(Klugetown - Third Person)

"We're here." Sphinx said as the young man hopped off her shoulder. Despite the long fall, he didn't voice any discomfort or anything while landing. This surprised the Sphinx since she somewhat anticipated him to be in pain. Luckily for Byakko, his durability was increased when he gained Reishi.

"Looks like this place was made out of scrap metal." Byakko commented, making a few heads turn to him. He didn't realize that several creatures were glaring at him. Sphinx got nervous as she noticed all the stares. She new that would happen since Byakko's clothes were nearly pristine and the large sword on his back drew more stares. "How does it look worse than in the movie?"

"Byakko, please shut up." Byakko was finally brought out of his mind as he looked at the massive female behind him. "This place is a lot more dangerous for you than me. The most that'll happen to me are injuries and maybe a month in the hospital. You could get kidnapped and sold as a slave for some mare's sick fetish." Byakko Immediately unsheathed his Zanpakutō; the saya immediately vanished after the blade completely left it. "You're going to fight?"

"War, death, and murder; that's what humanity's known for." His voice was low enough for only Sphinx to hear. "Anyway, whether we get attacked or not doesn't matter. I need to try something, it would help with travel, and help me train." He jumped high into the air, surprising himself in the process, but was immediately stopped by Sphinx's hand grabbing him.

"Don't you dare leave me!" She seethed, not liking that the man was about to leave her alone in a very hostile town. She then realized that she was squeezing him with all her might. "Sorry!" She released him, but he didn't fall immediately.

He was standing on the thin air.

After a few seconds, he fell to the ground while grunting and gasping for air. "How do Shinigami and the Espada Make it look so easy?" He commented, not realizing that he gave a little to much information. Sphinx put him on a her shoulder again where he lied limply. She had so many questions, but they would have to wait.

"Stay on my shoulder, Byakko. It's safer." Sphinx said as she walked deeper into the town. Though it was an unusual sight, the passersby ignored it. It was a rule Sphinx knew all too well; mind your business.

"Good, cause I can't move my body." He didn't care if he said it out loud anymore. To him, keeping everything secret was far more exhausting than letting everything be known. "My Hierro seems to have improved with my sensory training. Is it because I now have higher sensitivity to Reiatsu?" His thought's were contradictory and whimsical. It wasn't helped by his ADHD or his OCD.

"Hierro?" Sphinx looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You have said so many weird things and barely explained any of them."

"Because then I'd have to get philosophical and I don't know how religious you are... It's a a whole thing." He sighed before focusing on his Reiryoku, Spiritual Power/Energy, and found that it was almost completely gone. He sighed knowing that he had nothing to do until it came back. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

"To understand everything in it's entirety; you have to know the difference between Reiatsu, Reishi, and Reiryoku. I'll even translate it to English for easier understanding." He had to collect his thoughts.

"English, you mean Equish?... Wait did you call me dumb?!" She did not sound happy.

"How many languages do you know?" She stayed silent. "That's what I thought." He took a deep breath in, trying to read himself for the odd explanation. "First things first, I am a Spiritual Creature, so, by all rights and technicalities, I'm fall into the broad category of a ghost."

"A ghost... You're a ghost." He nodded before walking up to a stall with various foods. "If you're a ghost, then how can I see you?"

"That's difficult to say. It seems like everyone can see me which shouldn't be possible for most people. My best guess is that everyone has a high Reiryoku, or Spirit Energy." He paused before realizing something important. "And I can't show you since I can barely control it."

"Spirit Energy... So that's why I can't sense you. This Reiryoku seems to be fundamentally different from mana." He nodded, but it was mostly only to agree to agree.

"Maybe so, but it's similar in concept. Now to what Spirits are made of may sound similar, but it is different. Reishi is known as Spirit Particles. Everyone has some since it makes up the very soul of a creature." The next part would be more difficult for Byakko to explain since it could be similar to Reiryoku. "Next is Reiatsu, or Spiritual Pressure. It's a byproduct of Reiryoku and allows one to sense their Reiryoku. From what I can tell, it feels like the gravity gets heavier."

"Wow, I didn't expect it to travel with a ghost." ... Fuck it, he tried.

"There are plenty of techniques that I can learn through the manipulation of Reiryoku. From super speed to laser nukes. Reiryoku is easy to shape and is versatile." Byakko struggled to my feet. Some of his Reiryoku was replenished so he can at least stumble.

As he was about to hop off, Sphinx grabbed my again and forced me to sit on her shoulder. He was fine with it, but he don't like having to rely on others.

"Don't you dare." She said in a low tone and a dark look... He could swear that he saw hell.

"Alright." He whispered in a high pitched voice. 'Dear God she's terrifying when she's like this'.

They started making a little travel pack. His Reiryoku slowly recovered over time, but he wished it would recover faster. He couldn't help but feel something was off though. Like he was able to sense a stronger Reiatsu than his and it put him little on edge.

Then he heard it. A loud howl. Now he was fully recovered from the near instant draining of my Reiryoku, but he wasn't sure he could deal with this. He had no idea how to fight with an katana; much less an ōdachi.

'How was I going to fight a Hollow'.

---

(First Person - Byakko)

"What's that?" Sphinx asked. As if on que, everyone, and I mean everyone, immediately hid indoors. From the smallest child to the tuffest sellsword. "What is that!"

As if practiced, I unsheathed my Zanpakutō before the Saya turned into more Reiryoku for me.

"That's a Hollow! They're drawn to spirits and those with high Reiryoku! If everyone can see me, than they're all in danger!" I explained as I held the large blade in front of me. On the bright side, it felt weightless to me.

I can't dwell on my fears. I'm the only one that can fight this thing. I'm not sure if magic has the same effect as Quincies, but it's better not to find out.

"Sphinx, find a place to hide. I'll deal with it." I was scared, but it would help me gain experience. I gripped my Zanpakutō harder to keep it steady. It helped since my arms were shaking.

"I'm capable of fighting too, just let me-!" She tried to refuse, but I glared back at her.

"We don't know if magic works and this town has too many ambush positions for us to experiment." I tried to manipulate my Reiryoku again, but this time, directly into my legs. If I can figure out Sonido, then I can lead it away or flank it. "Just trust me. I'm not dumb enough to let a feral hollow get the best of me." Was I sure it was a mindless beast, nope, but it helps me win this argument.

"Damn it, fine! You better win!" She yelled as she instantly shrunk and ducked into a random house.

I stepped on in the direction I felt the hollows Reiatsu. I instantly found myself in the air, several tens of meters away from where I was. What the hell, I can't fly but I used Sonido first time. Makes sense I guess since it's something I don't have to maintain.

This decision was a bad idea. The hollow blind sighted me with a tackle and sent me to the ground. The sudden impact caught me off guard as the clouds swiftly got farther away.

The crash landing knocked the hollow off me and created distance between us. Having crashed on bikes and motorcycles, I was able to recover quickly. Finally, I had a good look at the monster I'd be fighting.

Base line, it looked like a cobra with arms. I believe they're called Naga in fiction. The body was definitely female and I'm now happy that hollows don't have anything they need to cover up. This makes things difficult. I can make an inference that it's ability is simply poison. That how most hollows are from what I remember.

Maybe I can put speed it. Channeling my Reiryoku into my legs again, I ready myself to slash the hollow. Of course, I lower the amount this time so I don't overshoot and crash into a wall.

Stepping off, my mind was able to process the speed this time as I slashed the hollow. I turn and slide across the ground ready to defend... Only for the hollow to disappear as if I had purified it.

"Wait what?" I commented as I stared at the dissolving form of the hollow. "Was... Was it not faster than me." I looked at it again and saw that I had slashed through it's neck. "More like it didn't know how to use its Hierro."

The hollow fully disappeared as the form of a Diamond Back Naga stood where it was before it also faded in a bright light. She looked back at me and smiled. It was a simple thank you, but it still felt good.

Recreating my Saya, I sheathed my Zanpakutō and placed it on my back. A small cord automatically tied itself around my body. I attempted to uses Sonido again and fell over. Yup, the Saya takes a lot of Reiryoku from me... I'm not moving anytime soon.

"W-what... He actually killed it?" Someone said, I could barely move my body so I didn't look at them.

"Y-yeah. I saw it! He killed it in one hit!" Another person said. "He killed the monster!"

"Hey, you look hurt. Are you okay?" The first voice asked as I turned my head a little.

"I'm... Fine. Can't move." Damn, I must've went over my limit. I can barely move my jaw now. "Sphinx... take me."

"Don't worry, I'm here." A familiar voice said as I was lifted into the air by giant hands. "Seriously, if you get like this everytime you use you're Reir-you-ko, then don't use... It. Oh no." Damnit, what now? "You're shoulder."

I painfully turned my head to my shoulder and... Nothing. It was fine. Even if I got hit, I'm confident that my Hierro would hold out.

Sphinx then turned my head to the other shoulder and... Oh. Oh that's... That's bad. There's a massive valley slicing through my shoulder and almost all the way to my belly.

"Oh... Oh... Shit." I responded as my mind began to focus on it. Eventually, my vision started to fade. Shit, this is really bad. Finally, my vision faded to black.

---

(Canterlot - Third Person)

"Alright!" Harmonia yelled as she sprung to her feet. This scared the Elements, the Princesses, and the Captain of the Royal Guard.

"What's up, your highness?" Rainbow Dash asked, being the first to recover from the scare.

"My little friend won his first battle. Although he's greatly injured." Harmonia sat back down and took her silverware in her hands once more.

"He's injured?!" Celestia yelled. With the male population as low as it is, even the smallest injury on a stallion was cause for alarm.

"Relax sister. He's tuffer than he seems. Infact, one of those heartless creatures was what he fought." That grabbed Luna's attention. It took her and her sister to destroy one of them, but he did it by himself.

"The battle must've been grand. How'd he win?" Luna asked, curious about the warrior her long lost sister brought.

"With a singer strike, he ended the battle within seconds of it starting." That made all of them gawk at the statement. "Here... Watch."

She projected an image on the screen with the warrior Harmonia was talking about. He held a large, single edged sword with both hands while staring down a Naga heartless. A massive gash ran from her shoulder to his stomach. He bent his legs, ready to charge, but seemingly teleported behind it as the head of the beast was severed.

It's body vanished with a smaller, more normal looking Naga standing where it was a soft smile on her face before she disappeared in gleaming particles. He himself had a soft smile, seemingly happy before raising a hand a creating a sheath from energy being pulled out his body.

After he secured it on his back, he tried to walk off... Only to fall to the ground immediately as ponies, Naga, and Diamond Dogs left the building to investigate. As it ended, a large tan hand reached down and pulled him off the ground and out of the crowd of females.

"Wow... What is he?" Twilight asked, a scroll and quill in her hands.

"You may not like the answer." Harmonia responded as Twilight stared at her with anticipation. "He's a more evolved version of those heartless creatures. Except he has his sanity."

"What do you mean, 'Kept his sanity.'?" Harmonia chuckled.

"Those creatures are the spirits of the dead who've been unfortunately corrupted due to their time within the world of the living." She paused to let that sink in. "In fact, that weapon he wields is made to purify there souls and send them to the afterlife. However, once he gets here, I forbid him from fighting until he's eighteen."

"That's a lot to take in... Wait, he's not eighteen?" Rarity asked.

"Unfortunately not, he's only sixteen."

"And you didn't bring him immediately here?!" Applejack yelled as she stood up.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't. It's better for him to prove he's an ally or else you would've killed him." The princesses stared at their food in silence. Harmonia was right, they would've done it without a second thought. Despite the danger he was in, it would have been safer than bringing him to Canterlot.

"I will ask for a test of power when he gets here. I want to see how much he's grown since starting his journey." Luna requested.

"I would have asked you that. I just hope he's able to break past his shyness. He's quite the aggressive male when he breaks out of his shell." The rest of the mares became flustered, mostly because Harmonia made her sentence more suggestive on purpose. Though, she wasn't wrong...

He has a powerful anger.

Next Chapter: Chapter 5 Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes