A/N: What's the shizzle meh homies? Well anyways. Moriko just comes back, she shows them her BAN-KAI! And then it's her birthday (in the AUTUMN SPECIAL!) Well I hope you guys like it! R&R BABIES!
Chapter Twenty-Five
Moriko hopped around the spacious room, a red spark followed. She was breathing hard, since it had been five whole weeks without rest. The man stood on a rock that jutted out from the ground, a grin on his pale face.
"Aw! What's wrong? Tired already?" He asked, his ears curving up.
"Shut up!" Moriko snapped, he flinched his ears turning down.
"I'm sorry." He replied in a baby-like voice. Moriko frowned, he sneered swinging his katana around.
"Man! My arm's starting to hurt!" He said hopping down from the rock. Moriko tighten her grip around another zanpactou. In five weeks she went through hundreds of zanpactou, none of them could last a minute against his katana. They would crumble or just break in half. Moriko had a good feeling about the one she was holding though. It was silver, warmth emanated from it. The halt all the way to the end of the zanpactou was red, with a silk lining. It was the most elaborate one she's seen so far. But it still had a one in a hundred chance. He had a running start towards Moriko, she held the sword to protect her body. He smiled deviously. He lifted the sword slightly, slicing a small cut onto Moriko's face. Warm blood slipped down from it, falling onto her blood stained soul society uniform. Moriko had several cuts going along her left and right arm, a few on her legs and two on her face.
She raised her zanpactou slightly, swinging downward. He blocked it with a flick of his wrist. Moriko saw an opening, she sliced a part of his shirt off before he jumped away.
"Dammit! Stand still!" Moriko barked at him. He frowned.
"But it's no fun when only you get to cut me!!" He whined. Moriko growled at him and ran forward, she stuck the zanpactou out forward and tried to cut away at him. He jumped higher, cutting down into Moriko's shoulder. Blood spewed from the gash, her hand covering. The cut stung her shoulder, her uniform soaked in the blood.
"Do you have an boo-boo?" He mocked, Moriko scowled at him.
"Do you want your boyfriend to kiss it for you?" He said jutting his lips out. Moriko stood up, the pain in her shoulder made her wince. She dropped the zanpactou, he hopped over to it. His tail danced with the wind, as he was excited to see it.
"Why won't this one break?" He asked himself, his foot stomping onto the blade.
"Maybe it's the right one." Moriko suggested scornfully. He looked at her, hurt in his eyes.
"You didn't have to be so mean!!" He whined, wiping away a fake tear. Moriko huffed, hopping of from where she stood. He stepped away in courtesy, and stepped back a few feet. Moriko's fingers coiled around the halt of the sword, she stood up straight. The two were ten feet away, both of them determined. Moriko ran towards him, he just stood there. She raised her zanpactou towards his face, he moved to the left slightly. Moriko quickly moved the sword closer to his face, that he didn't see. A small cut formed on his face, the blood ran down the blade of the zanpactou. Red steam formed around the blade, then a light bursted out from nowhere. Moriko stepped back from the zanpactou, he smiled happily.
"Great job." He whispered. Urahara sat in the living room, Yoruichi spread out on the table. Rumbling came from the small room, he looked towards there. He and Yoruichi got up and ran towards the door, he pulled it open without turning the knob. The gasped at what they saw, then smiled.
"Beautiful." Urahara said breathlessly.
..........
Toushirou rolled around in his sheets, his body ached for warmth. He stopped in one spot, his eyes locked on the ceiling. He inhaled, then exhaled. Repeat. His fingers trailed up the black pillow that Moriko had slept on, he sighed. Heavy foot steps came towards his room, he didn't bother to sit up. The door pushed open, it was Rangiku.
"Taicho guess what?!" She sang, Toushirou didn't move. Rangiku frowned answering her own question.
"Moriko-chan is back!!" She exclaimed. Toushirou sat up quickly, happiness in his eyes. He hopped off the bed, the two ran out of the room. There were a few people waiting outside of the gate. Renji stood casually against the red beam, his hair almost blending in. Byakuya stood next to Renji, his eyes closed. Yachiru hopped around happily, Ikkaku trying to calm her down.
"Yay! Yay! Moriko-chan is coming back!" She chimed. Ikkaku wrapped his arms around her, Yachiru kicked him in the face.
"I don't see why I had to watch this brat!" He yelled. Yachiru turned around to look at him, she stuck her tongue out.
"Come on Mr. Shiny Baldy head! Come and catch me." A vein popped in Ikkaku's head, he growled.
"Yeah and when I catch I'll ring your neck." He barked at her. The gates rattled, then pushed open. The sun slowly setting, someone stood in the middle. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the figure, the person stepped into the soul society grounds. It was Moriko! She had bandages going down her fingers, and a few on her face. Toushirou smiled, staying in the back. Everyone greeted her happily, congratulating her on achieving Ban-kai. She stepped past everyone, she spotted Toushirou. Her face lit up, a wide grin on her face. Moriko strolled towards her Taicho. He walked slowly to her. Once they made contact, Toushirou embraced her. His arms went around her waist, hers around his neck.
"I'm so happy you're back!" He whispered in her ear. His cool breath tickled Moriko's ear, her smile widen. He pulled away, his eyes trailed her face. He saw two bandages. Toushirou stared at them, Moriko turned away sheepishly.
"You hurt your face!!" He said, his thumb running over the thin piece of paper.
"I know! I'm sorry." She apologized. Toushirou smiled, his lips landed on her nose. Moriko smiled, blushing lightly. Toushirou guided her to his room, both of them laughing. Toushirou pushed the giant oak doors open, the two stepped in. Moriko inhaled, the icy bite pleased her. She exhaled, not noticing that he had already walked on. Moriko followed quickly into the cool room, the smell hit her in the face. Toushirou hopped the bed, waiting for Moriko to come as well. She smiled and hopped on as well.
Moriko pulled the covers around her shoulders. Toushirou laid his hand on her shoulder, his chin sat upon it. He breathed down her neck, she blushed a bit. Moriko laid her head on his, they froze like that. Moriko pulled away, Toushirou as well. He laid down on the bed, Moriko crawling over to him. She laid her head on his chest. They both smiled.
It was the first time in a long time that Moriko fell asleep. Her eyes fluttered closed, she was asleep for a shard of a minute until the alarm sound. Moriko's eyes stirred open, her body reacting to Toushirou's once he stood up. The two strolled out of the room, finding Rangiku running towards them.
"Taicho! Taicho! We've got to go to Karakura! It's like a hollow gathering down there!" Rangiku cried frantically. The three of them hurried out of the soul society, the Senkaimon opened and closed. It opened for them, then opened quickly showing a devastating sight. Hollows, hollows, hollows. Everywhere you turned there was a hollow. The three of them saw Ichigo, Rukia, Uryuu, and Chad fighting them off. Urahara was also there, along with Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu. Fellow soul reapers were fighting. Screams, blood, and sparks flew everywhere.
Toushirou wanted to hopped off, but an arm stopped him.
"Can I fight them?" Moriko asked solemnly. Toushirou looked at her amazed.
"Why? You just came back from a months worth of training!" He exclaimed, Moriko only nodded.
"Well I went for a reason, didn't I?" She retorted. This time he nodded.
"Well if you're going to go be careful." He said before Moriko hopped off. A special power that Moriko had was that she didn't need to call for her Ban-kai. She could just say those two words, nothing else.
Moriko stood her place, pulling out her zanpactou. She closed her eyes slowly, darkness was what she saw. A small fox hopped out from her zanpactou, wind made his tail flicker.
"Ban-kai." Moriko said quietly. The fox grew rapidly in size, its mouth open. A large howl filled the air, so loud that those who couldn't see him heard it. Toushirou stared at her, anxious to find out what her Ban-kai was. Moriko pulled the blade to her face then swiped it away. The fox scurried to her side -where the blade was-, stepping in slowly. A hot steam arose from the zanpactou, filling the air around it. Everything was blocked out, but only for seconds. The air thicken, but loosen quickly. Toushirou's eyes never moved from the spot where Moriko had stand, but she wasn't there. In stead was a gorgeous woman wearing a red furisode. Her obi was orange, her long dark hair tied up in a bun. Her hair was held in place by two needles, fabric kept it smooth. Her furisode fell of her shoulder slightly, her obi dancing in the wind. Her red furisode was decorated in many flowers of all colors, mostly black. The kimono was burnt from the bottom and around the sleeves. The girl turned around slowly, Toushirou stared at her awe-struck. It was Moriko! He never knew how beautiful she was in a furisode. He thought she was already gorgeous enough, but seeing her like this was like dying and going to heaven. Her eyes were outlined in red make up, her lips deepen in red. Toushirou couldn't help but blush, Moriko giggled then turned back.
Her scars were gone, Moriko's skin paler than normal. Her fingers trail the flowers on her furisode, she peeled one off. Toushirou and Rangiku stared at her like they saw a ghost.
"Did she just peel a flower off her kimono?!" Rangiku hissed. Toushirou shrugged, the two turned back to stare at Moriko.
The flower sat in the palm of her hand. Slowly, the flower rose, growing into a real flower. Toushirou and Rangiku were, to their extent, surprised to see that a fabricated flower came to life.
Once the fabric flower was no longer a fabric flower, but a red lotus, Moriko lowered her lips to it. Her stained red lips swept along the petal ever so gently, she blew slightly. She pulled away, craning her neck making her feel like royalty. After a gust of warm breath that escaped Moriko's lips, the lotus began to catch on fire.
Toushirou and Rangiku stared, jaws dropping down to the streets of Karakura. Pulled her lips to the burning lotus, and once more she blew. This time the petals broke apart, flying towards the many hollow. The lotus petals spread apart from one and another, slowly turning into thin long burning needles. The lotus petals picked up speed, gradually making their way to the hollow.
One hollow turned, not noticing the thin needles going after it. The lotus petals went straight through the tough skull of the hollow. It went by so quick that not even a scream filled the air. Moriko raised her left arm, palm up. There it was. That little red lotus, full and not harmed in the palm of her hand. But something was missing. One needle was used in the process, therefore making the lotus lose one petal.
Many other hollow came toward Moriko, she just stood there, the lotus in her hand. Moriko curled her tongue, a deep whistle escaped her lips. The lotus floated upward, slowly pulling apart from each other. With her left hand, Moriko snapped her fingers, the petals went flying toward all the hollow.
Each hollow disintegrated slowly, a black mist thickened the air. The air around Moriko became heavy, putting weight onto her shoulders. Her eyes fluttered closed, the weight pushing her forward. Moriko fell from where she stood, Toushirou and Rangiku gasped. Her furisode was affected by the force of gravity. The farther down Moriko fell, the more the furisode burned away. She wasn't naked underneath under all of that, but she wasn't dressed in her uniform either. In stead she wore a white kimono, her hair draped over her face.
Rangiku shoved Toushirou, who was frozen, towards Moriko. He used shunpo, Moriko falling perfectly into his arms. He and Rangiku let out a burst of air. He looked down at her face, she looked normal. Those two bandages were still on her face. He pulled up the sleeve of her kimono, she still had the bandages going along her forearm. Toushirou sighed, Rangiku stepping to his side. He pulled his zanpactou from his side, tapping the halt on the concrete. Two wooden doors appeared, sliding open. The two of them stepped into the blinding light.
The smell, the noise, the love.
