September 3rd
DAY 7
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"I wasted my money!"
"..."
"Next time, I'm not buyin' shit! Ya hear me?!"
Nod.
Hiyori paused with a finger in the air when Katsuko showed nothing but docile behaviour. It almost felt like she was talking to a doll with the lack of verbal responses. She scowled a bit, and then crossed her arms with a huff. Yesterday, Hiyori went through the trouble to buy her dinner since she was staying late to train with them, only for her to not show up at all. The short Vizard took this as an insult to her kindness. She didn't waste time shouting at her the next day once she showed up in her Soul Reaper form.
Knowing that Hiyori was going to more or less scream at her, Katsuko just chose to be silent, only replying verbally when needed until she was done. After all, she did feel a little bad.
Katsuko lifted her hands so that she could just run three fingers over the back of her left hand when she brought them together, an absentminded action caused by awkwardness. "Sorry. If you want, I can pay you back. I can even give you more since I have more than enough—"
Hiyori groaned and covered her ears, grimacing. "I don't wanna hear how rich you are!" she said and walked away, dropping herself on a single seated couch.
Shinji dropped his magazine on his lap. The sound caught Katsuko's attention. He was sitting next to Mashiro with his legs propped up on the table. His upper teeth were showing as he stared at her lazily. After what happened between Shinji, Ichigo and Katsuko that day, the man stopped showing up at the school since he already said his piece to Ichigo. If he stayed, he'd just be repeating himself which he sure didn't mind doing. However, the look on Ichigo's face was enough to convince him that Ichigo would not brush off his words. They were seared into his brain. He would come crawling to them eventually. He'd be stupid not to.
"Anyway, how were the Arrancars?"
Katsuko looked like a confused puppy. Her head tilted with her eyes round with curiosity.
"Y'know, the guys you fought yesterday."
"Oh… so you did know."
"It'd be kinda hard not to." Love remarked with his pinky digging in his ear. "They didn't exactly try to hide their spiritual pressure at all. They were just asking to be noticed."
Katsuko looked to the side and scratched the skin below her ear with a finger. "… I did some damage with my Bankai and I was being careful." She remembered how she aggressively rammed the tip of her handle into his face and created that wind explosion. "But I was caught off guard by one of them and ended up getting…" she scowled and looked to the side when she remembered the beating. It's not something she liked to recall. "Freaking pounded into the ground by his giant fist. He didn't pull out his sword though so I can't tell you how strong he was exactly."
"They didn't use their swords?" Rose repeated, surprised.
"One of them just watched like a spectator— the one I didn't pay attention to. And the one I fought seemed much more determined to kill me with his bare hands after what I did. I really pissed him off so he ended up being reckless and impulsive."
"A Hot-headed one." Lisa commented, flipping her magazine. She was half-listening.
Katsuko walked over to some box near Lisa and sat down. Just as Urahara said, she healed completely by noon so she didn't have trouble sitting down anymore. In the morning, she felt like utter shit. She couldn't hide the wincing and slow walking from Haru and Jun. The latter was worried about her and wondered if she hurt herself somehow. She had to fake it by pretending that she was currently menstruating, the perfect cover for a young female high school student. Although she wasn't the type to be in unbearable pain whenever she had it so she might have been just a little theatrical with it. Leaning on Haru and swallowing her pain while complaining about how a sledgehammer was hitting her ovaries might have been a little too much. But at least it deterred them from doing some inspecting.
Also, Ichigo still looked despondent. He was quiet and barely spoke unless spoken too. Choosing to walk home alone just like that day when he confronted Shinji happened too. There was still no sign of him looking better yet.
She wasn't used to seeing his face like that.
But even so, she had faith in him.
Ichigo was a strong person. She was certain of that in her heart.
She believed that he would pull himself together sooner or later.
He just… needed time.
Right?
"I guess training with someone tough like Kensei over here really paid off." Rose remarked with a thoughtful look. Life or death situation training really was an effective way to train. "If you had faced that Arrancar with the strength you had when you first arrived then you might not have ended up standing a chance at all."
"Pounded into literal dust." Kensei nonchalantly added.
A laugh through her nose. "Really not that good enough at that level?" Katsuko smirked a little.
"Absolutely not." Love, Rose, Lisa and Kensei chimed.
Katsuko looked at Shinji. "So, I'm guessing you know what they are because you called them 'Arrancars'…? I just know that they're spiritual pressure feels more like a Hollow's and that they have Hollow masks. He's not like us… right?"
He nodded. "In simple terms, you could say that they're the opposite of us. A Hollow that removed their mask and gained Soul Reaper powers, that's an Arrancar."
Katsuko just silently blinked. Isn't that… a bad thing? Hollows are already one problem to deal with… but Hollows swinging around a Zanpakuto? That sounds even worse…
Needless to say, her what-if scenario was coming true… A Hollow that was stronger than a Menos Grande existed. Great.
Am I gonna see a Menos Grande waving around a Zanpakuto? That's an unpleasant thought.
Shinji then pushed himself off the couch and put a hand on his hip. "So, if you're here, then that means you're in good condition to continue?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. I got these healing pills from someone. They healed me fast." She lifted her hand and hit her abdomen with it. If this were a few hours ago, she'd be stiffening and cursing her stupidity. "I'm in perfect condition." She made an 'ok' with her hand.
"As expected of Kisuke…" Shinji just laughed inwardly and started heading towards the entrance to the underground training room. Urahara must have known that she was training with them and decided to help her heal quicker to resume her training with them. He didn't know if he should be impressed or annoyed.
Doing a double take, Katsuko's eyes widened a little when he spoke his first name. "You know Urahara-san?"
"That's a story for another time." Shinji replied as he and Kensei opened up the entrance while Love ushered her up on her feet by tugging the back of her Shihakusho. Everyone else got up to head down below as well. Katsuko followed right behind Mashiro and kept wondering how Shinji knew Urahara. It seemed like Shinji was almost as omniscient as Urahara based on how he kept revealing that he knew more about something than she thought.
September 4th
DAY 8
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She stayed late yesterday and ended up staying practically the whole day today. She missed a whole day of school too. Well, technically, she didn't because Aiza attended for her. Shinji left her no room to argue anyway. His judgement proved correct because he could see it; the fight with Arrancar worsened her condition. Keeping her with them seemed wise.
At 4 PM, there was no more tugging, just loud ringing that couldn't be ignored. That sound was becoming overwhelming and too much to bear.
It was at the point where she could only focus on the ringing and nothing else. She managed to call a timeout and tell Kensei. Lifting her sword was becoming an almost impossible task. She even dropped it to hold her head. Shinji was the one who told her to inform them about if it got worse in the next hours.
They didn't waste any time in getting ready.
Presently, Katsuko was sitting in the middle of an open area. Shinji was standing by her side and waiting, keeping an eye on her. Rose, Lisa, Love and Kensei were posted far away around them. Seated in a cross legged position, Katsuko's hand was covering her face while her head was lowered, and her other hand was clutching her hakama as if it helped her hang on for a few more minutes. Shinji glanced at her when he heard her exhale. He swore she looked like she was about to roll over and pass out. She was doing her best to hang on.
I didn't expect her Hollowfication process to worsen so fast after that fight... Shinji thought to himself. Her Hollow was the slow type, for sure, but after that fight, not anymore.
"We're here!" Mashiro's voice resounded in the training room. Except for Katsuko, everyone looked over to the staircase to find her, Hachigen and Hiyori hurrying over to join them. They were out buying dinner for everyone until Shinji called Hiyori to get their asses back over to the warehouse since they were going to have to move right on to the next phase. A missing Hachigen was the only reason why they had to wait like this. If it were anyone else, they would have started without them.
Hachigen met Shinji's stare and nodded, beginning his application of Kido to create barriers around the warehouse and Katsuko. The blonde Vizard squatted down in front of Katsuko and removed her hand from her face to get her attention. She was sweating and her eyes looked half-lidded.
"Katsuko, listen to me, soon, you'll transform into a Hollow right here."
"Well… that's not good."
"It isn't." Shinji lifted his hand, and she eyed it absentmindedly. "The only way you'll stop is for you to consume your Hollow instead." He poked her right below her in the middle just below her collarbones. Her eyes landed on his face. "Remember, it's a battle of subjugation. Don't let it defeat you. Don't let it think it can control you. Impose your dominance over it no matter what. In other words, win."
"... Will I be able to?" She felt uncertain and nervous. It was seriously happening now. Nervousness sometimes begets doubt. She didn't know if she was truly ready for it. She knew that if the Hollow consumed her, it was over. Basically, her confidence was plummeting fast from the nervousness.
"That's up to you." He dropped his hand and hers fell on her lap. "You didn't finish your trainin' but you made it to the success rate, so that's somethin'."
"I guess that's a boost of confidence…"
"Don't mess around and just do what you have to do. If not, we'll be forced to cut you down. Got it?"
Ah, yes. A drop of dread should help.
Katsuko nodded her head softly. She saw Shinji raise his hand again, his palm facing her, and she unclenched her hand from her hakama. She could feel spiritual pressure radiating from him. She lifted her eyes to meet his and then forced a quick smiled. "By the way, thanks for helping me."
"Idiot. Don't say your thanks until after you win."
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…
After her eyes met a bright blue light, her sight was engulfed in pure darkness. Everything was lost to her. All her senses nulled yet she could somehow feel herself plunging into a deeper darkness. But she wasn't afraid.
All this happened for a brief moment though.
What could be described as something like rejuvenation was what made her feel alive again. Her senses returned. Her body felt cold as wind flew past her, the pressure of it slightly uncomfortable.
This feeling was then followed by warmth and then a gentle pressure.
A balance of cool and warm that felt so familiar against her skin.
All darkness was then chased away by a bright light that illuminated her eyes when she opened them.
She was standing.
The beautiful peaceful sky that stretched to an infinite distance. The floor that reflected such sight. A spring breeze. Yeah. This almost made her feel right at home.
Katsuko started sprinting with a face full annoyance which disturbed the harmony of the floor and the stillness of silence.
Where is it?!
Where is that damn Hollow!
Her main task was looking for some big monster with a Hollow mask.
And she was going to beat the hell out of it for causing so much trouble.
She started speeding off in the direction of the giant white pillars. Perhaps it was hiding over there when it found out she was out to cut it up. The thought of it made her pick up the pace and her hand flew to her sword at her hip. Just as she was about to pull it out, a figure gingerly stepped out from behind one of the pillars she was approaching, causing Katsuko to skid to a stop when she realized it was Arashihoro.
"Welcome back." Arashihoro spoke casually.
The black haired girl stared at her for a few seconds. The tone of her voice seemed way too casual, too unbefitting of the current state of her soul. She still carried the same normal tone like when she first greeted her in her Inner World.
Katsuko narrowed her eyes.
Wait…
…
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…
"I didn't know you could change your voice."
"My voice?"
"Yeah, you sounded like dude before."
The Zanpakuto huffed at the word. "I suppose I did."
All of a sudden, the floor began rippling in disharmony followed by a loud sound that echoed throughout the Inner World, causing Katsuko to flinch and hunch a little when she made a move to cover her head on instinct. The wind began to pick up a little around them, causing their hair to fly around. Curiously, she lifted her head and peered up at the large pillars. She couldn't see the top for they were way high up and hidden above the clouds. However, she could see a darker spot in the midst of the white clouds that was flickering with lightning.
"What is that?"
Arashihoro narrowed her eyes at the sight.
It took a moment for her to answer.
"The source of lightning." She answered. "But it wouldn't be wise to go near it just yet. It's a little hard to keep it under control. In due time, it will settle down."
Katsuko tipped her head. "The lightning?"
Arashihoro turned around and faced her, smiling at her a little. "You could say that."
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…
"You knew I had a Hollow, didn't you?"
"I did."
HUH?!
"And uhh," Katsuko let out a laugh and shook her head before snapping to look at her in disbelief. "And you didn't think to tell me when I first got here?! Because I think that would have been pretty important to know, don't you think? Why did you lie?" She threw her hands up.
Arashihoro frowned and stepped closer to her to used her finger to jab her in the chest. "I never once lied to you." She scowled a bit. "I dislike lies just as much as you do."
Katsuko squinted her eyes and leaned her head back. "But you didn't tell me about it either, at least not directly… The lightning I saw last time, that was it, wasn't it?"
"Yes. That lightning is another source of power for you, but as you've figured it out, you could only use it when the Hollow interferes with you. The last time you were here, I told you that it was going to settle down in time. It did. But that lightning became completely fused with the Hollow as a consequence. The only reason I didn't tell you about it was because—"
A loud crack in the sky followed by a boom and a shockwave cut her off. Startled, Katsuko took a step back and covered her face with her arm with smoke flew her way. Her eyes landed on the spot where the lightning struck. Something landed. It wasn't hard to guess what it was. Arashihoro narrowed her eyes and used one arm to shoo away the smoke with wind as steps echoed behind it. There was no need for suspense when they all knew who was there.
Katsuko's eyes widened when she saw what was revealed.
"There he is." Arashihoro sighed.
Where was the mask?
Where was the giant body?
And why was it a man of all things?!
"It looks like a person." Katsuko mumbled.
Why?!
The Hollow took shape of a young man with white skin. He had white short hair that looked fluffy to touch. He wore almost the same attire as Arashihoro except less complex. His sleeves were both long and there was no fur on his clothes. His obi was black and so were his socks. The inner parts of his haori-like top was black while the exterior was white. The end of his haori was fluttering from the wind.
"So, you're here." He spoke as if she had no reason for being here.
As soon as Katsuko whipped out her sword and darted towards him, Arashihoro conjured up a gust of wind that materialized a sword for herself.
The Hollow summoned his own blade and dodged hers when he ducked. When he sliced the air towards her, she jumped back while Arashihoro thrusted her sword forward, only for his blade to block hers. Katsuko used this opportunity to strike him, but he easily shifted his blade so that he could block her blade while keeping the other one in place. The loud sounds of metal resounded. The floor rippled from the shockwave.
He was much taller than both of them and was giving Katsuko a piercing look with his golden hues. Unfazed by vexation in them, she pulled her blade back and started swinging with Arashihoro.
He dodged and parried the blades a few times, and as he ducked to avoid Arashihoro's blade, he aimed a sharp kick at the sword spirit that her stumbling back. Katsuko brought her sword closer to her chest when the Hollow violently swung at her next. She was taking steps back when he kept swinging at her while she kept dodging and blocking.
Then, she blocked and pushed back against him. He narrowed his eyes and added more strength. Then she laxed her strength, taking him by surprise, and easily pushed his blade to the side, and as he stumbled, she fiercely rammed her elbow into his throat. He gasped and faltered, and she didn't hesitate to swing at him, aiming for his midsection, causing the Hollow to side step right into a wind blast by Arashihoro, throwing him right into one of the white tall pillars.
Katsuko flicked her blade and then ran after him.
The Hollow's face darkened while he leaned back against the pillar.
Arashihoro lifted her hand and dropped it, commanding sharp wind to fly after him. Katsuko released her Shikai. Dodging the wind and making it crash into a pillar, he leaped up and situated himself atop of a different pillar to observe them carefully. Skidding to a stop, Katsuko adjusted her position and then sent a Gengetsu Reppuu in his direction. He got ready to dodge the attack, but then he realized too late that it was aiming for the pillar beneath his feet. The wind crashed into the pillar, destabilizing him, pulling a rough growl from his throat. He hurriedly leaped off, and when he did, Arashihoro sent her own Gengetsu Reppuu towards him just as Katsuko did one more.
The wind joined together and formed an X, its range increased along with the power. At the last second, the Hollow skidded to a stop in the air and then leaped back to avoid the attack, only receiving a light cut on his cheek, while Katsuko and her sword spirit were already moving again, they didn't stop moving. The sword spirit was dashing between pillars, her eyes locked on him, while Katsuko was heading to where he was landing with her sword gathering more wind, this time, to strike him at close range.
As Arashihoro darted at him from out of nowhere, the Hollow extended his arms separating his blade into two.
Katsuko narrowed her eyes and Arashihoro growled.
With his right blade, he created a whip of lightning that kept them both at bay, and he let it fly off into the infinite distance.
He stood atop another pillar, one of the few rare shorter ones, while Katsuko and Arashihoro stood on separate ones.
The Hollow flipped his left blade and held it backwards while he pointed his right in Katsuko's direction. "She told you, didn't she?" he nudged his head towards Arashihoro. "The lightning is a source of power for you. But, obviously, I'm in control of it." He then scowled at her. "And without me stepping in, you'll only get hurt every time you fight."
Katsuko's eyebrow twitched. "I've won and survived before without you stepping in. If you do, that means that I'm weak and need to get stronger. It's as simple as that." Her hands tightened around her swords. One of the purposes for Vizard training was to have her get stronger because they knew she was still too weak compared to them. By bringing her to around their level only then would she truly stand a chance against her own Hollow. "And I signed up for getting hurt the moment I picked up the blade! So don't talk to me about me getting hurt in a fight with swords!"
The Hollow stared at her with almost a crazed look with how his eyes widened a little. "Good for you. Be proud if you want. But here's still the damn problem with you: You still get hurt and, every time you do, you get one step closer to death, and then I have to step in because I don't trust you to keep us alive." Katsuko's gaze flickered to Arashihoro and then her Hollow. The whole purpose of showing up here was to stop him. There was no point standing around and talking as if they were chilling and picking daisies. She appeared behind him and swung her right blade. With a nimble step, he shoved his left blade into hers and blocked the other one with his right.
Arashihoro appeared behind and swung her blade at his neck. But before it could make contact, lightning shot out from his body and repelled her away. Katsuko's eyes flickered to her Zanpakuto spirit that fell off the pillar. With a growl, she coated her left sword with wind and started swinging at him again. The impact of her strikes was jarring.
His face came dangerously close when their swords scratched against each other between them. "You think I don't know what you think?"
Katsuko mockingly smirked at him. Where does he get off by acting like he knows better? He's just a damn Hollow. "Well, why don't you humor me since you seem so confident?" She slid her blade across his to try and get him in the face but he pushed it away quick and then blocked her other blade. She grunted and pushed back.
"You carry fear in battle and you think about mostly surviving. What sort of nonsense is that?" He forced her back and then sent her flying down the ground. He pointed his right blade down at her and shot a beam of lightning at her while she fell. She maneuvered in the air enough to move out of the way. Her landing wasn't perfect but she was able to ready her blades for the next attack. The smoke conjured up from the attack she just dodged enveloped her, and then was scattered from her momentum, but it was still present, creating a light smokescreen. She gripped her left blade and stilled her breathing. Her eyes were wide as she waited with bated breath. Arashihoro stood nearby.
The Hollow appeared in front of her, his left blade right at her neck. At the last second, she willed herself to back up.
He narrowed his golden eyes in annoyance. His body shifted around to make room for his next attack, his right blade.
She pointed her left blade at him.
His right blade charged with lightning.
The point blank range sent them both flying back.
Katsuko flew past her sword spirit and then landed harshly. Her body did a few rolls too before stopping.
"Katsuko!" Arashihoro called her name and looked to where she landed. Katsuko was coughing on the ground and some of her cuts from the lightning had brief flickers. Her body received didn't receive the full force of that shock, but it still got her, high-voltage tendrils spreading everywhere inside her, leaving her almost numb to everything, even the impact of her fall. It was struggle almost to get back the feeling in her body. Her body trembled as it pushed itself back up.
At least it lessened the damage.
The Hollow's clothes were shredded and he had a few cuts on his body, but nothing too serious like her. He wiped his fresh blood off his cheek with his sleeve. He stood tall, eying her as his blade charged with lightning for his next attack. Like a lightning bolt, he darted forward. Arashihoro intercepted him, wincing from the force, and then glared at him darkly. "You need to get a grip."
The Hollow snarled at her. "Shut up."
Their blades echoed. Meanwhile, Katsuko got back up and flexed her wrists to regain better motor control over her body.
Katsuko. You have to defeat him.
Even though her sword spirit was in the middle of fighting, she was still able to communicate with her with telepathy. It must be the perks of being in the Inner World together.
"You think I don't know that?" Katsuko mumbled as she swung down her blade, summoning a coat of sharp wind around it.
Shinji's warning was still clear in her head.
Right now, those friends of yours are keeping your Hollowfied body busy while you're here dealing with him. You don't have the luxury of time to beat him.
Closing her eyes, Katsuko took in a deep breath and relaxed her hands, releasing the tight grip on her swords. She needed to keep cool. While she willed herself to keep calm, the Hollow's earlier words back came to her. Its only issue with her was that it didn't like how she was getting hurt. It wanted to take over to avoid having its vessel being destroyed. That wasn't an unreasonable intention. She already knew that when Shinji first informed her.
But she could not permit a Hollow to do as it pleased.
It was her body, damn it.
He isn't wrong though.
I think about surviving.
And I do have fear.
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…
"Don't occupy your mind with that unnecessary thought." Arashihoro poked her forehead with a scowl. Katsuko's eyes lasered in on her finger. "Just fight. You'll see how easy it is to not kill someone. You're not going to lose control and just cut someone's head off, if that's what you think."
"I mean," Katsuko scoffed. "I'm not stupid… I think I'd know if I was about to decapitate someone."
"Exactly." Arashihoro pulled her hand away and tipped her head while narrowing her eyes. "Don't think about the consequences. Think only about winning. Be greedier, let loose and get stronger."
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…
But I'm still standing here.
Dark brown eyes narrowed with pure irritation.
And that means you don't know me.
So far, only half of her mask was on her face.
Mashiro landed from her back flip and stopped in a pose that was similar to that of one those superheroes she watched on TV in the morning. Her big brown eyes blinked curiously. "Oh?"
A Hollowfied Katsuko groaned with her sword in hand. Her body stumbled back a few steps as she started moaning and screaming. Her free hand dugs its nails into her face that was bruised, a result from a powerful punch, as the top of her hair, from the roots, started becoming ash blond. The spiritual pressure spiked with the change.
Her fingers deeply scratched into her face, inflicting cuts on herself, before flinging it away from her face, and then roaring at Mashiro. The soundwave of it kicked up some dust, and ruffled everyone's hair.
"… That's new." Hiyori remarked when she spotted the contrast.
Rose and Love silently watched as her hair completely changed colour.
Sitting cross legged on the floor with his elbows resting on his knees, Shinji's eyes remained focused on Katsuko's appearance. Once more, he found himself wondering what kind of Hollow Aizen had created for this to happen. A great deal of time had passed since his experiments on them after all, more time meant more experiments and possible progresses.
A beeping sound from a watch.
Shinji looked towards Hiyori. She was getting up with her Zanpakuto to go and switch with Mashiro.
Twenty minutes had already passed.
"Bakuhou!"
The Hollow flash stepped away from Arashihoro's attack, and Katsuko flash stepped near him to swing her left blade. He changed his stance and blocked with his right. The wind and lightning clashed and grazed their faces. The clashes between them were relentless and unforgiving. The battle was becoming more of a free flow of strikes, each accompanied by an element, without any defense. They were both suffering from cuts now, be it from blades or elements. Seeing as how this would not bade well for Katsuko, Arashihoro moved to interfere, until the Hollow's head eerily snapped towards her and growled.
Arashihoro stiffened for a moment, but only a moment. She moved forward to resume her interception. The Hollow shifted in his position to parry Katsuko's swords. He then rammed the back of his left hilt into her forehead, stunning her for a second, and then aimed a kick to her gut that sent her flying away.
Her body collided into one of the nearby pillars, and then a ray of lightning destroyed it.
Quickly, Arashihoro went to her wielder and waved her hand, promptly sending away the rubble that were coming down on her.
Katsuko, who had been ready to use Bakuhou to protect herself, breathed in relief when the rubble disappeared. It was only then did she snap out of whatever zone she was in. She didn't realize she ended up so focused. Her hair was all over her face when she finally noticed her position. Her back was uncomfortably resting atop a piece of rubble that broke when she collided into the pillar. Salty blood tainted in her mouth, and she realized that she bit her tongue when the lightning shoved her into the pillar.
She spit out the blood in her mouth.
So far, her injuries were not giving her too much trouble. That was good. It was either that or her pain tolerance increased in the past few days.
Katsuko breathed in. Okay.
Arashihoro was running over to her when she pushed herself up from the ground. "Pull yourself together." Arashihoro snapped. "We have to defeat him!"
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Katsuko apathetically eyed the Hollow who stood far away from where they stood, his right sword was flickering with lightning.
The fear and the thought of surviving, huh?
"Geez." Annoyed, Katsuko sighed and then looked at the gray haired woman. "Arashihoro, don't fight by my side." The sword spirit blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"Fight with me instead, just like usual."
If they were going to fight this Hollow then it was better to fight with together rather than separately.
Besides, it really didn't care about her sword spirit. It just swatted her away and focused all its energy on Katsuko.
Arashihoro huffed out a laugh and roughly dropped her hand on her head, making Katsuko squawk in surprise. She looked at her Zanpakuto in surprise and found her grinning down at her. "Well, if that's what you want."
The long gray haired woman's body suddenly exploded into a gust of wind, making Katsuko flinch and squint, which circled Katsuko's body, and then concentrated its movement around her left sword, as if to firmly imprint on it. The Hollow narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue as she brought the back of her hilts together.
It doesn't even matter if he wins or not, If I let him run out the clock, it's over for me.
I have to finish this.
"Bankai." She muttered.
The Hollow watched as wind burst outward and enveloped her in a dome. He could feel the spiritual pressure coming from her. He readied himself. With a swing of her scythe, she scattered away the wind, and dashed out of the dome with a growl.
The Hollow dodged the scythe that was thrusted towards him, the sharp spike narrowly avoiding his throat. She advanced and repeatedly poked at him before suddenly shifting her grip to slash upwards. He parried her blade and then used his other to swing at her, and as he did so, she moved her hands to change her grip and block with the handle, slamming the handle into his sword. The friction created sparks and eerily glowed under the light.
Katsuko stepped back to reposition her weapon, and then moved closer to thrust the upper spike into his pectoral. The Hollow used his blade to direct her blade off the mark. Her arms then moved to change the trajectory, aiming the spike, situated on the opposite of the scythe's blade, into his side. It got him.
The Hollow winced.
She then forcefully tossed him to the ground, and then spun her scythe to aim a gathering of sharp wind at him.
"Gengetsu Reppuu!"
The Hollow's eyes narrowed, and he growled before flash stepping, avoiding the attack, and then pointed his right blade at her. Katsuko clicked her tongue. She flash stepped away from the beam of lightning that she knew would shoot at her, but nothing came. Instead, the Hollow flash stepped behind her, his blade charged with lightning. With widened eyes and a sharp gasp, Katsuko hurriedly twisted her body around to at least cover her side with her blade to avoid having her body come in direct contact with his lightning. She met his piercing eyes that clearly had the intent to ruin her. The lightning exploded from the contact, lifting her off her feet and throwing her a few feet away. The Hollow flicked his swords and darted towards her.
Katsuko shifted her body in the air to swing her blade into the ground, digging into it to stop her momentum. The Hollow's eyes widened when she landed at the opposite end of her handle, and then grabbed it with one hand, dragging her foot back as she changed the angle of her scythe, and then horizontally swung at him with a shout as he zoomed at her with lightning speed. The scythe's blade did not reach him since he slammed on the breaks, but the spike at the top of the handle gashed him on his upper chest. She saw the Hollow hiss just before he flash stepped away from her to put some distance. With an annoyed groan, she ran after him to hurry and defeat him.
The clouds that once allowed the gentle light to shine down on them was now clouding the light, turning their surroundings gray. It was colder too. The wind and the lightning accompanying the clashes of their blades created destruction around them. Some of the tall white pillars that once proudly towered over them into the clouds were falling to the ground.
With a shout, Katsuko slammed her scythe into his blades, and with a burst of wind from her blade, he stumbled from the force. Repositioning her scythe, she shifted the blade so that she could aggressively swing from below and into his chest. But as an immediate response, his right sword became charged with lightning, and he easily nudged the scythe away with it, creating an opening for his left. With a growl, the girl back stepped away just in time to avoid the blade since there was no time to regain her balance, and then held up her scythe to block his blades.
She glared back at his glaring gold eyes that complimented his scowl. "Surviving and winning are similar but yet two different things." He lifted his right blade. In response, Katsuko shoved him off and aimed her foot to his shin. He just back flipped. Katsuko threw a Gengetsu Reppuu his way only for him to throw a similar attack with his lightning, nulling both attacks.
Their blades exchanged strikes that echoed everywhere.
"They go hand in hand, but winning to seek undisputable victory is the only way to fight! You should know that!"
"Oh yeah?" she droned as she drew back, not caring one bit about his opinion. Katsuko swiped at his feet. He jumped and aimed his foot at her face. She moved back a little and moved up her scythe so that the end of her handle could knock his foot away. She moved her hands to change her grip and aimed the scythe dangerously close to his side.
He lifted his sword to block it.
"Gengetsu Reppuu!"
The impact doubled, and he was sent flying back into a pile rubble.
She generated wind around her blade to increase the width and range, and then she ran a few steps just before leaping forward, disappearing and reappearing above the rubble. The scythe looked much bigger behind her because of the wind surrounding it. With silent glare, she brought down the blade where he was, wanting to crush him before he stood back up. Slippery thing managed to avoid it! She only caused more destruction to the pillar instead. With a growl of annoyance, Katsuko pulled back her scythe and aimed at him again when he got back up, but he dodged it by ducking. She twirled and repositioned her scythe and sliced at him several times while he just avoided the slashes.
Blocking the blows would only cause unbalance from the impacts. Smart Hollow.
To change her approach, she gathered all the wind around her blade and then launched it at him when he least expected it, reshaping it into Gengetsu Reppuu.
Blood flew in the air when it sliced his shoulder.
"Tch!"
Harsh strikes of lightning were hitting the ground and forcing her to back off when she darted towards him. The Hollow continued sending bolts of lightning from the sky, and she moved around nonstop to avoid them. He also made it harder to dodge them when he chased after her to send lightning her way from his own sword. Katsuko hissed when his lightning bolt gashed her thigh, causing her to falter in her steps and nearly tripping her up. She clenched her teeth. When he least expected it, she abruptly stopped and she spun on her heel, side-stepped to dodge the lightning from the sky, and then leaped up to dodge one of his beams, before lunging at him.
Slam it into him!
The Hollow grunted and then got knocked back. She dashed forward with a blast of wind behind her, her weapon reeled back. A wave of lightning flew her way. With a grit of her teeth, she shifted her arms to point where the tip of her scythe was closer to the ground and then used Bakuhou to propel herself higher into the air diagonally, avoiding the attack.
In midair, her arms rose above her head, pointing the tip of her weapon at the skies, and then she unleashed Bakuhou again, directing her body downwards. The Hollow's eyes widened when she came down so fast with her blade. His two blades came over him to stop the blow.
Survive to win...
Win to survive...
Two different victories that carry different meanings.
Only one applies for me.
As for the fear, you could say that... that is actually self-awareness. I didn't cross a certain line to limit the damage. I've never taken a life before so, that's my human touch. It's part of who I am, and I don't intend to forget that. I'll always carry a type fear of battle, and I think that's normal if I'm human.
But I was never so kind as to shy away from hurting others. The fights I had proved that. I just struggled to swallow down this way of hurting another. After all, who the hell likes to hurt others?
The collision of their blades made a shockwave.
Katsuko growled and pressed down harder.
And by your tone... you think I'm not capable despite all that.
The Hollow's eyes widened when the force behind her blade increased. "What's this?"
So, I'll do this much more seriously!
Katsuko's dark brown eyes flashed, saturating it momentarily into orange, as she narrowed them.
I'll force you to recognize it.
With a shout, Katsuko forced the scythe down and managed to land a slash across the Hollow when his blades unwillingly parted for her.
It's like Arashihoro said, I don't need to wary and preoccupy my mind so much about it.
That's right. I just need to remember it.
I need to win to survive!
Still in her downward swinging position, Katsuko's shifted her eyes up to look at him, and then moved enough to swing the blade back up, aiming the back of her blade, the spike, under his chin. The Hollow dodged while tilting his head back, only to receive a shallow cut up his neck and a deep one on his chin from the upper spike. With a flip backwards, he pointed his blade at her shot a beam of lightning at her feet. When she jumped back, the spot where the lightning struck exploded. It threw her on the ground on her side.
I wasn't expecting that... what the hell...
She was surrounded by a circle of lightning. Her instincts were telling her that she wasn't safe. She used her blade to help herself up, and that's when she noticed that there was a restriction on her movements.
Katsuko eyed the sparking ring around her.
My body feels heavy.
Her eyes flickered to where the Hollow landed.
She pointed the scythe at the floor and released a Bakuhou which promptly blasted her out of the ring, just as the Hollow swung his blade downward. Four consecutive bolts of lightning fell right onto the spot where she was, and each exploded loudly. When she was flying out, the Hollow roared and fired a beam of lightning at her that. Thankfully, she stood in the air and quickly moved out of the way. She heard a pillar get struck followed by a loud explosion.
She sheathed her blade with wind and guarded against the Hollow's own blade of lightning. She could feel a more feral energy coming from him from the way he literally lightning bolted in front of her. The struggle between their blades ended with them pushing each other back.
He's getting more aggressive.
Her eyes stole a quick look at the skies rumbling. The skies looked far from peaceful.
The dark stormy clouds had flashes of light.
Ah… feels like a storm is coming.
That's exactly what their clashes were: a storm. Violent whirls of wind that sought to cut and slice anything, wrecking the tall white pillars, against the lighting that clawed at everything within reach almost indiscriminately, swallowing it all into a storm.
Stopping, Katsuko straightened up and twirled her scythe, spinning around the wind that she started generating from her handle.
The lightning snaked out from behind the clouds like tendrils before rapidly homing down on her.
With a growl, she vertically grabbed her scythe, stopping the motion, and then slammed the end of her handle against the floor, creating a resounding clang! that echoed all over. From the point of contact, a whirlwind appeared, and pushed back the lightning.
Always keeping his distance, and leaving me little to no openings…
I try to guard and then shove him off just as fast, but aims with his other blade to hit me while my balance is off, and then I either have to try and block it or just move out of the way...
In that case…
Katsuko flash stepped behind him and began swinging fiercely.
The Hollow swung his left blade and she blocked it with her scythe by stopping it in the inner corner between the spike at the top and the one on the side. The moment she did, however, his right blade impaled into the right side of her chest. Instantly, her body received an electrical-like force running through her body which had her screaming. The shock rippled the floor around them. If she could describe the feeling, she would call it a shock that shook her existence.
"You were basically asking to be killed." He snarled, amplifying the attack
Katsuko growled, her grip on her weapon loosening a little. Endure it! She held it tighter, swallowing the pain.
He was going to raise his other blade.
NOW!
She released one hand from her handle, forcing the struggle to become one-sided when her force disappeared. The Hollow lurched forward, and she used her free hand to grab hold of the hand piercing her, her nails dug into his skin, determined to keep him and his sword in place.
The Hollow's eyes flickered to hers in confusion. "What are you doing?"
She calmly stared at him when his lightning stopped, looking dead into his eyes.
In that case…
Make the opening.
Then, the tip of her scythe, the spike, that was pointed towards the floor, generated a sphere of wind before unleashing four wind-lances from it, that made a U-turn and punctured him right in the back. The Hollow's golden eyes widened in shock as he lost equilibrium. With a growl, he lifted his other blade to aim for her neck this time. But it wasn't done. The wind blades then exploded in his back, causing both their hair to fly rapidly with his blood, and he gasped from the pain.
Good.
Katsuko jumped back, her blood spilled when she pulled her body away from his blade, and reeled her scythe back to get into a swinging stance.
"I. Caught. You~"
…
…
…
But, like every storm, there's always a calm in the end.
It ended with a merciless swing that went in from his back and through his chest.
The Hollow gazed at her calmly while Katsuko kept a firm grip on her scythe, her eyes, narrowed, watching him.
"Hm… I guess you are capable of winning." The Hollow touched the scythe apathetically as if it wasn't impaling him. "That's good." He tapped his finger against it, and then carefully looked at his white finger coated in blood.
"I've already decided before that I would do that. You probably just weren't listening."
Casually, his eyes shifted to her and he tipped his head a little. "You did, huh? Maybe I didn't hear it then."
"Then let me make myself clear: I will fight and still carry that fear you don't like because it helps me remember who I am. Battles can be scary but I won't stand idle when I could do something. Naturally, I'll fight to win but mostly to survive because just winning isn't enough, it doesn't carry enough reason for me to fight. Just victory is meaningless."
There was a pause.
The Hollow could not understand the words she said. It just didn't make sense to him. "You'll win just to live?" The Hollow sounded a bit confused. "Why?"
Katsuko scowled at her Hollow for not understanding. "Living means I can be with people I care about. Living means I can protect them when they might need it. Living means returning to a happy illusion. Living means doing what I can. Winning means getting back to what I have today and tomorrow. That's my victory. I will win to survive."
This was not the definition of 'win' he was expecting from her.
It's… different.
She's different.
Aggressively, she removed the blade from his body and he staggered forward with a groan, dropping both his weapons. All it would take is a simple kick to the gut, and he would fall on his back, but she didn't, she only eyed him calmly. Their blood had splattered onto the watery floor. And the red seeped and gently flowed deeper beneath them, appearing like silky red ribbons that slowly faded into the abyss below.
The blood on his clothes bloomed red like a rose on a white canvas. In a way, the sight was almost beautiful.
"I win." She flipped around her scythe to hold it across her body in front of her. "If you can't accept that, then too bad."
Her Hollow glanced briefly at her Zanpakuto with indifferent eyes that also somewhat accepted defeated. "I guess it's different. Yeah. Different." He looked at her and then squinted his eyes as if to scrutinize her. He relaxed and grasped his front of his clothes where he bled. "I'll watch you and your 'victory' and see how far it'll get you."
"Have fun." Katsuko spat with attitude.
Then he fell into the floor, falling into the depths of the water. Katsuko apathetically stared down at his figure. Because the floor reflected the dark skies, she could make out the golden hues that kept watching her as he fell deeper and deeper. The sight made her relax. It was symbolizing how she subjugated her Hollow, forcing it beneath the water, muffling his noise.
He would forever remain with her, that she understood completely, the only thing she could do was impose her rightful dominance to put it in its place so that she could be sane like the Vizards.
And as if to symbolize her victory, clouds parted and the light returned and shined down upon her.
The peaceful calm after a storm.
Finally.
…
…
…
Dark brown eyes shot open.
Alarmed, Katsuko bolted up into a sitting position. The familiar sight of the underground training room overwhelmed her sense of sight, nearly erasing the memory of her Inner World. Then she felt something fall onto her lap. When she looked down, she found fragments of her mask on her hakama.
"Oh." Mashiro was the first to verbally respond to her movements. "She's up." She was standing behind Shinji with Love and Rose.
"H…How long?" While looking at all the familiar faces in front of her, Katsuko wondered after finally reacquainting herself back to the real world. She was aware that a full hour was the maximum time needed for Hollow subjugation.
"Forty-two minutes." Kensei read the watch flatly.
"Almost an hour…" Katsuko gaped at him. "That's way too long." And it didn't even feel like forty minutes!
"Don't dwell on it now." Shinji spoke up with one hand in his pocket. "Feelin' better?"
"Yup." After what she just faced, she almost felt ready to take on a hoard of Hollows like that day Ishida summoned them. "Hollow drowned in water, and now it's finally freaking quiet. Dead calm."
Shinji chuckled at the way she spat those words with a scowl. "Good to hear." He watched her scoop up the fragments of her mask in one hand and used her other arm to push herself up. She gazed the mask pieces with childlike curiosity.
Subjugation complete.
Get this chapter out my hair right now! Get it out! Geez, this was a struggle to write. 5 freaking rewrites. 5. I even started doing Chapter 30 with how fed up I was with this one. Then when I came back to it, there were two more rewrites fml, and at that point I just wanted to get it over with. I'll probably come back and correct any mistakes later.
Anyway, about Katsuko's Hollow... nah, actually I'm sure you'll be able to put the pieces together later. So, I'll shush on that.