area where the injury was made. Instead, Sakura bashed her back into the ground with Kisuke, standing over her holding his cane in the same place. But pain had traveled throughout her body.
Her fingers twitched erratically, and her eyes shook as she spasmed from the pain, seeing the way her hands and arms became blurs as if she had been wearing glasses before. Her vision suddenly became doubled but that was not the case. It looked as if she was being covered by that familiar black kimono, only for it to vanish again.
Then he removed the cane, and the sensation stopped. Sakura had to cough out her pain.
"Normally, when this happens, a body will be separated from its spirit. Soul Reapers who stay in the world of the living for longer periods will sometimes reside in a gigai, an artificial body to host their spirit. Usually, they can separate without much hassle. But in your case, your physical and spiritual bodies have been sewn together to keep you from falling apart and dying,"
Sakura groaned, sitting up as she clutched her chest, as Kisuke kept on that grin she just wanted to punch right off.
"Your body and soul were in tatters, so I took those pieces to put you back together. Have to say I felt like Dr. Frankenstein,"
When Sakura gave him that look, where she attempted to hold a glare and the high ground, but her curiosity still shone through, Kisuke gleefully explained the story about a scientist who takes a bunch of human parts from corpses and sews them together to make one big monster that he tries to bring back to life.
The more Sakura listened, the more offended she became. She lunged, fist pulled back, only for Kisuke to sidestep effortlessly, his grin never slipping. "Ah-ah. Save the violence. As you can see, the traditional method of separating your body and soul won't work for you. So for the first part of your training, you need to turn yourself back into a soul reaper."
"And it's up to me to figure that out?" Sakura asked.
"Correct,"
She didn't hide the way her hands clenched, or the way she held herself in a threatening manner, showing that she went to great lengths to show her desire to strangle him. But instead of acting on her thoughts, she turned away, forcing herself to breathe.
'This Sakura. The sooner you figure this out, the sooner you go home,'
Just the thought of reaching that place made her ache. She'd fought Tsunade to go on that mission, insisting she was ready, that she could be a valuable asset. But when the time came, when a healer was needed, when she was needed, she couldn't even step up to the platform. In fact, she had fallen straight off it.
Straight into another world. With her body and soul torn apart.
She wondered how it was always possible for it to end like this with her. Hitting the side of her thighs, she pulled in a shaking breath, closing her eyes.
At first, she tried to think about that form, the clothing, the way it wrapped around her in a perfect fit, tailored to her. Sakura imagined that kimono, from her shoulders to her waist, with the sword strapped on the belt.
Suddenly, yellow eyes flashed through her mind, and a menacing smile that knocked her out of that image. She jumped back as if she was right in front of that hollowfied version of her.
Sakura felt her breathing rapid, and then the hole throbbed; she knew it was the hole because of where the shooting pain was located. It was spreading through her body that she had to lean forward, holding her knees.
'You don't want me to do that, huh? We'll see if you can stop me,' Sakura swallowed back her bile, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and sat on the ground, crossing her legs, but her posture showed this wasn't for leisurely matters. Picturing again, and seeing that image again, taunting her.
From the outside, it seemed that she was in perfect concentration, that's what Kisuke saw as he watched her with careful eyes. Tessai is coming up behind him.
"How's it going, boss?"
"She's figuring it out."
"You sound impressed."
"She wants to be a quick study. But there's a difference between wanting and doing,"
Sakura went back into the darkness, her breathing slowing, as she envisioned that soul reaper form again. As she continued to visualize that image, Sakura saw it. That version of her standing in front of the darkness.
And then she felt the pain in her chest knock her breath out of her again, and while she couldn't see it she could feel it. The hole in her chest was starting to stretch out. Above her, the dust stirred, kicked up by the invisible tempest of spiritual energy swirling around her body.
Kisuke and Tessai watched from the sidelines, their expressions unreadable.
"Should you have pushed her to start this soon?" Tessai rumbled. "She barely made it out of the first scrape."
"Exactly. That's why she needs to get a full handle on this wheel." His slate-gray eyes tracked the way Sakura's body tensed, the way her breath hitched, and he could sense the hollows presence like a pulse on his wrist. "She managed to become a Soul Reaper, but it's like she barely grasped onto that string. She's got to pull it out of the water, or she'll end up drowning again."
The hole in her chest strained against her will, its edges fraying like torn fabric. Like a wound that didn't want to close.
Sakura gritted her teeth, sweat beading on her brow as she fought against the tide of pain that washed over her. She remembered the way her body had screamed in protest during Tsunade's most brutal training sessions, the way her muscles had burned as she pushed past her limits.
But this was different.
This wasn't just her body breaking. It was her soul.
Despite this, Sakura pushed, trying to fight against the current that wanted to drag her under and direct her.
FLASHBACK:
The library in the Hokage's tower had become Sakura's main place of residence most days. Its shelves were lined with scrolls, light spilling through the wide windows that covered half of the wall on the opposite side. It seemed like the entire room was made with the intent to swallow a person. Sakura liked the smell of parchment and ink, she had to with the hours she spent there.
Sakura sat cross-legged in the center of the room, her back straight, her hands resting on her knees. Outwardly, she was the picture of calm, like a still pond undisturbed by wind. But beneath the surface, her chakra raged. Tsunade might've been teaching her to become a medical ninja, but for Sakura it wasn't enough. Though it was hard to achieve this title alone. As medical shinobi were so rare due to their demands to become one. But there was something else she wanted to learn from her as well. Something that even her sister's apprentice couldn't accomplish.
Even Ino, her friend and long rival, had stepped back from this particular challenge due to the demands. Because what she was attempting would take her to new heights, but would come at the cost of her chakra for a few years.
The byakugo seal.
Tsunade had deemed it the only exception for a medical ninja to set out on the front lines. Their usual place was behind their team, ready to heal. Sakura didn't want to hide behind anyone though.
She spent hours meditating, sitting tranquil while her chakra ran out like water through a drain. But she continued to imagine filling that dam in her head. So that she could stand beside her teammates and friend's instead of behind them.
And if she could gain the powers of a soul reaper, a power over death, maybe she could go a little further.
..
..
A sudden eruption of energy crackled through the underground chamber. Black, wrapping around her, twisting on her limbs like living shadows. Coiling like snakes until they turned to fabric. The shihakushō settled into place with a whisper, its white sash cinching tight around her waist.
Kisuke held the end of his hat. "Well, look at that,"
Sakura exhaled, slow and deliberate, her fingers curling into the fabric over her chest. The hole, the Hollow's gnawing void had shrunk. Not by much, but enough to make her smile.
"What's next?"
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EARLY CHAPTERS FOR MEMBERS NOW: BUYMEACOFFEE
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter (105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111)
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