"I never thought I'd be so happy to see the light of day," I said. I was laying flat on my back in a field and watching the clouds slowly pass by. "That place was an absolute nightmare." Ichigo laughed.
"Yeah, so is Mayuri. He really is something else …" I buried my face in my hands and groaned loudly.
"What is wrong with me?" I asked rhetorically, though if Ichigo had an answer I was open to hearing it.
"Come on, stop beating yourself up about it already. We found him! We got him back, and nothing bad happened and everything is fine. Seriously."
"Ugh … still." I unhooked Shokyakuro from my belt, wanting to feel his warmth closer to me. I had been checking him non-stop since I got him back, hoping to feel more heat from him every time I did. He had regained a bit of his usual fire, but it seemed Captain Kurotsuchi was right — this was going to take some time.
I rested my zanpakuto down the length of my body, his hilt nestled in between my breasts; I could feel his heat pulsing, inconsistent at first, until it began to sync up with my own heart's beating. I had forgotten how much I loved this feeling. We used to relax like this together more often when I was younger and I guess I didn't realize how much I missed it. The smell of freshly cut grass and lilacs filled my nose and I took a genuinely deep breath for the first time in what seemed like forever. I couldn't remember how long it had been since I felt this much at peace.
Peace that was promptly disturbed by the now snickering man beside me. I opened one eye to glare at him.
"What." It was more of a groan than a word.
"You're just so …" he started, still laughing.
"I'm so what?"
"It's just … why are you sitting with your zanpakuto like that?" I furrowed my brow and stared down my nose at my chest.
"What?" I asked, my head in no doubt the least attractive angle it could be in. "It's comfortable! It's like …" I sat and pondered a comparison for a second. "It's like, don't you ever just sit with your hand down your pants? Like not down your pants, but like, I don't know, resting in the waistband or something?" This only made him laugh harder. "Ugh you are impossible …" I slung my arm across my eyes and tried to tune out the hyena. Though I had to admit, he had a wonderful laugh; it made me curious to know how often he genuinely did laugh. I couldn't help but smile a bit.
"You can't fool me," he said, his laughter fading away. "I can see you smiling over there."
"But what you can't see is that I'm also rolling my eyes."
"Oh, are you now?"
"Mhm … that I am," I said, feigning petulance. In an instant his body was over mine; he was on his knees above me, straddling my hips, keeping my body still with his own. I barely had time to gasp before he had torn my arm from over my eyes and pinned both of my wrists above my head. My body tensed and I felt my back arch slightly in response. The way he was staring at me took the breath from my lungs.
"Would you like to try that again?" He challenged, his voice suddenly very low in his chest. My breath hitched as I felt his grip tighten slightly around my wrists. I pushed against his hands, testing him, but it seemed to take little effort for him to keep me in place.
"Try what?"
"Rolling your eyes at me …" I couldn't stop myself from smirking.
"So what if I do?" He growled, a guttural, animal sound, and brought his face down to mine as close as he could without actually touching.
"You don't want to find out," he warned no louder than a whisper. I felt heat coursing through my body and it had nothing to do with Shokyakuro. I managed to win a little bit of give from his grasp, wriggling one of my wrists out enough to dig my nails into the back of his hand. He inhaled through his teeth, almost hissing. And then his free hand was at my waist and he was pulling himself further onto me. I could feel his hunger pressed up against my hip and I forced a gasp down my throat, refusing to give him the satisfaction. He leaned in further, putting his lips against my ear, his low voice making me buck my hips to meet his as he spoke. "I've been wanting to do this since the second I laid eyes on you …" I sighed out and a small whimper escaped my lips. I could almost hear him smiling.
"Well, isn't this a sight for sore eyes!" A voice called out from above us. Stunned, neither of our bodies moved from where they were, only our heads to see who was here, and as soon as we did, our bodies flew away from each other as far as we could manage.
No …. I groaned internally, trying to compose myself as best I could. I moved to try to stand and face them but I had forgotten Shokyakuro was still nestled tightly in between my breasts. He sat in place for a beat before his hilt got caught up in the front of my robes, pulling at the strings and exposing my chest even more. I yelped and frantically tried to untangle him until finally my zanpakuto fell to the ground near my feet. If he was in better spirits I would have thought he did that on purpose.
Ichigo cleared his throat beside me, and I wondered if he was as red as I was right now; I had no idea, I couldn't bring myself to look.
"C-Captain … Captain Kuchiki," I managed to say, my voice barely more than a squeak. There was a girl I didn't know standing with him, smirking mischievously at Ichigo.
"Rukia, Byakuya," he greeted, feigning nonchalance. "Good to see you both." Rukia attempted to stifle a laugh before it burst right out of her chest. I could feel Ichigo fuming beside me; this seemed like a familiar dynamic between the two of them. I couldn't bring myself to look Captain Kuchiki in the eye, I was so embarrassed.
"Wow, Ichigo … really? In the middle of the day?" Rukia said, crossing her arms over her chest with a broad smile. "In the middle of a field?"
"C'mon, give me a break …"
"Oh absolutely not," she said, turning to me. She sidled over to me, extending her hand. "I'm so sorry, we haven't met yet. I'm Rukia Kuchiki."
"Rukia … Kuchiki?" She nodded.
"She's Byakuya's sister," Ichigo said. Rukia leaned over and punched him in the arm, hard.
"Stay out of it!" She snarled at him. But when she turned back to me, her face was exceptionally sweet. "Yes, I am Captain Kuchiki's younger sister."
"O-oh, great. It's nice to meet you," I said tentatively, still feeling Byakuya's presence looming above me. "I'm Katsumi." Her eyes lit up in recognition.
"Katsumi … you're the new member of brother's squad, aren't you?"
"I am."
"And you're the one … who fought Renji?" I noticed her tone shift as she spoke the last bit. My throat tightened. Ichigo stilled beside me.
"I am," I said again. Her face morphed into something unfamiliar; I couldn't discern if it was pity, or hatred, or fear. Or maybe it was something else entirely. It didn't last long enough on her face to figure it out — only a second, maybe, before she replaced it with what still seemed to be a genuine smile.
"Well, Katsumi, it is very nice to meet you then." She shot a look at Ichigo. "Seems to me I'll be seeing you around. I look forward to getting to know you." I gave her a smile, albeit slightly forced, as she scampered back to her brother. Finally mustering up the courage to look at my captain, I was shocked to find him already staring at me. Unreadable as always. Embarrassment flooded my face yet again.
"Captain Kuchiki … we were just … well, I mean, I was —"
"—I don't care," he said, cutting me off. His eyes were ice on mine as he took one final look at me before turning and stalking off, Rukia close on his heels. She turned around once more to give me a small wave and make an obscene gesture at Ichigo, and then the two of them walked out of view.
I could hear Ichigo muttering under his breath, "… stupid grumpy bastard, little child-sized pain in my ass …", though I could only hear about half of it over the volume of my own thoughts.
Why was this how my time as a soul reaper was going? It was like I couldn't do anything right, no matter how hard I tried. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from crying.
"Does … does everyone know that I almost — that I almost killed Renji?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Ichigo stopped his grumbling and came to my side.
"I'm … not sure," he said hesitantly. "But no one thinks you tried to kill Renji; everyone knows things just got out of hand, that's all." I put my hands on my forehead, rubbing my temples in frustration.
"Ok," was all I said.
"Look, Renji and Rukia have been friends since they were kids — I'm sure he tells her everything," he said, his tone softer than it had been before. "Plus, she's Byakuya's sister. I wouldn't worry about it, really." I only groaned.
His hands enveloped mine, his fingers lacing between my own, as he gently tugged my hands away from my face. I tilted my head up to look at him.
"I just keep messing everything up …"
"You haven't messed anything up, Katsumi," he said. "Trust me, everything is going to be alright." Still holding my hands, he moved to wrap them around his back, placing them firmly there before moving his own to caress my shoulders, pulling my body into his. I didn't resist — only let my body melt into him.
"Thank you," I murmured against his broad chest.
"Nah, none of that, now," he said, stroking my hair. "Just relax, I've got you. You don't have to worry about anything, not while you're in my arms. Okay?" I nodded, tightening my grip on his torso. I really wanted to believe him, as he gingerly placed kisses on the crown of my head and held me close, but I couldn't stop my mind from running.
There was something evolving within Shokyakuro and I couldn't stop fear from boiling in my blood. I was going to have to find out what Mayuri Kurotsuchi learned about my zanpakuto; hopefully something he did could give me some kind of answers about it. That's what I was here to do — I needed to figure out everything I could about my sword's power, and how to control it. Maybe even take control of it for good. This was the only way to find out.
Of course I wanted to just lose myself in the strong, beautiful man holding me in his arms, but I couldn't shake the feeling in my gut that things were about to get bad. Really bad. And as I thought of everything that had already happened, and my imagination started to run wild thinking of what could soon happen, I could have sworn I felt Renji's spiritual pressure nearby, watching me, just out of reach.