Here is the next chapter of "A Rose That Won't Bloom". I almost wasn't able to update today, but was able to find time. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters. I only have the OCs.
Kagami sat at the small desk in Renji's room, staring down at the paperwork from the mission that had led Renji to her. She felt as though she were being listed as a number, rather than a person, in the assignment. She supposed that was to be expected, though, considering the nature of the mission. With a sigh, Kagami tore her eyes away from the paperwork and glanced around the empty room. Renji had left to resume some of his duties, to make things seem normal. Kagami thought back to what he had asked her two days prior. What would she do once this battle was won and Tousen killed? She hadn't entirely lied to Renji, she reasoned. Kagami hadn't planned anything for the future because she anticipated her own death in the coming battle. It wasn't unrealistic. She was missing one of her arms. It was only logical to believe such.
'You're just going to give up?' Shuhei's voice demanded. Kagami sighed again, resisting the urge to look over her shoulder. He wouldn't be there.
"I'm not giving up," she answered. "I'm going to make sure Tousen dies." This was the first time Kagami had actually spoken to the voice of her former lieutenant. Again she wondered if she were losing her mind.
'I wanted you to live, idiot!'
"I know, but Tousen needs to be stopped and I'm considerably weaker than I was before."
'What happened to the Kagami I used to know?'
"I'm still the same person, Shuhei."
'The Kagami I knew had a stronger will. She didn't submit to the idea of dying so easily!' Kagami gave a low chuckle. He obviously didn't realize that she'd done just that when she'd saved his life in the academy. She had been willing to give her life to save him from a death by a Huge Hollow.
"You know I will fight like I always have. I will try not to die, but I probably will," she answered.
'What kind of half-baked answer is that? Do you think I died just so you could throw your life away?'
Kagami flinched. His words had struck a tender nerve. "That's not fair, Shuhei."
'Life rarely is.'
"What do you suggest I do, then?" she asked, her tone slightly more bitter than she'd intended.
'I expect you to live. I've told you hundreds of times how strong you are. Prove it to Tousen.'
"I intend to."
There was no voice after that and Kagami could only guess Shuhei had been content with her answer. She frowned at the train of thought her mind was following. She couldn't have actually been speaking to Shuhei Hisagi. He was dead; died for her. There couldn't have been a conversation and he most certainly wouldn't have been content with her answer. Kagami shook her head slowly, wondering once more about her sanity. She was talking to a dead man!
Kagami closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair with a sigh. She figured she should stop worrying about her mental state for the time being. It didn't affect her ability to fight. She'd been hearing Shuhei's voice for days, but she was able to keep herself and Renji alive when they saw Tousen. She had been in the right mindset when fighting him, if not in the best physical state of being.
"Are you done wallowing in self-pity?" a feminine voice asked, causing Kagami to whirl around in surprise. Upon seeing the speaker, she quickly relaxed and gave the other woman a smile.
"I forgot you could manifest yourself without me focusing my spiritual pressure. You haven't done it lately," Kagami answered.
The woman leaning against the wall was beautiful and thin, with soft facial features. She wore a simple black kimono with shades of maroon and red beneath the outermost layer. Her eyes were an unnatural shade of lime green, like a poison, and her shoulder-length, brown hair was adorned with a maroon bow at the back of her head. Fastened to her red obi was a kodachi, much like the one Kagami carried. The woman was Kagami's zanpakuto, Kurogoke.
"There wasn't much need to," the zanpakuto spirit said with a shrug. "Besides, I've been talking with the other zanpakuto."
"Have you?"
"Just because you forgot how to be social doesn't mean I have." Kurogoke sat on the edge of Renji's bed, a relatively thin black futon, and smirked at her partner.
"How are the others?" Kagami asked and Kurogoke's smirk fell with a heavy sigh.
"Their masters are mostly worried about you. Your friend, Momo Hinamori, had it rough when Aizen betrayed everyone. Tobiume still doesn't think she's fully recovered. I'm sure you heard about how she was stabbed in the battle against Aizen."
"I heard she'd been healed somehow, but didn't get any more details."
"Tobiume said it was a human girl with extraordinary healing powers that saved Momo. I find it kind of hard to believe, but she insists."
"And how's Izuru?"
"His depression's been worse since your days in the academy. Wabisuke is a pretty gloomy man."
"Reasons number one and two why I should've stayed in touch with my friends after graduation," Kagami muttered. Kurogoke frowned and flicked the Soul Reaper's forehead. "Hey!"
"You couldn't have prevented any of it and you know it. Enough wallowing, already. You're almost as depressing as Wabisuke." Kagami could only chuckle, wondering what Izuru Kira's zanpakuto was like to make Kurogoke say that. She glanced back down at Renji's paperwork and her laughter subsided as she remembered her conversation with Shuhei's voice.
"Kurogoke, do you think I'm losing my mind?" Kagami asked.
"You mean about hearing Lieutenant Hisagi talking to you? I don't think so. I mean, I hear him too. It's kind of weird hearing the voice of a dead man, but I don't think it means either of us is crazy. I think you're just mourning his death," Kurogoke answered.
"That's what I thought, but I just had a conversation with his voice!" The zanpakuto spirit shrugged.
"Maybe you are crazy."
"That's a low blow, don't you think?"
"You asked for it. Look, all I know is that I'm not hearing Kazeshini, yet I hear his master every time you do."
"You had an… unusual relationship with Kazeshini."
Kurogoke laughed aloud. "Very true, Kagami. But still, I wonder why it is Hisagi still speaks to you from beyond, if you're not out of your mind."
"Probably because I've been wallowing, as you put it," Kagami muttered.
"What can you do? We're black widow spiders. Perhaps it's the fate of any man who dares to love us," Kurogoke answered, her voice softening considerably. Kagami's eyes widened at her zanpakuto's analogy, but quickly shook her head.
"You know I don't believe in fate, Kurogoke."
Please R&R. I would also like to know what you all think of Kagami and her mentality. Is she crazy, hearing Hisagi's voice? Or do you think there is something else happening with her? I'd like to hear your opinions.