AUGUST 9TH
…
…
…
Hiragi Katsuko was admitted into Squad 4's care.
Almost immediately, Katsuko passed out after she collapsed. Her allies could only call her name as they flew to her side only for no response to come out of her. With how much blood she was losing, even Inoue, despite her exceptional healing abilities, couldn't close all her wounds all at once to save her. There wasn't enough time. With reassurance from Ukitake, Ichigo and the others allowed Katsuko to be taken away by Squad 4 for immediate treatment.
What Ichigo wasn't pleased about though was the fact that Katsuko was put into some kind of detention center in Squad 4. She was being treated as a prisoner because of Chisaki. Aside from Inoue, the healer, no one from the Ryoka group was allowed to see her. And even if Inoue was allowed in, she was being watched carefully. According to Inoue, her wrists were bound together and her spiritual power was sealed off. That only served to annoy to orange head even more, he could barely feel her presence on the other side of the door. And considering how Katsuko was harboring a criminal inside of her, there were guards posted just outside the room she was in. All of this because they didn't want to risk Chisaki waking up and running off with Katsuko's body.
Much like Renji, her life was saved, but she continued to sleep for two days. Renji was already discharged within those two days. And after all that happened, he was spared any punishment and was allowed to keep his rank. Ichigo, whose injuries were as bad as Byakuya, or even worse, was already healing quite fast because of Inoue. He was just having a little trouble walking.
He was currently sitting in Squad 4's breakroom with Rukia and Renji.
Earlier, Ichigo ran into Rukia on his way out of his room. Currently, all the Ryoka were assigned single rooms in the medical station regardless if they were injured or not. Rukia, too, was also currently staying in Squad 4's medical station despite not being injured nor being a Ryoka. They wanted to make sure she was alright after having something extracted from her soul. Renji was on his way out of Squad 4 after visiting his Captain in the intensive care ward when he ran into Rukia and Ichigo, and he decided to tag along. He actually had quite a lot of time to spare.
"She's clearly not going anywhere, so why are they monitoring her around the clock?" Ichigo frowned and started rapping his fingers against the table when he remembered how he passed by the guards in front of the doors on his way out of his room. Sure, the updates from Inoue were helpful but he still had yet to see her ever since she was brought into Squad 4's care. They weren't risking it. Just a few days ago, the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were his enemy. You couldn't blame him for being a little concerned. Who would like to have their friend locked up for something they didn't do? Definitely not him.
Renji put down the tea he was drinking. "You already know the situation."
Ichigo rested his chin in his palm and peered out the window. "Katsuko told me her wounds vanished overnight when she was passed out after fighting, so that meant that Chisaki must have woken up to heal her. She could have woken up and ran off by now if she wanted to." Ichigo looked over at Rukia and Renji who were sitting in front of him. "Anyway, who exactly is this Chisaki?" He had yet to learn anything about her other than what he already knew.
With a short sigh, Renji decided to answer his question first. "She was the Third Seat of Squad 9 who vanished from the Soul Society thirty years ago. According to what was reported, she purposely led a group of Soul Reapers from her squad out into the Rukongai at night, and then killed them all before disappearing."
"Right." Rukia put down her cup and peered into it as she recalled that night the news spread. "They assumed that she fled the Human World since her spiritual pressure was detected somewhere in the Seireitei to open a Senkaimon. They sent out search parties into the Human World that same night that they went after her."
"Yet, they came back with nothing." Renji breathed a sigh through his nose. "Her trail went cold."
"For thirty years?" Ichigo repeated. He was a little unconvinced that they couldn't find their runaway criminal considering how they easily found Rukia in the Human World when she ran off.
Rukia understood his suspicion. "Naogoma Chisaki comes from a noble family in the Soul Society. They excel in Kido, especially sealing-type Kido. Most of the seals today are derived from them. There are even some seals that are not even shared with the Soul Society. I wouldn't be surprised if she used one of their seals to hide her presence."
"You know," Renji looked at Ichigo with a thoughtful hand on his chin. "That might be why Katsuko has Soul Reapers powers in the first place. Her soul was tied to Naogoma's so her powers might have affected her." he closed his eyes and cocked his head a little. "But that would be the first I heard of it."
"That actually might make more sense." Rukia held her chin thoughtfully. An error in the cycle never happened before so why would it now?
"Would she lose her powers once Chisaki separates from her?" Ichigo wondered.
"I'm not sure." Rukia answered. "But remember when she separated from Katsuko the first time? Katsuko was still wearing her Shihakusho and her Zanapakuto was still there. I can only assume that Chisaki's power that seeped into Katsuko's soul became her own somehow..."
Ichigo stared up at the ceiling as his brain raked out the memory. "Oh, I guess that's true."
All of a sudden, Hanataro came floundering into the breakroom, apparently searching for Ichigo, with some apologies for disturbing their conversation and informed the trio about Katsuko's transfer to a private room while revealing that she was free for them to visit now because Chisaki was finally removed from Katsuko.
…
…
…
Like a spectator, Katsuko watched the scenes play out through Chisaki's eyes.
Lieutenant Hisagi had asked Chisaki to go out and deal with a group of Hollows that were gathering in Rukongai and attacking the residents there. She gathered a group of eight Soul Reapers to assist her in the task. Chisaki was efficient in her duty, she led the group and dealt merciless blows that Hollows had trouble evading.
The Hollows she was slaying all vanished, and when she blinked, she met a different sight. Eight bodies were scattered around her. Three wore standard a Shihakusho. One wore a pink robe. Four wore white haoris that indicated their ranks. Among the eight, she recognized two.
Chisaki inhaled sharply when she laid on her eyes on someone specific. He was laying on his back, his face and silver hair half covered by a Hollow mask. The other half was visible and his eye was rolled back with his mouth slightly agape, he looked dead.
What was this?
Lieutenant Kuna's head was detached from her body and it was staring at her with lifeless eyes. She turned around and looked at the bodies around her to properly examine them. It was the group that went out in the Rukongai during the vanishing souls case around seventy years ago.
Was this what happened that night?
Chisaki whimpered at the sight and started crying as the wound in her heart was ripped open. She really respected her Captain. He was a decent guy despite the rough exterior. His caring side that shown through his aggressiveness was what helped her gain confidence that she lacked when she graduated early from the Academy. Aside from Ukitake and Kyoraku, her Lieutenant was someone she could freely communicate with without feeling like she had to filter herself due to her noble status.
And now to see how they possibly went out…
She didn't know if it was real or fake.
But the sight alone was enough to make her grieve again.
"How do you feel?"
Chisaki looked in front of her and found Captain Aizen standing in front of her. Why was he here?
"… What?"
"How does it feel to see part of the tragedy that took place seventy years ago?" Aizen asked her calmly. He let out a chuckle and stepped closer. "Are you experiencing grief once more?"
"Captain Aizen?" Chisaki stepped back warily even as her tears fell. She was hurt and confused about what was happening. She didn't know why he was here. "What is going on?"
The brown haired Captain pulled out his Zanpakuto and held it out in front of him. "My Zanpakuto can affect all fives senses, that's all there is to it. Rejoice, I'm giving you this opportunity to see your old Captain and Lieutenant once again." He told her smoothly. "I was the one who did it."
As her blue eyes stared at the Captain of Squad 5 in disbelief, they slowly began to narrow angrily, sharpening into fiery blue ones. He was the one responsible for the taboo? He was the reason why they were forced to get cut down?!
"You monster!" her hand gripped her hilt tightly as she screamed with tears.
"No," Aizen shook his head. "I believe the real monster is you."
Everything shattered just as she was about to leap forward.
"What kind of person mercilessly cuts down their dear comrades they call friends?"
The eight bodies morphed into something else. Eight different bodies.
"Remember what I just said? My Zanpakuto can influence all five of one's senses, complete hypnosis. You killed your comrades under the impression of actually killing Hollows."
It felt like the air in her lungs were sucked right out of her. Her eyes were darting around when she saw bodies lying around her. They were scattered across the grounds. All dead with blood everywhere. That's when she realized how much blood was on her Zanpakuto.
She covered her mouth when she felt sick. They were all slaughtered without any sign of mercy. Her hand dropped her Zanpakuto when her hands shot up to her mouth to muffle to sobs that were pouring out of her.
When she took a few steps back, her foot bumped into something. Frightened, she jumped and quickly looked behind her. Her eyes shifted downward to see something horrific. A head. Her eyes grew wide when she recognized their face. They were staring at her with eyes that looked like they were blaming her for this tragedy. And it was.
"NO!" She screamed and held her head. Her eyes clenched shut as her tears fell. What was happening?! Why was this happening?! "I did not do this! I… I would never!"
"But you did." A voice spoke so calmly in midst of the horrific scene.
I did this!
"No!" she screamed while shaking her head frantically.
"You killed your comrades with your own Zanpakuto."
"I am not a murderer!" she screamed at the brown haired man standing a few feet away from her who only smiled in face of her breakdown. But she wasn't stupid. She knew that she did this. Denying the truth around her made her feel like a stupid child avoiding the blame. She was only trying to console herself through her grief.
"You are."
She sank down to her knees and dropped on all fours.
"And you will be my new experiment."
She let out a gut-wrenching cry in the night as she curled on the ground.
The monster was her.
The anger and grief she felt for her old Captain and Lieutenant combined with her distraught over killing her own comrades tore her down completely, leaving her vulnerable and at the mercy of Aizen's next move.
After coming closer, he grabbed her by the front of her Shihakusho, ignoring how she sobbed, and held her up. With a smirk, he looked to the side and saw a Hollow in pure white stomping out of the forest. Like all Hollows, it wore a white mask. It had black hair that reached below its shoulders. Its Hollow hole was located in its upper chest and it was blue and filled in. Its claws were are sharps as daggers and it had a black tail whipping behind it. And unlike other Hollows, this was shaped more like a tall person.
It tore away the trees standing in its way and let out a roar that shook the leaves of nearby trees. Its tail whipped and destroyed as nearby boulder, sending fragments flying everywhere.
"So antsy." Aizen remarked, holding up Chisaki's body for it to see, dangling it up like fresh meat.
In an instant, it lunged at Chisaki and bit into her neck while its claws dug into her shoulders. Taking a few steps back, Aizen watched, with anticipation, as she screamed on the ground, weakly trying to push off the Hollow that was now digging into her chest. Then it stopped. The Hollow blew up. Its remains gathered together in the air, like liquid, and then forced itself into Chisaki's soul after a visible hole appeared in her chest, sealing it closed.
…
…
…
When she woke up, she couldn't remember what happened.
All she recalled was being in the Rukongai surrounded by her dead friends. She didn't even remember how she got there in the first place.
But one thing was clear, she couldn't stay there any longer, not with bloodstains on her and on her Zanpakuto. Obviously, no one would believe her. They would find out eventually even if she tried to hide it. They would kill her for this. Her own family would have to side with the law because of the lack of proof for her innocence.
She would rather live in exile than be executed.
Without thinking about the consequences of her actions, Chisaki sought out Ukitake and begged for his help. She barged into his room and found him at his desk. He startled and looked over his shoulder to see who rudely came into his room. His words fell when he saw her appearance, blood everywhere on her clothes, face, hair and Zanpakuto. Her eyes were wide open with tears that mixed with the blood on her face.
"What happened to you?!" Ukitake dropped what he was doing and reached for her. But she just fell to her knees and grabbed his Shihakusho, her forehead pressed against the floor. "I'm begging you!" Chisaki cried, her voice muffled against the floor. "Help me, please!" She hated that it almost felt like she was manipulating her brother figure into helping her by breaking down in front of him like this. She knew it would increase the chances of getting his help. But what other choice did she have?
"Chisaki-chan, you need to tell me what happened." Ukitake gently pried her hands off and held them as he kneeled down on one knee.
"Don't know." She shook her head and sniffled, gasping for breath. "I just found myself in the Rukongai with eight of my comrades lying around me. I don't even know how I got there!" she gasped for more breath and squeezed her eyes shut, letting more tears fall. "I killed my friends…! I saw Eijin's head at my feet and…!"
Kyoraku just happened to be passing by his quarters for a scheduled drinking time when he found her. He found Ukitake trying to console their old friend who was muffling her sobbing into his clothes.
…
…
…
Thanks to Ukitake and Kyorkau's help, she ended up in Southern Tokyo.
Immediately upon arrival, she sealed off her spiritual power with her Kido to keep herself undetected by the Soul Society. For twenty-one years, she focused on keeping a Hollow at bay that her Zanpakuto revealed to her. The experience was apparently so traumatic that she unconsciously erased it from her mind. It was only when her Zanpakuto recounted the details did she finally remember. She spent twenty-one years hating Aizen from her core while trying to fight off the Hollow inside her. But even she had a limit. Twenty-one years was her limit.
She needed to go into a stasis to give her full attention on fighting back her Hollow.
Eventually, she found herself entering a town called Karakura Town, located in Western Tokyo. For days, she spent her time desperately searching for a human that she could tether herself to. But every single human she came across was incompatible with her.
She was running out of time.
And she was scared of what might happen to her.
But one day, during a warm afternoon, she came across a child. She was walking with a blue backpack while chewing on some human food she didn't know about. This was the one. There was something about this child that made her compatible with her.
Chisaki lowered her eyes and approached the child who couldn't see her.
"I'm sorry."
Gasping, Katsuko shot up in a sitting position and exhaled loudly. She shut her eyes, barely taking in the sight she saw, to try and control her breathing. She was crying too, so she also wanted to stop that. Thankfully, she wasn't full out sobbing, she was just breathing heavily with tears. The grief that Chisaki felt resonated with her strongly.
The terrible strong sadness for her loss and hatred for the man who caused it all. She never felt anything like that before. It completely surpassed any emotional pain she dare thought was the worst. The only way she could describe the feeling was as if something inside her kept twisting and twisting painfully even after it seemed impossible, causing it to snap and break, forever rendering it impossible to repair itself. However, it felt like it all rewinded the moment she woke up.
"Are you alright?" A soothing voice asked her. That's when she felt a hand rubbing her back.
In the dimly lit room, Katsuko found a woman, who was taller than Rukia but about her own height, looking down at her. She had gentle blue eyes and long black hair that was braided and left down the front of her body. She was wearing a Captain's haori. Upon seeing it, Katsuko shuffled away and sat back against the wall next to her, that's when she noticed the cuffs around her hands.
What is this?!
She rattled her hands in a panic.
"It's alright. You don't have to be wary." The Captain gently put her hands on hers to ease her agitated state, and honestly, it almost did in an instant. Katsuko's eyes met hers, confused by the gentle gesture. The Captain gave her a friendly smile. That's when she finally allowed herself to calm down and recall the events that happened prior to her collapse. The Captain also proceeded to tell her what happened and explained why she was in this room behind bars that she didn't notice until she turned to look at them. In addition to Squad 4's help, Inoue had dropped by to heal her and was able to rid of the cracks on her skin.
I'll have to thank her for that when I see her.
Katsuko had a deadpan look on her face when she remembered the ultimate pain of having her wounds unsealed. Maybe if the wounds opened slowly, one by one, it would have been easier to swallow. She wrinkled her nose at the memory.
"Tell me, how do you feel?" her voice sounded comforting now that she was composed.
She recalled the pain she felt when she sat up in her bed so suddenly. It made her frown. "There's was some pain when I sat up." She answered lowly. "But I feel okay?" She understood that they were no longer the enemy, yet she couldn't help but feel shy and nervous. She was sure that the Captain could tell with how her voice was low, she just hoped that she heard her.
"Try not to overdo it. You're still healing." Unohana reminded her.
Katsuko nodded once and bowed her head. "Thank you for helping me."
"Did you have a nightmare just now?" The black haired Captain decided to ask.
Gah! Wipe my face!
"Not really my nightmare." Katsuko grabbed the blanket and immediately started wiping her face when she remembered that her face was still wet. "I just saw what Chisaki experienced and it felt like her pain was my own." She told the Captain, who called herself Unohana Retsu. She wanted to make it clear that she wasn't the one crying.
She saw Captain Unohana's features softened even more upon hearing that.
I can come out now.
I was just waiting for you to wake up.
Stiffening, Katsuko blinked several times after Chisaki's voice rang in her mind. She was only waiting for her to wake up? Well, how considerate. But she didn't want to just give Chisaki a greenlight only to receive punishment for it. Her head shifted to look back at the Captain. "She just said that she can come out now. Is that okay?" she asked slowly. She didn't know what she was expecting, but she clearly wasn't expecting Unohana to just nod once and step back a few feet. Seriously? Just like that?
"I'll have the guards remove these for you." Unohana said before calling in the two guards posted outside. One of them came into the cell and used a key to remove her handcuffs. He also unsealed her spiritual pressure that she didn't even realized was sealed in the first place. Then they took a step back while the other guard stood outside the cell of the detention center, watching Katsuko who felt a little weirded out.
Katsuko shuffled over to the edge of the bed, almost slowly to not make the guards think that she was doing any sudden moves that were... criminal-worthy? Once she was on her feet, she stood there and just waited for whatever Chisaki was supposed to do to come out. She almost started rocking on her feet when the seconds passed. Then her body glowed a gentle blue. It stung a little, but it wasn't as painful as when she first ripped out of her. The gentle stinging compared with the harsh ripping made Katsuko think that, perhaps Chisaki was supposed to gently come out instead of how she did it on Sokyoku Hill. She was hiding in her soul, was she not? So she must have forcefully detached herself and caused her skin to crack the way it did by doing so. Her body was basically her soul after all.
A leg made of blue light stepped out of Katsuko's body, slowly. Then, an arm came out followed by the rest of the body until a bright blue figure was standing in front of Katsuko. The blue light subsided, revealing Chisaki who took a few uneasy steps forward when she tried to regain her balance.
Katsuko took this time to examine her from behind. She was slightly taller than her, her hair was brown and it was shorter than hers.
"Naogoma-san, are you ready to go?"
Barely nodding, Chisaki looked melancholic. She couldn't even meet the Captain's eyes. "Yes, Captain Unohana."
The Captain offered a small smile to the taller girl before looking at Katsuko who decided to take a seat on the bed. "I'll have someone come for you and escort you to your room."
"Oh, thank you." Katsuko nodded once.
Before Chisaki made a move to leave, she turned to look at Katsuko whose eyes shifted to her curiously. The brown haired noble smiled gently and then bowed her head. "I'm sorry." Was all she said before following Captain Unohana out of the room like a lost puppy with the guards following closely behind after they handcuffed her.
Katsuko watched her leave with concerned eyes. She's always apologizing to me, huh? Probably feels bad that she dragged me into her grudge against Aizen. She should be to be honest. I got freaking cut up because of her!
As she remembered something vital, she looked down and held up her right hand. The ring on her finger was still there. With a sigh of relief, she clasped her left hand over it and then gently rolled onto her side.
"I'm alive."
I can go home.
One thing she appreciated in her new room was the brightness. There was so much more light in her new room. It was much better than the dim cell. The way she squinted when she was exposed to the light in the hall made her realize how dark the cell was.
Katsuko was sitting on her bed, on top of the blanket, in her new room with her legs crossed legged. After shutting the door, she was looking around and found her Zanpakuto that was set on a table and her Shihakusho was neatly folded underneath it. Instead of staying in the white robe, she decided to put on her Shihakusho instead. While doing so, she saw the bandages wrapped around her whole chest and abdomen. There wasn't any blood seeping through the bandages caused by her movements so that was good. It wasn't a sight she was used to. She never broke a bone in her life.
There was also a mirror in the room so she got to fix herself up, but it felt kind of weird to not do her daily morning routine because she was lacking some things.
I wonder where the others are…
As she looked out the window and stared at the blue sky, a sudden knock at the door caught her attention, causing her to whip her head to the door fast when she heard Ichigo's voice behind it. Finally someone she knew! When she gave him the 'ok' to enter, she spotted Rukia and Renji standing behind him after revealed himself.
"Oh! Rukia!" Katsuko waved at her. She was glad to see that she looked fine after everything that transpired. "And hi, Renji."
As the three of them filed into the room, Rukia approached her bed with a small smile. "How do you feel?"
"I'm okay." Katsuko was about to pat her chest until she remembered what the Captain told her. He dropped her hand on her lap. She didn't want to find out how much pain was worth a pat. "Just need to take it easy."
Ichigo and Renji dragged some chairs they found in the room closer to the bed she was on. Ichigo frowned when he got a good look at her face. "Were you crying?"
"How'd you know?"
"Your eyes look puffy."
"Still?" Katsuko scowled and gently patted her eyes. She was hoping it wouldn't show. "Figures it didn't go away yet."
"Did something happen?" Rukia wondered as she took her seat between the two guys.
"It's nothing really. Had a dream. Woke up crying." Katsuko said in a blasé manner and shrugged with her hands. "Anyway…" She looked at Ichigo and pointed a lazy finger at him. "Didn't you say you were going to tell me what happened before I got to Sokyoku Hill?"
Ichigo frowned and shifted his eyes to the ceiling when he reached the to place a hand on his nape. "Right…" where should he start?
Urahara Kisuke was doing more than just helping them get strong enough to help Rukia. His ultimate goal was to get back what he had placed inside of her. He hid something inside of her, it was called the Hougyoku. It was something he invented that was capable of blurring the boundary between a Soul Reaper and a Hollow. The reason why she couldn't get her powers back was because Urahara had given her a special type of Gigai. Her faux body would never allow her to recover her power no matter how much time passed and would inevitably cause her to become a normal human spirit. Despite Urahara's attempt to recover it, Aizen still succeeded in extracting it from her. That powerful creation of his was now in the hands of an enemy.
Hearing all of this made Katsuko wonder if Urahara knew about Chisaki inside of her.
"Rukia…" Katsuko stretched her legs after the brief recap. "Is it forbidden for a Soul Reaper to gain Hollow-like powers?"
Rukia was curious as to why she would suddenly ask that. "It is. One of laws from Central 46 clearly states that it's forbidden for a Soul Reaper to have such power. Why do you ask?"
The taller black haired Soul Reaper tugged her mouth to the left and sucked in a breath. "I'm guessing your Central 46 never knew that Aizen was doing experiments on Soul Reapers for a long time." She said with her eyes narrowing when she pursed her lips a little to the side.
"Experiments?" Rukia repeated, confused. This caught Renji's attention as well since he was one of the people who thought he knew said Captain.
"That dream I had, it was actually Chisaki's memory." she scratched the back of her hair. "I saw it through her eyes. From what I could tell, it looked like Aizen tried to give Hollow powers to Soul Reapers about a century ago. He admitted it to her. Some of them were wearing the Captain's haori. I saw a Hollow mask on one of their faces. He did the same to her thirty years ago. It was against her own will. I don't know how he did it, but he managed to inject a Hollow inside her." She pointed at the corner of her eyes. "I'll spare you the gruesome details, but as you can tell, it wasn't pleasant."
She didn't want to go into detail about what Chisaki had gone through. It wasn't in her place to tell them. If it was her, she'd feel ashamed to have such an event recounted to others. But then again, Renji and Rukia might already know all the details since it happened thirty years ago.
"For that long?" Renji couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And no one suspected a thing all these years? Who knows how many times he's done it." To think that the man who showed up to save him when he was still a student was playing the nice Captain for so long. He couldn't help but feel like a fool.
"And to think he did it on Captain class Soul Reapers as well…" Rukia narrowed her eyes. Clearly, Aizen was much more powerful than he was letting on.
"Wait, hold on." Ichigo interjected when he realized something. He looked at Rukia. "What's going to happen to Chisaki? You just said it was forbidden for Soul Reapers to get Hollow powers."
"I did." Rukia took a glance at him. "But with Central 46 gone, I suppose it will be up to the Captain Commander to decide what to do with her."
The two humans in the room exchanged glances as their thoughts matched. Aside from her crime, they were wondering how Chisaki would be punished for something she didn't do. Katsuko was especially worried about her since she personally had a front row seat of her experience. Punishing her for having Hollow powers wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be fair.
"I'm telling you right now, the crime she committed wasn't her fault."
Rukia could see the worry flashing across Katsuko's face. "I'm sure they'll give her the chance to speak. The Captain Commander did say he was willing to listen to what she had to say."
With nothing else to say about it, Katsuko nodded once quietly, but she was still concerned about Chisaki's fate. Look at me, worried about the person I wanted nothing to do with a few days ago. I'm weird.
When asked about whether or not Rukia or Renji should report this new information to their superiors, she and Ichigo learned that Chisaki was most likely going through a trial in front of the Captain Commander. If what she claimed was true, she was going to inform Yamamoto about Aizen's wrongdoings anyway.
A few minutes later, someone from Squad 4 came in and was bringing in a tray of food for Katsuko. That was their cue to change the subject.
"By the way, has anyone told you about how we got into the Seireitei?" Katsuko smirked cheekily at Rukia as she got ready to eat. The petite Soul Reaper replied that she got the gist of it from Inoue albeit it was a bit complicated and exaggerated as Ichigo pointed out.
"Ah, so you learned about the canonball flying, huh? But do you know about the incident where Ichigo blew himself up?"
"You did mention it while we we're running away." Rukia remembered, suddenly interested in what she had to share. "What happened?" she looked at her with curious purple eyes.
Ichigo glared at Katsuko who didn't bother to glance at him. "Oi, you don't have to tell her all that!"
"Let her talk." Renji held up a hand with a grin to shut up Ichigo whose eye just twitched in annoyance.
"Shush." Katsuko waved her hand at him dismissively, a smirk still on her face. "Not only did he struggle doing Kido for hours, but when he finally got it, he just lost focus and exploded on the spot after making his canonball." She said with a giggle, remembering how Kuukaku yelled at him for it.
"He does have bad control." Rukia sighed yet couldn't help the amused grin on her face, shaking her head. The two black haired girls exchanged amused looks.
Renji snorted and gave Ichigo a smug look. "Man, you couldn't even do something as simple as pour out spiritual power?"
"Shut up! I didn't know what Kido was!" Ichigo snapped at the red head who was just smirking at him on the other side of Rukia.
"Yeah, and even if you did learn it, you'd probably suck at it too."
"Oh yeah?!"
Rukia gave Renji a side glance from where she sat and saw the smug expression still present on his face. "I don't know why you're feeling so cocky. If you forgot, your Kido is sloppy." She remarked which had Renji stiffening as if he just remembered that fact.
"Damn!" Katsuko laughed and covered her mouth when Renji backed down almost embarrassingly. She hid her face in the crook of her elbow to conceal her laughs. Thank god, she could still laugh even in her state.
"Man, you had no room to talk." Ichigo sniggered at Renji's visible annoyance. However, the red head didn't entertain him with a response to that and chose to remain quiet.
"At least you both can agree that your skills in Kido are nothing to write about." Rukia concluded a bit hautighly since she knew that she was the superior Kido user among them, firmly ending their quarrel.
Some time later, Katsuko decided to take a little stroll outside while it was still bright. She didn't want to be cooped up inside her room for most of the day. On the way out of the medical station, she ran into a Soul Reaper who looked younger than her, but was most likely a couple of years older than her, and he spilled apologies for lightly bumping into her. Seeing him apologize so much made her feel like she was the bad guy, so she did her best to calm him down.
When she was outside and walking around, she couldn't help but feel so naked without her Zanpakuto at her side when she passed by some Seireitei residents. She had grown used to keeping it with her to protect herself. It made her realize how she was still a little on edge about suddenly being taken care of by the people who were once her enemy. Her vigilant switch had yet to be turned off.
"Hiragi-san!"
With a delayed reaction, Katsuko stopped and looked to the side to find her busty classmate running towards her with a smile. "You're awake!" she was waving her arm at her to greet her from afar, catching the attention of nearby Soul Reapers that she ran past.
"Um, yeah." Katsuko decided to place a hand on her nape when Inoue stood before her. "Thanks by the way, for healing me. I heard from the Captain… um, Captain Unohana that you dropped by to help heal me."
Inoue just smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "It was only natural that I should help, we're teammates so we have to help each other."
"Right." Katsuko nodded once, her face looking quite apathetic without meaning to. Her eyes flickered to a woman that was running to catch up with Inoue. She had long orange hair and... She couldn't help but knit her eye brows at the sight of the woman's loosened Shihakusho that showcased her cleavage of her massive boobs. Good god. Seriously, that woman's breasts were about one sneeze away from slipping out. She sweat dropped at how her boobs just bounced with every step. She couldn't imagine how much of a pain it would be to be in P.E class and having those things attached to her chest while she ran.
It made her recall about how girls in the locker room would complain about the size of their chest when they saw Inoue's. She really couldn't understand the want to have bigger boobs on her chest. Her chest was small, yeah, but did she ever cry or complain about it? Hell no. Never has she ever felt even the slightest envy towards girls with bigger balloons. She was pleased with the way her body turned out. She didn't have to worry about backpain or gravity trying to take her down. She even read somewhere that bra straps or wires, whichever it was, actually dug into a girl's skin. How painful.
And one of the biggest boons about having a small chest was the fact that she didn't have to worry about creepy men looking at her. Disgusting. She liked feeling safe. Did Inoue ever have creepy men staring at her for it?
"You're one of the Ryoka, too, right?" the taller woman smiled at her. "I'm Matsumoto Rangiku. I'm the Lieutenant of Squad 10, it's nice to meet you!"
She blinked once, caught off guard by the Soul Reaper's friendly demeanor. "Oh, it's nice to meet you too." Katsuko nodded once. "I'm Hiragi Katsuko." she gave her a curt bow of her head.
I think I can see why these two are getting along.
"Hiragi-san, do you want to join us?" Inoue suddenly asked while pointing to her left. "Rangiku-san and I were going to look at the shops in the Seireitei together."
"Shops?" Katsuko tipped her head curiously. Right. She forgot this was actually a city. Of course, there would be shops. But she was going to have to deny the invitation. She was only out on a stroll and she didn't want to wander away too far from Squad 4's medical station. When she turned them down with that explanation, Inoue was understanding and didn't pressure her, not like she was expecting her too. With that, Inoue and Matsumoto continued walking off together. The busty Soul Reaper even waved good bye to her before they turned and left.
Katsuko didn't move from her spot and watched the two prancing down the street together while happily chatting away. With a shrug, she turned and decided to head back, but she couldn't see behind her so she wasn't expecting to bump into someone until she did. With a gasp, she staggered backwards and looked up to see a familiar face. Kind olive eyes and white long hair. Oh.
"Oh, sorry." Katsuko quickly stepped away from him.
"It's alright." Ukitake smiled at her and gently waved his hand dismissively. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Feeling already at ease around his presence, she relaxed. Usual feelings of timidity dialed down.
Ukitake studied her appearance. "I see you're feeling good enough to walk. That's great." He gave her a close eyed smile. Her response to that was a quick nod. She noticed it before, but the feelings of comfort that strongly manifested in her chest when he was around was absent. She knew he was a nice man, but she didn't feel anything, a clear sign that Chisaki's presence was gone from her soul.
Ukitake recalled the frantic confused and fearful look she had on her face when he came across her. He was wondering if that was why she looked a little stiff in front of him right now. For that, he gave her an apology for scaring her that time near the white tower. He really must have frightened her if she was like this.
"Ah, no don't worry about it. I was just confused because Chisaki was messing with what I knew." Katsuko tapped her temple with her index and middle fingers. When she mentioned Chisaki's name, she remembered how close she was to this Captain. Maybe she could try and ask him if he knew what happened to her? Surely someone like him could know what happened to her? It's been hours since Chisaki was taken away from her, and after what she experienced through her eyes, she couldn't help but be concerned about her fate.
"Is it okay for me to ask where is Naogoma Chisaki now?"
Seeing the genuine concern in her eyes surprised Ukitake. After seeing how angry she looked when Chisaki got a hold of her prior to sealing herself back inside her contrasted what he saw now. It made him smile a little. The last time he saw Chisaki was during her trial. He and Kyoraku were forbidden to make contact with her until further notice. A reasonable action from the Captain Commander considering how they assisted in her escape thirty years ago. From her trial, he could remember how saddened she looked when she recounted how she ended up hiding away in the Human World, inside a child's body. Guilt and regret was written all across her face. He was sure that if Chisaki could see her worry about her well being now, she would feel a little less guilty and would appreciate that the young girl had her in her thoughts. After what she had been through, having someone worry about her was somewhat touching after feeling like everyone else viewed her as a criminal.
"She's okay, but she's currently put into Squad 2's custody. That's all I know for now." he said to her.
So… she's in jail, I guess?
"Oh, okay." She wanted to ask more, but at the same time, she felt like she shouldn't because she was an outsider. It didn't feel right to pry into affairs that shouldn't concern her, no matter how curious or concerned she was. Also, she didn't feel like holding up someone important as a Captain. For all she knew, he had somewhere to be and she was just making him tardy. So with that, she nodded her head, thanked him for telling her, and excused herself to head back to Squad 4's medical station.
"Would you like me to walk you back? I'm sure you are not familiar with the streets of the Seireitei." Ukitake said when she made a move to walk past him, looking a bit concerned since he was aware she was still recovering. She was also quite far from Squad 4's area.
"It's fine." Katsuko gave him a confident little smirk. "I'm actually good at retracing my steps in unfamiliar places."
"Is that so?" Ukitake looked impressed. "What a handy skill to have."
"But thanks anyway." Katsuko gently waved at him and started going her way after he bid her farewell.
What a nice man, seriously.
When she walked back, she still had her mind on Chisaki. She could only hope the Captain Commander would somehow believe her and remove her status as a fugitive, as well as understand that her Hollowfication wasn't of her own volition. And the longer she wondered about Chisaki, she eventually came to ask herself one question when she thought back on the memories she saw.
Why was she chosen as her vessel?
She didn't even realize how far she had walked.
But thankfully, she made it back in one piece.
Instead of going back inside, she decided to make a round around the building to keep walking a little more. It was nice outside. And as she did, she was noticing how close Ichigo's spiritual pressure was the more she walked. Curiously, she sped up a bit and then peeked around the corner to find him sitting on the engawa veranda. He was sitting there under the shade, looking ahead where an open space was. It was a calming scenery. How fitting for a hospital-like place.
Ichigo brows were furrowed as his mind replayed all the events that took place ever since they stepped through Urahara's Senkaimon. It almost felt like it all happened in two days with how fast things were going. And learning about Urahara Kisuke's real intentions threw him for a loop.
"Hello~"
Ichigo's thoughts dissolved as he whipped his head around to find Katsuko walking over to him with a nonchalant wave. She gave him an amused look at his reaction. "Come on, I wasn't even hiding my spiritual pressure. Lost in thought?"
"A bit, yeah." he shrugged lightly.
Katsuko hummed in response. "Feeling good enough to be outside?
Ichigo looked back in front of him, at the sky this time. "It still hurts a little to walk, but I'm good." he took a glance at her when he saw her come closer. There didn't seem to be any problem with her walking. "I'm surprised you're walking around with how bad your wounds were. You sure you feeling okay to move around?" he watched her expel a sigh and sit next to him.
She gently leaned back to set her upper half down on the veranda with a light chuckle. "Oh, it hurts a bit. But I'm not about to stay in bed the whole day." She looked to her left and right to check if anyone was on their way. She didn't want to obstruct the path. "Felt good to just walk around and take in some fresh air." she shifted her head to look at the back of his head. Then her eyes trailed down to his hand that he was leaning on near his side.
"Sorry about your hand by the way."
Hearing this, he placed his hands behind him and leaned back to glance at her. "You mean when you stomped on it?"
"It wasn't my fault!"
Ichigo huffed, briefly rolling his eyes. "Exactly, so why are you apologizing, idiot."
Katsuko opened her dark brown eyes and pursued her lips a bit. "Still… that was my foot." She mumbled and lifted up a leg for no reason. Wincing, she gently set it back down when it added strain to her healing wounds.
"Don't worry about it." Ichigo shrugged. He didn't see the point in her apology. He knew it was Chisaki's doing.
"Oh right, that reminds me. Remember when you wondered if I was okay back at the Study Chamber?" Ichigo looked down at her and he found her looking up at the ceiling as she started recounting her experiences. "Actually, weird things were happening to me ever since my second fight. I fought this Lieutenant and ended up crying because of Chisaki. I remembered stuff about her past when I was passed out. And I also ended up crying in front of Rukia's Captain when I got closer to the white tower. That time felt like I was another person." She let out a small chuckle as she remembered the feeling of being rewritten. "I seriously forgot who I was and I was scared of becoming someone else when I came to. Seriously freaky stuff. That's what I was bothered about." when she finished, she looked over at him with her cheeks barely puffed out, waiting for his reaction.
Ichigo squinted his eyes. Was she serious?
It took him a second to finally respond. "Don't you think that was something worth mentioning?!" he harshly flicked her forehead for her lack of thought. Her hands flew up to the affected area after failing to bat his hand away and she whined. She didn't think a flick could hurt that bad.
"I didn't want to cause problems and make you worry! You already had to worry about Rukia and getting your Bankai. Excuse me for being considerate!"
"You didn't wanna worry me?" he repeated with a scowl. "Well, you failed because I knew something was off. You should have said something. Rukia called it an error, right? What if you just poofed out of existence because of a malfunction or something?"
Can't really say I wasn't expecting this type of reaction, Katsuko pouted and looked away from his reprimanding glare, she almost shrank under it. "I was planning on asking later once it was all over, but why does it matter? Mystery is solved."
Somewhat frustrated by her nonchalant attitude, Ichigo scratched the back of his head and breathed hot air through his nose. "You're not dumb, you get what I'm trying to say. You have to tell someone if something like that happens. Forget being considerate if your life is on the line. Alright?" he looked at her, expecting her to not be stubborn about it. Fortunately, he knew her well enough that she wouldn't casually brush it off this type of concern.
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Sorry." Katsuko was lightly brushing the abused spot on her fingers with her fingers. "I'll tell someone if something alarming like that happens again, which I doubt. Like I said, I was going to."
Okay maybe that was dumb choice. I could have told Yoruichi about it back then without letting Ichigo know.
Their goal was to save Rukia and return home alive. Obviously, they had to look out for each other. If she became someone else, then she wouldn't be able to return home like she wanted. Well, even if things did end up that way, he'd just had find a way to knock some sense into her and make her remember who she is. It still had to be her under whatever persona she became. It was still the same soul after all.
Ichigo's eyes flickered to her right hand that was touching her forehead. "By the way, what's with the ring?" he wondered curiously. This was the first time he was seeing it.
"Oh, my mom gave it to me before we left. I figured I should keep something from home with me. For good luck, I guess." She shrugged lightly against the wooden floor and held out her hand for him to see, showing him both sides.
The number of times she clung onto the ring on her hand as if to grasp onto courage outnumbered all her ten fingers.
To Ichigo, it reminded him of the charm his father gave him that was still neatly tucked away in his clothes.
"Huh, never saw you wear rings before."
Katsuko half-laughed. "I actually have some rings that my mom gave me, hiding somewhere in my room. When I'm bored, I put them on when I'm home since I can't lose it in my own house." then she quirked up an eyebrow. "Why, does it look weird to you?"
"I didn't say that." he pushed her hand back when she kept playfully showing it off in an exaggerated manner. "It's just a ring. Looks pretty normal to me." he wasn't the type to wear any sort of jewelry. He didn't have much interest in them when it came to his own fashion sense. "And just what do you mean by losing it?"
"Eh," Katsuko gently set her hands on her stomach. "I don't know if you remember, but I once had this bracelet I bought with my mom. We picked out the... pendants? Charms?" she narrowed her eyes. "Or whatever you call it. You know, those little things that hang around the chain? I really liked it, but then I lost it somehow after art class in middle school. Ever since then, I say no to wearing stuff like that outside my house."
A piece of his memories dug up and surfaced. There was a time where he actually saw her wearing said bracelet when she was doing her art work. He was seated near her. Her bracelet was on her dominant hand so it wasn't difficult to see it swaying around every time she moved it.
"Did you go back to look for it?"
"I did, but it wasn't there."
"Maybe you lost it in the hallway then."
"Maybe."
The soothing sound of the nearby tree leaves rustling and the birds chirping filled the ambience when it fell silent. It wasn't uncomfortable one since it was more of a companionable silence. It was nice. Sitting in silence together wasn't new, it was one of the first things they started doing together when they got to know their current selves during their first year in middle school. To think that back then, she was panicking about sitting in silence with him and wanted nothing more than to bolt away.
As she felt her heart beating rhythmically against her hands, her eyes were fixed on the roof while her mind was wandering back to home, thinking about her family and her friends. She wondered if Aiza was doing okay on her own. Treating the soul pill as if it was just a substitute didn't bode well with her. She treated Aiza like as if it was its own person even if it was mostly in a plushie form, she couldn't do otherwise, it didn't feel right. Therefore, it made her worry about Aiza's wellbeing and was hoping she wasn't too stressed about pretending to be someone else 24/7.
"Hey, Ichigo."
"What?"
"How do you think Kon is doing in your body?"
This made the carrot top immediately scowl when he remembered Kon's personality. "That's a random question. He should be fine around my family since he's done it before, but he better not do anything bad." he didn't want to imagine what kind of trouble Kon got into with his body. The last thing he wanted was to find his body in jail for something illegal.
"Bad?"
Ichigo leaned his head back to look past his shoulder. "Don't tell me you don't remember how that guy acted when he got a body."
A chuckle escaped her. Oh, she definitely remembered. She'd never be able to forget it since it was so chaotic that day. "Y'know, it was really bad when I walked in the classroom. Desks all over the place and chairs flipped upside down. Imagine my surprise when I heard that 'you' kissed Arisawa on the cheek. Two guys from class said that you were flirting with the girls! Oh man, the second hand embarrassment made me feel all itchy." she finished with a snicker.
He let out a groan and dropped his face in his hand, cringing behind it. "Don't remind me, that dumbass ruined my image in an instant. Thank god, for that memory replacer!"
"Your image, huh?" Katsuko snorted and nudged her knee against his teasingly. As much as she likes to feign not knowing about his image, she understood the want to keep it. She also had an image at school, albeit her personality wasn't totally different from her image at school, she still wanted to keep her own reputation. "Mister cool who looks scary? Your reputation acts more like a repellent for most students." she imitated a spray can for bugs and made a light 'pshhh' sound, pretending to spray at him. "Mizuiro agreed with me on that one. Bug spray~"
Ichigo scoffed at this. If only that worked on those thugs who didn't have anything better to do with their free time. He seriously wanted nothing more than to be left alone by those idiots. They were like those annoying house flies that just can't seem to get out of his face. "Except it doesn't keep away the more annoying pests. And no, I'm not going to dye my hair black."
"I know, I know. I gave up in trying to convince you in middle school." Katsuko admitted with a sigh and carefully pushed herself up back into a sitting position. "Besides, it'd be kinda weird to see you with black hair though. I'd have to get used to it. I'd miss having an easier time searching for you in a crowd. Your head's a whole highlighter at this point." she planted her palms on her sides and leaned forward to smirk at him.
"Oh, shut up." He rolled his eyes nudged her knee back for that.
"I say that with wholehearted affection~" she sang in defense and patted his back. "Didn't you hear it?"
He huffed and gave her stink eye. "Oh yeah? Try again because I didn't hear shit."
He watched her giggle in amusement.
"Katsuko, Ichigo."
The two teens looked to the left and found Chad walking over to them. Upon seeing him, Katsuko smiled a bit and waved her right hand at him.
Ichigo greeted him with a simple wave. "Done hanging out with the kid for the day?"
She heard from Ichigo, earlier, that Chad was out in the Rukongai visiting Shibata while he still could. How nice of him. She didn't think he was casually walking in and out of the Seireitei.
Inoue was off somewhere in the Seireitei with the Lieutenant of Squad 10, and Chad came from visiting Shibata. Ganju had already went back to the Rukongai once he was fully healed. She had yet to see Ishida after waking up, but she knew, somehow, that was doing just fine somewhere. And after seeing most of the faces of her group and knowing what they'd been doing, she began to feel more relaxed when she realized they were all enjoying their time in the Soul Society in their own way. Add that with the Soul Reapers that didn't pose a threat to her life anymore and seemed much friendlier made her feel like there was truly no danger anymore.
The remaining wariness that she didn't know she still had began to slowly melt away.
…
…
…
A gust of wind hit her back. Confused, she stopped and looked at the trees and saw its leaves were barely swaying from it. Surely wind as strong as the one just now would rustle them. Weird. Plucking out another gummy bear from her bag, she popped it into her mouth and kept walking.
All of a sudden, she saw a blurry cloudy figure coming towards her, the sight made her stop immediately on instinct. It looked big and weird.
It was coming towards her!
Her back collided into something when stepped back and she jerked in surprise. As she spun around her heel to look behind, she flinched she felt another gust of wind, rushing past her this time. When it settled, she found man lowering his arm and shoving something in his pocket behind her. He had short gray hair and hard features. He had a piercing on edge of his right eyebrow. He also had piercings on his right ear.
He looked down at her and frowned. "What's a kid like you still doing out here? School's over. Go on and head home!"
Katsuko furrowed her eyebrows at his sudden order. Who the hell? What's his problem?
"Go on." He shooed her and crossed his arms.
"… Okay." Katsuko gave him one more bewildered glance before turning around and continuing down her path to led to home. "What a weirdo…" she murmured as she popped another gummy bear in her mouth.
That was weird. And where did that cloudy figure go?
…
…
…
Delicate moonbeams softly touched the floor and part of the bed. Katsuko's eyes opened in this quiet calm mood.
The dream she had...
It wasn't just a dream, it was also a memory. A forgotten memory.
The memory felt fresh for some reason as if she was recalling it for the first time minutes after the event happened. The man's face in her dream was clear, and she knew that she saw his face somewhere before. Why didn't she realize it when she saw Chisaki's memories? Her Captain had the same face as the man who was with Shinji at the bakery. The Lieutenant from Chisaki's memories looked like that girl that was playing with her hair too.
...
...
...
"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 colour 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.
...
...
...
But why?
Staring at nothing in the dark, Katsuko just breathed through her nose and covered her face with the blanket, not caring one bit about the lack of air.
Too sleepy to think about it right now. Save it for later.
Hotel Katsuko has a free room now.
One more chapter (I think) until we say buh-bye to the Soul Society! It will probably be a long chapter too. Really meant to post this last week, but I kept hesitating. Sheesh. Also, Chisaki's experience with Hollowfication is important!
Naogoma (直悟巻) - valuable scrolls of enlightenment.
Share your thoughts, I'd like to know what you think so far! See you in the next one!