The path was falling apart.
Katsuko let out a frightened yelp when the floor behind her, cracked, crumbled and fell apart just as she moved ahead. It was the way it sank as she lifted her foot that made her clumsy in her recovery. Ichigo and Unohana looked back to see Katsuko freaking out and gritting her teeth, trying to contain her panic while she ran.
"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked innocently.
"Ichigo," Katsuko started, pointing at the floor. "Your path is an absolute nightmare to travel across! It's falling apart! I'm scared!" She rapidly told me, fear evident in her voice.
It's ass!
Since he was running ahead of them, he didn't know what kind of path he was making. And just as he looked, he saw the space between him and Unohana literally fall apart which only served to frighten Katsuko even more. Her face twisted and she took a step back. While Unohana jumped over it with ease Katsuko completely stopped and stared at the gap in horror, too afraid to jump over it and possibly shatter the already fragile path ahead.
She bit her lip and stared at Ichigo in silence.
"Dude…" She might just start crying on the spot.
Ichigo sweat dropped and stopped running when Unohana looked back at Katsuko, calmly assuring her that she would be fine if she jumped.
"This is terrifying!" She didn't want to hold them back but, come on, this path was clearly untrustworthy!
Traveling between worlds did not give her a good experience majority of the time. The goddamn Cleaner in the Dangai that tried to run them over like a freight train was the first sign. And now this Garganta which she hated even more. At least, if she died in the Dangai then her death would be quick and possibly painless. If she fell here then there was no telling what would happen!
"Sorry, I guess we should have restored all my spiritual pressure before heading off." Ichigo looked at his sleeve again, frowning. "My path would be stable if I was completely restored."
"I doubt it." Katsuko shot back, peeved. "You're not a pro at this sort of thing, remember that. It won't be perfect."
Ichigo clicked his tongue and gestured to the pathetic path. "I said 'stable' not perfect, stupid!"
Katsuko looked away. "Whatever. Same thing."
"No, it isn't!"
"I'm sorry," Unohana cut in before their needless banter continued any further. "What do you mean by restore your spiritual pressure?" That piece of information caught her full attention. "I was under the assumption you were fully healed."
Ichigo blinked at the Captain's question. He shook his head and held up his arm to show it to her. "Most of my wounds healed but I'm not fully recovered. See my sleeve? My Bankai alters the Shihakusho so my Bankai is also my altered Shihakusho. Thanks to Chisaki who healed some of my wounds, this part of my Shihakusho came back when I lost it in a fight. Inoue healed the rest of me but wasn't able to restore my Shihakusho just as fast like she used to be able to. Chisaki said that her Kido focused on restoring my spiritual pressure first, that's why."
"We were just in a hurry to get some information so he tagged–" Katsuko took a leap of faith and jumped over the gap while Ichigo hurried to steady her when she tilted backwards after landing clumsily. "God!" She grabbed his arm in fright and stared at the path she just abandoned. Attention from the two went back to Unohana when all was good. "Yeah, so he tagged along with me to get information. We were planning on going back to restore it… but here we are."
In all honesty, Katsuko would have preferred preparing a little more for upcoming battles rather than rushing to the battlefield right away. It reminded her of a phrase she read in a book about their warring states history. It was something about how people who arrive to the battlefield first were set to win one battle but those who arrive late will win thousands due to their preparations.
As someone who preferred caution, she liked that last piece and would have liked to do exactly that rather than what she was doing right now.
Ichigo let her go and sighed, tugging at the edges of his Shihakusho that was slowly repairing itself at a snail's pace. "If only I had time to fully restore it…"
Ichigo and Katsuko stood in silence as Unohana simply stared at them when she processed his explanation. They looked at each other, confused.
Was it something they said?
"Hiragi-san," Unohana recovered and went back to her usual disposition. Katsuko curiously watched the Captain look at her. "Please run ahead of Kurosaki-san."
Oh no.
"M-Me?" Dumbly, she pointed at herself. She could already pictured all the ways she could fail.
"I will run in the back." Unohana informed and directed her gaze at Ichigo. "I will restore your spiritual pressure to its maximum capacity during this passage."
"Passage?" Ichigo blinked. "You mean while we run? Is that possible–"
"It's possible." She confirmed. "Knowing Naogoma-san, she explained Kaido to you. And because of her and Inoue-san's efforts, your body is almost fully healed. When one's body restored then the restoration of spiritual pressure becomes easy."
And they were looking at Squad 4's Captain, the Captain of the healing division. There was no doubt in her skills. The expert was going to restore Ichigo and bring up back to his peak condition.
"She can bring you back to tip top shape. No doubt about that." Katsuko nodded almost enthusiastically when she thought of Ichigo at his best. If they wanted to stand a better chance against Aizen then it was important for him to be absolutely ready.
Unohana nodded. "Run ahead."
Oh shit. Right.
Katsuko looked to the side where Ichigo's path stopped moving forward. This was going to be her first time making her own path, and she was technically going to be responsible for their lives. Well, not exactly since they could make their own if she failed… But she couldn't fail when Unohana needed to have no distractions in order to bring Ichigo back to one-hundred. She didn't want be a burden right now.
"Alright." Katsuko moved in front of Ichigo and stood near the edge, looking down nervously.
One misstep and it's over.
Ichigo peeked over her shoulder and saw how she was clutching her fist with one hand near her stomach.
"Hey, don't worry, if you fall I'll catch you."
Why did that almost sound like he was expecting her to fall? Probably just her imagination but…
Katsuko pouted and looked at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
He just shrugged and gestured a hand in front. Katsuko took a deep breath and began one foot at a time.
… It wasn't hard.
Like Unohana said, it wasn't hard but she needed to make sure she was doing it properly. So, they let her get a good feel about what she was doing by letting her move forward on her own until Ichigo felt the need to stick a little closer in case she actually fell.
But since she was more adept at this kind of stuff, her path was coming out well.
…
…
…
"So, Katsuko. Wanna talk about your condition?"
That was the first thing he asked after they were all blanketed by silence for several minutes. This made her puff out a laugh when she heard his question. "Why does it sound like you just wanna hear something to pass the time?"
"It's not exactly a quick trip just so you know. I've been through this once. We might as well just talk to pass the time." He explained with a shrug. "I also want to know what's up with you now."
"Alright, alright." She peeked over her shoulder to look at Unohana and Ichigo. His Shihakusho was slowly coming back thanks to the Captain. Her face deadpanned but she kept a tiny smile, making her look sort of dead inside as she warned them, "You're going to hear some far-fetched stuff." She looked in front of her to make sure she was running straight.
So… where should I start?"
Maybe from the beginning.
"Okay." Katsuko paused and took a deep breath. This was likely going to take a lot of her oxygen while she ran. "So, Aizen… makes Hollows by using souls of Soul Reapers. You remember, I mentioned experiments? He made one. I saw it in Chisaki's memories when she was still with me. That thing clawed its way inside of her, her soul, and forced her to flee to the World of the Living. But, she couldn't deal with it on her own because it would overwhelm her eventually so she searched for a vessel to hide herself and somehow deal with it. And for some reason, spoiler alert, she chose me." She shrugged playfully and gestured to herself.
"Why did it have to be you?" Ichigo asked. This was a question that carried a great importance. It was a mystery. "Like, there are thousands of humans… why you?"
"Yeah. I wondered 'why me?' of all people."
It was also something Shinji mentioned he was curious about when he tried recruiting her.
And she now she had the answer.
"It turns out that Aizen used a fragment of a soul to start making his Hollow, the one he implanted inside of Chisaki. That Hollow he made was a prototype. And this fragment he used was a piece of me when I was a Soul Reaper in my old life. My Arashihoro told me that the fragment of me somehow became a singularity and continued to search the whole rest of it. It was the reason why Chisaki had to choose me because it was the Hollow inside of her that chose me."
Pause.
"Huh?! That piece of you… The Hollow, it was searching for you?!" It sounds almost surreal and something out of a story. "Even though you were someone else entirely?" He looked behind. "Is that even possible?"
"That's the first I've ever heard about it." Unohana admitted.
Yeah… it does sound impossible.
"Yep. When she was sealed inside me, she acted like chains around the Hollow to prevent it from destroying us. But that was still not enough to keep it from infecting me, so my Zanpakuto decided to split into two, and half of it became the Hollow. That's why Chisaki doesn't have a Hollow anymore."
It's a part of me now. The Hollow is me.
"Wait, what about your Soul Reapers powers?" Ichigo quickly remembered that detail. "Chisaki told us that she lied about you getting powers from her. She said you had your own. Is it because you used to be a Soul Reaper?!"
"Something like that. Arashihoro called it 'leeching'. With the Hollow infecting my soul and existing with Chisaki, I apparently stole her powers and then gave it back which caused my own powers to slowly exist because of who I used to be. It was a repeated cycle. But because of nature, I'm dominant and now it's my own power." She looked up at the dark ceiling. "Now that I think about it, after we left the Soul Society and went home, I remember feeling a bit weaker. I guess I was still borrowing powers from Chisaki at some point…"
When she said it out loud, it sounded confusing.
But it made sense to her.
"A little hard to follow but I guess that makes sense." Ichigo replied. "I remember her telling us that she imposed powers on you but she kept all her powers in the end. When she left you, she said you should have lost all your powers."
"Yeah… so in the end, all my powers are thanks to connections. The identity of who I was and who I am now started to blur because I didn't know anything. I kept using the power of my Hollow without knowing anything. I didn't want to listen properly because I thought the Hollow was a threat when, in reality, I was the one making it an enemy."
"And, who, may I ask, is the Soul Reaper you used to be?" Unohana decided to inquire, curious. This was the first time she was hearing something like this, so this question was the most important one to ask now. Who was she? Was it someone they needed to be worried about?
"My name used to be Naogoma Shisugu."
Ichigo noted how she phrased that answer. It seemed like she was really embracing the fact that she used to be Naogoma Shisugu.
Unohana's eyes widened by a fraction. "Naogoma Shisugu… I see. I suppose the timing makes sense. You said a fraction of his soul was used to create a Hollow, meaning he didn't die. He was still alive when Naogoma Chisaki fled the Seireitei thirty years ago, and then he passed eighteen years ago. Hiragi-san, if I recall currently, you are fifteen years old. There is no telling when a soul passes and becomes a brand new soul in the World of the Living, it might take a year or two, or maybe even three. But the timing does correlate."
Katsuko looked behind, staring thoughtfully at Unohana. The Cycle of Transmigration… right.
"In a way, this is like some type of forced reincarnation then." Ichigo guessed when his brain finally processed the information and made sense of it. "But you're still you."
"Yeah."
"But now I have to ask," Unohana was beginning to worry a little now. If Katsuko was Shisugu… then she might have already seen Aizen's Shikai indirectly. She didn't know if that would have an effect in the present time. "Has Naogoma Shisugu seen Aizen's Shikai? Do you know?"
Truthfully, Katsuko wasn't sure.
"I saw Shisugu's memories," Katsuko faced ahead. "But most of them involved life at the Naogoma Clan and days at the Soul Reaper Academy. I have only seen snippets of life in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. They aren't coherent enough to make sense of it."
She didn't remember what Squad he belonged to if he did.
She only saw faces she could place a name on.
Again, she saw Ukitake but it was brief. There was Shinji, a Captain lady with pink hair, the Captain Commander and his Lieutenant, and of course, Aizen. Everything else was just static. The chain of memories were not connected properly.
There was no way to be sure now. "Then it would be best if you waited on standby until you realize you are not caught in Kyouka Suigetsu either."
"I did see it."
Ichigo's ears perked when the familiar voice returned. His eyes immediately watched as Katsuko's body turned around and started running backwards with the same pace. Her face looked nonchalant as her eyes glowed orange. Unohana had no trouble recognizing the voice coming from Katsuko's vocal chords. Even though it still retained a feminine tone, the masculine voice mixed with it came from someone else.
"Naogoma Shisugu." Unohana identified. "So, it's true..."
Shisugu smiled amicably with respect, deliberately showing off how he can continue making the path without looking the proper way. "Hello, Captain Unohana. And hello again, serious boy." He dropped his smile when he returned to the subject. "I saw his Shikai only once. It was when he first unlocked his Shikai. Back then, he only caught me in his hypnosis for a brief moment before he deactivated it."
"So, you're not caught in his Shikai then." Ichigo realized. If it was only the first time he used his Shikai then Shisugu was lucky to only have been caught in before it was perfected.
"I made sure to never be caught in it again." Shisugu's tone turned serious. "My family values Kido and sight above all else. Without being able to see, we cannot concentrate on tasks that require sight focus, such as sealing or binding. I was an heir candidate of my clan. How could I possibly lose my eyes to an illusion? We protect our eyes." Unohana could almost see those crystal green eyes of his when Katsuko's eyes widened a little and glowed eerily. "So, I told him…"
…
…
…
Aizen smiled at his Zanpakuto when he deactivated the illusion. To any Soul Reaper, awakening one's Shikai was a joyous occasion. However, his friend, who stood a few feet away from him after he regained his bearings, could not share his joy as he would normally be expected to. There was no exaggerated cheers from him, no boisterous clapping, no annoying back pats.
No.
His crystal green eyes being shadowed by his ash blond hair, yet they still seem to glow green.
"Sousuke."
Pausing, Aizen looked at Shisugu when he heard the unusual seriousness in his voice. He was surprised to see the way Shisugu was looking at him.
He looked at him like he was a threat.
"I will never look at your Shikai again. I don't ever want to see it again. You hear me?"
...
...
...
"I told him to his face that I wouldn't fall for Kyouka Suigetsu a second time."
"Then you made the right choice." Unohana commended him.
"But," Shisugu immediately intervened before anyone else said anything. "I can't confidently say I'm no longer caught in it. What if his sword still has some type of effect on me? What if, even after deactivating it, he's able to reactivate it without me looking at it again? Even I don't know much about his Zanpakuto other than what you know. So many what ifs even after death. It's annoying, really."
"But Katsuko never saw his Shikai." Ichigo reminded. "She's her own person. She's not you. So, realistically, she never saw Aizen's Shikai."
"Like I said: what ifs. I don't know."
"Then for now, it is best to wait and see if Aizen's Shikai works on any of you. It is important to be aware if you're caught in the illusion in order to make full use of our advantages." Unohana decided for him.
"Understood." Shisugu huffed. "Geez, it's hard to tell when exactly he started wanting to go down this path. As someone who used to be friends with me, I've tried getting in his way on my own… but he's still on it." Shisugu sighed with a roll of his eyes. Then he shrugged. "Can't say I didn't try though. Oh and just in case you're wondering, no, I'm not about to go rogue and get in your way. I don't support killing thousands to replace something inferior."
Ichigo tipped his head. "Inferior?" Just what did he mean by that? Replace?
Shisugu grinned sheepishly. "That's a story for another time~ But anyway, Katsuko and I won't charge right away. It would be better to not let him see what we're doing. That is if we have time…" He said that last part while muttering. "Ah, but it's still a little risky. But it's better to try than to do nothing I suppose. I'll figure it out. Don't worry, our fighting power will be added to the fight eventually~ I'll listen to Captain Unohana's advice and stay on the side for now just in case Kyouka Suigetsu still has some effect on me, us, today. Better safe than sorry."
Ichigo stared at Shisugu who spun on his heel to run with his eyes facing the correct way. It was surprising to hear about Aizen having a friend. From what it looked like, it didn't seem like Aizen had any, only subordinates.
"You sounded like you couldn't trust him even though you two were friends." Ichigo remarked. It didn't make Shisugu turn around. There wasn't really any immediate reaction to his words. There was only the sound of their footsteps echoing in the Garganta.
But he did respond eventually.
"Friendships exist in all forms. But in the end, they all end up being investments. I just chose not to lose anything if it failed."
…
…
…
Katsuko stared at Shisugu's back as he heaved a sigh.
From the way he spoke, it almost seemed like he didn't allow himself to be too close to friends. It was a little depressing.
Turning around, Shisugu smiled and took long strides to get back to her. He situated himself behind her and placed his larger hands on her small shoulders, gently pushing her forward to give her back control.
"Now then, let me explain some pretty cool Kido."
…
…
…
Katsuko set her foot on the edge of the Garganta and peered down as she set her arm on her knee. Her eyes took in the sight of the Fake Karakura Town below her. It was surprising. The fake looked just like the real one that was transported to the Soul Society. She couldn't believe they actually managed to create a whole town. It wasn't some cheap projection. She could see parts of the town that already suffered damages from fights.
Even though she was scared of this war, she somehow felt calm as she stood high up in the air like this.
That's good, I guess.
When she allowed herself to feel who was here, she flinched and looked towards her left where she felt weak flickers of Hiyori's spiritual pressure. What happened to her? Why was the spitfire weak? Why was she even here? Hachigen was over there too but...
Worried, her body was already leaning towards the edge to go see what happened to her until she felt Unohana move where she was located. She stayed rooted in her spot.
Oh. Okay. So, Unohana was tending to her. She would be fine then.
But why was Hiyori? She could sense Kensei and Love as well. Why were the Vizards here? I thought they didn't side with the Soul Society after what happened to them? Odd. She wasn't going to complain though since she was glad they were here.
Her head turned to look a little more to the right where she felt another's weak spiritual pressure. She blinked slowly when she identified that soul.
That one isn't as bad as Hiyori though.
With a quick step, she exited the Garganta, allowing it to close behind her, and landed on an invisible platform in the air. It was in her best interest to avoid fighting Aizen directly just in case she got hypnotized and tricked into attacking an ally.
Before she made another move to check on that injured person, she noticed several people going to the same place: where Ichigo and Aizen were. Her eyes instantly looked at the person who she spent recent days with prior to her capture. Shinji was there.
As if he sensed her eyes on him, he actually looked up where she was standing. She jolted in place when she realized he was looking at her.
"Enjoyin' the view, goody-two-shoes?"
She almost wanted to go see and talk to him.
"Shut up, bowl-cut-rat-predator!"
But now wasn't the time for it.
Normally, he'd retort and maybe call her something just as pretty, but he was going to let this one slide. After all, it was proof that this was Katsuko. He was more or less aware of what kind of mess she was in when he asked Urahara for some detailed explanation after Ichigo departed for Hueco Mundo. He already knew that man would have figured it out with that brain of his.
But, right now, everyone was going to join Ichigo in the fight. If Katsuko was alright, then she could wait for now.
After Unohana fully restored Ichigo, he decided to move up ahead and create the path himself since he decided he was going to defeat him in one fell swoop. Katsuko had her doubts about that. She couldn't imagine Aizen being taken down so easily even if they weren't caught in his Shikai. But if he could somehow do it then it would be great.
She was the one who lagged behind even after Unohana exited the Garganta as well after Ichigo leaped out of it.
Shisugu was standing behind her.
"Let's start, shall we? Here, like this."
Taking control, he sheathed her blade and clasped his hands together in a way where all her fingers except her thumb did not interlace but rest in the space between the thumb and the index.
Illegal Kido.
Spatial Manipulation.
In a flash, she appeared next to a body that was lying face first in the street. She stayed frozen in place with her hands clasped when she failed to realize what just happened. Just a second ago she was in the sky… and now she was on the street after feeling nothing but a gentle breeze? What the hell… This was like experiencing a flash step all over again!
Her hands released and she looked back to see how far she actually traveled.
"Holy fu…"
There's no way… That has to be like… six bullet trains!
Shisugu explained it to her on the way here but it was a whole different thing to experience it first hand by someone who knew how to use it!
This was space depletion from Point A to Point B. An easy way to manipulate space. By removing space, the surrounding space would be forced to rapidly try to fill the void which would result in her being pulled in the direction where the space was removed. It was a standard when it came to attracting stuff and moving around.
Her eyes looked back at the body at her feet.
Ukitake.
"Simple, right?"
"No, it's not." Katsuko hissed to herself, squatting down to take a good look at Ukitake. His Zanpakuto had fallen somewhere on the left so she quickly went to go get it and place it next to him. It was better to keep it close by.
Shisugu gave her an exaggerated grimace. "Ehhh… but I literally just showed you how to do it. It's impossible for you not to know how to do it now. I blessed you with some knowledge."
"That doesn't mean I can do it in one shot! Who knows, I'll land on a fucking pike or a fire hydrant and break my spine!"
"What's a fire hydrant?"
Damn culture barrier… time barrier… life and death barrier!
Choosing not to entertain him with a response, she glanced over to the sky real quick before focusing back on Ukitake state. She was making sure they were still fighting Aizen up there. In the meantime, she could help by giving some first aid to people. Much like with Rukia, she tried her best to move him around so that she could see his wound. It looked like something went through his body. This type of injury was the same as Rukia's as well.
Instead of leaving him lying on his back, she rolled him over so that he was facing the sky. His long white hair was splayed everywhere and his face looked roughed up from who knows what. The movement that his body endured when she moved him didn't even make him wince. He looked dead to the world.
But… just to be sure…
"H-Hello? Are you awake… somehow?"
…
…
Silence.
"No he's not. Okay." Katsuko began treating his wound with time reversal, the only illegal Kido she knew how to confidently do.
"Poor Ukitake." Shisugu spoke as the light beneath her hands and above his wound glowed brightly. "Should he really be on the battlefield? I know he's a Captain with a duty and all but…"
Hm?
"What do you mean by that?" Why was he making it sound like he's always been sick?
She heard him sigh and saw him wave his hand nonchalantly. "He doesn't exactly have a record of being super healthy. He's fine but I'm just remembering the way he'd be usually under the weather before I died. But… I guess I underestimated him if he's out here. That's not nice of me."
"It's been at least eighteen years. I'm sure he had enough time to get better." Surely Ukitake had more than enough time to heal from flu or whatever ailment he had.
Shisugu didn't reply and just patiently watched her heal Ukitake with time reversal. As a spectator who could feel the way she administered her first aid, he could tell that she already had a good grasp on this ability. It was one of the perks of having of her past self's memories and knowledge. It wasn't as fast or as efficient as he used to do but perhaps with enough practice she could get there. It seemed like she was the type to be adept with Kido anyway, so that was great.
How lucky for him.
By choosing to help Katsuko and teaching her what he knew, he was, in a way, imposing his Kido on her.
Because why wouldn't he?
She was him the same way he was her.
"Good job."
His skills weren't going to be obsolete.
And he was too prideful for it to be.
Katsuko stopped her Kido when Ukitake's body looked stable. His Shihakusho was still going to need to be repaired with Kaido though. The rest would be up to his body and Squad 4. He would be fine like this. Unlike the time she used it seriously for the first time, she got a better hang of it. There wasn't any blood leaking anymore now that the wound was closed.
Her body got up and slowly moved away from Ukitake to observe the way he looked from above. The sight of him made her relieved. The way she was using her Kido now was different from when she used it to kill Loly. It was such an obvious difference. The Kido she used back then made her believe she'd be capable of nothing but destruction with it.
She was glad it wouldn't have to be. She wasn't as scared of that potential anymore. Not unless she chose to.
Setting aside how she felt, she turned her head towards where she felt Kensei and Mashiro spiritual pressure. None of them felt like they were at death's door though. She wiped her hands on her Shikakusho to remove the traces of Ukitake's blood. That wasn't something she wanted to see on her. When she cleaned off the minimum, she lifted her hands hesitantly, trying to recall how Shisugu used his Kido earlier.
"Go ahead. If you fail, I'll steady you." He teased.
Stop distracting me!
She pictured two blue dots in the distance.
…
…
…
Clap!
A scream tore out of her throat when she slipped off the edge of something. She tried using her weight to pull herself up, to get better equilibrium only to fail and fall backwards because of gravity, making her flail. The sky was her view when she tilted back, forcing her to rapidly threw her hands behind her head to protect it from impact, squeaking when she finally fell on her back since she was scared of what was behind her.
All she could hear was obnoxious laughing in her head. It was Shisugu. He was eating up her little entertainment could see him doubling over and pointing at her as he laughed like a maniac while she sat on her ass looking up like she dropped her whole tray of fries and chicken nuggets.
"You didn't steady me at all! Jerk!" She snapped, shooting up into a sitting position. Freaking prick!
"Hey, if I didn't say that, you wouldn't have tried your best to use it."
Katsuko gritted her teeth in embarrassment. She couldn't even hit this guy even if she wanted to! No, maybe she'll try hitting him in her Inner World somehow. Pain in there is still real pain!
When she sat up and moved around to see where the hell she ended up, she came face to face with a familiar face. It wasn't Kensei or Mashiro. No. She was looking Hisagi Shuuhei. He was situated at least a meter away, and his eyes looked a little red as if he was crying. But his eyes showcased exposed more how surprised he was by her sudden appearance. The way her body randomly appeared, forcing him to look back and watch as she flailed around and fell on her back all but surprised his emotions away.
He was definitely not Kensei.
OH MY GOD HE SAW ME FALL LIKE A CLOWN!
"Yeah, he did."
Immediately, she slapped her hand over her eyes and reeled back the groan that wanted to escape her body. She could cry about it later. Her hand slid down and she stood up, pretending that everything was fine. Embrassment can wait. If only the sizzling in her face could stop for now...
The first thing she saw was the large stain of blood. Her eyes then landed on Hisagi since he was the closest to that huge stain.
"I… Is that yours? Are you hurt?"
This was a worriesome sight.
If he was hurt just as bad as how that blood stain looked on the ground then she wanted to offer her help somehow. At least by helping others, she could potentially add more numbers to the fight above.
The question made him shut his eyes and clench his fist tightly to the point where it shook tightly. It made her silently wonder if she asked something wrong. Her hands came up to her chest and she clenched her right hand on top of her left, fidgeting her fingers nervously. Wordlessly, he shook his head and stood back up on his feet. He could not stay kneeling down next to what was left of someone forever. It was thanks to Ichigo's surprising arrival that he didn't fall into a pit despair. The Substitute Soul Reapers and Captain Unohana's arrival from Hueco Mundo were fingers snapping in front of his face, forcing him to realize that he couldn't stay put with his personal feelings.
He needed to keep moving forward.
"No, it's not mine. I'm fine." He replied when she slowly approached him almost timidly. It just felt a little strange to approach him since she never really interacted with him ever since he stopped her from eating shit on the floor when she tripped. "Shouldn't you be up there fighting with the others? I was told neither you or Kurosaki Ichigo saw Aizen's Shikai."
Great. Okay, how do I explain this without making it a short story?
Katsuko breathed through her nose and stopped just a few inches away from the blood. "Umm… hard to explain it but," She looked up at the sky, "I have this… issue… that..."
What?
What's going on?
Hisagi quirked a brow when she suddenly stopped talking and blinked several times with her lips still parted as she kept staring up at the fight between the Captains and Aizen. He looked back and forth between the fight and Katsuko. What was wrong with her? She just froze in place all of a sudden.
"What's wrong?"
Katsuko walked past him slowly. "What do you see up there?"
Hisagi's attention followed her and then looked at the fight between Aizen and the Captains. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what are we fighting?"
What? He was confused.
"Aizen, who else?"
"There's a girl up there!" Katsuko looked at him and rapidly pointed at the sky. Was he blind? Did he not see someone wearing white missing? There were only blacks up there! "She's short and she has the Lieutenant's badge on her arm." She used her other arm to point at his own badge, emphasizing the Lieutenant part.
This made Hisagi's eyes widened when he stiffened.
Katsuko paused. The gears in her head were starting to turn.
"You don't see her?"
"That's not Aizen?"
Oh fuck.
The hypnosis!
So, where was Aizen now?
Without another word, Hisagi started flash stepping to where Kira and Iba were guarding Matsumoto and Hinamori while Katsuko was the same, rapidly trying cut the distance between her and the probable horrific outcome: the death of an ally.
Well, one thing was clear now:
She wasn't caught in Kyouka Suigetsu.
Was supposed to post this saturday... but life just gets in the way~ (No, I actually fell asleep on my bed typing and decided to just stay asleep lol). I realized that rushing to get a chapter out every week on a saturday wouldn't be a great idea. I'll stick to biweekly.
You like the new story cover? Shisugu and Katsuko side by side :) I love the way it turned out!
Shisugu (知傑): wisdom and outstanding.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you have a nice day/night!