Chapter Ten: Hidden Abilities
Anna awoke early the next morning. It didn't look like anyone was up yet. She thought about going to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast for everyone. Anna didn't take three steps out of her room before a voice from the shadows called out her. It startled her, she is always aware of everyone around her, spiritual pressure or not. She walked over to the voice, it was Captain Hitsugaya.
"Good morning," Captain Hitsugaya greeted her in a flat tone. He was seated on the floor; it looks like he might have been meditating which was why Anna didn't sense him. He was dressed in a black polo shirt and gray pants. His spiky white hair accentuated his turquoise eyes. He stood up; He was a good foot shorter than her. "We have not been formally introduced, I am Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya."
"Hello." Anna responded softly. "I'm Anna."
"Where were you going?" Captain Hitsugaya questioned.
"I thought I would get an early start on breakfast for everyone." Anna answered innocently. She did not know soul reaper law and how much danger she was in.
"I'm not going to sugar coat this, who are you? How much do you really know about what's going on?" demanded Captain Hitsugaya.
"As for who I am, I am not even sure about that. As for what's going on, how much detail do you want?" Anna asked frankly.
"All of it." Captain Hitsugaya stated.
"Well, that will take awhile, can we do this in the kitchen so I can start on breakfast?" Anna inquired. He nodded. She explained about how she started noticing small abnormalities in the hollows about six months ago in the next town over. She finally tracked it here. It escalated over the last few months and exploded into the situation it is now in just the last few weeks.
The smell of homemade biscuits filled the air. Renji and Kisuke soon joined Anna and Captain Hitsugaya in the kitchen. Renji tried to grab a biscuit with his hand which was quickly slapped by Anna.
"I'm going to get used to this." Kisuke joked. "She's a really good cook." Captain Hitsugaya, Kisuke, Renji and Anna sat down at the table and started serving themselves. Anna had made biscuits, white sausage gravy, eggs, potatoes, and sausage. There was enough to feed twenty people. They talked about strategy in between bites.
Anna heard a quiet noise and went to see that the noise was. It was Ichigo trying to leave. "I made breakfast, please join us." Anna asked.
"Anna, I just need to sort some things out." Ichigo stated flatly. He didn't even know what he was feeling and was overwhelmed.
"Well, sort on a full stomach, your friends are worried about you." Anna said firmly.
"I doubt that." Ichigo stated sadly as he turned to leave.
"They are worried about you, it's just you have been acting differently recently and they care about you." Anna was trying not to look at him; her eyes would reveal what was in her heart.
"What about you?" Ichigo asked as he walked up to her. He gently brushed her bangs behind her ear. Anna froze, her heart was racing. A tear ran down her cheek. He wiped that away as well. Ichigo realized she was trying to sort through it all to. They both needed time.
Ichigo and Anna turned and started walking toward the dining room when Uryu and Chad came through the front door. "Breakfast is ready." Anna called to them. They all went to the dining room and settled in. Shortly after Yoruichi came by, she was going to be checking in with Kisuke and sat down with the group. The last to show up was Rukia, Orihime, and Rangiku. They also took up seats around the table. It was getting very crowded.
"Renji, save some food for everybody else! That's like your fourth heaping plateful!" Uryu exclaimed in annoyance.
"And you wondered why I made this much food…" Anna joked with Kisuke and Captain Hitsugaya. They were sitting on either side of her. It was like a big crazy holiday breakfast with extended family you rarely see. Everyone was talking to each other and over each other. Anna was just trying to take it in.
"Who took the last of the orange juice?" Rangiku asked.
"I'll go get more." Anna quickly responded. The crowd was starting to get to her. She got up and went to the kitchen. She returned a short while later with two more pitchers of orange juice. Everyone was still talking; the overlapping conversations were hard to distinguish. Anna sat down in her spot. She noticed the only other person not talking with someone else was Ichigo. He looked lost in thought.
"Does anyone want more potatoes?" Renji asked. No one did so he scraped what was left on the serving platter on his plate.
"Renji! How much food can you eat?" Uryu asked in disbelief.
Renji ignored Uryu. "Everyone done with the gravy?" Renji inquired.
Anna started laughing, "Renji, do it this way, 'does anyone want anything else because I'm taking everything left' that would be quicker." Everyone at the table starting laughing. They passed the serving dishes to him. "So much for leftovers…" Anna joked with Kisuke.
"Well, it shows how good of a cook you are." Kisuke quietly said to Anna.
"Well with 'garbage disposal boy' over there, I don't know if that is a good indicator. Good heavens, I think he ate half of what I prepared." Anna stated in amazement. Kisuke, along with Captain Hitsugaya who had caught the last part of the conversation, started laughing. That made Anna laugh as well.
Ichigo was watching her from across the table. She looked so beautiful but especially when she was laughing. Her gray eyes had this soft warmth. "Do I have feelings for her? Why did I almost kiss her? Why can't I stop thinking about her?" Ichigo thought to himself. He glanced around the room at his friends; he put them in danger by not helping them. Ichigo put his feelings for Anna before the safety of the group and he could not do that again. "Hey, everyone," Ichigo said. The room was immediately quiet. "Uh, about yesterday, I'm sorry." He apologized.
"You weren't that late." Uryu stated with a smile.
"Just don't let it happen again." Rukia said, half joking.
Ichigo was expecting to get yelled at or at the very least chastised. He thought back about what Anna had said, they were worried about him. The chatter in the room continued. Ichigo looked over at Anna, she wasn't talking. It looked like she was just trying to take it all in. Anna saw him looking at her and gave him a supportive smile.
"Why don't you go do something fun today. Think of it as a teambuilding exercise." Kisuke suggested. He knew they needed to rebuild some of the trust that was lost.
"Is that such a good idea?" Captain Hitsugaya asked, "Shouldn't we be practicing and training?"
"Oohh, there was a movie coming out I wanted to go see." Rangiku said quickly.
"A movie sounds fun." Orihime responded.
"Then we can go shopping." Rangiku suggested with a grin to Orihime.
"Rangiku…" Captain Hitsugaya said in annoyance.
"Awww, come on Captain, Kisuke said to have fun." Rangiku stated with a bit of a pouty face.
"Well, what the heck, I can't remember the last time I was at the movies." Ichigo said smiling at Anna.
Captain Hitsugaya sighed, "Looks like I've been outvoted."
"Why don't we all meet back here at 1 pm?" Uryu suggested. The group agreed and everyone started going their separate ways. "What's a movie?" Anna thought to herself.
"Let's go get ready." Rangiku suggested. Orihime and Rukia followed her. "Anna, aren't you coming?" Rangiku asked.
"Uh, sure." Anna said hesitantly. "Get ready? For what?" Anna thought to herself. She was already dressed.
Orihime, Rangiku, Rukia and Anna went to Orihime's apartment to get ready. "So, what are we going to wear? Let's start with Anna. How long is your hair?" Rangiku eagerly asked. She was already planning outfits and hairstyles for Anna.
"Huh? I'm already wearing something and why do you want to know about my hair?" Anna asked defensively, Rangiku's look was concerning her.
"Anna, you are not wearing that, don't you want to look pretty for the boys? You are not going to get any looks like that." Rangiku said with a laugh.
"That's kinda the point, I DON'T want any boy to notice me!" Anna responded adamantly.
"I thought so; you have your eye on one already." Rangiku teased.
"What, I do not!" Anna exclaimed as she started blushing. Rukia and Orihime were just standing there watching the exchange.
"With that response, yes you do." Rangiku stated with a mischievous grin. "Hhmmm, let me guess, it has to be someone we know. Well, Kisuke is too old for you, Chad isn't your type, so it's between Uryu and Ichigo." Anna blushed more at Ichigo's name. "So it's Ichigo." Rangiku said with a wicked grin.
Anna was beet red. She pleaded silently with Rukia for help. "Rangiku, can I talk with you for a moment?" Rukia asked. She took Rangiku into the kitchen. "Stop it, okay? Think about what you are doing. When the soul society finds out about her, what are they going to do? Your little matchmaking here is just going to hurt people." Rukia stated plainly.
Rukia and Rangiku returned to Orihime and Anna. Nothing more was said about Anna's crush. They started getting ready for the movie. Anna chose a lavender short sleeve cotton blouse and a purple floral knee length skirt that had shorts underneath. Rangiku tried to get Anna to wear her hair long. Anna countered with the suggestion of a high ponytail.
The girls arrived back at Kisuke's, the guys were already waiting. The theater was on the other side of town that Anna had never been to. They walked to the theater, purchased their tickets and settled into the back corner of the theater. Anna chose an isle seat and Rukia sat next to her. Captain Hitsugaya told Rukia he had to have a word with her so she got up and went outside with him. Ichigo quickly took Rukia's spot. Rangiku snickered and whispered not too quietly to Orihime, "looks like the Captain was in on this as well." Orihime shot her a dirty look.
Rukia and Captain Hitsugaya returned from the hall outside the theater. She gave Ichigo a look that basically said 'get out of my seat or be maimed'. Ichigo reluctantly moved a seat over. Rukia whispered to Anna, "The research and development department in the soul society is looking into these anomalies, that was that he wanted to tell me." Rukia explained. She glanced at Ichigo, "I see Ichigo didn't waste any time."
"No kidding and thank you." A relieved Anna responded. The rest of the movie was uneventful. They decided to go out to dinner after the movie. Anna had never spent this much time in a group before. She noticed there were small groups inside large one. The only two people not talking to someone else was Anna and Captain Hitsugaya. Anna thought of attempting to strike up a conversation with him but didn't know how. "They make it look so easy." She thought to herself.
After dinner the group made their way out to the court yard. Rangiku grabbed Orihime by the wrist and started dragging her off saying something about shopping. Rukia and Renji went off together in the opposite direction to talk about how they were going to tell the soul society about Anna without putting her in danger. Ichigo, Uryu, and Chad split off from the group as well. Ichigo wanted their advice on what he was feeling toward Anna and what to do about it. Captain Hitsugaya and Anna were just left standing there. "Well, this is awkward." Anna joked. "Just out of curiosity, why does only Ichigo called you Tōshirō?"
"Because he likes to annoy me?" Captain Hitsugaya joked.
"Well in the world the living, you may want to go by your first name; you would blend in a little better." Anna suggested.
"I have white hair and turquoise eyes, blending is not something I do." Captain Hitsugaya responded flatly.
Anna giggled, "Yeah, but calling you Captain kinda makes it sound like you have an inferiority complex." Anna stated with a smile. Captain Hitsugaya glared at her. "I'm just saying!" She said with a laugh.
"You're going to be as annoying as Ichigo aren't you?" Captain Hitsugaya grumbled.
"Probably worse." Anna said with a grin. "Can I call you Tōshirō, at least while we were in public?"
"If I said no, would it matter?" Captain Hitsugaya stated in annoyance.
Anna grinned at him, "So, now what?" Anna asked. Their friends were still off doing their own thing.
"Well, I'm going to go back to Kisuke's; I can get some training in before I go to bed." Captain Hitsugaya answered frankly.
"Oh, okay. May I walk back with you? I have no clue where am I right now." Anna stated sheepishly.
Captain Hitsugaya looked annoyed, "Yes, you can walk with me." Captain Hitsugaya growled. "Just keep up."
"Thanks." Anna replied with a smile. They started walking back to Kisuke's down a long street it was lined by ten foot high solid wood privacy fences. After about twenty minutes, they stood at an intersection. "You don't know where we are, do you?" Anna asked Captain Hitsugaya.
"This is a lot easier in soul reaper form; I'm used to more of an aerial view of the city." An annoyed Captain Hitsugaya responded.
"So we're lost?" Anna asked concerned.
Captain Hitsugaya glared at her, "Just let me get my bearings." He snapped.
Anna looked around, if she could find the park, she could find her way back to Kisuke's. She saw perfect vantage point. Anna ran up to a tall wooden fence with a flat top and easily jumped to the top of it. She nimbly ran across it to where it connected to a house, hopped to the first story porch roof. Anna easily vaulted to the top of the second story roof. She looked around and quickly found the park. She found a couple of other landmarks and was able to find direction they needed to go to get back to Kisuke's. Anna took a couple steps and somersaulted off the roof landing on the fence ten feet below with perfect balance. She took a few steps and cartwheeled off the fence landing gently on her feet crouching like a cat. "We go this way four streets." Anna stated as she pointed left. "Make a left, go five streets, take the right side of the Y intersection and we are there." Anna explained in her normal soft tone.
"What the hell was that?" Tōshirō asked in surprise at her acrobatic feat.
"Directions?" Anna answered confused.
"Not that, I know soul reapers who are not that nimble. If you were a normal soul reaper, you would most likely have been assigned to stealth force with moves like that. How on earth can you move like that in these restrictive bodies?" Captain Hitsugaya asked befuddled.
"I never thought about it, I've always been able to do this." Anna answered honestly.
"Kisuke and the others never said anything about these abilities." Captain Hitsugaya noted.
"Don't think I've ever shown them, there's never been a need to." Anna stated innocently.
"You're something else, that's for sure." Captain Hitsugaya said cracking a smile.
Captain Hitsugaya and Anna started walking back to Kisuke's shop now that they knew the way and had walked for some time. They were just before the last turn when Anna noticed the three grungy young men on the opposite side of the street that seemed to be following them. At first, she thought she was just being over cautious, but there was something wrong, her instincts were screaming at her. "Tōshirō, I think we have a problem. Those guys have been following us for a couple blocks now." Anna whispered to Captain Hitsugaya in alarm.
"If you were Rangiku, I would think you're just being paranoid. However, I don't like the looks of them either and have a bad feeling." Captain Hitsugaya stated in a concerned tone. He and Anna quickened their pace. All of a sudden, a fourth deviant appeared out of the shadows in front of them. Instinctively Captain Hitsugaya put his arm out in an effort to protect Anna. All four of the thugs had a red bandana on their right arm. They were dressed in grungy black t-shirts and tattered black cargo jeans that had silver linked chain that was used for a belt.
"Awww, how sweet, he is trying to protect his big sister." The thug in front of them said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. His friends had quickly ambushed Anna and Captain Hitsugaya from behind. The biggest brute that had the very bad blond dye job grabbed Anna by the arm and dragged her backwards toward the tall wooden fence with a sinister grin.
"Anna!" Captain Hitsugaya yelled as he lunged at Anna's attacker who was more that twice is height. He tried to intervene but the thug that seemed to be the leader grabbed him, pulling him back.
"Let go of me!" Anna screamed repeatedly as she struggled and thrashed to get away. The ugly blond brute yanked Anna back to him. He struck her so hard across the face she spun around half way as she fell to the ground. Anna looked at Captain Hitsugaya with terror in her eyes. He could see her lip was bleeding. Anna noticed the brute with the spiky red hair had pulled out a pocket knife. It looked like he was going to attack a restrained Captain Hitsugaya.
Before Anna realized what she was doing, she scrambled off the ground and insanely charged at the red haired brute. Her sweeping low kick knocked him off his feet. He dropped the knife when he fell which Anna quickly threw on the other side of the tall fence. While he was still down, she punched as hard as she could in his ribs, hoping to knock him out of the fight.
The leader of the thugs was still holding Captain Hitsugaya and the scrawny thug with the swastika tattoo on his neck was running towards Captain Hitsugaya with a jagged blade. Anna timed her running move so she kicked the scrawny thug in the chest so hard fell backward and knocked himself out when he hit the ground. She had enough momentum left to do a roundhouse kick over Captain Hitsugaya's head, slamming her foot into the leaders face. She landed gracefully on her feet in a crouched position like a cat. Captain Hitsugaya stood there in shock, it all happening so quickly he did not have time to react.
Anna watched to see what the blond brute would do as well as listening for the thug leader who was now behind her. Which one would try to attack first? It was the leader! He tried to grab her; she quickly took a half a step back and used his momentum throwing him over her head. The leader crashed to the ground in front of her in a heap; Anna quickly leapt to him and punched him so hard in the chest that Captain Hitsugaya could hear the sickening crack of the leader's ribs as they shattered.
The blond thug was opening and closing his switchblade. He sneered at Anna knowing he could beat her, after all she was just an unarmed girl. Anna was all business now. She watched and studied the approaching attacker from a crouched position. She was as still as a statue except for her emotionless cold gray eyes that watched his every move. Anna watched and waited for an opening. Finally it came, the blond thug charged at her, his knife glinting in the moonlight. She waited patiently for the right moment. Anna quickly dodged his attack and kicked his feet out from under him. She pounced on him like a feral cat pouncing on its prey and punched him very hard between the shoulder blades just below the neck to incapacitate him.
Anna quickly jumped off the thug and ran to Captain Hitsugaya. "Are you okay Tōshirō?" Anna asked, still in shock a bit herself.
"Are you? What the hell was that? I didn't know you could fight like that." Captain Hitsugaya stated in disbelief.
"I didn't know I could fight like that." Anna exclaimed. She grabbed his wrist and started to run towards Kisuke's shop.
"Anna, what the hell?" Captain Hitsugaya demanded.
"I didn't kill them, I only incapacitated them. Do you really want to be here when they wake up?!" Anna questioned as she was still dragging a still protesting Captain Hitsugaya behind her. They continued to run towards Kisuke's. They burst through the front door out of breath.
Kisuke was about to yell at them when he noticed Anna's lip was bleeding. "What happened? Are both of you okay? Where are the others?" Kisuke questioned concerned.
Anna was still breathing heavy but tried to answer, "Everyone went their separate ways so Tōshirō and I came back here. We were attacked a little ways from here. As for being okay, I'll get back to you on that one." Anna answered out of breath.
"Kisuke, you should've seen her, I think she'd give Yoruichi a run for her money." Captain Hitsugaya stated still in amazement. "She took down all four of the thugs attacking us."
"Wait a minute, you were jumped by four guys, and no offense, but the only injury between the two of you is a split lip?" Kisuke asked in amazement. "Anna, I didn't know you had hand-to-hand combat experience."
"Neither did I, I don't know where that came from and I don't know if I can do it again." Anna answered honestly.
"You are just like Ichigo, back you into a corner or threaten your friends and you can do amazing things." Kisuke said with a thoughtful smile.
A few minutes later, Ichigo, Chad and Uryu came back to Kisuke's. "Hey, why did you two leave? We came back about ten minutes later and you were both gone."
"Everyone went their separate ways; Tōshirō was coming back here so I tagged along." Anna replied flatly.
Ichigo saw her face; she had a split lip and blood on her shirt. He quickly walked up to her. Ichigo gently brushed her bangs back behind her ear and put his hand gently under her chin and lifted her head a little bit so he could see the damage. "Anna, what happened? How did you get hurt?" He asked concerned, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ichigo and Anna were standing so close. All she wanted to do was to reach out and hug him but she knew she couldn't. Anna didn't want to but she gently pushed his hand away from her face. "It's nothing really, I'm fine." She stated in an emotionless tone.
"You're bleeding, it looks like you were in a fight, it's not fine! What happened? Who hurt you?" Ichigo asked her. He tried to touch her face again. This time Anna aggressively blocked his hand and slapped it away.
"I'm fine! Back off Ichigo!" Anna snapped. She quickly turned on her heels and went to her room. Her abrupt change in attitude surprised everyone especially Ichigo. Kisuke went to talk with her. He found her stuffing the few sets of clothes she had in her backpack. Anna turned to leave but Kisuke was in the doorway blocking her exit. "Kisuke, I need to go. I can't do this anymore." Anna pleaded, almost in tears.
"So you're just going to run? That's your answer?" Kisuke replied coldly.
"Not from combat, just from everything else. I'll still fight this thing but I can't stay here, I can't be around him. It's like pouring salt and vinegar into an open wound." Anna cried, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.
"Fine, but give me two minutes. Please, don't leave." Kisuke told her. Anna nodded reluctantly. She quickly changed outfits into a denim skort and lavender polo top. Kisuke returned shortly with a cell phone. "So you can call me if it shows up again or if you need anything." He said softly.
Anna looked at him in disbelief; he wasn't going to stop her from leaving. "Thanks." She said as she nodded. Anna was hoping to be able to leave quickly and quietly. That wasn't going to be a possibility, the rest of the group had shown up and Captain Hitsugaya was recounting everything that happened.
Before anyone had a chance to say anything to her, Anna made a break for the front door. Ichigo noticed she had her backpack. "Anna, what are you doing? Where are you going?" Ichigo demanded. She was ignoring him. "Anna!" He lunged trying to grab her but she's used Chad is a blocker. Anna had almost gotten to the door when Rukia stopped her. They didn't have to speak; Rukia saw the reason why Anna was leaving in Anna's eyes so she knew why Anna was running. She let Anna pass and stopped Ichigo.
"Rukia, what the hell?" Ichigo yelled as he watched Anna run out the door.
"Ichigo, you need to let her go. I'll go talk to her." Rukia said calmly to him. She ran to catch up with Anna. "How are we going to get in touch with you?" Rukia questioned.
"Kisuke gave me a phone. I'm sorry Rukia; I guess my instincts are winning the battle over my will. This is best for everyone. Honestly I don't even know if you even need me anymore." Anna stated, she was regaining her composure.
"You've become part of this team, you are needed. Please don't take this thing head-on by yourself, call us and we will come." Rukia told Anna.
Anna nodded, "Thank you, Rukia, for understanding." She turned to leave and made it about five steps then stopped. Anna softly shook her head in disbelief, "You have got to be kidding me, not now, why now?" she muttered under her breath. Anna sighed deeply turned around with her head down and begrudgingly started walking back towards Kisuke's.
Rukia at first was confused by her behavior then realized what happened, "Its back isn't it?" Rukia asked.
Anna nodded in annoyance. They went back to Kisuke's. The group was surprised to see Anna so soon. The look on her face clearly stated she did not want to be there. "Back so soon?" Kisuke asked her teasingly as she was walking back to her room.
"The universe has a cruel sense of humor." Anna answered in a cold flat tone. She opened her door and threw her backpack in the corner. She went into her soul reaper form and came out of the room looking even more annoyed.
"It's back, huh?" Kisuke asked. Anna just glared at him and took off towards the park. The rest of the group quickly followed suit.
Story edit version 4 - 1/16/2014