My heart felt as though it had stopped beating in my chest as I beheld the man standing in front of me. Shokyakuro's hilt burned at my hand, but it wasn't his usual dominating warmth, a burn that never truly burned.

This felt like frostbite.

It was like all of the fire had left him, leaving only the frozen sting of ice. His flame had dimmed to a fire so small it simply looked like the sword was glowing. I hissed through my teeth at the way it burned at my palm but held strong to my zanpakuto, resisting the overwhelming urge to drop the blade and save my hand from the pain.

The man's cat-like grin grew, as if he could tell exactly what was going on from where he stood. His stare was fixed on Shokyakuro — unmoving, unwavering, and unrelenting.

"Who … who are you?" I managed to ask, praying that my voice stay steady. He didn't look at me, only at my sword with an expression that made my flesh crawl. I turned my attention to my partner. "Shokyakuro?"

Silence.

A deep, aching fear worked its way into my gut, bile rising in my throat, as I realized what was happening. A silent conversation, an internal battle, a secret whisper between the two of them — between my zanpakuto and this dangerous stranger.

"Who are you?" I demanded; my voice didn't only hold steady, but it rang out with a force that earned me the man's gaze. His eyes flicked up to meet mine in a startlingly malicious glare.

"That is none of your concern, girl," he drawled, his gold eyes darkening. "This has nothing to do with you."

"Like hell it's none of my —"

Katsumi … leave it alone. He's right, this has nothing to do with you.

"'Nothing to do with me'…? Shokyakuro … what the hell is going on?" The man bared his teeth at me, taking a step in my direction.

"What did I just say?" He snarled. Shokyakuro's blade ignited once again before the man could take another step. Hot, blue flames that I knew too well to be his power and not my own.

Even so … I didn't call him. So how could he …

The man stopped in his tracks and let out a humorless chuckle.

"Well isn't this a surprise … never thought I'd see you be so protective over someone other than yourself," the man said darkly. "I didn't think you'd be one to be so influenced by a pretty face."

"Just leave her out of this. You said so yourself, this has nothing to do with her." His blaze grew stronger. The sound of Shokyakuro's voice ringing through the forest made my knees buckle. This was the second time now that he was able to speak outside of my consciousness. How, I had no idea, but I felt the wind knocked out of me at the sound of it.

"Are you really so naive to think your flames intimidate me? Even after all this time?" The man asked rhetorically before continuing his advance. "How soon we forget." My hands gripped Shokyakuro's hilt so hard I could feel the skin on my palms breaking open, and my breath was shallow in my lungs. Questions and uncertainty flooded my consciousness.

"Shokyakuro," I said, my voice wavered, barely above a whisper. "Who is this man? What is going on here?" The man growled, a guttural sound that ripped from his chest as his head snapped to me.

"Shut up you annoying little bitch! Let's see how many questions you have after I tear open your throat." He lunged, but before he could grasp my neck with his outstretched hand, a wall of white hot fire flashed up in front of me. He recoiled and hissed as the sizzle and scent of burning flesh filled the air.

"You won't lay a hand on her," Shokyakuro said, his voice menacingly deep. "I won't let you."

"I'll do whatever I damn please. And if I remember correctly, I was never the one yielding to your power, now was I?"

Shokyakuro growled, actually growled, and his flames grew larger still. I stared at them in awe; shock, admiration, and as much as I hated to admit it, fear. The man laughed, not an ounce of humor behind it. "Well now you're just trying to show off."

"Take one more step and you'll quickly learn that my power isn't just for show."

"Oh, I know that. Better than anyone," he jerked his chin towards me. "Even her."

"Good then, that means we both know there's no way you can take me on in a battle. Not the way you are, not anymore." There was so much hate in Shokyakuro's voice that it shook my core. I had heard a lot of different tones from him, and recently I had been hearing a different, kinder side of my zanpakuto. But this was something else, something venomous. This was something seated in a history I knew nothing about.

"Tsk, tsk," the man said, shaking his head and examining the burn on his hand. Though I could see through my own weapon's fires, the flames were distorting his image. I thought for a second that I could see his flesh slowly stitching itself back together. I hoped I was imagining it. "You underestimate me, partner."

I felt my chest constrict at the word.

"I am not your —"

"By the way," he interrupted. "Speaking of partners, I wonder how your soul reaper friend is faring against my little pets."

"Renji …" I whispered, internally cursing myself for forgetting him in the moment.

"Those beasts are your doing?" Shokyakuro asked, his flames wavering for a breath. The man tossed his silken hair behind his shoulder and smirked.

"Aren't they lovely? A little trick I picked up in my travels."

"Call them off!" I bellowed.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll make you." Rage heated my blood, running such hatred through my veins that I thought I'd combust. Red and orange flames threaded through blue fire as my own power began streaming out of me, my spiritual pressure growing with every second. Shokyakuro burned in my palms, a silent response to my thoughts, and grew to a sword so massive I was wondering how anyone could ever manage to wield a blade so large. Much to my surprise, another weapon built from my zanpakuto's flames appeared in my other hand. I gripped the hilt of the other sword and allowed myself a moment to marvel at it; not only had I never wielded two of his weapons at once, but I had never seen a blade like this. The grip was in the center of the sword, the blade sweeping out in front of it, like half of a wheel designed to kill. It felt good in my palm and the surprising weight of it in my hand steadied me. I steeled myself and faced the man again, ready to fight.

The man stared through the flames, though his eyes didn't meet mine. He was staring so intently at the weapons in my hands I wondered how his eyes hadn't burned from the white hot light in front of him. I couldn't read his expression; it was like he was somewhere between horror and admiration. Another flash of something passed across his face before he turned his wicked gold eyes to me. He stared silently at me, almost through me, before painting a mask of indifference across his face. He held his palms up to me and shrugged.

"Alright, you win. Consider them gone," he said. There was mocking in his voice, but I noticed the howling of the hollows quiet almost in time with his words. And then there was silence in the forest. Even Shokyakuro's flames didn't dare crackle — only silently breathing with my own lungs.

"Why … " I said softly. The man now looked disinterested, picking an invisible piece of lint off of the fabric of his suit.

Without even looking to me, he simply said, "I've grown tired of you."

"You've … what?"

"Let it go, Katsumi. He's just trying to bait you," Shokyakuro hissed under his breath. "I don't know what game he's playing, but this isn't the last we'll see of him, I know that for sure. If he's backing down now, let him." I stared at the man through the wall of flames that still separated us and sneered.

"That's right," the man said viciously. "Be a good little girl and behave." A snarl ripped through me as I lunged forward. Unseen hands grasped my shoulders, holding me in place, stopping me from hurling my body through the fire.

"Katsumi!" It was Renji. "What the hell is going on here?" I craned my neck to stare at him as I attempted to pull away from his grip.

"Let me go, Renji! I have to —"

"And that's my cue," the man chuckled. "Until next time, old friend." My blood boiled at the words, but the man disappeared into the night in an instant. I stared at the spot where he was just seconds ago as a myriad of emotions washed over me; confusion, hurt, rage, sadness, and … jealousy? I didn't have the energy to decipher what was going through my head at the moment; I barely had the energy to stand on my own two feet.
The flames before me subsided, leaving only the singed grass in its wake, and the weapons I had been holding disappeared, leaving only my zanpakuto in the palm of my hand. I took a shaky breath, not even sure that it fully reached my lungs, and swallowed hard. I don't know why, but I couldn't bring myself to look at my sword.

Katsumi … Shokyakuro's voice was back in my consciousness. I didn't answer.

"Katsumi?" Renji said softly, walking around to face me. He placed his hands back on my shoulders, softer this time, not to keep me in place but to steady me. "Tell me what happened."

"I … I don't know what happened …"

"Who was that man?"

"I just told you, Renji, I don't know."

"I do." Shokyakuro spoke into the air. Renji shot up and quickly glanced around us, scanning the area, his hand hovering over his zanpakuto.

"Who said that? Who's there?" I sighed and placed my hand on top of his, curling my fingers around it.

"There's no one here, it's just the three of us."

"Three of us?"

"You, me, and Shokyakuro." Renji's eyes met mine and I wondered if the expression he wore was the same as mine had been.

"So that was …"

"Yes."

"How did …"

"I don't know."

"But —"
"Renji …" I interrupted, tightening my grip on his hand. "You're asking a lot of questions I don't have answers to."

"I'm sorry," he said. I watched some of the tension leave his body. "I'm just very lost here."

"Me too, trust me." I stared at him and surveyed his body, searching for injuries. "Are you okay? I left you to fight those hollows alone for quite some time." I raised my hand to his face, brushing away some blood splattered on his forehead. He caught my hand against his face and pressed his cheek into me.

"I'm fine," he said, his tone soft. "It's you I'm worried about." I shook my head and pulled my hand back to grasp the hilt of my zanpakuto. I stared at it for another second before sheathing it at my side.

"Let's go back. We have a lot to talk about," I whispered, my voice suddenly hoarse. "And he has a lot to explain."