Fear of Uncertainty [Private]

The ensuing fight could only be described as chaotic. Both combatants shot back and forth between buildings like streams of black and purple beneath the bright moon of the night sky. Neither could land decisive blows against the other and each clash only resulted in another stalemate of power, even with Mikayla in her Shikai state. The majority of the fight was a blur to her, the movements were so fast, the reactions so instinctive that she hardly knew that she was doing half of what she pulled off; as if her body fought on its own and her mind struggled to keep up.

Even with such durable armor protecting her body from significant harm, her stamina was another story completely. The Hollow was intelligent; it knew that it couldn’t deal damage with the armor in the way so it went for the exposed regions on her upper thighs, her mid arms and her head, managing a few nicks here and there. But Mikayla didn’t make it easy for it; cleverly guarding the regions she knew were exposed to damage.

Before long, the Substitute Shinigami and the Hollow were growing exhausted from their battle, and stood for their final clash. As per usual of a Hollow, its last ditch effort was a fully charged Cero from its maw with Mikayla drawing power to her zanpakutou for her Seismic Rift. However, Mikayla had a trick up her sleeve; just as her blade met with the ray of red reiryoku, her Shunko activates and surrounds her body, granting her the power necessary to cleave through the beam.

On the other end of the beam was the gaping jaw of the Kitsune, which could not stop the combined force of Mikayla’s Shunko and Shikai. The tip of the blade pierces into the mask of the Hollow, snapping it in half. The next moment was the one that would alter the course of her life. Shards of the broken mask spread like buckshot from the impact of the explosive force of Shunko, one shard in particular landed in her eye.

Human instincts kicked in and her eye snapped shut at the intrusion of a foreign object. Mikayla dropped back while the Kitsune let out its death throes and gradually evaporated into a cloud of black reiatsu that faded into the night. With the threat gone, Mikayla could check her eye and assess the damage only to find that the fragment of the mask had vanished. She wasn’t aware then, what this encounter held for her future.

There were plenty of things running through the mind of Mikayla as she contemplated her fate now that her life was in more danger than ever before, but first, she needed to keep herself from succumbing to the Hollow. The only route either girl could think of was to search for the Hollow within her inner World and subjugate it. At first, Mikayla was apprehensive, believing that in her current condition, facing off against a Hollow that was anywhere near as strong as the Kitsune that caused this issue could be fatal this time around. The passage of time did well to soothe her doubts, however, once she realized that unless she brought this foreign power under control, she was dead anyway.

With Karina standing guard over her body, Mikayla dove into the inner recesses of her soul. Expecting to find Lily sitting in the perpetual night hill, she was instead face to face with a Hollow bearing a disturbingly similar appearance to her, albeit clad in black and red rather than purple and aqua. A stunned Mikayla stared in silence as this Hollow introduced herself as “Riku”, expressing her displeasure that a filthy Shinigami had intruded on her home. At such an audacious claim, Mikayla’s fear was quickly replaced with disgust and a back and forth argument began, each throwing insults at the other. Despite the disparity of their races, their argument was reminiscent of a sibling spat than a being at the verge of losing her life and the perpetrator.

Their venom-spitting came to an abrupt close when Mikayla declared that she would bring Riku to her knees and show her whose world it really was. The claim was met with the sadistic grin of the Hollow being that drew a zanpakutou that looked to be the inverse colors of what Scarlet Lily was. Mikayla’s eyes locked with horror upon realization that this Hollow must have not only assumed her appearance, but also her powers. There was no doubt in her mind that this fight would be the one where her life would truly be on the line.

Electricity flowed actively around the form of the small Shinigami; battered and bruised, but not defeated. The last time she had used this ability, it was for a single attack, so even if this Hollow was somehow a part of the Kitsune, there was no way she would have sufficient knowledge about the ability to counter it. Resuming her attack, Riku’s arrogance persisted since she believed that Shunko was nothing more than a cheap light show.

Riku was in for a surprise when she was met with the sudden power surge from Mikayla’s combined Shunko and Shikai state. Riku’s underestimation prior to the clash meant that that single attack was sufficient to deal a devastating blow to her torso, completely turning the tides in Mikayla’s favor. As a result, on Karina’s end, the Hollow’s movement progressively diminished to a sluggish pace. Reapplying the binding Kido, Karina continued to monitor the body closely now that she wasn’t worried about collateral damage.

A half hour had passed when the hollowfied “bones” that had formed on Mikayla’s body shattered into fading wisps of reiatsu, leaving just a kitsune-like mask on her face. The mask itself eventually disintegrated as well, but it was obvious by now that Mikayla was victorious in her struggle against the Inner Hollow. Karina dispelled the kido before grabbing Mikayla’s unconscious body and carrying her to a remote part of Karakura to watch over her until she woke up.

Once she had regained consciousness, Mikayla sits up as if from a lucid dream and looks around herself, only to find Karina sitting beside her. After spending some time discussing the events thus far, Karina admitted before she left, that she could not remain around her long given the laws of Soul Society about Shinigamis that undergo Hollowfication. She will pretend to have never seen her but would also not reveal her location or go after Mikayla herself, and support her from afar.

Mikayla’s heart sunk knowing that her only connection to the Soul Society would have to distance herself from her in order to preserve her own position, but she understood. For now, Riku was under her control, so it was up to her to prove that she could maintain that control and find a way to regain the Soul Society’s trust. Mikayla, at that moment, discarded her Shinigami Representative badge into the Karakura River, knowing that she did not deserve to have it while being seen as a criminal in the eyes of the Soul Society.

There was many a concern filling the mind of the Vizard as she stares absentmindedly at her reflection in the puddle, the tendrils of her long aqua hair swaying carelessly with the mid-afternoon summer breeze that swept past her figure. The gentle caress of the wind, the soft sounds of water rippling in a nearby stream, the musical chirping of the birds overhead was therapeutic to Mikayla, calming her as time went by.

In a wisp of black and blue reiryoku, the mask dissipates from her head, the black of her eyes vanishing with it to return Mikayla to her original appearance. She reaches with her left hand to grab the scabbard of her zanpakutou that lay resting at her feet before standing up, ”I gotta come up with something…”

In her mind, Mikayla understood that with Riku under control for now, she didn’t need to worry about her dizzy spells, vomiting white reiryoku, and the fatigue that came with the infection. This meant she could freely focus on planning what she could do to regain the trust of the Seireitei. Anything she came up with, however, always circled back to one factor: her Hollow. Without perfected control over Riku and the Hollowfication powers that she had attained, it would be unlikely that she could ever achieve that goal. If she ever lost control of Riku and took lethal damage, it’s probably that Riku could take over her body and begin a rampage around Soul Society, which is what they’d prefer to avoid.

Exhaling, Mikayla’s steps were slow and quiet as she walks the shores of the stream that lead towards Karasu River, her mind in a jumble when considering what her options were. Tufts of fluffy white clouds sail across beautiful blue skies, traced by the gaze of the young girl, lost in thought. I could try and focus on refining my control, but if I don’t try to prove my innocence, I’ll have to deal with the Shinigami that want to hunt me.. This was the core concern in Mikayla’s mind, knowing that attempting to train would more than likely draw the attention of Shinigami in the area. ”Aaaah, what do I dooo??” Whines Mikayla.

There was no point in lying to the Shinigami. Her human body was currently at home with her Mod Soul in control of it, and she had long since abandoned the Shinigami robes she used to wear in favor of her normal clothing. However, Mikayla did not seem to respond, more frozen due to her inability to figure out what she wanted to say to this Shinigami.

”You won’t speak of these atrocities? Why do I smell the stench of a Hollow on you?” The Shinigami’s grip on the hilt begins to tighten, as does his stare.

In her defense, Mikayla lowers her zanpakutou to show submission, looking directly into the eyes of the Shinigami in hopes that her words will be seen as sincerity,”I’m an agent of the Soul Society… A Substitute Shinigami..”

A look of bewilderment twisted the visage of the already agitated male upon realization of who Mikayla actually was, ”Wait a second… You are a Rogue! You’re that missing Substitute Shinigami! That explains why I sensed a Hollow from you.. You’ve become one of them haven’t you?! People like you disgust me!” The Shinigami shouts while wisps of light green reiatsu flicker and swirl around him, showing his intent to attack.

Mikayla quickly drops her zanpakutou and shakes her hands towards him desperately, ”Wait, wait! I didn’t seek this power! It happened when I was out on patrol and encountered an Adjuchas. A part of its mask broke off into my eye when I defeated it and that’s what caused my Hollowfication! I had to control it!” She pleads, her eyes showing distress.

”Save it! You should not have wasted your time, because the Soul Society would have wanted you dead either way! You will turn Hollow and die… Just like the rest of them..” With those words, the Shinigami alters the position of his zanpakutou, readying for his lunge to attack.


Mikayla’s face saddens, finally understanding that this Shinigami could not be convinced and replies with a soft tone, ”I’ll show you… That I won’t become one of them…”

The Shinigami had only an instant to defend against the Bala, but ultimately fails, being struck in the center of the chest with a concussive impact. He is sent sailing back a few dozen feet but manages to recover in time to land on his feet.

Reiryoku continues to crackle around her knuckles while Mikayla’s eyes fixate on the surprised Shinigami, ”If I had no control over the Hollow… I wouldn’t be able to use techniques only Hollows have access to… I only just took control over it, so it may not be that strong, but I’m sure with some practice… I could use it as efficiently as I could use Kido..”

”What the hell was that?...” The man growls, gritting his teeth beneath the cover of his lips. It was clear that this man had only the knowledge taught within the academy and likely hasn’t encountered an Adjuchas Hollow, let alone a Vizard.

Mikayla lifts her Hollow mask to rest at the corner of her cranium, returning her voice back to normal since her mask wasn’t filtering her voice, ”You have to believe me… I’m only trying to perfect my control so I won’t be a threat to the Soul Society.”

”No.. It’s exactly that reason why you’d be better off dead.” The Shinigami lifts his zanpakutou over his head, swirling frost white reiryoku around the blade, shouting an incantation and then a name, followed by a burst of Reiatsu. Dust is lifted from the earth around him from the sudden increase of Reiatsu activity. A white, whip-like extension of white flames lashes out from the center of the cloud of dirt, scattering it with that single swing as the flames retract and reform the blade of the Shinigami’s katana. ”You won’t deceive me. You won’t intimidate me! I’ll show you my strength as a true Shinigami!” He calls out, his form outlined by his bright Reiatsu.

Mikayla lets out a soft sigh, lowering her mask back over her face, ”I guess I won’t be able to get through to you.” The Vizard raises her zanpakutou, holding her sheath in her left hand, taking a readied stance.

”I betrayed no one! My loyalty will always be to the Seireitei!’ Mikayla snaps back, collecting Reiryoku at her feet and bursting skyward with a pulse of green light, activating Bringer’s Light. Meeting the Shinigami in the air, both of her hands now come to rest on the hilt of her zanpakutou,

”Then die, as Seireitei’s law says you should.”

Silence befell the two combatants as Mikayla shuts her eyes, a stiffer breeze now whipping Mikayla’s long twin tailed hair to and fro, attributed to their high altitude. Finally, Mikayla’s lids retract to reveal her turquoise hues, ”Being loyal doesn’t always mean you agree with the decisions and actions of who you serve… Eventually… I will show that even with this Hollow within me… Nothing has changed...”

The Shinigami arcs his right arm behind him, readying himself in a stance to strike as soon as the talking was over, ”Your job is to ferry Souls and guard this city… You’re not here to question long-standing ideals.”

Mikayla, this time around, was oddly quiet and does not respond to the statement. The Shinigami huffs in disgust, adding no further words when he lashes his arm forward, launching the tentacle of flames towards Mikayla.

Seeing the attack, Mikayla lifts her zanpakutou with the tip of the blade aiming at the Earth below, ”Red Shift..” The words spoken create a swift orb of red light to expand from the hilt of the zanpakutou and fill a 100M diameter area. The Shinigami blinks in confusion, not knowing why the flames were suddenly moving in slow motion even though he could feel his arm moving normally. Unsure of what to believe, he sudden feels a sharp pain at the bottom of his chin as a kick from Mikayla’s right foot rocks his jaw and propels him at high speed several dozen feet away.

Growling, the Shinigami stands on his Reiryoku, his left hand brushing a trail of crimson blood away from his chin as he only now sees Mikayla vanishing in her Bringer’s Light step. ”What the hell is going on?” He angrily mutters beneath his breath, watching as Mikayla appears where he just was, showing how he had been hit by the kick only a couple of moments ago.

Frustration, confusion, and resentment boils within the soul of the Shinigami as he stumbles onto his feet after suffering a brutal pair of attacks at the hands of Mikayla. His chin was rattled and slightly numb and an annoying pain shot through his nerves whenever he flexes the muscles of his back. To make things worse, he was still under the effects of Mikayla’s Red Shift ability, meaning that the Soukatsui that she had released appeared to be moving much slower than it actually was. By now, he figures that attempting to counterattack the ability with offensive skills was pointless with one of his most important senses effectively impaired.

”Bakudo No Sanjuu Kyuu! Enkosen!” A circular shield of condensed Reiryoku materializes around the Shinigami, the burst of flames crashing into the shield and being harmlessly dissipated to the sides. The shield shortly collapses after the attack lands.

Growling in his anger, the Shinigami rears his arm back, intending on attacking with such speed that there would be no doubt that his attacks would land. Sending his arm outward, the whip of flames bends with the velocity, but then glows with the infusion of reiryoku, suddenly splitting into about a hundred flame whips, each of which shoots for Mikayla, appearing to fill the sky like tendrils of fine hair.

The volume of flames arcing across the sky alarms Mikayla, ”Wouldn’t be a good idea to dodge that… There’s too many..” Instead, she decides to surround herself in red reiryoku that swirls around her at speed. Gravity accentuates the strength of this swirling shield, drawing each of the flames whips straight to it. The whips repeatedly crack against the surface of the powerful shield, arcing back so that they can come back down again.

Despite the visual impairment of his eyes, the Shinigami undoubtedly feels the recoil of the whips striking Mikayla’s shield, causing him to grin in self-satisfaction. Resummoning her Hollow mask, Mikayla aims her right hand towards the Shinigami, ”This won’t be too strong… But it might just be enough to jolt him.”

A sweeping motion of her arm dispels Red Shift, finally returning normal vision to the Shinigami, who remains cautious even though he can see again. ”Do you understand now that I don’t want to fight? If I had succumbed to my Inner Hollow, I would have killed you by now.”

The Shinigami grits his teeth angrily, his confidence in defeating the Vizard finally waning given his lack of success thus far. He doesn’t respond at first, scouring his mind for any sort of plan he could devise that may just give him an edge when he so desperately needed one.

Alas, nothing came to mind, and with no plan, it was unlikely that he could overcome the clear difference of strength between him and Mikayla. An exasperated exhale escapes his mouth; the white flames that continued to lick at his ankles recede and dissipate to reform the sealed zanpakutou that had first formed them. ”Just what makes you different from any other Hollow?”

Mikayla seals her zanpakutou, though her mask remained, which she slowly lifts like she had before to rest at the top right side of her head. ”My situation is similar to the Visoreds that left Soul Society. It was forcefully induced, and to survive, we had to overcome the power of our inner hollow to show dominance over our soul. That dominance over them grants us their power as well.” Her words were soft despite the sclera of her eyes being the frightening black that it was, ”What you’ve seen is the result of my will to live… My refusal to succumb to a Hollow… I’ll tell you again that my Hollowfication wasn’t something I sought, but something I had to do if I wanted to live.” The female’s eyes showed her sincerity, even with the Hollow taint that currently had a hold of her, and made a silent plea towards the male figure before her.