Hollows Eve

Chapter 3

: HOLLOWS EVE CHAPTER 3 :.

Recently I've been living an actual nightmare; the world around me has changed from the normal sunshine of the living world, into the frighteningly grim darkness of the underworld. As you already know I've been having nightmares ever since I was young…. I would often see my father as a ghoulish apparition with a black skull and an even blacker robe that spelled "Death" in more ways than one.

He would come to me and tell me to "embrace my destiny"….right before slashing me to ribbons with these… large, sharp, black claws that are almost as big as an entire human body.

I also envisioned a world full of darkness…. Where it is eternally night and the night time sky kisses the ground with its moon changing into various colors, often adding to the creep factor of the entire world I'm in. There's nothing around me but black & blue, with intense looks of malice & hostility from monsters that call themselves "Hollows".

And now the worst has happened, I've been called to fulfill a "Higher Purpose" as the grim reaper, the reaper of souls tasked with killing demons in order to send them back to hell so that balance between worlds is maintained. Whether this is real or not is not the question…. My question is whether or not I'll be alive after this….Or… if my sanity can survive. I've never been so scared in my life…. but I've also never had so many questions as to how this is possible. Hi….. My name is Kaila Amiyuki, I'm a 16 year old girl in high school….. And I hope I don't die here.

I began following both the pumpkin-headed freak show Jack Von Lantern, and the darling little witch ling Amuki Nagasaki down a long tunneling hallway that also contained blue torches leading towards a barreling door to a chamber that was completely made of stone. The sense of dread increased inside of me as I looked upon the chamber wondering what "training" was going to be like.

"Are you ready? I promise you, this'll be fun! Jacky's a great trainer, he trained me in the art of magic. Well… not really in the art of "magic" cause he's not a witch ling like me-". She kept going on and on like that…

To be honest I kind of smiled at her. Her unwavering cheeriness kind of gave me a warm feeling. In the midst of all this darkness and terror she was like a little bright spot. And it was really nice to see some kind of light within all of this darkness. But THEN….that was cut short….

"EY! Knock it off Love." Jack spouted out at her. Sheesh. I wanted to speak up for her…. But I was too afraid too.

"Oh, must've started rambling. My bad! Sorry Jacky." She said while clasping her hands at the bottom of her sides, smiling at Jack with her eyes closed. Jack just looks at her and then looks back at me and smiles a creepy smile.

"I hope your ready midnight bliss…. Because t'day, you're goin' head to head with fear itself." I was puzzled, I raised my eyebrow and looked at him funny.

"What're you eye-in' me for?" His smile turned into a frown of annoyance, and there was a tonal shift in his voice. He was so commanding….

"Uhm….well..uhhh…It's just…W-what do you mean?" I said to him. I couldn't stop stuttering. I don't even know what was going to happen… How was he going to train me with this…. "Reaper Claw" weapon?

"Hehehehehe…you'll find out soon enough." Jack then turned away from me & Amuki, unfolded his arms, and raised one of them up to the door." Mon o hirakimahyf swy...eien no kblyy swy kolnfyyaminozz….. swosuranakade…. "

Oh great… they have their own language that I can't understand. What is that anyways? And did I hear some… Japanese in there? I'm Japanese so I would know. But then the doors started to slowly open and inside… what greeted me was somewhat cool-looking, but still bleak and grim.

It was a temple…. The architecture switched to something more Roman looking, as it was almost reminiscent of a crypt of some sort…. I walked inside and noticed a giant circle on the floor with a picture depicting Lord Death himself as well as a white figure and a red figure…. Neither of which I could make out. I had no idea who they were, but the red one looked like the devil, while the white one was an angel…. So that confirms one suspicion.

There's also…. A strange smell going around in this place. I take a big whiff and ask Jack… "Uhm….what is that smell?" I ask him while sniffing around the place.

Jack kept walking forward and only looked back at me to smile that signature creepy smile he seems to like giving out. "Why….that's the 3,700 rotting bodies beneath this crypt."

"WHAT?!" I jumped back a bit after hearing this. As if thing couldn't get any worse…

"Don't you know?...Once the bodies of several of the undead stay dead… they come here and then get new bodies in heaven….hell…. or purgatory. It's like a li'le passage from earth to the afterlife…. This crypt is meant to represent that… You'll find out soon enough on your own now wont'cha? Hehehehe…."

I grimaced in fear, just what the hell does that mean?! Was he planning to try and kill me?!

"Jacky! Calm down. You said you were gonna train her, so do it!" Amuki called him out on his bullshit. Thank god there's a friendly, adorable witch ling backing me up here.

"Alright, alright. I was just funnin' with the poor lass that's all." He then turned his attention to me. "Alright then midnight bliss….first thing's first. Your gonna learn how to draw out your weapon." About time we finally got to the good stuff.

Without hesitation Jack un-folded his arms and then a weird energy started to gather around him, it was black and orange at the same time, orange inside with a black-ish glow….it was almost haunting too, like almost evil. I'm inclined to believe that Jack IS evil! He's terrifying….Good god…please someone help me. I sort of stepped back a bit as more and more of his power gathered all over his body. His hands, feet, torso and legs all were slathered in this weird energy.

Then when the energy finally subsided after it swirled around Jack's hands and arms, it went all the way to his right hand and shaped itself into something….it looked like….his scythe.

As Jack spun the Scythe around a couple times in his hand, he then planted it's base on the floor… "You see this?...Looks an awful lot like Lord Death's right hand doesn't it?"

I blinked twice and, still with a hint of fear, said "Yeah….So what?"

"So….This is what we Hollows like to call a "Spirit Weapon". Only certain kinds of Hollows can call upon these fine weapons to aid them in battle. They use this technique called "Shōkanju" in order to summon they're weapon into play." He said while placing both his hands on the bottom of his scythe, and his foot on the blade itself….all while giving me this unsettling smirk on his face.

"S-shokanju?" I ask him, still whimpering a bit.

"Yes Midnight….Shokanju is an easy technique, one that even you can learn almost instantly. In fact, you should be able to learn it far faster than anyone." Huh? Why is that? I'm still relatively new to ALL of this buddy. I don't know half of what you're talking about. So I ask him…

"What do you mean?" Then Amuki takes the question for him. "He means that your spiritual power should be stronger than most people!" I then take a look at her. She's smiling at me with her eyes closed, I instantly feel kind of relieved that she's there.

"You've been given an astonishing Gift Kaila, the gift of Death itself!" That….did NOT sound right the way she said it out loud like that. "And that automatically makes you a lot stronger than most hollows since you have the power of our lord and master running through you. Who knows, you might even be more powerful than Jacky!" She's going too far….

Jack takes one quick glance over at Amuki…"Ey! Shut ye' yaup." And then looks back at me. "I'll give ya' this. She's already got power. But she don't know how to use it like me. So let's see you perform Shokanju." And then Jack used… Shokanju or whatever the hell it's called to make the scythe disappear. Thank god…. I breathed a sigh of relief as I was so on edge I could barely take it.

Jack however looked at me kinda funny, giving me this malevolent smirk…. "What's wrong midnight bliss? On Edge?... Feeling a li'le scared of my big weapon?" I gripped my fists. Now he's just mocking me….he's playing with me. So I decided to show no fear and tell him straight up "No…."

I closed my eyes and let my spiritual power flow throughout my body…..I could actually feel it…. Amuki blinked twice at me, a little surprised, while Jack continued to smirk at me, and even opened his mouth a little bit, letting out an excited grunt that stalled for a bit. It still sounded creepy as hell…

I could feel it though…I could feel Lord Death's power running through me…the power felt so….Dark and dreary….almost evil like And yet I was able to maintain my composure while utilizing it. I focused all of my energy into my left hand, since I was left handed, I concentrated it like I concentrated physical energy into my left hand, and it swished around me…..

The energy then swirled around me…I started to panic as I didn't know what was going on! "H-hey!...what's happening!? Why is it acting weird?!"

Amuki re-assured me by hand-claps. "Ooh! Calm down Kaila, you're not in danger! It's doing something special! It's getting used to your body!" Getting used to my body? This weird stuff is rapping itself all over me!

"What do you mean getting used to my body?!" Does it have some kind of fetish for human flesh?! Does it like my breasts?! What's going on here?!

"Shut up and you'll find out…who knows? Maybe you'll like it. Heheh…" Jack smiled at me as a screamed while I blacked out, everything was different then, as my body started to transform into something completely different as the energy around me burst into something completely different….

One it subsided I was surrounded momentarily in a dark, haunting aura that had a black color with an orange glow. I also made a costume change, as my pigtails went back to normal but now my hair was jet black instead of Midnight Blue. I also wore a sleeveless dress with black & orange stripped stockings, an orange witch-like hat. And the same witch like shoes from before. I also had arm dressings on my fore arms up halfway to my shoulders, and the shoulders themselves on my dress were open and pointed up like curved spikes. I looked like a gothic 5 year old who made his own Halloween costume…..Great now I'm scared AND embarrassed.

I just take a look at myself once the energy I had collected had finally subsided, and I felt….stronger for some reason. I don't know how but I just felt really strong! It felt amazing!

"I…I can't explain this…..But I feel stronger for some reason. I thought this was just a ridiculous costume at first…" Amuki didn't really appreciate that comment. "Oh come on! It's not that ridiculous." She said while her hands were down at her hips in a fuss.

"You should watch your words….because you're the one who created that costume in the first place." He said to me.

I just looked up at him completely puzzled. "What? I would never put myself in something so…weird looking. Why would you say th-" He cut me off….Have I also mentioned he's kind of rude?

"You subconsciously create that costume when you took hold of that li'le death scythe you hold in your hands." Jack said, and then he pointed to my left hand.

I look over and he's right….The Reaper Claw came out again, and this time I saw a ribbon of energy around it, it was pitch black with an orange tint and wrapped around entirety of the blade itself.

"That there weapon you hold in your hands? Believe it or not it's changed hands multiple times." What?! Lord Death has let people use his right hand more than once?!

"How?! Why would Lord Death need more than one Grim Reaper?" I asked them both, because I'm sure Amuki could give me a better answer….or at least an answer in a nicer way.

"Well it's a bit hard to explain, but there have been multiple people who have held the title of "Grim Reaper" before you. You couldn't have possibly thought that you were the only one, did you?" Y'know she's got a point… There had to have been multiple people who have held this title before, considering there are multiple incarnations of Death and what death represents.

I sort of look at Amuki, then looked down a bit. "I see…." I tell her, a little embarrassed but talking to her is easier than talking to that pumpkin-headed maniac.

"Yeah! There have been lots of Grim Reapers! Even Jacky's held Lord Death's Right hand in his-" She gasped and then covered her mouth. "Oh no I said too much!"

"Dammit ya Frozen folly! You weren't supposed to tell her that!" The situation became a bit more….lighthearted…as I just heard that Jack was once the grim reaper….That instantly made breathe in deeply and say….

"WHAT!? You were the grim reaper?!" I had this petrified look on my face that was both silly and scared at the same time, like I was about to s**t myself. I CANNOT believe he used to be the Grim Reaper. Him of all people?

"Hmmmmm…." He takes one good look at Amuki for a second… "Do me a Big favor from now on Love? And BE QUIET!" He actually yelled at her, which made her jump a bit and fold her arms at her sides. "Yes Jacky…." She quietly complied.

"And as for you, we'll discuss that later. For now, let's focus on your trainin'. First off I'm gonna teach you how to use you're weapon-" My turn to cut him off!

"That won't be necessary!" I tell him, as I hold the Reaper Claw in my hands; I managed to spin around gracefully with it, utilizing my skills in Naginatajutsu in order to spin and slice the air multiple times, all while gracefully dancing with it like it was my dance partner, totally in sync with my movements.

I tossed it up into the air, caught it, and then balanced on it, flipped off of the ground and sliced the air coming down. That's how skilled I was…. THANK YOOOOU Grandma Takuro for your amazing training.

"Hmm….Impressive…." Jack actually put his hand on his chin, he was visually impressed by my skills! I can't believe it. I mean….it's not that I seek approval from him, it's just that maybe once he sees my skills with naginata, then maybe he'll ease up on me! I mean a scythe isn't the same thing as a real naginata, but basically it follows the same pattern of style, and both weapons and/or fighting styles are quite similar. So I figured it was close enough…and lo and behold it works! That's actually a load off of my back honestly…..

"Thank you. I can handle this weapon just fine." I assured him while giving him a confident glaring smirk, showing no fear.

"Ahhhhh…..So you can…." But wait….his energy is re-surfacing….the dread is coming back to me…..and his scythe is coming back….

"But can you fight with it?...Let's answer that question RIGHT NOW….." Jack then brought one of his legs back….and he dashed right at me! He started running at me with the scythe at his side. I grimaced and readied myself but nothing could prepare me for the fight that has been thrust upon me! As he swung so hard it caused wind to blow right behind me! Lucky I managed to catch and parry his attack.

This caused Amuki to cover herself and her spiky pink hair to blow backwards a bit as well as her witch dress. Jack was over me, looking down on me and smiling as we were locked together in a scythe struggle….

"Let's see what you can do with this thing…this might be a sparring match…but don't expect me to go easy on ya'…." Jack pushed down on top of me and kept pushing down on top of me until my back would give in! His strength was overwhelming. I mean it's not like I was gonna over power him anyways, but my god is he strong, I can't even force him back. So I think on my feet extra quickly and I roll on my back and somersault kick him off.

Jack then lands behind me and looks back at me…. And I stand up and look back at him….. but then he's not there?! Where did he go?!

"What?...Wha…Where are you?! Where did you-" Suddenly I heard a voice speak to me…. I'm right here midnight bliss….. "WHOA!" I suddenly leaned back and dodged an on-coming scythe blade that almost chopped my damn head off! That's it, he IS trying to kill me!

Jack brought his scythe down and I blocked as we continued our fight, with both of our scythe blades clashing back and forth and spinning around dexterously, I raised mine into the air and brought it down on Jack, but Jack just parried it off of his blade and then struck me in the chest with the bottom of the staff part. Then he spun his blade around on his right side and said…

"Crescent Scythe…" I knew that that wasn't good, so I immediately dodged it by front-flipping right over him in order to avoid the attack. What came next scared the hell out of me….He unleashed a crescent shaped torrent of energy strong enough to break apart the walls and ceiling! Leaving a giant cut on the front of the Crypt!

I looked on in horror as I realized what I was getting into …He's really strong, strong enough to cut me in half…I'm part hollow now…but I'm only human! I couldn't hope to defeat this guy! I started to think to myself…. "What have I gotten myself into?... What kind of attack was that?...An attack that could possibly destroy the whole crypt?!...oh god help me…"

God can't help you now midnight…. My eyes widened with fear, as I just realized that Jack had heard my thoughts! He can read people's minds?! He knows what I'm thinking!?...that just made it all the more creepier….

On top of that he was behind me with his blade at my throat….He ran his right hand up my shoulder and onto my neck, grabbing it forcefully and sending chills down my spine…. And then he inched it so close to my neck that I thought he was going to slit my throat….

"What's wrong?... afraid to die in the afterlife?...or are you so terrified of the situation you're in that you can't move? Is it the possible fear that I might split you in half?...cut your throat open?...split open your intestines?... Be-Head YOU?..." He then groaned and I felt his slimy tongue prick the back of my neck, causing me to jump in pain.

"OW! What the….what the hell was that?!" His slimy, thin green tongue was hanging out…it was dripping what looked like green blood, but once it dropped to the floor it melted part of it….that was no blood….that was acid.

"Oh I'm sorry Midnight…..Your skin just tasted rather delightful…it'll MELT right in my mouth…." And with that being said…. He came at me again! But this time I was ready! We clashed weapons once again and he forced me into a wall, trying to s***h at me again, but then I rolled to the right and rolled forward to dodge, and he turned around and gave me a scary, demented look.

"Why you' hidin'?..." He then disappeared again! And was behind me… "Oh wait…there's nowhere too hide….Hehehehe." Now I'm starting to get frustrated…. "RAGH!" I turned around and sliced at him but missed, as he somehow moved so quickly I couldn't slice him fast enough… my mind was racing with all sorts of crazy emotions… adrenaline, fear, anxiety, and a bit of anger….. As Jack started to somehow…Change weapons!

He changed his weapons to that of two dual pumpkin swords with weird looking hilts that have a pumpkin insignia on them, as well as pumpkin like vines on the sides of the hilt traveling up until the lower middle part of both blades. He then continued to fight me, as he slashed at me several times. I just continued to block his shots and eventually, I spun my weapon and sliced at him, thinking I got a direct hit, because I sliced him in half!

"Gotcha! Finally…take that you cree- MHM!" I was gravely mistaken…. He grabbed my mouth from behind with his pumpkin vines…turns out it was just an illusion.

"Stop it Jacky your scaring her to death!" Amuki cried out for me….he was right…I was terrified of him… I couldn't help it! He was playing with my mind, my feelings, my everything!

"Oh hush young witch….she's fine….Heheheheheh…." Jack walked up close to me and was right behind me… I looked at him while the vines on my mouth tightened almost permitting breathing.

"What's wrong Midnight?...I thought you weren't scared?...But you remember this?... don't you?..." He then changed his weapons again from the swords….to those gigantic guns from before….these things were almost as big as my head…..so you can imagine the fear that swept through my body once he pointed one straight at my skull and said…..

"Yes….you remember….it's the first li'le wiley we had together….." I started to cry in fear….I didn't know if this was going to be it or not! "Come now…don't cry….I can't kill ya'…..only if you don't let me. Fear is something that most people don't know how to control…." That….sentence….struck a chord with me.

I don't know how….but it did. "Most souls who walk the earth fear the existential chance of death knocking on their doorstep….but we hollows….we don't fear death. We invite the chance of death to make us stronger…..Death is not an option….death is something that all people go through…no matter when they're time is….It will eventually take them. That's why you have to get over your fears….Unless you WANT to die…." He then c****d it….making me whimper and cry out in fear. "I can make that happen for you too…Heheheheheh…."

He said that I needed to get over my fear of dying….It's all starting to come back to me now…..All of those images of….Lord Death killing me….All of those images of those horrible monsters…the feeling of intense danger and dread wherever I walk in this world….The afterlife itself…..it's a bleak, dark place….but it's not somewhere….Where I can throw my life away!

All of the sudden…. All of the spiritual power that amassed from the Reaper Claw had surfaced again…. I managed to summon it too my body, making Jack raise a couple eyebrows….even though he didn't have any. And then….. I said to myself in my mind…..

No….I'm not gonna die here….I have too much to live for! With that being said I managed to cause my spiritual power to burst! And I broke out of Jack's vines, pushing him back a bit.

Jack was sent skidding backwards but he skidded to a stop. He took one good look at me as he looked up, and saw that I was fully in sync with the Reaper Claw.

I even looked at myself and was astonished at the power flowing through this thing…. "Wow…." I gripped my own fist in my left, and then looked at the Reaper Claw in my right. "This power is amazing…." Then I glared at Jack, who just smiled devilishly right back at me. "Alright you pumpkin-headed freak…." I then charged right back at him, gripping my death scythe tightly while shaking at the same time. "Bring it on!" I wasn't gonna let him bully me anymore!

Jack then raised one of his Pistols at me and it began to charge up energy, and then a giant explosion happened from the gun! And before I knew it, I saw a pumpkin bomb, YES a PUMPKIN BOMB flying right at me! I immediately dodged to the left, as it was coming at me extremely fast, just barely dodging it, when it exploded on the wall!

Amuki opened her mouth and looked surprised and scared at the same time, her eyes widened and her pupils looked a little on the blank-ish side as they had lost their anime-esque shine…..

"Jacky! Don't use that weapon! You could blow her to smithereens! I know she's the grim reaper but she's just a girl!" At least she's speaking up for me….I looked back at the wreckage Jack had left on the wall, and it seems like those Pumpkin bombs were for real….because he had literally blown a giant hole into the f*****g wall.

My eyes once again lit up in utter shock…not only was this guy super strong, super-fast, could read my mind, cause illusions, and use pumpkin vines from his body, but he also had a scythe, two dual swords, and two enormous pistols that blast giant bombs?!... This is unreal.

Jack had stood up from the smoke and had looked at me…..his small yellow pupils flashing inside the black sclera in his eyes…. And then he finally said… "What?...I'm gettin' serious." And then he immediately charged at me and we clashed blades again…. This time the tip of his blade was dangerously close to my face, to be honest I'd rather have the blade be closer rather than those guns…..

"Besides….things are just getting' started….we're havin' fun….aren't we Midnight Bliss?"…. He continued to force down on me, and loomed over me, as he stared deep into my soul.

"What's wrong now?...are you thinkin' with your emotions? Or are you thinkin' about survival?...in this world you can't afford to put petty emotions into play…there's only you and your opponent!" He then thrusted under me and the bottom of his scythe blade went into my stomach, causing me to cough up a little blood, as he nearly knocked the wind out of me!

I flew backwards and made a crash landing…as I slowly but surely got right back up with a little blood streaming from my mouth…..Jack walked towards me with his blade drawn out… "Lord Death told me you were an emotional girl…."

My eyes widened again….but not in fear….this time I felt….angry….how dare he…. "He said you were always so delicate…..So fearful and timid….so…..SOFT. It's time someone hardened you up…..because clearly….. HE DIDN'T."

I gripped my blade so hard…..so hard my hands almost bled out….. "How dare you…" I immediately dashed at him and he got prepared for the swing, but I was seemingly too fast for him. "HOW DARE YOU!" I then swung my blade as hard and as fast as I could and managed to finally send his head flying clean off!

This made Amuki gasp, as his head flew into the air and came back down, splattering on the ground. I started to breathe heavily in anger, panting like crazy, as I grimaced and looked right back at Jack. "Don't you ever talk like he's my father…even if he is!...Don't ever talk about my father that way! If you dare say anything bad about him I'll slice your goddamn head off again!" I don't know what came over me…..but somehow….I managed to do it! I managed to slice his head off! I gotta admit…..that felt good.

But if you think that it's over…..I wish it was….but it wasn't. Jack's body was still in fact, it walked over to the severed, splattered head. As it began to re-form itself out of nothing…..

I saw all of his face re-constructed….as he began to once again speak out of his mouth….. "Hmmm…not bad…." I couldn't believe my eyes….that seriously id nothing?!

"Looks like you've found your nieche….." He then re-attached his head, with the pumpkin vines connecting straight into the bottom of his pumpkin skull….if a Skull is even there, and re-connecting it to his body. "Ahhh…that feels betta…..now….it looks like you're ready."

"Ready?... Ready for what?!" I asked in confusion and alarm.

"You're ready to learn the reaper claw's first technique…. The Death Storm." I was kind of puzzled…I didn't think this thing had techniques. "The Zetsu Arameshii, or "Death Storm" is the signature technique of the Reaper Claw….since your already so far ahead….You should be able to learn this 'ere technique lickety-split. But first…." I then saw him disappear again with that impressive, shadow like speed of his!

He was….right behind me! "A little motivation…." He then kneed me in the back HARD. I felt like my spine was about to break. This caused me to scream in agony. "AAAAAAHHHH!"

"JACK! Stop it! This isn't how she's going to learn!" Amuki roared out at Jack, but he just kept on going. He then smacked me with his pistols and sent my flying into the ground, I skidded, but regained my balance. And looked up at him, slightly bleeding from the head down. "Alright….You want some of me?...Come and get it!" I bravely stood up to him and faced him.

He just smirked an instantly teleported again, but this time I was ready, as we clashed blades once more, with him making use of his swords again. We traded blows back and forth as our blades scratched the surface of the metal between them, causing sparks. Sometimes we would also trade physical blows, as I managed to get in a few good kicks and punches, with a roundhouse kick, followed by an overhead slice. But Jack blocked and parried all of them, and managed to land a gut punch on me.

"Face it midnight….your just too scared to fight me. Aren't you? Afraid that I'll take your precious li'le life?..." He then kicked me into the wall, but I rebound and spear kicked at him.

"Afraid I'll kill you right in front of the witch ling princess? Afraid you'll lose your "New friend"? ….." He blocked with his arm and then used his pumpkin vines and wrapped them around my leg and slammed me twice into the ground, lifting me right back up afterwards so we could meet face to face….

"Nahhh….I know what you truly fear…..You fear me. Don't you?...You fear the power that I possess…and the world that I've thrusted you into? Isn't it kind of funny?..." He then got closer to me, and ran one of his swords all along my belly….sending absolute shivers down my spine. "Humans are so susceptible to the fear of the unknown….they are scared of what they can't understand. Well trust me you'll come to understand all of this very soon. You just need to stop playing around, and start measuring up!" He then tossed me upwards and kicked at my stomach, sending me into a wall.

I was on my knees breathing hard, when all of the sudden, a plethora of vines came at me! I sliced through them, spun my blade around and continued slicing through them as they came at me. One of them came out of Jack's back and grabbed my leg, bringing me toward him, but I sliced it in half and landed. My emotions boiled up inside me….I just grew more and more frustrated….who does he think he is?!

Does he think he can just….play with me like this?! "Actually yes I can…." He was right behind me! I quickly turned over and blocked his next shot once he brought his blade down on me, and we traded more scythe to sword blows before finally resulting in a clash that blew both of us back.

"Face it midnight…you don't have what it takes to be Grim Reaper! Your too fearful….a girl like you shouldn't even be the grim reaper! Your too soft!"

I just gripped my blade in frustration….and my spiritual power just….started to rise within me.

"Heh…I bet you can't even pull of the Zetsu Arameshii technique….Because your so SCARED!" Then all of the sudden, giant pumpkin vines burst from Jack's back and formed giant pumpkin heads which came flying at me in slow motion….

I began to think back to what Lord Death said a while ago….about me being the Grim Reaper….. "It's my job to cast judgement upon the malevolent souls of the damned, and claim their souls so that I may put them back where they belong…." I then gripped my blade….raised it into the air…as my spiritual energy started to build and build! It burst into a cloaked aura around my blade as I fully raised it into the sky. "I now cast my judgement upon you….."

This caused Jack to frown slightly. "You're going straight to HELL!...REAPER…" And with that….. I brought my blade down on him, and released a gigantic wave of my spiritual energy in the form of a large claw that took form inside the ground, leaving behind a massive trail of my spiritual energy! "CLAW!" I roared at Jack, as my attack caused all of the illusionary monsters to go away, and it finally overwhelmed him…..The fight was over.

I let my scythe down finally….and breathed hard….glaring even harder at the opposite wall…right before I heard…

"JACKY! Are you alright?!" Amuki cried out….She must really care for this pumpkin-headed monster. I'm still wondering why? I looked over….and the damage this technique did was incredible….not only did it leave an enormous hole in the wall, bigger than the one Jack left….but…it also managed to leave Jack an absolutely battered mess. His right arm was hacked off, reduced to nothing but gross, quivering pumpkin fines, the left half of his face was also gone, and most of his body were either burnt or damaged…. I did it….. I finally did it.

I blinked twice in…complete shock….I didn't know I had this in me….it was….an amazing feeling….to be honest….I was really scared of fighting Jack….and I actually still am….but once he mentioned my father…I just lost it….And found the courage to prevail finally. With that….he re-formed himself…and smiled at me. "Very….Very good….you've learned the technique. Just like I thought you would."

I blinked at him twice…..again. "Wait…what?...I thought you…you wanted to kill me or something?" I said with my voice trailing off in a timid fashion during the end of that sentence…. "Oh lord no. If I did, that'd be a one-stop ticket to Limbo, where I wouldn't exist, in case you weren't listenin' to m'lord himself.

That pissed me off! I made a comedic angry anime face. "Then what the hell were you doing creeping me out all the time while we were fighting!?" I roared at him. "Eh….You could call that negative reinforcement." He then began to walk away as I continued to glare my angry glare at him, but he walked right past me. The look on my face changed into one of concern and confusion, wondering where he was going. "What are…you doing?" I asked him as he walked right by me. He simply patted my forehead. "C'mon then. We've got other stuff for you to learn." Afterwards, Amuki hugged me in congratulations.

"Oh I'm so proud of you Kaila-Chan! You did it!" I still don't know what I did, and I'm still a little confused as to what my purpose is for being the grim reaper. Was it to just destroy demonic souls? Or was it to serve a much higher purpose? Well…I guess I might find out sooner than I expected. Because something….has gone a miss.

.: TO BE CONTINUED :.