Thanks to pinkdoughnuts and IrishPrincess1987 for your reviews! Thanks also to AriaScarlet24, teamxcution, and for favouriting and following!
Sorry for the later than planned update, QCon is this weekened so I've been busy all week making my costume last minute as usual. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 25: Battle For Restoration
A strong wind picked up, accompanied by the loud ringing of metal clashing against metal, causing Rose's hair to whip wildly around his face.
"Wh..." Kenjiro's smirk faded as he looked at the long blade that had blocked his Zanpakuto and prevented him from cutting through Kirara. "What the hell?!" he demanded, leaping back. "That's impossible!" his voice rose in pitch as Kirara pointed Kokoro no Kage at him. Several paces back, Rose frowned, not understanding Kenjiro's reaction as he held Kirara's discarded Gigai.
"Are we going to fight? Or are you just going to throw a tantrum?" Kirara asked calmly, surveying her opponent, who was on the verge of hysteria.
"I want to know how you still have your Zanpakuto!" Kenjiro yelled, leaping at her. Their blades clashed again, and Kirara was forced a step back from the power behind his strike. "It should have disappeared within six months of our last fight!" Kenjiro leapt back, and as soon as he landed, he pushed towards Kirara again. "Your hair is proof of-" he stopped when he saw the black still in her hair. He managed to block Kirara's sudden strike, and stumbled backwards.
"Do you ever stop talking?" Kirara asked, sounding bored. Kenjiro's baffled look slowly changed to one of fury.
"I'm going to enjoy killing you, Commander," he growled. Kirara just arched an eyebrow at him.
"Keep dreaming," she retorted, and kicked him in the stomach. Kenjiro choked as she winded him, and with another, more powerful kick, Kirara threw him into the side of a building with enough force to crack the wall. Rose watched as Kenjiro recovered and attacked again. The man's words echoed in his head about Kirara losing her Zanpakuto, and he thought about how Kirara hadn't reacted in the slightest.
"You knew..." Rose realised as Kirara and Kenjiro leapt into the air and clashed again. Kenjiro attempted to mimic Kirara's style and threw a punch, but she easily dodged. "So that is what you've been hiding from us...how terrible," he breathed. The idea of losing one's Zanpakuto was unthinkable, and when Rose considered losing Kinshara, his chest went tight.
"Are you just going to sit and watch?!" Kenjiro yelled down at Rose, snapping him from his thoughts. "What kind of man lets a woman fight a man, alone?!" he demanded. Rose looked up at the red-haired man, who was already breathing heavily, and considered him. He was clearly unhinged, and seeing Kirara's Zanpakuto seemed to have tipped him completely off the edge.
"This is not my fight," Rose finally answered him. "And Kirara seems to be holding her own against you without my help. You should not take your eyes off her," he pointed out. Kenjiro scowled, before he looked up sharply as Kirara attacked him.
"I'm your opponent, so I'd recommend you worry less about Rose," Kirara warned him coldly. She jumped back as Kenjiro shoved at her furiously.
"You want to be my opponent that badly? Fine," Kenjiro seethed, and began to spin his Zanpakuto in his hands as a red aura surrounded him. "Sever...Reikonsatsu," he continued to spin his sword, which started to change shape. Kirara swallowed as it took on the shape of a scythe, and Kenjiro grabbed the handle, brandishing his Shikai. "Well, Commander? Shall we make this a repeat of last time?" he smirked, confident again. Kirara sighed, glancing to Rose below.
"Let's make one minor change. I'm not so arrogant to assume I can take you without unsealing my Zanpakuto," Kirara looked back up at Kenjiro. "I just really hate unsealing in front of people who aren't about to die," she confessed, and Rose stared up at her.
"Rose!" he looked around to see Shinji, Hiyori and Hachi arriving. "What the hell is going on?" Hiyori demanded as she looked up at the two in the sky.
"You've got to be kidding me," Shinji hissed, earning their attention. "He's here?" he frowned at the sight above them.
"Who is that freak?" Hiyori growled, her hand twitching as she glared at the man who appeared to be a Shinigami.
"Kenjiro Shirobara," Shinji replied. He remembered the man clearly, even after one hundred years. While the blood was gone from his face and replaced with a nasty scar, he still looked as crazy as before. It made him want to go up there and skewer the man himself.
"Wait, you mean that batshit deserter who almost killed Kirara?!" Hiyori demanded. Shinji just gave a short nod.
"Huh. Seems we have an audience," Kenjiro smirked as he looked down. Kirara glanced over her shoulder to the four Vizards watching. "You still want to reveal your coward of a Zanpakuto?" Kenjiro asked. Kirara sighed heavily. Without responding to him, she tossed her Zanpakuto into the air above them.
"Confuse My Enemies, Kokoro no Kage," using Shunpo, Kirara shot up and grabbed the handle as the Zanpakuto started to change. As soon as her fingers wrapped around it, she disappeared.
"Sticking to your cowardly tactics, Commander?" Kenjiro called as he looked around.
"What the hell is she doing?" Hiyori frowned.
"Do you think we should help?" Hachi asked as they watched Kenjiro looking around wildly.
"This is Kirara's fight. If she wanted help, she wouldn't have released her Zanpakuto," Shinji told him in a flat voice. Feeling Kirara's Reiatsu flare, they looked in the direction it came from, just as Kenjiro did the same and slashed at nothing. As he attacked where her signature had come from, Kirara appeared from above and slashed down his back, making him cry out. He swung around at her, only for Kirara to disappear again.
"This is like...when she fights us and doesn't take it seriously," Hiyori frowned.
"Seems she was taking it more seriously than we thought," Shinji mused. As Kirara's Reiatsu signature moved around, Kenjiro reacted instinctively. When he was breathing heavily, wearing himself out by attacking what wasn't really there, Kirara reappeared in front of him and slammed down against the blade of his Zanpakuto, shoving him backwards. She then disappeared again, causing Kenjiro to swear loudly in his frustration.
"I must say, her Zanpakuto's ability is truly remarkable...and a little frightening," Hachi commented as Kirara's Reiatsu came at Kenjiro from above, only for her to actually attack straight on.
"You understand it? I don't get it at all," Hiyori huffed.
"Is it an illusion?" Rose wondered.
"No, it seems that she is able to manipulate her Reiatsu output," Hachi shook his head. "She can control it, almost like a puppet if you will, and make it seem like she is somewhere else, while also hiding her true whereabouts," he explained.
"Impressive. You caught on quickly," they looked around at Kirara, who was holding her Zanpakuto over her shoulder. It was similar to its sealed for, except for the blade, which was now slightly curved. "I didn't think it was that obvious. Then again, I've never shown it to anyone before," Kirara shrugged. Above, her Reiatsu was still moving erratically around Kenjiro. "Just as a warning, this guy isn't exactly sane. If he comes at you, don't let him cut you with his Zanpakuto," she warned.
"What does it do?" Hiyori frowned, her arms folded. She didn't enjoy waiting of the sidelines. Kirara hesitated, before sighing.
"It severs your connection to your Zanpakuto so it will eventually disappear," she told them softly. "Now, if you'll excuse me," she disappeared before her words could sink in for them.
"Wait...what?" Hiyori spoke, not understanding.
"His Zanpakuto destroys your connection to your Zanpakuto," Shinji spoke up as Kirara slammed her Zanpakuto against Kenjiro's scythe. "It erases it, and when it's completely gone, your Zanpakuto disappears forever," he told them.
"Then how does Kirara still have hers?" Rose asked, confused. "He said it should have been gone within a few months," he tore his gaze from the fight to look at Shinji.
"From what I gathered..." Hachi started. "The progression slowed greatly when we left the Soul Society, so what I believe has happened..." the massive man swallowed. "I believe her Hollow is the reason for it slowing down," he suggested in a quiet tone.
"Damn," Hiyori growled.
"I must say," Kenjiro said, breathing heavily. Sweat ran down his face, and blood soaked his robes. "I thought what I hated most about you was what you did to my face," he reached up, his fingers trailing down the long scar that marred his face. "But I think that damn blank expression of yours pisses me off even more," he told her. Kirara just raised her sword and pointed the tip at him, her expression still blank.
"Honestly? I couldn't give a rat's ass about how you feel," she told him with a small sigh. "All I care about right now, is taking you out, and destroying that god-awful weapon of yours," Kirara used Shunpo to move around Kenjiro, who stepped away, swinging wildly as he felt her presence behind him.
"Quit hiding, you damn coward!" he yelled, and Kirara reappeared in front of him, slashing upwards. Kenjiro screamed as he lashed out, managing to cuff her across the face. Kirara stumbled, dazed momentarily, allowing him to cut up her arm. She winced, before moving away.
"I'm the coward?" Kirara recovered, ignoring the blood running down her arm and soaking her hand. "You're the one who tried to kill me when you thought I didn't have a weapon," she pointed out as she flicked her sword, throwing the blood off it.
"Hey Kirara! Quit toying with the idiot," they glanced down at Hiyori's words. "I'd like this to end before I die of boredom," she told her.
"Alright," Kirara shrugged, looking back up at Kenjiro. "See, I need to completely destroy your Zanpakuto, partly to restore my connection to Kokoro no Kage, and partly to make sure you can never do this to anyone else ever again. And I can think of only one way of doing that. So," she lowered her fighting stance, making Kenjiro frown in confusion. "You can hand it over now, or I'll just take it from you, risking you losing a hand or worse," she told him. Kenjiro stared at her, his eyes growing wide.
"You'll...take it from me?" he repeated, before hysterical laughter bubbled up and escaped him. "I'd love to see you try!" Kenjiro shot at her and swung his Zanpakuto as Kirara rolled her eyes. As he got close, she ducked under his swing and kicked him in the side. The man grunted, knocked away from her, and Kirara shook her head.
"This guy is such an idiot...how did I almost get myself killed by him?" she wondered aloud, reaching a hand up to her face. Kenjiro frowned, before letting out a choked gasp as she pulled down, causing a pure white mask to begin forming in her hand.
"What...what the hell..." he whispered, staring as Kirara moved her hand, and the Mask covered her face. Her Reiatsu, which already had been completely different to the last time he fought – which he had believed was due to her severed connection to her Zanpakuto – changed, taking on more of a Hollow-like feel to it.
Crafted like a Venetian mask, it covered her entire face, and the outside was jagged and angled to the left, shaping it like a leaf, with lines across the upper part of the Mask giving more of a leaf-like design to it. "What the hell are you?!" Kenjiro demanded. His eyes went even wider as Kirara moved, appearing in front of him faster than he could register.
"I warned you," her voice was warped by the powers of her Mask.
"You're...you're a monster," Kenjiro breathed.
"Pot, kettle," Kirara replied, and leaned slightly to her right. Her leg moved, and slammed into his head hard. At the same time, she grabbed the handle of his Zanpakuto and twisted, disarming him as he slammed to the ground below, hard. Kirara winced, feeling a pulse of power from the foreign Zanpakuto in her hand. "Oh, you're a nasty one," she muttered, looking down at the weapon in her hand.
"Make sure it's high. You don't want to destroy a building or something with it," Shinji told her.
"Hey, my aim isn't that bad!" Kirara replied, insulted as she looked back down at them.
"You can't aim for shit!" Hiyori snorted. Thankful that her Mask covered her blushing, Kirara focused on what she was doing. Sheathing her Zanpakuto, she took a breath and began to concentrate. She clenched her hand in a tight fist, focusing the power to it. Navy light began to gather by her knuckles, and she hurled the scythe high in the air.
"What are you doing?" Kenjiro looked up in time to see his Zanpakuto spinning up in the air. "No, stop!" he shrieked, pushing himself up, but as he did, Hiyori's foot slammed into his face, knocking him back down.
"Stay down, bastard," she hissed at him.
"No!" Kenjiro screamed, trying to get back up and failing as his energy left him. Kirara fired her Cero high into the air. It slammed into the Zanpakuto, hitting it dead on and engulfing it in the light. Kenjiro screamed loudly, curling up as the Cero eventually dissipated, leaving nothing behind.
"Huh..." Kirara tilted her head. "I don't feel different," she mused.
'Nor I. Perhaps it will take some time to recover,' Kirara froze, her eyes going wide.
"Old man...did I just...hear you?" she asked slowly, not daring to hope.
'I am not responsible for how well you hear, Kirara,' Kokoro no Kage replied, but it was a softer tone, as opposed to his usual serious one. Kirara let out a delighted laugh, tears stinging at her eyes. She moved back to the ground, letting her Mask disappear.
"Finally, I thought you'd never finish up there," Hiyori rolled her eyes as Kirara walked over. Kirara just stuck out her tongue before returning to her Gigai, thanking Rose for holding onto it.
"So your connection should return now, right?" Shinji asked as she stretched.
"I can already hear the old man as good as ever," she smiled widely at him, and threw her arms around him before he'd realised it. He took a step back to keep himself upright, before hugging her back.
"Good," he muttered, grinning back. He'd been worried about her, wondering if she'd really be able to fix it. He'd even considered benching her for the war they all knew was coming, not willing to let her get herself killed.
"You dumbass," Hiyori frowned at her. "You should have told us," she said, and the others nodded in agreement.
"We were worried about you," Rose told her.
"I'm sorry that I worried you, but honestly, what good would it have done to know?" Kirara asked as she pulled away from Shinji, but kept a grip on his hand. "Not like we would have found the idiot any sooner. And I didn't want to deal with your pitiful looks, like that," she gestured to Hachi with the hand that was still covered in blood.
"Sorry..." the pink haired man apologised.
"Speaking of the idiot," Shinji squeezed her hand, and Kirara glanced around, following his gaze to the Shinigami on the ground beside Hiyori. Kenjiro was sobbing loudly, still curled up as tears ran free down his face.
"What should we do with him?" Kirara asked.
"I say we kill him," Hiyori suggested bluntly, looking down with disgust. Not that Kirara was surprised. Not only was he a Shinigami, but he had tried to kill Kirara twice now. Nobody messed with their bizarre little family.
"Nah," Kirara sighed, shaking her head. "To kill this guy now...it's just not right," she scratched her head, messing up her hair. "And this is coming from someone frequently called a killer, so no," she told the short Vizard as she opened her mouth to argue.
"Then what do you suggest?" Hiyori asked, folding her arms. Kirara frowned slightly, her eyes not moving from the sobbing Shinigami.
"Perhaps I may make a suggestion?" they looked around to see Urahara approach with Tessai, as well as the red-haired boy Kirara had met briefly, and a girl slightly taller than him with black hair and a timid look on her face. Hiyori's scowl grew as she glared at her former Captain.
"Kisuke? You just have to get involved in everything, don't you?" Kirara smiled at him. Urahara looked slightly insulted, waving his fan in his face.
"I could say the same for you," he told her. Kirara went red, and elbowed Shinji as she heard him snicker. Urahara's pale eyes rested on their still linked hands, and he hid his smirk behind his fan as neither noticed his reaction.
"Okay Kisuke, let's hear it," Shinji told him, rubbing his stomach.
Kirara walked through her Inner World, squinting through the thick fog that still covered it, making it almost impossible to navigate through the thick clusters of trees.
"I guess that it's going to be a slow progress, getting this place back to some kind of normal," she mused, reaching out and touching a tree trunk gently. Her arm didn't hurt any more from the movement, after Hachi had insisted on healing it, as well as her face, which had the makings of a fierce bruise after Kenjiro had struck her. For such a weak opponent, he had quite a strong strike.
'It took one hundred years to get to this point...' Kokoro no Kage pointed out, his eyes glowing bright through the fog. 'It will take more than a few hours to return to a sense of normalcy that I will welcome,' he told her. Kirara chuckled.
"I suppose you're right," she agreed. "At least Shirobara is gonna be going back to the Soul Society, without that dammed Zanpakuto," she smiled, thankful that Urahara had stepped in. She owed him more than she would ever be able to repay. "I missed your voice, old man," Kirara admitted, looking around to the Spirit. He hummed, disappearing behind his tree.
'I suppose it is good to be reconnecting with you, even if you continue to remain disrespectful, despite almost losing me,' he sniffed as he reappeared nearby, making Kirara laugh. Nothing could upset her at that moment.
"I suppose that's the closest I'll ever get to you saying something nice to me. But I can live with just hearing your complaints," she grinned.
'Regardless, don't you think it's time to go?' Kokoro no Kage asked. 'You'll miss out on your sake if you don't, and your friends are already annoyed enough that you hid such a secret from them,' he reminded her. Kirara laughed again.
"You're right. Thanks, old man," she said, and he hummed as she closed her eyes.
Coming to, Kirara felt lips press against her own, and responded immediately, wrapping her arms around her assailant as she kissed them back, pulling them closer. After a moment, she pulled away, but maintained her grip. "Anyone ever tell you that it's rude to interrupt a girl talking to her Zanpakuto?" she opened her eyes and frowned at Shinji.
"Probably," he grinned down at her, unapologetic. Not that it surprised her in the slightest. "Though when they're as cute as you, I tend not to listen," he leaned in and kissed her again as she blushed.
"Dumbass," she muttered as he pulled away.
"Princess," he retorted, making her frown.
"Don't call me that," she warned him, before feeling her hair fall down around her. "And give that back!" she leapt at him as he pulled away, holding her ribbon between his fingers.
"Hmmm...nah," Shinji decided, easily avoiding her attempts to grab it, making her dance around the roof of the warehouse in her attempts to grab it.
"Come on! Don't be an asshole," she whined at him, still jumping for it as he held it out of her reach. Shinji then caught her around the waist mid jump, and she yelped in alarm, putting her arms around his shoulders in an automatic reflex.
"Why do you still have it?" he asked her curiously.
"I..." Kirara blushed, and avoided his gaze. "It reminds me of the festival," she admitted after a moment. Giving a small chuckle, Shinji set her down, and held out the ribbon.
"Me too," he told her, and Kirara lifted her eyes to his in surprise. She took the ribbon from him, and began to tie up her hair again. "Though I still think you look cuter when it's down," Shinji grinned at her.
"Yeah well, there's too much of it to deal with down," she muttered, still blushing. "Come on dumbass, there is a bottle of sake with my name on it," she took his hand, lacing her fingers with his and pulling him along.
"There's always a bottle of sake with your name on it," Shinji muttered, but easily caught up with her, pulling her close and kissing her forehead, making her giggle as she hugged him, before heading back inside to rejoin the others.
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