This one's on time! lol. Anyway, here is the latest chapter of "A Rose That Won't Bloom".
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters. I only have the OCs I add into the mix.
Kagami groaned softly, curling into a tight ball under the comforter that covered her. Each muscle creaked against her movement and her right arm prickled with pins and needles from the weight of her body. She pushed herself up, stretching her upper body once she was fully sitting.
"Stupid floorboards," she muttered quietly, staring down at the impressions of the wooden floor on her arm. They would be gone in minutes, but bothered her for the time being.
Kagami looked around the room she'd slept in, careful not to disturb its still-sleeping occupants. She and Renji had been make places on the floor of Ichigo's room to sleep, with two sheets beneath each of them. The room was silent, but for the occasional shifting of weight or faint snoring. Kagami stood and shook out her hand in an attempt to get all the blood flowing properly to it. She silently crossed the room and sat at Ichigo's desk, in front of the map of Karakura Town. She'd checked and rechecked the symbols drawn on it countless times the night before. There had been two locations most likely for Tousen's arrival, based on what was known about Karakura Town and the strength of his weapon. Kagami wasn't entirely sure what this weapon was, but she knew it was another artifact. How many had he stolen, and how many more had he killed? It was something Kagami wasn't sure she wanted to know. She heard more shifting noises, but ignored them as she drew a large red circle around both of the yellow stars on the map.
Kagami turned the chair around and stared down at the two sleeping bodies on the floor. One was Kon, who seemed to have fallen off the foot of Ichigo's bed. He was slumped against the leg of the bed. The other sleeping body on the floor was Renji. He was sprawled out on the floor, which only made Kagami wonder how she hadn't been kicked in the middle of the night—there wasn't much floor space. She took in the tribal tattoos that were etched on his forehead and peeked from under his disheveled kosode. Renji's thick, red hair was in one braid at the base of his head. Kagami knew her own was a long tangled mess, a rat's nest in the back of her head. As she took in his handsome, strong features, Kagami knew it was no wonder why her feelings for him had emerged when they were young. She knew better than to hope for such a thing, though. It would've only hurt her more.
"How long have you been up?" Ichigo asked sleepily, causing Kagami to quickly tear her gaze away from Renji and blush furiously. She turned in her seat and saw Ichigo sitting up in his bed, stretching with a yawn.
"Only about ten minutes," Kagami answered, trying to force back the blood that had rushed to her cheeks.
"What've you been doing?"
"Just looking over the map again. We'll have to split into two groups."
Ichigo nodded slowly, as though he was still a bit too tired to think over any form of strategy. Kagami had regained her composure and picked up a book from Ichigo's desk, opening it to the first page. She figured she'd let the others fully awaken before she started talking about Tousen. Ichigo watched Kagami for a moment as she began reading one of his literature books from school, her eyes quickly following the lines of print. His gaze was brought to her empty sleeve and he remembered what Renji had said the evening before.
"Is she in good condition to fight?"
Renji sighed heavily. "I don't know. I don't know anything about how she fights, let alone if she still can. Kagami's pretty sure of herself, but I don't think so."
"Good morning, Ichigo!" a loud, male voice yelled, ripping Kagami's attention away from the book in her hand.
She quickly dropped it onto the desk as a man with dark hair burst through the bedroom window with a kick. Ichigo leaned back and the man flew past Kagami, crashing onto the floor in front of the closet. He stood and Kagami could have sworn he looked right at her. He then brought his attention back to Ichigo, who punched him with a scowl.
"What the hell, Dad?" the orange haired teen demanded. Ichigo's father stumbled toward the door, stepping on Renji's hand in the process, causing the Soul Reaper to suppress a yell in pain.
"You're improving, Ichigo. Soon enough, you'll be-" He was stopped when Ichigo shoved him out of the room, slamming the door shut.
"Stay the hell out of my room!"
"What the hell was that?" Kagami hissed as Renji shook out his hand from the pain.
"You're dad's crazy, Ichigo!" Kon exclaimed. The closet door slid open to reveal Rukia, dressed in a simple, light blue sundress.
"That was less than usual," she commented as she stepped down from her bunk. Kagami stared at her with slightly widened eyes. If that was less than usual, she didn't want to see what Ichigo's father usually did. Kagami shook her head slowly and leaned back in the chair.
"That's one way to wake up," Renji muttered with a scowl, adjusting his kosode.
Later that morning, the four Soul Reapers split into two groups to search the areas that were most likely for Tousen's attack. Ichigo and Rukia had gone to an area towards the center of town, while Kagami and Renji were on the outskirts. Houses were more spread out, with fewer people in the area. Kagami hoped Tousen would attack here, so there would be fewer human casualties. The last thing she wanted was for innocent humans to be involved in this battle.
"You're anxious," Renji commented, pulling Kagami's attention off the ground below.
"How could you tell?" she asked.
"Your shoulders. You only kept them hunched like that when you were hurt, afraid, or anxious." Kagami chuckled and squared her shoulders. She'd never noticed that physical sign of hers before. Nobody had ever mentioned it to her.
"I'm actually surprised you remembered that, Renji." The Sixth Division lieutenant smiled, opening his mouth to speak. He was stopped as a powerful spiritual pressure made itself known and descended upon them.
"What the hell?"
"Tousen," Kagami growled as she reached for her zanpakuto.
Above them, the sky opened to reveal a dark-skinned man with black hair, wearing white garments with black accents. He was, as Kagami had said, Kaname Tousen. Renji was dumbfounded. Not only was Tousen alive, but with a spiritual pressure more powerful than Renji remembered from him. The former captain's brow furrowed and his lips curled downward, as though he'd noticed something unpleasant.
"Kagami… I didn't think you were still alive," he said, his voice holding only a mildly surprised tone. Kagami scowled and drew her kodachi from its sheath.
"Don't act so familiar, like you still know me!" she yelled.
"But I do know you, Kagami. I know your fighting style, your personality, your emotions. And you, Lieutenant Abarai, don't think I didn't notice you here. I don't know how you managed to predict my location, but I assure you, your combined efforts won't be enough to stop me."
"We'll see about that," Renji answered and unsheathed his zanpakuto. "Howl, Zabimaru!" His zanpakuto extended into multiple segments aimed at Tousen. The dark-haired man disappeared from sight in an instant, surprising the lieutenant. Kagami's eyes widened as she grabbed Renji's arm and pulled him towards her.
"Look out!" she screamed as a blade slashed through the air where Renji had just been. Kagami stepped around him and moved to stab Tousen, who quickly jumped back unharmed. Kagami stumbled forward, no longer having the counterbalance of her left arm to keep her steady. Renji grabbed the back of her kosode and pulled her back.
"How did you know?" he asked.
"I told you, I was his third-seat and would know his spiritual pressure anywhere. Shuhei was better, but I can get by." Kagami's eyes were then drawn to the sword Tousen held, her eyes widening again. The blade was as long as a typical zanpakuto, but the hand guard was missing and the handle itself was merely a metal-plated part of the blade. It was a stark comparison to Suzumushi. Tousen was wielding the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the legendary sword with the power to control wind direction. Kagami could only gasp.
"Something wrong, Kagami?" Tousen asked with what she perceived as a twisted smirk. "You sound surprised."
Kagami's grip on her zanpakuto tightened. She'd known Tousen would likely bring the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, but she hadn't expected him to use it in the mortal world. What was that madman thinking? Before she could have more time to wonder, a light breeze picked up and ruffled her hair. Tousen smirked and Kagami's eyes widened as realization hit her. The sword he was wielding could control the direction of wind. Tousen lifted the sword and it seemed to move in slow motion to Kagami.
"Oh, no," she murmured, taking a step to try and get Renji and herself out of harm's way.
"Goodbye, Kagami, Lieutenant Abarai," Tousen said and sliced through the air.
A strong gust hit the two Soul Reapers, sending them crashing into each other as they were thrown backwards. Renji yelled out, mostly in surprise, as Kagami swore under her breath. The impact of crashing into Renji had succeeded in further hurting her left shoulder. By the time the two of them recovered, Tousen had disappeared, out of the Mortal World again. The seams caused by his rift in the sky closed as soon as Renji and Kagami were back on their feet.
"What the hell was that?" Renji demanded. "I was expecting that to do a lot more damage."
"It only controls wind. It's not like it can make the air slice you in half, Renji," Kagami answered through gritted teeth as she clutched her shoulder. She stopped for a moment, her eyes widening significantly. "Oh, hell."
"What?"
"I think I know how he's going to attack the Soul Society."
Please R&R.