A New Arrival in the Big City

[William O, Creed]

Moving through the streets of Tokyo had started to get normal for William, well to be fair that had become a natural thing quite a few months ago for the foreigner. Now what had started to feel less stressful and nerves racking was the sensation he got from citizens around him staring at him. He wasn’t just a foreigner to Japan now, he was a cop. So of course the first week on the job was a bit more than he had been expecting and almost to make matters specifically worse it hadn’t really been a quiet week either.

He’d had to deal with multiple spiritual interactions between both friendly and aggressive entities. Some of them had been handled in a decent manner while others William had to keep fighting within himself that they couldn’t have been dealt with any better than he had at the moment. Today though there was a chip in his step. Although he was certain that it may be looked down upon or perhaps could even get him in a small amount of trouble, a very pretty female had marked her territory last night. He’d thought it was strange when someone as attractive as her had been following him. Shifting quickly when she had given him her number.

After William had finished his shift one thing had led to another and now he was back on duty with a much more positive aura. What happened next would typically put him into a bad mood yet it didn’t seem to make a dent. Walking towards the convenience store that had become one of his favorites during the current patrol, William heard the sound of a beeping alarm. Recognizing it as the sort of alarm the convenience store would have he gazed over and saw a young man rushing out with items held between his arms.

William wasted no time breaking into a sprint that allowed him to close the distance in just under five full seconds. Snatching at the back of the young man’s shirt and yanking him backwards William managed to pull him to the ground. Although he put up a fight at first William suppressed the young individual although what he did may get him in trouble later. Hauling the young man back William adamantly encouraged the culprit to apologize to the store owner and return everything he had grabbed. Although Will knew that his boss would likely want him to just arrest the idiot he felt it best to embarrass him and hope he learned his lesson. If he didn’t that just meant he was stupid and had a few screws loose and would learn later.

[Azami Hirayami]

Convenience stores were just as she remembered them. There was so much for her to choose from. Dispensable nacho cheese trays, slushies, hotdogs, ramen. It was one of the things she loved about them. So much cheap food, with a quality that she was definitely used to. Used to in her normal life anyway. This was not the type of meals they served back in soul society which she had managed to sneak out of for a quick break. She was going to take so much from here. It's not that she didn't want to pay, because she did, but it would have been pretty hard for her while in human form. All they would see is money being put onto the counter, which could maybe work? It's not like she was looking to straight up steal, but it's not like she really cared about getting in trouble with some shopkeeper.

Looking at the row of chips, Azami took nearly a dozen bags of Doritos of varying flavors and stuffed them into her bag. Any human watching would have just seen bags flying off the shelf into a bag. Those spiritually aware would have just seen her in her entirety. For now, though, she continued her 'shopping' spree to the tune off the music being played by the store's speaker. Not the sort of pop music she remembered, but still rather catchy. A few pop drinks tossed into her bag later, notably Mountain Dew and varying flavors of iced tea, Azami was finally satisfied with her shopping spree. She didn't really want any chocolate or candy bars at the moment, the drinks would give her a sugar fix for now. Gathering a not nearly enough amount of mortal money from the lining of her black Shinigami robe, she tossed it onto the counter and watched the cashier suspiciously eye the suddenly-appearing money. Not her problem.

At the same time though, a man she had been shopping alongside suddenly sprinted from the store with a handful of items. Why didn't she think of that? It would have been much easier because of her spirit form, and then she could have used the money on something that required it like a vending or arcade machine. Having already finished shopping, Azami was curious as to how this would unfold. Maybe she could follow the thief back to his house and look through his things. She was bored so this was as good of a plan as any. Taking her sweet time, Azami floated out from the store with her plastic bag in tow as she watched a noticeably handsome police officer arresting the thief. He definitely wasn't a local though, or at least immigrated here some time ago.

This would be a good way for her to spend some time, and it's not as if the guy could see her staring anyway. Although, it's not like her bag of treats was invisible either. Instead of the thief getting beat up, Azami watched the cop bring the guy back into the store in order for him to apologize. That was certainly the moral way to deal with it, and probably how her Shinigami peers would have liked for the situation to be resolved. Azami took mental notes on this type of conflict resolution.

From a few meters away from the pair of men, she stood and watched. Talking to herself, knowing it to be unlikely anybody could hear her, she said.

"It's not like he's going to be actually sorry, you're just forcing him to apologize. That was such a noob thief LOL"

[William O, Creed]

Moving the young man from the inside of the convenience store back out into the street wasting no time with being gentle William essentially tossed him out on his ass. “That’s your only warning. I check you again, I break something important then I arrest you.” William knew that chances were he’d probably get in trouble for issuing such a threat, but also knew that the store owner wasn’t going to rat on him. A tough warning would hopefully get this kid’s head out of his ass. A hand raised signal to the shopkeeper and William was off again.

Moving down the street he kept an eye on anyone that didn’t seem to be moving with intent. That was something he had picked up about the people here in Japan compared to those in America. Most of them always had somewhere to be and didn’t waste time. So whenever he saw someone that was moving just a bit slower or looked like their head wasn’t in the game it usually meant something was wrong or they could use some help. Right now though even though it was past midday and most everyone was either on lunch break or arriving for second shift the streets were alive.

William wasn’t even the only officer in the section of Tokyo today. Usually he was placed in smaller spots where he would be responsible for whatever happened. Today though at least for right now he was stationed with two other officers over a section of Tokyo a bit bigger. He hadn’t spoken to the other two since the beginning of the shift though knowing that if they converged together they weren’t covering the distance they’d need to and could potentially get in trouble.

One thing that he had noticed though for the last several minutes was a young looking girl with pink hair. She had stayed within eyesight since the thief at the convenience store. Perhaps he had a schoolgirl with a thing for police? William physically sighed at himself. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted something like that nor believed it since he was hardly lucky enough to land a college student right after a hookup the night prior. Still though it was weird and William sought to address it by walking over to her. When he got there though she may see his warm demeanor shift to one of stern inquiry. “Is there something wrong? Is there a Hollow in the area?”

[Azami Hirayami]

Azami watched the cop manhandle the thief. She wondered what else he would do now that he thought nobody was looking. It was interesting, for sure, visiting the human world in her spirit form. There were many good uses of this invisibility but also many nefarious reasons. From her perspective though, the only devious thing she would probably do with this ability is make some asshole think that he was getting haunted by a malevolent spirit by lifting up a few pictures in front of them. The thought made her crack a smirk.

Idly, Azami was swinging her back of stolen treats around as her blood went cold. The police officer was making direct eye contact with her. There was no room for misinterpretation, he was looking straight at her. Her mind immediately went into fight or flight as the academy's teachings rolled through her conscious. Hollow? No, Arrancar? No, Fullbringer? Not sure. She wasn't sure of anything really, wasn't experienced enough to know any of the possibilities. Quincy? Sure, the races of the world had been taught to her, but it's not as if she was actually any good at identifying them. All she knew was that she was potentially in danger. Maybe this was why she was encouraged to stay within the barracks of squad four until she trained a bit more. Nope, this was definitely why she had to sneak out every time.

And so there she was, caught like a deer in the headlights as the now-terrifying police officer asked her a question. And the question, asking her if there was a hollow nearby. Oh god, how would she respond to that? It's not as if she was out here on an actual mission or anything. In fact, her mission had been to acquire Doritos and iced tea, nothing to do with actual Shinigami work. Had the officer seen her steal the food, had she made an idiot of herself and just lifted food in front of an entire store? Nobody had looked at her or gave her a second glance, but doubt clouded her mind.

"Hollow? Oh no, I-"

Azami debated how long it would take for her to use that door thing to quickly jump back into soul society, and if she could even do it quick enough. She took a step back from the man as he approached. The only thin she was certain she could pull off was the smallest amount of shunpo. Maybe enough to parkour away? Probably not, in all honesty, considering she consumed Doritos and soda regularly.

"I'm just doing a bit of shopping. Dude, how are you able to see me, like I thought that was impossible?"

Schooling her face of fear, Azami crossed her arms and purposefully avoided eye contact to show an aura of defiance.

[William O, Creed]

On his way over William had been expecting to converse with a Shinigami that was here about a potential Hollow attack or something else dangerous to the population. He’d met many shinigami throughout his life and the majority of them kept to themselves and worked much like machines, only caring about duty and rules. He could tell almost right away once he got within ten feet of this shinigami though, she wasn’t like the others that he had met while growing up. The thing that gave it away was her face, she was losing her mind with what looked like fear, worry and nervousness. The only thing William couldn’t understand about the situation though was why she was giving off such a display of emotion.

When she actually gave him an answer. Which wasn’t really an answer he figured it out. This shinigami girl wasn’t even here on duty. She was here to get snacks. As if that wasn’t bad enough though she asked how he could see her. William gave a visible confused look of his own raising his left eyebrow. “Don’t they teach you about Fullbringers? I’m going to assume you’re brand new and haven’t had any sort of real experience yet. It’s either that you Shinigami are really low on available members.” Although it may come off as rude William wasn’t trying to be knowing that in recent years Soul Society had been attacked and a large portion of their race had been eliminated whether it be from one enemy or another.

William would wait and allow the shinigami a chance to defend herself and give a reason for why she was here in Tokyo if she was willing to give one. Once she was finished speaking though he would begin his next point. “This is a large city in the human world, by being here you’re giving off a scent that could potentially invite a Hollow. Are you confident enough in yourself that you can eliminate a Hollow before it devours even a single innocent?” Although these were very direct and harsh questions this was how William had been taught on the subject and the only way he knew about going about them. He just had to hope this Shinigami looked more capable than she was acting.

[Azami Hirayami]

Normally, Azami wouldn't have let anybody talk about her like that, but it's not like the man was wrong. She was new, through and through. And while she was actually taught these things in the Shinigami Academy, it's not as if she ever had the chance to actually apply them. Practical knowledge took experience and well, practical application. She supposed that this would be her practical lesson in spiritual figures. A car passed her by and it brought her back from the reverie she was starting to wander into. The words made her stop though. Fullbringer. It brought back a flood of lesson-associated memories. It made sense why the man could see her now, though, and her anxieties were quelled. Her blood pressure slowed as the excitatory adrenal response faded away. They could still be potentially dangerous, but it's not as if it was their nature, unlike hollows or arrancar.

"Yeah so umm, you're not wrong. I kind of snuck out because I wanted more of that gamer fuel, because I know with how inexperienced I am, they wouldn't let me leave even if I asked politely."

Though, the police officer Fullbringer had a point. It could have been potentially dangerous to the human souls around her. In general though, it wasn't as if her presence as a Shinigami could have been that strong though. Even then, any Hollow appearance was likely a bad thing, given her general nature of current weakness. With her start post-academy, she was a little more than hopeless. To be honest, if she truly came face to face with a hollow, she'd most likely just run back to soul society. Briefly, Azami wondered how the man would react to a declaration such as this. The thought of feigning her strength and courage passed her mind, but she stopped it from passing. Not much use in pretending when the man was seeing right through her.

"I am brand spanking new actually, level zero for sure LOL. And yes, they do teach us about Fullbringers. I just hadn't met one before, that's all. Watch your manners old-man that was like so rude. And to answer your question, no I'm not confident in my ability to take down a hollow, I literally only have this tiny sword which I suck at using by the way."

Sticking her tongue out at him she pointed and motioned towards the black and pink Zanpakuto at her hip. She wasn't finished though, with her reply.

"I'm not giving off a scent It's not like I'm strong or anything, and even if I did, I'm sure a Fullbringer police officer can handle it, right? I'm likely to just scamper off or cry and run away to be honest. So if it comes to that, which I very much doubt because I've never been really bothered by a hollow before, I give you my trust to take them down. Also, I'm pretty sure that there are some other Shinigami in the area, because I've been actively avoiding them on all of my trips here, I haven't seen them recently though, it makes me wonder..."

Putting one hand on her hip as she reached out to shake his hand, she said.

"Name's Azami Hirayami, how 'bout you officer ojisan?"

[William O, Creed]

William was doing his best to stay calm and patient even though from what he was seeing this shinigami girl was having a hard time recovering her thoughts. He could see it on the details of her face as she scanned throughout her own mind. She was doing what she could to try and remember something although what exactly it was William couldn’t say. He’d wait and thankfully before he lost his patience she began to speak. What he heard though wasn’t something good. It was similar to a young child admitting to a teacher that they had brought something into school they knew they weren’t supposed too. The only difference being that this girl was ignoring the dangers of reality in order to get something she felt was good.

William knew that shinigami aged much slower than humans so he couldn’t tell her age even though she looked younger than him there was a high chance she could be much older. What surprised him though was that despite whatever her age was she was remarkably immature based on her actions. William didn’t even view himself as very mature yet this shinigami was little more than a high school girl skipping out on class. William didn’t have time to remake though as she began to go off on a stagnant. Once again William had to hold in his own feelings for the time being treating this shinigami like he would an upset citizen.

By the time she was finished speaking though it would be clear from his facial expression that William was not happy. “All done ranting about yourself and how hard you have it? That little sword you have there should be the thing you treat with the utmost respect. Your attitude is abhorrent, respect nonexistent overall I’m not sure how or why Soul Society would ever allow you to become a shinigami. You’ve accomplished to do exactly the opposite of what you’re meant for just so you could get something tasty.”

William wasn’t any good when it came to sensing reiatsu which was why he didn’t pick up the signature of a Hollow emerging from a Gartganta two blocks over. Tokyo was filled with the average human yet right now in such close proximity there were multiple souls with tasty aromas to them. It was hungry and looking to consume whatever smelled so good. “So you’d run from a Hollow to save yourself while others die from your own actions. Pathetic. You know nothing about war nor do you have any right to dream of success.”

[Azami Hirayami]

Azami slowly watched the still-unidentified man's face contort in a harsh scowl. Oops, definitely something she said. Not that she cared, for the most part though. That was life, and she tended to annoy people a lot of the time. It was also the fact that in general she just always said too much and didn't know when to stop, and this was certainly going to continue being the case because she suddenly found the anxious need to defend herself and lash out at the man. It was probably because what the man said was true, but that didn't make him or what he had to say any nicer.

In general, Azami was never the type of person to let people walk all over her. And so, justified or not, she responded with her own sour expression as she gave him the middle finger. "Hey, you know what? Go fuck yourself and the high horse you rode in on, you grandpa POS, it's called taking a vacation. Believe it or not, I didn't actually have the choice to become a Shinigami, it was either that or self-torture myself with starvation in the Rukongai. I don't even want to be dead, I just want to keep living my life that was cut short. I don't expect a boomer like you to understand anything of the sort because you, for a fact are still living. And this stupid little sword thing? It can't do anything, it's terrible for actually cutting things, and my spirit form is weaker than most of my peers. So thank you, really, for making it clear to me how prejudiced you are that you wanna get all up in my business while really having no understanding of everything."

By the end of her tirade, Azami's face was flushed with anger. She tended to do that to herself quite often, working herself up while going off on somebody. It was the lack of respect, to be honest, because she tried to present herself as somebody who was eager to learn while having a playful attitude. It wasn't just that, either, it was the fact that she was being friendly to the man and he had taken it the wrong way and twisted it all the way around to throw back the hate into her face. She didn't understand people like that, who obviously took pleasure in being an asshole. 

Hell, the man didn't even shake her hand nor did he introduce himself. Instead, he decided to keep up the edgy little asshole act and puff his chest or whatever it was that crotchety old men did when they were angry. From what he said though, it sounded like the man had a few issues with war and trauma or whatever it was that triggered him. That just made things sad, to be honest, she couldn't really yell at a man with PTSD like that, but she was still certainly within her right to defend herself from the tirade of an onslaught onto her character.

"Uh yeah, pretty much. For some reason my superiors have yet to tell me, my spiritual form is very limited in terms of combat capabilities. Sure, I'm spiritually aware and present, but my body is weaker than that of an average human male. And it's not my actions that would have killed them, because I've never attracted a hollow before so you're just making things up at this point. And I'm not just going to sacrifice myself to a hollow like that, it wouldn't even save the human because I can hardly fight, and my 'life' or whatever you call it as a Shinigami just started. Honestly, how about you take that self-righteousness of yours and stick it u-"

The dark chill down her spine stopped Azami from saying anything she'd probably come to regret. There was a dark looming presence in the area, and it was hungry. She had never felt anything so ominous in her sheltered shinigami life. It was like she could feel the tethers of its signature reaching out desperately for help while also damning everything in its presence to be eaten in its consuming rage at its death. The Hollow, as she now knew it to be, lashed out at their two spiritual energies, a wail of total agony rocking her skull.

Steadying her foot on the ground, Azami's bottom lip quivered as she fought the urge to flee. "Hey, you're a police officer! Do something before it gets here, I've never fought a hollow before." And it was the truth too, not even any sort of battle simulations or anything of that caliber that could match up against the real thing right in her current presence. From how she could feel its energy, she knew it was coming from the east, from the stretches of an alleyway. 

[William O, Creed]

Definitely a good thing that this Azami girl was a shinigami and thus imperceivable to the common citizens that wandered throughout the Tokyo streets. William could see the sour expression spread across Azami’s face. Before she even began to speak William could tell that this was going to be a screaming match if it continued without one of them walking away. Still though the reaction she gave him wasn’t something that he was expecting. The moment that she raised her middle finger William felt the blockades in his mind breaking. He was losing his patience.

Azami’s outburst was enough that by the end of it William raised his right hand up and out grabbing her middle finger as if he was snatching something. The urge to just break this small appendage was immense. This girl really didn’t understand what it was to be responsible or take a beating for running her mouth. After a moment he let go knowing that it wasn’t right to injure her especially when he was making it a point that she should be able to stop a hollow if it showed itself.

He sighed heavily making it more than apparent that this whole interaction was stressful. “Seriously you can't just make excuses. If you’re weaker than others around you then improve yourself. In order to deserve a vacation you have to do your job. You can get mad all you want at me and anyone else, but all you’re going to accomplish is getting yourself killed. You’re a shinigami to survive? Wrong. You’re a shinigami to protect souls.”

William would have continued for how long though would remain a mystery now as he ceased his attempt to push this shinigami into the correct path. He could see from the look that was emerging on Azami’s face that something was wrong. Just like that she answered his mental questions as to what was wrong. “Hollow huh. I wonder who could have predicted that happening.” William looked around wondering where exactly it could be as he couldn’t sense the reiatsu.

The Hollow though wouldn’t give him the chance as long thick tendrils seemingly sprang forth from the alleyway roughly twenty feet from behind William. Wrapping around him covering his upoer body down to his ankles only to then lift him up and pull him through the air into the alleyway in the blind of an eye. William flexed beginning to force the tendrils out with his arms and legs. This hollow was holding him but it seemed he was stronger than just three tendrils.

William could see the Hollow now in the alleyway, a mass of constantly moving tendrils that looked like tentacles of dark green. The only real part that even looked like a Hollow was the small white circular mask in the center of the mass. There wasn’t really any attention worthy thing about this Hollow’s mask but William knew if so many tendrils got around him he was done for against this Hollow.