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Spring Rain

Chapter Eight

Shinji was perched on the stairs, looking too serious and gloomy for Hiyori's liking.

Since Katsumi's departure, he had been this way. Everyone else could see it too, even Ichigo. When they asked him about it, however, he would joke that it was because the love of his life was gone. They all knew it was more than that.

To say they were disappointed was an understatement. All these years, they had been hiding and searching. They all longed for a way to live a normal life and return to the place they once called home. As time went on, however, they began to resent everything and everyone. Why were they the ones who had to suffer? Why were they shunned when all those around them should know them better? They were losing hope, accepting their fate that was handed to them. Then they were given a glimmer of hope in the form of Chuya Katsumi.

Her existence was like a godsend. Despite their hatred for her clan, and the fact that she was the reason they were in this place, she was their only hope. Chuya Katsumi was the first known case of surviving through Hollowfication, the other cases being them. She was also the only known case to live on as if nothing happened. If a normal life was what they seek for, she was the key.

However, that key was never theirs.

As Shinji explained to Ichigo, a Chuya seal was for Chuya's only. Their one glimmer of hope disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Hiyori could not blame Shinji for the way he felt, because she felt the same. She hated the Chuya Clan with every fibre in her, but if Katsumi could help her, she was willing to accept it for the sake of a normal life. No more hiding who they were.

"Oi, why are you still sulking? This is not like you."

"The love of my life...I don't know when I'd see her again," Shinji sighed.

"She's a Chuya, you were never getting with her anyway," Hiyori stated. She took a seat next to him, staring up at the ceiling and let out a sigh. "You shouldn't have let her go."

"There was nothing we could get from her. Before we found her, we had hope. You and I both know, everyone here knows, a Chuya seal is never meant for anyone but a Chuya. There's no use grilling her either, her memories were sealed with a barrier in her mind. She doesn't even remember being a Chuya, let alone how to perform a seal. With the war coming up, she's better use out there than she is here anyway."

~.~

Panting a little, Urahara looked to his near tattered left arm. It had been a mere few days since he last saw Katsumi but her improvement had been astounding. Not only was she keeping up with his attacks, she was no longer afraid of retaliating. The most significant difference, however, was her ability to use bankai. Wherever she went for those couple of days, they clearly went well for her. And after a month of intense training with him, she was becoming more confident in her own skills and abilities.

He dropped his zanpakuto, kneeling on one knee with heavy breathing. It had been a while since the last time he felt exhausted after a fight, and never did Urahara think it would be with Katsumi. This improvement was not just from a few months ago, she improved significantly from all those years back. The academy newly graduated Katsumi was always afraid, of hurting others and that she was not good enough to be part of the squad. Now she was fighting at a level more than worthy of her previous position, worthy as the princess of the Chuya Clan.

As her zanpakuto returned to its katana state, Katsumi sheathed it and rushed to Urahara's side. These couple of months training together almost everyday brought them closer to each other. The Katsumi who was frustrated with the world, with her brother, and with him was now a Katsumi who would bring tea to his room late at night to wind down together.

"You are always telling me to know when to stop, to not push myself beyond my limits. When are you going to take your own advice?" she asked, helping him into a sitting position and sheathed his zanpakuto for him.

"Do as I say, don't do as I do," Urahara grinned.

"If you are able to joke around, I suppose you are fine."

Urahara pinched her nose, a gesture that he had been doing to her since her first day living with him. It used to irritate Katsumi whenever he did something childish like so, now it felt warming and comforting. While she enjoyed the time they spent together, and the fact that they grew closer because of it, Katsumi always thought of it as bittersweet. If it were not for the looming battle, he would never have made the decision to train her. Without his training Katsumi would not be where she was today, nor would she be sitting next to Urahara without wanting to murder him.

Ending the day's training, Urahara shut himself in to recover while Katsumi returned to her own room. Sat on her bed with her zanpakuto on her lap, a thought entered her mind suddenly. Since the day she came back from the warehouse, Kagome had not made an appearance. Even before she knew of Kagome's existence, whenever Katsumi trained with Urahara, she always felt something stirring inside her. Like something wanting to burst out from her chest. But that feeling had not been present for the past month or so.

She placed her zanpakuto next to her on the bed and crossed her legs, resting her hands on her knees and closed her eyes. This was the method Urahara taught her in order to enter Harusame's world. Whether or not it would work the same for Kagome was unknown, though there was no harm in trying. She filled her mind with thoughts of Kagome, ignoring everything else that might distract her. Slowly, every little noise around her began to fade out and she felt like she was falling into a deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing on Harusame's platform but her zanpakuto's spirit was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was suddenly yanked back by the collar just as a blade cut down in front of her eyes, missing her by a few inches. Before Katsumi even had the chance to open her mouth, Kagome was charging at the person who attacked her. Someone who looked exactly like them.

Her attacker was wielding a blade much like Harusame except it was completely black. She had hair exactly the same as theirs, including the braids, but white in colour instead. She wore a kimono like Harusame's, but it was pure white with red diamonds along the hem. Despite having the same features as the twins, as she attacked Kagome, her face distorted into that of a monster. The biggest difference lied in her eyes, however, as she sported a bright yellow.

"What are you doing, Kagome? Who is she?"

"She is the reason why you and I are linked together forever," Kagome stated, breathing heavily. "She is the hollow in you."

In her entire lifetime, Kagome never felt challenged. When she fought against twenty-nine shinigamis by herself, she had fun, not difficulty. When she fought against those arrancars, they were a little tougher but if she were not heavily injured or if they did not retreat halfway, she would have won the battle with ease. This battle, however, Kagome was having doubts she could win.

With Katsumi training with Urahara for the past month, Kagome did not have a chance to surface. Since her meeting with Shinji and his gang, she had been feeling uneasy. She knew there was a war coming; it was the reason why Urahara had allowed for her to resurface. It never clicked in her mind how serious it was, but now even Kagome could not sit back and do nothing. They needed all the help they could get, even if it meant using Shinji's method with Ichigo that she previously thought was useless.

"Oh my, who is this?" Hollow-Katsumi asked, twirling her zanpakuto. "Can't defeat me on your own so you brought reinforcement? Doesn't seem like an honourable fight, but it won't matter. I'll just have to kill you both."

"Bitch please, do you know who you are talking to? I don't need reinforcement to kick your ass to the curb," Kagome laughed.

"You were the one having your ass kicked the entire time."

"What the hell is going on?" Katsumi asked.

"The seal on your back, it seals both me and her in your body to halt the Hollowfication process. It keeps you alive, but that's all it does. The seal itself won't last forever either, which is why I'm here. Strawberry was undergoing this exact training and he came out of it stronger with a new power. Blonde Beatles and those guys, they didn't have the seal but they survived too. It's boring trapped in your body while you train with the old man, you know? So I thought I'd do some training of my own."

Looking to the person standing on the other side of the platform, Katsumi frowned. She was the reason why Kagome was sealed within her body? Hollowfication? It seemed as if she should know what her sister was talking about, but she did not. And it frustrated Katsumi. Her memories were coming back, but only small snippets here and there. Even as she looked at Hollow-Katsumi, she had no recollection of her. How could she not know the person who caused both her and her sister so much pain?

Without another word, both Hollow-Katsumi and Kagome jumped right back into their fight. Katsumi could not sit back and do nothing, not anymore. She unsheathed her zanpakuto and joined in the fight. Before she could even land a hit, she was kicked in the stomach by Kagome, distancing her from the fight.

"Stay the hell away from this," Kagome warned, pointing her blade at Katsumi. "This is not your fight."

"We are one, Kagome. My fights are yours, and yours mine."

"Don't make me laugh, we were never one. Not when we were born, not when my life was sacrificed to save yours," Kagome hissed.

Kagome had every right to be angry with Katsumi, but this was not the time to be arguing between themselves. If defeating Hollow-Katsumi would allow them to gain a new power that could give them an upper hand, then they should be working together toward that goal. This war was much bigger than Katsumi and Kagome both. They had to put their differences aside if they were to have a chance at winning, so why could Kagome not understand?

Sheathing her zanpakuto, Katsumi flashed in front of Kagome and grabbed her by the throat, throwing her down onto the platform and pinned her down with one knee. Although presented with the perfect opportunity to take both of them out, Hollow-Katsumi was rather entertained by the altercation between the sisters. It would work out better for her anyway, if they were to defeat each other.

Surprised by Katsumi's sudden attack, Kagome was overpowered. It had only been a month, but it seemed as if Katsumi had improved a lot more than she anticipated. Raising one hand to retaliate, Kagome eyes widened when Katsumi did not hesitate for a second before stabbing her right in the palm with her zanpakuto. She stepped on Kagome's other hand and pressed her knee against her chest, keeping a tight hand around her throat. Was this a dream? How was it possible that Kagome would be afraid of Katsumi?

In an attempt to break free, Kagome resorted to using Hado. Barely escaping the point blank Hado, Katsumi was now no longer on top of Kagome. The younger twin managed to pull the blade out of her palm, getting up on her feet as she glared in Katsumi's direction. Pissed was an understatement. All her life, she was told that Katsumi was better in every aspect. Being a stronger and better fighter was all Kagome had over her twin sister, and now that was being taken away from her as well. She could not allow for that to happen.

The two sisters were engaged in a fight, neither side letting up, while Hollow-Katsumi had let her guard down and sat by the edge of the platform. They were both mercilessly slashing at the other, shooting Hado here and there. All of a sudden, however, six rods slammed into Hollow-Katsumi and locked her in place. A split second after, two blades were piercing her right in the chest.

"What the fu-"

"You should not have let your guard down," Katsumi stated.

"But you were fighting each other..."

"Didn't you hear Katsumi say? We are one. Her fights are mine, and mine are hers. We were working together the entire time because you see, although you look like us and live in the same body as us, you are not us. And you would never defeat us together."

"Cheaters..."

Uttering her last word, Hollow-Katsumi broke apart into pieces that were absorbed into their zanpakutos. Sheathing hers, Katsumi looked to Kagome. "I am not your enemy, Kagome. We are family, we are sisters. We work better together, and no one would be able to defeat us together. Can I trust you to work with me in this war?"

"You are not my enemy...for now," Kagome said, refusing to look her way. "You have my trust as long as I have yours."

Walking alongside Yammy with his arm reattached, Ulquiorra headed to the hall where Aizen was waiting. As they entered the hall, the Espadas were already gathered with Aizen standing in the middle with the Hogyoku, in the midst of yet another arrancar's creation. Coming down the stairs, they were greeted with a smile.

"What is the status of the Hogyoku awakening?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Fifty percent. It's right on schedule, as far as Soul Society is concerned anyway. Those who never held it right in their hands would never understand, perhaps even Urahara Kisuke who developed and immediately sealed it is probably unaware of the fact that when someone with reiatsu higher than captain class temporarily unites with the unsealed Hogyoku, for a brief instant, it displays power equal to that of the awakened Hyogoku."

The cube in front of him containing an arrancar in development cracked as Aizen spoke, shattering completely a few seconds later to reveal the new arrancar. No one moved, nor did they utter a word. This was how they were all reborn, by the hands of Aizen. Satisfied with his work, Aizen turned to face Ulquiorra.

"Do you remember the directive I spoke to you about last month, Ulquiorra?"

"Yes sir."

"Put it into motion. I shall leave the details to your discretion. You may take whomever you like. Grimmjow, would you like to go along too?"

~.~

It was a rare off day for Katsumi.

Although she had been training for months and gaining her abilities back, she still had no idea what battle they were preparing for. In that front, Urahara had been secretive. Every time she asked, he would dismiss it or avoid answering altogether. Whatever battle it was, however, she knew it was big and serious. He would never pull her into a situation if that was not the case. And Katsumi had never seen Urahara so stressed before. This was a man who would sing loudly outside her bedroom to wake her up knowing perfectly well that it annoyed her.

Walking down the street with two bags of groceries in hand, Katsumi suddenly stopped in her tracks and frowned. Out of the blue, there were four hostile reiatsu. One of them split off while the other three remained in the same place. In that exact location, she could sense four other familiar reiatsu. Her instincts kicked in and Katsumi dropped the bags, running in the direction of the bigger fight. She was not afraid now, she would not hesitate. Except when someone was obstructing her way.

A Garganta opened up a few feet in front of her, blocking her way. As soon as she saw a figure stepping through, Katsumi was quick to have her hand on her zanpakuto, ready to fight in a moment's notice.

Looking as indifferent as always, Ulquiorra stepped through the Garganta into the human world, confronting Katsumi. A month ago, Aizen became interested in two people. One for her abilities, the other simply for being her. He was given the orders to bring both of them back to Aizen unharmed, hence the fights elsewhere meant for distraction. With people as loud and obnoxious as Yammy and Grimmjow, no one would pay attention to him.

"Aizen-sama has requested for you. You will come with me."

"I do not know an Aizen, nor would I come with you."

"You have mistaken. It was not a request, but an order."

Although Katsumi had no idea who he was, she knew deep down in her guts that the man standing before her was one of those they were preparing to fight against. She did not know who Aizen was, but it seemed like he knew perfectly well who she was. While her memories remained sealed, Katsumi knew enough to understand that she could not go with Ulquiorra. Her skills and abilities might not be of interest to Aizen, but the seal on her back would be.

"I can see what you are thinking, that you cannot and will not come with me. Let me help you understand something: I am to bring you to Aizen-sama by any means possible, unharmed. While you cannot be hurt, those around you can. As they are right now. If you come with me, I can promise you no further harm will be done to them today. Otherwise, they will die."

"I can help them."

"You can try," Ulquiorra said, his expression remaining unreadable. "But you won't get there in time. And, also..."

Her choice was clear in that she had no choice, but Katsumi was hesitating. Every second that went by, however, meant those encountering the hostiles were in more danger. She was still hesitating when Kagome's voice came through.

Go with him.

He is the enemy, Kagome. We cannot betray our allies.

You said you would trust me, so trust me and go with him.