Happy New Year!
September 2nd
DAY 6
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Ichigo was seated at his desk with his foot propped up on the edge of the inner part of his desk and he was staring directly at the blackboard. His permanent scowl looked more pronounced today. As it should be because he wasn't in a good mood. Last night, he had an encounter with Hirako Shinji, who revealed himself to be more than just some typical transfer student. He was a Soul Reaper that acquired Hollow powers, an illegal act. He was trying to recruit him into his group called 'Vizards' because he knew about his inner Hollow. Of course, he flat out refused and told him to beat it. But still, with how his Hollow was currently acting up, he couldn't help but feel concerned about it all.
"Tch, damn him…" Ichigo muttered, shifting his foot on his desk.
"Whoa, what's the matter?"
He turned to see Katsuko nearing him with a curious look. She cocked her head as she approached her desk with her school bag, looking at him with concern. "You don't look like you're in a good mood. Did something happen on the way to school?" Being observant owl that she was, she was actually somewhat acute to different scowls he wore on his face. Today's scowl showcased his annoyance as well as his troubled thoughts. The way he was just subtly burning holes into the black board gave it away.
Ichigo schooled his expression into one that didn't give away anything more to try to ease her concern. He turned his head away for a moment as he lifted a hand to shake his hair. "It's nothing."
Katsuko dropped her bag on her desk and then sat backwards on her chair to prop her hands on the backrest of her chair. She hunched, resting her chin on her hands, and stared at him with curious eyes that reflected her concern. "You sure?" She knew not to push him into saying what was on his mind just as he did when she was troubled, she respected that. "I'm here if you wanna talk."
He dropped his hand on his leg and smiled just a little to reassure her. "Really, it's nothing. But thanks, I appreciate it." He wasn't going to tell her about Hirako. Last night, he just seemed interested in recruiting him and him only. He probably didn't know anything about Katsuko's inner Hollow. Good. Hirako no longer had a reason to show up to school so he didn't need to tell her about him.
Katsuko held his gaze for a few seconds and then turned away first. She nodded with a small half smile. "Alright." She got up and then moved to the side of her desk to pick up her bag and drop it on the side. She took out a few sheets of paper while she did and then went straight to the front door of the class. Ichigo's eyes followed her form and he couldn't help but wonder if she was lying about her Hollow just as he was.
He said that he would help her when she fearfully asked him if he would, but the truth is, he didn't know how he could if he didn't know what to do with his.
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...
Meanwhile, while Katsuko was walking down to the end of the hallway to throw her papers in the recycle, she was wondering if the spiritual pressure that she felt last night was the cause for his troubled expression.
I wonder if it's really nothing…
Katsuko tossed the papers in the large bin and then spun around her heel to walk back.
She felt the spiritual pressure last night but she was actually showering, shampooing her hair to be precise. What was she going to do? Leave her body mid-shower?! To be honest… that shouldn't have been an excuse since that Hollow could have been attacking someone she knew. Guilt would be churning in her stomach for turning a blind eye. Next time, she should just bring Aiza and leave her on the sink when she showers… y'know, just to be prepared…
Katsuko sighed softly. Her head turned to look at the windows where she could see other students on the other sides of the building happily chatting away in the hallway while there was still time. Those blissfully unaware students would never learn about the threat they couldn't see. Hollows could probably take shape of a tiny one and could possibly be resting on their shoulder or clinging on their back and they wouldn't even know it.
As long as they don't have spiritual pressure, they'll still be ignorant.
I guess, being able to see death related things brings you closer to death as punishment.
As she neared her classroom, her ears picked up on the commotion inside. The last time she heard something like this, Kon was inside Ichigo's body. Her mind could only wonder what kind of trouble was in the classroom this time. With a sigh, Katsuko opened the door to her classroom and re-entered with her hands in her pockets. She thought it would be better just to ignore the commotion and sit until class started. She was fishing for her phone and earphones until she heard a familiar cheerful voice call her out.
"Ooh! Katsuko-chan! Good mornin'!"
"Oof—!"
Someone threw an arm around her shoulders and pressed themselves close to her. Annoyed, she whipped her head to look to her left and found Shinji smiling at her. Her eyes narrowed when got into her personal space. "Were you here this whole time? I didn't even see you!"
"..."
He was acting like they were the closest of friends.
Her eyes were screaming 'what the hell are you doing?!'
Ichigo narrowed his eyes at them.
Keigo sputtered at Shinji's overly friendly attitude with the girls. Just a second ago, he was hugging Inoue and calling her by first name as if they were best friends, and now he was doing it to Miss Cool and Quiet girl of the classroom! That was seriously that last person he should be doing that to! "You don't even know Katsuko and you call her by first name!" Keigo snapped, pointing a vexed finger at him. Keigo was one of the few people who was in Katsuko's circle so it was almost insulting for some reason to see Shinji do this. "You shouldn't even be using 'chan'!"
Hell, Katsuko didn't even like it when Keigo called her that (he still did sometimes though).
She actually didn't care much about being called that way now, not with how people were freely just calling her like that. It seemed like too much of a hassle to stop and correct every single person.
"Well, of course I can." Shinji stuck his tongue out at the brunette, revealing his tongue piercing. "Don't you know that Hiras stick together?"
"Haaah?! Using your last name is not an excuse!"
"Oh," Katsuko finally voiced herself, apathetically. "Ebisu. Hello." If he was going to act the fool then she might as well just play a little stupid as well. She glanced around the classroom and noticed that Inoue arrived while she was gone.
"Eh? Ebisu?" Shinji looked at her strangely. Who the hell was Ebisu? Her eyes were basically saying 'yeah, I called you that'. "No, no! Katsuko-chan, it's Hirako Shinji. Hirako. Shinji. Oh, hey! Your hair has a lovely smell! Green apple?"
"Dude, what the fuck…?" Katsuko mumbled, face twisted in disgust. Her face turned even more once he dared ruffling her hair. He was messing up the work she did on her goddamn hair! She was this close to pulling his.
"Get off her!" Keigo screeched. "Katsuko doesn't like creeps touching her! She'll hurt you if you don't move! Don't say I didn't warn you!"
"Why would she hurt a friend?" Shinji scowled at him, genuinely irritated by his Keigo's yapping. Right now, Keigo seemed like those angry chihuahuas that tried to intimidate a bigger dog who didn't really care about him (or just seemed mildly irritated). Katsuko deadpanned at the hand that patted her shoulder. To others, she looked offended but she was actually wondering why the hell Shinji was acting like this on the second day of school. This would be creepy to any other human he just met.
A loud screeching sound echoed in the classroom, causing every to stop what they were doing. They looked around. They saw who did it. Ichigo had pushed his desk forward with his foot when he moved to stand up. Shinji and Katsuko stiffened when they saw Ichigo approaching with his hands in his pockets, an unreadable expression on his face. Katsuko swatted Shinji's hand away from her shoulder and made way for Ichigo who didn't waste a second grabbing the front of Shinji's shirt.
"Come here for a second, Hirako."
"E-Eh?! W-Wait! Whoaaa!"
Everyone watched as Ichigo forcefully pulled Shinji out of the classroom and walked off to who knows where. It was so out of character for Ichigo. This made others, who were used to Ichigo being a delinquent, view him as someone who was already intimidating the new transfer student. Katsuko peeked into the hallway and saw Shinji struggling to keep up with Ichigo who kept dragging him along. Other students in the hallway were watching the two until they disappeared around the corner.
Chizuru pushed her glasses up, unsure how to feel about the situation. "How odd. It's not like him to do something like this… I didn't realize he was so protective of Hiragi."
Katsuko could feel eyes on her.
I doubt it's that.
Katsuko frowned when she noticed that Ichigo's spiritual pressure was heading towards the upper floors. He was most likely heading to the exterior hallways where it would be empty around this time. Without wasting a second, Katsuko left the classroom and went the opposite way since there was a staircase nearby.
Shinji… what the hell did you do to piss him off?!
Ichigo slammed him on the wall of the exterior hallway. No one was around to see or hear them. He loomed over Shinji who groaned and frowned at him. "That really hurt! Why are you so mad?! Why are you actin' like Katsuko-chan is your girlfriend? There's no way. I'm pretty sure a violent guy like you would be a turn off for her." He drawled, still playing the fool.
"Shut up! And you should apologize to both Inoue and Katsuko when you get back in there."
"Like I just said, there's no reason for you to tell me that. Orihime-chan isn't your girlfriend either."
"Hirako!" Ichigo gripped his shirt tighter, glowering at him. He had no patience for his ignorant act. "You shouldn't be coming to this school anymore!"
"Huuh? I'm a student. I have to go to school! I wanted to be friends with you but you're a pretty mean guy. That's fine though. There are other students who are willin' to be friends with me. Like... uh, Katsuko-chan seems like a much easier person to get along with."
As if warning bells weren't already going off in his head. Ichigo glared at him. Despite Shinji playing the dumb, he could see it in his eyes. He knew that Katsuko was like him. After all, if he knew that Ichigo had an inner Hollow then there was a high possibility that he knew about Katsuko's too. "What, just because I turned you down, you decide to recruit her instead?! Leave her out of this! She and I won't be part of your Vizard group!"
Shinji stilled. Then he lowered his head a little to give him a half-lidded look. He was dropping his façade. "What the hell? Did you really think that just because of yesterday, I'd give up so easily?" Ichigo was taken back by the sudden shift in character. "I'm persistent. I'll hang around you until you say yes. It's too late you know. Once you become a Vizard, there's no goin' back from it. Whether you like it or not, you're already one of us, Ichigo. You really think your friends are goin' to stick around forever? Sure, they might be your friends now, but… If you continue bein' a Soul Reaper, you'll slowly be devoured by the Hollow inside you and then lose your sanity. When that happens, it's game over. Your own power will destroy everythin'. Your friends, your future, and yourself. Everythin' will get pulled in and crushed." Shinji smirked when Ichigo didn't do anything but stare at him. The former captain could see the uncertainty in his eyes. He was getting to him. "Haven't you noticed it already? The Hollow should be gettin' stronger at an unimaginable rate."
Ichigo's fist tightened again.
"You should come with me, Ichigo. I will teach you how to keep your sanity in check."
The orange haired teen didn't say anything.
After a few seconds of silence, he shoved him back against the wall again when he decided to release him. This time, Shinji didn't whine about it. He just kept watching him knowingly.
"Forget it. I'm not one of you." Ichigo stuffed his hands in his pockets, narrowing his eyes at him. "And like I said, stay the hell away from me and Katsuko. I'm warning you." He turned away from Shinji and began walking back the way he came.
With narrowed eyes, Shinji frowned at this as he straightened up and fixed his tie. He also fixed his hair a little. He was annoyed by Ichigo's stubbornness, even more so than when he tried to convince Katsuko. The blonde Vizard shifted his eyes towards the entrance where he felt spiritual pressure being suppressed. "You know," Ichigo was already leaving to head back to class when Shinji started talking again. "Katsuko was hard to convince too but she still ended up comin' with me. She's a smart girl." The orange haired teen froze mid step and looked over his shoulder to find Shinji grinning. "Isn't that right, Katsuko?"
What?
Ichigo looked in front of him when he felt spiritual pressure being unsuppressed. He heard movement followed by a sigh. Then, Katsuko stepped out from behind one of the closed doors to show herself. Her face looked displeased. "I'll say it again: Shinji, you sound like a fucking villain."
"Language, Katsuko."
"Language, Katsuko." She mocked him.
Ichigo was shocked. Was he serious? "Katsuko… you seriously agreed to join them?!"
The black haired teen stepped closer to them and nodded. "I did. I agreed to join them and have been with them for almost a week now." She grinned a bit with her eyes closed to try and lighten up the serious mood. She wanted to undo what Shinji stupidly caused. "That's why I was so tired yesterday because I was—" Ichigo quickly closed the distance in a few steps, startling her. She stared back at him with eyes wide.
"Why?!"
"Um..." she was at loss for words for a second.
"Katsuko, you can't trust this guy!" Ichigo exclaimed, pointing his finger at the Vizard. "Remember what Rukia said? It's illegal to have Hollow powers. Did you seriously just forget about that?" He looked almost desperate to have her change her mind before it was too late. His friend fell right into Shinji's hands, a criminal. How could he not be fretting?
"Of course not." Katsuko frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. The way Ichigo was standing so close and looming over her reminded her of the obvious height difference. It almost made her feel smaller. "But what other choice did I have?"
"There's always a choice." Ichigo said with a frown. "Hirako attacked me last night. He can't possibly be the right one. We don't know who these Vizards are." They somehow knew that he and Katsuko had Hollows inside them? Totally not suspicious.
"You did what?" Katsuko leaned to the side to glare at Shinji. He never said anything about attacking Ichigo as a means to recruit him. Shinji slid his gaze away nonchalantly and shrugged. "Oh please, we all know he could block it anyway."
"Like I said: no faith." Katsuko reminded bluntly, shaking her head lightly.
The way she was casually talking to him really gave away the truth: she was acquainted with Shinji. Undeniable. Then it was possible he might have known about the Hollow ever since Chisaki linked with her. Ichigo clicked his tongue, narrowing his eyes at Shinji. He didn't know what Shinji told her to have her agree to join the Vizards but… it must have been pretty impactful to crack her.
The obvious distrust in his eyes made Shinji roll his own. "You don't need to glare at me like that. I told her exactly what I told you." Shinji told him as if he read his mind.
Ichigo looked back at her. "You can't trust them. You don't know what they'll do to you!"
She could understand where he was coming from because she's been there. But now, she was standing on the other side of the line. And to be honest, she never real gave any thought about being a Vizard. She was just so focused on following their training to quiet down her Hollow. Her problem took priority before she sorted out who she was right now.
Also, the tone he carried when referring to them unnerved her a bit. This was just like when Jun and Haru were warning her to stay away from Ichigo because they knew him as a delinquent. Ichigo knew the Vizards as Hollow-power using criminals who broke the law of the Soul Society.
"I'm not letting them tie me down if that's what you're worried about. If they were, they wouldn't have let me roam freely."
She wanted him to let them help him.
"It's not just about that. We don't know what they're after! Why did you take a such a big risk by yourself?!"
He wanted to protect her from them.
"Yeah, I took the risk." she looked at him directly in the eye. Her forehead creased when her eyebrows knitted but her voice sounded more apathetic. "Because I'm fucking scared of my Hollow. I saw the damage my Hollow did when I let it out the first time… I caused destruction in a warehouse. There were giant marks everywhere on the walls and some walls were destroyed. It could have been worse if they didn't stop me. Can you picture it? You think I wanna become something like that?"
Ichigo stiffened at the way her tone softened and how fear pooled into her eyes before averting them away from his and the slight tremble in her voice that she tried so very hard to hide when she recalled what she had seen. She looked like an anxious child that just wanted to feel safe while putting on a cool front. And it was as if her fear coming off her in small repressed waves.
She was really scared of her Hollow.
"If I let it consume me, I won't even have time to regret it. I told you, I don't want to hurt anyone. Do you?"
"No, but..." His eyes slid away. He could see her point and logic. But he didn't want to be a Vizard. He just wanted to be a Soul Reaper, that's it. And from the way she was talking, she didn't want to become one either. She only became one because it was the only path that she could see that would save her.
"Let's be real. We don't know how to deal with our inner Hollow on our own. But there's a group of people who are willing to teach us how to control it if we join them. Why don't you just take advantage of that?" Katsuko rubbed the back of her neck. She wasn't used to convincing someone about something so serious. "I became a Vizard to save myself and keep being myself. I have no intention of throwing my current life away."
Katsuko saw the way Ichigo expressed worry for her. That worry did not go unappreciated. She was willing to do something to stop him from fretting... but going back on her choice was not one of her options.
"Seriously, Ichigo. They're not bad. No one tried to kill me. What Shinji is telling you is from experience. Suppressing the Hollow by yourself isn't going to be enough. If you don't want to hurt the people around you then you should think about it. I don't want to see you become a Hollow. Seeing you almost become one was already bad enough. I want you to keep staying you." She could remember the way her heart was anxiously beating so fast at the thought of losing him right there. It wasn't something she ever wanted to feel again.
There was a pause of silence that was filled when the first bell rang, warning them that they had at least five more minutes until class started.
Her breath exhaled through her nose audibly. Her pockets filled with her hands. His eyes shifted to look down at the floor and they were shadowed. "You should really think about it." Her mouth tugged slightly to the right as an attempt of a half-smile.
Shinji observed the two for a few more seconds and then decided to finally speak. He clapped his hands with a pleasant smile, putting on his good student act. "Let's all go back to class, yeah? We wouldn't want our cool teacher puttin' us absence, right?" He gave Ichigo one pat on the shoulder and then grabbed Katsuko's shoulder to spin her around.
"Shinji." Katsuko spoke with a warning tone when he pushed her forward and made her stumble a little. Shinji just pushed her back to keep her moving.
Ichigo stayed rooted there for a while after Katsuko left with Shinji trailing after her.
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Katsuko took off her shoes at the genkan. She was home after a long day of school. The sound of her footsteps were light when she made her way to her room while she undid the bow of her uniform and then gently tossed it on her bed after pushing her door open. She was home to get change and eat something before she went back out to do her training.
For the rest of day, Ichigo didn't say much. He spent most of his breaks and his lunch period sitting alone somewhere. Katsuko ended up eating lunch with Shinji since he didn't know how to get food from the cafeteria. He was telling her that hearing arguments from a friend should be more convincing than him. That was his trump card. Kind of. Honestly, he wanted to use her as proof once she got done with her subjugation. But with the way things turned out outside, he supposed it wasn't all bad. All that was left was to give him time just as he gave her. Hiyori wouldn't be pleased though, that's for sure. The short Vizard would most likely order Katsuko to help speed up the process too.
Because of how distant Ichigo acted and how she was acting like she knew what was happening, Inoue actually approached her to ask if she knew what was wrong with Ichigo. Katsuko didn't tell her. It wasn't in her place to tell her. And she couldn't betray Ichigo's trust. With how firm she sounded when she told her it's nothing, Inoue seemed to have gotten the hint to not press her even though she looked like really wanted to. When Chad looked at her, she just shook her head.
She spotted a wrapper from a chocolate wrapper and some crumbs on her bed. Aiza was napping underneath her bed cover. The sound of her ribbon landing on her bed didn't stir her awake.
"Aw, man. Aiza. I told you to grab a tissue when you eat on my bed."
"Hmm mwhat…?" Aiza lifted her head sleepily when she heard Katsuko's complaint. She saw pushing her garbage near the bed to drop the crumbs in it. The teen deadpanned at the artificial soul who lowered her head sheepishly.
"Sorry. I forgot."
"Try to remember." Katsuko sighed and took the wrapper and crumpled it. "I don't want chocolate melting into the bed, y'know. I'm not trying to smell chocolate in my sleep." After throwing the trash, she pushed the garbage bin back to its place. She also went to grab tissue to clean her fingers because her body heat melted the small bits of chocolate.
"I'll remember next time!"
"You sure about that? Maybe I should just ban you from chocolate..."
"No!"
With a closed eyed smile to reinforce her threat of confiscation, Katsuko turned away and started walking to another part of her room. "I'm going to the Vizards today again so I need to you be in my body for now. Sorry if you find it annoying."
Aiza bounced on her bed and shook her head, tail whipping back and forth. "No, it's okay! I get to play video games when you're not home. I'm so hooked on the storyline!" she leaped off the bed and started digging into her school bag for her glasses. Because Katsuko had bad eyesight, Aiza always had to wear her lenses to play games.
I wonder if I just created a video game nerd…
Her shirt came off first and she went to her drawer to pull out a fresh t-shirt.
I really hope Ichigo doesn't stay too troubled over this though…
I don't know how bad his Hollow is getting.
She took off the shorts and skirts and snatch the gray jeans hanging on the hook behind her door. She paused and looked at her legs. Maybe she should wear shorts with her high knee socks... It would be a nice alternate...
She sensed something.
Katsuko's eyes widened when she felt strong spiritual pressure. It practically shook her entire house. Aiza jolted and looked at the ceiling in fright.
"What is this…?!" Aiza freaked.
Katsuko stared at the floor. The spiritual pressure was coming from somewhere in the east part of Karakura Town.
"Katsuko!" Aiza tugged at the pants she was holding up.
It... seemed quite a distance from her house.
But whatever this is, I have to go check it out!
She need to get moving now.
I have to!
Aiza yelped when Katsuko, clad in only a t-shirt, underwear and high knee socks, dropped her pants on her to rush and grab her school bag, fishing out her Combat Pass out of it. Quickly, she took Aiza's soul form from the plushy and then swallowed it. Her soul form stumbled out of her body and she made a dash for her window. Aiza could barely register what was happening. From her position on the floor when she fell, she saw Katsuko opening her window.
"You're seriously going over there?!" Aiza exclaimed worriedly when Katsuko jumped out the window. She chased after her until she couldn't.
"Just stay home!"
Aiza held the window sill tightly, watching Katsuko jump in the air to hurry over to where the spiritual pressure was. She had a bad feeling about it.
Be careful.
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…
For once, she cursed the location of where her house was located. It took her a bit of time to get there. When she made it halfway, she could feel Ichigo's spiritual pressure burst which was most likely because he used Bankai. That fact alone made her worry and move faster. What kind of threat pushed Ichigo to use his Bankai?
When she made it, she stopped in mid air and saw the situation.
Two guys dressed in white. A big guy and a smaller one.
People were lying flat on the ground.
Blood.
Chad's blood was on the ground because his arm was ripped off.
Inoue was laid flat on the ground and injured with blood too.
Ichigo was also bleeding and getting beaten like a ragdoll in his Bankai form by the big guy who was missing an arm.
And he was laughing.
Her heart was clamoring loudly, sounding an alarm that was impossible to ignore.
What the hell…
What the hell!
Even she couldn't stay calm after seeing something like that.
She was furious.
Ulquiorra glanced to the side when he saw a Soul Reaper zooming towards them while Yammy was busy beating Ichigo with a stupid smile on his face. Yammy paused just as he was about to drop his fist on Ichigo's head when he saw a big scythe appear on his right side. Katsuko was on his left in the air, mid-landing, glancing back as she tightly held the handle.
"Piece of shit! Stay away from my friends!" Katsuko growled angrily. "Bakuhou!" She all but forcefully dragged him into the ground with the blast of wind, away from Ichigo, and the scythe dug into his shoulder blade and shoulder. The blast of Bakuhou made him ram his face deep into the ground thanks to his weight.
Ichigo struggled to push himself off the ground with his arms, his black sword still in his hand. "Katsuko…" he grunted and warned her to stay back.
Yammy growled. Katsuko took that as her cue to take a few steps back in caution, still holding onto her scythe tightly. "Who the fuck—?!" He met Katsuko's deadly stare. Her scythe was already raised in the air. Without hesitation, she swung it down and pierced his left arm. She didn't stop there. She dragged the blade all the way up to his shoulder as pay back for Chad's arm. Blood spurted from the slash.
"You bitch!" Yammy growled and reached for her with the same arm (it was the only arm he had left anyway), she pulled back and shifted her scythe to reposition it. She leaped away when Yammy punched the ground where she was a second ago. Katsuko covered her face when the smoke created a screen.
She waited.
He came out, lunging at her with a face full of rage, roaring.
She shifted her feet, dragged one foot back, dodging his fist when she ducked, and repositioned her scythe. Dodging attacks was easier after hardcore training with Kensei. She jumped back when he punched the ground and broke it. She let him chase after her until she found an opening. The end of her handle struck his right cheek with strong wind, causing him to stumble from the impact.
Ulquiorra continued watching from a distant, his dark green eyes watching her every move. Aizen's orders were to report to him about the Substitute Soul Reaper with orange hair. But the target was nothing but a disappointment so far. Utter trash The other one though, the one that Aizen mentioned only briefly... seemed much more worth their time in comparison.
She repositioned the scythe once more with wind swirling around her, dragging it across the earthy ground, and the blade slashed him on the leg. The wind cut him on his side. The swing of her scythe didn't stop, her hands and arms shifted around for the blade to move behind her and aimed the opposite end at him. She added wind impact to make the handle slam into his back, shoving him.
He staggered and then swung his arm in her direction as if to swat a fly.
Dodge it!
She pictured Kensei about to hit her with one of his bomb thrusts. Side rolling away from his attack, she stopped and then took a step back to reposition her scythe, adjusting her grip.
She was doing good in avoiding Yammy's blows. He was so angry that he was becoming predictable. Impulsive and reckless. Anyone could be vulnerable in that state.
She thwacked him in the face with the end of her handle. With a roar, Yammy slammed his fist into the ground broke the earth. To avoid disequilibrium, Katsuko flash stepped to his side and flipped her scythe in her hands, the end of her handle struck him under the chin. It wasn't meant to cause damage but to create an opening, adding fuel to the fire to make him even more reckless, a taunt.
"I'll kill you!" he reached for the sword at his hip but Katsuko was faster because she was still moving after her last move. A risky move. Her body jumped and she rammed the star pointed blade into his large cheek without hesitation.
"You damn...!"
She met his eyes once more and glared darkly.
"Bakuhou."
The explosion of wind hit him at point black range in his face. The amount of power forced into that attack create a huge shockwave, the force of the blast pushed them apart. To avoid falling on her rear, Katsuko shifted in the air and swung her scythe down into the earth. It pierced the ground and stopped her from flying further back, dragging the blade across the earth after it caught her momentum. Once she was properly standing, she tore the blade out of the ground and took one cautious leap back after she repositioned her scythe.
Cursing, Yammy staggered down to his knees. A piece of his mask, a tooth, fell with the blood that dripped down from his face.
Her eyes narrowed when he didn't move.
He's not a Vizard that's for sure…
His spiritual pressure is much closer to the Hollow threshold.
Then…
Katsuko reeled back her scythe from afar. She was charging up an attack... maybe a Gengetsu Reppuu would work... something strong... something...
Ulquiorra's eyes flickered to the blade of her scythe.
All of a sudden, a blur of white appeared in front of her.
Katsuko's eyes widened when her eyes met gloomy dark green.
How stupid of her to forget about him just because he didn't move at all.
Ulquiorra thrusted fist into her gut when she was full of openings. Doubling over, Katsuko gasped and her grip on her scythe weakened. It was strong hit despite how easy he made it look. Her eyes glared at the black haired guy whose skin was almost as white as a white sheet of paper. He looked unfazed by her look. Ulquiorra turned his head a little and shifted his eyes. "You fool. Keep losing your head and you'll die, Yammy."
"Katsuko!" Ichigo desperately tried to move. But just like with Aizen, his body didn't respond to his will. He couldn't move at all. Damn it! He couldn't protect anyone! Why couldn't his body just listen to him?! Why did his Hollow have to interfere?! This is not what he wanted. He didn't want to be protected and feel useless.
Ulquiorra stepped back to avoid having her fall on him, his eyes following her body. She didn't fall forward though. Dark green eyes flickered to the left, and he took one step to the right. She was forcefully crashed into the ground behind her by a large hand. Pain. Katsuko felt an incredible wave of pain that almost made her let go of her weapon. Her eyes widened. Yammy's face was cut up from the wind blast and was still bleeding from the wounds Ichigo gave him, and he looked absolutely livid. He looked terrifying looming over her like that.
Fuck! Fuck! I need to move!
"I'm going to pulverize you!" With a roar, Yammy reeled his arm back while Katsuko hurriedly tried to roll on her side to avoid the blow. His giant fist still landed in the center of her body. A blow like that could probably send her flying into four buildings and into next week.
He pounded her body again.
"Gah!" Blood flew out of her mouth.
Tug. Tug.
No, back off!
Ichigo desperately forced his body to move on sheer willpower. His actions didn't even get the attention of Ulquiorra because he already deemed him unworthy of their attention. But he found himself stumbling back to the ground despite his efforts. It was as if his Hollow was forcing him to sit back and watch his best friend get pounded into the ground, taunting him and his helplessness, taunting him for not letting him take control.
He could hear him laughing in the back of his mind.
He was watching her gasp out in pain with a face twisted in agony.
"Damn it! Move!" Ichigo shouted at himself.
Tug. Tug. Tug.
The Hollow was whispering right next to her ear.
I said back off!
The full force of his fist left her immensely weak.
Yammy reeled his arm back for a fourth hit.
It never came.
"Sorry, we're late, you two."
Urahara had blocked his attack with his Zanpakuto's ability, creating a red screen-like barrier between them to completely stop his fist. Urahara put down his shield and smirked up at the big guy. Yoruichig was standing by his side, apathetically staring up at Yammy. Katsuko coughed and spit out the blood in her mouth.
"Huh? They just keep coming one after another…" Yammy glowered. "You wanna die first? Too bad! Get in line!" He raised his fist and was about strike. Yoruichi grabbed his wrist and flipped him over, aiming his body towards Ulquiorra who just disappeared and reappeared after putting some distance. Katsuko saw the two exchange a few words and then flash stepped away just in time to avoid a hit from Yammy. Katsuko's eyes slid to Urahara who had a pleasant smile on his face as he crouched down in front of her.
"Now then, Hiragi-san…" Urahara carefully picked her up and took her Zanpakuto with him and then flash stepped to where Ichigo was.
"...Urahara-san." Katsuko spoke to thank him. But she winced when she felt a surge of pain in her body. The adrenaline was wearing off, no longer leaving her numb to the internal pain she was carrying. It felt like her whole body was withstanding a pressure, straining it. Urahara observed her and then stole a glance at her scythe that he placed next to her.
He looked at her seriously. "Hiragi-san, revert your Zanpakuto back to its sealed state."
At first, she was confused by his order. But she still reverted it when he nodded at her. That made her feel a little better. Urahara pulled out a pill capsule from his pocket and then fed it to her. He also gave one to Ichigo before excusing himself again and assisting Yoruichi who was tending to Inoue.
Tug. Tug. Tug. Tug.
Katsuko groaned and slapped her hands over her face, her nails digging into her skin as an attempt to calm herself and stop the Hollow from surfacing again. There were no Vizards around her to stop her so she had to try and deal with on her own. She just needed to keep in control as long as she could. One of the first things Shinji told her was that their inner Hollows will react in battle, even more so if they were in danger because it doesn't want to die.
She wasn't fighting anymore so it had to quiet down now.
It felt like a wild beast trying to break out of an old cage.
It felt like thirty minutes had passed since the Hollow inside her finally shut up. By then, Ulquiorra was already retreating with Yammy. Their mission was over.
With a touch of his finger, a crack in the air appeared and stretched open, darkness was on the other side of the opening. They both stepped into the darkness and then faced them once more. Katsuko was glaring at them when she turned her head to look at Ulquoirra who emotionless looked over to where Ichigo was. "We'll report to Aizen-sama that the fake Soul Reaper he has his eyes on is trash. Not even worth killing."
And with that they were gone.
Katsuko dug her fingers into the earthy ground, frustrated. They came and hurt people, and then they get to leave just like that? What the hell… That's not right.
That left a bitter taste in her mouth.
But the one who should be even more frustrated…
She turned her head to look at Ichigo. He was on his knees just staring at the ground, his face shadowed by his bright hair. From her position on the ground, she could see the look of that was a mix of frustration and despondence. She can try to imagine how frustrated he must be feeling. But she wasn't Ichigo. She'll never be able to fully understand.
Ever since she arrived, he barely moved from where he was. That was not like him. Ichigo would have done anything to drag himself over to her to get Yammy off of her. But this time, he didn't do anything.
He couldn't do anything.
Everyone returned to Urahara's place. all got treated for their injuries. Chad was the only one that was still unconscious but his life was not in any danger. Inoue looked like she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Katsuko and Ichigo were okay enough to move around. Katsuko had to be carried by Urahara since she couldn't move at all until Tessai did some healing on her. The people around the area who were laid flat on the ground were dead. That was going to be an inexplicable case for Karakura Town.
Katsuko examined the bottle that the candy shop owner gave her. It was pretty suspicious. It was a bottle of pill capsules that had a fat skull on it on the bottle. He said it was medicine to heal her injuries. The teen couldn't help but give the man an unconvinced glance.
"You know… skull pictures like these just means it could be lethal if we consume it."
They were currently in the sitting room. He was the one who called her over into the room after he spotted her walking out the room once Ururu patched her up. She was actually on the way to the room where her friends were. Katsuko was also back in her human body because Urahara went to go pick up Aiza and her body while she was being treated. Aiza hadn't said a word since she was put back into her plushy form. She only stared up at Katsuko with silent worry.
"Ah… Hiragi-san, you don't trust me?" Urahara feigned disappointment, dropping his head. Katsuko pursed her lips a bit at his comical display. But he was quick to raise it again and then smiled while gesturing at it as if to sell a product. "Don't worry, these will truly help you heal." He glanced up at the clock on his wall. "Oh, perfect. It's been a full hour. Starting now, you will take one of these pills at every hour. You have to be sure to finish the whole bottle. By tomorrow at noon, your wounds should have fully healed."
Those drugs were designed to heal someone at an eye-popping rate.
"Really?" What a handy drug. Carefully, she opened the bottle and shook it with enough strength to make one of them fall in her palm. The pill was white.
Urahara watched her curiously look at the pill and then popped it into her mouth. Her eyebrows went up to her hairline when she noticed it tasted like marshmallow once it touched her tongue. He pushed the glass of water situated on the table closer to her so that she may have an easier time swallowing it down.
"Hiragi-san. You need to be careful when using your Bankai." He started while she in the midst of drinking. Her eyes blinked and glazed over to him. "Your body couldn't handle the strain of it." Katsuko lowered the cup and stared at him quietly.
She was aware of what he was talking about.
"I don't get it." Katsuko set her cup down on the table. "I felt pain now but I didn't before…"
"Before?"
"When I tried to keep Tousen from chasing after Rukia and Renji, I used my Bankai just to keep him away. I knew I couldn't win against a Captain but I still had to try and match the strength to keep him away. So why now?"
"Ah, I see. Here's the difference." He lifted a finger. "You were using your Bankai primarily to keep someone from getting past you. You weren't trying to defeat him. Today, you were drawing out more power from your Bankai to defeat the enemy, so it naturally caused a burden on your body. Am I wrong?"
It's true. She was drawing out a lot of power from her Bankai because she could sense that those two were a powerful threat. She figured that it would be safer to use her Bankai against that them, especially after seeing that Ichigo had to use his.
And back during the little time she had left to practiced her Bankai when Ichigo was still trying to get his, her body did feel some strain from its power.
Katsuko frowned deeply at this. "… So, I can't use it?"
"It just means you have an unmastered Bankai. But you already have an idea of how to use it without causing too much strain on your body. If you continue to keep training, your body should be able to withstand the burden."
A pause.
"… So you know."
"Know what~?"
Katsuko rolled her eyes at the cheery voice mixed feigned curiosity. Mysterious Urahara was the all seeing man of Karakura Town. No point in questioning it. The fact that he knew and yet didn't say anything to her must have meant she that made the right choice to trust Shinji.
"Never mind. Thanks again for the medicine." She finished the rest of her glass and then stood up slowly to not aggravated her wounds. "I want to go see the others, if you don't mind." she paused just in case Urahara had something else to say.
"No, no, no, go right ahead." He lifted his hand and shooed her off towards the door.
She left the sitting room and quietly walked in the hallway with both the glass and medicine bottle in her hands. She was on her way to the kitchen to wash the glass first. Aiza remained in the sitting room with Urahara.
"Ow…"
It really hurts…
Her gaze dropped to the wooden floor.
It hurts to get up and walk and it hurts to sit down.
But I guess I should be grateful that it's not impossible to walk…
She was reflecting on the incident.
In that moment, her emotions were clearly a driving force for her actions. She actually never felt that angry ever since she saw her father with that bitch that night. Those violent thoughts she had that night about wanting to cause physical pain because that woman was partly at fault for hurting her mother was akin to the thoughts that she had about hurting that big guy that hurt Chad, Inoue and Ichigo.
She always tried to remain calm to stay level-headed. But even she is guilty of losing her composure when she feels strongly about something.
And there was something else too.
Those people that showed up had spiritual pressure that was a bit similar to that of Hollow's. Their spiritual pressure had a distinctive feel to give the owner 'identity'. They had faces.
They looked like people.
Her morals as a human were clashing with her mindset of doing whatever she can.
Katsuko arrived in the kitchen and started washing the cup.
In the Soul Society, she clearly knew that she wasn't killing anyone. She would defeat an opponent and render them unable to fight so that she can keep moving forward. When she injured Hisagi with lightning, she was actually worried that she might have killed him when it wasn't her intention.
She's aware of how she feels.
The idea of extinguishing a life is heavy, suffocating even.
She wasn't a killer.
But this thought process was tricking her into believing that those two were human. They weren't human. She was completely aware of that.
"Hiragi-san…?"
Katsuko jumped in surprise when she heard the familiar soft meek voice. Ururu.
"Are you trying to waste water?" Jinta.
Immediately, she closed the tap water and looked to find Ururu peering at her from behind a wall with Jinta. The little girl's big blues eyes were staring at her and she could see the obvious confusion. Jinta gave her a look with a quirked eyebrow. The tap water must have been running for a while.
Sheepishly, Katsuko put the cup aside. "Sorry about that. Yeah, I'm okay. Um, is Chad awake? Er, that big guy." She made hand gestures to refer to Chad's size.
Ururu shook her head. "Not yet."
"The other one is awake though." Jinta added, pointing to the room with his thumb.
"Oh, I see. Thanks, guys." Ururu and Jinta were left behind, watching the teen scurry off as fast as her body permitted her to. When she arrived at the room, she gently slid the door open and peeked inside. Chad was lying in the futon next to the door while Inoue was situated in the middle of the room. Ichigo was at her side since she was awake. Ichigo had apparently went back home after he got treat to get into his body and then came back. The second they heard the door open, they both turned to find Katsuko smiling. Instead of keeping an apathetic demeanor, she was smiling a little to avoid contributing to the gloomy atmosphere.
"Hey… it's pretty gloomy in here…" she slowly stepped inside and quietly shuffled to where they were. She glanced over to Chad and wondered how long it would take for him to wake up.
"Hiragi-san." Inoue smiled underneath her bandages. Katsuko saw how Inoue had to slowly turn her head towards the door. "I'm glad you're okay."
LOOK okay, you mean.
"You look like you're going to need plenty of rest."
"Yoruichi-san said the same thing… but it really doesn't hurt that much!"
Much like Katsuko, Inoue was only putting on a face. Ichigo turned his eyes on Katsuko's form, eyes full of guilt and concern. "Are you sure you're okay to walk around?" he was eying her movements to check for anything out of the ordinary, but Katsuko was swallowing down the pain to conceal it.
Ahh… don't look at me like that.
"Yeah."
I just won't sit down because you'll see me wincing from the pain and you'll feel even worse.
Katsuko stayed standing at the foot of Inoue's futon.
But Ichigo already knew why she didn't sit down.
And it only made him feel so much worse.
After what happened today, it was clear that rest was needed. Orders from Urahara were to let time heal their wounds so that they may properly stand up again. Chad and Inoue were not going to be present at school for a while since they would be staying at Urahara's place until they were clear to rest at home. Heeding Urahara's words, Katsuko didn't prolong her stay at the shop for any longer than necessary after exchanging a few words with Inoue. She wasn't going to the Vizards. They probably knew what happened from all the spiritual pressure flaring in town. Hiyori was most likely going to give her a earful for something.
Ichigo decided to walk her home. Perhaps he didn't feel like leaving her alone after all that happened. It was something he could actually do to make sure she got home safe. They were walking side by side. Katsuko took note of the slow pace they were walking at and eventually realized that Ichigo already knew that simply walking hurt for her. She could just hold Aiza's plushy form a bit tighter against her when she could feel Ichigo's depressive state coming off him in waves. He wasn't hiding it at all.
They didn't speak at all. Katsuko didn't know what to say to him.
It was quiet.
It was only when they arrived at her apartment that someone finally said something.
"I'm sorry."
An apology.
This made Katsuko cast her eyes down. She didn't want to hear that. That apology... it's not right. She took two steps up the stairs and then gently put Aiza on one the steps above her. Aiza held onto the medicine bottle as her curious eyes observed the two humans.
Carefully, she turned in place and then faced him. Shame, apologetic, but most of all, that same despondence from earlier was on his features. He couldn't keep eye contact with her for more than three seconds from the shame.
The fight... his inability to do anything is really getting to him.
Her hands raised and then paused hesitantly for a second as if to reconsider her actions. No. She was going to do it anyway. She gently grabbed his head and then forced him to look at her. She was almost the same height as him, maybe just a bit taller, from standing on the stairs. He was a little startled by this sudden action and his eyes widened a little. He didn't pull away though.
Ichigo is still just a human.
"Your face." Her eyes narrowed a bit. "I'm not used to it."
Ichigo could only wonder what kind of face he was making.
He saw her frown a little which only made him slid his gaze down.
He's allowed to feel what he feels.
"You don't have to be sorry. I got into that fight knowing I could get hurt. My wounds are my responsibility, not yours. They'll heal with time… So, I hope… just like my wounds… you'll cheer up and not keep making that face for too long."
But what's important is how he'll stand back up again.