Failure

An hour has passed since Kuroi parted ways with Ichigo and started walking towards his house. He grabs his father's Gokon Tekko and rips his soul out of his body. His body falls to the ground.

"I should get a temporary soul to take care of my body. I'm tired of all these bugs crawling on it," said Kuroi.

Kuroi opens the front door and walks through it. He flash steps to the road that the spirit girl stays on and notices that her vase has been broken. He walks up to it.

"The vase has been broken. If those dudes came back and broke this vase on purpose, I swear that I'll kill them," said Kuroi.

Kuroi picks up the wet rose and the broken pieces of the vase and walks towards a trash can. He places the pieces of the vase and the rose in the trash can. He starts to walk down the street and starts to yell the girl's name.

"Seishin! Seishin! Where are you!" exclaimed Kuroi.

He receives no response and starts to worry. He runs down the street and nearly steps into a pool of blood. He kneels and starts to observe the pool of blood.

"Why is this pool of blood here? A regular person couldn't have killed anybody. They would have cleaned this mess up. There are no wild animals in this town to worry about, so who or what could've done this?" said Kuroi.

Kuroi walks around the pool of blood and starts to walk away until he sees a hairpin. He picks up the hairpin and notices that it's the same hairpin that the spirit girl was wearing.

"This is Seishin's hairpin, but there's no way she was eaten by a Hollow. I would have sensed its spiritual pressure. She has to be here somewhere," said Kuroi.

Kuroi starts to flash step all around the neighborhood, but he doesn't see his spirit friend. He flash steps to Seishin's former home. He jumps in the air and grabs onto a windowsill. He opens the window and climbs into the room.

"Seishin, are you in here?" asked Kuroi.

He once again receives no response. He walks out of the dead girl's room and flash steps throughout the entire house. He still hasn't found his spirit friend. He is about to continue his search until he senses a large spiritual pressure.

"Who the hell is that? Maybe it's a Hollow. Rukia's spiritual pressure isn't that large. I have to find out what's going on," said Kuroi.

Kuroi flash steps out of the house and flash steps in the direction of the large spiritual pressure. He flash steps for a minute until he reaches a fight. He sees Rukia slumped against the wall and an unknown shinigami standing in front of the Hollow. He runs up to Rukia.

"Rukia, what happened?" asked Kuroi.

"I gave him my power, so he could protect his family," said Rukia.

Kuroi turns his head and sees the entrance to the Kurosaki Clinic destroyed. Kuroi turns his head and starts looking at Rukia once again.

"You gave Ichigo your powers?" asked Kuroi.

"I was too injured to fight the Hollow. If I didn't give him my powers, we would both die," said Rukia.

"Relax. I won't tell the Soul Society about this," said Kuroi.

Kuroi walks towards his friend.

"I thought that this was my town to protect. Now, I have two people trying to steal my job," said Kuroi.

Ichigo turns around and sees his friend standing behind him.

"Kuroi? How long have you been here?" asked Ichigo.

"I just got here. It looks like this is your first battle, so you should pay attention to the Hollow that you're about to slay," said Kuroi.

"I could focus if you weren't talking to me right now," said Ichigo.

"Ok. You do your thing," said Kuroi.

Ichigo pulls out his Zanpakuto. Before he can charge at the monster, the Hollow opens its mouth.

"I'm tired of waiting! That girl earlier was barely a snack! I need to gobble you all up!" exclaimed the Hollow.

Kuroi's happy expression becomes one of shock.

"What did you say?" asked Kuroi.

"I had a little snack before I sensed this boy. She didn't satiate my hunger," said the Hollow.

"What did she look like?" asked Kuroi angrily.

"She was just a normal girl. She was weak and was worthless to eat," said the Hollow.

"You bastard!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi starts to release all of his spiritual pressure. Ichigo and Rukia fly back.

"Stay back! I'll deal with this demon!" exclaimed Kuroi.

The Hollow starts to be flown back by the huge spiritual pressure.

"Why did you kill her! She did nothing to you! She died seven years ago in a robbery gone wrong! She just wanted to make sure that her family was safe! She always loved to play games and have fun! Even though I grew to be older than her, I still entertained her! You Hollows don't have a hunger for human souls! You monsters just prey on humans just because you can! You just messed up you bastard! My job is to kill you with my Zanpakuto to purify your soul, but I don't care! A demon like you doesn't deserve to have your sins removed and forgotten! You killed my friend, so I'm gonna send you to hell!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi puts his right hand in front of him.

"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado number 33: Sokatsui!" exclaimed Kuroi.

A blue ball of spiritual energy appears in front of his right hand. Kuroi fires it at the Hollow and the Hollow is instantly destroyed by the Kido attack. Kuroi turns around and sees Ichigo and Rukia slowly approaching him.

"Is it dead?" asked Ichigo.

"Yeah. It's dead," said Kuroi.

"What happened?" asked Rukia.

"The Hollow killed Seishin before I could purify her soul and send her to the Soul Society," said Kuroi.

"Isn't she already a spirit? How could she die again?" asked Ichigo.

"A spirit can be killed by a Hollow. If it is, their souls get eaten and they aren't sent to the Soul Society or have the chance to be reborn and reincarnated. That means that she will never get to rest in peace," said Kuroi.

"I'm sorry for your-" said Rukia.

"Just give me some space," said Kuroi.

Kuroi walks past Rukia and Ichigo with his head down. Once he's out of their sight, he flash steps home. He opens the front door and walks in. He sees that his father isn't home, and looks for his body. He finds it and renters it. He walks to his room and hops onto his bed. He lands stomach first and slams his head on his pillow.

"Why am I such a failure?" asked Kuroi.

Kuroi slowly closes his eyes and falls asleep. He continues to sleep until he feels someone shaking him.

"Dad, it's too early to be waking me up. Give me a few more minutes," said Kuroi.

The shaking intensifies and Kuroi finally wakes up.

"What do you-" said Kuroi.

Kuroi stops talking once he sees the face of Seishin standing above him.

"Seishin, you're dead. How are you here?" said Kuroi.

"Why do you think that you're a failure?" asked Seishin.

"Please answer my question. I need to know what's going on," said Kuroi.

"I will explain what's going on later. I'm here to teach you something important," said Seishin.

"What do you want to teach me?" asked Kuroi.

"I want to teach you to believe in yourself. You are very powerful and skilled. You can't allow one failure to deem yourself as a failure," said Seishin.

"You were eaten because I refused to do my duty as a soul reaper and send you to the Soul Society. Now, you won't be able to see your parents ever again and you won't be able to rest in peace. That's why I'm a failure," said Kuroi.

Seishin sticks her hand out.

"Grab my hand and I will prove you wrong," said Seishin.

"What's going to happen?" asked Kuroi.

"Just trust me," said Seishin.

"Ok. I trust you," said Kuroi.

Kuroi grabs Seishin's hand and they teleport out of his room. A few seconds pass before they appear in front of a house.

"Where are we?" asked Kuroi.

"You will find out soon. Follow me," said Seishin.

Seishin and Kuroi walk up to the door. Seishin opens it and reveals an empty living room. The tv that was accidentally left on is the only source of light on the first floor of the two-story house.

"This seems like a regular house. How will this help me?" said Kuroi.

"Just wait. You're too impatient," said Seishin.

"What are we waiting for?" asked Kuroi.

"This is an important night, so just wait and see what happens," said Seishin.

"Alright," said Kuroi.

The two wait for a few more seconds until they hear a large bang noise coming from the kitchen.

"What's happening?" asked Kuroi.

"Follow me," said Seishin.

Seishin and Kuroi run into the kitchen and see the back door kicked down by a group of robbers. The group of robbers enters the home.

"Why are you showing me a robbery? Millions of these happen every single year," said Kuroi.

"This one is a tragic one," said Seishin.

The group of robbers walk through the house. Each one of them is armed with a pistol. They were moving quietly until one of them slipped and fell. The fall creates a large noise.

"What is wrong with you?" asked the leader.

"I just slipped and fell. My bad," said the clumsy robber.

"Whatever. Just get up before we get caught," said one of the robbers.

"Who are you?" asked Seishin.

One of the robbers becomes trigger happy and accidentally shoots Seishin in the eye. Her body hits the floor seconds later. The leader of the robbers facepalms and starts to panic.

"What the hell is wrong with you idiots?" asked the leader.

A light turns on on the second floor and the robbers see this.

"We gotta get out of here! They're waking up!" exclaimed the leader.

Most of the robbers run out of the back door except for one. He stares at the dying girl on the ground.

"I'm sorry," said the empathetic robber.

The empathetic robber runs out of the back door. Seishin's parents run down the stairs and are shocked to see their child on the ground, bleeding to death. Seishin's mother kneels and starts to cry. Seishin's father rushes to the phone.

"This is the night that you were murdered. Why did you show me this as an example?" said Kuroi.

"My father called the police, but I was already long before that. As you saw, most of the robbers didn't care that they murdered an innocent girl. They only cared about not being caught. Those guys are failures. Now, to the next location," said Seishin.

Seishin grabs Kuroi's hand and they teleport away. They appear inside an apartment building. They walk through the halls until they hear a woman scream. Kuroi and Seishin run to the room where they hear the screaming and Kuroi kicks down the door.

"What's going on here?" asked Kuroi.

"Have you heard of the Japanese Ripper?" asked Seishin.

"Yeah. He was a serial killer who killed eight people in Japan. Don't tell me you brought me to one of his murders," said Kuroi.

"Pay attention," said Seishin.

Kuroi and Seishin watch the Japanese Ripper stab the innocent woman thirty times. They see him smile as he bathes in her blood. Kuroi tries to look away, but he can't be more grossed out than an eight-year-old.

"This was his third murder. The victim's name was Satsujin Higaisha. She was just 22 when her life was taken by this monster. The Japanese Ripper aka Warui Yatsu is a terrible person and a failure," said Seishin.

"You have really good critical thinking skills for a child. I'm truly surprised," said Kuroi.

Seishin grabs Kuroi's hand and teleports away once again. They now appear in an all-white space.

"Where are we at now?" asked Kuroi.

"Nowhere," said Seishin.

"How is that possible?" asked Kuroi.

"I brought you to this place to tell you something important," said Seishin.

"What did you want to tell me?" asked Kuroi.

"The purpose of this trip was to show what true failures are. Warui Yatsu is a failure because he chose to murder innocent people instead of getting a job and having a family. Those robbers were failures because they murdered a little girl and decided to rob an innocent family of their riches. You're nowhere near their levels of failure," said Seishin.

"I know that those people are pieces of garbage and failures but because I chose to hunt Hollows for fun instead of making sure innocent souls like you made it to the afterlife. If you got to the Soul Society, you could've grown up and you could've seen your family again. I failed you," said Kuroi.

Kuroi blinks and Seishin vanishes. Kuroi starts to look around and doesn't see his spirit friend. Someone taps him on his shoulder and he turns around. He sees an orange-haired teenager standing in front of him.

"Umm. Who are you?" said Kuroi.

"How do you not remember me? I was just here five seconds ago," said the woman.

"Wait. Are you Seishin?" said Kuroi.

"Duh," said Seishin.

"You look different," said Kuroi.

"You needed to see me this way," said Seishin.

"Why do I need to see you this way?" asked Kuroi.

Seishin grabs Kuroi's face.

"Look at me. Does this face look like someone who believes that you failed them," said Seishin.

"No," said Kuroi.

"You didn't fail me. I learned a very valuable lesson. I also got to spend time with my family even though they couldn't see me. I'm not mad at you and I will never be mad at you. I'm proud that you became a soul reaper. Your success makes me happy," said Seishin.

Seishin and Kuroi both smile at each other. Seishin hugs Kuroi.

"Why are you hugging me?" asked Kuroi.

"I have to go now, but I just want to say thank you for making my life so fun and happy. Goodbye," said Seishin.

Seishin starts to slowly fade away. A few seconds pass until she completely disappears.

"Goodbye, Seishin," said Kuroi.