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Chapter 28: Out In The Open

"Hey Kirara, what happened?" the Vizard looked up with a raised eyebrow as Keigo saw the bandage over her forehead. She had multiple bruises lining her body as well from the hit the Grand Fisher had gotten in when she had been weighed down by Kon in Ichigo's body the night before.

"Fell down some stairs. How can I help you this morning?" she asked, and Keigo gave a sheepish smile. He had his hands behind his back, and he was shuffling awkwardly. "Again, Keigo?" Kirara asked in amusement. He nodded. "Considering how often you call me a nerd...I don't think I should," she folded her arms and looked out the window.

"Please Kirara? I'll give you half my lunch!" Keigo pleaded with her tearfully.

"Brought my own thanks," Kirara shrugged, hiding her smile.

"I won't call you a nerd for a week!" he offered.

"Huh...make it a month, and you have to stop trying to hug me from behind," Kirara told him. Keigo looked torn, but eventually sighed, lowering his head.

"Fine..." he agreed. With a smirk, Kirara held out her homework to him.

"Pleasure doing business with you Asano," she told him, and Keigo took it, rushing to his desk to get it copied up. Kirara shook her head, watching him in amusement as he scribbled it down as quickly as possible. She then sighed, resting her head in her hand as she looked out the window. 'Just when did I get so...human?' she thought to herself, wondering just when she had gotten accustomed to life as a schoolgirl.

Glancing to Ichigo, she saw the puzzled look in his eyes. There was also worry, not that Kirara was surprised. He was constantly waging a battle with his Inner Hollow, with no idea how to really suppress it. He was bound to be stressed. Her hand went up to the cut across her forehead, which had been covered over. Kirara hoped that Kon hadn't said anything, but considering he'd barely noticed when she'd greeted him that morning, she doubted it. She did wonder just what had happened after they'd been separated, but she'd sensed Kisuke's presence nearby, so she knew Kon was safe.

"Hi Ichigo, good morning!" she glanced around as Orihime ran in and greeted her friend with a bright smile.

"Hello there Ichigo, good morning!" Shinji was beside her in an instant. Kirara sighed heavily, leaning back in her seat. He really was an idiot.

"Good morning, um, let's see, Shinji! Right?" Orihime smiled at him.

"Oh god don't encourage him," Kirara mumbled to herself.

"Wow, you remembered my name! I can't believe it!" he hugged Orihime suddenly, and she let out a squeak of alarm. "You're great Orihime!" he declared. Kirara raised an eyebrow at the action.

"What?! What is this?!" Keigo decided to get involved as he saw what was happening. "Just what do you think you're doing?!" he demanded.

"What's going on? Who's making all that noise?" Shinji scowled, letting Orihime go to glare at Keigo. "Who in the hell are you?!" he glared at Keigo, who was standing beside Mizuiro.

"What do you mean, who am I?" Keigo repeated. "You've got a lot of nerve asking me that! First you try it on with Kirara, then with Orihime! You act like you're best friends with the people in this classroom! I've known them a lot longer than you have Mr. Johnny-Come-Lately!" he screeched.

"Already been shot down this morning have we?" Mizuiro asked him with an exasperated smile. Kirara shook her head and got up quietly. Nobody noticed as she slipped out of the classroom, as everyone was looking at Keigo.

'It's definitely a class of characters, isn't it?' Kokoro no Kage commented, making her chuckle slightly.

"You're right there..." Kirara agreed, moving out of sight as Ichigo dragged Shinji out of the classroom and down the corridor. As soon as they were out of sight, Kirara followed, and stepped outside, keeping out of view as Ichigo slammed Shinji against the railings.

"Maybe you're not aware of it, but that really hurts! And what are you getting so mad about anyway? It's not like Orihime is your girlfriend, I mean let's face it Ichigo; you're socially inept. You and I both know there's no way a hottie like that is never gonna give you the time of day, right?" Kirara sighed.

"Shut the hell up!" Ichigo snapped, still holding Shinji by the collar as he glared down at him. "And I expect you to apologise to her when you get back in there! You should know better!" he growled. Kirara snorted.

'He doesn't quite know Hirako yet, does he?' Kokoro no Kage asked, sounding amused.

"Not in the slightest," Kirara chuckled, listening as Ichigo shouted angrily at Shinji. "I still think he's going the wrong way about it...Ichigo's as stubborn as him, he won't be bullied into joining us," she murmured, leaning against the wall.

'As stubborn as you, you mean,' the Zanpakuto Spirit spoke up. Kirara rolled her eyes.

"Oh shut up, old man," she muttered, before Ichigo suddenly stormed past her, too caught up in his thoughts to notice her. "I see attempt number two went as well as the first one," Kirara emerged from her hiding place to approach Shinji, who was fixing his shirt. Her hands behind her back, she grinned in amusement as he shot her an irritated look.

"Don't you have class?" he asked.

"Don't you?" Kirara retorted. "Honestly, you're going about recruiting Ichigo completely the wrong way," she told him as she walked around him, and his eyes followed her. "Or are you purposely doing it to spend more time here to see the girls? I mean, Orihime is a hottie," she teased.

"Careful Kirara, you sound jealous," Shinji warned, stepping towards her. Kirara backed away until her back bumped against the wall, and she looked up at the Vizard standing over her.

"I ain't jealous Hirako, there's no way you could get someone as pretty as Orihime," Kirara taunted him.

"I got you, didn't I?" her smirk dropped instantly at his words, and her face went bright red. "You're so easily flustered, it's cute," Shinji chuckled, leaning in to kiss her. However, a hand intercepted, and his eyes shot open to see Kirara stopping him.

"Not here," she told him, only for Shinji to grab her wrists and pin them over her head. "Stop Shinji, you can't," Kirara warned, struggling in his grip to no avail.

"Why not? It's not like there's anyone around," he smirked.

"Shinji...don't," Kirara growled back. "We can't get caught," she told him. Shinji ignored her, leaning in and kissing her softly. Her struggling stopped, unable to resist it. After a moment, he pulled away, and smirked when he saw her blush. "Come on, let me go," she looked up at him with a worried expression.

"You've been teasing me about recruiting Ichigo since yesterday, and you were the first to suggest I come to this place," Shinji reminded her, and while keeping Kirara's hands pinned to the wall with one hand, used his other to trail his fingers down her jawline. Teasing Kirara was one of his favourite things to do. "Tell me to stop then, Kirara," he murmured, his fingers ghosting over her skin. She shivered, her eyes hooded.

"Hirako..." Kirara whimpered, stopping her struggling, which made his smirk widen. That was all the permission he needed. He leaned in as he lowered his hand, but before he could make contact, a hand grabbed him and hurled him back with enough force to dent the railings.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ichigo snarled at Shinji, who groaned from the impact. Kirara sank to the ground, breathing heavily, before looking up in surprise.

"What's your problem?" Shinji groaned, which was the wrong thing to say to Ichigo. The boy's eyes widened, before he threw a punch. When it was blocked, he froze.

"What the hell..." Ichigo breathed as he stared at Kirara, who had easily blocked the punch he had put a large amount of strength into.

"Calm down Ichigo," she told him softly, her gaze apologetic.

"How did you block that?" he demanded, pulling his fist free of her grip.

"Ichigo..."

"How dammit! Who the hell are you?" Ichigo demanded.

"I told you last night Ichigo, you need to keep calm," Shinji warned, making Ichigo glare at him.

"Not helping," Kirara frowned over her shoulder. "I damn warned you," she muttered.

"I listen as well as you do, Princess," Shinji shrugged. Kirara glared at him.

"I really wish I hadn't blocked that punch now, idiot," she told him. "Might have knocked a little sense into your empty head. Stop calling me that," Kirara said. Shinji just shrugged, sticking out his tongue at her.

"You two know each other?" Ichigo demanded, completely lost. "But...how?" he asked, looking from Shinji, who looked bored, to Kirara, who looked guilty.

"I was sent here to keep an eye on you, because you have such high Reiatsu," Kirara explained softly, and Ichigo's eyes widened as he took a step back. "We've known about you since we first got back to town Ichigo," she told him.

"Then you're a..."

"I'm a Vizard too," Kirara confirmed. With a growl, Ichigo turned and stormed off. "Ichigo!"

"Stay the hell away from me!" he yelled, and Kirara groaned. Turning to Shinji, she folded her arms, and kicked his shin.

"Hey! That hurt!" he complained.

"I'm telling Hiyori that you got me found out," Kirara told him, and he stiffened.

"You wouldn't..." Shinji breathed, looking up at her.

"Oh I will," Kirara nodded, before she sighed again and reached out, touching his face. "You okay? He threw you pretty hard," she commented.

"I'm not that easily hurt Kirara, but I appreciate your concern," Shinji chuckled, standing and pulling her close.

"You're still a dumbass," she muttered, pressing her face into his chest.

Class for the rest of the day was incredibly awkward, with Kirara trying her best not to give either Ichigo or Shinji her attention. She wasn't even able to sleep, as too much went through her mind. She felt bad for the truth coming out in such a way. It wasn't that Ichigo trusted her a great deal to begin with, but he'd seen her as a classmate and to know that she was secretly spying on him because of his massive Reiatsu was bound to turn him against the idea of ever trusting her.

The bell rang loudly, much to her relief, and Kirara stood quickly, shoving her things into her bag.

"Ichigo!" Keigo called loudly, standing behind the orange haired boy. "How about we swing by the old arcade on the way home today, what do you say?" he offered as Kirara stood.

"Hey, Kirara, you got a minute?" as she went to leave, Mizuiro called her back.

"Oh? Sure I do. What's up?" Kirara smiled, leaning against the desk next to the black haired boy who hadn't gotten up yet. Most of the class had already left, and Mizuiro was flicking through his phone.

"How come you're pretending like you don't know the new transfer student?" his simple question froze Kirara.

"What?" she asked, her smile fading. Mizuiro finally looked up.

"You're pretending you don't know Hirako. Why?" he asked her straight up. Shocked by the sudden accusation, Kirara couldn't think of what to say.

"What..." Kirara shook her head. "What makes you say that? Why would I know him?" she asked, genuinely curious as to how he found out. She'd heard from Tatsuki that she was the one who had caused Ichigo to run back down and stumble across her and Shinji together, after she'd seen Kirara approach him when Ichigo stormed off. She'd asked him in passing if the two had known each other, and worried for Kirara, Ichigo had gone to check on them.

"Because I've seen you two together around town," Mizuiro answered, not looking away from Kirara. "So why are you pretending you don't know him? And what's Ichigo got to do with it?" he asked Kirara, who raised an eyebrow. Before Mizuiro could react, she'd grabbed his phone from him. "What? Hey, give that back," Mizuiro got up quickly to grab for it, but Kirara easily dodged each of his attempts.

"Well well..." Kirara gave a small laugh. "Looks like I found the source of those pictures," she looked up from the pictures of the Vizards. "Spying on me, Mizuiro? Not very nice," she commented, continuing to flick through the pictures.

"I just happened to be nearby and saw you with them," he shrugged, not in the least bit embarrassed about being caught.

"It's impressive. I've been wanting to know who was good enough that I didn't notice," Kirara commented, tossing back the phone. "Wouldn't have mind recruiting you, back in the day," she sighed wistfully as he caught his phone and scowled.

"Who are you, Kirara?" Mizuiro asked her.

"Hmmm..." Kirara tapped a finger to her chin. "Kirara Yamada, 15 years old, high school student," she smiled at him, making his frown grow. "See you tomorrow, Mizuiro," she smiled at him, turning and walking off.

"Hey! Wait!" Mizuiro called after her. "Who are you really Kirara?" he demanded.

"Who knows Mizuiro. Half the time, I don't," Kirara waved a dismissive hand as he watched her leave.

"Man...Ichigo was so mad," Kirara murmured as she walked through the streets on the way back to the warehouse.

"Don't tell me you feel bad," Shinji rolled his eyes, walking beside her and yawning widely.

"I do occasionally have a conscience y'know," Kirara frowned at him.

"I know, just never with me," Shinji retorted.

"That's because you're an asshat," Kirara sang, but took his hand regardless as it swung at his side.

"So are you," Shinji said, linking his fingers with hers. "Honestly, don't feel bad about Ichigo finding out. It was inevitable," he pointed out. Kirara just sighed, knowing he was right.

'He is right,' Kokoro no Kage sniffed. 'You're growing too attached to the child who you may very well have to destroy,' he warned her coldly.

"Shut up old man," Kirara groaned inwardly. "I'm just worried because it;ll just push him farther away from us, and we're the only ones who can really help him," she told him. Kokoro no Kage hummed, but made no attempt to speak any more. Shinji yawned widely again, and Kirara glanced up at him.

"Tired, Hirako?" she teased him with an amused smile.

"I'm starting to understand why you sleep so much," he grumbled, running his free hand through his hair. "I'm exhausted, I mean what, it's right after summer break and there's a stupid test? My brain can't handle this," Shinji complained. Kirara laughed in amusement at his whining.

"Welcome to my world Hirako. But you could stand to complain less, it's only going to get worse from here," she told him, making him groan again.

"This sucks! Why do I have to go to school to recruit Ichigo anyway?" he continued to whine. "That's not making the best use of my talents," Kirara couldn't help but laugh, letting go of his hand.

"Because you were the best one for the job, remember?" she turned to him, and he frowned irritably at her. "Or at least, that's what we thought. Maybe one of the others would have been a better choice," Kirara mused. "They'd probably have persuaded Ichigo by now," she taunted him.

"Why do I put up with you?" Shinji sighed, turning away and continuing to walk.

"Hey, you're the one-" Kirara stopped as a foot slammed into Shinji's back and sent him flying into a wall face-first. "Bitching…" she finished, looking around slowly.

"Hey…who did that? You're gonna regret-" Shinji stopped when he turned, a hand to his bloody face, when he saw Hiyori standing beside Kirara, who looked a little nervous. "Hiy…Hiyori…" he swallowed, seeing her impassive face. It never meant well. Not speaking, Hiyori lifted her leg, and Kirara instantly stepped back as she kicked her sandal into the air. As soon as she caught it, she was slamming it into Shinji's face.

"Why's it taking you so long to complete one lousy mission dumbass?" she roared at him. Kirara put a hand to her face as Hiyori screeched and Shinji attempted to explain, which only made her angrier.

"I'm a part of this. I have been a part of this for 100 years," she sighed heavily, shaking her head. "And hey, this is before she knows about my own cover getting blown," Kirara realised, and winced when Hiyori smacked Shinji again. Kirara's head then lifted quickly, and she groaned. "Hey Hiyori? You might wanna-"

"Shut it Kirara! I know you're half the reason this dumbass is taking forever!" Hiyori snapped back over her shoulder.

"Hey!" Kirara planted her hands on her hips, offended. "I'm not a distraction! I told that idiot-"

"I'm still here you know!" Shinji groaned from the ground.

"I told you I wouldn't have anything to do with you in school Shinji!" Kirara exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "My job was to monitor, not recruit! And now because you two dumbasses were fighting again, these two have managed to sneak up on you!" Kirara threw an arm out to point to Orihime and Chad, who were standing nearby staring at them.

"Kirara…" Orihime's eyes were wide. Kirara sighed, turning her head away.

"Orihime!" Shinji got to his feet, as surprised to see Orihime and Chad as they were to see Kirara.

"Shinji," Hiyori's voice was low, and she beckoned him over. When he leaned in, she head-butted him. "Why was someone following you?!" she demanded. Kirara threw her hands up in the air in exasperation again.

"Idiots. They're idiots," she decided.

"Hey! You didn't realise either, don't make me kick your ass as well Kirara!" Hiyori warned her, hearing Kirara's words.

"I knew…even if I asked him directly, Ichigo wouldn't tell me what was going on," Orihime spoke up, earning their attention again so they stopped bickering amongst themselves. "He'd tell me it's nothing to be concerned about. But that's not true. So I thought I'd ask you Shinji. Who are you? And what do you want with Ichigo?" Orihime asked in the most demanding voice she could manage, but it still quivered a little.

"Huh. You've got some nerve. You think you can just ask and we'll tell you everything you wanna know?" Hiyori tilted her head, a dangerous smirk on her face that never boded well. As a bad feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, Kirara walked over to stand with Shinji and Hiyori.

"Um…" Orihime gulped, her eyes darting briefly from the short, menacing blonde, to Kirara, who looked bored. An awkward silence fell over the five, before Hiyori sighed.

"I'm Hiyori Sarugaki," she introduced herself suddenly, taking Chad and Orihime by surprise. "Don't make me repeat it," Hiyori rolled her eyes. "I told you my name, now it's your turn. Tell me yours," she ordered.

"I'm Orihime…Inoue…" Orihime said hesitantly.

"And I'm Yasutora Sado," Chad's low voice rumbled in a deep contrast to Orihime.

"A Princess and a Tiger huh?" Hiyori tilted her head slightly. "Those are pretty impressive names. Well our names only mean Monkey and Common, I have to say we're very jealous, really! I mean I guess Kirara means Sparkle, but that's not as impressive either!" Hiyori suddenly exclaimed. Kirara raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Shinji rolled his eyes, looking away. "The only one that's common around here is you…" Hiyori's eyes narrowed and Kirara put a hand to her face. "Even I've got more going on up there than you do," he shrieked suddenly as Hiyori turned and her fist slammed into his face.

"Why would you think it was a good idea to say that?" Kirara demanded as he held his nose when blood trailed down his face.

"I mean just look at you. You've got such smooth hair and a really beautiful bod. I could totally despise you now that I think about it," she told Orihime, who looked alarmed at the sudden violence.

"Instead of holding a grudge maybe you should work on making yourself a little more desirable…" Shinji muttered. Kirara rolled her eyes, and another scream echoed around the area.

"Pardon my friend's words," Hiyori turned her attention back to Orihime and Chad as Kirara shot Shinji a concerned look. Anyway, I'm afraid we can't answer any of your questions. In fact, I think we'll be better off if I just kill you," Hiyori's words hadn't even sunk in for the two before Kirara's hand caught her wrist as she grabbed the handle of her Zanpakuto. "Kirara?! Are you insane? Let me go!" Hiyori snarled at her.

"Am I insane? You're the one ready to start cutting people down," Kirara pointed out, barely managing to maintain her grip on Hiyori's arm.

"Let me go! They know too much, they're just going to get in the way!" Hiyori snapped at her. Kirara rolled her eyes.

"Shinji?" she glanced to him, and in a flash he'd grabbed the short Vizard and tossed her over his shoulder, sprinting off. Hiyori shrieked obscenities back at Kirara, thrashing in Shinji's grip.

"Wait Shinji!" Orihime cried.

"There's no point," the red-head stopped, having been about to chase after him. She turned around, her eyes wide as she stared at Kirara. The girl who wasn't much shorter than her looked bored. "You'd never catch him. And if you somehow did, even we couldn't stop Hiyori from killing you," she warned them.

"She's right," Chad rumbled.

"Kirara…what's going on? You're with them?" Orihime's voice was soft as she stared at the girl she considered her friend. She'd never thought she'd be involved, especially with the weird new student who had Ichigo wound up. She'd always thought Kirara to be normal, so when she'd seen her shouting at the other two, she had no idea how to react.

"Unfortunately so," Kirara twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.

"Why?" Orihime asked her, baffled. "And what do you want with Ichigo? What's going on with him?" she asked. Kirara sighed, turning away.

"I'm not like Hiyori, I won't kill you for finding out about us," she told them. "But at the same time, you're best forgetting about us. I won't answer your questions. Besides," Kirara glanced over her shoulder. "How do you think Ichigo would feel, knowing you went behind his back to ask us what he's trying to hide?" Orihime jerked back as if Kirara had slapped her.

"Ki…Kirara…" she whimpered, and Kirara turned away. She began to walk, refusing to look around as guilt gnawed at her stomach. "Wait!" Orihime called after her.

"Stop, Orihime," Chad caught her. "It's too dangerous. We'll just end up getting hurt, or worse," he warned.

"Listen to the big guy," Kirara called over her shoulder. "He's right. Just forget about everything you saw here. If Ichigo wants to tell you, he'll do it," she told them, turning a corner and leaving the two behind.

Kirara barely had time to react when she walked into the warehouse and was immediately attacked by Hiyori. Catching the shorter Vizard's sword between her hands, Kirara frowned.

"You don't even want to listen to my explanation?" she asked, glancing down at Hiyori as she struggled to keep her grip on the blade while refraining from cutting herself.

"What's there to explain?" Hiyori finally yanked her blade free, and Kirara jumped backwards. "You protected humans, you dumbass!" she glared at Kirara.

"What?!" Kensei yelled angrily. "Kirara, are you insane?" he demanded.

"That's a little much, even for you," Lisa commented. Kirara sighed, running her hand through her hair. She then sidestepped to avoid Hiyori's attack and grabbed her wrist to stop her swing.

"They're Ichigo's friends, you idiot!" Kirara struggled to keep her grip on the smaller, but stronger Vizard. "What do you think he'd do if you killed them? 'Oh, you guys wanted me to join you? Sure thing!'" Kirara rolled her eyes. "He'd be right over here getting himself killed trying to kill us, or worse, his Hollow could get loose," she pointed out, and Hiyori finally yanked her hand free. "I don't care about humans. I just saved us hassle," she turned and walked away from Hiyori.

"Don't turn your back on me!" Hiyori leapt at her, and Kirara sighed, turning and swinging her leg in the air. Hiyori barely managed to block the powerful kick, but it knocked her back a few metres.

"Not in the mood Hiyori," she muttered.

"What's up with you?" Lisa asked. Kirara gave an irritated sigh.

"Kensei owes you money again," Kirara muttered. Love burst out laughing.

"Are you shitting me?!" Kensei yelled. "What the hell did the dumbass do now?" he demanded.

"I've had enough of her calling me names all day, shut up Kensei," Shinji, who was nursing a bloody nose after multiple beatings from Hiyori, glared at him from the sofa. Kirara stuck out her tongue and walked over, slumping down on the sofa and stretching.

"You've been there two days Shinji, how on earth did you manage to get her found out?" Rose asked curiously, looking over his comic at them.

"Well, Shinji?" Kirara asked as she lifted a book from her bag. "How did Ichigo find out that I'm a Vizard?" she asked innocently.

"You could have just let me take that punch you know," he muttered back at her, glaring.

"Oh, don't you try and turn this on me," Kirara warned him, still sounding amused. "I warned you, and you didn't listen to a word I said," she reminded him.

"Maybe if you'd stopped calling me a dumbass."

"Maybe if you stopped being a dumbass."

"Oh don't start fighting again," Love frowned.

"They fight all the time. They're worse than you, Kensei," Mashiro told the silver-haired Vizard cheerfully.

"Shut up," he growled at her.

"Idiot," Kirara rolled her eyes.

"Uptight Princess," Shinji retorted, before yelping as Kirara leapt at him and grabbed fistfuls of his hair, pulling hard. "Stop that!" he yelled, grabbing her ears as the two began to fight again, much to the exasperation of the others. Kensei glared at them, and reluctantly handed over his money to Lisa. She smirked triumphantly, tucking it under her sailor shirt that was too short on her.

"These idiots are giving me a headache," Kensei complained, turning as he walked off.

"You and me both. I'm gonna get some training in," Hiyori muttered.

"Come on Rose, we've got the dinner run tonight," Love nudged the blond, who was trying to ignore the others as he read. Reluctantly Rose got up, and the pair left as the others began to disperse.

"It was your fault!" Kirara was still pulling as they rolled off the sofa.

"Oh yeah? Maybe if you hadn't been eavesdropping, it wouldn't have happened!" Shinji growled at her.

"Maybe if you didn't suck at trying to recruit Ichigo!" Kirara was still yanking at his hair.

"They're so silly," Mashiro giggled as she bounced away. "Come on Hachi, just leave them to it!" she called to the pink haired Vizard who was trying to stop the pair from arguing. Hachi sighed, following Mashiro and Lisa away.

I probably changed this chapter about four times before deciding on this. I hope you like it!

Please review!