Kagura walked down the cold sidewalk. Her encounter with the Arrancar had given her a new fear. Her inner hollow was growing, becoming stronger. How long would it be until it took over? A year, a week, a day? All she knew for certain was that when it took over, no one would be safe.
"Hi Kagura."
A man stood behind her. His black hair contrasted with his pale features. He gave her a friendly smile, but there was something that she didn't like about him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"I heard about your problem," said the man.
"What problem?"
"That your inner hollow is becoming stronger," said the man.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"My name is Satoshi," said the man, "And I can help you with your problem. I went through the same thing when I was younger."
"Who are you?"
"Satoshi. But my help has a catch," he gave her a smile, "If you don't want to do it, your inner hollow will take over your body. However my friends and I can teach you how to control your inner hollow, and use its powers effectively."
"I don't know who you are," said Kagura, "But I'm not listening to a word you say."
"Can you hear it speaking to you yet?" asked Satoshi, "When that happens it means your inner hollow has finally grown stronger enough to completely take over your mind. And the look on your face tells me that you can hear it talking to you sometimes. If you change your mind, I'll see you at school."
"School?"
"Didn't I tell you?" said Satoshi, "I'm transferring into your class. It'll be fun." The man walked away.
Kagura lay on her bed looking up at the ceiling. She thought about what the man had told her earlier today. How did he know? She could see Satoshi's face. How did he know that I could hear it?
"How could he not know Kagura?"
She saw herself sitting on the windowsill. Except her skin was completely white, and her eyes were black. Only yellow pupils broke up the blackness of its eyes.
"You can see me sitting here right?"
"Damn you," said Kagura, "Why won't you just go away?"
"Ha ha ha. Now why on Earth would I do that?"
"I'll never let you win," said Kagura, "You'll never take control!"
"Shut up," said the hollow, "We both know that you can't live up to those words."
"GO AWAY!"
The window shattered into a thousand pieces. Kagura' mouth dropped as the person got up off of the floor. The black haired girl gave her a smile.
"Hi Kagura!" said Kaorin.
"What the hell was that for?" Kagura was infuriated by the hole in her window. "Jesus, you could have knocked or something!"
"Quiet," the black robed girl placed a hand on the hilt of her zanpakutō.
"You wanna fight or something?"
"I said be quiet. Do you feel that spiritual pressure?" asked Kaorin.
"Yeah." A blue light surrounded Kagura. She left her body on her bed as the two of them hopped out the hole in the window. Under the moonlight Kagura saw someone hovering above them. It was Satoshi, smiling at them in the darkness.
"Who are you?" asked Kaorin.
"You don't recognize me?" asked the man, "Oh well. I guess it isn't that important. Especially since we've never met before."
"What are you doing here Satoshi?"
"Just thought I'd drop by," he said, "Since something is stirring nearby."
"That's what I noticed before," said Kaorin, "I just don't know what it is, it feels like a hollow."
"It feels kinda familiar," said Kagura, "I know that I've felt it before."
"You don't think that they're Arrancar do you?" asked Kaorin.
"I'm certain that they are," said Satoshi, "But I'm only here to ask a question."
"Well the answer is still no," said Kagura.
Satoshi shook his head. His smile transitioned into a mild frown. He shrugged his shoulders, before walking away.
"Where are you going?" asked Kagura.
"You said no, I just thought that I'd believe you." Satoshi looked back at the two of them. "You might want to deal with those Arrancar," he said, "They're definitely here for something."
"Do you mind telling us what?"
"Sorry Kagura," said Satoshi, "I don't know what they're here for. Toodles!"
"Who was that?" asked Kaorin.
"I don't know," Kagura and Kaorin moved towards the strange energy, "I also don't care."
They must be close, thought Kaorin, the spiritual pressure that I'm feeling is incredible! It's almost as great as one of the captains'.
Up ahead one of their enemies grinned from ear to ear as he felt the two of them approach. The twelve Arrancar knew that this would be a tough fight. The two foes were among the most well known in Hueco Mundo for the number of hollows they had killed. Yet the creatures felt no need to avenge their fallen brethren. To the Arrancar, regular hollows were simply lunch.
"There they are," said Kaorin, "But there's so many of them."
"Relax," said Kagura, "That just means we have to do a little extra work." The cocky girl felt something slam into her chest. It was the same feeling she had felt when first encountering the Arrancar. A familiar face poked out at her from the mass of faces. The pink hair and red eyes, the same face full of envy. It made Kagura shiver.
"Well well," said Celosa, "It seems to me that we have an old friend here. You all know what to do. So get to work."
Two of the Arrancar drifted towards Kagura and Kaorin; as the rest of them vanished.
"Do you know what we are soul reaper?"
"A pain in the ass." Kagura's sword erupted into a red and black light. The thick blade of Zangetsu thinned. Its length grew ever so slightly, above it sat a black handguard, rectangular in shape. "You two had better hope that you can fight." The brown haired girl's face tightened. "Because you'll only get one chance to destroy me."
"That's all we'll need."
Kaorin reached for her zanpakutō. But Kagura raised her arm. The human shook her head.
"Stay back."
"You don't trust me to back you up anymore?" asked Kaorin.
Kagura vanished as the two Arrancar fell to the ground. The skeletal creatures sprayed blood into the air, dying with confused cries. Kaorin rolled her eyes.
"Show off. She's not my babysitter, I can take care of myself," said Kaorin as the black haired woman vanished into the night.
"Ahhh!"
A section of wall crumbled turning into a cloud of dust. Chiyo ran from the cloud screaming with terror. The dark hallway in front of her bringing new fears. The young girl ran as fast her legs could carry her, but her pursuer was growing bored with his chase. The skull like face of the monster frowned as it took step after step towards the sobbing girl.
"Why do you keep running?" it asked, "You know that I'll catch you, no matter where you run off to."
The child continued to sob as the spirit came down the hallway. Its slow casual gait increased her fright. The light that reflected off of its face and white clothes seemed like the blade of an axe, brought down to end the life of someone without any grace of elegance; treating them as if they were the shells of nuts tossed into a field.
Where are my friends? The monster was much closer now. They said that we'd always be together. Now when I need them most…why aren't they here? The girl began to cry again as the monster stopped in front of her giving her a disdainful growl.
"Where are they?" asked Chiyo.
"Sorry I was a little late." The young girl looked up to see the black uniform. The eyes, the pale face, it was Kaorin. The woman gave her a reassuring smile. "I said we'd always be there right?"
"A soul reaper?" asked the beast, "How annoying. What's that thing in your hands, a piece of rebar? Are you going to bash me with that stick?"
"First of all it's a staff," said Kaorin, "And secondly this is my zanpakutō."
"There isn't even a point on it," said the Arrancar, "How dangerous could it possibly be?"
A gust of air shoved the Arrancar backwards where it was shoved through the wall. The creature watched as his enemy emerged form the hole. She seemed to somewhat disappointed. Disappointed in the strength of her foe. But he didn't have very long to feel offended as his body disintegrated within a whirlwind.
"You'll be fine," Kaorin told Chiyo. The young girl relaxed as a face appeared behind her. Hands shot out grabbing the girl from behind. The red eyes seemed to smile as a sword was pressed against the child's throat.
"Don't move or this girl will die."
"Who are you?"
"One of the most powerful beings in the entire universe," said Celosa. "Now back down."
Kaorin's zanpakutō changed its shape, turning back into a blade. She sheathed the weapon, which then hung limply at her side. The monster smiled, before vanishing into the darkness. Kaorin felt weak as she hovered above the Mihama house. How could I fail her so easily? When she had been challenged by the Arrancar, she had given up. Could I have made it? Could I have blocked the sword before it slit her throat? In the back of her mind Kaorin knew that it had been her only option. But now the child was gone. Sure she had been ordered to protect the girl, but there was a deeper reason for Kaorin coming to her aid. The girl reminded her of the sister she had lost, so long ago.
"I need to get stronger." No one relied on her anymore, and she had just failed the only person who did.
"Damn it," said Kagura, "Where did that Celosa go?"
After the pink haired Arrancar had disappeared Kagura had tried to follow her. The other Arrancar had disappeared as well, but if she remembered correctly there were still ten of them. It's too bad Kaorin isn't here, thought Kagura, she's better at sensing spiritual pressure than I am. Kagura knew that her foes had to be nearby, all she had to do was wait.
"Ha, ha, ha!"
Eight Arrancar rushed up from below. Kagura seemed to stand still as they surrounded her. Then the image of her body vanished into the night. The eight monsters shook their heads in confusion, no human could do that to them.
"Take care of them."
"Certainly."
The Arrancar turned around to see someone standing above them in the moonlight. Her mouth was twisted into a wry smile as she looked down at those who stood in her way. They trembled as she descended, soon they charged at her with a scream. With a single swipe of her sword she bifurcated the entire mob.
"I just hope that she knows what it is she's doing," said Kurosawa as Kagura rushed off into the distance. "Cleaning up her messes isn't exactly on the top of my to do list."
Kagura rushed towards the center of the city, something was over there. The girl saw her rival standing in the moonlight. Her pink hair and red eyes stood out on her corpse like face. One hand was grasped tightly around the collar of Chiyo's shirt. The demon smiled as Kagura jumped down onto the street.
"What are you doing with her?"
"So you want to play?" asked Celosa, "I can't believe that you got here so quickly. Especially when I think about how slow you were when you fought against Ulquiorra."
"Who?"
"The Espada with green eyes," said Celosa, "You're no match for him, and no match for me."
"Espada?"
"We're the strongest of the Arrancar," Celosa informed her, "Compared to us, every other hollow is trash."
"So that's why you threw away those Arrancar who came with you?" asked Kagura, "Because you think that they don't matter?"
"Exactly," said Celosa, "They're easy to replace." The monster raised her right hand. "Now it's time for you to die. Don't waste my time with resistance."
"Shut up."
"Oh, struck a nerve did I?"
"I said shut up!"
As Kaugra's blade neared Celosa, a small object entered her field of view. No, thought Kagura. It was Chiyo. Kagura's blade stopped, an inch away from her friend's throat. Celosa smiled, before lashing out with her arm.
"Gah!" screamed Kagura as she flew backwards into one of the sky scrapers that lined the cityscape. A cloud of concrete erupted from the spot where Kagura rammed into the building. Celosa set Chiyo down, right before a black and red wave rushed towards her.
"This is more like it." Celosa appeared next to Kagura. The two of them sparred, trading blow after blow. But one was just toying with the other. Celosa loved to play with her food.
"Just die!" screamed Kagura, releasing another energy wave.
Celosa blocked it with her sword. "Foolish human. You can't defeat me."
"And why is that?" asked Kagura.
"I'm an Espada," Celosa said with a smile, "We're simply on a different level than humans are."
"You can say that all you like," said Kagura, "But when I kick your ass and knock you to the ground you won't be so high and mighty."
"Shut up." Celosa smacked Kagura aside. "You're not as strong as you think." A strange blue light gathered around Celosa's left hand. "Just try to hold on, Kagura." The cero was then released.
An explosion filled the air. "It's a good thing that I followed you here." A man stood in front of Kagura. When he turned around, his face was covered in a mask, as white as bone.
"Who on Earth are you?" asked Celosa.
"It's funny you should ask," said Satoshi, "But who I am doesn't matter." The man vanished.
Where'd he go? He's to the left! Celosa blocked the sword, but only just. Impossible, he's stronger than I am!
"I'm surprised that you could keep up with me," said Satoshi, "But I won't make the mistake of holding back twice." A yellow light surrounded Satoshi's blade. "I've seen your cero, and it's nothing compared to mine."
A yellow wave of energy engulfed the Espada. Kagura pushed herself up off of the ground. Chiyo rushed over to her. Satoshi shifted his mask to the top of his head. Celosa rose back up into the sky.
"You used your cero to weaken my own," said Satoshi, "A smart move, but it won't matter that much." Satoshi slashed off her arm, before destroying it with another cero. "You can't defeat me, not without some sort of miracle."
"Is that so?"
Satoshi turned. In front of him stood a man with a white face. His green eyes seemed to pity Satoshi. In his right hand he held onto the child. Who is he? Is he another Espada?
"Come Celosa, we're done."
"You're not going anywhere."
"You won't be able to defeat me," said Ulquiorra, "You're not strong enough."
He turned his back on Satoshi and began to walk away. Celosa followed her superior. The two of them passed through a tall gateway. The portal slowly closed as Ulquiorra looked back at the two of them, Chiyo Mihama in his arms.
"Chiyo!" Kagura screamed as they left. "Damn it!" she cried. "I wasn't strong enough, how can I become stronger?"
"I can help you," said Satoshi, "All you have to do is trust in my guidance. I can give you peace of mind."
"Anything," said Kagura, "Anything to become stronger. I have to become the strongest, I have to become strong enough to destroy anyone that harms me or my friends!"
"Then come with me," Satoshi's mask dissolved into a yellow and black energy. "I can make you stronger than you ever thought was possible."
The two of them vanished into the night. As the moon continued to shine onto the street, a sound continued to play. It was a sad noise. The crying of a girl whose trust in the world had finally been extinguished.