They landed in the Rukongai part of the Soul Society. It was an area where the first Souls settle down once they come to the Soul Society. The whole area circles around the Seireitei, where the Soul Reapers live, meaning that the area they were in was not where they needed to be.
Katsuko blinked and couldn't help but frown at the sight. Yoruichi told them it was the poorest yet most liberated place in the Soul Society. It wasn't exactly the afterlife she imagined. The black haired girl glanced to her right and noticed a more refined looking area just meters away. The buildings there looked much more appealing to the eyes compared to the ones around her.
"What's that over there?" Ichigo stepped next to her as he stared at the same thing.
"Maybe it's for the high class?" Katsuko guessed innocently.
"Ah, that one—" Yoruichi started only to be cut off when Ichigo ran ahead with a grin. "I know! That's whatever it's called where the Soul Reapers live! Alright!"
Katsuko sweat dropped and crossed her arms. "Seriously? You're going off recklessly when we just arrived?"
"Stop him! Don't let him approach that place! He'll die!" Yoruichi practically screeched at her, causing her to flinch and spring into action when she heard the urgency in Yoruichi's tone. She sped off after Ichigo frantically who glanced back stupidly when he heard the cat. Katsuko yanked on his Shihakusho and tugged him away from the Seireitei just in time to avoid a great wall that fell in front of them, causing dust and rubble to fly in the air. Her grip on his clothes tightened when she let out a frightened shout.
"You're freaking dumb." She told him, her eyes squeezed shut and her face pressed against his sleeve to avoid all the stuff flying around.
He coughed. "How was I supposed to know that was going to happen?!"
Her face twitched. "You should have considered it!" she clapped him on his nape which made yelp in response.
"Ow! The hell—!"
"It's been a long time—" they stopped their bickering and looked up at the large figure in front of them. "since someone has tried to come through the Seirei Gate without a travel permit." The smoke cleared and revealed a large looking Soul Reaper with a giant axe. "What rare guests… Welcome."
He raised his axe and slammed the hilt down on the ground, causing more rubble and dust to explode. Ichigo and Katsuko backed off a few steps and protected their faces. The giant then raised the axe high enough just to make his blade loom over them, an obvious attempt to intimidate them.
"You can attack from whatever angle you want." He taunted confidently. "But there is one issue. There are two of you standing in front me…" his eyes shifted a little to look behind them. His face twisted in displeasure. The next thing he did was pierce the ground behind them, dragging it to erect a wall of stone to separate Ichigo and Katsuko from the others who tried to help.
He narrowed his eyes down at Chad, Ishida and Inoue.
"I don't like your manners. You must be country bumpkins. Now listen up. We have rules in this city. First, wash your hands when you return from outside. Two, don't eat food that's fallen on the floor." He looked down at Ichigo and Katsuko. "Three, when you fight, it's one-on-one."
Katsuko narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed by his rules.
Sometimes rules are meant to be broken… I don't know what'll happen if we just listen to him. Soul Reapers on the inside surely heard this damn wall fall. Maybe even Rukia heard it.
"One of you will be my opponent and the other will have to step outside."
But Urahara didn't train us that hard just for us to get stopped by a simple gatekeeper.
Katsuko arched his brow. "And what happens if one of us turns our back to leave? We get sliced in half?"
"If you follow the rules, then I won't have a reason to." Then he looked up again. "Don't tell me you're planning something over there?"
Ichigo stepped forward. "Okay, I'll be your opponent."
"You sure?" Katsuko glanced at him after a pause.
He looked at her with a confident smirk. "Trust me, it'll be fine. I got this. You can sit back and relax."
She knew that look. He had his mind set and he was determined to prove he could do it. To him, he just has to pass this first little hurdle to move on to the main goal, that's all. And after all that training, it would be waste to just die at the gate. And honestly, the girl had faith in him after what she had seen. She just hoped she wasn't going to regret her decision.
The black haired girl sighed at the orange head. She shrugged her shoulders and patted his shoulder when she turned and started walking back. "Alright, if you say so. I'll back off. Just don't go dying when we haven't even stepped a toe in the Seireitei."
She heard him scoff as she steadily climbed on the wall. "I wasn't planning on it."
Chad, Inoue and Ishida saw Katsuko climbing towards the edge of the wall above them.
"Hiragi-san!" Ishida exclaimed. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm going to find an ice cream truck. What's it look like?" Katsuko spoke sarcastically just as she warily swung her legs over the wall. Chad moved closer just in case she hurt herself when she carefully jumped down. "Wait here and let Ichigo deal with this."
"What? No, I refuse to wait. Our time is limited! Instead of just him, we should attack together, and get going."
"Oh, you're still there, Ishida?" Ichigo asked nonchalantly which only ticked off their classmate.
"I've been here the entire time! Quit saying irritating things at a time like this!" the annoyed teen snapped.
"Geez, shut up already. Just listen to Katsuko, alright?"
"You can't be serious. Hira— are you serious?!" Ishida watched the girl casually take a seat on a piece of rubble. He was hoping for her to stop him since she seemed more likely to do so, yet here she was, taking it easy like as if they weren't pressed for time. She blankly stared back at him and slightly tilted her head.
"He'll win." Katsuko waved her hand dismissively.
"And if he doesn't?!"
"Then we'll all die and I'll find him in the next life and kick his ass for being overconfident." She deadpanned without missing a beat. "Look, just trust him."
"You are too laid back about this." Yoruichi warned her, padding towards the group, gold eyes narrowing in on her. It made the girl sweat drop and look away with a light laugh. She didn't mean to make the kitty upset. Oh well.
"I've seen him fight and I fought against him. Ichigo won't fall so easily."
He won. Ichigo won against the giant gatekeeper known as Jidanbo. Ichigo had destroyed both his axes and left only the hilts for him to hold. Surprisingly, this was enough to give them passage through the gate. And here Katsuko thought they needed to cut him down or render him unconscious. How? She didn't know. But there was no point in wondering about it now.
Katsuko stood towards the right, watching Jidanbo trying to lift up the gate with all his might. She saw how his muscles were bulging from the amount of strength he was putting into lifting the gate. Then, with a cry, he forcefully shoved the gate upwards and held it up standing.
"A-Amazing…!"
"I never thought that thing could be lifted…" Inoue admitted, staring at the sight in complete awe.
With the gate lifted and passage granted, Katsuko took this chance to peer at the other side through the space between the wall and Jidanbo's giant leg. She was met with the sight of refined area known as the Seireitei, she wondered why the whole Soul Society couldn't look just as good as the Seireitei. But this time, something else was on the other side. A person. They were walking towards the gate at their own pace. She noted how Jidanbo stiffened.
Ichigo ran up to her side to peer at Jidanbo's face, asking him why he suddenly froze. Katsuko answered for the giant by tapping her friend's shoulder and telling him to look at the person approaching him. They were getting closer. It was a man with silver hair who wore a white haori on top the standard Soul Reaper Shihakusho. This was the first time she was seeing a Soul Reaper from the Soul Society. The sight of him made Katsuko take a few cautious steps away when she felt Spiritual Pressure coming from him.
The white haori that he was wearing made Katsuko feel uneasy.
The orange haired teen narrowed his eyes at him. "Who's that?"
Jidanbo gulped. "Captain of Squad 3… Ichimaru Gin."
Ichimaru smiled at them with his eyes closed, stopping a several meters away from them. "Ah, this is not allowed." he shook his head.
In an instant, Jidanbo's left arm was cut off and sent flying behind them. Katsuko's eyes widened and she willed herself to not turn around and look back when she heard his arm thud way behind them.
"Unacceptable." Ichimaru straighten up from his hunched posture and peered up at Jidanbo who screamed in pain as blood gushed out. "A guardian of the gate isn't supposed to open the gate." Jidanbo stumbled and fell on his knees when he couldn't hold the gate up completely which made it fall onto his shoulders. "Oh. You can still hold the gate even with one hand. No wonder you're one of the elites in the Soul Society. However, you still fail as the gatekeeper."
Jidanbo's blood that splashed on the clean floor and it made Katsuko reel back in shock. This was a sight she wasn't used to. Needless to say, she understood this Ichimaru person was not a person to take lightly. He was completely different from Jidanbo in terms of skill. His presence alone made her want to take several steps back to protect herself.
"The gatekeeper opens the gate when he loses… it's only natural!"
"What are you saying?" Ichimaru walked closer to the gate. "A gatekeeper who lost isn't opening any gates. When a gatekeeper loses, it means death."
Before she could react and stop him, Ichigo leaped ahead and took out his sword to make him back off. Ichimaru pulled out his sword and blocked his with ease.
"Ichigo!" Katsuko shouted at him when the two jumped away from each other. She wanted to yank him back to safety because she somehow knew what kind of danger Ichimaru was posing to them. But her feet felt heavy and glued to the ground. She was scared.
Ichigo pointed his sword at Ichimaru angrily. "What do you think you're doing?!"
We should be asking you that!
"Don't come now and try to butt in, fox-bastard! Anyone who'd attack an unarmed guy will be killed by me!"
That did it. Hearing him willing to take down the person in a white haori made her react, her feet moved and she ran to clamp her hand around his free hand. She tugged him harshly towards her to retreat but she didn't make it very far since he stubbornly pulled his hand back and kept his eyes on Ichimaru.
"Ichigo, stop it! It's too dangerous!" Katsuko tugged his arm.
He turned to stare down at her, refusing to budge. "Did you see what this bastard did?! And besides, he's dressed like one of the guys who took Rukia that night! We take him out now and—"
"So you're Kurosaki Ichigo…"
Both of them stopped when they heard Ichimaru identify Ichigo. It was surprise. It's not like Ichigo announced his name when he arrived in the Soul Society. The silver haired Soul Reaper smirked at their confused faces. When Ichigo asked how he knew his name, Ichimaru simply chuckled and turned back to walk further into the Seireitei, leaving the two even more confused. Of course, he wasn't just going to let them go. He stopped after reaching a certain distance and pulled out his sword. It was smaller compared to the one Katsuko had.
Again, Katsuko felt uneasy. She tugged on Ichigo's arm again and practically pleaded to move his damn feet. She didn't like what was about to happen. The air felt sinister now.
"I'm not moving." Ichigo said stubbornly when he felt the same thing she felt. She was this close to throwing him back onto the Rukongai grounds. "Why are you standing so far away." He raised his voice. "Are you going to throw your wakizashi?"
Ichimaru peered over his shoulder to smirk at them. "Oh, this isn't a wakizashi. It's my Zanpakuto."
Suddenly, Ichimaru whirled around and dragged a foot back, Spiritual Pressure suddenly surging in the air because of him. He tucked his sword under his arm as the wind picked up around them.
"Shoot to kill, Shinso!" he pointed his sword at them.
Katsuko tried to tug Ichigo to the side to move him out of the way when she saw Ichimaru's blade shoot towards them. However, Ichigo was faster and he shoved her out of the way just in time to pull his sword to his chest and block it. Katsuko fell on her side the same time Ichigo was flung back into Jidanbo. The power behind Ichimaru's attack pushed both of them away from the gate and back to where they landed moments ago. The black haired girl's eyes widened when she sat up and saw that Jidanbo was no longer holding up the gate. The gate was falling behind her, fast. She heard Ishida and Yoruichi calling her name. In a panic, she hurriedly forced herself up on her feet and leaped to back onto the Rukongai grounds. She didn't want to stay stuck in the Seireitei all alone.
"Bye-bye!"
The gate slammed down and sealed the entrance.
It was a close call. She barely made it.
If I reacted a second or two later, I would have gotten stuck there. It was nearly game over for me...
The black haired girl frowned as she reflected on the situation that just happened.
…
…
"I'm scared of going." Katsuko admitted, "I can be scared, right?"
The cat observed her for moment until it turned its head away from her, "Yes. But when you're in the Soul Society, you won't have time to be scared. Time will be of essence. The slightest hesitation might just be the end of you."
…
…
It's probably going to take a little more time for me to get used to it. Damn.
It was only natural that she got scared but she needed to try and overcome her hesitation and fear a little faster. She couldn't just stay rooted in place like that.
Ichigo was nursing the back of his head after recovering from Ichimaru's attack, groaning in annoyance about the pain. Then he stiffened when he looked around and saw a face missing in his group. "Katsuko?!" he searched anxiously for his friend. He relaxed when he saw her approaching them at her own pace. She was alright. For a moment there, he thought she might have gotten hurt or stuck on the other side.
"I'm okay."
"You two should considered yourselves lucky that you weren't hurt." Yoruichi commented.
Ichigo sighed. "Sorry, the gate closed because of me."
"No, your opponent was Ichimaru Gin. It couldn't be helped."
"Does… the white haori mean he's someone very dangerous to us?" Katsuko decided to guess. She wanted to make sure that her instincts were correct.
"Yes, it does." Yoruichi answered her, eying her pensively. The cat heard about her situation from Urahara so it was wondering if her soul was somehow reacting now that she was in the Soul Society.
Everyone turned to face the gate that was now closed again.
"Even though the door is closed again, that was Ichimaru, even if you passed through the results would have still been the same."
Katsuko's head perked up when she heard shuffling around them. She saw the residents of the area coming of the buildings and staring at them from afar. They were all watching them warily. It seemed like they were all hiding from them.
"Are they scared?" Katsuko wondered.
"You can't blame them. Souls who come illegitimately to the Soul Society without the aid of Soul Reapers are called Ryoka, and are said to be the cause of all kinds of calamities."
Great, now we're dubbed the Ryoka, bringers of calamities.
She looked back at the Seireitei's gate that was firmly closed and wondered how long they'd be able to roam free like this until the Soul Reapers came out searching for them.
Yoruichi went to speak with the elder of the Rukongai. Chad went to walk around with a little boy that was apparently the soul trapped inside the bird he brought to school once. Ishida, Ichigo and Katsuko just stood together watching Inoue heal Jidanbo after the residents brought over his arm. Inoue had this healing ability that came from her hairpins. Ishida was the one who gave Ichigo and Katsuko a little explanation since they were in the dark about Chad and Inoue's powers.
From what she understood, Inoue had the ability to protect, heal and attack with those hairpins. She saw little creatures come out of the hairpin. She would hate to be arrogant and act like a know it all, but she had her doubts about having Inoue entering a battle. People swinging swords violently against a girl who had little fairy creatures as her weapon. Against someone like Urahara, Inoue would most definitely lose.
Someone from inside the elder's home brought out some tea and asked that they give it to Inoue for working for so long. She had been at it for a while. They also said that the cat was calling for them to come back inside. Ichigo volunteered to fetch her while Katsuko and Ishida went inside the elder's home. The old man of the district was kind enough to lend his home a resting spot for them for the night since they were stuck.
Once everyone was seated, Yoruichi started discussing the plan while pointing at a little drawing on some paper. It was illustration of the Seireitei's circumference and its four gates.
"Once the door has been opened, the security behind the door with increase dramatically."
"So then fighting the guardian for passage won't work anymore?" Ishida rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Breaking in like that was never a good idea in the first place."
Katsuko chewed on a snack quietly. Fighting a guardian for passage was never supposed to end up the way it did. It's just as Ichimaru said, when a gatekeeper loses and fails to guard a gate that means they should be dead. Jidanbo was just different.
"Anyways, we won't be able to use the White Road Gate anymore."
"What about the other gates?" Chad suggested while pointing at the three gates on the paper.
"The gatekeepers might not be as kind as Jidanbo." Katsuko pointed out apathetically.
"Yes," Yoruichi nodded. "And it would be a waste of time considering how they are at least ten days away. So, if we can't go in using the entrance gate we'll just go in without using it." The black cat looked at the elder who was sitting and listening to their discussion. "Elder, do you know Shiba Kuukaku?"
Katsuko wondered why the old man looked so shocked at hearing the name. Yoruichi was looking for a certain someone that is known to constantly change residences. They needed this person's help but it was going to be hard to request for it if they didn't know where they were. However, before the elder could give an answer, they all felt the ground rumbling.
"Huh?" Ichigo scowled. "What's that noise?"
"Why does it sound like a stampede is headed this way?" Katsuko frowned. Were they in trouble?
All of a sudden, when the stampede came alarmingly close to where they were, a man just flew into the house after breaking down the door. Everyone bolted up in fright and backed away from the guy who fell at their feet. Katsuko stared at the wild board that just waltzed in after him like it owned the place.
The hell is going on?
It was a brawny man who was dressed in dark green, red and white. He also had a bandana on his head and sun glasses on his face.
"Ganju, what are you doing here?! Go home!" the elder told Ganju who stood up with a grin after dusting off his clothes. He straightened up proudly in front of everyone.
"Some greeting! I come to visit after a long time and I get that?" he looked at the faces in the room. "Your guests are shocked don't be so impolite."
Whose fault do you think it is that we looked so shocked?
When Ganju's eyes fell upon Ichigo and Katsuko who were standing next to each other and just looking at him wearily, a scowl appeared on his face. Katsuko had a foreboding feeling that things might not be pleasant in the next few seconds. She could tell from the look on his face. It was a face she was used to seeing whenever a dumb bully would see Ichigo when they walked home.
"What are two shitty Soul Reapers doing here?"
Ichigo and Katsuko chose to remain silent which only ticked off Ganju as he started marching over to them. "Say something. I asked you a question. What are two shitty Soul Reapers doing here, I asked." He started goad Ichigo by patting his cheek. Katsuko bite back her tongue when she felt Ganju flick her on the forehead to try and get a reaction out of her. She refused to give him the satisfaction and stared back at him boringly.
"Well?!" Ganju harshly grabbed Ichigo's face which resulted in him getting punched in the face, sending him flying to the broken door.
When it came to patience, Ichigo was no saint against people like him.
"W-What are you doing?! You picking a fight?!"
"That's my line!" Ichigo spat. "Suddenly barging in here… who the hell do you think you are?!"
As expected, Ganju and Ichigo started duking it out in the streets. Katsuko was grateful that Ichigo had his full attention and left her completely forgotten. She never wasted her time in retaliating back against people who tried to get a reaction out of her and she wasn't going to anytime soon. The girl just sat back down while Ishida. Chad and Inoue tried to get outside to help Ichigo only to be blocked by some of Ganju's goons.
Based on what she was hearing, Ganju had pulled out a weapon.
She saw Ichigo's Zanpakuto sitting next to her, forgotten. With a sigh, she grabbed the handle and started making her way outside.
One of Ganju's guys tried blocking her path while riding on top of a wild boar. "Oi! What doing you think you're—" Katsuko raised her leg and shoved the guy off his boar and moved past him while he ungracefully landed on his rear. She wasn't patient right now. "Heads up!" she threw her sword at Ichigo and he caught it with ease.
Katsuko didn't even bother staying outside to watch, she made her way back inside to sit back down only to be stopped by Yoruichi who stood in her path.
"Oh no you don't. Go stop him this time." The cat ordered.
Katsuko slumped. "Eh… but that guy isn't even a Soul Reaper. Ichigo can kick his butt."
"It doesn't matter. It's pointless to fight an unnecessary battle."
"But—"
"Go!"
Katsuko whirled around and started marching back with a pout. She was trying to figure out how she was going to stop them until she heard a ringing followed by shouting. Afterwards, Ganju and his crew started bolting off on their wild boars with him promising that he'd be back to finish their fight and that he'd better not run off like a wimp.
Circus crew shows up out of nowhere and bolts off for no reason. Are people like this here in the Soul Society?
The girl looked back at the cat and shrugged.
"Problem solved?"
Yoruichi just sighed.
With the chaos finally settled, everyone returned back inside and sat down to resume their plans. The elder finally gave Yoruichi Shiba Kuukaku's location, it was going to be a long walk from here to where that place was so they were going to have to leave early. Ichigo was still grouchy after what just happened and barely said anything during the discussion.
When everyone was sleeping, Katsuko was still awake at night. She was situated in between Ichigo and a wall, and she was growing jealous of how easily Ichigo fell asleep next to her. Even Yoruichi was fast asleep on some blanket in the house.
I hope everything is okay back at home.
Her fingers started to fidget with the ring she brought along with her.
…
…
…
She felt a hand rest atop her head, bringing her out of her daydream with a jump. She turned her head upwards to find a familiar man with white hair and kind olive eyes. He was wearing the standard Shihakusho, but he was also wearing a certain white haori that plainly gave away his rank.
"Oh… hello, Juushiro-san."
"Enjoying the breeze?"
She blinked dumbly, her mind still in the process of coming back to reality. "Uh, yeah."
Ukitake gave her a small smile. "Were you that shocked?"
"… Was I that obvious?"
Ukitake took a seat next to her on the grass with a soft chuckle. "You were the one who told me that it brings you peace of mind whenever you come here. And after what just happened, I'm sure you came here to compose yourself."
She playfully clicked her tongue and lied down on the grass with a frown. "Stupid move on my part to tell you some of my secrets."
"Well, you don't have to worry. Your secret is safe with me."
"I trust you, but not that one guy sneaking up like a creep."
Ukitake looked over his shoulder and found a brown haired man chuckling sheepishly when he was caught. Hiding his Spiritual Pressure around her was never an easy feat, she was so sensitive to it.
"Creep? How mean of you." Kyoraku responded with a pout. She only huffed and sat back up to sneak a glance over her shoulder to give him an amused look. She didn't say anything and just stared up at the big blue sky that was clear of clouds. There was so much that she was worried about that it was written plainly on her face.
Kyoraku walked up behind her and crouched to place his hands on her shoulders firmly. "Lighten up. Aren't you happy?"
"I don't know if I should be… Here I was, enjoying my curriculum until you two showed up and dropped the news of my early graduation. I've only spent four years at the academy and I still need two more years to become a proper Soul Reaper."
Kyoraku sweat dropped. "If you ask me, you've had more than enough prep. You should hear how the teachers sing praises about you."
"It's true." Ukitake smiled. "We've seen your grades and fights when we drop by."
She hung her head low. "Better safe than sorry." She mumbled. "Can you tell them I want to continue until I graduate?" she asked the two captains.
"Are you sure that's what you want? I honestly thought you would be overjoyed to graduate early…" Ukitake spoke. She didn't answer him right away and just heaved out a conflicted sigh. Most students would be jumping at the opportunity to get into the Thirteen Court Guard Squads early, but that was only because they were confident in their abilities.
She knew she was skilled in the major four combat forms, that fact pleased her immensely, but she didn't want to get big headed and be proven wrong when she got into a squad. She was a little scared of the reality outside the academy. Maybe she was just comfortable with how things were presently.
"Maybe you just need some time to think it over." Ukitake suggested, causing her to look at him curiously. "Take some time to think about it before you make your decision. You have until the end of the year to decide and that's months away from today."
Kyoraku hummed in agreement, releasing her and standing up straight to stand next to her. "You have time."
"Yeah… okay."
…
…
…
Katsuko's eyes fluttered open when the new day gently tickled her awake. Her sight was met with the dark wooden wall of a house she wasn't quite familiar with. It took a moment for her to recollect what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. She wasn't home. She was in the Soul Society. And they were still stuck outside in Rukongai. Great.
Quietly, she turned over on her side and noted how Chad and Ishida were sitting up and quietly talking. When Chad noticed her move, he quietly greeted her followed by a nod from Ishida.
The girl greeted them back and sat up before yawning into her hand.
I had a nice dream.
But I can't remember what it was about though…
She scratched the back of her neck. Forgetting about dreams that were sure to have been pleasant ones were always annoying. It made her want to fall back asleep and continue dreaming.
…
…
…
"The hell is that?!" Ichigo shouted.
Katsuko gave him a tired look. "I don't think it's anything to be shouting about."
"Are you blind?! Look!" Ichigo pointed with his finger.
Katsuko flicked the side of his chin. "I am looking."
They finally made it to Shiba Kuukaku's residence after a long walk guided by the elder's map. It wasn't anything like what they expected though. Two large stone arms were raised up from the ground and they held up a sign with Shiba Kuukaku's name on it. A small house was nestled between the giant arms. Behind it all was a large chimney looking structure that was a number of meters tall.
"There it is." Yoruichi proclaimed cheerfully.
"Wow! That's so cool!" Inoue exclaimed with her hands clasped together.
"Let's go." Yoruichi started leading the way once more. Inoue followed after the cat with a bounce in her step and Chad followed after them indifferently. Katsuko glanced at Ichigo and Ishida who remained frozen in place, they just kept staring at the house in bewilderment. She didn't see the big deal. Like Chad, she was more indifferent to the sight than anything else.
"It's not like anyone is going to see you go inside." Katsuko deadpanned.
"Still…" Ishida looked away.
"It's…" Ichigo grimaced.
"What's the hold up?" Yoruichi hollered from afar, causing the three to look at the cat. Katsuko looked back at the two and shrugged. "Just be thankful you don't live there." She said before joining up with the three who went on ahead with Ishida right behind her. It took a moment for Ichigo to follow after them though.
Then, two people jumped down from the top of the statues of the arms. They were both burly men who stood in front of them intimidatingly, forbidding them to take another step closer. They threatened to kill them if they did not turn and leave. They kept mean faces until they saw Yoruichi step forward and look up at them.
Their attitude did a complete one-eighty degrees.
One of them gasped. "Yo… Yoruichi-sama?!"
Katsuko eyed the cat suspiciously when Yoruichi was addressed with respect. It seems like her intuition was right. It wasn't just some normal cat accompanying them. Now she was really curious about the true identity of this cat.
The two guards of Shiba Kuukaku's house promptly brought them down the stairs that brought them to some sliding doors.
After receiving permission from this Shiba Kuukaku, the one of the guards kneeled down and swiftly opened the doors, revealing a woman at the end of the room. Everyone gawked at the woman with long black hair and a white bandana who dressed provocatively in their presence, showing off most of her chest and her legs, even Katsuko couldn't keep a straight face at the reveal. Much like everyone else, she thought Shiba Kuukaku was a man. She was sitting there smoking from a long pipe.
It's not everyday I see people dressed like this...
Kuukaku arched a brow at the group. "Who are these kids?"
Yoruichi padded towards the center of the room and silently sat down. "Actually, Kuukaku…" the cat's tail swished. "I have a favor to ask of you."
The woman scoffed and sat up. "That's usually the case when you look me up." It fell silent between as they silently looked at each other. "Is it a difficult problem?" Kuukaku finally asked.
"Most likely."
This just made the woman smirk. "It's been a long time since we've talked like this… Alright. Tell me, I love difficult things."
Yoruichi looked back at the group and motioned their head for them to enter the room. Katsuko sat in between Ishida and Ichigo and just waited and listened as Yoruichi explained their dilemma. The black haired girl didn't really pay much attention to hearing the same words again. Instead, her eyes would wander around the room curiously and sometimes looking at Kuukaku's missing arm, wondering how she lost it. Kuukaku was smoking from her pipe all while she listened to Yoruichi.
Her eyes flickered after taking a drag from her pipe. "Well, if Urahara is involved, I can't refuse even if I wanted to so I'll do it."
"Excellent." Yoruichi's tail swished, pleased.
"However," Kuukaku stood up and surveyed the unfamiliar faces in front of her. "while I trust you, I don't trust those kids. I'll include one of my men to keep an eye on them."
"One of your men?" Ichigo repeated. He was wondering if she was talking about one of the two guys who tried shooing them off earlier.
"Yeah but he's actually my kid brother. He's still a brat and not that useful." Kuukaku walked over to another set of doors to their right. She knocked on them. "Oi, are you ready?"
"O-Oh… just a minute." A startled voice replied on the other side. Katsuko tipped her head and narrowed her eyes when the voice sounded a little familiar. Why though?
"I'm opening the door, so behave!"
"Y-Yeah!"
That voice…
Lo and behold, Ganju was revealed behind the doors. He was on his knees, his head lowered respectfully towards his older sister's guests. He looked more pleasant to be around compared to the previous night with his white kimono and yellow haori.
Katsuko sweat dropped when she heard Ichigo make a choking noise.
"It's nice to meet you! My name is Shiba Ganju." He introduced himself enthusiastically, before raising his head to look at them all with an amicable smile. Katsuko just stared at him apathetically, mentally counting the seconds until one of them in the room boomed a reaction. You could hear a pin drop from how silent it was. Katsuko's dark brown eyes slowly slid towards Ichigo when she felt the irritation radiating off of him.
Ichigo and Ganju leapt up to their feet and started pointing at each other, screaming.
Katsuko scratched the top of her head with an exasperated sigh.
Great. Here we go again.
First glimpse of a memory (if it wasn't obvious) that doesn't belong to Katsuko.
I couldn't help but compare Katsuko like that one person who has to watch over a kid (Ichigo) that always runs off when they take their eyes off them.
I wonder if dyed hair appears in soul form... Katsuko has brown highlights in her hair so I'm wondering if I should should still make it appear in soul form. It could influence the way I write the next chapters. Oh well, I'll try to decide by the next one.
Thank you for the 100+ followers and 80+ favorites by the way!