Chop. Two pieces of wood fell from tree stump as Haru bent down to pick up the wood. Gathering the chunks of wood in one hand, he tied them together with a string he pulled from a leather pouch tied around his waist. Haru placed the bundle of firewood, along with his axe, inside the wooden handcart beside him.

Reaching up his hand, Haru wiped off the sweat from his forehead. He had been cutting up the trees into firewood for the past eight hours, his body exhausted and sore from all the work. Sitting down against the stump, he unwrapped the cotton towel containing his lunch. It was a simple biscuit with some jerky, nothing too fancy.

Sighing, he rested the back of his head on the stump as he stared into the sky. It had already been three years since he had come to this brand new world. His previous name had been Toshiro Saito. He had been 20 years old and was enrolled in college, trying to earn a degree in automotive technology. While not a high-paying job, being a mechanic was a job where you could work earnestly and earn a good wage. That was all he really wanted. His life wasn’t really complicated and he wanted to keep it that way. A simple life for a simple guy, that was what he wanted.

To distract himself from the busy school life, Haru had started watching anime in his downtime. It became his favorite past time. He had just fell asleep after watching the last episode of Bleach when it happened. He woke up in the middle of the night to a fire blazing in his room. The heat had woken him up. The fire blocked all his exits except the window, his doors a complete wall of flame. He wanted to jump out the window but, unfortunately, his apartment was on the fifth story.

Still, he wanted to live. He desperately waited for help, calling out every now and then as the smoke choked him. He heard the sirens of the emergency vehicles right as the fire reached his back. As his clothes caught on fire, Toshiro finally made the desperate act to jump out the window. He had never been much of an athlete and, probably from sheer panic, jumped poorly. He plummeted towards the ground and landed on his chest. All he remembered was a sickening thud as he hit the ground, a sharp pain emanating throughout his entire body.

When he woke up, he was now Haru Saito. Lucky for him, the Haru from before had been an orphan and lived alone. His house was a small hut on the outskirts of town, with no neighbors to realize that the Haru they knew was no longer with them. This world had some differences from his old one. There wasn’t any guns or electricity, but there was one major difference that shaped the world. Cultivation.

In this new world, there existed cultivators. These mythical beings could destroy mountains and overturn rivers. Unfortunately, there was no one as strong as that in his town. The strongest person in their entire city was able to destroy a large boulder with a punch, but that was it.

Haru Saito wasn’t a cultivator. Just like ninety-percent of the population, he was unable to manipulate Qi. He did have a strong body though, allowing him to become a woodcutter for the Icy Rose restaurant. It was one of the more famous restaurants in the city and they required large amounts of wood for their stoves, something that he was more than happy to fulfill.

His job was strenuous and grueling, but it also paid quite well. Enough to live fairly well off and enjoy his life. Haru was actually quite content with this lifestyle. All he had wanted in his previous life was a normal job where honest work paid.

There was only one problem with his life. He didn’t have any way to relax. Previously, he had watched anime when he was stressed but in this world there wasn’t anything like that. Entertainment for these people was watching plays or the clouds. Books were so expensive that even reading was out of the question. Libraries existed only for nobles. There was nothing for him to do with his money besides buy wine and food.

Sighing again, Haru slowly picked himself up. His day had ended and his cart was full. It was time to head back to the Icy Rose. Stepping over the cart handle, Haru got into position before lifting up the cart. His muscles strained slightly as he leveraged the cart handles, the heavy load shifting itself from the handles to the axles of the wheels. It had rained the night before resulting in mud clogging up the wheels, which meant that it was going to be even harder than normal. Bracing himself, Haru strained against the handles of the cart. The mud was reluctant to let go of the wheels, but finally relinquished its hold on his cart with a schluck sound.

Once the cart started moving, it became easier to move. Occasional bumps, from when the cart ran over a branch or stone, jostled the handles into his shoulder. Eventually, he reached a dirt road that cut through the forest that he was now in. It lead to some other cities and was fairly well traveled. Two wagons pulled by horses were currently traveling away from the city. Pulling his cart onto the trail, Haru started in the opposite direction of the group. He hadn’t gone far when he heard a loud scream.

Turning around, he saw the rear wagon had been knocked on its side. As he watched, some invisible force smashed into the wagon again, forcing it upside down. Scared, Haru quickly grabbed his axe from the cart and started running down the road with his wagon behind him. The handle of the axe and the cart handle pinched his hand, but he ignored it as he barreled down the road. The sounds of people shouting and horses braying panickedly echoed behind him, though their shouts occasionally disappeared with a sudden silence.

He had made it fairly far down the road when all of the screams had stopped. Soon after, he could hear loud thudding sounds behind him. Puddles splashed as something ran after him. The firewood, while important, wasn’t as important as his life. Dropping the cart handles, Haru started running as fast as he could. Without the cart he was a lot faster, but the creature was still catching up. Suddenly, something grabbed his chest. Haru didn’t know what to do. He just stared horrified as he was turned around to face whatever had been chasing him. The axe in his hand was forgotten.

Warm breath washed over his face. The stench of it woke Haru. He realized that he was going to be eaten by the invisible beast. Panicked, Haru swung his axe in a familiar chopping motion, his body completing the action from instinct rather than clear thought. He felt it hit something hard. It resisted for a second before the axe cut through whatever it was.

A weird shriek echoed as whatever was holding him let go. Water splashed and Haru hurriedly looked down at the road. Two-foot long bird footprints littered the road. As he watched, a footprint appeared approaching Haru. Realizing where the creature was, Haru hacked at it with his axe. Again, he cut into the invisible creature. The weird shriek echoed out before slowly fading away.

Once the shriek disappeared completely, a voice sounded in Haru’s head. “Congratulations to Host for killing ‘Hollow x 1’ and gaining 1 store point.”

“They system has detected the activation of the Bleach Store system for the first time. Would you like a tutorial?”

Haru may have lived in this primitive world for a while, but he was still a modern day person at heart. Instinctively he said “yes.”

“This system is called the Bleach Store. By slaying hollows, the host gains store points. These can be used to exchange for items, abilities, and techniques in the Bleach Store. By saying the words ‘Open Store,’ the host can view the stores wares. Please consider your choices wisely host.”

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Haru fell to the ground, exhausted and shocked by the fight. After he took a few minutes to recover, Haru started to think. The voice had said he’d killed a hollow and that there was a Bleach store. Using these details, Haru could only conclude that this had something to do with the anime he’d been watching before dying.

Since he couldn’t figure out anything else, Haru decided to check out the store. “Open the store please.” There was a slight ‘ding’ sound and then a list of abilities along with a description and a price. The abilities listed immediately proved that his guess had been right.

Spiritual Awareness: Awakens host’s innate spirit energy. Allows host to see spirits: 1 pt.

Zanpakuto (Sealed): Can perform konso and purify hollows: 50 pts.

Quincy Bow: Awakens the Quincy powers and provides a focus: 50 pts.

Fullbringer: Awakens the capabilities of Fullbring: 100 pts.

Hollowfication: Starts the hollowfication process: 1000 pts.

There was nothing else listed. Seeing the points required to activate each power, Haru became curious. “How many points do I have?”

The voice resounded in his head once more. “Host’s current store point balance is 1.”

“Tch.” Toshirio grimaced before shrugging. “Can I buy Spiritual Awareness?”

“Yes. Be advised host, hollows will be tempted to attack you after Spiritual Awareness is gained.” It was just like what had happened with Chad and Uryu. When a human had spiritual awareness, they would become targets of hollows. Haru had already been attacked by a hollow for some reason. He had been lucky this time, but what if there was a next time? What would he do if he couldn’t see what was attacking him? There wouldn’t be mud in the future.

There was no question what he had to do. “I will buy Spiritual Awareness.”

“Please confirm. Does host wish to buy Spiritual Awareness for 1 store point?”

“Confirm.”

“Commencing awakening of Spiritual Awareness.”

Haru felt it. Deep in his soul, something awoke. It felt like a third eye had opened up, allowing him to see the world. However, it was merely an illusion. Looking around, nothing was different. Just like in bleach, the hollow’s corpse had disappeared so he couldn’t even confirm anything had changed. Sighing, Haru slowly picked himself off the ground. He went over to his cart and picked it up. He still had to get back to the Icy Rose restaurant if he wanted to be paid for his work.

He had been at the very edge of the forest cutting trees, so it was a long journey back to the town. As he traveled, the trees quickly gave way to large farmlands. Houses started to appear and they quickly grew too numerous to count as he closed in on the city proper. The streets became crowded, forcing Haru to wait impatiently for the slow-moving people. Even at seven in the afternoon, the streets were full. The sky was dyed a bright orange as the sun started to set, the beautiful sky distracting Haru from the frustrating traffik. Eventually, he reached a beautifully decorated building. Roses carved from white jade outlaid the golden doors and a velvet rug lead to the inside of the building.

Haru admired it for a second before sighing. Such a place wasn’t meant to be gazed upon by peasants like him. Turning away from the building, he went down a side alley. In the alley behind the building, it was a completely different site. Men with carts just like him were constantly entering and exiting a large entranceway. Going into line, Haru patiently waited. The person in front of him had boxes full of eggs for the cooks. While most of the people in line had the same type of cart, the things they had was completely different. Soon he reached a bored looking man in sky blue robes with gray highlights. He looked at the cart. “Wood deliveries to the right.” The man waved his quill towards m right before marking something down on the scroll in front of him.

Haru nodded before heading off in the direction the man had pointed to. The man was a worker for Icy Rose Restaurant. His job was to keep track of what kind of materials came in and directing them to their respective drop-off points. Standing beside a huge rack filled with bundles of firewood was a grizzled old man. His trimmed beard and hair was black with streaks of gray. Going over to the man Haru pulled his cart over before setting the handles down. The grizzled old man smiled at him. “Come in with your daily haul Haru?”

Haru nodded as he started unloading his bundles. “Good to see you too Haizen.” Haizen was also a worker for the Icy Rose Restaurant. He was in charge of collecting firewood for the stoves and then paying the workers.

Haizen winced. “I guess I’m being rude, sorry. Nice to see you Haru.” He went over and started helping unload the firewood.

Haru patted him on the shoulder before grabbing a bundle. “No hard feelings. Yeah, I brought my firewood as usual.”

Haizen hefted one of the bundles onto the rack. “You’re running a bit late though, by about ten minutes. Something happen?”

Haru shook his head. “Nope. Just had heavier traffic than usual.”

“Oh.” They quietly stacked the rest of the firewood. Haizen pulled out several silver coins from the leather pouch on his waist. “Here’s your regular payment. See you tomorrow Haru?”

Haru nodded. “As always Haizen.” He pulled his now empty handcart out of the Icy Rose Restaurant. The sun had almost set, causing Haru to hurry back to his house. His house was on the outskirts of town, a good ways away from here. On his way back, he used his new funds to buy some food from the carts on the side of the road.

Looking around, Haru could see that the crowded streets had thinned. Only a few people could be seen and the food carts were starting to pack up. Unless there was a festival, most people would go home when it became dark out. A couple torches outside popular restaurants and rich houses lit the street somewhat but it was becoming dark.

Clankclankclank. The sound of chains jingling could be heard coming from around Haru. Looking around him, Haru jumped. He could see pluses, ghosts, standing in the middle of the square. They looked just like normal people but they had a chain hanging down from their chest. These were Chains of Fate, the chain that binds a soul to a living body. Because these people were dead, their chains were broken. Many of these ghosts were just sitting on the ground, a couple of them walking aimlessly.

These were the souls of the dead. In the world of bleach, souls would be taken to the soul society by the Shinigami. Haru had no idea just who would deal with these souls since he hadn’t seen any sign of Shinigami in this world so far.

Suddenly, something seemed to engulf the street. It was a… a presence. He had no other way of describing it. It was like some intangible force was faintly pressing down on him. A weird shriek echoed from behind him. Haru paled. Looking back, he saw a large ape-like creature with a bone mask on its face. It was hollow!

The souls around him scattered when they saw the hollow. Actually, only most of the souls scattered. There were two souls actually didn’t leave. One was a monk dressed in orange robes with long, flowing sleeves. Twin hook swords were holstered on his back. The other was dressed in plain brown robes with a spear was held in his right hand. Both of them drew their weapons and faced the hollow, their chains clinking as they turned.

The hollow bellowed before leaping at the armed duo. A spear lashed out at the hollow, gouging it in the arm. The hollow let out a screech before lashing out with its large, hairy arm. The man tried to block with the spear handle but the strength of the hollow was beyond the man’s comprehension. The spear snapped in half and the man went flying down the street.

The monk moved around to the backside of hollow while it focused on the man with the spear. Using the hooked part of his swords, the monk pulled the left leg out from under the hollow. The hollow fell to the ground with a screech. While it was down, the monk jumped towards the hollow, bringing both swords down towards its head. The hollow rolled over, avoiding the blow. The monk’s swords sliced into the street and the monk used the recoil to do a front-flip. He landed on his feet, facing the hollow with both his swords drawn.

The hollow lashed out at the monk with a punch. The monk ducked under the roundhouse and slashed both swords at the hollow. An x-shaped cut appeared on the hollows chest, causing it to stumble backwards. Hooking the swords together, the monk increased his weapons range and swung the swords at the hollow. A shallow cut from the bladed handle appeared on the hollow’s mask, causing it to let out a frightful shriek.

With surprising speed, the ape-hollow dashed forward and grabbed the monk, causing him to drop one of his swords. The hollow pulled the monks two arms apart and stretched it’s mouth wide open to eat him. As it did, the spear man dashed in and sunk the head of the shattered spear into the hollow’s shoulder.

It shrieked and threw the monk down the street, the monk skipping like a stone, his one sword flying to the side from when he had lost his grip. The spearman had been grabbed by the ape monk and this time there was nothing to stop the hollow from eating the spearman.

This whole time, I was just staring at the fight in shock. I had hoped that the ‘hollow’ I’d seen before was just me being tired from work. Now, though, it seemed far too real.

I had reached into the cart and grabbed my axe as the confrontation had started. Its familiar weight and sharp edge was all I needed to stop hyperventilating. Then, all of a sudden, the spearman was about to die. The hollow had it’s back towards me, not paying attention to the human that couldn’t possibly see it.

That would be its last mistake it ever made. Leaping into the air, I swung the axe at the hollow’s head. It sliced right through it, just like it must have last time. The hollow’s head was completely split into to as it started to dissolve with a last shriek of fear.

I felt the voice in my head come to life. “Congratulations to Host for killing ‘Hollow x 1’ and gaining 1 store point. Your current store balance is 1 store point.”