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Chapter 16: 100 Years Later
Kirara was snapped from her dream by someone touching her shoulder to give it a light shake. She let out a gasp as her eyes flew open, and she sat up abruptly.
"You fell asleep again. I know you hate Maths, but you could stand to pay attention now and again," Kirara blinked up at the girl standing in front of her, with short black hair and an exasperated look on her face. "Especially since it's the last class of the day," she added. Still sleepy, Kirara tried to remember what was going on, to separate it from her dream. Her expression then softened. "Are you okay?" the girl asked, and Kirara realised that there was a tear running down her cheek.
"Oh, sorry!" Kirara quickly wiped it away, and stood up with a smile back on her face. "I'm fine, thanks for waking me again Tatsuki, I just can't keep my eyes open when it comes to numbers," Kirara laughed loudly as she grabbed her back and slipped her books inside.
"You sure you're okay?" Tatsuki asked carefully as she watched. Kirara nodded, keeping the smile on her face.
"Hey Kirara!" another girl, with long ginger hair, walked over with a smile. "We're going to get some food now, and work on that history project. Do you want to join us?" she offered. Kirara smiled back as she slung the strap of her messenger bag over her shoulder.
"Thanks Orihime, but I better get back home. I promised someone that we'd get tea later. Besides, I've already finished that project," she grinned.
"Of course you have," Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "For someone who sleeps a lot in class, you are pretty smart," she commented.
"Careful Tatsuki, you almost sound jealous," Kirara sang as they walked out of the classroom.
"I'm just saying, the whole delinquent thing you have going on is kinda ruined by it," Tatsuki grinned at her, not affected by Kirara's teasing as she elbowed the shorter girl. Kirara chuckled, knowing that Tatsuki was right about the 'delinquent act'.
"Well regardless of my 'act', I would like to graduate, you know?" Kirara shrugged.
"That's a fair point," Tatsuki agreed.
"Hey, how about this weekend, we go out and try that new noodle place that just opened up?" Kirara offered. "They do really weird combos there apparently, Kensei was telling me all about it," she told them.
"Kensei?" Orihime tilted her head, and Kirara realised her slip.
"Oh, he's my brother," she lied quickly. "He's crazy for weird food combos," she shrugged.
"Well it sounds good to me! Orihime?" Tatsuki glanced to her best friend, whose smile widened.
"Sure! I heard they do chocolate and prawns there!" she exclaimed, and Tatsuki and Kirara exchanged disgusted looks. They'd never get used to Orihime's food preferences. Turning a different way to the two as they walked out of school, Kirara raised her hand.
"See you guys tomorrow," she waved to the pair, and they waved back before leaving. As soon as their backs were turned, Kirara's smile fell and she sighed, running a hand through her hair. She cursed her inability to stay awake during class. Her dreams always made her revisit the past. She began walking quickly, trying to take her mind off it.
Humming to herself, she navigated around the cluster of warehouses that were scattered around the area she had wandered into, until she found one that had been abandoned and left ignored. She walked up to the door to the higher level, and opened the door.
"Kirara!" as soon as she walked in, Kirara was tackled off her feet by a green, white and orange blur. "I missed you!" Mashiro declared with a squeal as she hugged the groaning girl tightly.
"Ease up Mashiro, you're going to break my ribs...again," Kirara pleaded with the girl, who didn't listen as she nuzzled in under Kirara's neck. "I saw you last night, can't you be a little less violent with your greetings?" Kirara sighed. Mashiro didn't respond, and finally a heavy fist slammed down on her head.
"Would you get off her already?" Kensei demanded, rolling his eyes as Mashiro rubbed her head. She began to wail, releasing Kirara, who groaned and fell backwards, lying there as Mashiro and Kensei began to yell at each other.
"Oh dear, I see Mashiro killed you again," a shadow fell over her, and Kirara opened her eyes. She grinned up at Rose, who was standing over her with an amused smile.
"She hits like a damn freight train, I'm honestly surprised that I can still walk half the time," Kirara told him with a grin, and took his hand. He pulled her back to her feet, and Kirara smoothed down her skirt.
"Kirara..." they looked around as Lisa spoke up from the sofa, where she was lying reading a magazine. What the contents were of said magazine, Kirara did not want to know. "I gotta say, I love the uniform," she held up a thumbs up, and Kirara rolled her eyes. "I'm glad that you're finally listening to me about showing off," Lisa gestured to her chest, and Kirara went red, putting her arms over her chest.
"Do you have to say that every time you see me in this?" she complained.
"Of course," Lisa answered as if this were obvious. Kirara sighed, knowing that her uniform gave away a lot more than her usual clothes. She hated it, but unfortunately, she had to wear it. The shirt itself was alright, but the grey blazer was a little on the tight side, giving away the size of Kirara's chest.
"It's not my fault this damn uniform is so constricting," she complained, tugging at it as if it would help to hide her.
"We're not complaining," Love smirked from the window. Rose tried to disguise his laugh as a cough.
"You're a bunch of perverts," Kirara grumbled to herself, crossing her arms back across her chest. "I'm going to go change, then we'll go, okay?" she turned to Rose, still frowning as he smirked.
"Of course," he nodded. Lisa booed loudly, and Kirara ignored her, walking past and up the small flight of stairs near the back that led up to the bedrooms that they had constructed when they had arrived there. It was never meant to be a permanent place for residence, but it did the job.
As she walked up the stairs, Kirara tugged on her hair, which was much shorter in length now than it had been 100 years ago. While still long enough to go to her ribs when down, it was tied up with her green ribbon that was now one of her most precious possessions. The white tips had continued to grow, even after being cut, and went more than halfway up her ponytail now, which was the main reason she had been labelled a delinquent in school. That, and the scar across the bridge of her nose.
Each of the Vizards had changed some form of their appearance over the years. They'd all cut their hair and donned clothes from the World of the Living. Of course, they stuck to their own preferences when they did, so with Hachi's pale green suit, Lisa's high school sailor style uniform, and Mashiro's white and orange jump suit that only made her green hair stand out more, they often got weird stares. Thankfully, the rest of them dressed with a slight degree of normalcy.
When her hair suddenly fell from its ponytail while she was playing with it, Kirara frowned in confusion, before realising what had happened.
"Give it back!" she whirled around and glared at Shinji as he held the ribbon between his fingers. "Hirako, I swear, give it!" she leapt for it, but he held it just above her reach. "Real mature asshole," Kirara growled at him.
"It's pretty worn, I wouldn't expect a Princess to wear such a thing," he commented lightly.
"Don't call me that!" Kirara yelled, and he grunted as her fist met his stomach. He doubled over, and she snatched it back from his weakened grasp.
"You didn't have to hit me!" Shinji groaned.
"You didn't have to be an asshole, but you were, as always!" Kirara shouted back.
"And you don't have to be an uptight Princess!" Shinji retorted, and yelped as she grabbed his hair, which was much shorter as well, now even shorter than Kirara's. She pulled, and he grabbed her ears, yanking and making her wail.
"Dickhead!"
"Brat!"
"Dumbass!"
"Stuck up Princess!"
"Pervert!"
"That was one-"
"The two of you need to shut the hell up!" one of the doors to the small bedrooms burst open and Hiyori glared at them. "Before I make you!" she yelled. The two glared at each other again, before releasing their hold on each other. Without a word, Hiyori slammed her door shut again, seeming to make the entire floor tremble. Huffing, Kirara turned on her heel and stormed off into her own room as Shinji watched with a frown, before turning and leaving her to it.
"Some things really don't change," Kensei grumbled, thankful that Hiyori had stopped the bickering pair.
"I'm surprised she hasn't killed him yet," Rose smiled.
"I think they're getting worse to be honest," Love mused. Lisa didn't speak, frowning as she turned the page of her magazine.
Kirara breathed out heavily through her nose, sitting on her bed as she glared down at the ribbon in her hand.
"He doesn't understand," she whispered to herself.
'Does he not?' Kokoro no Kage whispered to her, one of the few occasions that she had been able to hear him clearly. 'I believe he understands far more than either of you care to admit,' the Zanpakuto Spirit told her. Kirara didn't answer, but she knew he was right. She cared for him more than anyone, and not only did the ribbon remind her of Natsuki, her best friend who she'd left behind, but also of the night of the festival. Shinji had kept the ribbon, and given it back when they'd left the Soul Society.
But nothing was the same when they'd left. They'd lost everything that they'd all worked hard to achieve. They'd lost families, friends, homes. They all lashed out at one another, and before they knew it, Shinji and Kirara had fallen back into the old habit, denying how they really felt in fear of the monsters that now lurked within all of them.
Tears fell onto Kirara's open hand, and she clenched it tightly as she clamped her eyes shut, but her tears just kept going. Fighting back her sobs, Kirara pushed her fists to her eyes, shaking. 'Maybe you should-'
"Please don't...just...just leave me alone," Kirara pleaded with her Zanpakuto, who sighed.
'One day you will come to realise that suppressing your feelings helps nobody,' Kokoro no Kage warned her softly, before falling silent.
After finally calming down, Kirara managed to make herself look decent, changing from her uniform, into a pair of shorts, blue tshirt, and a military green hooded jacket.
"Kirara? You almost ready?" Rose asked as he knocked on her door.
"Yep! Sorry I took so long," Kirara smiled as she pulled on her brown boots and hurried to the door.
"It's fine," Rose smiled at her, and they headed out of the warehouse and into town for their weekly tradition. Every week they would visit a small tea shop and just talk. Rose liked that there was someone in their small group who would listen to him ramble without getting annoyed, and Kirara liked the break away from the warehouse and everyone there.
It gave a sense of normalcy for her in a completely upside down life she was leading. "I hear Love got another call from your school," Rose commented, and Kirara sighed.
"Yeah, I talked back to the P.E teacher when he said it was impossible to run as fast as I did," she shrugged.
"I thought you were trying to lay low," Rose raised an eyebrow. Kirara blushed, looking at the ground.
"Well Tatsuki ran it pretty fast, and she was teasing me so..."
"So you felt you needed to one-up her?" Rose finished with an amused smile "Kirara, are you really getting riled up by a human?" he teased, and her blushing increased. "I really do think you were the best one for the role of high-school girl," he told her.
"I thought it was because I was the best at getting information?" Kirara grumbled.
"Well yes, that too, but you seem to be playing the role a little too well, don't you think?" the blond who was much taller than her continued to tease her.
"You get carried away one time, and nobody lets you live it down," Kirara grumbled.
"How about the time the principal called because you corrected the teacher?" Rose asked.
"That was fair!"
"You called him an idiot," Rose reminded her.
"He should have known how to spell," Kirara muttered.
"How about the time you refused to put shoes on for track and field?"
"Can we stop listing the multiple reasons why I've been branding a delinquent in school?" Kirara groaned, tugging at her hair. It had become a habit when she became worked up or was nervous. "You know I don't like wearing shoes," she muttered.
"I know," Rose spoke gently, patting her head. "Oh, have you heard the latest song from Prince of Darkness?" he asked, finally deciding to spare Kirara and change the topic.
"Oh, they have a new song out?" she asked with a smile, and he nodded as they walked into the tea shop.
Kirara mentally congratulated herself as the bell rang and she stood, shoving her things into her bag. She'd managed to go the entire day without falling asleep, a new personal record. However, she was now tired, and was looking forward to a nap.
"Wow Kirara, I think that's the longest I've ever seen you awake," she looked around at a dark haired boy, who grinned at her.
"I believe I set a new record for myself," Kirara grinned back. "I think I'll celebrate by taking a nap when I get home," she told him, making the boy chuckle.
"I don't doubt that," he pulled out his phone as it buzzed loudly, and began texting back whoever it was who had messaged him. "Hey, did I see you out last night with a guy?" Kirara's smile dropped, and she frowned as Mizuiro looked up with an amused smile.
"Did you?" Kirara asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Tall blond guy, looked half asleep, wearing a black suit?" the high schooler described.
"Oh, Rose!" Kirara realised, and laughed. "Rose is an old friend of mine, we go for tea every week," she explained. Mizuiro blinked at her.
"Kirara! You have a boyfriend?!" she side-stepped to dodge another boy who went flying past, crashing to the ground.
"Oh god no. Rose is my friend. Probably the closest friend I have now..." she mused quietly, more to herself than to the two in front of her. "And do you have to yell my name so damn loud?" Kirara scowled to Keigo, who was on the ground still.
"Ah...Kirara is being scary again," Keigo whimpered. The dark haired woman sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow, I've got homework piling up," Kirara pulled her bag strap onto her shoulder and turned away.
"Now she's being cold! And a nerd!" Keigo wailed. "Who does homework more than an hour before it's due! Nerds!" Keigo yelled. "And what kind of high school student goes for tea?!" he continued to shriek.
"You're in a particularly whiny mood, aren't you, Mr. Asano?" Mizuiro asked, not looking up from his phone. As another wail started up, Kirara left the classroom and walked out of the school. This time, instead of heading straight home, she veered off in another direction, and soon spotted a boy with orange hair walking home in front of her.
Adjusting her bag, Kirara followed at a distance, watching him curiously. It took a few minutes for her to realise that he wasn't heading straight home either. As he turned a corner, she heard a loud yell. Curious, Kirara peeked around and was taken by surprise when she found another boy sailing away.
"I really like this kid," Kirara chuckled to herself as she ducked back around the corner, listening to him yell at a group of skaters who had knocked over a small vase containing a flower for a girl who had been killed there. They ran off, and as he began to speak with the ghost girl who had been standing watching the entire thing, Kirara turned and walked off, heading home.
"You're late," Love commented as Kirara walked into the warehouse.
"Sorry mum," Kirara rolled her eyes.
"Brat," Love commented, and she smirked at him.
"I was checking in on the Kurosaki kid," Kirara shrugged as she dropped her bag down and kicked off her shoes. She then slumped down on the sofa, stretching with a loud yawn.
"And?" Hiyori, who was sitting nearby, looked up with a frown. "You find out much about this guy?" she asked.
"Not much," Kirara admitted as she slowly sank lower, until she was lying across the beat-up old sofa that they had found. "From what I can tell, he's just a regular human," she yawned again.
"You mean, except for the abnormal level of Reiatsu he's giving out?" Lisa asked, looking up from the swimsuit catalogue she was looking through.
"Except for that," Kirara shrugged. "And it's getting stronger. He made contact with a ghost today, but I think he's been talking to her for a few days," she rolled onto her side.
"And you didn't think to tell us earlier?" Shinji frowned at her.
"I didn't realise until yesterday," the black haired woman replied in a flat tone. "But I think he's just a kid with abnormal Reiatsu. I mean he's no Shinigami," she told them, getting comfortable.
"If you fall asleep there, you do it at your own risk," Love warned her.
"Especially in that-"
"Shut up Lisa," Kirara interrupted before she could comment on her uniform again.
"Well, you look cute, how will I be able to resist?" Lisa asked in a typical flat voice. Kirara groaned, and got to her feet again, rubbing her face.
"I'm going for a nap," she decided.
"Don't you get enough sleep at night?" Kensei frowned at her.
"Yes, but I didn't get a nap in today, and I'm tired. I'm not build to function all day," Kirara replied as she walked up the stairs.
"You're just lazy!" the silver haired man shouted after her.
"Probably," Kirara replied with another yawn, disappearing up the stairs to go to her room.
100 years had passed since they had escaped the Soul Society, and the small group had been residing in the World of the Living ever since, keeping to themselves while they waited until they would have a chance for revenge against Sosuke Aizen. They'd returned to Karakura Town almost two years ago, and after bumping into Ichigo one day and sensing his latent powers, they had decided to keep an eye on him, so Kirara had been sent to watch him in school. The others claimed it was because she was the best when it came to collecting information – after all, she had been the Corps Commander for the Patrol Corps – but Kirara knew it was because none of them wanted to do it.
Opening the door to her room and immediately falling onto her bed face first, Kirara yawned again and lay there, closing her eyes as she immediately began to drift off, her thoughts of Ichigo and his unusual power still in her mind.
Sitting on a rock in the huge underground training arena below the warehouse, Kirara watched as Kensei and Love sparred nearby. She was to fight the winner of their match, and she was quietly cheering on Kensei. While both were incredibly powerful, Love had a touch more speed than Kensei did, which made him more of a threat to Kirara. Due to her small stature, she relied on speed rather than strength.
Chewing on her thumbnail, Kirara watched the pair demonstrate moves she had grown accustomed to seeing during their sparring. Even when holding back, they couldn't disguise their raw strength that made Kirara shiver slightly. As they pushed each other through the air, trying to force the other down, Kirara played with her Zanpakuto, which was resting on her lap.
Sparring was the main thing that kept their minds busy. At first, they'd been reluctant to do so, moping around as the events of the night 100 years ago weighed heavily on their minds. Until enough had been enough. Kensei, of all people, had been the one to take charge, and had forced them to go down to the training area. Kirara had been the first to volunteer to fight, and he'd knocked her through a boulder as they worked out their tension.
"Do you take that thing to the bathroom with you?" Hiyori grunted as she took a seat near her, snapping Kirara from her thoughts.
"My first rule, take it everywhere," Kirara smirked at her, and the short girl rolled her eyes. When Hiyori turned her attention to Love and Kensei, Kirara's smirk faded and she looked down at the sword. She wasn't about to admit it to the others, but she knew that there was something wrong with Kokoro no Kage, and had been for 100 years. Sometimes, particularly when her adrenaline was pumping, she couldn't hear him properly. At first, she had just put it down to what happened with Aizen, but as time progressed, she had a feeling that there may be more to it.
'Perhaps you should talk to someone about it?' Kokoro no Kage spoke up, sensing her thoughts.
"No. They've got enough on their plates without having to worry about my problems," Kirara dismissed it quickly as she replied mentally. Kokoro no Kage hummed in annoyance, but didn't push it. He knew why she didn't want to admit to having problems with her Zanpakuto. If she admitted to it, there was a possibility that the others would force her to step back. And like hell she was ever going to do that.
"Hey, Kirara!" her eyes lifted at her name. "You're up," Kensei told her as he walked past, clapping a hand to her shoulder.
"Oh come on!" she groaned, sliding off the rock and setting down her Zanpakuto. "You couldn't have won?" she complained as Love smirked at her.
"And have to fight your whiny ass? No thanks," Kensei called over his shoulder with a dismissive wave. Kirara turned and stuck her tongue out at him childishly.
"That's mature," Shinji muttered nearby, earning a glare.
"Yeah, you're on par with Mashiro at this point," Love smirked.
"Hey, you're the ones who made me go to school," Kirara shrugged. "Not my fault I've developed the behaviour of a high school girl," she told him.
"Just don't start giggling like one, and I don't really care," Love spoke, before tensing. He ran at her, and Kirara leapt into the air, flipping and pressing a hand to his head. She pushed off and into the air, flipping before turning to face him from the air. "Hey, watch the hair!" Love shouted, turning and chasing her. She laughed, dodging his strike.
"And maybe actually spar, instead of turning this into another game of tag," Hiyori suggested.
"None of you are any fun!" Kirara complained, dodging another punch before slamming her leg into his lower back. He stumbled forwards with a grunt of pain. They both grinned as Love turned to face her again. She had always preferred fighting with Hakuda, rather than with her Zanpakuto. She blocked Love's next punch, which forced her back as pain jolted up her arms. She then pushed forwards, using the back of her hand to knock Love's punch off target, which allowed her to get in close. As her foot connected with his chest and threw him back, she stiffened, her head lifting. The others reacted the same way.
"Oh great," Love grumbled.
"Is it...?" Kirara asked, but already knew the answer.
"It's a Shinigami," Hiyori growled, her eyes growing darker as they all felt the same Reiatsu flicker through the air. Not weak, but not overly powerful either, and they all knew what that meant.
"Another damn patrol. This is getting old," Kirara groaned, pushing her black hair from her face.
"Everyone stay in tonight," Shinji instructed as he stood, sounding tired.
"What? But-" Kensei started to argue, but Shinji shot him a frown, and with a scoff, the silver haired man turned away. Their leader turned and walked off, disappearing back up the stairs, and Kirara dropped back to the ground, lifting her Zanpakuto.
"Where are you going?" Hiyori called after her as she made to leave.
"I've lost my will to fight," Kirara replied.
"Hey," she looked around as Lisa appeared beside her. "You coming?" she asked as Rose stood on her other side.
"Where are we going?" Kirara frowned at them, confused.
"Drinking," Lisa said, and the young woman grinned.
"You said the magic word," Kirara nodded, and they headed up the stairs. "But what about-"
"Are you really going to start listening to Shinji now?" Lisa asked, raising an eyebrow. Kirara snorted.
"Fair point. Let's go," she nodded, and after Kirara left her Zanpakuto, they headed out to get a drink, as the Reiatsu of a Shinigami dragged up unpleasant memories for them all.
So yeah, major time skip here. There will be flashbacks to the past and what happened with Kirara and her Hollow will be shown...eventually.
Let me know what you think!
Please review!