Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach
Chapter 6
Waking Up
Sayomi blinked her pale blue eyes open and rubbed at her temples with her thin fingers. 'Another dream, I seem to be having a lot of dreams about the past lately.'
Blinking again, she looked from side to side without moving her head and a curious look found its way to her face as she raised one of her snowy eyebrows in bewilderment. "Where am I?" She slowly asked aloud.
'You're at the Quincy boy's house,' Fuyukaze replied in his cool, airy voice.
"Ooohhh," Sayomi drawled. "Uh, why?"
'You really don't remember, Sayomi-sama?' Fuyukaze asked, sounding a little concerned for her mental health.
"Oh, that's right. Shinji's a lying ass, Byakuya's alive, and Ichigo..." Sayomi sighed and trailed off as she ran a hand through her long white hair.
She slid out of the bed that she guessed Uryu had placed her in the night before and walked to the door that led into the living room. She was a little surprised to see that he wasn't there, there was a folded up blanket and a pillow on the couch, but no Uryu.
"He must have gone to class," Sayomi observed, glancing at a clock that was on the wall that read that it was a little after eleven in the morning.
Sayomi sighed and walked over to Uryu's couch and plopped down on it before resting her elbows on her knees and putting her head in her hands.
'What are you going to do?' Fuyukaze asked her.
"I don't know, Fuyu. I'm not going back to the warehouse. I'll most likely kill Shinji if I do. The fool lied to me," Sayomi answered her voice rising angrily at the end.
'I'm sure he had his reasons,' Fuyukaze told her simply.
'And I'm sure I know them,' Sayomi answered dully, reverting to thinking instead of speaking aloud, 'He was trying to protect me. To protect Byakuya even. A part of me can understand, but a part of me just can't forgive him for this.'
Sayomi stood from the couch and went to retrieve her bag that was leaning against the bed in the other room.
'Where are we going?' Fuyukaze asked.
'Home, and then to Urahara's. I don't trust him with Ichigo,' Sayomi answered as she flung the bag over her shoulder and left the small apartment.
When she reached home she took her time in cleaning herself up and even eating a small lunch before undressing and slipping her bracelet off her wrist before slowly beginning to change form until she was once again in the form of a small white cat. Carefully sliding the bracelet onto her neck, Sayomi leapt from the ground to her windowsill before leaping into the branches of the old knobby tree outside and snaking her way down its brittle bark. It was now mid-afternoon and the shadows were growing longer as Sayomi ambled towards the Urahara Shoten.
"You know you really shouldn't sneak around like that, Yoruichi," Sayomi called as she sat herself down on a brick wall not far from Urahara's shop.
A blur of black to her left caught her eye and Sayomi turned just in time to see gold feline eyes before she was knocked over onto her back.
"Ow! What the hell, Yoruichi?" Sayomi growled as she looked up at a black cat that was standing over her, smirking triumphantly.
"What's with the reflexes? You haven't gotten soft on me, have you?" the cat asked in a distinctly male voice.
"No, now get off me," Sayomi growled as she batted at the other cat's head.
"Now, now. Is that anyway to treat your beloved mentor?"
Sayomi snorted. "Beloved, huh? I think you've had too much catnip, Yoruichi."
"Oh, you're no fun," Yoruichi said as she leapt away from Sayomi.
"You got dirt in my fur," Sayomi complained haughtily as she turned her head to look at her dirty back.
"Such a spoil sport," Yoruichi sighed.
"Yeah, whatever," Sayomi grumbled.
"So what are you doing, heading over to Urahara's?" Yoruichi asked.
"I don't trust him with Ichigo," Sayomi replied.
"Ah, he'll be fine, Urahara's not that bad," Yoruichi said.
"Not bad? I almost got stuck being a cat forever because of his stupid experiments," Sayomi shot back.
"Such a short temper."
"I'm short, I know, can we drop it?" Sayomi snapped. It had been a favorite past time of Yoruichi's to tease Sayomi about her height, but Sayomi was in no mood for it today.
"For now. You should get going, I believe Urahara was about to start training Ichigo."
"He what?"
"What? He's mostly healed," Yoruichi replied disinterestedly.
"I'm gonna strangle that candy selling idiot with a licorice rope," Sayomi muttered darkly as she darted off towards the Urahara Shoten.
She made it to the little shop quickly and jumped gracefully through the open kitchen window before running to a trap door that she knew was through the doorway and to the left.
When she got to the the door in the floor it was open and a shaft of light was shining upwards through it. She poked her head over the side in time to see Tessai raising a very large ax that he was preparing to bring down on a chain that connected an unconscious Ichigo to a very conscious, but very clueless Ichigo's soul. Three other people were in the large desert like room as well. Urahara and two children Jinta and Ururu who helped at the shop. Jinta was a red headed boy with a fiery temper, while Ururu was a little girl with black hair that she wore in pig tails and seemed to be very meek.
"Dammit," she growled as she darted into the door and ran down the wall just as the ax came down on the chain.
"Ow,ow, ow, ooooowwww!" Urahara suddenly cried as he clutched at his nose, blood seeping out from between his fingers.
"What do you think you're doing, Urahara?" Sayomi yelled from the ground below the blond shop keeper. She was standing on all fours, her tail low and her ears pressed against her head.
"Did that cat just talk?" Ichigo's soul asked as he looked at the white cat with wide eyes while pointing a finger at her.
"Huh?" Sayomi turned to look at a very confused orange haired boy, she blinked a few times before replying with a simple, "Meeeowww."
"We'll talk about it later," Urahara said down to the angry feline before turning to face the four people, well three people and Ichigo's soul, with a huge grin on his face.
"W-w-wait a sec, I needed that chain! I'm gonna die!" Ichigo shouted frantically.
"He's just now noticing?" Sayomi muttered quietly.
"Sheesh, you're so noisy," Urahara commented as he stuck a finger in his ear, twisted it and looked over at Ichigo.
"Oh, I'll give you a reason to be noisy," Ichigo retorted loudly. "The chain you jerks severed was the Chain of Fate! If it gets cut the soul can't go back to its body."
"Well, of course, I already knew that," Urahara replied calmly as he stared at Ichigo who made to charge at him.
Sayomi stepped aside but it turned out there was no need when Tessai suddenly sat on Ichigo before he could go far.
"You knew, but you still cut it!" Ichigo shouted, flailing around beneath Tessai who had crossed his arms over his chest while he sat on Ichigo's back looking rather bored as the teen beneath him struggled to stand and get the large man off of himself.
"That's right, since your Chain of Fate is now severed you can't return to your body, Ichigo," Urahara said as he flipped his fan open to cover part of his face. "All you have left now... is death."
Sayomi mentally rolled her eyes at the blond shop keeper and had to resist a very strong urge to bite at his ankles. "Urahara," Sayomi growled.
"What?" He asked innocently.
"Would you get on with it before he turns into a Hollow already?" Sayomi hissed.
"Huh, oh right," he said as he turned his attention back to the raving Ichigo that was still flailing around beneath Tessai, "As I was saying," he continued loudly. "The corrosion of the chain has already begun from the severed end, if that reaches all the way to your chest," here his voice changed and became overly happy and a large grin appeared on his face. "It'll make a hole in your chest and you will become a Hollow. The end!"
Sayomi again had to beat back the urge to attack the blond as he threw a handful of confetti into the air. 'I really hate this man,' she thought as she stared at him, little pieces of colorful and shiny confetti gathering on her head. Her tail flicked violently behind her and she twitched angrily.
"What? Is that really what happens? I'm going to become a hollow?" Ichigo cried.
"Oh my, didn't you know?" Urahara asked as he blinked down at Ichigo innocently. "But don't worry," he chirped. "There's one way to prevent you from becoming a Hollow after the Chain of Fate has been severed. Only one."
Sayomi narrowed her eyes and watched Urahara look down at Ichigo as if he hadn't a care in the world. Ichigo, however, was staring intently up at him, his unease clear on his face.
"You must become a Soul Reaper," Urahara finished, he snapped his fan shut and lowered his hand to his side.
Ichigo's eyes widened as he gazed up at the man who had become so suddenly serious.
"That's right," Urahara sang cheerfully, the seriousness of a moment before vanishing. "Lesson two is for you to get your Shinigami powers back. When this lesson ends you will once again have the powers of a Shinigami. So shall we start lesson two? Shattered Shaft! Go!" He shouted as he turned with a flourish and pointed off to his right.
As Ichigo was looking off to where Urahara was pointing, he didn't immediately realize that something had happened to the floor beneath him. Blinking down at where the ground had been he saw...Nothing...
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Sayomi winced and walked towards the edge of the large hole that had appeared in the ground to peek over the edge. "It's pretty deep, isn't it?" She asked as Ichigo continued screaming for a few more seconds before a rather loud and uncomfortable sounding thud was heard.
"I put in a lot of work," Ururu, the little pigtailed girl who worked at the shop, replied as she held up her little arm and flexed it.
Sayomi blinked at her before looking at Urahara who just shrugged. She looked back into the hole and her eyes easily adjusted to the lack of light and found Ichigo and Tessai both at the bottom of the deep shaft. Ichigo's arms were now restricted behind him by what appeared to be thick strips of metal.
"Bakudo ninety nine," Sayomi muttered, inwardly frowning worriedly.
"Well," Urahara said as he stepped to the edge of the hole. "So just climb up here while you're indisposed like that. That's lesson number two."
"But that's impossible," Ichigo shouted.
"Oh my. You know you really aren't in any position to question what's possible. Look," Urahara said.
Ichigo glanced down to see that the chains had grown little mouths with sharp, needle like teeth and were eating each other, shortening the length of the chain. He then began screaming out in pain or surprise, it was hard to tell.
"Geez, he screams a lot," Sayomi grumbled, continuing to peek down into the shaft.
"Just don't get close to their teeth or they'll eat you instead of the chain," Urahara called down casually.
The orange haired boy in the shaft fell face first in to the dirt when the teeth stopped their chewing and became still.
"Normally it would take months or even years for a Chain of Fate to get into that condition, but in the Shattered Shaft there's a special gas that stimulates the encroachment. In there it will take only seventy two hours, so three days, before the encroachment is complete. In that time you will have to become a Soul Reaper and crawl out of there, or you will turn into a Hollow and we will have to kill you," Urahara called down darkly and with utmost seriousness.
Sayomi stepped away from the edge of the shaft and walked over to Urahara who plopped himself down on the ground a few feet from the large, dark hole.
"You know full well that Ichigo-"
Urahara cut Sayomi off by flipping his fan open and fanning himself. "Oh, it's so warm down here, I think we need some water. Jinta, Ururu will you two get some water for Sayomi and me?"
The two looked at him oddly for a moment before Jinta shrugged and started to walk towards the ladder that led back up to the shop.
Sayomi waited until the children were out of ear shot before continuing. "He won't make it out of there without at least part of his soul becoming a Hollow and you know it," Sayomi hissed coldly.
"Then he'll have to learn to deal with it," Urahara stated.
"You know he can't do that on his own," Sayomi replied her anger was barely hidden behind the usual calm coldness of her voice. "Which means-"
"It means he'll have to learn to overcome it, you did it and so did eight others. Or do you doubt him?"
"I don't doubt him, but I'm no fool either. You're using him at the risk of his soul! Idiot! I'm not stupid, Kisuke, I know why that girl seemed so weak and wasn't regaining her strength while in the gigai you gave her. It wasn't a normal gigai, was it? It was an untraceable gigai similar to the ones that you, Tessai and all us Vizard inhabit, wasn't it?"
Kisuke ignored her question and stared towards the dark hole in the ground.
"I thought so. Why were you trying to hide a Soul Reaper from Soul Society?"
Still Kisuke didn't answer her.
"The only reason I can think of at the moment is that you put something in the gigai that shouldn't have been there. Say something like the Hogyoku," Sayomi said as she kept her eyes trained on the blond, "Since you aren't answering I'm going to assume that I'm correct. You're so set on training Ichigo, not because you want to help him, but because you want him to help you without knowing it."
"If he knows the real reasons I'm helping him he may not go to Soul Society," Kisuke finally said.
"You don't know Ichigo, Kisuke, he would still go," Sayomi stated. "The girl you implanted the Hogyoku into was a friend to him, she helped him. He wants to repay that."
Kisuke looked at her in surprise for a moment before the look faded and was replaced by a small frown.
"So the wheels are beginning to turn," Sayomi sighed as she laid herself down on the dirt of the training facility.
"It seems that way," Kisuke replied.
"You had better hope that Ichigo can do this. I'd go with him if I could, but..."
"Some of his friends are going with him and Yoruichi too. She's out helping them train right now," Kisuke said.
"Who?" Sayomi asked quickly.
"I believe their names were Chad and Orihime. I believe that Quincy boy is out training on his own as we speak as well."
Sayomi stood up abruptly and glared Kisuke. "If any one of them is hurt I will hold you personally responsible. They have nothing to do with this war, you should have let them live in peace."
"You know as well as I do that this upcoming battle will concern everyone. Soul Reapers and humans alike. They wanted to go so be glad that Yoruichi is trying to help them train the powers they have acquired."
"Just what are they capable of?" Sayomi asked as she sat back down.
"Oh that's right, you've been gone for awhile. Chad seems to have a strange ability that covers his arm in a strange armor and that packs a pretty powerful punch. Orihime can.. well.. summon little fairy things that can do anything from heal to create a barrier and even attack."
"Orihime is not fit for battle, she's too timid and self conscious," Sayomi stated.
"Yes, but the healing ability may come in handy. It seems she can reverse the damage done, not just heal."
"That's a very strange ability," Sayomi muttered, wincing when Ichigo's screams once again reached her ears.
They sat in silence after that, Kisuke sitting cross legged fanning himself as he stared off into space and Sayomi lying down, her head on her front paws as she stared off towards the rim of the Shattered Shaft.
"Stop being so gloomy, Sayomi. Ichigo is strong," Kisuke said. "He'll be just fine."
Staring at the shopkeeper for a long moment, Sayomi sighed. "You say that because you know he'll have help."
"He has friends-"
"I'm not talking about his friends, Kisuke. I'm talking about Shinji and the others. You know full well that once Ichigo returns from Soul Society it's unlikely that he'll be stable. That isn't going to go unnoticed. He's going to be like us, well, similar at least. They will want him to join them."
"So?" Kisuke questioned.
She sighed again. "Ichigo is stubborn, he won't want their help, but he'll probably take it. Eventually. As for joining them, you know he won't. He won't want to be tied to them, his fight and their fight are not the same. The end goals will most likely be the same, but the reasons why we're all fighting will be different."
"You make it sound as if you're not a part of the group anymore," Kisuke observed.
"I'm not."
"Isn't your fight the same as theirs?"
Raising her head and letting her feline eyes settle on Kisuke, Sayomi answered, "I want the same end as they do, but there's something else I have to do."
"Even if that means you can't fight alongside them?"
"Even if it means I can't fight alongside them," she replied solemnly.
"Don't do anything reckless, Sayomi."
"It's been nearly seventy hours, Kisuke. What do you plan on doing exactly when he doesn't get out?" Sayomi asked as she turned her white little head to look over at Kisuke who was munching on an apple.
"Well," Kisuke said, pieces of the apple spraying from his mouth when he spoke. "We'll just have to wait and see."
"Always cryptic, it never ceases to annoy me," Sayomi replied as her tail flicked about her.
"Me, annoying?" Kisuke said, offended as he tossed his now finished apple into the large pile behind him.
Sayomi rolled her eyes before turning her head back to the pit. Her head turned to the side as Jinta ran down the side of the large hole, a bowl of fruit held over his head.
"He likes to cause more trouble than is healthy," Sayomi grumbled, watching him lower the food to the ground a few feet in front of Ichigo with a wicked grin.
"I brought you some food, thought you might be getting hungry," he said.
"Well at least he's not drooling on him anymore," Sayomi said as she watched the red head talk to Ichigo.
"I'm not hungry, you little punk. Take a good look, the Chain of Fate is still long, I have plenty of time," Ichigo shouted in reply.
"Well, I'll leave it there for you. When you're down in Shattered Shaft you lose all sense of time," Jinta said as he turned away from Ichigo.
"Time?" Ichigo repeated in confusion.
"Yeah, you've been in here for about seventy hours already. You'll be a Hollow soon. Oh, and let me tell ya something else. The final corrosion, it's stronger and more painful than any of the others."
"Huh," Ichigo grunted as Jinta disappeared back up the high walls of the shaft, "Wait, what the- AHHH!"
Sayomi stood up and watched as the remaining links to the chain of Fate began to eat themselves. Ichigo screamed in pain and fear as they made their way closer to his chest.
"Preparing rescue operation," Ururu said as she held her hand, palm down over the hole as Ichigo screamed.
"Not yet," Kisuke said as he placed his hand on the small girl's shoulder. "Watch him closely."
"The order in which a soul usually turns into a Hollow is jumbled," Sayomi explained as she watched a white substance pour from Ichigo's mouth and begin to form a mask over his face. "Normally, his body would have disintegrated before it reforms. His body isn't changing though, the mask is forming first. Meaning that he's fighting."
"Correct," Kisuke replied. "Let's just watch him a little longer. He still has a chance of becoming a Shinigami. If he doesn't... then he will become a Hollow and we'll have to dispose of him. Just a little longer."
"Come on, Ichigo, fight. Fight and win," Sayomi urged as she watched the power struggle in the large hole.
For several minutes Sayomi, Kisuke, Ururu and Jinta all stood watching tensely as the mask that was forming on Ichigo's face continued to grow until it had all but enveloped his whole face.
"We can't wait any longer, sir, I'm switching to suppression mode," Tessai yelled as the bolts that held the metal straps to Ichigo's arms began to fly off as they were being bent apart. "Bakudo ninety-nine number two, Ban-Kin!" Tessai said as he slammed his palms into the ground.
White bandage like strips of cloth began to circle around Ichigo and wrap around him as he struggled against his metal bonds and against his own soul.
"First incantation! Shiryu! Second incantation, Hyaku-ren-san!" Tessai recited.
"What are you doing, Tessai? That'll kill him!" Jinta shouted into the hole as sharp needle like objects flew at Ichigo, stabbing him all over his body.
"I have no choice, I can't restrain him anymore," Tessai called back in response. "Final incantation, ban-kin-tai-ho!"
Sayomi watched silently, her eyes narrowed and her body tense as a large metal block appeared over Ichigo and began to fall towards him. 'Come on, Ichigo, this can't be it.'
There was a sudden explosion and Sayomi had to back away from the edge of the shaft before the bright light and heat could scorch her fur. Kisuke quickly stepped in front of Ururu and Jinta to shield them from the blast and even Sayomi had to huddle with them so as not to be sent flying by the force of it.
A black blur shot out of the hole, landing several yards away in a cloud of dust and smoke.
"Is that him?" Jinta asked, trying to peer through the curtain of thick dust.
Sayomi stepped around Kisuke and watched as a shape began to form when the air began to clear.
"A Shinigami uniform and a mask. What is he, a Hollow or a Shinigami?" Jinta said as Ichigo came into focus.
Sayomi took a few steps towards Ichigo, placing herself between him, Jinta, Ururu and Kisuke. He was indeed wearing the garb of a Soul Reaper but he was also wearing the mask of a bird-like Hollow. For her that was no big deal, it was quite normal in fact, but she couldn't tell just what had won. The Soul Reaper in him, or the Hollow. Even if the Soul Reaper part of him won she knew it would be short lived and that the Hollow in him would eventually make its way to the surface and try to take over his soul. It was a simple fact that couldn't be avoided, Kisuke had known that, but Ichigo did not. She figured for now it was better that way.
Ururu and Jinta both took defensive stances as Ichigo's hand reached for the hilt of the large sword that was strapped to his back. When he drew the sword it was just a partial blade, it had never recovered from the attack Byakuya had inflicted upon it a few nights before.
"Come on, I'll take you," Jinta shouted as Ichigo swung the blade out before himself. "Huh?"
Instead of attacking, Ichigo brought the hilt of the sword to his face, smashing the mask he wore into pieces.
"So he didn't turn into a Hollow?" Jinta asked as Ichigo removed the rest of the mask from his face.
"No, he won the fight," she replied. 'For now,' she thought to herself.
"Congratulations!" Kisuke cheered as he clapped his hands together. "You're a real Shinigami now. Good job, you've passed the second test!"
"Shut up, you fool," Ichigo shouted as he used the hilt of his sword to hit Kisuke in the face.
Sayomi had to resist the urge to snicker as Kisuke covered his face and crouched down, whining about his eyes and how mean Ichigo was.
"So now that I'm out of that hole, and alive, I'm going to kill you. I swore that if I made it out of that hole I would make you suffer," Ichigo shouted.
"Oh, well then, I suppose we can start lesson number three," Kisuke said as he stood up from his crouch, no sign of injury to his face and a big grin.
"You've gotta be kidding me?" Ichigo cried, throwing his hands up in the air.
"And about this lesson... There is no time limit. All you have to do is knock my hat off my head and I shall admit defeat," Kisuke explained cheerily.
Ichigo grinned at Kisuke before swinging his broken zanpakuto out before him. Kisuke's eyes nearly crossed as he looked at the small cut that Ichigo had inflicted upon his hat.
"Very good, that sword still has some power left in it," he said.
"Damn right. Forget your no time limit, give me five minutes and I'll have this finished," Ichigo said pridefully.
Sayomi sighed and walked off to were Tessai was now climbing out of the shaft. "You're a mess," she pointed out blandly.
"Thanks, Ms Himura," Tessai mumbled.
"Of course."
"It's been five minutes, is he still running?" Sayomi asked Jinta as she walked up next to him and Ururu who were watching the 'fight' between Ichigo and Kisuke.
"Yeah, the boss just keeps hackin' at him. He's definitely not taking this seriously," Jinta replied watching the fight taking place with dissatisfied boredom, he had been expecting something more entertaining. Instead he was watching Ichigo as he basically ran away like a scared puppy.
Sayomi sighed and watched as Ichigo leaped out of the way as Kisuke's sword came dangerously close to his neck. "This may take longer than we thought."
"What's he doing?" Jinta questioned as they all watched Ichigo come to a sudden stop, a look of realization sparkling in his eyes.
"He's a moron," Sayomi sighed blandly.
Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise when Kisuke cut his shoulder.
"He doesn't realize that the sword Kisuke is using is a zanpakuto," Sayomi elaborated. "He thought it wouldn't hurt him."
"What an idiot," Ururu said in her quiet little girl's voice.
"You got that right," Jinta agreed, shaking his head in disgust at Ichigo's stupidity.
"Get out of the way," Tessai called as Kisuke released an attack that was directed for Ichigo, who was standing a few yards in front of them facing Kisuke.
Sayomi had to scramble around the large boulder that was a few feet behind them just as Ichigo went tumbling past them followed by a rush of hot air and a bright flash of light.
"Was that really necessary?" Sayomi grumbled as she looked at her usually pristine fur with disdain since it was now coated in brown dust.
No longer interested in the fight that was going on around her, Sayomi hopped onto a boulder and began to clean the dirt from her fur.
'He's not doing too well, is he?' Fuyukaze asked.
'That's an understatement. He's doing horrible, he doesn't understand what a zanpakuto really is. If he doesn't get that much, he'll never be able to rescue that girl,' Sayomi replied.
'True,' Fuyukaze agreed. 'Do you think Kisuke will kill him?'
'Who knows? I doubt it though.'
'Sayomi-sama, I think you may want to watch them again,' Fuyukaze advised.
'Why, so I can see how well Ichigo runs?'
'No, because-'
Sayomi cried out in surprise when she was thrown from the boulder she was sitting on by some unseen force. "What the hell?" she yelled as she landed on all fours several yards away. She was now quite fluffy, her fur had stood on end from the shock and her back was arched as if she were prepared for a fight.
'I tried to warn you,' Fuyukaze said and in the back of her mind she could see the amused smirk on his perfect face as he leaned back into a clear blue sky.
"Oh, shut up, Fuyu," she huffed indignantly and began to walk back towards the clearing the fight had moved to.
Ichigo now had a sword held out to his side. It was nearly as tall as he was with no guard and white bandages wrapped around the hilt.
"I don't think I can control this so I hope you dodge it," Ichigo said to Kisuke before swinging the sword out before him towards the surprised, whether it was real or not Sayomi wasn't sure, shopkeeper.
"Sing, Benihime!" Kisuke called out as a white blade of energy flew at him.
Sayomi turned her head to the side at the brightness of the energy but still saw Kisuke's hat fly off his blond head before floating down to the ground.
"So I take it you finally get it?" Sayomi asked as she walked up to sit beside Kisuke, her eyes on the very out of breath Ichigo before her.
Ichigo blinked at her in disbelief before passing out and landing on his face in the dirt.
"He must be tired," Sayomi observed, walking up to him and prodding him with her paw.
"That or a talking cat was more than he could handle at the moment," Kisuke said as he rubbed at his neck and grinned.
"Oh yeah, I forget sometimes," Sayomi replied. "I get so used to being in this form that I don't think about it being weird for a cat to talk."
"You're a strange one, Sayomi," Kisuke sighed.
"Good morning," Sayomi greeted as Ichigo stirred and sat up on the bedroll he had been sleeping on.
"Huh?" Ichigo said as he looked around the room in confusion before his eyes landed on the only other living being in the room. "It's just a cat, cats don't talk."
"Not all of them anyways."
"Huh, what the-"
"Seriously, is it that hard to believe a cat can talk?" Sayomi asked as she walked up to Ichigo who was looking frantically around them for the sound of the voice before his eyes rested on Sayomi.
"D-D-D-Did you just talk?" Ichigo spluttered out.
Sayomi sighed. "You know, Ichigo, I really didn't think you would react so-"
"Oh my god, the cat is talking! I've lost my mind. Wait no! I'm still asleep! That's it!" He yelled before he pinched his arm. "There, did that work?"
Sayomi stared up at him blankly, her tail lazily swishing back and forth behind her, her ears twitching slightly.
"I knew I was just imagining tha-OW! What the hell?" Ichigo yelled, clutching at his nose that Sayomi had head butted.
"You're an idiot," she said as she turned away from him and began to walk out of the room.
"Hey wait a second, you sound a lot like someone I know."
"Well, I would hope so, you fool," she replied, turning back to him.
"Sayomi?"
"Yes."
"You're a cat?"
"Right now. I can change back to human form if you'd feel more comfortable."
"Well it is sort of weird talking to a cat," he replied, scratching at his head as he stared at her.
"Why?"
"It just is," Ichigo replied heatedly.
"No, it isn't."
"Yes, it is."
"No, it isn't."
"Yes it...Never mind!" Ichigo shouted.
"No need to shout," Kisuke said as he slid the door to the room open, a finger in his ear.
"So when does the training start?" Ichigo asked eagerly.
"As soon as you're ready?" Kisuke replied.
"Ok, then lets go," Ichigo said as he jumped up.
"Are you coming, Sayomi?" Kisuke called from down the hall.
"Yeah, I suppose someone should make sure you don't kill him," she answered.
Ichigo stopped abruptly in the hall, causing Sayomi to bump into his leg.
"What the hell, Ichigo!"
"Why are you a cat?" He asked as he turned to look down at the angry Sayomi.
"Because it's easier than being in human form."
"So you're not human?"
"I thought that much was already fairly obvious," Sayomi replied, a slight trace of irritation in her tone.
"Then what are you?"
"I'm dead."
Ichigo looked at her blankly.
"I was a Soul Reaper before I came here, usually Soul Reapers are souls, meaning dead," Sayomi explained.
"Oh...Ok," Ichigo said, looking extremely confused as he turned to follow after Kisuke.
'He's doing well.'
'Better than he was doing anyway,' Sayomi replied to Fuyukaze while she watched Kisuke and Ichigo take swings at each other, block them and push each other away time and time again.
'Yet you're still worried about him.'
'He may be doing better, but that by no means implies I think he will be prepared for what he will be facing.'
'In Soul Society or when he returns?' Fuyukaze inquired.
'Both. What he faces in Soul Society is an entire army of Soul Reapers who have trained far longer than he has, but he's stubborn enough that I don't see that stopping him. Yoruichi will also be with him which is good, but still the odds are against him. What he faces when he returns may not be an entire army, but that doesn't make it any less frightening.'
'No, I suppose it doesn't. But you did it, and so did several others. You've already said that he will accept the help of Shinji and the others, so why are you worried? With their help, and yours, he has very great odds, don't you agree?'
'You know as well as I do, Fuyukaze, that even with our help there is no guarantee that Ichigo will come out of this alive.'
~A/N~
So, I've created a Facebook page for my 'author' self. The name to look for, if anyone is even interested, is Rukia's Page. Rukia's Page, just like that. I'll post updates and answer questions there. Hope to have see some of you there!
Thank you so much to all my lovely readers and reviewers, you make writing worth while! Thank you!
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