Heyo. Back with chapter 3! I don't own Bleach.
Fun Fact: Your foot is the length between your wrist and elbow.
"Wow Kid, you actually know about us?" Starrk asked Kori, surprised Katsue ever shared that part of her past with her daughter. Kori nodded.
"Yeah. It was my favorite story. Mom always told me about something funny that happened between Grimmjow and some really tall guy he turned into a pretzel." The white haired girl chuckled, recalling the story her mother had told her.
"Your talking about Nnoitora." Harribel also chuckled, remembering the time she had been in the room with Starrk and Katsue when Nnoitora hopped by, all twisted.
"Well Hokori," Starrk started to say before the girl he was addressing cut him off.
"You guys can call me Kori." Then Starrk continued.
"Well Kori, it was very nice to meet you, but right now, Harribel and I would like to talk to your mom, dad, and Grimmjow about some important things." He said as he shot a glance at Katsue. The dark haired girl picked up his gaze immedietly, seeing the urgency in it. Something told her that Starrk and Harribel had come for more reasons than to say 'hello'. Katsue also looked at Grimmjow who was staring hard at the floor, clearly, he knew something too.
Kori sighed in dissapointment, she had been hoping to talk with Harribel and Starrk more. Even though her mom told her about the Espada, she spared many details, and as a thirteen year old, Kori was naturally curious. "Okay." She let her shoulders slump and her bottom lip puff up a bit. Harribel, who seemed to have a soft spot for this, said;
"But we'll be staying in the area for a while. We're going to be at Grimmjow's house." Even though her mouth wasn't visible, she was definately smiling sweetly. Kori's face brightened instantly, a big smile creeping onto her face as she made her way to her room. Katsue and Ichigo however, looked to each other, both with concerned looks on their faces. Once Kori was out of the room, Katsue's head automatically snapped between Grimmjow, Starrk, and Harribel.
"Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what's going on?" Katsue asked worriedly. She wanted to believe that her dear friends were just coming to say 'hello' and reminesce, but that was not the case. Starrk leaned backwards with his hands behind his head, Harribel looked to the ground, then back up, with a serious look replacing the soft one she previously held. Grimmjow nodded.
"You might wanna' sit for this." Grimmjow announced. Katsue just raised a frustrated eyebrow at him, ignoring his suggestion. The blue haired man just shrugged and looked at Starrk, who yawned lazily. This told Grimmjow he'd be the first to speak.
"According to them two, something's goin' on in Hueco Mundo." Grimmjow started the topic, then looked towards the other two ex-Espada, silently announcing his finish. Starrk sighed, ran a hand through his wavey hair, and continued.
"Something's wrong with the hollows. They're getting stronger, and braver, and some, even smarter. It's just like when Aizen was around with the Hogyoku." Starrk said grimly and bluntly. Katsue's eyes widened, and Ichigo gripped her shoulder. At first, the dark haired girl thought he was doing it to comfort her, but when she saw his face, Ichigo looked like he was looking for some comfort. Katsue's eyes fell back on Harribel, expecting her to continue, which she did.
"We believe the hollows are getting stronger because of some presence in Hueco Mundo. Of course they don't stand a chance against us, but they're growing at a dangerous rate." Harribel said and stopped, giving Katsue and Ichigo a chance to ask questions. Katsue was chewing her bottom lip, thinking about all of this. Then Ichigo asked the question she was trying to figure out.
"But what is making them stronger?" Ichigo asked, a look of determination in his eyes. Starrk wasted no time in replying.
"Guys, a few days after Grimmjow brought you here, Harribel and I went back to the spot where you and Aizen were lying." Starrk was saying. He stopped there, and his eyes caught Katsue's in the moment they were being cast downward. He knew the exact words she was thinking.
'You mean us, Aizen, and Ulquiorra.' Katsue thought bitterly. She raked her teeth across her lip and fought the single tear that threatened to spill from her eye. No one dared to say his name around her, the thought of him brought a lump to her throat and tears to her eyes. She did her best not to show any reaction though, for Ichigo. Katsue remembered one day, when she completely broke down after the mention of Ulquiorra's name, in front of Ichigo. She would never forget the look in the orange haired boy's eyes when he literally lifted Katsue up off the ground and coaxed her out of crying. While he smiled, and said encouraging words about she and Ulquiorra, Katsue will never forget the pained, forlorn, look in those big brown eyes.
Starrk decided now was a good time to keep talking. " But when we went back, Aizen's body wasn't there." Katsue's eyes widened and she reeled back a bit, taking in what that could mean. But Harribel immedietly tried to comfort her.
"But that could mean any number of things. A desperate hollow may have come and eaten his body, or an old arrancar may have taken it and buried him. Anything is possible, who knows, maybe he was litterally blown away or buried under the sand." Harribel said hopefully, but Katsue and she both heard the disbelieving part of her voice. Ichigo had moved his hand to Katsue's, and she gripped it desperately. Her nails dug into the palm of his hand, but neither of them seemed to notice.
"For arguements sake," Grimmjow broke the silence. "lets say Aizen is back. What could he want? Yammamoto has the oken is gone and impossible to use now. Aizen would know that, so why is he back?" Grimmjow pondered. Ichigo was the first to answer.
"Revenge on the Sereitei." Ichigo said solemnly, something in his pools of brown seemed to melt away for a second, like his mind went somewhere else. Katsue's knees and fist started shaking. Her head dropped to the floor as her mouth curled into a snarl.
"That bastard." She growled.
"Katsu-Chan, we're not even sure it's him! It could be-" Harribel was going to stop herself realizing it was futile, but Katsue cut her off.
"Harri! I can hear it in your voice, you think he's alive! And I swear, if that bastard comes back here, I will kill him with my bare hands! I will tear his throat out and feed it to a human world dog! I will destroy him! I will truely avenge Ulquiorra!" Ichigo's eyes visibly darkened and he looked away, but Katsue didn't noticed fore she was still making threats. "I will kill him as slowly and painfully as I can. And I'll start with ripping the Hogyoku straight out of his chest with the tip of Naitomeapurinsesu!" Her fist were shaking uncontrollably as she held it in front of her face, imaigining she was squeezing the last breath out of Sosuke Aizen. Furious tears poured from her eyes as her teeth gritted. She was in her own mind, forgetting about the people around her. But then, an assuring squeeze gripped her shoulder. She looked up quickly to see Ichigo, who wasn't looking at her, but holding her shoulder as he whispered;
"You won't do it alone." Then another squeeze held her other shoulder. She looked to see Grimmjow, a small smirk playing on his lips.
"Count me in."
Now it was Harribel's turn to stand and speak "This time, we won't miss the fight." She declared, speaking for both herself and Starrk. Starrk nodded as he stood next to Harribel. The five people in the room looked around at each other, all knowing what was going to happen. At least, they thought they knew what would happen.
"Kori! Come one you have to get ready!" Katsue called to her daughter, who was sitting by the edge of the koi pond. Kori sighed, stood up, and came into the house. It was the day of the Graduation Dance. Graduation itself had been a few days ago, and now it was time for the real celebration. Katsue followed Kori to her room, getting ready to help her get ready. Harribel, was also there, going to assist Katsue in getting her daughter ready. Once the three girl's were in the room together, they all looked at each other, none of them were exactly sure what to do, none of them were ever real girly girls.
Katsue then snapped her fingers. "I know exactly who can help!" Katsue ran out of the room, and then came back several minutes later. "I sent Ichigo out to get someone, until they come back, we should get the dress on you!"
Kori rolled her eyes, being a bit of a tomboy she wasn't the biggest fan of dresses. But she did have to admit, the dress was pretty. It was a scoop neck with inch thick straps. It had a black pleated sash around the waist line, and an identical one that ran across the bottom hem. The dress also had a shimmery sparkle to the bottom, like whoever was wearing it had walking through a dusting of snow. Otherwise, the dress was all white and simple, but very pretty.
Just as the women finished slipping the girl into the dress, the door to the room door slid open with such firce, the whole house shook. Kori looked up with a look of alarm on her face, Harribel took a battle stance, and Katsue just giggled.
"I heard there was a fashion crisis here!" Yumichika yelled as stormed into the room, he stopped dead when he spotted Kori. "Oh. My. God. That dress is gorgeous! But what will we do with your hair, and you need some kind of accent the same shade of red as the tips of your hair. Otherwise, the ivory color on the dress and the whiteness of your hair will make you look washed out!"
The fifth seat was all over Kori in a second, inspecting every part of her dress, feet, and then her hair. Kori stood there with her head tilted to the side, with that classic anime confused face, i.e. the eyes being completely white and thickly rimmed with black. Katsue and Harribel had stepped back, observing the observation.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Harribel asked so only Katsue could hear.
"No. But I can't do any better so I'm gonna leave it to him." Katsue shrugged. Then Yumichika was calling her name.
"Katsue, darling, if you wouldn't mind could you get me a couple things." The feathered man asked kindly. Before Katsue could even oblidge or decline, he handed her a list and said "Thanks darling."
So, what is Yumichika gonna make poor Hokori look like exactly? Is Aizen back? If not, what's making the hollows act up? How does Ichigo feel after Katsue's crying about Ulquiorra? What will happen at the Graduation Cermoney? Find out in the next chapter of 'Star in the Dust'!