Chapter 7
Hara's P.O.V (start flashback)
Hara flew down the hill towards her house in a flash, her eyes worried.
"Zuro!" she screamed, "Zuro!" She leapt through the door, skidding on the tile and almost falling. Without stopping, she ran into the center of the house, where she saw the three soul reapers disintegrate before her eyes. She gasped and stepped backwards.
"Hara." said a quiet voice. Someone grabbed her ankle, with a startled gasp she turned to see her brother lying on the floor.
"Zuro!" she cried, dropping down beside him. Blood was pooled around him, and there was a huge gash in his middle. He grabbed at her hand,
"I…don't have…much time…" he said in a weak voice. Hara squeezed his hand tightly,
"Don't talk like that! You going to be fine, I'll take care of you…I-" his expression silenced her.
"I love you, little sister…" he whispered. "I…want you to be able to protect yourself…" his free hand moved around on the floor, until it came in contact with the remnants of his zanpakuto. The blade had been broken, and there was only a tiny fragment of it left in the handle. Zuro handed it to her, "Take this…pierce your heart with it…It will…" he coughed, and blood dripped from his mouth, "Give you my powers-"
"No!" she cried, "I won't. You're going to be fine…I won't need to protect myself…you'll be there with me!" He gave her a smile,
"I…wish I could…" he pushed her hand which held the zanpakuto to her chest, "Do it…quickly…before…" he didn't finish the sentence. Hara nodded, as hot tears made her vision blur.
"Okay…I'll do it." she lifted the zanpakuto upwards, and then swung it down in a sharp motion, where it went deep into her chest, into her heart. There was a flash of light, and Hara found herself wearing a shihakusho like her brothers…
Zuro now wore a white, torn, bloody one. His eyes began to dim,
"Good girl…" Hara let out a cry and hugged him,
"No! Big brother, don't leave me!"
"I'm sorry…Hara." he whispered, his hand falling onto the floor.
"Zuro!" she screamed, pulling him upright, into her arms. His body lay limp against her, not moving, "Zuro!"
Hara watched as her brother melted into thin air…
"Goodbye…" she heard him say, though it did not come from his mouth. In moments he was gone…in moments she was alone.
Hara cried.
Grimmjow's P.O.V
Grimmjow woke up to find Hara muttering in her sleep. Her eyes moved underneath her eyelids, and she kept frowning and crying out,
"Zuro!" He guessed that was her brother's name. "No! Don't leave me…" she cried, her voice full of sorrow. Grimmjow frowned, she was getting loud. He knew he'd better wake her up, before anyone heard her, or before she woke up on her own, more upset than before. He sighed and began to shake her shoulder,
"Hey, Hara. Wake up."
Hara's P.O.V(flashback)
As she cried, her brother's zanpakuto to her chest, she began to hear noises outside. For the moment she didn't care, let it be hollow, human, or shinigami.
The door creaked open, footsteps…she only half listened, until she felt what it was.
Soul Reapers.
That was when it happened. Hara felt boiling rage speeding through her veins, making her clench her brother's sword tightly as the footsteps approached.
She got to her feet slowly, her back still turned. The rage that flowed through her transformed itself into power, power that began to materialize and radiate around her in a black flamed blaze. The broken sword in her hand suddenly re-grew into her brother's halberd like bankai. It was heavy, so she held it with both hands. As soon as she did, it broke in half and transformed into two katana like swords.
Hara knew that the swords she now held were not her brothers…but hers. The hollow like
creature beside her, she knew was not Entei, the spirit of Zuro's sword, but her own. The creature, a black wolf with silver highlights on its legs and eyes, bared its teeth at those who stood behind. Hara turned slowly, her eyes full of silver flame.
She fell on the five soul reapers in a flash, her swords shining with the silver light. They barely had time to react, and one of them fell beneath her rage, his chest bleeding from a huge wound. She continued to fight, her expression never changing, her eyes cold.
She couldn't control herself, nor contain the rage and pain that consumed her. So she let herself fight the soul reapers, hoping for release. Two of them ran out of the house, the wounded one, and another, who must have been leader. The other three stayed behind to try and subdue her, but it wasn't working. Hara had severely wounded them, and was about to kill them when a strong hand was placed on her shoulder.
"Stop." said a voice. Hara roared and tried to pull herself out from under the person. He didn't let go. Hara's eyes were wild, full of blind rage. She compressed her energy into her swords with all her strength, before losing it in one huge blast of silver light. The hand let go and was replaced by two swords.
"Don't kill her, Gin." said a voice. Hara blinked a few times, and slowly came out of her dream state. A man with brown eyes framed by glasses stared down at her, his captain's robe standing out against the dark background of her destroyed home. The man he was talking to, Gin, had his zanpakuto on her throat. Hara's eyes went wide; she froze and dropped her hands to her sides, letting her zanpakuto revert to shikai. The captain smiled,
"Hello Miss Ayumi, I am Aizen Sosuke."
(End flashback)
Hara woke with a start, her eyes flashing silver in alarm.
"You okay?" asked a familiar voice. It was Grimmjow. Hara nodded and sat up,
"Yeah…" she muttered. He gave a laugh,
"You don't look fine." She yawned and laid back down,
"It was just a bad dream." Grimmjow lay beside her,
"Obviously," Hara rolled over onto her side, facing him,
"How long were we asleep?" He grinned,
"You mean, how long were you asleep?" as he said it, he poked her in the shoulder, "I sure couldn't sleep through that."
"Sleep through what?" she asked. Grimmjow shook his head at her,
"Your dream, nightmare…whatever you want to call it. You were tossing and turning as well as calling out Zuro." Hara's eyes widened, "I'm guessing that's your brother's name?" She nodded slowly.
"Yes." She closed her eyes for a second, and then opened them, her expression more happy. "You never answered my question." she said. "How long was I out?" Grimmjow smiled,
"An hour or so…" She smiled back suddenly, and scooted to his chest. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He stared at her, surprised.
"That's for rescuing me." He put his arms around her,
"Rescuing you?" She nodded,
"From myself," He put his nose against hers, pulling her close against his body. She laughed softly,
"What happened to not having relationships?" he asked her. She sighed,
"I gave up. I like you too much." He let go of her in surprise, before pulling her to him again and crashing his lips against hers.
There was a sudden knock on the door, Grimmjow growled in annoyance.
"I'll get it." he muttered, as he got to his feet. Hara sat up, combing her fingers through her hair to tame the mess it was becoming. Grimmjow opened the door; it was a different arrancar this time. This one was tall with blonde hair and a hollow mask making a sort of helmet like crown on his head. He carried himself more proudly than the last one,
"What do you want, Ill fort?" said Grimmjow, his arms crossed over his chest. The arrancar Ill fort smiled, unafraid,
"Ulquiorra and Yammy have returned. Aizen has summoned all espada to share in on his report." The blonde arrancar looked in at Hara; he glanced at Grimmjow and then back at her with a smile on his face, "Miss Ayumi is to go as well." Grimmjow sighed,
"Fine," Ill fort bowed respectively, and left. Grimmjow shut the door,
"I think you jinxed your room." said Hara as she sat on the edge of the bed, her legs swinging back and forth in a childlike fashion, "You said somewhere with little interruptions…and now look what keeps happening." she laughed. Grimmjow rolled his eyes,
"Come on, let's go." Hara nodded and got to her feet, dusting off her clothes. Luckily, her clothes had escaped getting soiled from the sand, and her blood. Still laughing, she joined Grimmjow and went out the door, towards the conference room.