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Chapter 32: Fight For Control

Approaching the man standing in the middle of the training ground they had been provided, Kirara touched his arm gently.

"Rose?" he blinked, snapping out of his thoughts to look down at the young woman standing beside him. She was covered in cuts and bruises, and there were dark lines under her eyes.

"Oh, Kirara, how are you feeling?" he smiled softly down at her, but there was conflict behind his gaze as Kirara studied his exhausted features.

"Alive," Kirara wanted to ask him how he was, but couldn't bring herself to ask. She knew that only a few hours ago, she'd have hated someone asking her that. "You ready?" she asked softly.

"Not in the slightest," Rose gave a small chuckle. "But I suppose I have no choice. This is the only way," he sighed, and Kirara nodded, worried for her friend. He winced, putting a hand to his head. Kirara reached out a hand to him, before someone else grasped her arm.

"Come on," Shinji's voice was low as he pulled her away. "Rose," he stopped, tilting his head to look over his shoulder to the taller man. "Remember what I said. Get in, kick its ass, get out," Shinji told him. Rose nodded.

"I know," his voice was soft, and he closed his purple eyes as they moved away.

"Hachi," Shinji called to the pink-haired kido expert as he released Kirara's arm. Hachi nodded, and clapped his hands together twice, calling on a barrier that surrounded Rose. The blond in the centre of the circle took a seat, his eyes closed as he focused intently. "Hey," Shinji caught Kirara's arm as she went to walk off, and when she looked around, he took her hand, putting something in it before turning and walking away.

"What..." Kirara frowned, and looked down, opening her hand. Her eyes widened, and she clenched her hand into a tight fist. "That asshole," she whispered, turning back to Rose as she put her hand to her chest. Tears stung at her eyes as her weary state only made her emotions worse.

Then she felt the pulse of Reiatsu, and blinked. It was becoming familiar to her, feeling the spike of Hollow-like energy, before a strong wind picked up and Rose's hands rose to his head. The white substance that made up a Hollow's Mask began to cover his face, leaving part of it uncovered as he struggled at first, before relaxing as it completely took over. Kirara then sighed, and walked towards the barrier. "Hachi, I'm first," she called over to him.

"Of course," he nodded, lifting a finger. A doorway opened, and Kirara walked over to it.

"Oi Kirara, be careful," Kensei called. "You've got fifteen minutes, then I'm coming in," he told her.

"Watch it Kensei, you almost sound concerned for me," Kirara couldn't resist calling back as she walked into the forcefield. The doorway shut as Kensei scoffed, one of the few whose mind was clear again. The others watched silently, knowing that their turn would soon be happening.

Kirara took a breath as she walked away from the walls of the forcefield, and finally raised her eyes to Rose, who slowly got to his feet when he noticed her. Almost all of his face had been covered with a white Mask that was different to the others she'd seen so far. Shaped like a bird, it had a long beak that started to cover his nose, and all that Kirara could see of Rose's face was one eye, both of which were black and gold in colour, and his mouth, twisted in a sadistic smirk.

He slowly got to his feet, growling as he stared at her. Kirara took a breath, and reached up, tying the green ribbon in her hand back around her hair. Once it was secure, she drew her Zanpakuto. "Ready, Rose?" she asked softly, pointing the tip of the blade at him as he growled again, and shot at her.

Narrowly avoiding Ichigo's punch, Kirara saw his fist slammed into a rock, shattering it. Kirara didn't waste any time watching as she leapt into the air to dodge his tail, only for his clawed hand to grab her by her ankle and swing her around, hurling her towards the barrier. Righting herself in the air, Kirara's feet hit the side of the barrier and she pushed off it, flying straight at him and swinging her Zanpakuto.

Ichigo's snarl grew as he blocked her swing and shoved her back. As soon as she landed, Kirara pushed at him again, not letting up in her relentless assault. She was breathing heavily, not giving Ichigo a chance to attack her first. The moment she did that, would be the moment she started getting her ass kicked.

"Come on Ichigo, hurry the hell up," she muttered, ducking under his slash. However, as she jumped out of the way, she noticed strands of her hair falling to the ground. "Oh, great. I wasn't looking for a haircut, asshole," she muttered, and pushed to the side as Ichigo's fist slammed to the ground, creating a small tremor as rocks and dust kicked up.

Ichigo shrieked loudly, and lashed out at Kirara, growing agitated with her dodging. She blocked his sword, and winced when one of his claws caught her other arm. She jumped back; blood soaking her jacket and running down her hand. Ignoring the pain, Kirara dodged again, pushing in and refusing to go on the defensive. She couldn't let him dictate their fight.

She was knocked off her feet when his tail slammed the ground and knocked her over. She rolled out of the way of his attack, scrambling to try and get back to her feet as she swore internally. This was not a position she should be in. Her heart was pounding painfully as she saw Ichigo raise his Zanpakuto to strike her again, only for Rose to block it and shove him back.

"Losing your touch, Kirara?" he asked with a soft smile.

"Just having an off day," she shrugged, getting to her feet. "10 minutes already? How boring," Kirara dismissed it easily, turning and walking towards the edge of the barrier. "And Rose?" she called to the man, who was watching Ichigo with a frown.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Thanks," she smiled, disappearing outside and leaving Rose to take on Ichigo next.

As Rose cleaned up Kirara's arm, which she had been neglecting in favour of watching the Vizards fight Ichigo, she kept her gaze on Love, who was bleeding from a cut up his torso where Ichigo had managed to catch him. Those who had been in fighting so far were bruised and banged up, all catching their breaths as they waited. It had been over an hour already, and Ichigo seemed to have completely Hollowfied.

"Kensei," Lisa called out to the man holding the watch. "What's the longest amount of time any one of us has taken to control our Hollow?" she asked him.

"It was Hiyori, at 69 minutes, 2 seconds," Kensei spoke softly. Kirara shivered at the memory. Hiyori's Hollow had been particularly vicious, even for a Hollow. None of them had come out unscathed, and Kirara still had the scar on her thigh.

"How many minutes has it been now?" Kirara called over to him. He glanced back down at the watch in his hand.

"68 minutes...and 44 seconds," Kensei told them. Kirara sighed, looking back to Ichigo, before flinching.

"Sorry, but you really should have done this before," Rose smiled at her, cleaning the last of the blood from around the cut. "I think it's safe to say your jacket is ruined," he told her, glancing to the blood-soaked jacket nearby before lifting the bandages to wrap around it.

"Ichigo owes me a new one," Kirara muttered. Feeling a pulse of energy, their eyes widened and they looked around sharply to see Ichigo pointing two clawed fingers at Love. Red energy began to gather, shining brightly and filled with power.

"It's a Cero!" Lisa realised in horror.

"Don't worry!" Love held a hand over his face.

"Do you think he's going to have to Hollowfy?" Mashiro, sitting near Kirara and Rose, asked worriedly.

"Of course, he's not an idiot. Even Love must Hollowfy to block that," Rose told her, looking worried himself. "The Reiatsu is too intense," he said, before a blood exploded from a cut that appeared on Ichigo's arm. His Cero disrupted, Ichigo shrieked, and Love lowered his arm in surprise.

"What's going on?" Lisa asked as Ichigo screamed, more cuts appearing on his body and spurting blood everywhere.

"Hachi! Get Love out of the barrier now!" Hiyori yelled to the man, who immediately provided a doorway for Love to escape through. As soon as he was clear, the door shut again, and Ichigo continued to scream. Bright light suddenly filled the barrier, and exploded in a powerful burst of energy that created a strong wind that whipped at the Vizards standing nearby. When the smoke and dust finally settled, Ichigo stood motionless in the middle of the barrier. The white shell of the Hollow then fell off, shattering and disappearing as soon as it hit the ground, leaving Ichigo in his Shinigami robes, and a Mask.

"Now, Hachi," Shinji finally spoke.

"As you command," Hachi snapped his fingers, and the barrier instantly shattered. Ichigo then tilted forwards, and fell face first onto the ground, his Mask bouncing off and lying beside him.

"He's looking pretty banged up Hachi...you think he'll be alright?" Mashiro whispered to the much larger man, who just shushed her. As Shinji approached Ichigo, Kirara looked to the Mask on the ground. Much like his Hollow, Ichigo's Mask was shaped like a skull with sharp teeth, with the left side covered in red stripes.

"So how do you feel now?" Shinji asked the motionless boy on the ground. At first, he didn't respond, but after a minute, turned his head to grin up at the blond. Dried blood covered his forehead, along with a trail of sweat, but he looked better than he had done in a long time.

"Fine, not bad at all," Ichigo told him.

"Very good," Shinji grinned back at him. Nearby, the Hollow Mask disappeared as Ichigo lifted his black sword.

Ichigo cried out as he slammed through another rock, and Kirara winced sympathetically.

"He really sucks," she murmured, shaking her head as he pushed himself back up. "Whose idea was it for Hiyori to train him?" Kirara wondered as she watched Ichigo trying to fight off Hiyori, who was wearing her Mask and knocking him around.

"It was Hiyori's. You want to argue with her about it?" Shinji asked, his head on her lap as she played idly with his hair, watching Ichigo being battered by Hiyori. Kirara scoffed.

"No thank you. I like my head where it is. And I've got enough bruises already, I don't need any sandal marks," she added, shivering at the thought.

"Smart decision."

"One of us has to make them," Kirara smirked down at him. Shinji frowned, shooting her a sideways glance as she smirked down at him, but it quickly faded. "You know...you got pretty mad at Ichigo," she spoke softly. "Are you alright?" Kirara asked, her fingers still as they remained tangled in his short hair.

"Fine. The kid just got on my nerves. Kinda like you like to do, Princess," he gave a small chuckle, before yelping as Kirara gave his hair a sharp tug.

"Don't be an idiot, Hirako," she warned, but her voice was still soft. "You're the one who likes to get on my nerves," Kirara muttered, and he grinned, but didn't respond as they both returned their attention to Ichigo, as Kirara's fingers continued running through his hair.

Ichigo went barrelling past, and as he stopped, his Mask shattered. As soon as it did, Hiyori appeared in front of him, and kicked his head so he rolled backwards and slammed into another boulder. She landed, running at him as Kirara shook her head again.

"I told you not to release your Hollow form without permission!" she screeched at him.

"What are you, stupid?!" Ichigo demanded, bursting out of the rubble. "I'd have been in trouble if I hadn't used it then!" he argued.

"Shut up! Dumbass!" Hiyori kicked him again, and he slammed into another rock.

"They're as bad as each other for not listening to anything," Kirara mused. "And he's as bad as you for arguing with Hiyori," she teased Shinji.

"Even I'm not that bad," he muttered, and frowned when he heard multiple scoffs of disbelief. Kirara chuckled in amusement. As Ichigo and Hiyori continued to yell, the others just watched.

"Well, they're getting along swimmingly," Rose spoke as he and Love sat on a rock, eating their lunch.

"I think we're going to need to restock the first aid kit," Kirara murmured. It had already been running low, and she suspected it wouldn't be long before they were out, what with Ichigo being battered the way he was.

"Faster Ichigo! Again!" Hiyori yelled at him, finally switching to let him call on his Mask.

"Shut up!" he snapped back at her. "I know what to do!" he fell into a stance and summoned his Mask, before raising his arm to block Hiyori's kick. "That hurts!" he snapped, his voice warped.

"Your first move after you put on your Mask is too slow! If the fight were decided by the first blow, you'd be done for!" Hiyori screeched, finally landing a blow that sent him flying.

"His retention time isn't increasing very quickly," Hachi commented from nearby.

"Well it's not a simple thing..." Shinji reminded him. Kirara had to agree. It had taken them a hundred years to get to where they were now, and even then most of them could only last a maximum of five minutes. Above them, Ichigo's Mask shattered.

"Four seconds," Kensei announced.

"Only?!" Shinji sat up, and Kirara giggled.

"He really does suck," she commented. "Even Hiyori could hold hers for longer from the start," she shook her head.

"Hey, how come you guys are making the carrot top kid go through all of this?" Mashiro, who was lying nearby, asked curiously.

"It's practice," Kensei stated her as he looked around. "So he can maintain his Hollow for long periods of time. You did it too," he reminded her.

"Oh no I didn't!" Mashiro smiled brightly back, making him scowl.

"What?! You liar!" he hissed at her.

"No it's true," Shinji spoke up, glancing to the pair. "Mashiro was able to Hollowfy for over 15 hours from the very start," he reminded Kensei, who was glaring at the green-haired Vizard. "So she's the only one who didn't have to go through the training."

"Is that how it was? I'd forgotten all about it," Kensei muttered, looking back at the watch in his hand as Mashiro smiled brightly at him.

"See Kensei, you big grouch!" she pulled a face at him. "You're such a jerk!" she taunted him.

"Hey, shut up!" Kensei snapped at her.

"Fighting again, Kensei?" Kirara teased him.

"Like you can talk!" he shouted.

"Now now!" Hachi tried to interfere, before something caught his attention and he looked away sharply.

"What's the matter, Hachi?" Shinji noticed his distraction, glancing to their Kido expert.

"There's a problem..." Hachi's voice was quiet, and he looked worried. Kirara frowned, wondering just what would have caused him such immediate concern. "Someone just slipped through my forcefield and entered the building," he warned them, causing everyone, bar Ichigo and Hiyori, to look around sharply.

"A Shinigami?" Love asked quickly. They knew that the group that Kirara had met before were still hanging about town.

"No..." Hachi frowned, trying to get a feel for the intruder. "The Hachigosogai I put around this location is a technique I devised on my own when I became Vizard," he explained. "It can't be broken by a Shinigami's Kido," Kensei leapt to his feet.

"Then who is it?!" he demanded. "Are you suggesting it's a Vizard like us?!" he stared at the puzzled man.

"I really don't know," Hachi admitted. "The thing that puzzles me the most, is that they didn't get in by destroying the barrier, rather they just slipped right through it. A Vizard certainly wouldn't be able to do something like that, not at all," he surmised.

"Then what the hell could have gotten through like that?" Kirara wondered. "Your barriers are designed to only let us through, and that's only if you choose to," she murmured, and they all looked to the stairs, ready to face their intruder.

The group watched as a lone figure walked down the stairs, with long red hair, big, nervous grey eyes, and the uniform of Karakura High School.

"A...human?" Kensei growled.

"Uh...hi...there..." Orihime swallowed. "Excuse me, anyone know where the restroom is?" she asked. "Just kidding!" she gave a nervous laugh.

"Say what?!" Kensei snarled.

"She said she was just kidding, Kensei," Lisa spoke up. "It's a joke. Don't get mad," she told him.

Kirara couldn't help it as she stared up at the young girl, who was looking at them nervously. She burst out laughing.

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