...
"That voice that pierces my chest so deeply, resembles a never-ending cry of ecstasy."
She just didn't get it.
Why was it that, during the time span of a single day, all of the most horrible things that could have possibly happened to her, ever, actually happened? She shook her head slowly as she continued walking towards Urahara Shop, still debating just how she was going to explain her current predicament to her Landlords. If one could even call Urahara and Tessai "Landlords".
She had left Ichigo where he had fallen. Normally, she would have tried to get him to Orihime as soon as possible, but no sooner had she heaved the carrot top over her shoulder, she had heard them coming. So she left him there- No doubt when he came to, he'd tell them about the mysterious girl in a hoodie who had fought with the Arrancar.
So now she was Mysterious Hoodie Girl. She grimaced. What a horrible alias.
During her short walk to Urahara Shop, she had been relieved to find that small pieces of her exoskeleton had been chipping away. Judging by the pattern it was currently making, she guessed that in the end she would be left with the exoskeleton only covering her skin where major bones were- Her ribs, her hip bone, collar bone, and other such things. She sighed. She guess that this was the best she could hope for.
Her fight with Grimmjow had been short, but she could already tell that, with this strange transformation of hers, her powers had also increased. Had she been in her normal Shinigami form, she felt sure that she would have been entirely unable to keep up with him, much less to return his blows with the same level of power. Briefly, she gazed down at her hand, flexing it slightly as she looked at it. Her knuckles and tendons were still covered with Hollow bones, and she doubted that they would ever go away.
Surprisingly enough for her, though, her sudden and unexplained Hollowfication... Or, more accurately, Arrancar-ication, if that was even a word, had not been the most confusing thing to happen to her that night. She lifted her hands to her face, rubbing her eyes and ignoring the clicking sound of the bones on her face knocking against her fingernails.
She was still getting used to the idea that she had a new name. Honestly, it fit. Kensei had been totally right- She wasn't Hiori anymore, so it seemed only fitting that she had a new name. It was just... So strange to get used to. Looking briefly down at her Zanpakuto, she recalled how Jairo had explained the naming process to her. Apparently, it was like a reverse situation to how people couldn't hear their Zanpakuto's name until the right time. Jairo had explained that he had never been able to hear her name, so he had just settled on calling her Wielder. She sighed bitterly- All he had needed to hear her name was for her body to transform into that of an Arrancar.
Her name was... Leona.
In some ways, she both loved and hated it. It made her her own person, a completely separate entity from the evil Hiori within her. There was Leona, and there was Hiori. Hiori was a cruel and corrupt Shinigami, and Leona was an extremely confused Arrancar. In another way, she hated how much closer the name brought her to the Arrancars. Grimmjow couldn't be a Japanese name. And Leona certainly wasn't of Asian origin, either. So in a way, it made her even more sure that, now, she truly was an Arrancar.
She stopped. The familiar outside of Urahara Shop appeared in front of her, and she gulped, shoving her hands deep within the pockets of her hoodie. She was Leona. She had to get that into her head. Taking one slow step forwards, she shivered. What was Urahara going to say when she saw her? She chuckled darkly. He would probably greet her with a jovial 'Ah, Hitsugaya-san!' before recoiling upon seeing her face. She smiled bitterly, taking another step closer towards the door. She was Leona.
Sliding the door open, she continued repeating her mantra, 'I am Leona', over and over again inside of her head. Inside it was quiet, save for a few whispers, which she heard traveling from somewhere nearby her room. Leaving her shoes at the door, she tiptoed towards the noises, keeping her black hoodie pulled over her face as much as she could. She suddenly stopped, spying Jinta sitting in the hall just outside of Ururu's room.
"Jinta?" she said softly, and he jumped, apparently not having heard her appear by his side.
"Ah... Hey." he said quietly, then promptly looked away.
"Jinta, what's going on?" she asked, peering around the doorway, only to see Ururu being tended to by Urahara and Tessai. "Is Ururu okay?"
"I don't know," he said shakily, though he still refused to look back in the room. "Those damned Arrancar stabbed her straight through the stomach." She flinched. She was a 'Damned Arrancar', now. "I... I think she'll be okay..."
"Want me to go ask?" she asked, looking down at the worried Jinta fondly. He perked up instantly, nodding vigorously before going back to staring into the empty space in front of him. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the room, causing both Urahara and Tessai to gaze up from their work.
"Ah, Hitsugaya-san, where have you been?" Urahara asked swiftly, though he continued to bandage Ururu's stomach carefully. "Your brother even stopped by, then he went- Why do you have that hood up so far?" he asked, suddenly becoming suspicious. "No... This Rieatsu... Tessai, take Ururu, this isn't Hitsugaya-san." he said quickly, standing up and pointing his cane straight at her heart. She flinched, taking several steps back.
"Urahara, st-"
"Don't you think you've caused enough damage tonight, Arrancar? We took your comrades down, we'll do the same to you." he said warningly, taking another step closer.
"Urahara, please, I j-"
"Get out of here." he said to Tessai, who heaved Ururu up into his arms. "I assume you are here to fight-"
"Urahara stop." she said, finally managing to speak over him. He paused, lowering his cane slightly. He and Tessai exchanged confused glances. "It's... It's me." she breathed, finally removing her hood. Urahara gaped, and her appearance elicited a small 'eep' from Ururu. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"What's happened to you?" Urahara breathed, dropping his cane to the floor and rushing over to her. Behind him, Tessai lowered Ururu to the ground once again before continuing to tend to her wounds. Suddenly, she felt strong hands push down on her shoulders, forcing her to the ground. Urahara was crouched in front of her, taking in her surprising new appearance. "How did this happen?"
"I got into a fight with my Hollow." she explained, and Urahara shook his head, covering his mouth worriedly.
"I don't think that there is any way to reverse this..." he muttered, touching the bit of Hollow mask on her face. She flinched slightly under his touch, but decided it was better to just let him do his thing. "Even your Rieatsu is different... This is truly an amazing transformation..."
"Speak for yourself," she replied, staring shamefully down at the boney features that covered parts of her left side. "Ah... Also, I should tell you... Leona." she said, pointing to herself. Urahara made a face, evidently confused. "My name. It's Leona."
"I don't understand," he replied calmly looking her up and down. "You look like Hitsugaya-san to me... Well, mostly..."
"I am," she said quickly, so as not to give him a reason to be on the offensive again. "Well, mostly, yeah. But... I don't really know how to explain this..."
"Try, please," he said seriously, sitting back on his heels and staring at her curiously.
"Jairo... That's my Zanpakuto,"
"Yes, you told me,"
"Jairo never called me 'Hiori, only Wielder,"
"Yes, you told me that, as well." She made a face. She couldn't get more than five words out without him saying something.
"But, tonight, he said that my name was Leona." she explained, touching the hilt of her Zanpakuto unconsciously. "He said he'd give me my name... Then he said it was Leona." Urahara nodded slowly, taking in the information before replying.
"Does this have anything to do with this?" he asked, gesturing to the boney structures on her skin.
"Partly... But also, I think it's because I'm completely separate from the Hiori that everybody knew, now." she said slowly, sounding a little unsure of herself. The situation was one of the more confusing ones that she had encountered in her lifetime, and she was having some serious trouble trying to figure it out herself. "So... There's Hiori, from the past, and then there's me... Leona."
Suddenly, Urahara stuck out his hand. At first, she flinched backwards, thinking that he was going to slap her or hit her. After a minute of squeezing her eyes shut and facing away from him, though, she figured that this had not been his intention. Slowly, she cracked one eye open. Urahara had a his right hand stuck out, fingertips pointed towards her. She arched an eyebrow, and Urahara smiled, grabbing her left hand and placing it in his, palms facing each other.
"Good to meet you, Hitsugaya Leona-san." A small smile flickered over her features as she grasped his hand in hers, shaking it as though they were just meeting each other for the first time.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Urahara-san."
Leona had been sitting alone in her room for several hours. She felt nervous- Even though Urahara had taken it so well, she couldn't be too sure about any of the others. Even though Jinta seemed to care less, despite the fact that Arrancars had injured his friend, Ururu still refused to go near her even though she had been healed several hours ago. Leona had been sitting in her room, staring at the door that connected her room to Ururu's, hoping against hope that she'd have another nightmare and come running to her, crying and begging to share her bed.
So far, she'd had no such luck.
Finally deciding to give it up, Leona stood up, dropping her Zanpakuto on her bed and grabbing her towel from its hanger on the wall. By now she was sure the bath was free, and she was sure everyone was asleep. She preferred it this way. Even if Urahara took it well, she was positive that he felt at least a little unsettled each time he saw her. Who wouldn't? Even she became nervous each time she looked in the mirror.
She slowly slipped out of her clothes, allowing the hot steam from the bathwater to soothe her aching muscles. Even more of her exoskeleton crumbled away as the steam wafted over her, and she stared at the broken pieces that now lay on the floor before climbing into the inviting water. After several minutes of simply sitting motionlessly in the water, Leona glanced down, staring intently at her Hollow Hole. She had the sudden urge to stick her hand through it, just to see if she could actually go all the way through it, but she resisted. That would have just been way to freaky.
A sudden clatter came from the doors to the bathroom as they slid open, and Leona swiftly ducked beneath the water's surface. A moment later, however, she mentally slapped herself. What was ducking underwater supposed to do? They obviously already knew that she was in here, whoever they were, and she couldn't hold her breath forever. Finally giving in, she rose to the surface, taking a big gulp of air before exploring the room with her eyes to locate the intruder. Her breath caught in her throat.
Standing in front of her was Toshiro and Rangiku. Thick white bandages covered her brother's chest, and Rangiku was sporting several large scrapes on her face and arms. Toshiro was regarding her with a calm expression, though Rangiku seemed to be more than surprised as she took in Leona's appearance. Toshiro set down his sword, taking several steps forward.
"Urahara told me... Everything."
"I see," Leona replied quietly, distracting herself with the water briefly as she continued to feel both her brother and his Lieutenant staring at her.
"It's a lot to take it..." he muttered darkly, his brilliant blue green eyes staring at her face serenely before he continued speaking. "But it makes no difference." Leona's eyes widened, and she turned to stare at her brother with undisguised astonishment. From behind Toshiro, Leona could see Rangiku smiling to herself, meeting her eyes briefly before looking away. "Nee-sama will always just be Nee-sama, even if your name and face change."
"You can't meant that..." she murmured sadly, looking away from Rangiku to stare at the water once more.
"I do." he replied stonily. Leona remained silent, locked in a sort of staring contest with her younger brother, who refused to look away. After what seemed like ages, Leona finally smiled, and Toshiro simply rolled his eyes.
"You love me, don'tcha?"
"Don't push it." he said swiftly before sitting down on the edge of the bath. Leona continued to laugh, however, and finally Toshiro turned to glare at her. "What is so amusing?"
"... Toshiro, you know I'm naked, right?" she said finally, and her brother's eyes widened in surprise.
"... Right. Right... Rangiku, I'll be in the hall." he coughed out awkwardly, picking up his Zanpakuto as he left. At the door he paused, turning back to meet Leona's eyes. "I meant what I said, Nee-sama." And with that, he left Rangiku and Leona alone. The silence was heavy and awkward for several long minutes, only broken periodically as the water sloshed around Leona's body. After some time, Rangiku finally spoke up.
"Mind if I come in?" she asked, and Leona blanched.
"A-absolutely no-" her words were cut off as Rangiku swiftly stripped, sliding into the tub on the opposite side, sighing contentedly as the hot water covered her skin.
"Ah, that's the stuff." Leona glowered, pulling her knees to her chin in an attempt to cover herself.
"H... Hey, just what do you think you're doing?"
"Taking a bath, what does it look like?"
"I don't know you."
"I know your brother."
"So?"
"So."
"..."
The two lapsed back into tense silence, Leona refusing to meet Rangiku's eyes, which were staring at her unwaveringly from the other side of the tub. She knew what it was she was looking at- The part of her Hollow mask on her face was all that was visible of her change, aside from the small boney plates that remained attached to her kneecaps.
"Stop staring, please," she whispered finally, turning to meet her eyes. Rangiku shrugged nonchalantly, unfazed by Leona's apparent self consciousness.
"It's interesting, is all," she replied, sloshing the water around her body a little more as she spoke. "How're you going to tell everyone else?" Rangiku asked, a much more serious tone making its way into her voice. Leona lowered her eyes briefly, thinking this question over in her head several times before answering.
"I'm not too sure..."
"I figured," she said, sighing again and leaning farther back into the water. So the two lapsed back into silence for several more minutes, before it was broken once more by Rangiku. "Wait till I tell everyone I got naked with an Arrancar!" Leona flushed instantly, making a face and splashing water in her direction.
"You can't tell, Rangiku-san, please!" she hissed, but the woman simple laughed. "Especially not Ichigo!" Her expression changed suddenly to one of blatant confusion as she threw her hands up into the air.
"What the hell is so great about that guy?"
"Excuse me?" Leona replied, taken aback. Rangiku rolled her eyes before continuing.
"You're the second person to admit that you like him to me,"
"I never said th-"
"First Orihime, now you... Geez, just what about this guy inspires so much insecurity in the women around him?" Leona frowned. So, Orihime had finally admitted it out loud. That certainly was something.
"First, did I say I liked him?" Rangiku opened her mouth to answer, but she cut her off. "And secondly, I think this-" she gestured at the Hollow mask on her face. "-Is reason enough to be self conscious."
"True. But you do like him. Or am I wrong?" Leona panicked briefly, glancing around the room.
"I- Yo... No! I don't, not at all, so-"
"You're way too easy to read, y'know?" Leona frowned, folding her arms over her breasts and turning decidedly away from the blonde woman in front of her. This was absolutely ridiculous! And why, exactly, was she still in the bath with her? This had to be the weirdest thing that had ever happened to her, and that included becoming and Arrancar. "You better move fast, because I gave Orihime some pretty good encouragement."
"Super." Leona replied icily, still not looking at Rangiku.
"... He was looking for you, you know." she said suddenly, and Leona's eyes widened. "Tonight, when Orihime was healing Rukia. He was looking for you." Leona's eyes softened, and she finally turned to face the woman in front of her.
"We got into a fight..."
"Good!" Leona glared angrily in her direction, making to retaliate for her blatantly rooting for Orihime in her presence, but she was silenced swiftly. "He doesn't get in fights with Orihime, does he?" Leona paused, thinking this question over briefly before shaking her head. Rangiku was right- She had never seen Ichigo fight with Orihime. "Fights are what make relationships grow and mature. It means he acknowledges you... Oh, and you were the Super Hoodie girl who saved him, weren't you?" she added, changing the direction of the conversation so fast that Leona nearly got whiplash.
"Super Hoodie?" she repeated in disgust. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"Sorry girlie, it's stuck, now, it's what everyone's calling you."
"Awesome. Just awesome."
Elsewhere in Karakura Town...
"Mom!"
A young girl with short auburn hair, longer in the front, and only reaching the nape of her neck in the back, called up the stairs to the second story of her home, and she paused, waiting for a reply. After several minutes of waiting, a muffled 'hm?' made its way down the stairs.
"I'm going to work," she said, her voice softer this time as her eyes made their way over to the clock on the microwave. The time read six thirty-six in the morning, and the girl sighed heavily. She would have given anything to be headed to high school this very moment, but as her luck would have it, with her family's financial problems, school was entirely out of the question.
Shrugging on a dark denim jacket and shoving her feet into her shoes, she dashed out of the door, shielding her sky blue eyes from the early morning sun as she made her way down the street. Glancing to her left, she saw a short boy with white hair, accompanied by a tall woman with large breasts, both wearing the local high school's uniform. She sighed wearily, watching as they waved goodbye to a third person- A girl. Her breath caught in her throat... What was wrong with the girl's face?
The other two seemed completely unfazed by it, but the girl watched as the redhead dashed around the corner. After standing still for several long minutes, she shook her head, freeing her mind of her frantic thoughts as she continued on down the street. She didn't get very far, however, as a sudden noise from behind her made its way to her ears, causing her to freeze in her tracks.
"Who's there?" she called, glancing around the street behind her from under her blunt-cut bangs. At first, she saw no one, but a moment later a loud and purposeful cough made her look upwards, at the sky; Her eyes widened. In the air stood two people... At least, she thought that they were people. But she had never seen float before. She gasped, not even trying to hide her surprise as her eyes raked over the strangers.
The man was the tallest person she had ever seen in her life. His features looked stretched, almost disproportionate, and he wore a goose bump-enducing sneer on his face. His dark black hair shifted in the breeze, and she directed her attention to the woman beside him. Bright blonde hair framed her dark skinned face, green eyes staring out over her high collar calmly, watching the girl on the ground below her with carefully guarded interest.
"Well, well, Aizen-sama'll be pleased," the man leered, bending over slightly to get a better look at the girl, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "Didn't take us long t'find you, this is some of the weirdest Reiatsu I've ever-"
"Nnoitra," the woman said, and the girl jumped. Her voice was strangely deep for a woman's, though she couldn't deny that it was extremely authoritative. "Enough talk. We were instructed to retrieve the girl, not converse with her." The man, Nnoitra, rolled his eyes in a bored manner. "You are the girl who calls herself 'Kanna', yes?" Kanna nodded slowly, but the next second she could have slapped herself. Why hadn't she just said no?
"Idiot, idiot," she muttered, backing up before turning swiftly and running down the street. Nnoitra 'tsk'ed loudly.
"This is too much trouble, let's just leave 'er."
"We cannot." the woman replied, and before Kanna could even make it three feet, she was in front of her. "You are coming with us."
"NO!" Kanna screamed, backing away, only to bump into Nnoitra's stomach. He sniggered, grabbing her by the shoulders roughly. "Someone help! Help me!"
"No use screamin', there isn-"
"Anyone to hear?" A third voice spoke, finishing Nnoitra's sentence for him. His eyes widened, and Kanna froze, ceasing to struggle as she turned in Nnoitra's grip to see who had spoken. "Sorry, but you guys were being pretty loud." The girl from before, the one with the strange face, was standing feet from Nnoitra, her sword outstretched. Kanna sighed in relief, mentally promising to apologize to the girl for ever making judgements about her based on her weird face if she got out of this alive. Nnoitra 'tch'ed again, releasing Kanna and pushing her into the blonde woman in front of her.
"Go on ahead, Tia, I'll take care of this." Tia arched an eyebrow, briefly taking in the other girl's appearance before backing up.
"Careful, Nnoitra, she's not a Shinigami."
"I can fucking see that, thanks." he replied lazily, dragging his strangely long tongue across his lips as he stared at the girl. Kanna's eyes were wild once again as she struggled in Tia's grip, reaching out her arms towards the red haired girl, who was now exchanging blows with Nnoitra, struggling to get around him. Nnoitra's head snapped backwards as a heavy punch from the redhead made contact with his jaw. A moment later, Kanna saw him spit out several molars.
"No!" Kanna yelped, but the next second the sky behind her opened, and Tia stepped inside. Her eyes widened in fear, and she saw the red haired girl stare up at her in panic. "Please help me!"
"Get out of my way!" she roared, pushing against Nnoitra with all her might. He slid backwards, crashing into the light pole behind him. The pole collapsed with a crash, concealing Nnoitra in a cloud of dust as the girl rushed up to where Kanna was slowly disappearing.
"Please, no-!" she screamed, reaching for her hands, but it was too late. The sky swallowed her whole, and she suddenly found herself in the middle of some sort of desert. The red haired girl was nowhere to be seen, and Kanna finally ceased to struggle in Tia's grip.
"Kanna..." she murmured darkly, turning her to face some sort of strange castle, which was barely visible in the distance. "Welcome to Hueco Mundo."
Leona's appearance: Leona has short, dark red hair, which ends a little bit under her chin. The bit of Hollow mask on her face is just like Grimmjow's, for people who have trouble picturing it. The Hollowfication that previously covered her entire left side receded during this chapter, and she it now left with the exoskeleton only covering places above where certain bones are located, such as her ribs, hips, knees, knuckles, and collar bone. In the center of her tattoo, which is on her left side just below her ribs, is a Hollow Hole, which isn't large but if bigger than her fist. Leona wears a white turtle neck with long sleeves, which covers most of the Hollowfication on her left arm, though it ends halfway down her ribcage. She also wears tan capris, which cinch up just below her knees. She continues to wear the standard shinigami sandals with socks, and carries Jairo in her belt loop.
This chapter is mainly just Leona explaining her situation to a few people. She is reluctant to tell Ichigo, fearing how he will react. Strangely enough, she seems to develop an odd sort of bond with Rangiku over a bath, where she tells her that the fight she had with Ichigo is proof of the bond that the two of them share. Also, some good Toshiro and Leona moments in here- Thank god for brother sister bonds.
At the end, we finally get a good look at the new OC (THANKS TO KIRA), who is captured by Tia and Nnoitra despite Leona's efforts to save her. This will come back into play later. Here's a small description of the OC, Kanna, provided by BlueFox of the Moon/Kira:
"Short, just a few inches shorter than Toushiro, with pale skin and skyblue eyes. Her hair is short, longest in the front and barely coming up to the nape of her neck in the back. Similar to Raven from Teen Titans or the smaller zanpakuto spirit of Katen Kyoukotsu, but with straight-cut bangs and auburn colored hair."
Thanks again to Kira for providing me with an excellent OC!
Chapter titles of the last chapter and this chapter:
Mala Suerte: Means 'Bad Luck' in Spanish.
la nuevo león: Means 'The New Lion' in Spanish. Noticing a pattern? One reason I adore the Arrancars is all of the Spanish words- I love it!
Also, thanks to all my readers for the reviews!
to animelover/raven: Yet again, another hilarious review- I wouldn't want them any shorter! As you can see, I took your suggestion of having the Hollowfication recede... You're totally right, that be horrible for their sex life ;)
to Kira/BlueFox: I hope my brief explanation made sense, but if it didn't, I'll explain it again here- The thing with the name is kind of like the reverse of how Shinigami eventually here their Zanpakuto's name. So, Jairo was unable to here Hiori/Leona's name, which is why he called her Wielder until after she became an Arrancar. Hope that makes sense!
Don't forget to review, and thanks so much for all the reviews/favorites/alerts!