it's been months, i know. you all want to torture me cruelly for making you wait, i know. but i have a new chapter *makes adorable puppy eyes*! i won't bore you all with my busy schedule details but have no fear. it's finally summer which means i have no life and will be writing all the time! so expect new chapters every 2 or 3 weeks, or sooner if i can get them written sooner =] and like always, thank you for you support and sticking with me even though i suffer from sever procrastination problems 3
welcome to my new followers: hard-bitten confinement, Darkwolfdragon16, SweetxPandemonium, DerpDeDerpDers, ThatGirlNamedJen, ROGMethos, GSparts, Kalaia, Aferac, and CamoCountryGirl.
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i love you all!
m
disclaimer: i do not own bleach or any of its characters or locations mentioned in the manga or anime. i just own this story line and the OCs
Chapter 15
Snow had started falling on the gruesome scene by the river. A pool of dark red blood soaked through the pristine white frost covering the ground, and I shivered. It wasn't so much from the cold, but from how I was strangely not revolted by what had happened. I had just sliced a living creature (if that's what you considered a Hollow to be and hey, to each his own) in half. I had felt my blade snap tendons and ligaments, peel muscle from bone, and shatter those bones as well, all in a matter of seconds. I had felt the warm spatters of blood hit my bare skin and drip down my body. I could smell the stench of the Hollow still, after it had disappeared. It was like a rotting corpse, left in the sun, something definitely not found in the midst of winter. Despite all this, my gag reflex seemed to have taken a holiday. My stomach wasn't turning, I wasn't feeling lightheaded. Nothing.
That's what bothered me the most as I knelt down before the pool of crimson. Never before had I taken a life. Certainly, living in Hidori I had broken some noses and bruised some sensitive man parts, all give-ins when you came from that area. But I had never before caused damage to this capacity. Why wasn't I afraid? Why wasn't I feeling remorse at ending something that lived, even as evil as a Hollow?
I lowered my fingers to the surface and lightly touched the blood to make sure it was real. It clung to my fingers feverishly, like water to a dry sponge. I rubbed my fingertips together and watched as the blood dripped back onto the snow.
"What's wrong with me?" I whispered aloud.
"Quite thrilling isn't it?" a voice chuckled from nearby. I picked my head up slowly to see Mikio squatting at the other end of the blood pool. His eyes searched my face, the rest of his body so still he could have passed for a statue. "It gives you a rush like nothing else, doesn't it?" he asked, reaching down and running his fingers through the blood. Holding his hand in front of his face, he watched, mesmerized, as the thick liquid plopped back to earth. That was when the realization came hurtling towards me at full speed.
I stood slowly and backed away from the blood, each step feeling heavier than the one before, as if I was being dragged down into the snow. I could hear it crunch and with every step, I seemed to get no further away from Mikio. No further from the blood. No further from the truth.
I wasn't disgusted by killing the Hollow. I had enjoyed it. I had found no horror in spilling blood. I had relished in it. I had felt the power coursing through my veins as I wielded my zanpakutō, as I felt it cutting through the Hollow's body, and I had wanted more. I yearned for more. It was a feeling that was all too familiar. It was the same as the day I had hurt Ururu. The same power my father had spoken of.
I could hear my breath coming in ragged gasps as my mind began to drown in the sick reality of what I had done. Katsu was right. The power I had over other beings, living or not, was intoxicating and impossible to resist. How long would it be before I used it on innocent people? On my friends and family? My steps started to get bigger as I felt a cold panic spreading through my body. I began to stumble a bit as I walked backwards, always keeping my eyes locked on Mikio's. He smiled and began to laugh. The sound filled my ears and I hated it. I hated him. I hated Katsu and the Hollows and the fact that I had a zanpakutō and I wanted it all to go away.
I covered my ears and my eyes and suddenly felt myself collide with something very solid. A pair of hands settled softly, but firmly, on my shoulders. My heart skipped a few beats. Slowly, I tiled my head back and opened my eyes. I was met with golden eyes and a shock of crimson hair. Renji looked at me hard, but I noticed that flash of softness behind his stupid wall. He squeezed my shoulders. Something moved next to me and I turned my head to see Rukia and Ichigo all dressed in their black robes, poised with zanpakutōs at the ready. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.
"Well this looks like quite a mess doesn't it," a familiar voice drawled from behind us. Kisuke Urahara took slow and steady steps towards the giant stain of blood that was every second getting large as it seemed through more and more snow. He had one arm folded across his chest and the other scratched his chin. His hat was pulled low over his eyes as usual, but there was something different about it. That vibe of authority was again emanating from him, and I could feel it pressing against my skin like an invisible blanket. His spirit pressure... It only comes out when he wants it to…
"That's right, Sayuri," a voice said in my head. "You're learning quickly. You've already noticed there's more to him than he lets on." I recognized the tone as Raiu. Looking down, I saw that I still held her in my hand. Perhaps we were still connected when I was in this form. "We're always connected, Sayuri," Raiu whispered, right on cue. I tightened my hold on her hilt, in a way glad that she was with me even if I couldn't see her.
"The new ones aren't always the cleanest though, are they?" Mikio had stood up, and was still grinning. His eyes flicked around to the different faces currently surrounding me. They rested on Renji's, and his grin got even wider. Renji squeezed my shoulders harder and I winced a bit, but I wasn't about to ask him to let go. Part of me didn't want him to, but I shoved that part away for the time being. Mikio spoke again, "But, can I assume you're here to clean up her mess?" He turned to Urahara who was kneeling beside the blood.
"We're just stopping by really," Urahara answered, standing up. "Possibly even lending a hand." Mikio laughed and threw his hands up.
"Well don't look at me! I'm not the one who chased after her!" He motioned to the stained snow, "She already took care of that monster."
"I see another one standing right here," Renji growled.
"Who me?" Mikio pressed his hands to his chest as if offended. "You wound me sir, I would never try to hurt this…delicious little angel." He eyes drifted over me again, and I felt in need of a shower. Renji grabbed my arm above my elbow and shoved me behind him. Mikio laughed. "Easy there lover boy, I'm not a threat." Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn't help but blush when he called Renji "lover boy". But, before I could get lost in my girlish fantasies, Rukia stepped forward.
"How do you suppose that?" she asked, glaring at the tree man.
"See these vines, sweetheart?" He wiggled his vest a bit, and the vines in turn also squirmed. "The ground is way too hard for them to take root thanks to this damn ice age you humans call winter. I have no power here for the time being I'm afraid. I couldn't really do any damage myself. But my friend here was another story," he said, looking forlornly at the ground where the Hollow had been. "But, funny enough…not one of you has tried to kill me yet. Am I to believe that Soul Reapers are all really as honorable as you seem?" Renji squirmed, and I grabbed the back of his robes tightly.
"And perhaps we haven't killed you yet because we have some questions instead," Urahara interjected, stepping towards Mikio and throwing out his arm to signal that we should all stay back.
"Well, by all means," Mikio said, jumping faster than the speed of light onto a nearby boulder near the riverbank. He sat down and crossed his legs, resting his chin in his hands. "Ask away."
"Why are you here?" Urahara began. "Who are the Shadows, and what do you want with Sayuri?"
"Well, boss man, we're here because we wanna be. We're just people like you, and as for the girl…" Mikio trailed off and his eyes wandered to me again. He licked his lips, but I couldn't break from his gaze. "Who wouldn't wanna play a few games with her?"
Ichigo and Renji both moved at the same time.
"Shut up!" Renji roared.
"That's enough!" Ichigo shouted. They both sprinted towards the tree man, but he was too quick. He disappeared from his spot on the rock, to reappear in midair just above the boys. He stepped on Renji's head, kicking him to the ground and then disappeared again just as Ichigo unsheathed his huge zanpakutō. He flickered in and out of focus, each time coming closer to where Renji had left me standing, until he disappeared. But a warm breeze on the back of my neck clued me in on where he was.
He brushed back my hair from my neck, and I could feel his lips almost touching my ear as he whispered to me, "Like father like daughter, eh? Won't he be pleased to learn what other talents his little girl has?" The others were frozen, staring at us and afraid to move in case Mikio did anything rash. I gripped Raiu's hilt and growled at him through gritted teeth.
"Go to hell." He chuckled.
"Already there, sweetheart. I'll give daddy your regards." Then, I felt his presence disappear. As soon as it did, it felt like all the energy in me was gone. I fell to my knees and welcomed the cold snow as it rushed up to meet my face and the world went dark.
ooo
A loud crash nearby and some shouting pulled me from my catatonic state a few hours later. As I opened my eyes, I saw darkness. Once they adjusted, I recognized one of the extra bedrooms in the back of the Urahara Shop. The sun had gone down, but the moon bounced off the snow outside, dimly illuminating the room. I was on a futon in the middle of the room, wrapped in a warm and heavy blanket. Part of me didn't want to move from my little cocoon of safety, but the events of the day came rushing back to me and I sat up quickly.
I had a bit of a headache, but I stood up and walked to the door. As I did, I passed the wall mirror and froze. At first, I thought Raiu was standing in front of me. But as I looked closer, I realized it wasn't Raiu. It was me. And I was wearing the exact same clothes as my zanpakutō, but the colors were inverted. My pants and chest wrap were white and my boots were black, as was the robe I wore over everything. The hemming was frayed and jagged and there were no sleeves. Around my neck was a black cowl that could easily be pulled over the lower half of my face, just like Raiu's. I looked like a Soul Reaper, only different. Maybe that's what you get when you mix Soul Reaper with Shadow…
"-always the one who has to clean up your messes!" Someone stomped past my room, and I was snapped back into reality. I walked to the door and slid it open. Outside, the hallway was dark and still. Light spilled out from the open door at the other end which led to the small main room that was right off the store. As I came closer, I could hear even more people.
Stepping into the light, I realized that all my friends were present. Even Chad, Orihime, and Uryuu were seated around the table. Tessai was in the corner and Ururu was serving everyone tea. They all turned to look at me when I stepped through the doorway.
"Well look who decided to wake up," Jinta sneered from the corner. "Nice costume, Stripes." Orihime stood up and ran to me, wrapping her arms hard around my neck.
"I'm so glad you're alright!" she said, a small sob catching in her throat. "Yuroichi told us what happened!" Her concern was endearing, but her boobs were beginning to suffocate me, so I patted her on the back and softly pulled myself away.
"I'm fine," I said. Wow, this was starting to become my catchphrase.
"Of course you are," a voice said from behind me and I turned to see Rukia with a roll of paper towels. "It's not like this was the first Hollow you've ever fought." She slipped past me and kneeled at the other side of the table, dabbing the floor where someone must have spilled something. I nodded in agreement with her and sat down at the table next to Orihime.
"Yeah," I said. "It wasn't that bad."
"Oh please," Jinta said, crawling over from his spot in the corner. "You were freaking out before you changed!"
"I was not! I was just worried about you guys," I said, realizing how childish I sounded arguing with him. What could I say, Jinta just brought out the ten year old in me no matter what was happening. As he began entertaining everyone with interpretations of my facial expressions during the fight, I looked around and noticed that in fact not everyone was present.
"Where are Urahara and Renji?" I whispered to Orihime.
"Well, Urahara's almost done running tests from your sample and Renji's out looking for that scary tree man."
"He is? Why?" I asked. Orihime looked thoughtful and began stroking her chin.
"Well, we could all sense something was happening, so everyone met up here. Then Renji comes bursting through the door carrying you and he was yelling at Urahara about getting some answers about something, and then Urahara took a sample from you and it was going to take a while to test and Renji kept walking around and finally stomped out and it was kind of scary and-" Orihime began to digress about how one time she got angry and tried to dramatically exit a room and walked into the closed door and something about a cactus. At that point I started ignoring her. So Renji was out looking for Mikio. Not surprising after the way he reacted to him by the river. Mikio seemed to really piss Renji off more than the others, but I couldn't quite figure out why. Just then, Orihime's other words sunk in.
"Wait wait wait," I waved at her to be quiet. "What do you mean Urahara took a sample from me?" Just then, the door slid open, and Kisuke walked into the room with some papers in hand.
"A blood sample, Miss Kobayashi. I figured it was about time we started getting some answers to our questions about you."
"You took a blood sample from me? While I was unconscious?" I suddenly felt violated. Like someone had stolen my diary and posted it on the internet…or hung a pair of my underwear from the roof of the school. I shivered. The thought of Urahara stabbing me with needles while I was comatose made me more than uncomfortable. "I don't even think doctors can legally do that!"
"Well, you weren't exactly awake enough to give your consent were you?" He grinned and plopped himself down on his pillow. I glared at him. One day I would strangle this man.
"What did you find out?" Ichigo asked, taking a sip of his tea. Everyone moved slightly closer to the table and I suddenly felt exposed. But I wanted to know too, perhaps more than anyone else in the room.
"Something quite interesting actually." Urahara spread the papers out before him. "It seems our little Sayuri isn't actually half Shadow, half human like we originally thought. In fact," he paused and looked up at me, "She's not part human at all." Silence, thicker than heavy fog, descended on the room. I looked around at my friends. Some looked confused, some calculating. I, however, was completely lost.
"Excuse me?" I asked. "What does that even mean, 'not human'?"
"It means exactly that," Urahara sighed, sliding onto his side and resting his head on his hand. "Your genetic makeup holds no human DNA. Not surprising since neither of your parents were human when you were conceived." I thought about it, and realized he was right. My mother was a Soul Reaper which meant she wasn't a living human being like Ichigo. She was a spirit being, as was my father.
"But, then how am I…like this?" I motioned my hands around myself, gesturing at my obvious human appearance.
"Well, Shadows and Soul Reapers both take on the appearances of humans. So it's understandable that's what you would look like as well," Yuroichi chimed in as she leapt onto the table and began to read the papers in a creepy non-feline way.
"But other humans can see her," Rukia said.
"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "When we're in this form, only other spirit beings can see us. So why can humans see her?" There was a murmur of agreement around the room.
"I wondered that myself," Urahara said, and began to finger through the pages until he pulled out a particularly long sheet covered in some kind of graph. "It seems that her concentration of spirit energy is…well, it's unlike anything I've seen before." He laid the chart out on the table and we all leaned forward. I didn't understand most of the numbers, but the words on labeling the chart were clear.
Along the side it read "Reiatsu Levels" and along the bottom were the past couple months, going back to when I arrived in Karakura Town. There was a steady increase every month until about September and October, when the line became almost vertical. It started rising at unbelievable rate and currently the line was reaching past the edges of the paper. I looked around at the other's faces, but they were all as dumbstruck as I was.
"This amount of spirit energy…it's…it's…," Rukia searched for words as she ran a finger over the line.
"It's unheard of," Yuroichi finished for her, licking her paws and flicking her tail back and forth as she kept her eyes on me. I could feel myself getting nervous. It couldn't be good that the only people who seemed knowledgeable about who I was were at a loss for answers.
"With these levels, shouldn't we be seeing more of an effect on everything surrounding her?" Uryuu was leaning over the chart and slid his glasses farther up his nose. His eyes were scanning the other pages as well and he picked up one particularly long sheet full of numbers I didn't understand. "How come there's no effect? People aren't losing consciousness around her. No buildings are being torn apart. Even I can't seem to detect any kind of…overload in her spirit pressure. Ichigo loses his temper and you can feel the ripples on the other side of town." Ichigo shot him a glare.
"Isn't that part of what Shadows can do?" I asked, feeling as if I needed to contribute something to the argument about my personal genetic identity. "They can hide their spirit pressure can't be detected, right? Maybe that's why you can't sense it?" Uryuu frowned and shook his head. Orihime's eyebrows scrunched together in the middle of her forehead as she thought hard about everything being said.
"These levels are still insane," Uryuu said. "They're just not humanly possible."
"Isn't it obvious then?" Everyone turned to look at Urahara.
"What is?" I asked, feeling my heart beating against my rib cage. He tipped back his hat and looked straight into my eyes.
"You're not human, Sayuri. Not even close."
I was confused. I blinked a few times and was almost tempted to shake my head out a bit in case I had misheard him.
"What?" I asked. He pushed himself up into a sitting position again and leaned forward so that his elbows rested on the table.
"You're not human. Nowhere in your DNA is there a single atom that is human. You're one hundred percent spirit being."
"How's that even possible?" Ichigo asked.
"But she can be seen," Rukia said. She grabbed my arm and held it up, flapping it around a bit. "Humans can see her. Her parents, our classmates…people on the street…."
"Can you people not read charts?" Urahara scoffed. "Honestly what are they teaching you in that prison called school if not things to help you survive in the world?" He snatched up my reiatsu chart and pointed to the line traveling all the way up the white parchment and then off into the unknown. "Her spirit energy levels are so high that they've all coalesced into a solid form that even the weakest of eyes could see. Humans, with their disbelieving minds and lack of anything exciting and spiritual can see her as plainly as a bright red stop sign in front of their faces."
"That's why I didn't need a gigai, isn't it?" I asked. "I'm already in "spirit being form"." Urahara nodded.
"Well, the change of clothes is still quite interesting," Yuroichi said. She padded across the table to me and sniffed the black cloak I wore. "It seems to be an interesting take on a Soul Reaper's _." I looked down and took some of the material between my fingers.
"It's exactly what Raiu was wearing," I said, more to myself than to the cat but her feline ears picked up my words.
"Who?" I looked up and blushed a bit.
"Raiu," I stammered. I pulled my zanpakutō out from underneath my cloak. It looked like an ordinary sword, no different from Rukia's and Ichigo's and Renji's when they were all sheathed. "She told me that was her name." Everyone was staring at me. Great.
"So you've met your zanpakutō already? That was fast," Urahara chuckled.
"Is that normal?" I asked, the worry evident in my voice. The others laughed softly.
"Every zanpakutō has a physical form," Rukia told me. "It's how they communicate with us when they need to." I reached down and took the hilt of my sword in my right hand and the sheath in the other. Slowly, I pulled it out just a bit, just enough to see myself in the reflection on the blade.
"She looked exactly like me. Even her eyes were the same…." I watched my own eyes flick around in the reflection and remembered how solid Raiu's had looked. How determined and strong and sure. Mine were frightened, skittish, and weak. The complete opposite. I didn't deserve a zanpakutō. I was a Shadow, not a Soul Reaper. I shouldn't be given any more power that could be used to hurt people. I had already injured Ururu with my lightning and now I had been entrusted with an oversized kitchen knife.
"Hey!" a voice shouted in my head. "Watch the insults, girl, or next time I won't be so helpful." Looking down, I saw that my reflection had changed. The cloak I was wearing was white and the same eyes but different stared back at me. Quickly, almost before I could register it, my reflection winked at me. I felt my own eyes widen. "Just take it one step at a time, Sayuri."
The door to the room slammed open and we all looked up to see Renji step inside, panting. I felt myself let out a deep breath, as if I had been holding it this entire time, waiting for him to safely return. I mentally kicked myself.
We all spent the rest of the night listening to Renji tell us about his wild chase. He had followed Mikio around town for hours, always alternating between being able to feel the Shadow and then losing the trail completely. He was too exhausted to argue back when Ichigo called him an idiot, but did have the strength to throw his bowl of ramen at Ichigo, none to Ururu's pleasure who had just served them.
I could have sat there forever, in that room, with warm food listening to my friends bicker and tease each other. It was perfect and safe and no one was fighting or getting hurt or dying. But, as the moon rose higher in the sky, my moment of happiness grew ever shorter until it was time to go. We all said our goodbyes at the opening to the lot. Before I could leave, Rukia took hold of my wrist.
"You seemed to take everything in pretty well, considering what we found out today." She smiled softly at me, searching my face for any hint of a breakdown. I smiled weakly back at her.
"Yeah well, my life just seems to be full of surprises lately. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm still kinda stuck back there at 'you're not a human', but it actually didn't shock me as much as even I thought it would. I guess a part of me always kind of knew I was different. And not just different but…you know, really different."
"We're going to figure all this out. I promise," she said, squeezing my wrist a bit before she let go. As I watched her walk away, I waved.
"Yeah, maybe," I said quietly. Turning back to the shop I noticed Renji leaning against the doorframe, watching me. How long had he been there? Creep. I wanted to smile, but forced myself to look serious. I nodded at him and then walked out onto the street.
As I walked along I finally started to let the day's events sink in. I was a Soul Reaper, like my mother. I had a sword that talked to me in my head and looked like me when it decided to be a person (because swords could do that). And I had sliced a monster as big as a building in half as easily as cutting through cake. The fact that all this was not raising flags in my mind was unsettling. Had I become so used to being a freak that even more weirdness rolled off my back like nothing? Was I that desensitized?
Or perhaps being a Soul Reaper didn't frighten me at all just because I somehow always expected it. Ever since Urahara had told me my mother was a Soul Reaper, I had begun to assume it would happen to me eventually. Maybe because it was something inherited from my mom, that's why it didn't frighten me. As much as my father was a creepy shadow monster, my mother was the opposite. She was warm and loving and nothing like him.
I thought of that man as I pulled my coat closer, flipping the collar up to block out the icy gusts of wind sweeping past me. I became fully aware of just how late it was and how dark it had gotten. The street was lined with lights, but large shadows were cast against the walls lining the sidewalks. Cautiously, I stepped into the empty road, preferring to walk the line rather than through those dark patches. Lately I just had an overbearing fear of shadows. I could hear the wind howl between the houses and something rustle behind me.
Turning around I saw nothing, just an empty street. I kept walking, unable to shake the uneasy pit in my stomach. Trying not to appear worried or panicked, I kept my face empty of emotion, but reached out with my mind. Like fingers, I felt my consciousness trail down back down the road behind me, turning over heaps of snow, searching behind trashcans and mailboxes. There was something out there. I knew it, even if I couldn't find it.
As if in response to my thoughts, a presence stirred nearby. Too late I realized it was in front of me, not behind. I slowed to a stop in the street, my eyes stretching wide in the darkness, trying to see what I could already feel. The presence began to grow larger, stronger, and more solid. My senses suddenly snapped into focus on a patch of shadow a block ahead of where I stood. As I watched and waited, I could see the blackness start to waver and morph. This can't be good….
The first thing I could make out in the dark was a pair of eyes. My heart faltered and a voice inside my head started screaming for me to move, to run back to the shop where it was bright and safe and there were strong people to help me. But are they really stronger than you, another voice in my head whispered over the fear that had suddenly taken over. You saw the charts, you heard what they said. You could crush them if only you reached out and tried…. That was true. I probably could crush them. I was the strongest one after all, the one with more power than every one of my friends combined. I began to feel the lightning heat in my core and it started to spread through my body. As I felt it racing through my blood, I was suddenly scared, not of what was happening but of myself. I wasn't me.
Closing off my mind, I pulled myself back to my body and instantly felt the hunger for power subside. It hadn't been me egging myself on like that. It had been fueled by something else, or someone. I clenched my fists and looked up angrily at my father's crimson eyes glowing amidst the darkness surrounding him. He was leaning against the wall, grinning, and looking at me the way a hungry dog stares down a piece of meat. It made a shiver run down my spine, but I held the anger in my eyes. He had been pushing me, I knew it. We had somehow connected and he had been fueling my lust for power just like he had been trying to do from the start.
Katsu began to laugh, a low sinister sound that made my skin crawl. It was cruel, as if he enjoyed toying with me like this.
"You're beginning to understand now aren't you? Just how connected we are?" He pushed off the wall and began walking toward me. I noticed his feet were bare under his robes, but he didn't seem to notice the frozen ground below him. For every step he took closer to me, I took one back down the street the way I had come. "It's only natural. After all, you are my daughter." At this he started laughing again. I stopped walking and glared at him.
"I'm not your anything," I said quietly, but he still heard me even as far away as he was.
"Don't be fresh now, dear. It's not polite." He wagged one long, thin, white finger at me. Crossing his arms behind his back, he began to pace around like a father about to give his daughter a lecture. Except we were so far from that postcard moment it wasn't even funny. "Mikio tells me you were quite rude to him today. All he wanted was to have some fun with you."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's what he wanted. You creeps set Hollows on everyone you want to play with? Whose got the bad people skills now?" I had no idea where my newfound defiance was coming from, but the idea of Katsu rooting around in my head and pushing me to think certain things really pissed me off. He sneered at me.
"Bit of a temper I see." I sneered back at him. I wasn't going to let this guy think he had any control over me whatsoever. "That's good. Why, you're practically on fire aren't you? Didn't your mother ever teach you how to treat your elders? Oh, wait," he grinned, a smile so evil I would have bet money he was the Devil himself. "She's dead, isn't she?"
"Screw you," I hissed through gritted teeth. I could feel my insides burning up again, but this time I didn't stop it. I was going to fry the smile right off this jerk's face.
"Now that's enough of this nonsense, Sayuri." He became serious, his eyes turning a darker shade of crimson. "I've had enough of these games. I've been told you've been living with a human family. That you surround yourself everyday with their pathetic kind. Shame on you. You should know better by now than to associate with a lower species. As my daughter-"
"They're my friends. And my real family. I'll associate with whomever I want. And let's get one thing straight," I lowered my voice to a growl as lightning bolts flickered between my fingers. "You may have been responsible for bringing me into this world, but you are not my father. We are not connected in any way and never will be." I took a deep breath and held his gaze, refusing to back down. Katsu's eyes narrowed to red slits.
"You are mine, you ridiculous child. I created you. My blood is in your veins, gives you life. You should be grateful to me," he spat. A dim light began to glow around the edges of his body, wavering like the edges of a flame. I knew it would come to this. I would have to fight my way out.
"Oh I am grateful," I said, enjoying the look of confusion on his face. "Because if you hadn't created me, I wouldn't be here to kill you." I raised my arm and shot a thick bolt of lightning straight for Katsu's chest, then quickly jumped atop the nearest lamppost and let loose another. Katsu merely took a step to the side to dodge my attacks. Looking up, he smiled that evil smile at me again. Reaching out his hand he called to me.
"Just come with me, child. You don't need to die. Join me, as you were meant to." My response was another lightning bolt, this time aimed right at his face. He stepped out of the way again and the smile slid off his face. "So be it."
He leapt into the air and came right towards me, faster than I could even blink. I felt him grab hold of my collar and suddenly we were falling. I lashed out my arms, beating against his chest as hard as I could. Just before we hit the ground I pulled free and quick-stepped onto the wall just behind us. I squatted there, panting and trying to think three steps ahead like I had been taught.
Katsu spun around and found me fast enough. Without a second to lose he was after me again, holding a large orange ball of fire in his palm. I had started to launch myself away when he shot it towards me. I wasn't quite quick enough and it hit the top of my left arm, searing through the fabric of my coat and cutting at my skin like thousands of tiny knives. I was thrown off balance and luckily landed in a snow drift. I shoved my arm down into the powder and waved away the steam that came back in place of the flames. Looking down, I saw a nasty red and pink burn on my arm.
"Did that hurt?" Katsu snarled at me. "Here, have another." I could feel the heat of the fire before I saw it coming. Faster than I had ever moved before, I jumped up and ran until I came to the lamppost. I put my back to it and watched Katsu come stomping after me. Waiting for the last possible moment, I kept myself pinned to the post. As Katsu's fireball came for me, I jumped to the side, shooting a bolt of lightning at him. He was too distracted by me to see that he had burned right through the base of the lamp and it was tilting towards him.
I ran back and dived past it, kicking out my foot and feeling it make contact with solid post. The light fell over quickly, and Katsu only noticed just in time to throw himself out of the way. In his moment of panic, I shot another bolt at him, and watched with pleasure as it struck him in the shoulder. He flew backwards and I began to run down the street, trying to put as much distance between us as possible while he was down. But I wasn't nearly fast enough.
I felt him grab the back of my collar, choking the air out of me. My body flew through the air and collided with the nearest street wall. The back of my head slammed into the concrete and my vision began swimming as tears came to my eyes. Suddenly he was in front of me, his pale spindly fingers grasping my throat firmly, sliding me up the wall until my feet left the ground. As I looked into his eyes I knew he was going to kill me. I could see in them all the hatred I never knew anyone could ever possess. He raised his arm and just before he could let loose another fire ball, we both froze.
Whistling was coming from around the corner. A cheery Christmas tune so out of place at the moment I could have laughed. Except for the fact that I, indeed, couldn't breathe. I stared back at Katsu, not knowing what was about to happen, when he suddenly smiled. Then he was gone. I fell to the ground but gained my footing and kept my back against the wall, not knowing where he had disappeared to.
I heard a commotion around the corner and a yelp. Katsu came stomping back through the snow, dragging a young man by his hair. The man was shouting protestations and threats to call the police, but Katsu didn't respond. He had a terrifying look on his face and I was gripped with a fear not only for my life, but the life of this man who had seriously been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"You are my daughter," Katsu spat out, shouting and pointing his free hand at me. "You will join me. Because that's what I created you for. You are to be the bridge between the world of the Shadows and the world of the Soul Reapers. We will replenish our numbers and I will quench my thirst at last. I've grown so thirsty after all." What was he talking about? I stared back at him, lost and confused and frightened. "It's about time you started paying me back for giving you life, Sayuri. And if you keep refusing me…well, then," his eyes slid down to the man.
"No!" I shouted, but it did no good. Hoisting him up by his hair, Katsu looked into the man's face. Suddenly his eyes began to burn like they really were on fire and he opened his mouth wide. The man began to scream but the sound was soon cut off.
A silvery blue wisp of smoke began snaking its way out of the man's mouth. Katsu, in turn, began to suck it in like a vacuum. I felt my legs collapse under me in fear and I slid down the wall, unable to take my eyes off of the man's writhing body, lifted off the ground. When it was all over, I watched as a light seemed to slowly flicker off behind the man's eyes and he went limp. Katsu dropped his body to the ground with a thud where it lay still, never to move again. He turned his eyes back to me.
"I will devour every last human in this town until you come to your senses if I have to. And soon, I'll find a way to your friends' precious Soul Society, too. Consider this the beginning of the end, child. And only you can stop it. You will join me one day. Because that is who you are. That is who I made you to be."
I looked up into my father's eyes. So many emotions were swimming inside my head at that moment. Fury that he had just killed an innocent man, guilt that I had been unable to stop it, and fear. Fear of his absolute power. Fear that what he was saying was true, that I would one day fall victim to him. Fear for my friends and the people I loved. And fear of myself…that I wouldn't be able to stop myself from turning into my father, that I would become a monster like him. Fear that I couldn't be saved.
All I could do was shake my head and watch as Katsu stepped back into the shadows and disappeared piece by piece until his eyes were all that were left, glowing like embers in the darkness.