Audience with a Crow

by **Shimazu** Wed May 27, 2020 12:20 am

Not long after his encounter with Melinda the human, still stranded in the world of the living because the cowardice of his classmates, he wandered the jūreichi, a famous zone among the shinigami; a natural hub of spiritual activity. Every now and again the jūreichi will shift position, in accordance with the great cycle of birth and rebirth. There were those who possessed the power to disrupt that cycle, and bring imbalance to reality, and as he learned during his encounter with Melinda the human, they were not to be taken lightly.

They took many forms and possessed a degree of sophistication and cunning that was as ingenious as it was dangerous. All of them were not to be taken lightly.

They’re coming for me... I know they are. This will all be over soon.

Scared, and rightly so. He was trapped here, after all, unable to return home. He couldn’t remember how long he was here, he was never good at that, but it sure felt like forever. He wasn’t a fully sworn in shinigami, after all, and the denreishinki he was in possession of was irreparably damaged and unable to signal anyone who would be patrolling nearby. And with no jigokucho, he was also unable to safely return to the academy where he’d come from. So he wandered the streets of Karakura, doing his best to stay safe and hidden. Surely he’d be able to get back home safely, they’d come for him, wouldn’t they?

He hadn’t seen another hollow since the illusionist, and boy was he grateful for that.

by **La Fuerza of the Flock** Wed May 27, 2020 9:07 am

A Crow perched on a thin power line, swaying in the gentle breeze that wafted through the corridors between buildings. The Flock dotted the rest of the power line, some beside and others above or below. They all looked down on the city before them, watching the saturated spiritual energy ebb and flow. Deep within their multitudes, a Crow felt the hunger. This place contained more precious food than any other the Flock saw on their flights across the oversaturated world of the living. They watched and waited for their next meal, but another taste was getting close, a piece of food that the Flock didn’t recognize.

They pushed through the ebb and flow like an obstinate force, against the grain of the world that was so nicely mixed and twirled. The sheer size of the thing agitated the Flock. They cawed and cawed, and flapped their wings. They wanted to leave, but a Crow looked deeper and felt more than just a rock forced against the currents. Despite the veneer, they could sense there was something inside, a softness similar to food. There was something deeper within this force of nature pushing through the city. And it was coming towards them.

The Flock couldn’t help but scatter. Heavy bodies lifted and fell, their great wings kicking the air below them as they flew up and up and away with an orchestral crescendo. A Crow stayed despite the sudden chaos. Their black, beady eyes shined in the sun of the living as their head cocked and moved to watch the force round the corner. The street was small, packed tight by the buildings on either side. Quiet too, as the Flock didn’t like to attract attention. Curious questions filled a Crow’s mind, but all they could do was squawk.

“Caw,” a Crow shouted to the shinigami.

by **Shimazu** Wed May 27, 2020 9:29 am

As his steps carried him through and round the small town, a peculiar sensation gripped him as he went. The sword tied off at his hip seemed to grow cold. At first he believed the sensation was all in his head, but as he gripped the hilt to bring peace to his mind, he felt the chill with his hands. Shimazu immediately peeled his grip back, refusing to touch the sword.

A throaty caw caught his attention. In the hustle and bustle of an early morning commute, the air filled with activity and sounds, a single caw had caught his attention. He stopped in his tracks and adjusted his gaze upwards to the power lines where a single, tiny crow sat, eyeing him curiously.

There was something about its gaze that unsettled him. This couldn’t be an ordinary crow, it was looking at him. He stepped side to size, taking note that it’s gaze was indeed tracking him. Despite all the warning bells that began going off in his head, he inches closer and closer until he was practically beneath the bird.

“Hello there, little fella. Come, I won’t hurt you,” he called out, extending his arm and laying it out before him, offering it a place to perch should it decide to inspect him further. His sword grew colder still as he did so, provoking confusion and unease in the shinigami student. What could it mean? Was his sword jealous? Why would it be jealous??

by **La Fuerza of the Flock** Wed May 27, 2020 2:49 pm

“Caw,” a Crow shouted again. “Caw, caw.”

Three sets of claws gripped the thin wire as a Crow flapped their wings, threatening to take flight. The force’s acknowledgement inspired a Crow to fight past instinct and hold themselves fast against the animalistic adrenaline dilating their pupils. The beating of their wings slowed and then stopped as they turned and cocked their head to see the force below them, to really see them for the black haired, lithe figure in black robes they were. The unnatural force pushing through the steady flow of spiritual energy was a singular soul.

A Crow returned another shout, “Caw!”

This way and that, a Crow hopped along the power line moving their head to view the force below them from every angle. Their beating heart slowed as they smelt the new food. A big meal, maybe the biggest they’d seen from this oversaturated place. A Crow wondered why the Flock fled. Once, and then twice, a Crow beat its wings against the air and fell into a glide. As a warning, they shouted, “Caw.”

A single long downward spiral and a fray of flapping wings brought a Crow to land heavy on the force’s outstretched arm. Three sets of claws gripped the arm, and a Crow felt the force better now, tasting the flavors and textures of their spiritual presence. They were different from the normal meals a Crow picked at. Still a singular soul, but with complexities that flowered in otherworldly ways. A resonance that intrigued a Crow beyond anything they’ve ever felt. Their head cocked and turned, continuing to observe the singular soul in front of them.

Quiet and curt, a Crow asked, “Caw?”

by **Shimazu** Thu May 28, 2020 1:34 am

The little bird flew to him, perching on his arm with all three of its legs. It wasn’t until it got close that he was able to sense its nature, much less until he noticed the physical anomaly. A wave of guilt cane over him, realizing the right thing for him to do would be to purify the thing. Harmless as it seemed, there’s no telling the havoc it may have caused during its existence. Surely, though, this little thing would never...

He tilted his head as he regarded it. He blinked, and in the momentary sensation of blindness, he saw himself. The moment stretched on, the version of himself staring back regarding him curiously, and intently.

“Caw!”
Wha...what?

His mirror image continued to regard him. What was happening? Why was he seeing himself, why did it caw at him? What was it trying to say? He opened his eyes and he was back in the physical world with this hollowfied crow on his arm. If it wasn’t a nuisance or a danger, what was the big deal if it wasn’t dealt with straight away? Besides, it was so small and unassuming, could it really be so bad?

“Well, you’ve never hurt anyone before, have you?”

by **La Fuerza of the Flock** Thu May 28, 2020 9:51 am

The complexities of the singular soul bristled and part of it grew colder. The size alone threatened to engulf a Crow in a new world of singularity. The rest of the street fell away; the cold emanating off the blade pushed them two hops down the arm. A Crow tasted the distinct flavor of sour green gummies and cocked their head as everything shunted back into reality. The singular soul was in front of them looking just as confused as a Crow felt.

A moving, gaping hole in the soul spewed noises again. This time, the sounds brought forth understanding from a deeper part of a Crow’s mind. Shaped like raw clay into their finite meaning, the words formed and like the overbearing sun of this world, realization washed over a Crow. Memories came to them of views from power lines, looking over the streets of this world. Below would be other singular souls, smaller ones that moved with the mixing flow. The Flock hunted them. An instinct took a Crow and they shouted back at the soul, “Caw!”

Their black, beady eyes stared at the singular soul as their heavy body lifted into the air with kicking wings. Before the soul could react, a Crow cawed in defiance of their accusation. Something inside of them—some sort of emotion—was driving them to continue on this wild crusade. Alone, they would feast on the singular soul that flowed like a rock against the currents. Hovering, a Crow cawed again and pecked the shinigami on the head.

by **Shimazu** Thu May 28, 2020 3:56 pm

The crow kicked off from his arm, taking flight just above his personage. Angered by his foolish question, it pecked starts his head, grabbing thick chunks of his hair with every resulting peck. Shimazu brought his arms above his head and swatted at the bird.

“Hey! Stop that! I am not food!” he pled. He cradled his head with both his arms and put a few feet’s distance between himself and the bird, eyeing it suspiciously. He didn’t want to kill it, it was pretty cute after all. Again, he heard a caw echo in his own mind. Again and again it sounded. Was it alarmed? It seemed alarming... was this hollow in his head, toying with his mind? Perhaps it was dangerous after all.

“Settle down, everything is ok,” he cooed with deceptive reassurance. His hand inched toward the hilt of his sword. If it insisted on playing inside his head, he had little other choice... and so with a single fluid motion, he pulled his sword from its scabbard, intending to remove the things three legs at their base. Force it to stay airborne, force the thing to tire. Hopefully force it to rethink its choices, and send on the retreat.

by **La Fuerza of the Flock** Thu May 28, 2020 10:37 pm

The glint of the sun on the blade reflected in the black of a Crow’s eye. Fierce flaps pulled them higher, away from the sudden attack in a frenzy of feathers. A Crow dared to leave, rising higher and higher away from the singular soul that would peck back. The food tasted filling, but they weren’t able to swallow it or even get a piece. The Flock was right to leave, it wasn’t worth it. They shouted down at the liar, “Caw! Caw, caw.”

Lost black feathers fell to the ground in front of the soul, split in two. Somewhere deep within a Crow’s bouncing peanut brain, an image formed of their head separating from their body. What could have been. The thought short circuited the little consciousness still forming inside the multitude. No longer did a semblance of reason hold back the tides of uncontrollable nature. Raw hunger tore forth from within and the bird dove towards the ground with their three sets of claws extended, “Caaaaww!!!”

Feathers scattered in the wind; the air rippled with the speed of the dive; a thrum sounded and echoed in the tight street. A Crow was only blind hunger. The reflection of one’s own death squelched the flame, but it would be back. Until then, the animalistic adrenaline was in control. Three sets of claws raked down on the soul from above, while they continued to roar the warcry of the Flock, “Cawwww! Caw, cawcaw. Caw! Caw!”

by **Shimazu** Thu May 28, 2020 11:04 pm

The thing darted away from the sword, taking high to the skies where it kept for a time. It made repeated calls, the intent of which were much less ambiguous than its earlier vocalizations. With its three feet, all bearing razor sharp talons, it dove toward him. He cowered from the attack, bring his arm up to shield his face, the three legs raking against his arm and tearing his white training uniform and digging deep into the unliving flesh of his arm.

Agh, it burns... he grimaced, his face contorting in pain as blood spilled down his raised arm. With that hand he grabbed at his sword and with both hands waved it around, batting at the attacking crow. As had happened before during his encounter with the human woman, it seemed this confrontation had began to accumulate an audience. Poised from a number of nearby surfaces, an audience of crows looked upon the scene intently. Unlike last time, though, he could see they looked past him and seemed to eye the hollow crow.

Again, he saw his own likeness stare back at him, and again it vocalized with a defiant caw! of it’s own. He engaged the hollow crow in melee for the second time, this time trying to cut the bird where wing met back.

by **La Fuerza of the Flock** Fri May 29, 2020 6:03 pm

The blade felt like nothing as it sliced through the crazed bird. All around them, the Flock gathered to judge a wayward Crow agitated by a shinigami and trying to bite off more than they could chew. Like a funeral procession, the Flock watched a Crow from the sunbaked roofs above. Their gaze was heavy on the bird, disappointed. Maybe another will do better. A black, beady eye losing its luster gazed at the judges above them and then the singular soul in front of them.

The rock going against the stream.

A streak of light followed the blade and soon the bird was missing a wing. Both body and wing fell to the ground spinning wildly. Their vision blurred and in the haze of what was left, the image of the singular soul burned. Nothing else existed in reality for a Crow but that lithe figure and their defiance of the flow. After that, the body hit the ground and darkness enveloped what was left of the spark of conscious thought.

Both pieces of the bird burst into dust and ash before being picked up by the wind and blown away. But unlike the normal hollow a shinigami is used to defeating, there was no purification. No chance to cleanse the souls and send them back through the cycle. Were the souls ever really there? Or was this just an illusion of an errant zanpakutō? The crows began to caw above the small street and it sounded like laughter.

by **Shimazu** Sun May 31, 2020 8:17 pm

A profound sadness overcame in the aftermath of his attack. He watched as the form was sent into a spinning descent. It fell to the ground, it’s form breaking away into dust, scattering in the breeze. He watched it as it went, piece by piece, in deep contemplation. They really were the epitome of aggression, weren’t they? Of survival. Their souls were corrupted, and twisted into something that was distinctly lacking. They could never be reasoned with, as they wanted one thing, and one thing only.

After a moment, he slid his sword back into its scabbard. He let out a sigh; his muscles ached, his head was pounding. His stomach hurt. He’d never felt this way before. Was this hunger? He was tired — exhausted, really — and he wanted to go home.

As he wandered the streets, his attention was held on the single crow that he was now positive was trailing him. He trained his eyes on its form, relaxing only when he saw two legs instead of three. So it’s not the hollow, that much was certain. What would an ordinary crow be doing following him? Again, how did it see him to follow him? He was unsure, and uneasy.

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