Chapter 2

Aaaaaah!

Interesting. So an ordinary soul cannot contain the prototype.

What is the matter? Shall we stop the experiment?

No, let it continue for now.

Oh! Good morning, Kisuke.

Hey! And a good morning to you too, Captain Hirako.

I told you before, just call me Shinji. You're such a pain sometimes.

By the way, I was wondering. Have you heard the latest news yet?

No, I still haven't.

You don't know about the violent deaths in Rukon District?

Violent deaths?

Yeah. In the past month or so, there have been a series of residents disappearing in the Rukon district.

The reason is unknown.

Disappearing? As in, they went somewhere and then never came back?

You dumbass! That's not disappearing, that's called running away.

And if they just ran away, then nobody would care about them. No one would go looking.

Not this. This is different. They literally disappear, gone, without a trace, leaving only their clothes behind.

If they died and became Reishi, the clothes they were wearing would disappear as well. They didn't die.

They vanished alive, unable to retain human form. That's the only explanation I can think of.

Alive but unable to retain human form, huh?

I wasn't there, mind you. I'm just telling you exactly what I heard from Captain Unohana.

Now you know what I know.

Well, at any rate, Squad 9 has already arrived on the scene to investigate.

Are you listening to me, Kensei? What do you mean by unknown?

Quiet already! Unknown means unknown. Quit babbling.

What's wrong with you? A captain doesn't just go investigate something unknown without knowing what it is first!

We can't know. It's un-known!

Yeah, but an advance party was sent out first! Ten people! You could've just waited for them to report, but nooo, I'm Kensei, I can't wait! Waaah, I'm Kensei!

............

Captain!

Please try to calm down! She acts like this just to annoy you!

In the first place, I don't remember ever asking you to come along! You can leave this investigation anytime!

As a matter of fact, I wish you would!

Ooh! Don't you know that it's against the rules for a lieutenant to leave her captain's side?

Shame on you for not knowing that, Kensei. Stuuupid!

Grrrrrr!

Captain!

You're so stupid! I can't believe you don't know the rules, and you're the captain! Maybe I should be the captain, cos I know the rules and you don't!

Hey, Captain. What do we do?

Ignore her.

Ahhhh!!!

It's a Hollow!

Enormous!

Let's go.

Is everybody all right?

Yes, sir!

Keeenseeei!

Mashiro. Where the hell did you go during the bat...

Listen, while I was hiding in the bushes, look what I found on the ground!

See, a squad uniform! But wait. There were a whole bunch of them there. Ten of them!

Ten uniforms? Captain, they must be...

What, what? Does ten of them mean something important? Well?

You're such an idiot. Ten was the number of men in the advance party!