Human World, Present Day
Karakura Town - not the most exotic locale, nor the most cultured. It was, at best, average in just about every conceivable way: size, population, socioeconomic status. There was a pretty good coffee shop in town at least, serving up fancy espresso drinks with artistically foamed milk. The foam cap on Kaede's cappuccino was designed to look like a cat's face. She almost hated to ruin it, but alas, all things were temporary by nature, this coffee-cat included.
She sat near the shop's front windows, gazing out onto the street. Schools had just let out for the day, and the sidewalks were crowded with clumps of uniformed middle- and high-schoolers. Kaede had always wondered what it was like to go to one of those schools, to walk home with a group of friends, gossiping or gushing over…whatever it was kids these days were into. Video games? Pop idols? Fifty years ago, it had been home television and some band from England whose name reminded her of insects. Fill in the latest entertainment tech here and the most current musical style there.
Kaede sighed, her breath blowing a bit of foam over the cup's edge. Two blocks away was a large, well-maintained park. It should have been the perfect gathering place in a town like this, and until a few days ago, it probably was. Now, it was taped off as police attempted to explain both the large crater and the subsequent deaths of dozens of citizens with no discernible cause. Nothing had appeared to crash down to make the hole, and moments later, people in the immediate area simply dropped dead.
They wouldn't find an explanation, of course. That was the true tragedy of it: the families of those people would never know that their loved ones were victims of a war they couldn't see.
The reiatsu that still permeated the area, even days later, was quite familiar to Kaede: Hollows. Powerful ones, too. Their sudden appearance was what had caught her attention halfway around the world. Normally, she wouldn't have bothered coming to investigate herself - if anything, she'd have avoided this area like it harbored a plague. Let Soul Society deal with its own messes.
But Karakura Town, perfectly average though it was, was no ordinary location - and it was home to several very extraordinary residents.
She'd put it off long enough. Kaede finished her cappuccino in one gulp, wincing as the hot liquid scorched her throat. Ugh…the presentation was cute, but they burned the espresso beans with overheated water…
Oh, well. Time to pay a long-overdue visit.
Urahara Kisuke was just an average, handsome (he'd say), perverted (others would say) candy shop owner. Nothing special, really. To those in the know, he was, of course, far more than that - but he quite liked his current role. It suited him, being on the sidelines, stepping in only if the people he helped couldn't handle things themselves. For all that he claimed to prefer a simple, lazy existence, he wouldn't have things any other way.
Given his history - first growing up in the Shihoin household, then in the Gotei's infamous Stealth Unit, and finally as a full-fledged, if short-termed, Captain - it took a lot to surprise him. Seeing this woman standing in his shop right now?
He was a bit surprised.
"Gotta say," he greeted the person, casually adjusting his hat. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Not sure I did, either," she admitted. She had her arms crossed over her torso - a familiar sight and an old habit - and her pale gold eyes looked anywhere, it seemed, except at him. "So…it's a candy shop now?"
Kisuke leaned back against a counter, resting Benihime at his side. "Well, candy, supplements, curios…anything your average rogue Shinigami might need."
"You get a lot of those these days?"
"You'd be surprised."
Her gigai - for he knew that was all this body was - seemed in good condition despite its century of use. It perfectly recreated her spiritual body: tall, slender, with lightly bronzed skin and straight, deep burgundy hair that fell down her back like a sheet. "I see your hair's longer."
She picked up a small, wrapped gumdrop, turning it over in her fingers. "Yeah…funny how these bodies don't age, but hair and nails will still grow…did you do that on purpose?"
"Well, I figured that for long-term usage, one might get bored with the same look."
"You look the same."
Kisuke wondered about that. Maybe on the outside he hadn't changed much, but he certainly felt older, in ways that had little to do with physical age. "So why'd you come back, Kaede?"
Kaede's long fingers lingered over a display of baseball cards. "I figured I owed you a visit."
After going a hundred years with no communication whatsoever…he had his doubts. "You felt them arrive, didn't you?"
"Yeah," she admitted softly. "Hard to overlook two Arrancar showing up in the Human World out of the blue. I felt them all the way out in Brazil."
"Ah, yes, I hear Rio's lovely this time of year."
"Not really - they've been dealing with a lot of floods."
She was stalling, trying to turn the conversation away from where it inevitably had to go. "I'm guessing you also know what their appearance means?"
"That there are more Arrancar around these days," she answered simply.
"And?"
Her eyes closed, jaw tightening as she took in a tense breath. "He's made his move."
Kisuke studied her from under his hat's brim. Other than the longer hair, she hadn't physically changed much, either. She wore modern clothes of course - stylish ones at that, even had some jewelry and painted nails. It was actually nice to see that she took some pride in her appearance these days. But her eyes…they were the same haunted, watchful orbs he remembered from so long ago. Back then, those eyes belonged to a frightened child.
Was there anything left of that child now?
He sighed. "You want to hear the whole story, or what?"
She didn't answer right away. Seeing the tension lining her back and shoulders, Kisuke wondered if she might actually bolt.
Then her shoulders relaxed by a fraction, and her pale gold eyes lowered. "Okay. Tell me."
Kaede listened quietly as Urahara Kisuke relayed quite the fantastical tale. The characters were certainly interesting: a human-turned-substitute-shinigami; three of his human friends with powers of their own (one a Quincy, no less); an actual shinigami, hunted by her comrades for the crime of giving the first one the means to survive.
How typical of Soul Society.
The human boy, Kurosaki Ichigo…she could see why he drew such interest, just from Kisuke's descriptions. His incredible progress in such a short amount of time, his determination, his loyalty to his loved ones above all else…it was the stuff of epic tales, and it seemed far from over.
But none of that held her attention so much as the most recent events of the story - and its villain.
"So he has your Hogyoku now too," Kaede said when Kisuke had wrapped everything up. "He's escaped to Hueco Mundo and is making an army there."
"Yep." Kisuke leaned back on his hands. They'd moved from the foyer of his shop to the living area in the back, a luke-warm pot of tea on the table between them. "So…"
"So?" she repeated, though she already knew what was coming next.
"Got any insights you want to share?"
"Like what?"
"You knew him back when the things he's done were just ideas," Kisuke pointed out.
"I didn't know him half as well as you think I did." Kisuke kept watching her expectantly, not buying her act. She rubbed her forehead. "Look, I told you everything I knew the last time I was here. If anything new has come up since then, you're more likely to know than I am."
"I'm not asking for new information. I'm asking for your insight into what's happened so far."
Kaede took a deep breath to steady herself. Why did she come back here…"I don't know. I mean…creating an army was always par for the course. He never expected to be able to do things peacefully. He wanted to create the Hogyoku to try and push us - push himself beyond his natural limits. But if all he's been doing is creating Arrancar…"
"We assume that an army means he's planning to move against Soul Society before long," Kisuke supplied. "Any ideas why that is?"
"I already told you-"
"You told me what he told you," he interrupted. "While it likely is the main reason, it's not necessarily the only one."
This place should burn for what they did to you.
Kaede shut her eyes again, remembering when he said those words to her. No…she didn't want to think about that, that was a lie, it wasn't real…it didn't mean anything.
"If you think that anything he does now has anything to do with me," she started, "you're even more blinded than I was."
Kisuke fell silent, but she could still feel his intense, piercing stare coming from the shadow of his hat. She kept her eyes on the dregs of her tea, tilting the cup this way and that, making them swirl.
"Well…" Kisuke leaned forward, pouring himself another cup of tea. "We could use your help, all the same. My guess is that with the two Hogyoku combined, it'll take a few more months before it fully awakens. He won't make a serious move until then, but it'll be a hell of a fight when he does."
"Then I wish you luck."
"Aw, that's cold."
"You wouldn't want my help," she protested. "I haven't even drawn my Zanpakuto in the last hundred years."
"Seriously?" Kisuke's brows rose up into his hat. "Okay, now that surprises me." He sobered, shoulders drooping, looking older than his youthful appearance suggested. "His Arrancar…they're strong, way stronger than we predicted they'd be. I mean it when I say we can use all the help we could get."
Her fingers dug into her forearms. "And what would Soul Society think of me showing up out of the blue? Or have you told them I'm not actually dead?"
Kisuke set down his cup firmly. "I've told them nothing about you. Not that you're alive, not what really happened back then."
Kaede's shoulders relaxed a bit. The more time she'd spent away, the more confident she'd been that Soul Society really did believe her to be dead, but there'd always been a nagging doubt. The fact that Kisuke had kept that secret, even after Aizen betrayed Soul Society…
"Thank you for that," was all she could say, her mouth dry. She took a sip of lukewarm tea. "Maybe it's better to keep it that way, though. We both know how they deal with deserters."
"Maybe when Central 46 was in charge, that was true."
Kaede's eyes snapped up to meet his. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that," Kisuke said, scratching behind his neck. "Aizen murdered them - every last one."
She seriously doubted that Kisuke had 'forgotten' to mention it before. "Not that surprising. He always thought they were idiots. Getting rid of them was always part of the plan."
"Interesting to hear you say that," Kisuke remarked mildly, "considering you apparently don't know anything about his plans."
"I don't know any more than you do at this point," she snapped.
"Okay, okay…" He held up his hands in surrender. "Fair enough, he was probably always planning to take them out. Pretty predictable tactic, really, if anyone had known to watch out for it." He lowered his hands, his voice dropping with them. "Though…from what I heard about the bodies…their deaths weren't all quick."
A chill went down her back, though she could hardly muster up any sympathy for the bunch of old men. She was more shocked at what Kisuke was suggesting. Again, he of all people thought that anything that man did had anything to do with her?
She was wrong to come back, that much was clear. She stood and headed toward the door. "I left the Shinigami behind a century ago, Kisuke."
"You still have your Zanpakuto, though. You just haven't drawn it in a while."
She flinched. Leave it to Urahara Kisuke to pick up on such a tiny detail. "I'm not going back."
"Never said you had to - just that we could use your help." He rose to his feet, his movements slow and halting as though he wasn't still a warrior in his prime. "Look, at least stick around for a few days to think it over. Tessai'll be back tomorrow with the kids - oh, yeah, we've got a couple kids who work at the shop these days. I think you'd like them."
Imagining Kisuke and the giant-muscled former Kido captain with a couple of kids was a funny picture, she had to admit.
"And…" His tone was suspiciously casual. "You should see the others while you're here. The Visored."
Once again, her mouth went dry. "Is that what they call themselves?" The Visored…what a Shinji-esque moniker. "How…how are they?"
Kisuke stretched his arms over his head. "Like I said - you should see for yourself."
"I doubt they want to see me."
"You never know. Oh - you need a place to stay while you're here?"
"I'll find my own."
"Good," he said. "'Cause chances are, Soul Society's gonna be sending some reinforcements any day to help with the Arrancar problem. I know you don't want to get involved with them again, but at least see what they're about these days before you make your final decision."
Kaede was about to retort that she'd already made her decision, but she bit her tongue. No use getting into another argument. "Any tips on where to get a good coffee around here?"
The sky tore open the next night.
Kaede spent the day in her spirit form, finding and following Kurosaki Ichigo. He was easy to spot, with his spiky orange hair and bandaged head. The kid looked like the sun had disappeared from his world for most of the day.
Then the Soul Society reinforcements arrived. Even in her spirit form, she was careful to hide her reiatsu, not wanting to draw their attention. When the small, dark-haired girl - was that the Kuchiki Rukia that Kisuke had used to hide his Hogyoku? - when Rukia forcefully led Ichigo away to fight a Hollow, Kaede followed.
"So Chad got hurt! So Orihime got hurt!" Rukia yelled at Ichigo. "So what?! Is that what you are?! A coward?! A quitter?!"
Message received, Kisuke, Kaede thought with a scowl. And fuck you, too.
She left before he finished off the Hollow. For hours, she wandered through Karakura Town, doing her best not to think about anything - and failing miserably. Where the hell did Kisuke get off, expecting her to do something in this fight? This was Soul Society's problem. She was done.
It was a mistake to come back here. She'd gone for so long without having to look at the past; she'd let it go, started fresh. If she'd just stayed away…
Her rumination stopped when she felt the rip in reality. There was no mistaking it: a Garganta had opened over one of the residential districts. Kaede hesitated. Not your problem. The Shinigami will handle it.
She reached out with her senses. One, two…six distinct Hollow signatures, all of them Arrancar. So many at once…and these Arrancar were easily on par with some of the strongest fighters in Soul Society. One signature in particular alarmed her. It was more potent than all of the other five combined, its reiatsu feral yet terrifyingly focused. A true predator.
Her hand unconsciously tightened around the gold-wrapped hilt of her Zanpakuto, an old, tingling electricity sparking deep within her.
The Shinigami will handle it.
Could they, though?
She scanned for the Shinigami's reiatsu next. It seemed like the Arrancar were each heading toward a Shinigami - and she could feel that the Shinigami were wearing limiters. Dammit, Soul Society…Their precious rules were going to destroy them someday.
Kaede froze. There was one Arrancar heading toward a signature that definitely wasn't a Shinigami. It was a human…and their reiatsu, while noticeable, was weak. The other Shinigami would soon be engaged; this poor soul was alone.
No - not alone. That kid, Ichigo, was speeding toward him.
Soul Society would handle its own; if they couldn't, well…again, not her problem. But these were just a couple of humans, "high-spec" or no.
Her shunpo was dreadfully out of practice - Yoruichi would be horrified. By the time she arrived, Kuchiki Rukia had shown up as well and taken down the Arrancar she'd sensed. Kaede ducked behind a corner and watched. Huh. Looked like that girl was pretty decent in battle when she wasn't playing host to a tiny hell-ball.
Then it came - that predatorial reiatsu she'd felt earlier. The Arrancar it belonged to was almost entirely humanoid but for the remnants of a mask along his jaw. Blue hair, jacket open to show off his physique and the tattooed number "6" on his back…
This, Kaede knew, was one to watch out for.
"D-Roy got himself killed already?" the Arrancar asked. "Ah, well. Guess I'll just have to kill you both myself!" His grin stretched almost as wide as his mandible mask. "Arrancar Numero Seis, Grimmjow! Nice to meet you, Shinigami!"
Ichigo and Rukia seemed frozen in place from the sheer, raw power of Grimmjow's reiatsu. Kaede couldn't blame them; it was impressive, leagues above the Arrancar they'd just killed.
"So which is it?" Grimmjow demanded, his voice a growl, his electric blue eyes wild with bloodlust. "Which one of you is stronger?"
Kaede's hand once again tightened around her blade's hilt - but she made no move to reveal herself.
Rukia screamed for Ichigo to run - but before she could finish the command, Grimmjow's hand went straight through her stomach.
Dammit. If she'd just moved…she could have at least blocked the Arrancar's hand, spared Rukia that fate…but then she'd be involved, and that would lead to questions like 'who are you' and 'why are you here' and she just couldn't answer those yet. Not when she wasn't even sure she'd be able to make a difference in the long run.
Coward.
Ichigo attacked the blue-haired Arrancar, but the latter simply pushed him away with his pinky.
"Who do you think I am?" Grimmjow drawled as Ichigo skidded and regained his footing. "I didn't come here to butcher lambs."
Kaede's eyes narrowed. This guy was just playing with Ichigo. If he'd been serious about taking the kid out, he'd have struck him down like Rukia already.
Rukia…she was bleeding out. Her gigai, occupied by a substitute soul, tried to move her spiritual body out of the way, but while it seemed plenty strong, the fight kept it pinned to that spot.
Kaede darted over, unable to simply stand aside any longer. Grimmjow was busy with Ichigo; with her reiatsu sealed so tightly, she doubted he'd even notice her. She could at least do this much.
"Here," she said, kneeling next to the occupied gigai. "Let's get her to Urahara's. Tessai can help her there."
"Wait, who're you?" the gikon demanded. "Pyon!"
Kaede blinked at it. "Pyon?"
"Pyon!"
Clearly, Soul Candy had gotten weirder since her time. "I'm a friend of Urahara's. Let's at least get her out of the way."
They pulled Rukia around a corner just as Ichigo released his Bankai. Elsewhere, Kaede could sense the other Shinigami release their limiters. About time. Their battles turned quickly in their favor.
Ichigo, however, couldn't land a single hit on his tattooed opponent.
"He's really getting clobbered, pyon," said the gikon.
"And that Arrancar isn't even seriously fighting-" Kaede stopped. Ichigo's reiatsu had just pulsed, shifted - it was only for a second, but she could have sworn she felt Hollow energy coming off of him.
Urahara…how much more did you 'forget' to mention?
She looked down at Rukia, who was fading in and out of consciousness. "Shit - we really need to get her to Tessai!"
"Let's just get Inoue-san, pyon!" said the gikon. "She'll fix Rukia-sama right up!"
"Inoue?" Inoue Orihime…had Kisuke mentioned something about her powers? Well, Kaede trusted the gikon's knowledge of these people over her own. "Where is she? I'll-"
She went stock-still as another Garganta opened up in the sky above them, but it was no Hollow of any class that stepped through. Kaede knew it even without looking, immediately recognizing the exact signature of the person, the ex-Shinigami, who came out.
The color drained from her face, and her hand once again found her Zanpakuto's hilt - but rather than draw it, she pushed down, making sure it was completely secure in its scabbard. That, and the fact that the traitorous Shinigami was blind, gave her a little comfort. All the same, she kept still as a statue, barely breathing lest Tousen Kaname somehow notice her presence.
"Sheathe your sword, Grimmjow," Tousen's quiet voice commanded. "You've committed several serious offenses here tonight. Aizen-sama is not pleased with you."
Her heart jumped into her throat just from hearing his name, as though the uttering of it would summon him here. Only when the Garganta closed, taking Tousen and Grimmjow with it, did she dare to breathe again.
"Tell me where to find Inoue Orihime," she said to the gikon. Her voice was raspy, her tongue like thick sandpaper. "I'll bring her here for Rukia."
As soon as she delivered a very confused Orihime to Ichigo and Rukia, Kaede fled, ignoring Ichigo's demands to know who she was. She went straight to Urahara's shop, not even bothering to jump back into her own gigai first.
"Kisuke! The Arran-"
She cut herself off when she saw Kisuke and Tessai both kneeling around a little girl. Tessai held his hands over the girl's midsection, where the strong golden glow of healing Kido just covered the grievous wound that would have killed a normal human.
"What happened?" Kaede asked, her hand coming to her mouth.
"The Arrancar happened," Kisuke stated dully. He gently held onto the little girl's hand. "Ururu is sensitive to strange reiatsu and sleep-walked right up to one. Tried to fight it."
Kaede shook her head. No way should a child like that be anywhere near such a fight. "Will she be okay?"
"She'll be fine," Kisuke answered, his eyes never leaving Ururu's prone form. "Just fine."
Kaede noticed then that Ururu was just barely conscious; Kisuke's words were more to comfort her than to honestly assess the situation.
"She's one of yours, isn't she?"
Kisuke nodded. "So…did you see what you had to see?"
Guilt threatened to gnaw at her insides, but Kaede swiftly turned them to steel. "This wasn't my fault."
Kisuke bowed his head. "No…no, you're right. It's mine."
Kaede backed out of the room, feeling distinctly unwelcome and unnecessary. Kisuke would no doubt hear all about the battles from the other Shinigami in attendance; she wasn't needed here.
The void in her chest, omnipresent to the point that she barely noticed it anymore, felt wider tonight, emptier. Kisuke didn't need her, despite what he claimed. These human kids, for all they'd been through…if she stayed, if she got involved, they'd just be even worse off. There was no place for her here.
It was time to go; she'd seen enough. She would keep one last promise before she left, though: she would go to see the Visored.
Ichigo approached the warehouse with heavy resignation. He didn't want to be here. Hell, even admitting to himself that the Hollow inside of him might actually be useful was…painful. He didn't want to rely on something that went so counter to everything he believed in, something that wanted to consume him and hurt everyone he cared about.
But he needed to get stronger. It seemed like he'd hit his limit as a Shinigami, and it wasn't nearly enough.
The memory of that Grimmjow guy…the primal fear he'd felt in the Arrancar's presence…he didn't want to feel that ever again. The hole in Rukia's chest, Orihime swathed in bandages, Chad's arm getting ripped clean off…all of that had happened because he couldn't fight at his best without that thing emerging.
That had to change.
So, here he was. But he wouldn't just do what that Hirako Shinji guy wanted; he wasn't joining anyone's army. He'd make them reveal how to control his inner Hollow, whatever it took, and they'd just have to deal with it.
"Gotta say," came Shinji's voice from the rafters inside the warehouse. "I'm surprised you were able to find this place, Ichigo…and that you let a little rat in with you."
Ichigo opened his mouth to declare his intentions - then stopped. "Rat? The heck are you on about, Shinji?!"
Rather than answer him, Shinji merely lifted his head to look behind him. "You're pretty good at hiding, I'll give you that - though I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. You gonna come out, or do we have to drag you out?"
Ichigo turned around. Coming out of the darkness with slow steps was a woman - tall, dark-haired, pretty in a sharp, intense way…with a Zanpakuto sheathed at her side.
How did he miss her presence? Sure, he wasn't the best at sensing reiatsu, but come on! He had to have walked right past her!
"Figures," she said, her voice a low breeze. "If anyone was going to find me out, it would be you, Shinji."
Ichigo blinked. Under the dim bit of sunlight, he saw that her hair was more of a dark burgundy than black, her eyes a curious shade somewhere between pale grey and amber. But what struck him more was that he recognized her, at least a little.
"Hey," he said, pointing absentmindedly at her. "You were there that night, when Grimmjow attacked…"
"Oh?" Shinji mused, his head cocking to one side. "She actually got involved in something for a change?"
The woman didn't answer, but Ichigo saw a tension fall over her like a curtain. He had the distinct impression that he was missing something in all of this.
"So - wait," he interjected. "Who are you? Are you with these guys?"
A pall fell over the warehouse, so chilly it gave him goosebumps. Shinji's eyes narrowed, his customary toothy grin nowhere to be seen. "Definitely not."
Ichigo looked back at the woman. She wasn't meeting Shinji's gaze, just staring straight ahead, her expression kept carefully blank.
Yep, he was definitely missing something here.
One of the other Visored dropped down to the ground with a crash. It was a much smaller figure clad in a red track suit, her unruly blond hair pulled into pigtails. Hiyori, if his memory served. The blonde glared at him - no…past him. Starting to fear he'd get whiplash, Ichigo once again turned back toward the woman.
Her eyes had risen, the first sign of emotion crossing her face - a mix of dread, regret, and deep, unfathomable sadness. "Hiyori…"
"Shut up."
Hiyori raised a hand to the Zanpakuto strapped to her back. Her other hand raked down her face like a claw, materializing a white, bone-like matter as it went - a mask. Immediately, her reiatsu filled the warehouse with an oppressive, venomous atmosphere; it would have been enough to bring a regular Shinigami to their knees.
Ichigo felt it, but was more taken aback by the fact that she pulled out the mask so easily. Like calling up a dangerous inner demon was child's play.
From behind the mask, Hiyori's eyes shone with unrestricted malice. "Draw. Your. Sword."
Ichigo gritted his teeth and reached for his Shinigami badge. Not exactly how he thought this would go, but hey. "Fine then!"
"Not you," Hiyori's distorted voice growled. "You."
She pointed her sword to the woman behind him.
Oh, he was definitely developing whiplash. "What the hell is going on?!"
In a blink, Shinji was at his side, hand on his shoulder. "Something you wouldn't want to get in the middle of, kid." He yanked Ichigo's spirit straight out of his body, pulling both up to the rafters. "Looks like your initiation's gonna have to wait a bit."
Ichigo wanted to protest that he wasn't here for any 'initiation' - he was here to take advantage of these Visored people, not join them! - but the sheer volume of reiatsu that snaggle-toothed Hiyori was releasing kept him quiet. It wasn't just its raw power that awed him - he'd felt greater - but the unadulterated hatred that seethed from the tiny blond. Granted, the one time he'd met Hiyori, she hadn't exactly been friendly, seeming to hate everyone around her pretty equally…but something about this was different. Personal.
"I said," Hiyori yelled at the woman, "draw your sword!"
The woman was calm. She made no move to do what Hiyori demanded and simply looked back at her with sorrow. "No…Hiyori."
Hiyori roared and launched at her too fast for Ichigo's eyes to follow, sword drawn and ready to strike - but the woman merely blocked with her scabbard. Hiyori struck again with enough force that the ground cracked beneath them, and again the woman barely moved, using just the sheathe to counter.
This only incensed Hiyori further. "Take out your sword and FIGHT me, you coward!"
"No."
To Ichigo's eyes, it was clear that there was history between these two. Yet as Hiyori became more enraged, the woman just looked more remorseful.
"She's not fighting back," Ichigo said. "Shouldn't someone stop this already? Hiyori's gonna kill her at this rate!"
"She's not someone you need to worry about, kid," Shinji said, watching the fight with a critical eye. "Though if Hiyori keeps this up…Hachi, better put up a few extra barriers."
A large, round man with short-cropped pink hair and a mustache nodded and clapped his hands together. Meanwhile, Hiyori's sword continued to glance off the woman's sheathe, sending sparks of reiatsu into the air.
"I'm not going to fight you, Hiyori," she said as the blonde backed her against the wall.
With a growl, Hiyori pushed herself back several feet. "Fine! You have a death wish? I'll help you out!"
She struck out her free hand. In her open palm, a black and scarlet light gathered, pulling in the air around her like a miniature black hole. Ichigo's eyes widened. "That's-"
"Dammit, Hiyori," Shinji muttered, tensing beside him. "That's going a bit too far!"
Yet he didn't move to stop her. Ichigo reached for his own sword. "You may be okay with this, but I'm not!"
Once again, Shinji held him back. "Not your fight, kid. Watch."
Ichigo growled, but wrenched his eyes from Shinji and back to the battle.
Hiyori let the cero loose, sending the energy hurdling straight at the woman. Ichigo's heart raced as the blast seemed to move in slow-motion and the woman just stood there. "Dammit, MOVE!"
The entire warehouse shook on impact. The point-blank blast went through the wall, the concrete crumbling like sand in its wake. Ichigo's own hair and clothes blew back from the shockwave, and he had to cover his eyes to block the bits of debris that came flying back. When the dust settled, he lowered his arm and squinted, expecting to see a mangled corpse, if anything was even left.
The woman stood there in the same spot, not having moved an inch, no sign of injury - her sheathed sword held up before her.
"What the…?" Ichigo breathlessly trailed off.
"That," Shinji said beside him, seeming completely unfazed by the display, "is Sorano Kaede."
The name meant little to Ichigo, except as a label for the…whatever this person was. "Who is she?"
"You know how you came to us because you need to control your inner Hollow?" Shinji asked. "'Cause we're the only people who can help you with that? And 'cause you want so badly to protect your friends from people like Aizen Sousuke?"
Ichigo's head snapped around in surprise. "You-"
"Yeah, we know about Aizen," Shinji said, a shadow falling over his face. "We've known for quite some time. And so has she."
He nodded to the woman - Kaede. Ichigo's gaze wandered back to her. "She's a part of this?"
"You could say that." Shinji's voice, though still casual, took on a steely edge. "She's someone who could've stopped all of this from happening in the first place."
Next time: We travel back into the past - or, you might say, we "turn back the pendulum" to learn more about who Sorano Kaede is and how she's connected to all of this…
