Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol
Chapter 13: Her role
Tatsuki slowly opened her eyes and found herself in a small room that she knew she had been in before and knew without looking that it was Yoruichi's room. She sat up slowly with an aching body and no grasp of time so she looked around the room and found it empty. On a small table were her robes and armor that differed from what she had before along with her zanpakutou and a note. She rubbed her face to shake off her tire while she walked over and picked up the note half expecting it to inform her of some minor task that she had to do for her training but her hand fell from her face and her heart sank when she found that it wasn't that at all.
Instead it stated that the war had started and she had been left behind to look after Karakura due to her exhaustion and the wounds she had received during her final training in her inner world. She was devastated at knowing that after all the training and accomplishments and even pushing herself past her limit again and again she was left behind like all she had done was for nothing. A sob formed in her throat at knowing that even in the end she would be useless to everyone since she had no way of knowing where the war was taking place or even how to get there.
Tatsuki glanced at the armor and robes and put the note aside then began undressing from the light shitagi she had been changed into and set it aside before putting on the armor. She stopped when she found that the burns from her shikai had scarred her hands and wrists. She had never truly acknowledged just how dangerous her shikai was even to herself. What a fool she had been to believe that her powers would grant her what she wanted them to like it was her right to use them as she wished for as long as she wanted to. There were great consequences to the use of her powers and she had never used them past her limit the way she had the day before and now she wore the consequence as a constant reminder of the dangers on her hands. It was a lesson that she would not forget.
She finished getting dressed and slid her zanpakutou under her sash before picking up the note and rescanning it before flipping it over to find more details on her current task. There was a chance that Aizen could get past the soul reapers and enter Karakura so she had been left as a type of final defence to give others a chance to catch up and offer her support while she protected the humans here while they were left in a hibernated state. Tatsuki put the note back on the table and looked to the door with determination before leaving the room and walking through the shop without pause or thought of looking for anyone since she couldn't sense any form of reiatsu anywhere in Karakura.
When she left the shop she closed the doors and locked them before continued on down the street without looking back. She shifted the armor on her chest uncomfortably since she wasn't used to wearing armor there but she knew it could save her life if it was really durable but knowing Urahara and Yoruichi it would likely be very durable and stronger than any that could be forged by any blacksmith considering how durable the other armor she used had been.
The sight of people lying around the streets unconscious was very disturbing for her and even more so when she found a small child lying in the middle of the street. She rushed over to the child and picked him up then carried him over to the side walk and sat him against a fence before continuing down to the center of town before a small thought of opportunity came to mind. This was likely going to be the only time she could openly run around and not have to hide her powers while in the street.
A smirk formed on her face and she allowed her reiatsu to form around her lower legs before she jumped into the air and felt natural wind on her face while the sun shone brightly in the early hours of the day. This feeling was bliss for her and she decided to travel around like this for a while and enjoy the small feeling of open freedom from gravity. She soared high above the street with a smile on her face even with the knowledge that this could come crashing down around her at any minute if the war took a bad turn for the soul reapers but at this moment she took Honoban's advice and enjoyed herself knowing that it may be the last chance she had to do so and she wanted to enjoy herself a little before taking her task seriously.
When she neared the center of town she saw some movement that terrified her since she had been completely open about her presence instead of hiding it like she should have done and could have given herself away to an enemy if there was one here. She readied herself for the fight then used flash step to confront them upfront rather than trying to attack them by surprise but when she came to a stop she was surprised to find that it was only Keigo who he nervously looked around the street.
When he saw her standing behind him he jumped away in surprise stuttering mostly nonsense, "W-where did… H-how? I knew you were involved in this."
"Shut up, Keigo." Tatsuki said with irritation while she walked over to him. "You're not supposed to be awake."
"You know what's going on then?" He asked.
"Not really." Tatsuki admitted. "But you shouldn't be walking around right now. I thought you were an enemy when I first saw you and almost attacked you. Go home so I don't make the mistake again because I might kill you next time."
"I thought you samurais were supposed to be here protecting everyone." Keigo said. "You should have told me how to join them, I would have helped."
"You're not able to Keigo." Tatsuki said. "You don't have the ability."
"I can see ghosts just as well as you can so don't start that." Keigo said. "I'm more than capable of doing it."
"Then after all this is over then maybe you can go through all the training it takes to even get an application." Tatsuki said mockingly.
"Ha, training is no problem." Keigo said with a smirk. "I'm already fit beyond belief. Show me where to sign up and they'll praise my skills."
Tatsuki rolled her eyes at his stupidity before she walked away from him, "I've got work to do, go home and play make believe there."
"I'm not making it up." Keigo said cockily and ran after her. "I'm just as good as you if not better. Give me a sword, you don't need two."
He reached for one of her blades and Tatsuki turned to look at him allowing her reiatsu to materialize around her threateningly making him jump back in fear of it, "Don't you dare ever touch my zanpakutou, even if I'm unarmed and you intend to get it for me."
Her reiatsu died down as she continued down the street but again he just followed her, "Why are you so protective of it?"
"Because Honoban is mine and no one else's." Tatsuki said simply. "I've trained with it since I got it and I'm not about to let someone else try and use it. I don't want anything to interfere with our bond."
"You have a bond with your swords?" Keigo asked skeptically.
"It's not just a sword, Keigo." Tatsuki said. "It's a zanpakutou and inside it and me is its spirit. We're connected and with that connection I'm able to stand here as I am now and I'm able to do what I have to do to insure the safety of everyone in Karakura. You don't have this ability otherwise you likely would have been approached like I was and I'm glad you weren't because if you were I probably wouldn't have been able to become as strong as I am now because Yoruichi would have had to train you too and she'd be even more strained then she already is."
"You sound really concerned about her." He said with a smirk. "Is there anything going on between you two?"
"No, she's my mentor and I respect her more than anyone else I know." Tatsuki stated. "Besides we both have someone we like."
"I had no idea you felt that way." Keigo said. "But you're not my type."
"Shut up, Keigo." Tatsuki said bluntly. "I don't like you at all. It's someone else."
"Oh someone I know?" Keigo asked with an amused smile.
"Shut up." Tatsuki said angrily.
"So that's a yes then." Keigo asked with a goofy grin on his face. "So who is it?"
"I'm warning you to knock it off." Tatsuki said angrily. "You don't want to piss me off right now."
"Why not?" Keigo asked.
"Because I can easily kill you right now even without using my zanpakutou." Tatsuki simply stated.
He gave her a doubtful look while they turned down a street, finding even more unconscious bodies lying around on the sidewalks. There were even people sitting idly in their cars that had just stopped on their own, no accidents and no swerves. They had all just stopped as if time stood still and the people just fell into a coma like sleep that they couldn't be woken from. There was no sign of injury in any of them as if they had all just stopped what they were doing and laid down and lost consciousness. The sight of them gave Tatsuki an eerie feeling but she said nothing on it since she was unwilling to hear Keigo comment on it.
"This is really weird." Keigo said and crouched down next to a teenager that attended Karakura high school with them. "Do you think everyone is like this?"
"Yeah," Tatsuki said slowly while she too another look around. "From the looks of it I was supposed to be the only one conscious and aware of what's going to happen."
"What do you mean?" Keigo asked.
"There's a war going on right now between soul reapers and hollows." Tatsuki said. "There was a chance that it would spill into Karakura so I was appointed to take care of any hollow that comes here since there's no one here to protect anyone. I don't mind being left behind because this is all I can do for everyone now. I'm not strong enough to be on the front lines."
Her last sentence was spoken with a distant anger while she looked at her hands for a moment before clenching her fists with determination to make it through this not only for Orihime but for others as well because she wasn't here and hadn't been for a while now so all she could do was make sure that there was a home for her to come back to and that everyone else here would have a home and a life to live. That was all she could do so she was left to do that while Yoruichi, Urahara, and Tessai went without her but she hadn't been completely left behind since she was given her own duties.
The two continued on without conversation and found even more people that were unconscious. Some they recognized others they didn't but they didn't move anyone or try to wake them. When they reached a side street Tatsuki saw some movement making her stop and look over to see a student from Karakura high that she recognized. She watched the girl slowly sit up and glance around at a loss making Tatsuki rush over to her. Keigo had noticed what was going on and hurried over as well. Tatsuki reached Chizuru as she found bodies lying around unmoving around her.
Before she could freak out Tatsuki placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, are you alright?"
Chizuru looked over her with a panicked expression, "What's going on? Is everyone dead?"
"No, it's nothing like that." Tatsuki said. "It's a little hard to explain but there's a war going on that might spill into Karakura so this happened as a precaution."
"And what's 'this'?" Chizuru asked.
"I don't know." Tatsuki admitted. "I wasn't given an actual explanation on it all I know is everything is in a hibernating state until the danger passes. Until that time all we can do is wait and hope things work out and no hollows get into Karakura."
"Then what are you going to do?" Keigo asked. "Do you expect to fight those things on your own?"
"All I can do is give it all I've got and hope Yoruichi or someone comes before it's too late." Tatsuki said while she helped Chizuru to her feet and received a concerned look for their condition. "I already know I'm not strong enough to do anything more than that. I'm sorry but the chances are this is going to be the last time we talk."
"Are you saying that you're going to be killed?" Chizuru asked with an upset and sadden tone.
"I'm hoping not but the chances of my survival are slim." Tatsuki said. "I'm on my own here and there's no way for me to get anyone's help. That being said if anything happens or I tell you to get out of here run and don't look back. Don't dare stop or come back just go as far as you can then keep going."
"This is why you've been gone and out of it lately isn't it?" Chizuru asked with worry. "You've been expecting this to happen."
"Dreading it and taking it too lightly, actually." Tatsuki said with a slight smirk. "I didn't realize how dangerous things were really going to be until a couple nights ago when I was caught off guard but my eyes were really opened yesterday when I had a real fight against my mentor. I got lucky against her and evened out the playing field but even then I didn't win against her but we both almost died. When I woke up this morning I realized that even my own zanpakutou is powerful enough to kill me and I don't have as much control over it as I had originally thought.
"It's fire based and it's shikai burned me when I used it for too long." Tatsuki admitted as she looked at the scars on her hands. "If what I have to fight doesn't kill me than my shikai might just from over use and I can still feel how stiff and sore I am. I don't know how long I'll be able to maintain it today when I have to use it."
She got concerned looks from both of them so she allowed her hands to fall to her sides and avoided their eyes before she walked down the street but they followed without pause. When they caught up Chizuru said, "I don't know what this war is about but this doesn't seem to have anything to do with you so why do this?"
"Because I have to." Tatsuki said. "I made a promise to give my all for the sake of everyone here and I plan to stick to it."
"You always do when you make promises but this is different." Chizuru said. "This could cost you your life."
"That's fine." Tatsuki said distantly. "When I left the shop I stayed at last night and looked around I knew this would be my last day alive. I don't intend to just roll over and die but I know I will in the end. Even so I plan on giving everything I've got until my last breath."
"Then you're an idiot." Chizuru said bluntly. "This isn't your war and all you're going to accomplish with your death is hurting the people you care about most."
Tatsuki remained silent and she did everything she could to keep her mind away from Orihime so she could keep her focus with what was to come. She mentally repeated her resolve and her acceptance of what was to come. It wasn't a simple thing to do while Chizuru continued to tread on a dangerous topic, "Think about it, Tatsuki. Think about everyone and everything you're leaving behind, you're family, friends, school, and even you're life. You're just going to throw that all away for others like you have nothing that you're going to lose."
"I've already lost it all." Tatsuki said angrily and she balled her hands into fists. "Aizen already took everything that matters away from me so don't you dare say that I have nothing to do with this because I do. The past week I've been pushing myself just for this day to make Aizen pay for what he did so there's no way in hell I'm going to just walk away. If I did and he manages to come here then everyone here could die. For me to walk out now wouldn't just be cowardice it would be completely selfish and I won't condemn others."
She only had a short moment to see Chizuru's taken aback look before she used flash step to take off and leave them behind. She didn't go very far away from them but she went far enough that they wouldn't be able to find her and even if they did they couldn't get onto the roof of the nearby grocery store to continue hassling her on her decision. It had been made already and she wouldn't change it even if she did want to live. Tatsuki collapsed against the stores sign with quivered breathing while thoughts of Orihime flooded her mind and she knew that she would never see her beloved best friend ever again making tears run silently down her cheeks.
When she wiped them away her tears only got worse when she felt the scarred flesh of her hands on her cheeks. At the time that she had burned her hands she was so focused on fighting Yoruichi that she hadn't paid any attention to the strain on her body nor did she even really notice the severity of the burns that stretched up her arms to her elbows and a little past that as well. Even if she did survive this she would have these second degree burns all her life as a constant reminder of how far she had pushed herself for this moment knowing that in the end she would likely die. All she wanted at this moment was to see Orihime's smiling face but more than that she wanted to hold the girl and tell her how she really felt knowing that it would be her last chance. Even if she were to get rejected completely she wouldn't mind because she knew it didn't matter anymore.
She looked at her hands making her tears worsen so she clutched her shoulders and hunched forward and found fear of facing Aizen. It wouldn't be good if she went at him with her current emotional state since she would easily be cut down before she could even do anything against him. If she could get lucky again and get at least one good wound on him like she had against Yoruichi she would actually have a chance against him or at least she hoped that she would. If she could manage to get lucky then she would increase the chances of her survival and the survival of others. If she were really lucky she'd survive long enough for others to arrive and help her and possibly even save her life but she couldn't expect it or put too much thought into it for her own sake.
Tatsuki allowed herself to cry out her tears and mourn for her coming death before she stood and walked to the edge of the roof and looked out at the street where she had last seen Chizuru and Keigo and found that they had left already. She hoped that they were still together at least to make finding them and keeping them safe easier. Leaving them was a mistake that she had realized amidst her tears but she couldn't show weakness to even them and especially not with what was to come. She leapt off the building and took off through the air but kept her reiatsu concealed to others that could sense it in case an enemy did make it past the soul reapers and entered Karakura.
It didn't take her long to find them but when she did she found that yet another person had woken up and he too wore a Karakura high uniform. She watched them in the air for a moment and wondered what she should even say to them and why they were all in her class. Her curiosity was soon answered when she realized that two were friends with Ichigo while the third was friends with her and Orihime and if she had been affected by Ichigo's reiatsu than those three had been also making them more prone to wake up and even others that were close to him. That meant everyone he interacted with regularly could wake up and start wandering around and possibly be in danger.
This possibility concerned her since she knew that plenty of people could be put in danger if Aizen did make it into Karakura. Tatsuki allowed herself to be known to the others when she landed close to them causing a couple startled looks from all but Keigo because he had been able to see soul reapers for a while so this came as no surprise to him though he openly envied it, "I didn't know you could fly too. That's so unfair, I want to be one of you samurais too."
"How many times do I have to tell you that you can't become a soul reaper before you understand?" Tatsuki asked angrily. "I'm not even really one of them, I just have reiatsu and a zanpakutou and nothing else. I'm still human and I have no kidou abilities. If you really want to be a soul reaper then you have to be dead."
"Is that what you're trying to accomplish with this then?" Chizuru asked angrily.
"No," Tatsuki said. "I'm just trying to make sure no one dies that doesn't have to."
"So what's going on exactly, Tatsuki?" Mizuru asked. "So far you're the only one that really knows what's going on around here."
"I really don't want to explain this again." Tatsuki said with annoyance. "I don't really know all that much about this. I never asked about it because I thought things would be different. Nothing is the way I thought it would be and I never focused on this part of the war. All I cared about was getting stronger for her."
"Her?" Mizuru asked curiously.
"It's nothing." Tatsuki said immediately while mentally hitting herself on the head for letting it slip.
"Finally getting a bit more courageous?" Chizuru asked with a smile getting the others attention. "It's about time you realized it to. I was getting tired of your daft jealousy."
"What are you talking about?" Tatsuki asked while doing her best to feign ignorance.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Chizuru said. "Did you honestly think I didn't notice the glances? I've been trying to get you to confess for ages but you were too daft to step up and claim her for yourself so I had to go beyond myself to try and force you to do it."
Tatsuki watched her with disbelief for her words and continued her pointless denial, "Chizuru, I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about the person you're head over heels in love with." Chizuru said.
"Just shut up with that, I have enough to worry about without you messing with me." Tatsuki said, hoping to change the subject quickly. "You all need to go somewhere safe. I can't fight Aizen and protect you at the same time. I'm not strong enough for that."
"Where are we supposed to go?" Mizuru asked.
"Just leave Karakura for a while." Tatsuki said. "I don't think there will be any trains so you'll have to leave by foot."
"Alright we'll go." Chizuru said. "But look, I don't know who this Aizen guy is but if he's as powerful as you say he is then don't do anything reckless and stupid. I know why you disappeared and I know why you're doing this. Just because you're doing this for her doesn't mean you should throw away your life. If you really want to protect her then protect yourself because if you die she'll be devastated and there's no way in hell that anyone can put the person they're in love with through that and really claim to love them."
Tatsuki looked at Chizuru with wide eyes and failed to feign ignorance convincingly, "What are you talking about?"
"You know damned well what I'm talking about." Chizuru said angrily. "I'm really sick of you staying quiet about it too. So you better survive this and start letting up on it because you're so cautious about your own feelings that you never noticed hers."
"What are you saying?" Tatsuki asked.
"Orihime likes you too." Chizuru said getting the others attention. "But if you don't come back from this I'm taking her for myself. It doesn't matter that I don't care for her that way."
"If you don't then why are you all over her every time you see her?" Tatsuki asked in shock.
"I did it hoping that you would get pissed off enough to tell me to stay away from your girl." Chizuru said with a smirk. "You were always too uptight to say it though."
"Does everyone else know about this too?" Tatsuki asked.
"None of them were even close to noticing it." Chizuru said. "But they don't recognize the heated looks that you give her and it's probably a good thing Orihime doesn't figure them out either."
A blush burned Tatsuki's face making her look her away from them and wonder how often she actually gave Orihime a heated glance and how often she actually noticed giving her the look. It was something she didn't always notice doing and the fact that it was noticed by someone else was rather embarrassing to her. She had no idea her feelings were even that obvious to the people around her despite how easily Yoruichi had found out about it but she felt that she could talk to the woman about those things easier than she could with anyone else.
"I should get going." Tatsuki turned to leave but stopped herself and looked back at them, "If I don't make it back tell Orihime-"
She was cut off when she felt an overwhelming reiatsu cover the town and she felt as though it was crushing her while the others fell to the ground under it. Her body felt heavy but she had become accustomed to strong reiatsu from Yoruichi putting her under her own at times. The pressure on her body was almost equal to that of the weights making her appreciate them more since she felt accustomed to it but she knew that she would be just as restrained now like she had been with the weights.
Tatsuki traced the reiatsu and found the source wasn't far away. It slowly faded away and Tatsuki ran to her friends to see if they were alright only to find them panting in a cold sweat. She couldn't leave them there but at the same time she knew that if she stayed Aizen would only get closer to them and the danger they faced would be greater. "You three have to get out of here now. I know it's hard to move but you have to do it. I'll keep him busy, get moving."
She looked down the street and saw two men in white robes walking towards her and she knew that they were already in grave danger. Tatsuki walked forward and unsheathed her zanpakutou, "Honoban, I need to borrow as much strength as you're willing to give me."
Her body began feeling lighter and she knew strength was being granted to her and she would not waste it with walking to her enemy nor would she hold back. If she did it would mean death and the only ones that would die here were her enemies. Aizen took Orihime away from her and there was no telling what she had gone through and what abuse she may have been dealt but she would not be forgiving. She couldn't forgive anyone that dared harm Orihime but she had never considered going far enough to take a life before but now was not the time for moral battles. If she did not kill them then she would be killed, Yoruichi taught her that in their final battle.
"Yakimasu Honoban." Tatsuki said calmly.
The flames enveloped her blade and her arms before she attacked Aizen using flash step. He didn't even try to move away but only grabbed her sword with his bare hand and smirked, "Are you all that's left to try and stop me? How pathetic."
She narrowed her eyes and thrust her second blade at him but he moved aside and threw her away. Tatsuki flew back but caught herself not far away and glared at where Aizen had been only to see the other man standing there looking back at her with a wide grin. Her eyes widened when she felt the presence behind her just before she felt a blade pierce through her shoulder from behind. It was removed swiftly and she collapsed but did not fall all the way to the ground. Aizen walked back to the other man, whose smile seemed to widen even more, "My, for such a weak child she did do some damage."
Tatsuki looked at Aizen's hand curiously and found that it was smoking and the burnt flesh was visible to her. The sight alone told her she could win against him. She pushed herself to her feet and brought up her guard, "Don't you turn your back on me you bastard."
He continued on without care for her words enraging her even more making her attack him again. She felt herself being grabbed from behind and forced away by a woman that blocked an attack she couldn't even see coming. "Don't be so reckless when attacking an enemy."
She looked up at the woman and from the clothes alone, though beat up, she knew this was a soul reaper. Tatsuki got to her feet while Aizen jumped back to avoid another attack from her. She stood beside the woman with her guard raised to keep fighting. The woman glanced at her, "It would be better if you stayed out of this, kid."
"No, I trained for this moment." Tatsuki said. "Yoruichi pushed me just so I could stand up to this bastard."
"Shihouin Yoruichi?" The woman asked and Tatsuki nodded. "Then it wouldn't be fair to underestimate you and from the looks of Aizen's hand you're a lot stronger than you appear."
Tatsuki smirked at the acknowledgement and felt the need to brag about her achievements but knew it wasn't the time for any of that, "Do you have a strategy?"
"I have a personal fight with Gin." She said.
"That's fine with me." Tatsuki said. "I have a personal fight with Aizen. I know what I have to do so you don't have to worry about me."
Tatsuki attacked Aizen with flash step again and was careful to conceal one attack so that when he blocked her initial attack the second got through but do to its concealment it wasn't fatal. He winced in pain from the heat of the flames and forced her away. She hit the ground and used flash step to move again knowing that standing still was asking for death. Constantly using flash step was an easy way for her to tire herself out but she knew it was her best chance to kill him so she would push herself like she was so accustomed to doing.
Despite moving with flash step Aizen was still able to catch her but not off guard and she blocked his attack and forced his blade aside to strike at him but he caught her sword and swung his sword up across her torso from hip to opposite shoulder. Her eyes widened at the pain and her uselessness against Aizen. "You're slow."
Tatsuki fell to the ground and felt everything fading around her. Her failure was all that entered her mind while she lay dying on the street where so many people just slept carelessly in a coma with no idea of what was happening or what was going to happen now that she had failed. She couldn't even survive more than five minutes against this man that she had hated so much since she learned of his existence. Honoban's voice echoed in her ears urging her to keep fighting against death but she couldn't find the strength in her anymore. She was dying. "I'm sorry."