Disclaimer- I don't own Bleach
Chapter 3
Unhappy Reunions
A small white cat wearing a silver chain link collar with a blue ribbon laced through it ambled along the warehouse district of Karakura town. It was following a path that led to the older, more run down warehouses. The ones that were no longer in use and that people rarely ever ventured near. The buildings here had broken windows and graffiti on their chipped and cracked concrete walls.
The white cat sauntered up to a seemingly empty space between two large warehouses. It then observed the way that the ants and even some birds seemed to avoid the area around the empty space. Cocking its little head to the side, the cat stood back up and walked towards the empty space.
It had walked about five feet when it suddenly vanished.
Before the cat now stood a tall concrete building, it was about four stories high and there was a broken and dirty multi-paned window above the large roll up door that dominated the front of the structure. The door was currently partially open and without hesitation the white cat padded silently into the warehouse.
The interior of the building was rather dark and dull, small specks of dust could be seen floating freely through the air. At one time it appeared that the building had three other floors aside from the ground floor, but now the upper floors were in ruins. Slabs of broken concrete jutted out of the walls, running in jagged lines across the length of the warehouse.
Walking further into the warehouse the little cat came upon a group of eight people. Each one looked as different as the next and they were all doing something different to occupy their bored minds.
At a square table off to the left were three men. One, a man with sunglasses and a spiked afro, was reading through a manga. Another, a long wavy haired blond man sat fiddling with the strings of an acoustic guitar. The other man had short grayish white hair and appeared to be flipping through a magazine with little interest.
In front of the table, a few feet away, was a green couch. On the couch was a man with chin length blond hair, he was lying on his back with his hands behind his head, he appeared to be sleeping peacefully. There was a large man in a light colored tuxedo with very short pink hair off to the far right, his head was bowed into his chest as if he were asleep. On the floor lay a girl with bright green hair and a white bodysuit, she too seemed to be asleep and was mumbling incoherently as she rolled around on the floor.
On the floor above, leaning against one of the concrete pillars that had at one time held the floors up, sat a girl with braided black hair, she wore a school uniform that was different from the ones you would normally see in the area. She had her face hidden behind a magazine.
The eighth and final person was a short blond girl with pig tails. She was sitting cross legged against the far side of the couch, all that was visible of her from where the cat stood, was her blond hair.
Strolling noiselessly over to the table the cat jumped into the lap of the grayish haired man.
"What the-" The man nearly threw the cat off his lap in his surprise, but when he saw the cat he settled for glaring angrily down at it.
"What's up, Kensei?" The man with the spiked afro asked as he glanced up from his manga.
"Nothing, Love, just Sayomi being a pain in the ass again," Kensei hissed as he continued to glare at the cat that had hopped onto the table from his lap.
The wavy haired blond man stopped strumming at his guitar to look over at Kensei and then to the cat on the table. "Oh, hello, Sayomi," he said to the cat, smiling warmly.
"Meow," was the cat's perky response as well as a slight flick of its long tail that was reminiscent of a wave.
"Yeah, hey, Sayomi. Long time no see," Love said to the cat.
Another meow followed the greeting.
"Sayomi's here?" The green haired girl that had moments ago been rolling around on the ground asleep called happily, popping up from the floor and onto her feet in her excitement.
"Eh, waz going on?" The blond on the couch asked as he rubbed at his eyes tiredly before stretching and yawning lazily.
"Shinji, Sayomi's here," the green haired girl giddily informed him as she walked past him to the table that cat had sat down upon.
"You musta been dreamin', Mashiro. Sayomi hasn't been here in awhile," the blond haired Shinji replied as he pushed himself up into a sitting position and leaned against the back of the green couch.
Mashiro snatched the cat off of the table and held it at arms length as she skipped over to Shinji.
"She's right here. See," Mashiro stated as she shoved a rather angry looking cat in Shinji's face.
There was a sharp hiss and a small growl before the cat lashed out and whacked the blond in the nose with it's paw.
Yelping loudly in surprise and pain, he clutched at his now bleeding nose. "Get that damn demon away from me!"
"That's not very nice, Shinji," Mashiro scolded as she dropped the cat from her grasp to put her hands on her hips.
Landing on its feet, the cat shook itself off before walking back to the table. Jumping back tabletop, the cat ignored the glare she was still receiving from Kensei and settled herself into a ball, her tail flitting up and down rhythmically.
"What the hell is she doin' here?" The pig tailed blond snapped angrily, jumping up from her spot beside the couch.
"Don't push your luck, Hiyori," the girl on the floor above called down blandly, her face was still stuck behind her magazine.
"Shut up, Lisa," Hiyori shouted. "She can't just come waltzing back in here like nothin' happened, she isn't wanted here, is she?"
When the blond girl got no response from anyone, she bristled and walked over to the table. She glared down at the cat that just ignored her and closed its eyes, continuing to flick its tail about in a soothing, rhythmic motion.
"What the hell do ya think yer doin' here, Sayomi?" Hiyori spat at the cat.
The cat made no attempt at a response only continued to lay quietly as if asleep.
"I'm askin' ya a question, ya stupid furball," Hiyori shouted.
"Hiyori," Shinji groaned from the couch.
"What the hell, Shinji? You can't just let her come back without knowing what the hell she wants from us," Hiyori shouted.
"Would you shut up," Kensei growled in annoyance.
"Is everyone just gonna take her side-"
"No one's taking sides, Hiyori. Now calm down," Shinji grumbled, standing from the couch to approach the table as well while sticking his hands in his pockets.
As Shinji neared the table, the cat's blue eyes opened and watched him cautiously.
"What are ya doin' here, Sayomi?" Shinji asked the cat with a sigh.
Lifting its head, the cat eyed Shinji with bright blue eyes, its tail continuing to flick rhythmically. "I'm still apart of this group, whether you like it or not. Therefore, I don't need a reason, Shinji," the cat spoke haughtily as it locked its blue eyes with Shinji's pale brown ones.
"So you felt it too?" He asked casually, scratching at his cheek boredly.
"Yes," the cat replied with slight irritation, her tail twitching a few times in annoyance.
"So you were scared? Is that it, Sayomi?" Hiyori snorted crossing her arms indignantly over her chest.
Ignoring the blond girl's out burst, Sayomi stood up and walked onto the table top. She sat near the edge and looked up at Shinji. "A Soul Reaper transferred her powers to a human and she is now in a gigai recovering. Apparently, she decided to attend school while she recovers here," Sayomi explained.
"Weren't you going to the human school too?" Kensei asked.
"Yes, but seeing as how I really would rather not be so close to a Soul Reaper, I thought it would be best to put some distance between us," she replied arrogantly.
"What about the human she transferred her powers to?" Shinji asked curiously.
"What about them?" Sayomi replied evasively, tail twitching.
"Do you know who it is?" Shinji questioned, never taking his eyes off of Sayomi.
"No," she stated simply, her tail twitching again.
Shinji's eyes narrowed slightly, as did Kensei's but no one else seemed to be paying any attention.
"Like I said, you were scared," Hiyori mumbled.
Finally acknowledging the blond girl, Sayomi turned her head towards the girl and stared at her coldly. "I am not afraid of anything, it was in our best interest that I remain undetected... If you decide to persist in pestering me though, I will not hesitate to claw your eyes out of that ridiculously thick skull of yours," she threatened icily.
Shinji sighed and scratched at his head before sticking out an arm to keep Hiyori from attacking the white cat that was still regarding her coldly.
"Well, it definitely won't be boring around here now, will it, Rose?" Love said to the wavy haired man.
"I don't think so. Hopefully they won't destroy the place this time," Rose replied as he went back to strumming his guitar absently.
The only one who had remained silent was the large man against the far wall, his name was Hachigen Oshoda, and he was usually fairly quite and reserved.
Sayomi curled herself up in the center of the wooden table and began to watch as Rose strummed at his guitar. Her tail began to flit in time to the music he was playing and her eyes began to droop closed.
Kensei, however, was still far from pleased and he glared at the white cat for a moment before sighing in annoyance. He stood up quickly and grabbed Sayomi by the scruff of her thin neck. There was a surprised meow which was then followed by a series of hisses and growls as Sayomi batted at Kensei's hand with her paws, sharp claws out. This didn't do her any good, however, since he was wearing gloves and she couldn't get her claws through the thick fabric.
"Dammit, Kensei!What the hell do you think you're doing? Put me down!" She growled furiously, struggling to remove herself from the grip on her fur.
"Shut up, Sayomi," Kensei ordered, his voice told her not to argue further and she reluctantly went limp and allowed him to carry her from the building as if she were a kitten in trouble.
Once outside Kensei sat down and leaned against the concrete building. Setting a rather fluffy Sayomi beside him, her fur had stood on end in response to her anger and she looked rather comical, almost as if she had been blow dried while hanging upside down.
"Was that really necessary, Kensei?" Sayomi growled at him.
"Who is it?" He asked her, his face betraying the fact that the question was less a question and more of a demand that wasn't to be ignored.
"Who is who?" Sayomi asked, playing clueless and attempting to smooth some of her much too fluffy fur.
"The human the Soul Reaper gave her powers to."
"No idea," she answered turning her head away from him and going back to smoothing her soft white fur.
"Sayomi," Kensei growled in a warning tone.
Sayomi shifted a little. Even when she wasn't in the form of a cat she was a little afraid of Kensei's volatile temper, and she wasn't scared of anything. "A high school student," she said, knowing he wanted more specific information, but trying to avoid having to give it to him. "Ow, ow, ow," she whined when she was once again grabbed by the scruff of her neck and held her up to his face, far enough away so that she couldn't swat at him.
Sayomi couldn't look away from the golden eyes that were boring into her, and she squirmed uselessly in his grasp.
"Sayomi," he said authoritatively.
For several seconds she returned his glare, but then became too uncomfortable to continue and sighed. "Alright, alright put me down you big oaf."
Kensei set her back down beside him and looked at her expectantly.
Sayomi sighed and sat herself down. "His name is Ichigo Kurosaki, he's a classmate of mine. I've always sensed that he had some sort of reiatsu but it wasn't all that noticeable until the other night, even then I didn't immediately realize it was him."
"Kurosaki, huh?" Kensei asked.
"Yes, I'm worried for him. If the Soul Society finds out what this girl did by giving him her powers, he could be killed for it. I don't know what is going on with the girl though, it's been about a week and she still doesn't seem to have regained any of her strength. I've been keeping an eye on her whenever I knew I could do it without risking her noticing me. If she doesn't return to Soul Society then we can safely assume that other Soul Reapers will be sent here to look for her."
"We'll just have to be a little more careful then," Kensei replied.
Silence settled between the two and both tried to look anywhere but at each other.
"You're angry at me, aren't you?" Sayomi asked quietly.
Kensei looked over at her and shook his head. He no longer looked angry, but he did appear to be unhappy, sad almost. "You've been gone for a long time, Sayomi."
"I know, and I'm sorry. You knew where to find me though, and it's not like any of you ever bothered to come see me either," she pointed out.
"That isn't the point, you walk back in as if nothing has changed. The last time you were here you nearly killed Hiyori. You can't act as if that never happened."
Sayomi snorted, which as a cat sounded like a strange mix of a growl and a purr.
"She deserved what she got," Sayomi replied bitterly.
"Just control yourself this time, or I will step in, understand?"
"Yes, Kensei, I understand," she replied smugly.
"Good. Let's go back inside. Behave yourself."
"I'm not a child, you know."
"Than stop acting like one," Kensei retorted gruffly.
"Says the guy who can't control his temper," Sayomi muttered childishly under her breath.
There was a short silence before there was a loud yelp followed by a short, but satisfied laugh.
"Bastard," Sayomi muttered after the boot clad foot was removed from her aching tail.
"Sorry, didn't see you there," Kensei replied with a dark smirk as he walked back into the warehouse.
Sayomi followed sulkily, she noticed Mashiro looking at her tail quizzically as was everyone else, but they all knew better than to say anything. Mashiro wasn't so subtle though, a look of confusion flew over her childlike features.
"If you say one word, Mashiro, I'll rip you to shreds," Sayomi hissed.
The girl than proceeded to have temper tantrum on the floor because Sayomi had been mean, of course though, no one seemed to pay her any attention.
Sayomi, still posing as a cat, was busy trying to occupy herself by batting around a ball of black yarn on the floor of the warehouse. She was currently on her back and swatting the ball of yarn that was near her head.
"I think you've spent too much time in that form," Kensei said to her as he walked over to pick up the yarn she was playing with.
Sayomi meowed angrily at him and swiped at his hand with an angry hiss.
"I'm a cat at the moment and cats are easily amused. If I switched back into human form then I'd just pester you," Sayomi replied snottily.
Kensei glanced down at her, dropped the ball of yarn back onto the floor and walked off without another word.
"Ha, thought so," Sayomi gloated when he sat back down at the little table and she triumphantly chased after the yarn.
"Whose turn is it to get food today?" Shinji called lazily from his usual position on the green couch.
"I think it's Kensei's," Lisa answered, as usual for the dark haired, glasses wearing girl, she was sitting against a wall with a perverted magazine held before her face.
"What about the furball?" Hiyori shouted from a chair that was behind the green couch, she tossed the book she had been reading on the floor and stood up abruptly.
Sayomi turned her icy blue eyes on the blond girl and let her ball of yarn slowly spin away from her. "What about me?" she hissed.
"She hasn't gone to get food, if she's gonna be a part of the group again she could at least help out," Hiyori yelled, ignoring the fact that Sayomi had spoken to her.
The other seven people in the building all turned their eyes to the angry Hiyori. It was well known to them all that Hiyori and Sayomi didn't get along. They never had. That was the main reason Sayomi had left the ranks of the Vizard. Sayomi could be a patient person, but Hiyori had constantly tested the limits of her patience. It proved to be a near fatal test when Sayomi had finally snapped and nearly killed the girl in her rage. She had stunned everyone, including herself, and had left not long after the confrontation.
"You really are dumb, aren't you?" Sayomi replied to Hiyori's outburst.
Hiyori glared at Sayomi, her face turning a light shade of red.
"I'm a cat, dimwit. Cats don't buy food," Sayomi stated.
"You can transform," Hiyori shot back.
"Of course, because naked girls don't draw any attention at all," Sayomi replied sarcastically.
"Then wear clothes," Hiyori shouted.
"Hiyori, stop yur yelling would ya?" Shinji yawned.
A distinct and loud slapping sound was heard as Hiyori slapped Shinji in the face with one of her sandals.
"I didn't bring any clothes. Cat, remember," Sayomi said as her tail flicked the air behind her in annoyance.
"That's enough," Kensei shouted at the two. "I'll go get food. Sayomi, you're coming with me. Give everyone here some peace and quiet for a little while."
"Then Hiyori should leave too," Shinji grumbled.
Another smacking sound was heard as Hiyori's sandal once again made contact with Shinji's face. Shinji cried out in pain and fell onto the floor, clutching at his bleeding nose.
The large Hachi who was sitting alone off to the left of the group sighed, he knew he'd have to once again heal Shinji's broken nose when everyone had calmed enough to allow him to do so.
Kensei stood up from the table and stalked towards Sayomi. "Let's go," he demanded as he past her without a single glance.
Sayomi didn't say anything and trotted after him, her tail swaying in the air pridefully. A cat's tail was their pride and joy after all.
"Don't tell me you're angry with me?" Sayomi asked Kensei while they walked through the maze of warehouses.
"You two have done nothing but bitch in the month and a half since you came back. It's annoying, and no one wants to hear it," Kensei replied.
"I don't exactly like fighting with her, you know," Sayomi retorted.
"Then knock it off."
"It's not that simple."
"Why?"
"I don't even know anymore," Sayomi sighed. "We have never been able to get along. Hiyori lets her emotions control her actions and words and she says things out of jealousy and spite rather than for a logical reason."
"I remember you nearly killing her out of spite," Kensei said.
Sayomi scoffed and flicked her tail in annoyance. "She had no right to bring up something that didn't involve her. I am already aware of the fact that even though I no longer share the same name as my brother, I still share the same blood as the traitor. I am also well aware that I am not a noble by birth but rather by adoption, something she takes pride in exploiting," she replied coldly.
"You miss the Soul Society, don't you?" Kensei asked after a moment.
Sayomi didn't answer him, just kept walking beside him silently as if he had never spoken.
"The day you nearly killed Hiyori what really made you so angry, Sayomi?" Kensei asked her seriously.
Still she remained quiet, her blue eyes on the ground in front of her.
'Sayomi-sama,' Fuyukaze whispered sadly in her mind.
'Don't,' Sayomi ordered back. She didn't want to have this conversation, either in reality or in the world of her zanpakuto.
"I heard what she said," Kensei spoke up.
Sayomi stopped walking abruptly and her tail fell from its prideful place in the air, her head tilted downwards so all that could be seen were the backs of her snowy white ears.
"Then you know why I snapped," Sayomi whispered, her voice was still cold, but calm as she spoke, "He was my fiance. It may have been true that he deserved someone far better, a true noble, but he didn't want that. He was a good man and she had no right to speak his name so freely and with so little respect. Our relationship wasn't her business."
"She should have been more respectful, especially of the dead, but you still shouldn't have tried to kill her."
"I know that, Kensei, why do you think I left? I wanted to be left alone to my thoughts and come to terms with everything that happened. I don't miss Soul Society, I miss the idea of the life I would have had if things were different. Is that so wrong?" Sayomi asked, the coldness was beginning to melt from her voice and it was now ripe with sadness and pain.
Kensei sighed, "Of course not. You lost more than most of us."
Sayomi said nothing more, she just started walking again. Kensei watched her for a moment before taking a few steps to walk beside her.
"My apartment isn't far, I should really go and grab a few things," Sayomi said as they neared the more populated area of the town.
"Be back here in a half hour," Kensei said as he walked to the little store that was just across the street.
Sayomi made her way back to her apartment and managed to get in through the window over her bedroll by climbing the old dying tree that would constantly scratch at her one window when it was windy.
Once inside, Sayomi used her hind legs to push the collar she wore up and over her head, once the item was off she began to slowly change form. Her fur disappeared, sinking back into her pales skin while her limbs elongated until she once again appeared to be a short teenage girl with long white hair.
Leaning over, she picked up the bracelet that served as her collar and slipped it on to her thin wrist, tightening the ribbon so it wouldn't slide off. Walking to the single small dresser she owned she slipped on a pair of jeans and a white square neck corset top that had sleeves that went to her elbows and laced up the front with a light blue ribbon. Without looking at what she was doing, Sayomi quickly brushed out her long hair before braiding it and twisting the braid into a bun which she secured with a few hair pins.
Grabbing a few other items, Sayomi neatly packed her things into her black book bag. She then slipped on a pair of white shoes and left her small home.
Walking back to the store she was to meet Kensei she sensed a small shift in spirit pressures. She paused and looked up into the darkening sky, her brow drawn together and her lips forming a tight line.
'We need to get back to the warehouse,' she thought as she began to walk once again, only much quicker now.
She made it to the store quickly and nearly collided with Kensei as he walked out with two bags full of groceries in his arms.
Immediately noticing the worry in her eyes he followed after her when she abruptly turned away and began to walk at a very fast pace towards the warehouse district.
"What's wrong?" he asked her urgently.
"Can't you feel it?"
Kensei was silent for a moment before he spoke, but now there was a hard edge to his voice. "Soul Reapers."
"Yes. Soul Reapers. Strong ones, and they're close. I doubt they're here for us, but I still don't want them to sense us," she told him.
Sayomi kept her head raised and her eyes alert, but something was tugging at her insides. One of the spirit energies was familiar to her, but for some reason she couldn't place it and it bothered her. She felt as if she should be able to recognize the reiatsu, and it almost made her feel guilty when she wasn't able to.
Kensei walked beside the thoughtful girl and kept casting glances down at her as they walked. He could tell something about the energies that had appeared was bothering her, he just didn't know what.
As they reached the hidden warehouse, Sayomi tried to shake off the strange feeling of recognition, but after taking a few steps inside she suddenly froze. Her eyes were wide with realization and she sucked in a quick breath while her face paled, she looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Sayomi, what the hell?" Kensei cursed as he nearly collided with her back.
The black bag that she had slung over her shoulder dropped to the floor, a few of its contents spilling out. "It can't be," she whispered in disbelief.
"Earth to Sayomi," Mashiro sung as she waved an arm before the still girl's face.
Shinji walked up and pushed Mashiro aside causing the green haired girl to have a small temper tantrum on the ground that no one paid attention to. Kensei, who had set down the bags he had been carrying, stepped up beside Sayomi and placed a hand on her shoulder while his brows drew together and he glanced at Shinji for some sort of explanation as to what was going. The blond seemed to have a grim look of understanding on his face that led him to believe he had an idea as to why Sayomi had so suddenly gone white as a ghost.
"Sayomi?" Shinji asked slowly, cautiously.
She began to shake with emotion and she flexed her hands and fingers as if to make sure that they were still working. "You," she uttered in a soft, but heated whisper. Her blue eyes were blinking furiously, as if she were fighting back tears as she focused only on Shinji and let everything else fade away around her. "You said he was dead," her voice had escalated from soft to an angry, accusing snarl.
Shinji took a cautious step back, but not before Sayomi took a step forward and had wrapped the fingers of her left hand around his throat. She slammed the taller man into a wall that had been at least twenty feet behind him. He coughed as some of the broken rubble from the wall fell to the ground with a clatter and dust rose in wispy tendrils around him.
There were shouts and cries of surprise as the others rose to find out what the commotion was. Everyone gathered around the angry girl, but no one dared to draw their weapons against her. Especially not since she had her own drawn and pressed menacingly at Shinji's throat.
When Sayomi had stepped forward and grabbed Shinji, she had held her right arm out so that her elbow was even with her shoulder and her hand was a few inches before her chest. The silver bracelet on her wrist jingled quietly as she had uttered a single word. In the instant that she had spoken there was a small flash and a thin bladed katana of the purest, unadulterated steel was in her hand. Its pure silver blade pressed firmly against Shinji's throat just above where her left hand held him tightly.
Shinji's face was impassive as Sayomi glared at him, a storm of emotion roiling behind her pale blue orbs. "Put the sword away," Shinji advised calmly.
"Bastard," she hissed. "You lied."
"Yes."
Sayomi bristled at the admission and barred her teeth at him and let a low growl rumble out of the depths of her throat. "Who else knew?" she asked, the coldness and anger in her voice were so blatant that chills ran down the spines of everyone present.
When no one answered and only looked around uncertainly, she pulled her katana from his throat the silver blade glinting softly in the light that poured in through the dirty and broken window above the group. The sword had an elegant dark blue and silver hilt that led to the guard that was of the same pure steel as the blade, there were four pieces that protruded outwards and curved inwards before curling to create circular swirls.
Still looking at Shinji, Sayomi raised her left arm straight out to her side. There was a chilly wind as small shiny particles gathered in her hand to form a solid long object. The object was a sheath of the deepest blue that matched the blue ribbon on the hilt of her katana. There were silver engravings on the smooth shiny surface of the sheath of swirling clouds, they resembled the design of the guard.
"Sayomi," the wavy haired blond Rose said quietly, soothingly. He stepped forward to try and offer some form of comfort to her, she looked so incredibly sad and shaken he couldn't help but to want to console her somehow and he was sure everyone else felt the same.
Sayomi shook her head and ignored the looks on the faces of everyone. They were all, including Hiyori, looking at her with a mixture of sympathy, concern and sadness.
"Dumb ass, Shinji, you liar," Hiyori suddenly yelled, as she removed one of her sandals and proceeded to whack Shinji upside the head.
Sayomi snorted lightly before turning around and walking back towards the large door that lead outside she sheathed her zanpakuto as she walked, and held it in her right hand.
"Sayomi! Wait!" Kensei shouted after her.
Ignoring the shouts that followed after her she stepped through the barrier shielding the warehouse and disappeared in a flash of movement.
~A/N~
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