Katsuko stared outside the window as her teacher gave the lecture. While she kept her ears out and listened, she was drawing a something on the next page of her notes; a page that would be used the moment her teacher started using the blackboard and would have to be purified from any scribbles. She didn't know why she did that even though she knew she'd have to erase it. Everyone in class was either paying attention and taking notes or was doing something else while the teacher wasn't looking.

"Ishida!"

The black haired girl blinked when she heard the teacher exclaim in surprise. Lifting her head, she looked in front and saw Ishida standing at the door with some bandages around his arms and hands. He nodded his head to greet his teacher silently as he stepped into the classroom and shut the door behind him and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"What happened to those injuries?!"

The student pushed up his glasses, "I fell… from the stairway."

The girl furrowed her brows and scrunched up her nose at the obvious lie. Honestly, he should have come up with something better.

"Hm… well anyway, take your seat and let's continue class."

Are you serious? I bet if he told you he got hit by a car you'd just wave it off too.

Yesterday's incident was certainly strange. First it was the huge number of Hollows that were gathering around thanks to Ishida's bait, then there was that huge monster in the sky, and finally there was Ichigo literally exploding.

Out of the three, Katsuko found the second incident the most alarming one. Some random monster almost invaded her town.

After the Hollow in the sky left, Katsuko had spotted Rukia somewhere with her body next to her just lying there. She realized that the stranger in the hat must have left her body with Rukia since Katsuko left it with him. Weird, she never really noticed him leave though.

When everything was dealt with, Katsuko sheathed her sword with great relief washing over her, and then ran over to where Rukia was. Katsuko was so looking forward to jumping back inside her body to go back to being human again. She just wanted to go home and lay down for a while. When Katsuko reached Rukia, she heard Ishida exclaim Ichigo's name and she turned to find Ichigo faced down on the ground. Then, spiritual power just burst out of nowhere.

Thankfully, Ishida was the one who helped Ichigo by taking his spiritual power and shooting it with his arrow thing. She had no idea what he did specifically but she was glad he dealt with nonetheless.

After that, Ishida left, leaving Rukia and Katsuko with Ichigo. Katsuko was the one who had to drag Ichigo's body to Rukia since he passed out. Rukia was able to heal her shoulder by performing some weird Soul Reaper power and then she helped her get back inside her physical body. Katsuko was thankful for her help.

Katsuko didn't stay and wait for Ichigo to wake up. She went home right after since she knew her mother was coming home a bit early. Rukia didn't mind her departure and simply told her that she was going to deal with Ichigo on her own.

When Katsuko returned home, she felt so out of it that she walked straight into her room and flopped on her bed after changing into her house clothes. That whole fiasco knocked her out real good and got her a goodnight's sleep.

Whispers circulated around the classroom as Ishida casually walked to his desk without saying anything. Katsuko arched a brow curiously when she took out his notebook.

I wonder why he had that dangerous competition with Ichigo anyway…

Was it really worth putting people in danger?

After the period was over, Ichigo decided to invite Ishida up to the rooftop to eat lunch with the group. Katsuko, Haruki, Jun, Chad and Mizuiro didn't mind at all. However, Keigo seemed taken back by the sudden invite. He looked at Ichigo as if he just committed heresy. Katsuko was up there a minute ago until she went looking for a vending machine since her mother accidentally forgot a juice box to add in her lunch.

Katsuko saw a familiar girl walk past her while she stuck her hand in the vending machine. It was Rukia.

Quickly, she pulled out her arm and took out the two juice boxes she got from it.

"Rukia!"

The petite person stopped in her tracks and curiously looked back to find the taller girl running up to her with a juice box in each hand.

"Katsuko? Is there something you needed?"

"Nah, I just got these two by accident." She held one out to her. "You usually drink this flavor, right? You can have it."

Rukia stared at the beverage in her hand, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm not going to drink them both. It'll just make me want to pee during class or something. But if you need a reason, then I guess this could be a token of my thanks for healing my shoulder?"

Blinking one, Rukia reached for it. "Oh, well, thank you—"

"In exchange, can you tell me more about the Soul Society?"

Her hand froze as she stared at the playful smirk on Katsuko's face. However, Rukia couldn't actually tell if she was joking or not, especially not when she knew how persistent she could be.

"I'm kidding." Katsuko gently took her hand and placed the juice box in her hand. "I'm not going to bribe you."

As much as she wanted to prod about it, she understood that some things are probably best left untouched. Knowing everything sometimes doesn't guarantee satisfying one's curiosity. The whole truth might just be a major let down. She could mentally prepare herself for disappointment in the afterlife but she didn't really want to think about it and be in a sour mood on her death bed.

"I can't be too careful with you."

The taller girl stared at her for a moment. Being the perceptive person she was, she was able to notice the brief moments where Rukia looked lost in thought or solemn during the day so far. She didn't know what the reason was for it but she just knew that it began with yesterday's events. After Ishida had stabilized Ichigo's spiritual power, Rukia had muttered something about the Soul Society. Hearing this, Katsuko thought she was speaking to her; she gave her questioning look and asked her to repeat what she said, but Rukia just brushed it aside.

Katsuko was wondering if something happened in the Soul Society.

"Hm… you okay?"

Rukia looked up at her curiously. "Huh?"

"Just asking if you're okay."

"I'm fine." Rukia answered her with confusion laced in her voice. "Why do you ask?"

Katsuko arched a brow and just stared at her a bit longer. Rukia was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable under the Katsuko's observant eyes. This trait of hers was something Rukia had noticed on the first few days of school. The Soul Reaper in disguise was able to notice her watching her discreetly despite her attempts to disguise it.

"Nothing, nothing." Katsuko waved her hand dismissively and turned on her heel. She waved a hand as she threaded away.

After school, Katsuko was sitting in her room with her eyes glued on her TV screen. Her hands were busy jamming the buttons on her controller.

She was currently alone at home since her father had just left to go pick up her mother at work. Before leaving, he had been at home watching television in the living room. He didn't leave the house without saying anything like he used to.

After the cheating incident, her mother had set down some rules and some responsibilities that her father needed to follow through. One of those responsibilities was, as her father, to bring her to the learning center every Sunday so that she could drop off her homework, do some work and leave with a new batch of homework for the week. At first, Katsuko was quite reluctant to follow through with it, but she gave in anyway.

Now, whenever he was going out to pick up her mother from work, he would drop by her room and notify her. Katsuko barely gave him a verbal reply; a simple hum was good enough. She supposed that by telling her he would have proof that he truly did go to get her mother from work.

With a heavy sigh, Katsuko paused the game and rubbed her eyes. She took off her glasses and flopped onto her bed, slithering to the top so that she could dig her head into her pillow comfortably. She was hungry. She didn't want to get a snack since her parents were coming home soon which meant dinner would be taking place right after.

Right as she was about to doze off, she her eyes shot open when she felt something. It felt almost unnoticeable but it was there. In a slight daze, she sat up and left her room to go in the living room. There, she pushed the curtains aside and peered out the window to check for any abnormalities near her house. There was nothing.

Katsuko blinked. It doesn't feel like a Hollow either… I wonder what is that?

The next day was strange.

The first thing that made her wonder was why one of her classmates, Momohara Tetsuo, was sitting next to Ichigo in the seat where Rukia was supposed to be sitting.

The second thing that sealed the deal for something strange was how the teacher had skipped over Rukia's name in attendance.

Perhaps Rukia had decided to stop attending the school since it was the last day before summer vacation?

When she turned back to look at Ichigo with question marks in her eyes, he just mouthed that he would tell her later.

And he did.

At lunch, the two of them went off somewhere private where no one would hear them. They were sitting on the bench that Katsuko once sat on when she decided to keep an eye on Ichigo's body.

The truth of Rukia's erased existence shocked her immensely.

"Executed… in a month?!" she repeated, baffled. "And you're telling me that you're going to go to the Soul Society to rescue her. How?"

"That guy with the hat and sandals." Ichigo leaned back and stared up at the sky. "He said he was going to train me for ten days."

"And that's going to be enough?"

"It's gonna have to be. I trust him."

Katsuko put her hand under her chin. It was shocking enough to hear that agents from the Soul Society had come to pick her up after beating him down but it was even more so when she learned that he was willing to go and save her from an execution. He was going to charge in a world where a number of Soul Reapers lived.

"Let's say you did succeed in saving her, what comes next?" Katsuko tipped her head and stared at him from the side. She saw him turn his head a little and shift his eyes to look at her. "Are you going to bring her back here?"

He didn't respond.

"You'd have to be pretty committed in safeguarding her then." Katsuko scrubbed her head with her hand as she thought of the possible outcomes. She was sure that the Soul Society wasn't just going to let a criminal run free after a successful rescue operation. They probably would send a lot of them to get back Rukia. That would put Ichigo in danger.

Ichigo might have to be on high alert every day to protect her.

Ichigo might have to hide somewhere to lay low for a while to avoid them.

There were a couple of possibilities.

Of course, she did actually think that perhaps letting Rukia stay in the Soul Society might help Ichigo avoid danger but something clawing at the inside of her skull wouldn't allow her to settle with that selfish preference. She didn't want Rukia to die. She barely knew the girl but she was someone who she talked to on several occasions. That was sort of enough to leave a bad taste in her mouth if she was aware that she was going to die.

Rukia wasn't human. She was a Soul Reaper. If she died a second time then there was really no more Rukia.

Katsuko sighed and leaned back against the bench. "Well… it's better than being dead I guess."

Honestly, Ichigo had been dwelling on the matter since yesterday. He wasn't quite sure about what he should do. Last night, he was dead set on rescuing Rukia, but after seeing how she was completely erased from everyone's minds; he was starting to doubt. Rukia was never supposed to exist in their world anyway. Why should he bother with saving her if things were supposed to be like this? He was unsure.

But Katsuko was right.

It was better than being dead.

With a hardened resolve, Ichigo narrowed his eyes, "Yeah. Definitely."

Quietly, Katsuko discreetly observed him.

So, Ichigo has made up his mind?

I'm worried though. He's seriously going there alone?

When Ichigo has his mind made up on something, it's hard to make him budge.

But I've played video games before and it feels like a suicide mission.

Is there any way I could help him or something?

She didn't want him to die.

Katsuko lazily lolled her head to the side to look away from the sky and found a black cat staring at her from a far.

Confused, she lifted her head. It wasn't everyday she saw a cat on school campus.

The black cat skittered away.

After school, Ichigo went off on his own after waving his friends off. Katsuko was on her way home alone since her two best friends were at their practice. To eliminate the silence, she plugged her ears with music and decided to stop by the bakery for her favorite snack.

There was a few people inside already in line to pay for their food. Without making too much noise, she walked to the section that had her favorite pastry, her steps were in sync with the rhythm of her music.

Two minutes later, she emerged from the bakery and stepped outside with a small yawn. She covered her mouth to hide it as she walked towards a trash can. She was unwrapping the plastic from her bread at her own lazy pace until she heard a familiar voice call her out.

She arched a brow and turned her head to find Hirako slouching with a tired face. He probably just finished work or something. And this time, he wasn't by himself. There was two people standing behind him. There was a girl with short bright green hair, and there was a big guy with light colored short hair with a sharp features.

"Hello." Katsuko greeted lazily.

"Seems like the only place I'll bump into you is the bakery." Hirako looked inside tiredly, contemplating if he should go ahead and buy something.

"I guess." Katsuko placed her mouth around her bread—

"Wow!" The girl behind Shinji gushed out loud, causing the two guys to flinch in surprise as she strided towards Katsuko who was blinking at her with her bread still in her mouth.

"You have color in your hair!" the green haired girl circled around her as Katsuko's eyes simply observed her pass by every time she came in front of her. Then she felt the back of her hair lift up, making her narrow her eyes and bite through the bread, pulling it away from her mouth.

"Why are you touching my hair…?"

She didn't know if she should be creeped out, annoyed or curious about this girl who was about the same height as her if not shorter. Katsuko wasn't exactly fond of strangers randomly coming up and touching her hair, she was sure most people wouldn't anyway, but this girl didn't exactly strike her as the type to have some hidden intention other than actually just playing with her hair. She just seemed so genuinely interested in her brown highlights in her black hair.

"Because there's brown in it!" she exclaimed, walking to her side from behind her while holding up a brown streak, "Look Kensei! It's brown!"

"Mashiro," the man named Kensei twitched just before walking to them and grabbing her wrist, shaking it so she would release Katsuko's hair. "What are you, a creep?!" he tugged her back to where he and Shinji were standing.

Mashiro pouted childishly and just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Sorry about that." Kensei said, ignoring Mashiro who pulled childish faces at him.

"… Alright." Katsuko swallowed her food and said, "Bye." as she waved her hand, to Shinji specifically, who just nodded his head with his own wave just as she turned around and walked away.

After she turned around the corner, Shinji sighed and looked at Mashiro.

"Don't act so buddy-buddy." He told her and entered the bakery and the two followed him inside.

"But Shinjiiiii." Mashiro whined, "Don't you think they look the same?!"

"Doesn't mean they are the same." Kensei rolled his eyes which just earned him a harsh poke on his side. He growled and whipped his head back to find her pouting again.

"You—!"

"And how do youuu know that? Huh? Huuuh?!" she said a bit loudly which Kensei had to shush her for when other customers stared at them.

"Be quiet, you dunce!"

Shinji picked up some pastries, "Well, if things move in that direction then I guess it's possible to find out what's the truth. But anyway, it could just be some mere coincidence."

Katsuko walked past a deserted park with her pastry that was almost done. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she started inhaling the first half of it. She was almost home and she was excited to just crash on her bed. Summer break was finally here and she was looking forward to just being lazy and catching up on some sleep that she sacrificed during exam clutch time.

Something in her peripheral vision caught her eye. She stopped in her tracks and looked inside the park to see a black cat walking towards her. Weird. Normally, cats don't just walk up to people unless they needed something, at least that's what she understood based on what she had seen.

But what could it want from her?

She looked down at her hand.

She still didn't finish her food.

Oh.

Maybe it was hungry?

Wordlessly, she ripped off a piece of her bread and threw it at the cat and watched it land right in front of them. The cat stopped and looked at the piece of bread and then back at her like as if she just offended them.

"I guess it wasn't hungry…" Katsuko muttered under her breath.

"I'm not about to eat food off the floor."

Katsuko froze.

… The cat.

THE CAT FUCKING SPOKE? UM… WHAT IN THE WORLD?!

"Nah, nah, nah." Katsuko laughed softly and shook her head. "It's probably just a spirit stuck inside in animal again just like that one bird from before."

"No, I am not a Plus." The cat approached her. "I am more than that." It assured her while Katsuko just kept staring at the mysterious cat, still trying to process this new information.

Katsuko took a step back since she wasn't sure about what she was dealing with at the moment.

"Don't worry. I just came here to talk, Hiragi Katsuko."

Not only is this cat freaking talking but it also knows my full name… Is this… a cat-stalker?

"… Um, assuming that you're not dangerous, can we talk somewhere where it won't look like I'm crazy?"

Pretty short chapter compared to the previous ones but that's fine.

Cia-Scarlett: Don't worry, things will be clearer when we go further into the story!

Teller: Yeah, I was worried about the slow pacing but I really wanted to integrate Katsuko's character properly into the story and not just dump her into it. But I'm glad it was able to catch your interest in the end! Thanks!

Morita: I'm glad you like Katsuko! And your questions will have answers in time!

Phantom0408: LMAO AND NO ONE TOLD ME UNTIL YOU DID?! Oh man XD I guess my fingers just typed 'Karissa' automatically since that's the name of my OC in my other story.

See you in the next chapter! I look forward to reading your reviews!