Coincidental Meetings

This story, , focuses on Kenji Hiroshi meeting his son, Shinrei Kurosaki, for the first time. Kusaka Kori and Kensei Muguruma feature, with Kenji as the point-of-view character.

Kenji, flanked by the ever stalwart Kusaka, swept his way through the outlying districts of the Rukongai. Averian was growing ever bolder. Attacks where coming thick and fast and truth be told the Soul Society was hard pressed to deal with the sudden onslaught of intelligent Hollow and powerful Arrancar. Good thing Kenji and his Order where here.

“You hate pissing them off, admit it.” Kusaka remarked, referring to the Gotei 13.

“And you just love reading my mind.” Kenji answered.

The two really were the perfect combination. Sure, they kicked seven shades out of one another, but that was in actuality an indication of their deep bond. They had been together almost their entire lives; the exception was the cot and cradle. Growing up they had been inseparable. And no greater rivals could you hope to find! Another reason they kicked lumps out of each other.

“Cut the chatter!”

Kensei Muguruma was a calming influence to say the least. The veteran Visored and former Gotei 13 Captain had left the service following the Vandenreich Invasion and instead threw his lot in with Kenji and his fledgling Ryū Order; mostly because he had nowhere else to go. Now Kensei spent his time keeping Kenji and Kusaka in-line whilst teaching Kenji how to properly control his Hollow powers.

“Yes, Boss.” Kusaka replied, rolling his eyes. “You’d think you’d formed the bloody Order.”

“He’s right,” Kenji said, in Kensei’s favour. “We’ve got trouble. You feel that!?”

Kusaka knew immediately. It was a spiritual pressure not unlike Kenji’s the first time he lost control and succumbed to his Inner Hollow. Though what Kusaka felt now was much more sinister than even that! This was new… this was the person’s very first Hollowfication.

“Someone’s been bad.” Kusaka noted dryly.

“Someone’s gonna get their faces kicked in…!”

Kenji was off like a rocket despite Kensei and Kusaka’s efforts to stop him. The Hiroshi clansman streaked across the horizon like a blue bullet where, finally, he impacted the earth in front of the strange spiritual pressure. What met his eyes was a horror. The unfortunate victim was a child with silver-hair and crimson eyes. He was struggling violently against the Hollowfication virus threatening to overwhelm him.

“Calm yourself!” Kenji roared.

The kid lashed out in fear. Kenji nearly had his head split open before skidding backwards. It was then Kusaka and Kensei joined him.

“I’m putting him down!” Kensei exclaimed, Zanpakutō drawn.

“Don’t!” Kenji pleaded. “I can save him. I know I can!”

He’d done his own research, over the years. Most of it was based on notes left behind by the very scientists who’d inflicted Kenji himself with Hollowfication, but he’d tested it already. The process could be reversed using a Quincy spirit arrow. Conveniently Kenji himself could do this, though he needed time and a great deal of preparation.

“Bakudō #.79: Kuyō Shibari!”

Black holes numbering eight appeared around the young boy. They paralyzed all movement at which point Kenji wove another spell around his body to further restrict him. This he followed with another. Fabric wove around his arms and pulled him boldly to the floor face-first! Only then did Kenji implement his final plan.

“Are you sure, Kenji?” Kusaka asked.

“What can the Central 46 do to me that they haven’t done already? I’m already technically an exile. What can one or two forbidden Kidō hurt?”

With that Kenji halted time in his immediate area and transported himself, the area and the boy to his own laboratory in Horiwari. He left Kusaka and Kensei behind. Now that he could concentrate he pooled his efforts into saving the boy. First he forcibly contained the Hollowfied form by dwarfing its power with one of greater strength – namely his own. He then integrated the Quincy spirit arrow into the boy’s soul along with what remained of the Human souls he had been experimenting with. He worked through the night and well into the next day but when he was done he sunk into his chair and grinned.

The boy was returned to his former self and strangely Kenji saw something in the boy.

“He looks… like me.”

The eyes especially. It was unnerving. He had to satisfy his curiosity. He took a sample of the boy’s blood and ran it through his system and impatiently awaited the results. It nearly knocked him off his chair!

“No fucking way! She had a kid and didn’t tell me!?”

The kid's DNA profile matched with two people: Eri... and Kenji himself.

He didn’t know what to be angrier about: the fact his former girlfriend had been up the spout and said sweet fuck all about it before disappearing to god’s only know where or the fact the child she’d been expecting later turned up Hollowfied and motherless! Kenji was fuming!

He couldn’t wait so he woke the child.

“Hey there, I’m Kenji.”

“… My head hurts.” The kid replied.

“Not as much as mine, kid, and I happen to be as sober as a judge.” Kenji replied with a sigh. “What’s your name?”

“Don’t have one.”

Eh!? That couldn’t be right. Hadn’t Eri named the little shit!?

“What the hell happened to Eri?”

“Dead,” he said with hatred unfurled in his tone.

He said it so nonchalantly that Kenji couldn’t help but stand and gape. He hated his own mother? That sounded like a luxury to Kenji. He never knew his real mother. Didn’t know his father much beyond his amnesiac mutterings either to say how he felt about them.

“Okay, this is gonna take a while.”

Kenji told him everything. Their chance encounter, how he’d saved the kids life and finally ended with the potentially scarring thought that the man before him was in actuality his biological father.

“… Wait a minute!” The kid exclaimed. “How are you my father?”

“What, they didn’t teach you sex ed.?” Kenji asked. “Okay, let me explain! When a man and woman get really horny- Wait a minute! What the hell am I saying!? Ignore that.” God this was tough. “Okay, from scratch, I got your mother pregnant and she pissed off. I knew nothing about you or you’d have met me sooner.”

“… What does this mean? What is going happen to me now?” The kid asked, tearing up.

Kenji was fighting back his own flood of tears.

“I’m going to look after you, that’s what’s gonna happen.” He started scratching his chin. “But first you’ll need a name… Hmmm. Got it! From now on… you’ll be Shinrei. Shinrei Hiroshi.”

End.

Next Story >.