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Chapter 21: Darkness Within

Letting out a laugh as she leapt higher into the air, Kirara grinned down at Rose, who was looking up at her with a slightly exasperated expression. His Zanpakuto was hanging loosely from his hand as he pushed his hair out of the way.

"Come on Rose, put some effort in," Kirara teased him with a giggle. She pointed her sword at him, ready to continue their sparring.

"Perhaps I would, if you didn't treat this like a game," Rose commented lightly, but pushed up into the air after her. Kirara's grin widened, and she dodged his blow easily. She retaliated by swinging her Zanpakuto over her head, and he blocked her blow.

"What's the point if I can't have a little fun?" she asked, pushing at his blade and sticking out her tongue.

"The difference between your childlike antics here, and your attitude in a real battle, astounds me," Rose commented. Kirara grinned.

"Oh yeah, I still owe you for coming up with that nickname," Kirara remembered. Rose just gave a small smile of amusement.

"That wasn't me," Kirara's smile fell in her confusion. Rose's smile only grew. "I made a comment, and Shinji was the one to come up with it," he told her. Shinji stiffened, sitting on the ground as Kirara turned a glare in his direction.

"Why do I feel the sense of impending doom?" the blond Vizard wondered quietly. In the air, Rose took advantage of Kirara's distraction to shove her back, and followed her through the air.

The clashing of their Zanpakuto echoed through the air, and they continued to leap about, attempting to knock each other to the ground and win their match. Rose dodged Kirara's next blow, and caught her from behind, but Kirara stopped herself from falling to the ground. She leapt, turning in midair to block Rose's next strike.

"They may call me a Princess, but you're definitely the more elegant of us," Kirara teased the man, who rolled his eyes at her words and sighed. He blocked her next strike, which forced him higher into the air, but as he tried to force her back down, Kirara disappeared. Rose turned, and blocked her foot with his sword before she spun, catching his side with her other foot. When he recovered from the surprise attack and swung again, Kirara grinned and disappeared again. However, when she reappeared above him this time and swung down, he disappeared.

"I think Kirara only takes Rose seriously as an opponent," Love commented, slightly irritated as he watched the two fight in the air, using Shunpo to try and get the jump on one another. She'd never taken sparring with him seriously, but yet she took the Vizard who was usually daydreaming far more seriously.

"Probably cause he can near match her damn speed," Kensei shrugged as he taped his knuckles up for the next fight.

"And unlike me, Love and Rose, the rest of you fall for her taunting," Lisa spoke, not looking up from her magazine. Kensei shot a glare in her direction, but she didn't react, simply turning the page.

"I don't fall for it!" Hiyori snapped at her.

"Yeah, that's why you end up playing tag every time the two of you spar," Shinji muttered, and was sent flying into a rock by a kick from Hiyori. The others just ignored them, continuing to watch the two fighting.

Up above, Kirara disappeared once again as Rose swung for her, and started appearing all around him, creating after-images that lingered as Rose glanced around, trying to locate the real Kirara. This time, when Kirara reappeared in the air above him, Rose didn't dodge. Instead, he blocked her attack and forced her higher into the air.

"You know that the objective of this fight is to get your opponent to touch the ground first, right?" Kirara grinned at Rose.

"Yes, but this makes it more fun," Rose smiled back, and swung again. Kirara dodged, letting out a laugh.

"Now you sound like me!" she exclaimed. Rose pushed up higher so he was on almost even ground with Kirara, and swung down. His much greater height caused Kirara to be pushed down, despite her attempts to fight back. Kirara attempted to resist, but Rose continued to push, causing her to be forced down even further. Finally, she managed to pull away from him and jump to the side, but Rose followed her this time, not allowing her to dodge to reclaim the height she'd gained.

"Now who doesn't take sparring seriously?" Kirara questioned as she blocked his blade again.

"Still you," Rose gave a small smile, before shoving her down another metre. Before Kirara realised it, her feet were touching the rocky terrain below them. She blinked, not having realised how much ground she'd lost.

"Aw..." Kirara pouted as she lowered her blade. Rose ruffled her hair as he landed and walked past, and she stuck her tongue out at his back. "Mean!" she called as she followed him, sheathing her Zanpakuto.

"Perhaps if you were a little more serious, you wouldn't see me as mean," Rose suggested as she caught up to him, walking back to the others. Kirara scoffed, rolling her eyes and shoving her hands into her pockets.

"We've already got enough serious in this group," Kirara waved her hand dismissively.

"I suppose you're right there," Rose agreed with a faint smile of his own.

"So that's another win to Rose...that's surprising," Kensei muttered as the two of them reached the rest of the group.

"Hey, I could win..." Kirara argued half-heartedly as she passed the silver haired Vizard. He snorted in disbelief as he got to his feet, ready to take on the blond victor. Kirara blushed, but instead of rising to it, she chose to walk past them.

"Where are you going?" Shinji called, wiping blood from his nose.

"For a walk. I need to shake off the defeat," Kirara told him, but didn't sound overly distraught about her loss. She walked back up from the training area into the warehouse, humming to herself as she left.

Kirara walked through town, eating sweets and enjoying the afternoon. A few people shot her odd looks, some more wary than others. Not that Kirara blamed them. With her black and white hair, scar across her nose and chin, and bare feet, she was a little odd looking.

"Ah, summer break can't get here soon enough," Kirara sighed happily as she lifted her head so the sun would warm it. "Nothing but sleeping and drinking and more sleeping," she said to herself, looking forward to the time to relax.

"Now that doesn't sound like much fun to me..." Kirara stopped dead, her smile vanishing instantly at the warped voice that echoed through her head.

"What are you-" she grunted as pain shot through her head, and she fell to one knee.

"Don't ya smell that? Someone is luring us to them...and with all this delicious Reiatsu, how can I resist?" the voice in her head cackled, and Kirara put her hands to her head.

"No. You aren't in charge here. Go back to your corner, Hollow scumbag," she whispered as tears stung at her eyes from the pain.

"Aw, don't talk like that, my little Princess, after all..." Kirara looked up as a figure materialised in front of her. With long white hair with black spreading up it, the Hollow was the spitting image of Kirara, 100 years ago. "You're me...and I'm you!" she declared.

"Yes, you are part of me...a part I never wanted," Kirara whispered. "But I accepted long ago that I was stuck with you. But you aren't going to take over my body, and you never will," she promised.

"Aw...not even for a little while? That bait...it's just so tempting!" another piercing pain slammed through Kirara's head, making her whimper.

"Kirara?" a hand touched her shoulder, and she gasped, turning and tackling the person unfortunate enough to be in her reach. A squeal of terror snapped her out of it, and Kirara blinked away the haze to realise she was inches away from punching Keigo.

"Oh god..." Kirara scrambled off him, putting her hands to her mouth. "Keigo I...I'm so...I'm so sorry," tears stung at her eyes and spilled over.

"Hey, it's okay, no harm done," Keigo got up and approached her slowly, uncertain of how to proceed. He wasn't entirely sure how to handle a crying girl who'd almost punched him in the face. "I've had worse, you didn't even hit me!" he pointed out.

"Aww, poor little Princess, hurting innocent people," her Hollow snickered, and Kirara put her hands to her temples as she winced.

"Shut up! Just shut up! Go back to your depths, you bitch, before I go in there and make you!" Kirara yelled inwardly at her Hollow, who just giggled, enjoying it.

"Ya sure ya can take me on alone? Your blond knight is nowhere to be found after all..."

"I need to get you home," Keigo approached again, and Kirara's eyes shot open.

"No, it's fine, I'm fine. Just a...a migraine," she told him quickly, getting to her feet. Unsteady, she stumbled, and he caught her. She immediately pulled away. "Sorry Keigo, I'm just not feeling great. I can get home myself," Kirara told him.

"Uh...you sure?" Keigo stared at the girl who still seemed unsteady on her feet.

"I'm sure," Kirara smiled. "You know, when you're not trying to be all cool, you're pretty sweet," she told him, and Keigo went red as she bumped his arm with her fist. "Laters Asano," she moved past him quickly, a hand still to her temple.

"How sweet. You should let me devour him and his Reiatsu," her Hollow grumbled.

"Just shut up," Kirara growled at her. As she made her way back towards the warehouse, she suddenly stopped. "That Reiatsu...it's a Hollow...at the school," she realised. "Tatsuki is still there, and Orihime probably will be too...their Reiatsu is too tempting to a Hollow!" she groaned, and turned, running towards the school. All around her, more Hollows continued to appear, but disappeared just as quickly.

"Now that is interesting...just what is killing them?" the Hollow wondered aloud.

"It's weird...they're scattered all over town," Kirara commented, and looked up as a blue light shot over her head, killing a Hollow as soon as it appeared. "That...an arrow...oh god no," Kirara stopped dead, her hands going to her mouth. "There's a damn Quincy in town," she realised, and groaned, continuing to run.

"This place is just fullof surprises," Kirara rolled her eyes, ignoring the laughter in her head. Reaching the school, she gasped and ducked out of sight when she found Tatsuki and Orihime in front of a Hollow.

"They can see it..." Kirara breathed. "No...Tatsuki is being controlled by it," she realised in horror, but before she could step in, she felt a pulse of Reiatsu from Orihime. Several lights shot from her hairclip, and Kirara was too stunned to move. She'd never seen anything like it. She watched as the lights were revealed to be small, fairy-like, creatures, who spoke quietly with Orihime.

"Oh...now this is a surprise. Who'd have thought the little timid girl would have such power within..." Kirara frowned.

"Shut up, I swear to god," she hissed, watching as three of the Fairies formed a shield to block the Hollow's attack. Two more of the Fairies then formed a golden light over Tatsuki, healing the girl's wounds. "But you're right...that's an incredible power..." Kirara breathed, and watched as Orihime used the final Fairy as an attack, cutting through the Hollow's Mask and splitting it in too. The Hollow screamed, disappearing. Orihime then collapsed, and the Fairies disappeared back into her hair pins, which fell to the ground with the girl.

"Oh Kirara, I didn't think you were one to spy on high school – oof!" when a pair of arms moved around Kirara, she swung her elbow back and slammed it into Urahara's face.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you for that," Kirara growled as she stomped her foot on his stomach, making him groan.

"Because we're friends?" Urahara tried, and was rewarded by another stomp. He groaned loudly, and Kirara folded her arms. "Okay, I'm sorry," he told her, but his grin told her that he wasn't in the slightest. Despite this, she stepped back and allowed him to stand up, rolling her eyes as she did.

"You're here for the girl, aren't you?" Kirara jerked her thumb over at Orihime. "What was that? With her hair clips," she asked the once Captain of Squad 12.

"I'm not sure," Urahara admitted as he rubbed his face, looking serious. "I believe this strange power was unlocked by Ichigo's Reiatsu, much like this young man's," he indicated to Chad, who Tessai was carrying over his shoulder. Kirara's eyes widened at the sight.

"Reiatsu of that level is bound to affect those closest to him," she agreed.

"What about you? You're not looking too great," Urahara commented, noting her laboured breathing and clammy appearance.

"Having a little bit of an internal fight here...any idea what brought her to the surface?" Kirara asked.

"I think the Quincy in town set off bait that has lured Hollows to town," Urahara explained. "But I didn't expect it to affect you," he admitted.

"Yeah well...it is...how long till it fades?" she asked, wincing as she was hit with another jolt of pain. The adrenaline of running and watching Orihime call on strange power had faded, leaving her exhausted.

"Shouldn't be too long now," Urahara commented, before raising an eyebrow. "You didn't even blink when I mentioned that there was a Quincy involved," he stated.

"I saw an arrow and figured it out. Any idea who they are?" Kirara asked, before shaking her head. "Actually, never mind, I already know," she sighed.

"I'd expect nothing less from you Kirara," Urahara smiled, and walked past to lift Orihime. "You sure you're okay?" he asked her, glancing back.

"I'll be fine. Dealt with this long enough, I don't need someone holding my hand," Kirara told him roughly, and his smile returned.

"Except maybe-"

"Shut up Kisuke, I will punch you," she warned him. Urahara just chuckled. "Be careful with those two," Kirara warned, gesturing to Chad and Orihime.

"Growing attached to humans, Kirara?"

"I said I'll punch you Kisuke, don't make me follow through on my threat," Kirara groaned, before walking off, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

"Can ya really keep fighting me?" her Inner Hollow asked. "I mean, ain't ya scared? After all, ya ain't gonna have the old man much longer, are ya? Ya need to keep fighting," Kirara stopped, leaning against a tree as a wave of nausea hit her. It was taking everything she had to keep from passing out.

"Why are you...oh, of course," Kirara realised. "You need me to destroy Reikonsatsu just as much as I do. Kokoro no Kage is part of you as well," she breathed.

"Took ya long enough to realise," the Hollow snickered. "The old man is a part of me too y'know," she commented. Kirara shook her head.

"Just go away already, I'll make sure I don't lose the old man," she grunted, trying to even out her breathing. Hearing a roar, she looked up and groaned as she saw a Hollow lunging straight for her. "Crap, I'm going to have to-" before Kirara could think of attacking, a familiar figure leapt past and slashed through the Hollow's mask with a massive sword. "Ichigo..." she whispered, before realising that she wasn't supposed to be able to see him.

"Kirara!" Ichigo turned and recognised the girl, who didn't react to him as she walked past, trying to seem completely normal. "Oh right...she can't see me..." Ichigo muttered, watching her for a moment before running on.

"Either I'm a better actor than I thought, or he's an idiot..." Kirara muttered. "Probably the latter..." she decided, shaking her head in exasperation.

By the time she reached the warehouse, the bait seemed to be finally dying out, as Kirara's Hollow went quiet again. Kirara had been left drained, and wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep.

As soon as she got through Hachi's barrier – which had been set up for her to be able to get through it – Kirara noticed that nobody was about. Either hiding in their rooms, or down in the training room, they were keeping separate from one another.

She was taken by surprise when arms wrapped around her from behind, and she stiffened for a moment before realising who it was. Kirara relaxed, and sighed, but as she went to shout at Shinji for sneaking up on her, his face pressed into her neck.

"Where were you?" his voice was quiet as he tightened his grip on her.

"The school..." Kirara whispered back.

"Are you alright?" Shinji asked her, still not moving.

"I almost attacked someone," Kirara's admittance brought tears to her eyes, and they managed to escape as Shinji let her go. He forced her to turn around, and pulled her back into his arms as she wiped furiously at her eyes. Exhausted, Kirara couldn't stop herself from crying. "Are you okay?" she looked up, seeing the exhaustion in his face.

"Yeah..." he nodded. "Let me guess, while you were out, you found out what happened?" he asked, watching her carefully.

"Hirako, are you implying that I went looking for what caused...what caused our Hollows to surface?" Kirara swallowed, and raised an eyebrow.

"You are the most nosy person here..." Kirara slapped his arm, pulling away. "I'm joking, idiot," Shinji rolled his eyes, but Kirara danced away as he reached for her again.

"I didn't go looking for it, I just happened to be, as usual, right in the middle of everything..." Kirara bit her lip, going red. Shinji wasn't surprised in the slightest. "There's a Quincy in town. I think I know who," she admitted, and Shinji groaned, putting a hand to his face.

"Please tell me there's not a damn Quincy of all people in your class," he muttered. Kirara's blushing grew. "That's a word I never thought I'd hear again," he mused.

"You and me both," Kirara nodded in agreement. Quincys were thought to have died out a long time ago. "Anyway, he set off some kind of bait to lure Hollows to town. I have a feeling he's in a competition with Ichigo," she continued.

"That bait has died out, but Hollows are still coming," Shinji mused, finally catching Kirara by the arm. She was smiling slightly now, still playing despite being mentally exhausted. "Probably because Ichigo's Reiatsu is so uncontrolled," he muttered, more to himself than her.

"Fascinating. But I need sleep," Kirara decided, pulling out of his light grip and walked to the stairs.

"You're always sleeping, Princess," Shinji called, suddenly darting past her. Kirara's hair fell loose, and her eyes narrowed.

"Give it back!" she ran after him, and Shinji grinned, easily moving up the stairs and keeping ahead of her until he stood in front of her door.

"You sure you're alright Princess?" Shinji asked her as he held the ribbon just out of her reach.

"I'm just tired," Kirara frowned, trying to ignore his teasing. However, her face was going red, and he was definitely enjoying it. With a roll of her eyes, Kirara opened her door and walked in, effectively wiping the smirk from Shinji's face when she grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside too.

"This is an awfully bold move from you," when she shut the door and turned around, his mouth was on hers.

"I didn't-I mean-" Kirara tried, but the kiss grew more fierce before she could try to defend her actions. As she was pressed against the door, she felt something cold stir in her stomach, and spread up. She heard a laugh in her mind, before she seemed to lose control, yanking Shinji closer as he bit her lower lip hard and deepened the kiss when she whimpered. He pressed her harder against her door, and Kirara let out a soft growl, her hands trailing up his chest slowly. Her hands reached his hair and tangled in the short blond locks, wrapping around her fingers as she pulled slightly, keeping him as close as possible. His hands, initially around her waist, began moving up, and Kirara shivered at his touch when his fingers brushed bare skin where her top had risen.

Finally, they broke apart, gasping for breath as Shinji took a step back, his eyes growing wide as Kirara touched her mouth, realising blood was dripping from her lip. She looked up, and her breathing hitched as Shinji seemed to change, his hair long and white, in a black haori and white robes, with a pure white complexion, gold eyes with black sclera, and a vicious smirk. The image was gone in a flash, and Kirara put a hand to her eyes, unaware that he had seen her change as well.

"I'm sorry," Shinji muttered, and Kirara shook her head.

"Don't apologise, that wasn't..." she went red. "Bad," she admitted. "I think it..."

"Yeah..." Shinji nodded. His own Hollow was still chuckling, having overwhelmed him for a moment, just like Kirara's had.

"Hey, just for the record, I only thought you should come in now, cause you're just going to sneak in later regardless," Kirara poked his chest, frowning again. "And give me that," she snatched the ribbon from his hand and stalked over to her bed, falling into it and wrapping the blanket around herself.

"That's more like it. But, you're a little too grumpy sometimes, Princess," Shinji muttered as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"Stop calling me that...asshole," Kirara yawned, burying her face in his chest. As his grip tightened, Kirara felt her Hollow fully submerge again, leaving her mind clear again. She sighed, relieved, and closed her eyes. "It's weird..." she spoke again.

"I thought you were already asleep," Shinji mumbled, and when she looked up, she saw he was close to falling asleep himself.

"Not yet...I just think it's weird. We spent all that time fighting...and now..." she went red, dropping her gaze again.

"Well...Princess, like I said before..." Shinji yawned, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She hit him lightly. "Who else is going to put up with us?" he asked, and she gave a small laugh.

"True," she agreed. "You're a dumbass. But...it's only been a few days, but I..." Kirara went even redder. "I like it," she admitted.

"You're cute," Shinji chuckled.

"Oh shut up," Kirara mumbled.

Let me know what you think about Uryu's bait affecting the Vizards, I couldn't resist when I considered the idea!

Please review!