Hiyori let out a shout as she slammed her sword into her blades. There wasn't even time for a struggle to push back because she added more strength that forced Katsuko to give up the fight. She used her left blade to swing at her and force her back. She didn't hesitate to swing her right next; she wasn't giving Hiyori the chance to regain her footing. When Hiyori blocked with her sword, she swung her left sword upwards and nearly nicked her mask.
Earlier, Hiyori forced her to use her Shikai instinctively to fight and protect herself. Katsuko understood that they were trying to draw out the Hollow inside her but… wasn't this too much?! This midget was coming at her like she was trying to kill her! That mask of hers was really adding to her strength. Whatever hits she landed on Hiyori couldn't even compare to the wounds she received from her.
She was bleeding and cut up.
The shorter girl flashed stepped away.
Katsuko's blades came up in an X to protect herself when Hiyori suddenly dropped down on her. The struggle of their blades caused friction and it was obvious that Hiyori was pushing her back.
Her left blade swirled with wind.
Rose, who was busying tending to an instrument, casually looked up to check on the fight between Hiyori and Katsuko, only to be met with a wind blade coming down at him at full speed. He was so absorbed in his task that he didn't even sense it coming. With a cry, he flash stepped away and saw how the box he was sitting on got shredded into pieces.
"Wow…" Love commented dryly.
"That was close." Rose muttered.
Katsuko backed up against the wall and flash stepped away when Hiyori slashed at the wall, leaving trail from her sword. Katsuko regained her footing. She pierced the air with her sword when she aimed at her from behind. Hiyori just jumped over her and landed a large slash across her back. She faltered but not for too long. She gathered up wind and did a Gengetsu Reppu to push her back.
Black waves.
Tug.
Katsuko stiffened.
Her gaze skittered to the side when she saw something crawling in her sight. It looked like shadows coming from the corner of her eye. Alert, she straightened up and took a step back, thinking that one of the other Vizards were attacking her from a blind spot. Hiyori paused when she saw Katsuko stepping further away from the place she thought danger was. With a snort, she rolled her eyes and continued pressuring her with aggressive attacks. With Katsuko not keeping complete focus on Hiyori, she got careless and failed to block several attacks that Hiyori landed on her.
Tug. Tug.
Not good.
Katsuko grunted and felt slightly lightheaded.
It was like a game of tug of war.
She was holding a rope that trailed into the darkness in front of her. She couldn't see who was pulling the rope on the other side but they were pulling with all its might. She knew that if she let up even a little... it was over.
Shinji was sitting on the couch and watching the fight, snacking on the bread he bought. He was already beginning to see how Katsuko was instinctively resisting the Hollow inside her. She was focusing her mind on stopping it. The way her form became tense and how she expressed obvious discomfort were also signs that the Hollow was definitely reacting. Now, it looked like Katsuko was really trying to survive physically and mentally.
It just needed another push for it to finally rear its head.
"It's starting soon." Love remarked as he looked up from his manga.
"Yeah." Kensei sat up, ready to move at any moment.
Shinji cupped his hands around his mouth. "Don't bother resistin'." He advised the panicked girl who barely glanced over to him. There really wasn't any point in trying to subdue an inner Hollow with body and mind. "Let it out."
Katsuko was scared.
But If I let it come out…!
Tug. Tug. Tug.
…
…
…
"I stay in control and keep my guard up." Ichigo looked outside the window. "If I don't, he might come out again."
"It came out once?" Katsuko's eyes expressed worry once more, all hope almost becoming non-existent.
"Yeah, in my fight against Byakuya. My Hollow really did a number on him."
…
…
…
Ichigo's inner Hollow caused damage on a Captain-class Soul Reaper.
Waves of black started pooling into her left eye and dying her iris in gold.
Something was pounding inside of her, roaring.
It was giving her a headache.
What's going to happen if I let it out…?!
What's going to happen to me?!
Her form began trembling.
Katsuko was too preoccupied with the what-ifs and her own fears that she barely registered the fact that Hiyori was coming at her again.
"W-Wait...!" Katsuko panicked, hoping Hiyori would stop for just a second. She needed to adjust her grip on the rope and firmly ground herself. But Hiyori didn't listen to her. The black haired teen blinked and gritted her teeth as she pulled her swords to her center. The blow of Hiyori's blade threw her straight into a wall where her head slammed against it, effectively knocking her out. The slam echoed in the entire warehouse and caught everyone's attention. They all turned to look and found Katsuko falling.
She landed on the ground and didn't move.
Hiyori lifted her mask and quirked a brow. "That's it?"
A final tug.
A beat.
Her left hand fisted and slammed into the ground, breaking it with spiritual power, while her right hand reached for her sword and her legs rapidly helped push herself up. Everyone could feel how the air turned sinister. Danger. The left sword was swiftly snatched from the ground as she lunged at Hiyori with a growl. Half of her face was covered in a mask. It was incomplete but the shape of a canine nose became apparent.
Shinji's eyes widened when he saw lightning sparking around the right blade.
A cry of anger echoed to accompany the surge of spiritual power.
Hiyori stiffened at the lightning fast speed Katsuko came at her with. So fast. But when her swords were about to reach Hiyori, Katsuko flash stepped behind her to kick her in the back, causing Hiyori to stumble forward and quickly whirl around. The teen's left sword was instantly pitched at her with which Hiyori managed to deflect. However, the next quick attack couldn't be blocked.
She purposely did it to leave her open for attack.
A powerful sparking ray came rushing at Hiyori from the tip of Katsuko's right sword, sending her flying into the wall in the almost in the same manner Hiyori did to her. The lightning was a concentrated homing attack that broke Hiyori's mask. Rubble flew and dust created a screen that enveloped Hiyori.
Katsuko's blade had sparks dancing around as if ready to charge up the next hit. The sound of it was sharp in the air.
The others were quick to ditch whatever they were doing, hurrying to stop the damage. Katsuko turned her head to look at someone on her left, Kensei. The mask on her face now had an ear on top. The two glared at each other when they made eye contact. Lightning sparked around her face. With a furious visage, she roared before swinging her right blade, sending a swirl of lightning bursting outward from her body while her hair whipped around fast, stopping the Vizards from coming closer. They dodged the frenzy of dancing lightning whips. The lightning damaged the surrounding walls as it danced and whipped across it in different directions. Hachigen, who was keeping up a barrier the whole time to keep a Hollowfied Katsuko inside, received a gash on his hand from a stray spark.
The air was tingling.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Hiyori jumping out of the smoke. With gritted teeth, she turned her attention back to her and pointed her blade at her, shooting another ray of lightning, creating a loud booming sound. With the intent to kill, she aimed the lightning at her and it destroyed the walls. The blasts of lightning that shot from her blade caused shockwaves that had Hiyori tripping and stumbling and Katsuko was grinning eerily every time Hiyori struggled to get back up and run.
This wouldn't last long though.
She was surrounded by inner Hollow experts.
She was too caught up to notice the others closing in on her. Katsuko took her eyes off Hiyori to dodge Love's blade and Mashiro's fist. And then it all happened so fast. Lisa kneed her in the guts, making her gasp and loosen her hold on the sword. Rose disarmed by knocking her blade down with his own. The lightning ceased. Katsuko grunted when Kensei caught her in a one arm headlock from behind. Love caught her other wrist when she tried to grab Lisa's throat and his blade came close to her own to restrict her from moving forward.
She halted when her eyes saw the blade.
But she was still glaring at Hiyori and fidgeting in Kensei's hold, trying to find a way to escape.
"Bastard—!" Katsuko growled as Kensei kept her head straight so that Shinji could shatter her mask with his Zanpakuto. The pierced mask began to fall apart and Katsuko's eyes widened. The white pieces of her mask fell apart in fragments. As soon as the mask finished falling apart, Shinji watched the way Katsuko's eyes returned to their natural colour and then proceeded to roll up. Her head swayed and then fell when she went limp in Kensei's hold.
Shinji looked down at the ground where her sword returned to its sealed state.
…
…
…
Katsuko's eyes shot open.
A Vizard was looking down at her. It was the giant one dressed in green.
The fact that he was so big and looming over her had her sitting up in a yelp. She immediately regretted that. The repercussion of her action had her hissing and looking at her shoulder with a grimace. Hachigen's hand moved closer to her shoulder. "Please don't move until I finish your treatment." Hachigen told her gently. He was currently using his Kido on her, she could tell because that glowing light from his hand was giving off the same healing feeling that Rukia gave her when she healed her wounds. She looked down at herself to check on herself. Her Shihakusho was repaired and some of the pain she felt on her body was gone.
Katsuko looked at him. "… Um, do you want me to lie back down or sit…?" she eyed his left hand that had a large cut on it.
"If sitting is fine with you then you may continue to do so. I already finished healing the wound on your back."
"Oh… uh, thank you." Katsuko awkwardly bowed her head briefly.
"Katsuko."
The teen turned to find Shinji walking over to her casually with his hands in his pockets. For a while now, he was just preoccupying himself by eating the bread he bought and abandoned when Katsuko Hollowfied. He was waiting up on Katsuko to wake up. She looked at him with round curious eyes and just watched as he squatted down in front of her. "I told ya not to resist." Shinji pointed at his head. "Because you did, you needlessly hurt your head before Hollowfyin'."
Oh, that's right!
"Wait, happened?" Katsuko's face expressed confusion and alarm.
Shinji pointed at the wall on his left. "Look for yourself. You went crazy, as expected."
Katsuko followed his finger and saw how the walls looked damage. It looked like a beast with giant claws decided to slash the walls, dragging dent marks. The markings were everywhere. One side of the warehouse had some walls that were completely obliterated too, leaving nothing but rubble piled up on the side. Her gaze also landed on the ground. It looked like someone dropped a small but heavy wrecking ball there.
Utterly shocked and confused, Katsuko slowly looked back at Shinji and pointed at herself. He nodded his head to answer her unspoken question. It left feeling greatly concerned. Okay. She was right to be scared. This Hollow was serious.
"Now, because of you, we had to move our stuff to the other warehouse. Thanks a lot."
Now that she thought about it, the other Vizards weren't present. There were also less things, which she figured was furniture, in the warehouse. Some of the heavier stuff was left behind like the couch and big boxes.
"Um," Katsuko reached up and scratched her cheek, abashed. "Sorry." Her gaze averted away from Shinji and she found the floor much more interesting.
"I was kiddin'. Stop lookin' like that."
There was guilt for causing destruction but it was gradually outweighed by the relief that there was another warehouse ready to settle into. While Katsuko was nervously shifting in place, Shinji looked to the side where her Zanpakuto was sheathed and resting at her side. "Well, now, you can believe me when I say that the Hollow will consume you if you let it be. You just experienced first hand that you can't keep focusin' on suppressin' it. It'll find a way to surface. It was hard just to stay in control, wasn't it? Since inner Hollows are part of our souls, they obviously react to when you are in battle. It also gets very antsy to get out if the host is in danger. It doesn't want to die. If they take over, it gets increasingly harder to gain control which leads to the loss of sanity." Shinji picked up her Zanpakuto and rotated it around, eying the design of her guard. "Every inner Hollow is different, some are slow, some are fast-acting, but they're all the same at their core."
Wordlessly, Katsuko took her sword when Shinji handed it to her. She was staring at him with concern.
"So… an inner Hollow can cause damage like this," she motioned the hilt of her sword towards the walls. "on its own? Did I grow claws or something?"
"If you fully transform into a Hollow, it's highly possible."
Katsuko grimaced. "… So, it's possible."
"You actually did this with your Zanpakuto." He placed his finger on her sheathed sword, adding a bit of pressure. "Speakin' of which, what type is your Zanpakuto?"
He wanted her to answer even though he obviously saw the wind. He knew her Zanpakuto was an element type.
She lowered her gaze to look at her sword. "Type? Oh, it's wind."
That's what she knew after all. That's what came out of her sword when she first called its name. It's always been a wind type.
… Except for that one time.
"Hmm. You caused all of this with lightnin'."
Katsuko didn't say anything.
"Which is odd. Did you know that a Zanpakuto cannot use elemental attacks of more than one?"
Wait, seriously?
Katsuko's eyebrows furrowed and then crossed her legs on the floor to hold her ankle. Her head shifted to look at Shinji. She didn't know how to respond to that properly. "... I don't know what you want me to say." Katsuko shrugged her shoulders high. "All I can say is that I know my sword can apparently do lightning. It happened once before in the Soul Society when I nearly died. Lightning came out of the right side and zapped the guy numb." she left her left hand that carried her sword.
"Oh yeah?"
It was a one-time thing.
"I can normally just use wind but it will only come out through the left. The right is pretty much just an extra blade, useful but normal. That time was the only time I was able to do something with the right." She lowered her hand and quirked her eyebrow up as she stared up to think. "… Maybe that was the Hollow's first sign? But I wasn't wearing a mask… and I didn't feel like I was losing control of myself." Katsuko shrugged again. "But, I don't really know..." she scratched her head.
Shinji exchanged a glance with Hachigen who was quietly listening and healing.
When Katsuko went limp, Kensei held her under one arm. An easy feat for someone like him and for someone smaller than him. Love took a step back and looked down at the unconscious teen. Rose sheathed his sword and brushed his chin with his finger thoughtfully. He glanced down to where Shinji was already picking up her sword that reverted back to its sealed state.
"How curious." Rose remarked. "It's the first time I've seen more than one element to a Zanpakuto." There wasn't any other Zanpakuto that could use two unless its ability wasn't precisely an element. Rose's ability was proof of it.
Arashihoro is definitely straightforward. It conjured up wind.
It didn't seem to affect the weather either.
"Did you notice how she was using her left for wind and then suddenly used the right for lightning?" Love looked to the walls that were damaged from lightning. If she wasn't using lightning in a fight against Hiyori when she wasn't Hollowfied then they could assume that Katsuko couldn't use it. But a Zanpakuto having more than one elemental ability was completely unheard of, impossible even, even more so when they were two different elements.
Shinji held Katsuko's sword in his hand while Kensei and the others landed on the ground behind him. The former Captain of Squad 9 walked over to Hachigen. He set her down and laid her flat on her stomach so that her back could get healed first.
Hachigen put a thoughtful hand under his chin when his gaze dropped on her. "Do you think that perhaps this is the Hollow's ability?"
Shinji flipped her sword in his hand as he pondered about it too.
It seemed more believable to think that lighting belonged to the Hollow.
If so, whatever Hollow Aizen implanted in Chisaki might have been different from ours, Shinji thought. "Huh, you must be some abnormality. Weird."
Katsuko snorted at this. "Wouldn't be the first time I was called something like that."
"With the whole Naogoma Chisaki thing, I bet."
"So… uh, what happens now?" Katsuko decided to ask as Shinji pushed himself up. With his hands still in his pockets, he motioned his chin towards the couch and the other things on the side.
"First, you'll help move stuff since it's your fault we need to." He said playfully before walking off to the garage door of the warehouse.
"Are you serious?"
"Yep. Get up and help."
By then, Hachigen finished healing Katsuko's wounds. She still felt a little sore since he only administered treatment sufficient treatment to let her body do the rest of the healing. When Katsuko stood up, she saw how Hachigen placed his hand above the back of his other hand and started healing it. She stiffened in horror. Upon noticing her stare, Hachigen looked at the shorter girl.
"Is something the matter?"
She had a hunch but she still wanted to confirm it anyway. "… Did I do that to you?"
The large man just looked down at his hand. He then smiled reassuringly and shook his head to dismiss her worry. "It's alright. As you can see, it's just a flesh wound."
I hurt someone!
"Sorry." She bowed her head. If she remembered correctly, Hachigen was sitting somewhere in a far corner while she was fighting Hiyori. That same corner looked like it remained untouched from where the obvious destruction was. It made Katsuko wonder how she managed to touch him.
That... That Hollow is real trouble.
I can't let that thing roam free after seeing how destructive it can be.
"Oiii, Katsuko, stop dwaddlin' and hurry up." He said with a slightly impatient tone.
"Yeah, yeah." Katsuko deadpanned. She found the garage door wide open and the light outside poured in. "And how the hell do you expect me to carry that fat couch over there?" she lifted an arm and pulled her sleeve while Hachigen proceeded to leave the warehouse at his own pace. "As you can see, I'm no muscly person."
"Really? Could have fooled me." Shinji snorted and made sure to keep the door open.
The only constant muscle training she got was carrying those heavy grocery bags while swaying them as she walked during the trip home with her mom. Her father might think she was a fragile thing and might break if she tried carrying something heavy, but she could actually carry some heavy loading if it was within her capabilities or if it didn't surpass much of the limit of her strength. A couch? Out of the question.
"You got a wind Zanpakuto." Shinji said as a matter-of-factly. He leaned on the side and pointed his thumb outside. "Easy trip."
Katsuko deadpanned while Shinji grinned at her. Using her Zanpakuto as a tool for transporting things did sound convenient. However, she wasn't sure if Arashihoro herself would approve of being used in such a way. She already snapped at her for complaining about her Bankai before. Getting forcefully pulled into her Inner World to receive an earful didn't seem pleasant.
Oh well.
"Rend, Arashihoro."
…
…
…
Keeping her gaze forward and her sword pointed, she carefully maintained a constant when transporting everything along the wind. Shinji and Katsuko's clothes were whipping around from the harsh wind that was used to carry that heavy couch. The blonde took cover behind the shorter girl which earned him an unimpressed look.
"So, Hirako, what happens when I drop this at the new warehouse?"
"Skip the formalities, will ya? Just call me Shinji. I call you Katsuko anyway."
"So, Shinji, what happens when I drop this at the new warehouse?"
"We were thinkin' of havin' you start right away after you woke up. But that blow to your head will just get in the way of you performin' properly. You take the rest of the day to recuperate and then come back. You won't be doing anything too extreme."
Katsuko gently caressed the back of her head while holding her extra Zanpakuto. The faint memory of feeling shocked after getting blown back by Hiyori prior to seeing black was able to faintly make the pain of impact return, a ghost-like feeling. She must have gotten a concussion. But didn't those take much longer to heal? If she remembered correctly, concussions take a few days to heal, a week maybe.
"You literally slammed your dome on the wall."
"So how the heck am I standing like this?" she wanted to look back but she knew she had to keeping looking in front of her.
"You know, Kido works wonders on the body. They facilitate the healin' process. Lucky for you, our Hacchi is actually a skilled Kido user." He softly poked the back of her head. "Besides, our bodies are much sturdier than humans. Sure, you'll still feel pain when you get back in your body but nothin' major."
Katsuko stopped and set down the objects she was transporting. She stopped right in front of the warehouse they all migrated to while the garage door was open. She turned to Shinji and wrinkled up her nose. "The hell do you mean I'm going to feel pain when I get back in my body? I got hurt in my soul form, didn't I?"
The Vizard blinked. "What, you didn't know? Wounds received in your soul form will show up when you return to your body." Shinji spoke, staring at her incredulously. "You tellin' me you never got hurt before goin' to the Soul Society? I find that hard to believe, neophyte."
Her mouth fell open. "No one told me! And even when I did, I was completely healed before going back in my body!"
Shinji face palmed and sighed after she shot back. Rukia and Tessai always healed her completely before she dived back in her body. Sure, she felt a little sore and made the connection that the physical work out in her soul form reflected in her physical body. She just didn't think wounds would too.
... At least, her current state wouldn't cause too much a problem to the point where she needed to go to the hospital. Her body just needed to add the finishing touches to the healing process.
"Pain becomes fresh when you get back in your human body. That's just a heads up."
"Seriously?" Katsuko moaned and slouched. "What a pain in the butt."
The taller individual grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. "Just finish your job." He said. Katsuko puffed out one of her cheeks and lifted up all the objects once more and directed them towards the warehouse. She listened to Love and Kensei's instructions on where to put them and made sure to ask for affirmation every time she was about to set one down. She didn't want to make anyone upset by missing her mark. Their initial warehouse already got wrecked by her inner Hollow. Thinking the Vizards might be slightly upset with her, she chose to be obedient and quiet.
After sheathing her Zanpakuto, she awkwardly bowed down in front of the others. She thought that was the least she could do for causing such an annoyance even though she knew it wasn't her fault. "Sorry about the warehouse…"
Love settled down on the couch and pulled out Shounen Jump from who knows where. He just waved his hand dismissively. "Meh, don't worry about it. It's just a warehouse. We got plenty around."
Katsuko looked to where Hiyori was slumped on a single couch. Her face had some bandages on it. There was also one wrapped around her arm. This made Katsuko apologize for it too but Hiyori just rudely snubbed her and said she didn't need an apology. Inwardly, it made Katsuko snap and think that maybe she should just avoid talking to that girl altogether since she had a bad attitude. She called her a brat in her head too. She nearly scowled at her if she didn't train an impassive face.
Shinji pulled out his phone and opened his contact list on his way to stand before her. "Anyway, Katsuko, what's your number? Imma need it to call you over here."
She resisted the urge to grin a little.
"I don't have one."
"What are you talkin' about? I see you carry a phone all the time. Stop lyin'." Shinji poked her forehead with a frown.
"I don't have a line." She shrugged with a smirk. "If you forgot, you can use a phone to listen to music."
"Are you serious?"
She half-laughed and nodded. "I don't need it. I just need internet to contact people."
Shinji paused. He was about to say something until he changed his mind and tucked away his phone in his pocket. "Well, whatever. Get back here after tomorrow, eight in the mornin'."
"Ehh… that's so early!" She whined and crossed her arms. It's summer vacation for goodness' sake! That was the time to sleep late and sleep in. There was a week left to fool around and do what she wanted before she was back to focusing and cramming. She cocked her head to the right and made her bangs slide and cover her left eye. Her eyes were closed as she pretended to ponder over it.
She knew she had to show up.
But still…!
Shinji clicked his tongue. "Think I wanna get up early? Just do it." He poked her forehead again, a bit harder this time. He actually pushed her head back with that shove.
Her eye twitched.
She quickly tried biting his finger but he was fast enough to recoil away from her. Her teeth made a clear sound of a bite. He shot her a look of disbelief. "Man, stop poking me!"
"Not cute!" Shinji scolded her with a scowl.
"Get your finger away! I don't know where it's been! For all I know, you could have picked your nose with it!"
"Stop makin' up stuff about me!" he snapped only for Katsuko to huff and turn her head away.
Hiyori groaned next to Mashiro and leaned her head on the backrest of the couch. This made Mashiro blink curiously and turn to her. "Hm? What's wrong, Hiyorin?" The green haired Vizard wondered as the petite Vizard sported an incredibly annoyed look.
"Two Hiras. No wonder baldy gets along with her. Annoyin'."
Aiza pestered her with questions worriedly when she returned since she could feel some Hollow-like spiritual pressure coming from Shinji. She was worried that Katsuko was associating with the wrong crowd. Katsuko had to explain to Aiza about the inner Hollow and that it was necessary to fix it before it became too much of a problem to handle. That only made the Soul Pill worry even more. Honestly, it seemed like Aiza was curious soul and a worry-wart now.
Having Aiza around felt weird at first since she was so used to the absolute silence at home. It made her half miss the silence and half appreciate its absence. It reminded her of how she was used to being alone with her own thoughts. It was nice to know someone worried for her at home.
But anyway, unlike before, it seemed like she was being watched. The tugging of the rope which determined who was in control of her body had stopped but she could feel someone holding onto the other end. It was just itching to pull; she could feel it.
But it was… tame. For now.
Still creepy though.
Before she left, introductions were made since she was going to spend time around those faces. She made sure to play a matching game in her mind while heading home on foot so that she wouldn't make a mistake when she returned on the 29th.
They didn't care much for formalities and just urged her to speak to them with first name if she was comfortable with it. As someone who didn't care for formalities unless necessary, she felt fine with it.
She took the day off to heal as Shinji told her to. During the rest of the day, she took that time to just think about the people she met, the experience and how she was hoping whatever they had in mind would work. They... didn't seem like bad people. Or maybe she was bad at sensing ill-intent or just naïve... but she couldn't feel malice from them. There was a guy reading Shounen Jump there. For some reason, seeing someone read manga made them fifteen times less intimidating in Katsuko's eyes. Like come on, someone in that group liked reading stories just like her.
But she spent most of her time either sleeping, playing video games, or just staying on the computer. With how the time left of her summer vacation was being used for Hollow related purposes, she felt like she had the right to spoil herself.
She even watched a movie with her mom before heading to bed.
Aiza settled down the pillow situated on Katsuko's desk chair. It served as her bed since Katsuko didn't feel safe in letting her lie in her bed. What if she rolled over and crushed the soul out of her? A terrible thought.
... Plus she liked having her personal space.
"You're really going back to the Vizard crew?" Aiza whispered, concern lacing her tone. "I know the Hollow thing is serious... but are you sure you can trust them?"
"I am and I have to." Katsuko let out a huff as she sat up in bed and arranged an alarm in her phone. "If you saw the destruction I caused when being possessed by my Hollow, you'd understand. I don't want to end up being that thing. I'm scared." As she finished choosing the time, she remembered that it wouldn't be necessary. Her mother was waking up early for work tomorrow. For some reason, whenever her mother had to go to work early while she stayed home, she would eat breakfast no matter how early and then simply go back to her room and most probably knock out again after seeing her mother leave. Eating breakfast together wasn't something she wanted to miss out.
"If you're sure..." Aiza sighed and snuggled in to the pillow. "You successfully came back alive from the Soul Society so don't... just don't end up in trouble and die."
"I think I'll be fine." Katsuko chortled a little. "So far, they really don't seem like bad people just because they are associated with Hollows."
Katsuko picked up her handheld gaming device and rolled onto her side.
August 28th
DAY 1
…
…
…
Katsuko snorted.
"But why?"
"I said stop askin' question and just get on it!"
"… But why?"
"URGH!"
Everyone watched as Hiyori started to lose her patience with Katsuko who kept asking why the Super Hiyori Treadmill Trainer was necessary. She arrived at the warehouse earlier than the time agreed on, thanks to her habits of punctuality, in her soul form. She had to wait a little since they weren't expecting her until the designated time. Shinji called her out for being a stupidly good goody-two-shoes which she took as a compliment.
Once she was set for whatever they had in store for her, Hiyori brought her to a corner and literally told her to just get on it. Apathetically, she had taken one look at the cross country skiing-like machine and looked at Hiyori with the most flat 'are-you-serious?' look. She was immensely unimpressed. Hiyori said it was a tool designed to keep the Hollow locked away but Katsuko wasn't even sold for a second.
"This is looks like something you can buy at the store or order online… You telling me I could have just gone to the gym to get my Hollow to shut up? I do cardio at school in gym class, just so you know."
"This isn't some borin' exercise machine you humans designed!" Hiyori defended angrily while Katsuko slowly looked away from the shorter girl, still not convinced. Far from it, in fact.
"Obviously…" Katsuko narrowed her eyes, still not looking at it. "Look at it." She nudged her chin towards it. "Homemade and unprofessional. The thing looks like it'll fall apart the moment I poke it. Design was obviously inspired by the real thing—" Katsuko flash stepped away to avoid a slipper. She picked a nearby water bottle as her weapon just in case Hiyori came at her again.
"Keep talkin' you ungrateful brat and imma force you to get on it! Quit laughin' at it!"
"Maybe if you explained it to her more thoroughly then maybe she'd get it." Kensei suggested dryly while doing some sit ups in a corner.
While she was busy cackling, Katsuko felt something push her lower back. She stumbled forward and saw Shinji poking her with a backscratcher. "Stop wastin' time, goody-two-shoes. We have a schedule to maintain."
"Dude," she stepped aside and pointed her whole arm at it. "Look at it!"
"I know. I know it looks stupid, but trust me, it does the job."
"It's not stupid!" Hiyori shrieked after slipping her slipper back on. Katsuko put the bottle down.
Since Hiyori did a poor job in explaining the theory of the machine, Shinji decided to do the troublesome task even though he wasn't even on duty for her training today. "Look, it's goin' to measure your maximum spiritual power output when you use it. All you have to do is work on it while it drains you. The stupid machine will serve as the foundation for the trainin' we'll prepare for you after we evaluate it. Got it?"
"Keep callin' it stupid and I'll kill you!"
"Makes sense…" Katsuko mumbled under her breath. See? That was what was missing. Why didn't Hiyori just spit that out first?!
After spinning on her heel, she carried a pleasant smile as she sauntered over to the where the Super Stupid Treadmill was.
"I just keep doing it until I'm empty?" she stopped and cocked her head curiously.
"Until you pass out from exhaustion." Shinji lazily put a thumbs up, letting out a yawn. He was tired. It was way too early.
"Alright, fine."
"See? She's much more willing to do it now." Kensei gave Hiyori a pointed look and pointed at Katsuko. "You seriously need to work on explaining things beforehand." The short Vizard just huffed in annoyance and dropped herself on the stool nearby her infamous treadmill trainer. She was the one on duty today.
As Shinji instructed her to, she just kept going on the treadmill without stopping.
August 29th
DAY 2
Katsuko sat on the floor, brain dead. She felt like all the air in her brain was leaving... maybe all the water was evaporating through her ears too. Like seriously, by now her brain must have lost all the water.
Majority of the time, her mind was wandering off while her body just kept moving automatically. She was freaking daydreaming and making up stories in her mind. It was like when she got so absorbed in her school work that she was losing track of time. But there was nothing more unbearably boring than just doing a task and having nothing else to focus on. Oh how she wished she could have gone home to get her phone and earphones to ease her suffering. The only thing she could usually think of was 'when is this going to be over' 'I need to touch a video game' 'I wanna lie down' 'I need to touch grass.'
Thankfully, they allowed her a few minutes of respite every now and then before she was forced to jump back on it. Lunch could be barely be called reprieve since she didn't even have time to digest afterwards. There were so many times when she just wanted to hop off the damn treadmill without permission because it was so damn boring and tiring. But the constant presence of the Hollow inside of her made her think otherwise.
Right now, she was currently on one of her short breaks. The only Vizards present in the warehouse were everyone except for Hachigen, Hiyori and Mashiro.
"What's wrong, kid? You look dazed." Love asked when he passed by to sit on a chair near Rose. He just returned from buying Jump and some milk coffee and saw her looking into space with her mouth half open.
"I'm mentally gone. I need brain stimulation." Katsuko whined and lied on the ground, cheek pressed against the cold floor without a care. She was going on too long without doing anything interesting. Soon, she was just going to become an empty husk. "I wanna play a video game..."
Rose chortled at that as he flipped the page of his book. "Isn't that what kids around your age does these days? I heard they're quite addictive. I've seen Shinji play some before."
"They're fun. I like story games." Katsuko replied lazily. She put her hand on the ground and pushed herself up with a tired groan. When she sat up properly, she heard Lisa sigh from somewhere while saying 'it can't be helped'. Katsuko looked to where the black haired Vizard was and saw her jumping down to where Katsuko was, holding a book in her hand. She stopped in front of Katsuko and held it out to her.
"Here. I'll lend you this."
Katsuko took the book.
Wait... what the fuck?
Lisa had lent her a erotic Josei manga.
The main pairing on the cover were in quite a comprising position.
"Why?" Katsuko wrinkled her nose. She poked her thumb in the middle and held the right side to slowly let the pages fly to the left. She caught glimpses of explicit pages. Now, she wasn't no prude like Ichigo, so she wasn't combusting and freaking out. She's had her curious moments like most human beings on this planet. She wasn't pure. But never has she ever thought 'Hey, I'm bored and I need to do something. I should watch/read something sexual or erotic!'
"Kids your age have active hormones, right? This'll give you some brain stimulation too. Two birds with one stone."
"HUH?" Katsuko's face skewed comically as she slowly cocked her head. Was this person serious? No. She doesn't look like she's joking. Hell, she always looks serious most of the time! "Why are you making it sound like I desperately seek this kind of stuff?! I'd rather play a video game or eat than read this!"
"It's no big deal." Lisa crossed her arms, thinking that Katsuko was simply being defensive and embarrassed. "My books tend to circulate around the group."
Katsuko blinked a few times. Then she looked towards Love who was watching the conversation with Rose. "You guys seriously just borrow the same book like your passing around a basket of fruits?"
"Not all of us." Rose corrected.
"Some of us do. Nothing to be embarrassed about." Love nodded as he reached for his milk coffee.
"Even serious guys like Kensei do too." Lisa said to her. Katsuko slowly looked over to Kensei who was just sitting near a table. He was on his phone doing who knows what. He glanced over to them with a flat look. "No, I don't." Kensei picked up the watch resting on the table. He checked the time to see how long Katsuko had until she had to hop back on. He always looked so serious that Katsuko couldn't tell if he was lying or not. From what she could see, Kensei was easily the most intimidating looking guy in the group with his looks and physique (him having good looks didn't change that fact). Her mind illustrated an image of a tough looking Kensei reading a porn book with the most stern face. It was kinda funny.
Katsuko snorted and held up her sleeve to her mouth, averting her eyes. She tried to muffle it but her giggles and shaking was so obvious. The sound caught Kensei's attention which prompted him to look at her again.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing..." she could hide the amusement in her voice. As she breathed to replenish the oxygen she lost while laughing, Lisa pulled out another book and handed it to her, thinking she'd rather have another book of the same genre. Katsuko held the two books in her hand with a pitiful frown. "But I don't wanna read this... I don't wanna read two people going at it on paper..."
"What, you wanna watch the real thing?" Shinji wondered from where he was lying on the couch. He was reading a fashion magazine that he got this morning. This made Katsuko slap her hand on her forehead when she realized she couldn't have phrased it better.
"The hell?! No!" she snapped, defense mode activated. "Do you?!"
Shinji frowned, feeling rather offended by her rude yet defensive tone. "Hey, now, I'm just askin'. No need to get all snappy."
The teen just frowned and looked away.
"Maybe I'll lend you my Jump if you don't wanna read Lisa's manga." Love suggested. Perking up, Katsuko's eyes almost immediately light up like a child on Christmas morning only for them to have the light snuffed out after Love added he would lend it to her after he finished reading. Great. So, she wasn't going to get to read anything. Period.
"Oi, Katsuko. Get back on the treadmill." Kensei ordered her. Almost immediately she wanted to fall over on her side, but she decided to just hunch and moan like a child. "The hell? That was so short!" Katsuko complained, lightly throwing her hands up.
She still got up though.
"On the bright side, you got some brain stimulation." Rose said with mirth as she waddled back to the Dumb Hiyori Treadmill. She definitely seemed much more awake compared to when she got off. Still, she just wished it didn't have to be because of some porn book conversation. Porn got her brain stimulated? Ugh.
...
...
...
She collapsed after an accumulation of forty-eight hours and three minutes. Ridiculous. She couldn't believe she achieved something that was humanly impossible.
Lisa was the one who had to save her from slamming face first on the ground since she was the one watching her at that time.
August 30th
DAY 3
Rose, Shinji and Love watched Katsuko eat her meal from the other side of the table.
"Look at that, kid's hair is a whole mess." Love commented.
"With a face like that, she must have slept well after passing out." Rose mused with a little smile.
"Her head keeps nodding though." Shinji pointed out.
Her hair was a real mess, especially the front. Her bangs that were once neatly brushed to the left side were sticking up. A couple of strands were pointed towards the right, making this weird cross in her hair. There was also one strand sticking up proudly in the air. It had Mashiro snickering since it bounced with every step she took. She even took pictures of her. Katsuko didn't bother to smooth it down though. She even held up a peace sign for Mashiro. During weekends, her mother would often tell her to at least put a brush through her hair before waltzing to the kitchen table. Her only argument was that no one was going to see her aside from her parents anyway.
After she had passed out, they set her on a spare mattress, threw a blanket on her and let her sleep, instead of leaving her on the cold floor, while they checked the results. After six hours had passed, Kensei was the one who woke her up. He grabbed a pan and a ladle and slammed them together to efficiently wake her up. The teen, who was a light sleeper, actually sat up fast and had her eyes squinted in confusion and wondering where the fire was at. Everyone was gathering at a table that Katsuko had no idea where they pulled it out from and was getting ready to eat late breakfast.
"Keep sleeping and you eat nothing." Was the threat from Kensei that had her walking to the table without delay. They must have thought she was going to lie back down. Too bad they didn't know she was used to getting up early. She basically trained for this for every school day. And even though she was sleepy, she still retained her timid traits and waited for everyone to sit so that she can just take a seat. She didn't know if there were any specific seating arrangements after all.
She was sitting across from Lisa and next to Mashiro at the end of the table.
However, the way she just went straight for the food without thinking if it was poisoned or not just showed how much she trusted these people that she just met. It might have been another naïve thing. She should have been a bit more cautious. Oh well.
"Kacchi." Mashiro nudged her side, still giggling at the strand of hair sticking up. "You're falling asleep again!" she reached up and poked the proud hair with a gentle poke.
"Oh." Katsuko blinked groggily. She almost didn't remember that 'Kacchi' was her nickname from Mashiro. She apparently started calling her that on the second day on one of her meal breaks. It was a play on words with her name.
"If you don't finish your food, you're cleaning the dishes, by the way." Kensei added when he noted how slow she was eating. He went through the trouble of cooking breakfast so he wanted that plate clean. Katsuko pouted and narrowed her eyes at the sergeant-like man who only returned her stare with an impassive face. Man, screw that, she thought. But she didn't protest and simply turned some inner gears to accelerated her basic eating functions. Lisa remarked how her eyes looked more awake and her movements looked less sluggish by the time she finished her water.
"Thanks for the food." She got up from her seat and then looked at Shinji who was basically the de facto leader of the Vizards. "Can I drop by my house real quick?"
"Be back within an hour." Shinji waved his spoon, his eyes still looking down at his plate. He didn't have to keep a leash on her. She knew what she had to do if she knew what was good for her anyway. What did she do? She went back home to clean up and look more presentable. Yes. It was very important. She wasn't going to spend the day looking like a tornado hit her. She passed brush through her hair and cleaned her face. She also took a peek at last night's dinner in the fridge that she missed out on and muttered a complaint about how she missed something delicious. A pity really.
She made sure to snatch a Ziplock with a few cookies in them before heading back.
When she came back, she was more energized after moving around on her own. She even had a cookie in her mouth when she closed the door and strode inside where the others were more or less waiting up on her.
"That was quick." Shinji commented. It had only been twenty-five minutes. That was faster than what Lisa usually took to get ready in the morning.
"I did say 'real quick' didn't I?" she tore off the piece of her cookie, looking smug.
"Anyway, come on, we're headin' downstairs." Shinji turned and pointed to the far end of the warehouse where she spotted a giant hole in the ground and the lid of said hole hovering above it. Obviously, the first thing to go through her mind was 'what the hell is in there' and the second one was 'downstairs?'.
What kind of trap house is this…?
Curiously, she followed Shinji and the others, approaching the mysterious hole that she realized had stairs leading deeper inside. Deep inside. She couldn't see down below. It was dark as hell.
But why am I getting a strange sense of déjà vu?
Katsuko remained still when she watched Lisa, Mashiro, Hiyori, Shinji and Kensei go down first. She was still wondering what the heck was down there.
"No need to be so scared. Come on." Love put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her forward to bring her along as he started going down the steps. Startled from the push, she ended up yelping in surprise and nearly slipping and cracking her skull open if she didn't regain her balance. Those who went on ahead first stopped to look back. They saw Katsuko looking at Love in utter disbelief and horror. He just stared at her and held up one hand to apologize.
"Yeah?! Trying to kill me?!"
"My bad."
When they made it down, she was met with the sight of an underground training room. This had her squinting comically and looking over to Shinji. As someone who was aware of Urahara and the stuff that went on, Shinji already knew what she was thinking.
"It's better if you don't ask."
"I'm still going to anyway: How do you freaking hide these gigantic training rooms?!"
She was impressed when she first saw one under Urahara's shop.
She was curious and surprised when she was in the Study Chamber that was surprisingly undetected by the Soul Society.
Now, she was completely baffled.
This was ridiculous.
If every single unsuspecting place hid an underground training room, she won't be surprised if one was hiding underneath a hospital or a temple.
She was lacking in spiritual power.
The requirement for beginning the Hollow suppression was doing the Idiot Trainer Thingy for at least three days straight. They weren't expecting her to go all the way for three consecutive days though. They were expecting her to pass out some time after the twenty-four hour mark. But she passed out at the forty-eighth one. That was good.
Their goal was to break her down and then build her up with physical training. She needed enough that was worth at least three straight days on the Idiotic Treadmill. That was what was usually required when it came to subjugating the Hollow within. Attempting to subjugate the Hollow as she was right now would only end badly. She would only be consumed by it, an easy game over.
So, for the next few days, Katsuko was going to be training. And it wasn't going to be easy. Now that her inner Hollow showed its tail, it was crucial that they build her up fast before it was too late. She was going to be constantly fighting against one of the Vizards since that was the fastest way to increase her power. Also, it wasn't just going to be an oh-so-easy a sparring match. They needed to really push her. So Hollow masks were in effect to teeter close to life or death situations. Even if they couldn't keep those masks on forever, it was still going to be effective. According to them, that was the quickest way.
Rules for her? None really. Shinji just told her to keep fighting and to use whatever tools she wanted in her arsenal, be it Shikai or Bankai. Just keep fighting. It made Katsuko feel a bit mystified because he was aware she had a Bankai. For now, she chose to rely on her the sealed state and Shikai since it was more efficient for her training right now.
Much like when she was in the Study Chamber, she was just going at it against Hiyori with (very) short occasional breaks. It didn't matter if her Hollow reared its head because some of the Vizards were on standby just in case. They would easily pin her down and break her mask if needed. This time, they were prepared and wouldn't be caught off guard by her lightning.
Katsuko speedily sliced the air as she moved forward. Hiyori back stepped a few times and then jumped over her. All of Katsuko's movements ceased and she glanced to where Hiyori was landing. She shifted in place a little and blocked her blade with her right and had her left ready to counter. She was treating this fight as if she was still fighting in the Soul Society. Those feelings of seriousness and determination to win was fueling her body to move.
Just keep fighting hard.
Still... the strength of a Hollowfied Soul Reaper was more than what she expected.
"ACK—!" Katsuko barreled into a boulder, busted through it, rolled a few times and then ended up on her back, staring up at the faux ceiling. From a couple of clashes. Katsuko could already tell that Hiyori was still holding back against her when she drew out the Hollow from her when they first met.
This is tough.
That hurt too!
Hiyori landed on the ground and rested the back of her blade on her shoulder. Her Zanpakuto was also in Shikai mode. She made her mask disappear when Katsuko didn't move from her position.
"Get up, Katsuko! You're not on a break!" Hiyori snapped as she set her foot down.
Katsuko rolled onto her stomach and rested her chin on her fist. "Can't you go just a little easy on me?" she whined while tipping her head a bit, eyes shut and her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not in tip top shape, you know?"
"You idiot, if I did that then we'll be takin' forever to increase your spiritual power! You want to seal the Hollow away or not?!"
"I do but…"
As if on cue, Katsuko could feel a harsh tug on the rope. Ah, right.
It made her growl and hold the rope tighter as if to say 'try that again asshole'.
That fucker needs to stop.
Okay. Let's get back up now.
"Quit whinnin'! Your Hollow isn't goin' to wait for you to be ready! Remember that! You either get your shit together now or be a Hollow!"
Hiyori flash stepped and appeared above her with her Zanpakuto held above her head with her mask on. Katsuko's eyes widened and she quick turned on her side to avoid the blade, nearly screaming. "The fuck, Hiyori?! Wait until I get up!" Katsuko snatched her blades off the ground and bolted away to put some distance.
"I gave you enough time to get up but you didn't want to!"
Katsuko's right eye twitched. Rapidly, she disappeared and showed up behind Hiyori to get revenge on her. She appeared above her and pointed her left blade at Hiyori with a vengeful smirk.
"Bakuhou!"
"Whoa!" Hiyori leaped away.
The wind blast practically razed the ground and kicked up plenty of rocks and dust that could be seen in the distance.
Shinji was sitting back against a rock, legs stretched out with a hand in his pants' pockets. Without Katsuko's permission, he helped himself to one of her cookies. He was sitting with Kensei, keeping watch on the fight just in case something went wrong. The others were somewhere nearby doing the same while also preoccupying themselves.
They could hear the blades clashing along with Hiyori's shouts.
The dust was still present in the air. Katsuko emerged from the smoke as she leaped up to get a better view. The blonde Vizard watched the way Katsuko moved well in the air to parry Hiyori's attacks. Urahara Kisuke took advantage of Katsuko's case to build her up as one of Ichigo's allies during the rescue and attempted retrieval of the Hougyoku. But much like everyone else, Katsuko still had room for improvement. Frequently clashing blades against Lieutenant or Captain class people should do the trick.
However, something just didn't sit right with Shinji.
Katsuko's little abnormality was still bothering him.
Kensei was busy taping his left hand while he was on standby. He didn't pay much attention to Shinji's movements until he noticed that he was heading towards the stairs. He was leaving. The former Squad 9 Captain stopped his task and looked back. "Where are you going?"
"Just a quick visit somewhere. I won't take long."
...
...
...
"SO BABY, NOW YOU FEEL LIKE NUMBER ONE, SHINNING BRIGHT FOR EVERYONE!"
Yo. My body is ready for Bleach. When I saw that the trailer was coming out at 4 AM, I was like, nah, I'm going to bed and I'm starting my day with greatness blessing my eyes. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. I had the biggest smile stretched on my face all morning. Ichigo's voice actor shed tears from watching the trailer! Honestly, I wanted to cry too haha. Seeing other people all hyped up when reacting to trailers only made me fangirl even more.
And because today is so special, I just had to post this chapter today!
Anyway, fangirling aside :)
Katsuko is basically doing the training that Ichigo would have done.
"Two Hiras. No wonder baldy gets along with her. Annoyin'." - Shinji and Katsuko's last names begins with the same Kanji: 平
"Kacchi" - The meaning of Katsuko's name could be victorious child (katsu) if you just hear it as it is without checking the meaning. 'Kachi' is a term used for victory. Mashiro calls her 'Kacchi' to make it sound cute.