Thanks for your patience! I've finally gotten a chance to finish chapter 12 and hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: Bleach is sadly not mine!
Chapter 12: Almost Home
Byakuya sighed as he stared quietly at the memorial pictures of Hisana and Rukia. He was still contemplating what he should do about Masumi when his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the panicked cries of Kiyomi Shimada, Masumi's lady–in-waiting.
"Byakuya-sama! Byakuya-sama!" she shouted frantically, her eyes wild with panic as she ran towards him. Icy daggers of fear pierced his heart as he saw her fear stricken face rushing closer. She was so upset that she tripped over her own feet and went flying forward. Byakuya quickly moved to her side and caught her before she could hit the ground.
"Kiyomi," Byakuya asked calmly as he helped her steady herself. He managed to keep his voice even, but his heart was beating a mile a minute as he wondered what could have happened. "What is the matter?"
"Oh, Byakuya-sama!" she gasped out as she turned her anxious face towards him. She gripped his arm tightly as she tried to speak between huge shuddering breaths. "Masumi-sama… is gone! I-I… just took… her dinner to her room… and she's not there. I ordered the staff to search the grounds, b-but…"
His eyes narrowed as he absorbed her words and he immediately cast his senses about, feeling for her reiatsu, but he could not find her anywhere.
Where could she have gone? Byakuya wondered as his eyes widened in fear when he realized that her reiatsu was nowhere to be found in the Seireitei. If I cannot sense her then she is either hiding or someone is hiding her from me.
Byakuya felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach as he wondered if she was kidnapped, but he readily dismissed it because he was sure that there would have been a commotion that would have alerted him or the guards. Masumi was a fighter, and she was trained well enough that if someone tried to take her she would be able to defend herself effectively.
That means that she must be hiding from me, he concluded as the fear subsided and a different kind of ache took its place in his heart. I've hurt her so much that she could not stand to be here anymore.
His heart felt as if it were about to shatter into a thousand pieces the moment that he had that thought, but he held on to his stoic face as he quickly tried to figure out what to do.
"Kiyomi, did you or anyone on the staff notice anything unusual before you realized that she was gone?"
"No," she said as she swallowed hard to try to calm her breathing. "I knew she was upset because…, well, for some reason, but I thought she needed some time to herself to calm down."
I should have been more mindful of her instead of just telling her the truth and then leaving her to deal with it all alone! Byakuya thought in disgust. He was angry at himself for thinking mainly of himself and not taking better care of her, but he immediately pushed those emotions aside because it would not help him bring her home.
I need to find her quickly, he thought worriedly. She is not used to being out on her own and she could easily get hurt.
"Kiyomi, go and search with the rest of the staff. I will see if I can track her down."
I have to admit that I would never have expected her to run away from home, he thought as he finished helping Kiyomi to her feet.
"Yes, Byakuya-sama, we will do all that we can to find her," she answered hurriedly as she gave him a quick bow and left to join them.
Masumi would not have left simply because she was upset, he finally concluded as he watched Kiyomi disappear around the corner. She always faces her problems directly, and it seems so out of character for her to just leave.
Masumi is a lot like Rukia in that way because Rukia never ran away from anything, he thought as he started to stride purposefully towards her room
Except from you, a small, insidious voice whispered into Byakuya's mind. You were the only thing that Rukia ever had to run away from and now Masumi has left… just like Rukia.
He mentally shook himself and pushed that unhelpful thought aside. I do not have time to indulge in anymore self pity, he decided firmly. It is thoughts like these that led to this situation in the first place.
At that moment, he reached her room and carefully stepped around the food and dishes that were scattered in front of the door.
She must have had a reason to leave so suddenly. The key is to figure out why.
Masumi chased Renji through the woods that surrounded the north Rukon district. She had no idea where he was leading her, but he had reassured her that he knew of a way to get them to the human world without alerting anyone.
As they made their way between the trees, she almost lost him a couple of times as they used shunpo to move quickly through the thick woods. She was using all her energy to keep up with him, but he would still disappear from her sight every now and then. She was surprised that she was having such a hard time keeping up with him because even though Renji was really strong, she was usually a little faster than him at shunpo. Today she was barely able to keep up with him.
"Where are we going, Renji Onii-chan?" Masumi asked when they paused for a moment. This was the tenth time she'd asked that question since they'd left the river. She normally would have been a little more trusting of her closest friend, but he didn't want to give her a straight answer and something about the whole situation made her feel uneasy.
I can't put my finger on it, but something seems a little… I don't know… off.
"Will you stop bugging me about it already, Masumi?" he replied impatiently without even looking back at her. He suddenly leaped to the left and she had to scramble to follow him. "I've already told you that we'll be there soon."
"I'm sorry Renji Onii-chan, but I just don't understand why you won't tell me where we're going or how we're getti…"
Masumi got cut off in midsentence when Renji stopped all of a sudden and she ran into him. He was twice her size so running into him was like hitting a brick wall. She bounced off of him and almost fell over.
What is wrong with me! Masumi scolded herself as she grunted in frustration at her clumsiness. Can't keep up with Renji Onii-chan, falling down left and right… I hope it's just because I'm still recovering from passing out earlier.
"Why did you stop, Renji Onii-chan?" she demanded a little snappishly. She instantly regretted being so sharp with him, but she was tired and feeling very out of sorts.
"It's because we're already here," he replied as he ignored her tone and turned towards her with a huge smirk on his face. He walked towards a thick wall of bushes and moved aside some of the branches to reveal an old overgrown trail. He gestured for her to go through the opening that he'd made, but she hesitated for a moment because the path seemed very foreboding for some reason. "Hurry up and go through before someone happens by and notices us."
Masumi looked doubtfully around at their surroundings for a moment because she seriously didn't believe that anyone would just 'happen' to come by this place unless they were specifically looking for them.
I was concentrating so hard on keeping up with him that I didn't realize how far we had gone in to the forest.
In fact, he had taken her so deep into the forest surrounding the north Rukon district that she wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to find her way back to the Seireitei by herself.
It makes me a little nervous to know that I might not be able to find my way back home, she thought worriedly as she glanced behind her at the thick wall of trees. Plus nobody else knows where I am...
Her eyes flickered to Renji's impatient face and then back to the entrance to the path.
This is stupid, she thought as she swallowed back her nervousness. I decided that I wasn't going to go back until I fixed everything in the human world with Isamu, so why am I hesitating? Besides, this is Renji Onii-chan, my best friend and big brother from the time I was born. He wouldn't do anything to hurt me.
Despite her faith in her decision and Renji's friendship, she still couldn't shake the feelings of unease that had been with her since he had suddenly shown up by the river.
"Hurry, Masumi," he urged her as he glanced nervously around. "If anyone finds us then you won't ever have another chance to do this."
That jolted her into making a decision. Whether or not she trusted Renji Onii-chan, he was right. This was probably the only opportunity that she would have to do this and if she wanted to help Isamu, meet her father, and see the human world she knew that she had to act now.
I committed myself to this path when I ran out of Byakuya Oji-sama's office and I will see it through.
Then she took a deep breath and started down the dark, mysterious path towards her future.
"My inner hollow…," Isamu repeated quietly as he stared at his father in shock and disbelief. Deep down inside he knew all along that his inner hollow had been telling him the truth… or at least some version of the truth, but it was still a shock to hear his father mention it openly. "So it's true then. I… we really do have monsters inside of us."
His dad shook his head vigorously back and forth in denial. "It's not a monster, Isamu," he replied evenly. "It's a part of who we are – an important part of who we are – and we have to learn to accept it and control it."
Isamu gave a shaky laugh that started to turn a little hysterical towards the end. "But don't you see Dad? This just proves my point that Mom shouldn't have had me. She didn't have this thing inside her did she?"
"No, she didn't Isamu, but that doesn't mean that…"
Just then his grandfather reached a hand out and grasped his father's shoulder. Ichigo stopped in midsentence and turned to face him.
"Ichigo, I think you should leave Isamu alone for a little while," he said as he stared intently at his Dad's face. They seemed to have communicated something silently to each other because after a moment his father sighed and nodded in agreement. His grandfather clapped his father on the shoulder and then Ichigo stood and headed towards the door. He shot one last worried glance at him before he left.
Isamu watched his grandfather with a guarded expression because he expected his grandfather to try to talk to him about what happened, but instead he settled himself into the chair next to his bed and proceeded to take a nap.
"What are you doing, Grandpa?" he asked incredulously as he blinked in confusion. He knew his grandfather was goofy, but the last thing he expected was for him to take a nap by his bed. Especially after everything that had just been going on.
"What does it look like I'm doing, Isamu?" he asked without even opening his eyes.
"It looks like you're going to take a nap, but aren't you going to try to talk to me about all this stuff?"
"Do you want me to talk to you about 'all this stuff'?" he asked as he cracked one eye open to study his face.
"No…, not really, but…," Isamu muttered, his feelings of self pity and guilt temporarily overshadowed by his confusion with his grandfather's nonchalant behavior.
"Well, then I'll be right here when you want to talk about it," he answered as he closed his eyes and settled back down into the chair. "But until then, I'm going to use this as an excuse to take a nap without having your Dad constantly nagging me to do more work."
Then he seemed to fall instantly asleep because he started to snore – loudly. Isamu could only sit on his bed and stare at his grandfather in amazement for a few seconds.
When Isamu finally snapped out of his daze, he had an overpowering urge to poke his grandfather or push him over just to see if he was really sleeping, but he just shook his head and chuckled softly to himself instead.
Even though he still felt bad, the burden of his guilt and remorse seemed to ease a bit.
Trust grandpa to come up with the weirdest way on earth to make me feel better, he thought with a small sigh.
Isamu thought that he would get up and maybe straighten his room, but now that everything was quiet again, his body felt like lead and all of his aches and pains reminded him that he was still hurt. In a way, he was a little bit afraid to go back to sleep because of all the encounters with his inner hollow when he was unconscious. He tried to keep his eyes open, but eventually his battered body and tired mind won and he drifted back to sleep.
As Masumi hurried down the path, she had to lift her arms to protect her face from the mass of leaves and branches in her way. They poked and scratched her, but she plowed through with conviction and ignored them the best that she could. When she reached the end of the path and emerged from the leaves, she tripped over a hidden root and sprawled flat on her face with a bone jarring thump.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," she chanted as she picked herself up from the ground. Her hands and knees were scraped badly and were really stinging, but she ignored her discomfort and pushed herself up from the ground.
Once she was standing, she found herself staring at what looked like the ruins of an old house. It was a dilapidated wreck because the walls of the house had huge holes blasted through them and there were only remnants of the roof. The house was almost completely destroyed, but the destruction seemed to have happened quite a while ago because the entire structure was covered in moss and vines.
What is this place?
She heard the rustling sounds of Renji making his way through the bushes behind her and she turned to face him.
"I don't understand, Renji Onii-chan," Masumi said as he emerged from the bushes and began picking leaves and sticks off of him. "Why are we here at this old house? How are we going to get to the human world from here?"
"This old place used to belong to a scientist named Ran Tao," he explained as he grabbed her hand and began to tow her towards the old broken down home. "She was responsible for the creation of a race known as the Bount who survived by feeding on human souls. I think I told you this story before because your father was the one who defeated their leader, Jin Kariya."
"Yes…," she replied, her face screwed into an expression of intense concentration as she thought back. She tripped over her own feet this time, but Renji's grip on her hand kept her from falling. "They were able to live forever, right? Just as long as they kept absorbing human souls."
"That's right, but anyway, their creator Ran Tao came to live here after the battle with them was over. She and the last existing Bount named, Go Koga. They both tried to stay out of the war, but eventually Aizen posed such a serious threat that they both emerged from hiding to help us."
As Renji finished his story, they reached a pile of rubble in the back of the building. Renji let go of her hand and began digging through the mound of rocks and dirt in front of him.
"What happened to them?" Masumi asked as she watched him unearth an old cellar door. It was gray and worn with a large rusted lock on the front of it. She watched him give a few experimental tugs on the old lock, but it seemed as if it was still pretty solid. "I don't remember ever hearing about them in any of my lessons about the Winter War."
"They were helping us research a way to destroy the Hougyoku, but Aizen had them both killed and demolished their home before they could finish their research," he explained as he tugged at the lock a little harder. "It's a shame, but I guess because they were such a small part of the whole war they got lost in the sea of facts that needed to be documented."
"That's so sad, Renji Onii-chan," Masumi whispered, tears started to fill her eyes at the thought of these two being forgotten by everyone. "Everyone should be remembered by someone..."
"Fortunately for us, Ran Tao's lab was left untouched," he continued on as if he hadn't heard her. Masumi feelings of pity were instantly replaced by indignation at being ignored, but before she could say anything Renji braced himself and stomped a hole through the brittle wood of the doors. It splintered easily and the entire thing collapsed inward with a loud bang. A huge cloud of dust erupted from the opening and Masumi had to cover her mouth and nose to keep from coughing. "She needed access to the human world so she created her own Senkaimon to travel through. I only know about it because I was one of the first to arrive here after the initial destruction and I didn't reveal it to anyone else."
"But I don't understand," Masumi interjected once she stopped choking on the dust from the door. "If you knew about it then why didn't you let anyone else know? I'm sure they would have wanted to investigate her research if she was doing something as important as…"
"So many questions, Masumi," Renji interrupted as he grabbed her hand again and began to lead her down into the cellar as the dust began to settle. "We need to hurry if we want to get to the human world before anyone finds us."
Masumi resisted Renji's insistent tugging on her hand and stopped before she entered the cellar.
Something isn't right, she thought as she stared intently at Renji's face. He looked worried, anxious, and… annoyed. Like he didn't really want to be here dealing with her, but he had to be. Renji Onii-chan never gets annoyed with me and he always answers my question. He would never ignore me when I'm trying to say something.
She opened her mouth to ask him what was going on, but he spoke before she did.
"Masumi," he said as his expression did an about face and softened into a look of concern. "If you've changed your mind and decided that you don't want to do this then I completely understand. I'll take you home and then you can work all of this out with your uncle instead."
All of Masumi's misgivings flew from her mind at the thought of returning home and giving up on helping Isamu and meeting her father. "No! I haven't changed my mind, Renji Onii-chan. It's just that…"
"Well, what are we waiting for?" he said with a reassuring smile as he started down the stairs again. "Let's go."
He tugged at her hand again and this time she followed him down the stairs.
Isshin Kurosaki feigned sleep as he snuck a glance at his grandson who was laughing quietly to himself. It made him feel happy to see Isamu smiling again even if it was only for a few moments.
Isshin knew that Isamu needed an explanation as well as training to get his inner hollow under control, but neither was going to do him any good until he dealt with his own inner turmoil about his mother.
Like father, like son, he mused to himself as he listened to the sounds of Isamu settling back down into bed. They both take forever dealing with this type of thing.
He relaxed after a bit when he felt that Isamu had actually fallen back asleep, but he still remained alert because although he was here because of his concern for his grandson, he was also here just in case Isamu's inner hollow took over again.
He felt a lump rise in his throat as he remembered the moments just before Isamu returned to normal. He knew that Ichigo wouldn't be able to take the steps necessary to keep Isamu from harming everyone until it was too late, and for a few seconds Isshin had to seriously consider stepping in and taking the life of his own grandson.
I'm glad that it didn't come down to that, he thought with immense relief as he looked down at Isamu's sleeping form. I hope I won't have to face that choice ever again.
Urahara had called him after Isamu had run away from the shop, but he had actually been on his way there before that. He suspected what might be wrong when Ichigo hastily excused himself from their meeting and dashed out the door.
I should have intervened sooner, but I was hoping that Ichigo had grown up enough to take care of this himself.
He sighed as he recalled the mess they had to sort out after the initial crisis was over.
Hikari had been hysterical and you could see the torment in Orihime's face as she tried to decide what to do. She really wanted to take care of her daughter, but at the same time you could see her concern for Isamu. In the end Ichigo and Uryuu convinced her that there was nothing more she could do here, so she finally went home with the rest of her family.
Yuzu and Karin had come in and helped to clean up the mess while Kisuke and Ichigo had an argument about what to do with Isamu. Urahara had wanted to take Isamu back to his lab and see if he could figure out what was happening with Isamu's unusual transformation, but Ichigo was vehement about keeping him at home. They had argued about it for a while, but in the end Urahara gave in after Ichigo conceded to taking a few precautions.
Karin, Jinta and Ururu were told to stay here so that they could help if Isamu lost control again and they had erected a barrier around the clinic to try to keep him contained. It probably wouldn't stop him for long, but it should be enough slow him down so that it would give help enough time to arrive.
Urahara had gone back to the shop with Tessai to analyze the data that he had. He had instructed them to get him immediately if there was any change in Isamu's condition at all. The three guards were currently downstairs having one of Yuzu's wonderful home cooked meals.
Wish I was down there with them, he thought ruefully as he inhaled the wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen downstairs. Isamu's a decent cook, but nothing beats one of Yuzu's family dinners.
Isshin had actually wanted Yuzu to return home to Urahara shoten where it was safer for her, but she had insisted on staying to help. Taking care of people was what she did best and she couldn't leave her nephew when he was in so much pain.
She's a lot like her mother in that way, he mused. Isshin was worried about her safety, but he was sure that Karin & Jinta would take care of her.
In a way I guess it's good that she's here because she can also run and get help if things turn really ugly. I just hope Ichigo knows what he's doing. It's risky keeping Isamu here where there are so many regular humans around.
Everyone had been amazed that Isamu had been able to return to himself with no prior warning or training regarding his inner hollow. Ichigo had been prepared for his confrontations with his inner hollow and he had barely been able to conquer it. The only explanation for the fortunate turn of events had come from Ichigo who - although no one else in the room had been able to sense it - had insisted that Rukia had somehow saved Isamu from himself.
As far as Isshin was concerned that was a good an explanation as any because nobody else could come up with the reason why Isamu would suddenly revert back when he was already so far gone.
I just hope that stupid son of mine isn't expecting some sort of miracle; he thought as he leaned back in the chair and looked out the window. I know that deep down inside that he's still waiting for Rukia to show up again one day.
Isshin would never admit it out loud, but he worried about Ichigo just as much as he worried about his daughters. He had lost his wife, Masaki, early and he could understand Ichigo's pain. He had always regretted his inability to save Masaki, but he also had been able to accept her passing and move on.
Ichigo seemed stuck.
He would usually say all the right things about accepting Rukia's death, but he would sometimes slip and say or do something that showed that he was still waiting for her.
Doing things like going to Isamu's room every other night because he thinks that he feels Rukia there.
Just then he thought he saw a familiar flash of orange go by the window.
"What the hell?" he mumbled to himself as he stood up and headed to the window. The rain had stopped a while ago, but there were still puddles here and there. He looked carefully up and down the dimly lit street, but he didn't see anything. It couldn't have been Ichigo…
"He would have told me if he needed to leave," he mumbled to himself as he started to head back to his seat by Isamu's bed, but as he turned he thought that he caught a glimpse of a familiar looking face peeking around the lamppost across the street. He turned back and to get a better look, but the face had disappeared.
Masumi concentrated and created a small glowing ball of her reiatsu so that they could find the Senkaimon in the cellar. It seemed as if she had to concentrate harder than usual to get it going, but she finally managed it after a few seconds. Her eyes took a minute to adjust to the dim lighting, but Renji was already deftly making his way through the room without the benefit of her light.
"Renji Onii-chan," she called out as he started to disappear from the edge of her circle of light. "Wait, please!"
As she hurried after him, her eyes finally adjusted to the dimness of the room and she could vaguely make out an assortment of lab equipment, vials, and some computer terminals on wooden tables. Everything was coated in a thick layer of dust and she could see a lot of debris on the floor. Although she had to gingerly pick her way through the mess on the floor, Renji seemed to have no trouble, and despite the darkness he seemed confident as to where he was going.
She finally caught up to him at the very back of the lab where he was busy activating a very old, rickety looking Senkaimon.
"Is this thing still working, Renji Onii-chan?" she asked doubtfully as she touched the door frame of the Senkaimon. Her hand came away covered with dirt and some old cobwebs. "It looks like nobody has used this for years."
"Have a little faith, Masumi," he reassured her as he continued to work on the gate. "This thing might look unreliable, but Ran Tao was an excellent scientist and I'm sure this thing was well built."
Just then a faint humming noise started to come from the gate and the doors began to glow. Masumi felt her excitement start to build as she realized that this ancient looking gate actually worked and that soon she would be reunited with her brother and father. She felt a small pang of guilt as her thoughts shifted briefly to her uncle.
He must have realized by now that I'm gone, she thought as she worriedly chewed on her lower lip. He must be so frantic and upset.
"Ok, Masumi," Renji Onii-chan called to her as he held a hand out for her to take. "It's ready. Let's go."
Masumi looked at Renji's extended hand and at the gate. She knew she had to follow through with this, but she made a silent promise to her uncle before she took Renji's hand and stepped through.
I promise that I'll be back, Byakuya Oji-sama, she vowed. I'm still your Masumi and I promise I'll be back once I take care of everything Mother asked me to do.
Ichigo walked upstairs with a tray that Yuzu had insisted on making him take up to their dad. He had muttered something about the old man being perfectly capable of getting his own damn food, but Yuzu had scolded him and made him feel bad enough to finally relent and take it upstairs to him.
Besides, he thought, I guess this gives me a good excuse to check on Isamu.
He reached his hand out to open the door, but just before he touched the knob, the door opened and he came face to face with his dad who had a very concerned look on his face.
"What's a matter Dad?" Ichigo asked in surprise as his father brushed past him. "Where are you going?"
"Good timing, Ichigo," his father said as he headed towards the stairs. "I have to go check on something. Can you stay with Isamu for a while?"
"Sure, but what's going…," his father disappeared down the stairs. "…on?"
Masumi found herself staring in wonder at everything around her. She had heard stories and seen pictures in books, but nothing could compare with actually being in the human world for the first time.
It's so wonderfully different, she thought as she slowed to get a better look at the city surrounding her. She looked into shop windows, stared at huge glowing signs, and took in all the different, colorful clothing and people. As she walked over a bridge, she paused for a moment to watch the big, shiny metal box looking things speed this way and that beneath her. Cars… I think that's what they're called… cars…
"Masumi!" Renji called to her as he jogged back to get her. He must have only just realized that she wasn't following him because he was quite a distance away. "What are you doing? We have to hurry."
"I'm sorry, Renji Onii-chan," she said as she turned her excited face towards him. "I didn't realize that the human world would be so amazing in person."
"Yeah, I guess it is kind of overwhelming the first time you're here…," he said as he reached out to grab her hand. He continued talking to her as he grasped her hand in his, but a different voice began to whisper in her ear and his words seemed to fade away into the background.
"Masumi," a familiar melodic voice said, it was so soft that the sound barely tickled her ear before it faded away.
"Masumi...," the voice whispered again and this time she pulled her hand out of Renji's and started to head in the direction that the voice seemed to call her from. She vaguely heard Renji shouting something at her as she dashed off, but she was so mesmerized by the sound of that beautiful crystalline voice calling her that she hurried away without a second thought.
"Masumi, we're here…," it called to her again and again. "…and we're waiting…"
Whose we? She wondered as she used shunpo to practically fly through the darkened streets of the city. In the back of her mind something reminded her that she should be a little more wary about strange voices beckoning her in the middle of unfamiliar territory, but she ignored it. This voice reminded her of home for some reason, and she truly felt from the bottom of her heart that whoever or whatever this was, it didn't mean her any harm.
"Masumi…"
She only paused once in a while to listen carefully so that she could be sure that she was going in the right direction. The first couple of times that she stopped she didn't even pay attention to her surroundings, but eventually she began to notice that every time she paused people standing nearby would suddenly gasp and start pointing at her.
"Look at her!"
"Where did she come from? She just seemed to appear out of nowhere!"
"Why is she dressed so strangely?"
After overhearing a few of their comments, Masumi hurried on and made sure that the next places she stopped had no one around.
Why can they see me? She wondered as she continued to follow the voice through the darkened streets. I thought that most humans didn't have enough spiritual power to see a Shinigami like me.
It bothered her a little, but the voice called out to her again and she forgot about it as she continued her search for the source of the voice beckoning her.
A few moments later she reached a large building with a sign in the front that said Kurosaki Clinic.
"Kurosaki Clinic," she murmured to herself as she started walking towards it. This must be where the rest of my family lives, she thought as she headed towards the front door. She meant to go right up to the door and knock, but she was almost immediately stopped by a barrier. Why is there a barrier set up here?
Masumi stepped back to study the barrier blocking her way and realized that it surrounded the entire clinic. It was a really good barrier because she couldn't sense anything happening inside of it and when she pushed against it with her reiatsu it didn't even quiver.
She was about to investigate the rest of the area surrounding the clinic when she noticed movement by a window on the second floor. Instinct took over and she immediately hid herself behind a nearby pole.
Wait, she thought incredulously as she tried to slow her pounding heart. Why am I hiding? Isn't meeting my family the whole reason that I'm here?
She peeked around the pole for a second and then immediately pulled back again. She always thought that she would feel happy and excited to be reunited with her family, but all she really felt right now was nervous and a little afraid.
"Masumi…," the voice called to her again and this time it was loud and clear. She looked around frantically for the speaker, but didn't see anyone. Suddenly her necklace began to grow warm and she could feel waves of power begin to emanate from it. She grasped it with her right hand and could feel it vibrating with energy.
"Masumi," it repeated, she could swear that the speaker was right behind her although she still couldn't see anything. "Can you hear me? Do you remember my name?"
"Your name?" she whispered as she felt the power of her necklace thrum through her whole body. "Are you my Zanpakutou? I've tried to call you using my mother's Zanpakutou's name, but it's never worked. You've never told me what your real name…"
"You know it, Masumi," her Zanpakutou answered patiently. "I am your mother's Zanpakutou and more. I couldn't emerge before, but now I ca…"
Just then a horrendous scream rent through the night and interrupted her communion with her sword. Masumi blinked in shock and confusion for only a moment, but it was long enough for the hollow that had materialized next to her to grab her.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! She thought as she was lifted high into the air by a hollow with muddy brown skin and a frog like mask. I forgot to hide myself so that I wouldn't attract any hollows.
The hollow squeezed her tight in its huge meaty hand and she screamed in pain as she felt one of her ribs snap. She struggled uselessly against its iron grip and stared in horror as it opened its huge gaping maw to devour her whole.
No! She thought vehemently as her fear turned into anger. She pushed mightily against the hollow's grip and finally managed to wiggle one of her hands out of its grasp. Her arms were firmly clasped against her sides so her hand was sticking out towards the ground. I'm so close to being reunited with my family! I am not going to let it end like this!
"Hadou 31, Shakkahou!" she shouted as she directed her palm towards the hollow's feet. The fiery blast exploded violently beneath her and knocked him over. Unfortunately, it also blasted her back and knocked the wind out of her as she landed hard against the ground. She forced herself unsteadily to her feet and she could see the hollow struggling to his only a dozen feet away from her. He glared at her and screamed in pain and anger as it finally got itself upright.
Her heart beat furiously in her chest and every gasping breath she took hurt terribly, but she lifted her hand and mentally readied another spell. She was about to cast it before the hollow could get too close, but her attention was distracted again by her necklace as it pulsated rhythmically against her skin.
"Release me, Masumi!" the wind chime voice of her Zanpakutou cried. "Quickly! You know my name! It's…"
"Sode no Shirayuki…," Masumi whispered as she grasped her mother's keepsake in her hand.
"Mai! Sode no Shirayuki!"
The moment she spoke her necklace burst into a million particles of whirling snow. It flowed around her in a blinding whirlwind that condensed into her hand and reformed into a long, flowing snowy white ribbon. She was momentarily surprised by its appearance, but she snapped out of it as the hollow ripped the pole she had been hiding behind from the ground and threw it at her. She leaped to the side just before the pole slammed into her, and it crashed into a cement wall instead. Sode no Shirayuki began whispering instructions rapidly into her ear as the hollow screamed once more and charged towards her.
She held the length of the ribbon between her two hands and repeated the words that Sode no Shirayuki spoke.
"Some no mai, Shiro no Yaiba"
The ribbon instantly twisted itself into a narrow rod and particles of snow and ice collected around it until it formed a stunning white sword. Masumi only had a moment to marvel at it before the hollow was upon her and her attention was forced back to it.
The hollow brought its fist crashing down onto the pavement and she barely leaped out of the way in time. She dashed towards it, using her small size to her advantage, so that she could avoid its swinging arms. She quickly made her way behind him. Once she was at his back, she turned, slashing at the same time with her new found weapon and neatly sliced the hollow in half.
She collapsed from exhaustion as the hollow disintegrated in front of her. When she finally looked up, she found herself staring at an older man who was staring at her in amazement from the other side of it. He was tall with spiky dark black hair that had a few streaks of grey here and there. He had an unshaven face with brown eyes and was wearing some sort of loud, brightly printed shirt. He seemed to be frozen to the sidewalk because he only stood there with a mixture of shock and concern written all over his face.
"Masumi…," she heard him whisper in amazement. She tried to stand and ask him how he knew her name, but her vision blurred and the ground suddenly rushed up to meet her.
Thanks for reading! My Japanese isn't the greatest so this is the closest I could get to what I wanted to call Masumi's new move.
Shiro no yaiba - white balde
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are always greatly appreciated!