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Spring Rain

Chapter Five

"Abarai-san!"

"Please stand back, Ukitake-san..."

Despite having activated his bankai, Renji was struggling. Every time he was knocked back, Katsumi had her hand on the hilt of her zanpakuto, ready to sub in. However, each and every time, Renji told her to stand back. She was sick of it. It was obvious that their opponent had the upper hand; he easily deflected Renji's shikai and was effortlessly beating his bankai. There was only so many hits Renji could take before he went down yet he insisted on Katsumi staying behind the line.

"That's it, brother? That's your bankai? And you're a vice captain? Oh, Seireitei's finest, I'm sure. Ha! But...it's about time I put an end to this."

Unable to even stand, there was absolutely no way Renji could dodge or even block the attack that was to come. Pushing on the hilt of her zanpakuto with her right hand, Katsumi was ready to unsheathe and jump in any time. Except, someone else beat her to it. Appearing out of nowhere behind the arrancar, Ururu kicked him right in the face, sending him flying. She continuously attacked him, not giving the arrancar a chance to fight back. In his anger, he managed to struck Ururu in the face, putting some distance between them though he was rather beaten up by now.

"Fucking kid..." he uttered. "This kid is fucking with me...shit! I'll kill you! I'll fucking murder you! Charge and crush, Del Toro!"

A huge burst of reiatsu was released and a cloud of dust surrounded the arrancar. The next thing they knew, Ururu was impaled right in the chest with what looked like a horn. As the cloud of dust cleared, both Renji and Katsumi's eyes widened at the sight before them. The slender tall, blonde male was no longer. Instead, standing in front of them was what could only be described as a monster.

Katsumi was frozen with shock. She was not prepared for this. Just the sheer amount of reiatsu from the arrancar himself was more than enough to scare her into reconsidering joining the fight. But the sight of Ururu impaled on one of his horns, that was fueling Katsumi somehow. Renji had been fighting this whole time, protecting them. Protecting her. Even Ururu went in without hesitation. Katsumi could not back away now. She was snapped back to reality when the arrancar flung Ururu off his horn. Jinta went to catch her, even trying to land an attack though it did little to nothing. Her body moved by itself, seeing Jinta and Ururu in danger when the arrancar moved his head to thrust his horn their way. Before she knew it, she had her zanpakuto out, just about blocking his horn.

"Ukitake-san..."

"Please stand back, Abarai-san. You did your part protecting me. Now, it is my turn."

"Ha! You think a flimsy little girl like you could stand a chance against me?"

Disappearing from his sight, Katsumi appeared behind the arrancar and sliced her zanpakuto through the horn he impaled Ururu with. She jumped out of the way just in time as he attacked with his other horn. Pointing her zanpakuto at the arrancar, Katsumi was firm with determination.

"Cry, Harusame."

The blade of her zanpakuto started dissipating as a cloud was forming above them and they were soon rained on. Just as the arrancar moved to attack her, Katsumi pointed her empty hilt at him and slashed through the air with one swift movement. Following the motion of her hilt, the arrancar's leg was yanked in the same direction. Although confused, the arrancar did not give up and tried charging once more. Without much of a faze, Katsumi pointed the empty hilt at him once more but she thrust forward this time, freezing the arrancar on the spot.

As she started twisting the hilt clockwise, however, the cloud above them suddenly dissipated and the blade of her zanpakuto returned. "Not now..." Katsumi frowned, looking down at her zanpakuto. This was not the time for Harusame to refuse cooperation. "Harusame, you cannot refuse to help. Not right now. We have an ene-" Before she could finish her sentence, Katsumi was stabbed in the stomach with a horn.

"Ukitake-san!" Renji called out, watching as she was flung off. He rushed to catch her, getting there just in time as she landed in his arms. "Ukitake-san!" Unresponsive, Katsumi was slowly closing her eyes, passing out from her wound.

"That was a pretty impressive try to stop me, as pathetic as it was," the arrancar laughed. "I must admit, her zanpakuto's ability seemed to be a little better than yours although, it must be a fluke. In honour of your efforts, I shall let you know my name in your last moments. Quince arrancar, Yylfordt Granz."

A large amount of reiatsu stopped the arrancar in his tracks, however, even pushing him back. Even Renji, who had been so used to those with a huge amount of reiatsu, felt a little pressured. In his arms, Katsumi opened her eyes. Failing to notice the red eyes, Renji tried to stop her from getting up though with one hand on his shoulder, she suppressed him effortlessly. With one hand pressed to her wound, she looked down at the blood that dyed her hand bright red before looking up at the arrancar.

"So you're the bastard who hurt Katsumi."

Twirling the zanpakuto in one hand, Kagome picked up the sheath dropped on the ground and inserted the hilt of the zanpakuto into the sheath, holding where they were connected. Showing off some flashy moves, Kagome suddenly charged at Yylfordt. She kicked him right in the head, sending the arrancar flying back. She chased after him, slashing with her zanpakuto to leave marks all over his mask although it could not penetrate at all.

Unlike Katsumi who was struggling with the fight, Kagome was landing attack after attack without hesitation, nor was Yylfordt given the chance to attack. Just as it seemed like she had the upper hand, Kagome doubled over, supporting herself using her zanpakuto. Blood was seeping out from the corner of her mouth as Kagome wiped it away with the back of her hand. "Fuck this shit..." she mumbled, pushing herself up and straightened her back, though she swayed a little. "Katsumi you bitch...look what you did to my body."

Her bleeding from the stab wound was not stopping.

While she had been fighting so well, it seemed like Kagome only worsened her own condition. Taking advantage of the situation, Yylfordt turned the tables and started attacking Kagome. With her strength going as her blood did, the only thing Kagome could do was block the attacks of his horn with her zanpakuto. The last attack had Kagome going down on one knee and it did not help when she threw up some blood. Before Yylfordt could deal the final blow, however, Renji appeared in front of Kagome with his bankai protecting them. "Sorry it took so long, Ukitake-san. They took their time with the limit release."

"Take your time, why don't you? Fuck...I don't even have the strength to argue with you..." Falling forward, Kagome leaned against Renji's back, closing her eyes. "I'm at my limit..."

Gripping onto the sleeve of her mother's kimono, it was as if she was hanging onto her dear life.

Peeking out from behind her mother, she caught sight of another child. A boy. They stared at each other but only for a few seconds before she retreated behind her mother. She stuck to her mother like glue, too afraid to explore in an unfamiliar setting. He approached her, however, that boy. He held his hand out and greeted her with the brightest smile. "Do you like cherry blossoms?" With permission from her mother, she went on a walk with him. It was her first time seeing the cherry blossoms and she was brought to a garden full of them. "If you'd like, we can come here more often."

Watching Katsumi as she slept, Urahara placed a hand gently on her forehead before letting out a relieved sigh. For the past few nights, her brows were knitted together the whole time, which could only mean one thing: nightmares. Or in Katsumi's case, the return of her memories. Tonight, however, her brows were relaxed and she even had a smile on her face.

Standing up, Urahara gave Katsumi one last look before leaving her room so she could recuperate in peace. As he closed the door to her room, however, Renji turned the corner, looking as if he had been waiting for Urahara. Without a word, both men seemed to know what the other was thinking as they both moved together. Entering an empty room, Urahara closed the door behind him and sat down opposite Renji. Neither of them spoke, though he just did not know how to start the conversation on Renji's side. With a sigh, Urahara was the one who spoke first.

"You want to know about Katsumi-chan?"

"Ukitake-san...she felt different."

"So you've noticed." Urahara fell silent. He cast a look Renji's way, contemplating whether or not he should tell about Katsumi. He was in no place, however, to tell her story. "Katsumi-chan is...special," Urahara said, picking his words carefully. "She's...not who you think she is. That's all you need to know for now."

~.~

It was the middle of the night when she finally woke.

Katsumi let out a soft groan, feeling the ache around her stomach where she was stabbed. She pushed herself up from the futon, all the while wincing. Recalling the fight, Katsumi pressed a hand to her stomach. She did not fight for long before she was defeated by the arrancar, that much she knew. She thought she could play a part in protecting Ururu and Jinta, helping Renji. Due to Harusame's refusal for cooperation, however, Katsumi became a liability instead. If only she could defeat Harusame and have her submit.

Leaving her room, Katsumi found herself heading up to the roof although someone else was already there; perched on the top in his shinigami form was Renji. He was staring up at the moon when he sensed a presence. Unfamiliar with her reiryoku, Renji picked up his zanpakuto and unsheathed though he stopped midway when he realised who it was.

"Sorry, Ukitake-san," he apologised, putting his zanpakuto down. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much better," Katsumi nodded, taking a seat next to him. They sat in silence for a few moments before turning to face each other as if they had something to say. "I wanted to say thank you," Katsumi smiled. "Thank you for protecting us. And I am sorry, that I was not much of a help during the fight."

Feeling a little embarrassed, Renji looked away. "You were a great help during the fight, actually. You fought bravely despite the heavy injury, that helped stall for some time while I waited for the limit release." The way Katsumi was looking at him, however, could not stop Renji from asking something that had been bothering him this whole time. "Have we met somewhere before, Ukitake-san? You seem familiar." Before she could respond though, they were interrupted by Urahara.

"Flirting as soon as you're awake, Katsumi-chan?" Urahara asked. "Shall we continue with your training? There's a lot to learn from your fight this time."

With a nod, Katsumi stood up and started following Urahara off the roof but she stopped to turn around, looking to Renji. "I do not think we have met before, Abarai-san," she said, with a small smile. "Although, it would have been nice to have a friend like you."

~.~

"Why don't you give up, Katsumi?"

"Because I cannot. There is a war coming and I need your cooperation."

"To gain my cooperation, you have to defeat me. In case you have forgotten, we have been at this for many days now and...if I recall properly, you have yet to come close to defeating me. Not even once. How else are you planning to have me submit? Are you going to talk my ear off and hope that I would submit in exchange for you to shut it?"

Her questions were rhetorical as Harusame charged at Katsumi. Pulling her own katana out, Katsumi blocked Harusame's attack and pushed her back, bringing her katana down on her. The fight went on, going back and forth between the two. Since the fight with the arrancar, Urahara had intensified the training with Katsumi. She drew inspiration for her swordsmanship from Urahara's skills. Combining them with skills she already had, Harusame was having some difficulty predicting Katsumi's next moves while previously, she was easy to read.

As Harusame thrust her katana forward, Katsumi looped her arm around from underneath, locking Harusame's katana and disarming the woman in one swift move. With her other hand, however, Harusame caught her katana and swung it around, aiming for Katsumi's chest. Instead of blocking, Katsumi stood still with her eyes closed. She had come to realise that there was no point in fighting. Defeating Harusame would never extinguish the anger she had been harbouring over the years of abandonment. If hurting Katsumi would rid her of the anger, Katsumi was willing to take it.

Without hesitation, Harusame stabbed Katsumi through the chest, pushing her katana in all the way up to the hilt.

"You didn't dodge. I didn't think you were that stupid, Katsumi. Why didn't you dodge?"

"Because I am sorry..."

"Sorry?"

Putting her hand on top of Harusame's, Katsumi looked into her eyes. "I am sorry...for abandoning you, for forgetting you. It is no excuse, but my memories were locked away for reasons unknown to me. If I had a choice, however...I would never want to forget you. You are a great zanpakuto, Harusame. You deserve a better owner, one who would never forget you...one who could use you better..."

Skeptical, Harusame tried pushing the katana in further. She was expecting Katsumi to stop her, or to raise her own katana, but she did neither of those things. Instead, Katsumi dropped her katana, completely surrendering to Harusame. "You are an idiot," Harusame mumbled, pulling the blade out of her chest. Lifting Katsumi's chin with one hand, Harusame leaned in so close that the tip of their noses were almost touching. "Out there in the battlefield, you better not give your life away so easily, my beautiful child. I don't need a better owner. I just need one who appreciates me."

As Harusame let go of her chin, a gust of wind blew and she started dissipating with it while Katsumi was finding it hard to stay conscious. She collapsed onto the wooden platform but the instant she hid the surface, she woke up in the real world with Urahara's face just inches away from hers. Scrambling to get up, Katsumi backed away from Urahara as she pressed a hand to her chest where she was stabbed.

"Did you do it this time?"

"You said I could not die in Harusame's world, but you never told me how much it would hurt to be stabbed."

"You'll get over it," Urahara smiled. "Now, shall we move on to the next stage?" Propping up what looked like a flat mannequin, Urahara had his arms around the object as if they were friends. Katsumi raised an eyebrow, eyeing the mannequin with her hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of her zanpakuto. Although there was no denying that Urahara's inventions were great, there was always a level of uncertainty in Katsumi until she could determine what it was and how it worked. "Say hello to your new best friend for the next three days."

Standing on the edge of the roof, Shinji stared into the distance, frowning the instance he felt a reiatsu spiking. It was a very familiar reiatsu, one that was easily recognisable although the last time he felt it so strongly was a long, long time ago. It was a reiatsu that he was both impressed with, yet at the same time despised. Joining him on the edge, Hiyori looked out in the same direction, the same displeasure painted all her face.

"It's her, isn't it?"

"Hm," Shinji mumbled. "Maybe it's about time we bring her in too."

"You know I hate that idea."

Of all people, Hiyori had always opposed the idea the most. Shinji understood why, however. None of the people currently residing in this building liked her, not when she was the reason why they were here in the first place. The way she was leading a normal life while they had to hide away was most infuriating of all. However, seeing her again, Shinji came to understand that hating her would not undo what had been done to them.

Despite her protest, Hiyori knew that Shinji had already made his mind up. "Tsk...do whatever you want," Hiyori stated, stepping off the edge and headed back into the building. "But don't say I never warned you. She's the reason we have to live like this, she will always be the reason why. One hundred years is a long time but do you think it's long enough to change a monster?" With that, Hiyori disappeared into the building, leaving Shinji to his own thoughts.

"Well then...let's go pick us up a princess."