Isshin peeked into the hallway of the front door. He found Katsuko putting on her shoes.
"Katsuko-chan? You're leaving already?"
"Hm?" she looked up and found her pediatrician peeking around the corner. "Oh, yeah. I figured I should head home now instead of overstaying… Thanks for dinner…" she bowed her head respectfully.
"Come on, no need to be so stiff, Katsuko-chan!"
"Sorry." Katsuko sheepishly said.
He grinned at her. Then he paused and checked the watch on his wrist. His face became comically skewed with displeasure. "You're going home at this hour by yourself? Where's my boneheaded son at?" Just as Katsuko was about to object, he yelled for Ichigo. The orange haired teen deadpanned as he came down the stairs.
"Would you relax?" He finished putting on a light jacket. "I was just getting a jacket."
Isshin opted to lean against the wall, crossed arms and pursed his lips as he eyed his approaching son. "Thought you were lacking basic courtesy."
Ignoring his father comment, Ichigo went over to Katsuko and easily slipped on some shoes. He wasn't going to let her go home by herself when the sun was practically nestled away. Sundown was already a cue for fools to roam the streets. He's seen them.
He put a hand on her shoulder while he opened the door. "Come on, let's go."
Katsuko bowed down to Isshin and thanked him once again for letting her have dinner at his house before scurrying after Ichigo. Isshin was left smiling and waving cheerfully behind them. The typical Kurosaki father image. He waited until the door clicked close before dropping his hand.
Alone, his expression looked unusually serious as his eyes were lingering on the door thoughtfully.
I wonder…
On the way to her house, Ichigo and Katsuko ran into a spirit. It was a young boy who looked no older than seven. He ran into Ichigo's leg while walking around aimlessly. Upon seeing the two teens who could obviously see him, he immediately started crying. He was absolutely relieved to see that someone could finally see him. The loneliness of the afterlife was eating at him. Katsuko felt her heart ache for the boy but didn't know how to react. But Ichigo knew how. He approached the boy and interacted with him, looking like he had done this so many times. Katsuko couldn't help but watch him from behind curiously. It was a novel sight.
He was crouching on the ground while holding one of the boy's hands, trying to cheer him up. The little boy wiped his face with his other hand. He wasn't ready to pass on yet, too scared to move on to a place without his parents and too worried about leaving them behind.
But a few words of encouragement from Ichigo was slowly cheering him up and giving him courage.
"Come on, no more crying." With little furrowed brows, the young boy looked at Ichigo with a hesitant look in his eyes. He was slowly being convinced to pass on to give his parents proper closure.
"Will everything really be okay?" The boy mumbled.
Ichigo smiled for him and nodded once, holding his hand tighter and shaking it a little. "For all of you, I'm sure."
There was a pause. But with newfound courage, he nodded softly. "Okay."
He would drop by his house and linger for a while to say goodbye. He just needed a little more time. Ichigo did nothing but support his decision if that's what it took for him to pass on. The little boy smiled, a contrast to his sobbing self just minutes ago. And then, he faded, disappearing right before their eyes. Katsuko wondered if that was some natural ability for Pluses. Curious.
When he was gone, they both noticed a crooked bottle with yellow flowers inside. Ichigo looked over his shoulder when he remembered Katsuko standing behind him. He found her gazing at him quietly with interest.
"What?"
She smiled a little, holding her bag behind her back. "Nothing. That was nice of you."
He turned back around and straightened the bottle and flowers for whoever it was. "It's the least I could do instead of just ignoring them. You'd have to be pretty heartless to just ignore a weeping kid." As he said that, he could remember all the young spirits he would meet and bring toys for from his house. They were always lonely. He also recalled the disappointment and uneasy feelings he felt whenever bloodstains were left behind when he could no longer see them. Now that he had more knowledge, he understood that they were most likely eaten by Hollows.
Katsuko lightly rested her bag on his shoulder, balancing it, smiling a bit more. "I remember running into you on the way to school back in middle school. You carried a flower. I'm guessing it was for a spirit, huh?" she caught her bag when he moved to stand back up.
"I didn't think you'd remember that." They continued walking down the path to her house.
"Jun is always surprised when I remember things he forgot. I just have a good memory." Her bag swung on the tips of her fingers. "But anyway, yeah, you give flowers and cheer up spirits." She grinned as if she discovered a little treasure. Well, she kind of did. "How sweet of you."
"Okay, stop it." He grumbled a little and scratched the back of his head. His hands soon went inside his jacket's pockets. His response prompted her to playfully poke his side just before they stopped at a red light. There was no one but them on their side.
Katsuko couldn't stop thinking about the little boy's worries because part of them kind of reflected her own. The conversation she had with Karin really had her thinking about it.
The truth about her being a Soul Reaper.
She was participating in something dangerous that could potentially kill her.
Even if those not involved couldn't do anything about it, she felt like this was something that needed to be revealed. She made it this far with keeping it a secret. But truthfully, she didn't like keeping it a secret. It just didn't feel right.
"Katsuko?"
The girl snapped out of it when Ichigo called her. He was halfway across the street. The light had turned green. Her feet quickly rushed to catch up with him.
"Why'd you space out like that?"
"Oh, uh, just thinking about the stuff Hitsugaya-san said." She replied easily as they made it to the other side. "You know, recapping in my mind."
Ichigo's stare lingered on her for a second when he remembered how concerned she looked. He didn't want her to overthink and stress about it needlessly. She really needed to relax a little. "Don't stress so much about it, okay?"
She smiled a little. "I'll try not to."
After Ichigo dropped her home, she went straight for the shower. Instead of doing her homework right away, she decided to go for her nightly shower since she already ate dinner. The house was obviously dark since no one was home. The only source of light in the house came from her room, from the lamp that Aiza turned on.
Right now, Katsuko had her head tilted down towards the desk while Aiza held up the hair dryer. All of her hair was hanging down in front of her.
"So, these Hougyoku Arrancars are real trouble?" Aiza summarized the basic information after Katsuko relayed it to her. The artificial soul didn't like this. Aiza already didn't like hearing the first half of the information.
"Yeah." Katsuko ran her fingers through her hair, separating her hair to dry them off faster. "So, they'll be stationed here until they're done." The teen shifted in her sitting position to dry a different part of her hair. Aiza hummed. That just meant more danger coming into town. All the danger was supposed to end with saving Rukia from that execution. Why did it escalate like this? If danger was a fire, then it was just getting doused with copious amounts of fuel.
"I wonder what the Soul Society will do after all of this…" Aiza wondered as Katsuko gave her the cue to stop. She wandered towards the window to stare at the crescent moon, a keeper of words. It felt like the moon would have all the answers since it was everywhere, watching them, keeping secrets and information of those under its twelve-hour dominion. It would grin at them, mock their confusion and their ignorance.
Katsuko plucked out her history book and dropped it on her desk. The homework was to read and answer questions, simple enough. Basically, skim the text and find the key words related to the question. Not exactly the best way to do history homework, but it got the job done. She would read the text after.
With a pencil in hand, she leaned closer to the desk and started going through the pages of work after she put on her glasses. Katsuko was too absorbed into her work to notice what Aiza was doing or if she was still in the room.
Time was also irrelevant to her work.
Only one thing was capable of snapping her out of it: spiritual pressure.
Several of unknown yet familiar types suddenly appeared in town. The dropping of her pencil was the only sound in her room, Katsuko gazed at her window, wide eyed and confused. Aiza was also looking outside.
One was coming straight for her house.
"Are you fucking serious? Now? Why now?" Katsuko bolted out of her chair and scrambled around to grab her Combat Pass resting on the nightstand. The Arrancar was approaching fast. She bobbed Aiza's head, forcing her soul pill to fall out of the plush body. Once Katsuko was in her soul form, she quickly opened the window and stepped onto the window sill, hand on her hilt. "You stay here. Don't go anywhere." Katsuko instructed Aiza before leaping out and dashing down the street, leaving Aiza behind. She could hear her window shutting, echoing in the quiet night.
Katsuko flash stepped further away from her house when she sensed the Arrancar catching up. She was a little desperate to keep the urban damage to a minimum, mostly away from her own house. It was selfish of her. Believing that she was merely fleeing, it appeared before her, a meter away. It was an Arrancar with brown coloured hair and silver eyes. His mask started from his right ear, covered his right cheek, stretched down to cover his chin.
"You think you can run?"
Katsuko didn't even stop. She was ready for it. Without even a startled reaction, she unsheathed her blade to strike, mildly catching him by surprise, but not enough to stop him from taking out his own sword to absorb the blow. The clash of their blades sounded in the empty streets. He was much taller than her. She narrowed her eyes when he stared her down with a studious eye.
"You—" Katsuko flicked her sword to the side, ignoring him, and moved away from the blade before swinging again, aiming for his side. He dodged it and put distance between them. "That's pretty rude."
"I'm not going to wait for you to tell me your life story." Katsuko readied her blade again.
He whistled with a smirk. "Oho, she speaks now! You're not mute or deaf."
I have Shikai and an unmastered Bankai… If I use it recklessly, I'll be a pancake on the floor. I have to be careful.
As for a Hollow mask, that's also unmastered. I can literally only use it for five seconds at best. But I can use it wisely.
The Arrancar smirked and lowered his blade a little. "My name is Cloverras Vall Lulloc, your executioner." He came charging with the clear intent to kill her. She took steps back to dodge while sometimes blocking his blows. Their blades clashed repeatedly in the dark, their surroundings only illuminated by the street lights and moonlight. Their clashes created little sparks sometimes.
She wasn't having trouble keeping up with him. When she found an opening, she flicked his sword back and thrusted several times to try and pierce him. He spun on his heel and raised his leg to kick her face. In that instant, she actually remembered Kensei doing something similar. Her body reacted with the memory, prompting her get down and then leap back far away into the air.
With this new threat and information about them she got this afternoon, she wanted to be careful as much as possible. She skidded to a stop on an invisible platform in the air.
This Arrancar is a little like the ones that showed up but still different from the other ones nearby…
He swiftly appeared behind and above her with his sword held high. Quickly, she turned and blocked his blade. He loomed over her with a little grin. "Hmph, I didn't expect anything from a 5'2 girl but I guess you have strength in you after all. You haven't died from my blade just yet."
Katsuko deadpanned. Real specific about my height? And for what?
After a quick shove, she swung her blade to slash his side. He was taken by surprise when she suddenly came at him so aggressively. He pierced the air, thrusting the blade towards hers to counter. With a side step, she moved past him while slashing the back of his shoulder swiftly. It wasn't such a large cut though but Cloverras glared at her for that. He tilted his body and suddenly lifted his leg. She did the same thing as last time to dodge it. But he vanished before he could make contact. Her eyes widened. Suddenly, he appeared behind her. Her sword sliced the air behind her but met nothing. He reappeared behind her and landed a solid punch into her shoulder. A gasp escaped her when he sent her flying down into a wooden porch of a flower shop.
Colourful petals flew in the air along with the smoke.
Holy shit… that hurt!
Katsuko sputtered a pink flower petal off her lips. Her hands tightened their grip on her sword as she got back up on her feet. He's quick…
"Rend, Arashihoro." Her blades split into two. With a tight grip on the hilts, she turned around and leaped up into the air. Cloverras saw her jump out of the smoke and rapidly swung both her blades at him. She noted that he was trying to keep track of all her movements. If he kept moving fast like this, he might just get tired.
She parried his blade and turned to swing the other one.
He disappeared from the tip's reach.
There wasn't an opening to exploit on her with how her blades kept moving around.
No further blade damage was inflicted on the other yet.
He narrowed his eyes at the two blades. The sudden aggressiveness and rapid swings took him by surprise. Her left blade aimed for his thigh. The moment she thought her blade would reach, she suddenly felt his hand clamp over hers, effortlessly stopping her before blocking her other blade. There was no time to even blink because he pulled her closer to ram his hilt into her temple, stunning her. A rough kick to her back sent her falling down. Her body maneuvered around to have her drop safely on the roof of small building.
Katsuko steadied her body, still feelings the effects of that stun.
Cloverras stayed in the air and huffed. "Your Shikai only gives you two blades?" his voice was coloured with disappointment.
"…"
"It's pathetic for a Shikai." Cloverras snorted, readying his blade. "It only increases your power. You only carry two blades for show." He mocked her with a sneer. He was actually hoping to see something else after hearing about how Katsuko had messed up Yammy. He didn't hear or see any specific details.
The only thing he could see was disappointment.
Katsuko scoffed. "Two blades with increased power are enough to kick your ass with it. You're already having trouble keeping track of them. If I got you once then I definitely can get you again."
His eye twitched. She could see his knuckles turning white. "Oh yeah?"
Oh? One more push?
Katsuko put on a grin and gave him a mocking stare. "I'll clean this whole street by dragging your body like a fucking ragdoll when I'm done with it, weak little Arrancar."
He disappeared.
She waited, her hand gripping her left sword tightly. Breathe. He reappeared above her. "You better watch your mouth, Soul Reaper!" His face looked immensely irritated, teeth gritting and eyebrows pinching above his nose bridge, as he swung down. She was barely able to dodge it. His blow broke the roof they stood on.
When she found her opening, her eyes flashed.
"Gengetsu Reppuu!"
Katsuko swung it across his chest before he could regain his footing. Cloverras gritted his teeth and flash stepped down to the street with Katsuko following after him.
Blood spilled on the concrete and his curses echoed in the deathly quiet night.
"You lied!"
Katsuko's face deadpanned as if to say 'really?'.
"Did I?"
He clearly made that assumption on his own. I just played along.
And why the hell would she spell out her Shikai for him? Who did he think she was? His ally?
She flash stepped behind him and swung her blades at him without giving him time for respite. He was able to dodge the first few swings. She ducked and swiped at his feet with her right. She knew that he would be too cautious to simply jump. He would leap backwards. That's why she immediately pointed her left blade in his direction right after she swung.
He landed. She fired.
"Bakuhou!"
She blasted him right in the chest.
More of blood splattered as his body flew back from the shockwave and harshly slid against the cold ground.
Katsuko narrowed her eyes and started running after him.
Cloverras' expression became one of anger as he held his chest. His blood slipped between his fingers and it bloomed a rose on his white clothes. She got him good. He let her words get to him. That was his mistake. Now, she was making a fool out of him. His own mistake made him tremble with anger and disgust for himself. It reminded him of his status as an Arrancar and the words of those who demeaned him. No. He would take hold of his destiny and change it.
He would prove everyone wrong.
By killing her.
He stabbed his blade into the ground.
Cautious, Katsuko stopped and watched him.
"Crawl." He yelled.
His eyes flashed brighter.
"Largato."
The teen took a step back when he was enveloped in a bright yellow light. His spiritual pressure grew stronger. She gripped her swords tighter when she saw him step out of the light that slowly started to dim away. Her being grew tense. Just what the hell was she looking at? He was wearing this new get up that reminded her of a damn lizard. Lizard Armour? His sword was nowhere in sight. His fingers were replaced with claws that would no doubt tear into her if she wasn't careful.
"Confused?" His tail swished and slammed into the street to break it as if to give a little preview of his new power. The gears in her head were slowly turning. "This is what happens when we release our Zanpakuto. We call it Resurrección; our true power!"
Don't tell me they have their own versions of Shikai and Bankai…
And what the hell is up with this spiritual pressure?!
Katsuko saw him appear on her left. He grinned manically as he swiped his right hand in her direction. "I'll make you regret saying those words, Soul Reaper!" His claws slid against her blades when she swung, creating sparks of friction as she defended herself. The first thing she noticed was the strength behind his attack, it was much stronger than before. That gave her reason to be concerned. His claws slid closer to her face against her sword which she deviated by moving her arms. He swung his other hand at her but she dodged this time by side stepping. But she wasn't expecting his large tail to swing towards her when he twisted his body. She was wide open for that one. It rammed right into her side. Instantly, she could feel pain flaring through her when something sharp tore into her clothes and dragged into her skin. The tail threw her up against a building. Her body broke through a parapet.
Groans escaped her as she rolled against the roof until she finally stopped on her stomach.
Katsuko breathed out a shaky breath.
Sharp scales…
With a wince, she forced herself up, the sound of her blood dripping on the cement available only to her ears. "What is with that form…?" Their type of sword releases gives them a whole new costume with better stats? Is that it?
He suddenly appeared above her. Her eyes narrowed. She forced her body to jump away to dodge his foot that broke the spot where she was.
The girl held her blades in both hands, bearing the pain while watching him carefully.
There was a safe distance between them.
Her eyes widened when she finally realized something.
His wounds are gone!
"That's not fair…" Katsuko growled under her breath.
Just as she was thinking about her next move, all of a sudden, she felt a powerful spiritual pressure coming from somewhere in town. It felt similarly strong like those two Arrancars that showed up the first time.
But Katsuko didn't have time think about it because Cloverras was charging after her.
His body spun in the air as he prepared to whip his tail in her direction. Katsuko could barely find the time to block it. Blocking his tail felt like blocking another blade. It was ridiculously strong. The tail shifted and slide across the surface of her blades to aim for her neck.
This is bad.
Katsuko disappeared.
He was faster.
Stronger.
And even more dangerous.
…
…
…
She was currently hiding inside of an office building behind a desk on the top floor. She had crashed into its windows from his attack.
Her fingers reached up to touch the side of her head.
Wet. Blood. Great.
Katsuko heaved a sigh as she used this time to catch her breath.
The release of Cloverras' Zanpakuto actually spooked her. He was on full offensive while she was on the defensive. There were barely any openings she could exploit. She didn't even dare taunting him again. And now, she was suffering more blows and injuries. The difference between a hot headed Arrancar who didn't use his sword and an Arrancar who used their power against her was evident.
She ripped out the glass shard in her arm.
To put it simply, she was in grade A danger. Maybe S.
I can definitely feel the difference now though.
I'm much stronger than before. I'm surprised.
I… kind of wasn't expecting it.
Pessimistic me.
But still…
Katsuko quietly stared at the windows when she felt everyone's spiritual pressure. Everyone was still fighting. However, she could feel that Rukia's spiritual pressure had weakened earlier so she had no idea what happened to her. There was an unsettling worry for her.
"I'm watching you."
"Be quiet."
She tossed the glass away from her.
Her eyes noticed her hand trembling.
Her eyes squeezed shut.
Okay relax. Don't panic. Don't be scared.
She dropped her hand with a sigh.
Don't be scared but also don't forget it.
Relax and adjust.
Closing her eyes, she leaned her back and took in a deep breath. She'd imagine that Kensei would reprimand her for being careless. He'd wonder why she let herself get hit if she could dodge similar attacks from him. And there was no way she'd let all of that training do nothing for her in this battle.
No matter what, she needed to defeat this Arrancar. There was no other option. She couldn't just pass off this enemy to someone else. They were all busy with their own.
I have to do this somehow…
Once she forcefuly calmed her nerves, she opened her eyes and gripped her Zanpakuto tighter.
I don't see a clear path to win though…
Then, something just came to her. It made her pause and blink. Her hand lifted so that her eyes could stare at the center of her palm. Her mind had suddenly conjured up two specific ideas. Only one of them would work once while the other had to be used wisely.
Silently her body got back up.
It could actually help her win.
The ceiling was shaking.
Her eyes slid up to it.
He was standing on the ceiling.
"Okay." She breathed.
She would only have one chance to do this properly.
Because it won't work again.
Katsuko got into a swinging stance, eying the ceiling above her. She made one little apology in her mind for whoever owned the building before swinging her left blade, throwing a Gengetsu Reppuu into the ceiling. It broke through and covered the top in smoke.
With no way of knowing where he was, she missed the Arrancar, she only forced him up higher in the air. He wasn't going to fall for anymore baits. He was actually going to wait for her and attack. His silver eyes were locked on the smokey ceiling, waiting for a blur of black to jump out.
Instead, all he got was another crescent moon gale flying his way. He moved out of the way to dodge the attack.
Meanwhile, Katsuko had already dashed towards the broken windows. The sound of her breaking more part of windows had the Arrancar appear near her level to claw at her. His move forced her to maneuver in the air to dodge followed by a quick flash step to the ground. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she ran off down the street as fast as she could.
Would it be wishful thinking to run into the subway station and hope he gets hit by one of the trains down there?
She dodged his attacks as best as she could which included stumbles and her almost tripping and landing on her face. The girl could hear him mocking her futile escapes, berating her, threatening to use her as a ragdoll to clean the street. Okay, so maybe egging him on like that wasn't so wise after all…
Katsuko rapidly took a quick turn around the corner. Cloverras followed after her by quickly covering the distance a split second, a gasp escaping from his lungs when a beam of light flashed his way. It was so fast. There was a pause of silence before a booming sound echoed in the night when that powerful ray attacked him.
His body couldn't move for a second. It was numb. He was bleeding on his arms from using them protect himself, sparks of lightning flickered around him. "Lightning…?!" For a second, he felt her spiritual pressure increase significantly just before he got struck by her attack.
Katsuko used her mask for one second for that attack and immediately removed it. It was the same kind of attack she hit Hisagi with, except this felt more instinctive rather than confusing. All she really did was force out the lightning without controlling the output. She darted back the way she came and prepared to swing both her blades. The difference between this attack's effect and the one she used against Hisagi was that this one didn't stun him for too long.
He swung his arm the moment she came within range to catch her by surprise. But she simply shoved her left blade towards him after feigning her attack.
Gyakufuu.
The moment his sword came in contact with her blade, a wind blast exploded from her blade, almost as if returning the impact into her opponent's trajectory. A trick she was learning while fighting with Kensei. It wasn't perfect, but she practiced it enough to make it work in a fight. By concentrating the wind on the surface of her blade, it was prepared to respond to an attack.
The tip of her blade easily sliced his left side. The wind accompanying her blade cut even deeper.
This didn't stop Cloverras from attacking her. In fact, it only spurred him on after he staggered. As he tried to land another slash on her, his eyes noticed that she didn't look as panicked and frightened after enduring the blows he gave her during his release. There was a certain calmness in on her features. Why? It unnerved him. And so, he decided to increase his power as he desired to see that same reaction and mock her for it.
Square blades grew out of his wrists.
Katsuko didn't know how to feel about that disgusting sight.
He shot them at her which she deflected with her swords for a moment.
A gasp came out of her when he suddenly slid in front of her and prepared to swing his new blades at her in her center. She flash stepped away and tried to swing at him from behind. However, he anticipated her attack and grabbed the front of her Shihakusho before she could swing. Her eyes widened when she felt him lift her up and ram her up the side of a building with a laugh.
She groaned from the pain.
Before she knew it, he threw her up into the air with all his might. He might as well be sending her to the moon with that throw. Just as she slid to a stop, a blade pierced her side, the same place where his tail got her.
She grimaced and hissed. Her eyes watched him come after her.
Cloverras laughed at her. "You'll be a porcupine when I'm done with you!"
Katsuko glared at him. She slammed her swords together by the hilt and called upon her Bankai, Arashihoro Saikaza, and her blades turned into her scythe. When the wind around her dispersed, she saw him stand in the air with her and he looked at her new weapon.
"Oh, now it's Bankai? What, two swords weren't enough to get me like you thought?" he sneered. "It's too late for that!"
She rushed at him and slammed her weapon down on his blades that came up to protect himself. His eyes flickered at the power behind her weapon. The Arrancar reappeared behind her and aimed his blade for her neck. Several steps to the side saved her. She repositioned her scythe, spinning with it, aiming to harshly thwack him on his side to make him stumble and open for an attack from a swing coming from below.
But he stopped it with his wrist blades.
"That won't work!" He reeled his other hand back and aimed it at her throat. She shifted her body and tilted the handle to deviate his attack. Their eyes met for a second just as she backed away. The girl back stepped a few steps while spinning on her heel with her weapon while casually bringing up a hand to her face. When she stopped turning, a Hollow mask was there, giving him pause. Then she pounced. Even with eyes wide in shock, he blocked the attack she made with one hand on holding her handle.
It was then that he realized that this is what he felt when she shot lightning at him. Her spiritual pressure increased and felt a bit similar to a Hollow's, like him.
"That's not the power of a Soul Reaper! How did you get that mask?!"
1.
His other hand was thrusted towards her. As a bluff, she created pure spirit energy in her hand to imitate Kido and made a move to shove it in his own after she leaned her head away to avoid his attack. The moment he retracted his hands to dodge, she swung her weapon and slashed him deeply across his chest. Her scythe cut deeper because of Hollowfication.
This mask...
It gave her a great needed boost.
No warning came as she reeled her weapon suddenly and swung again. The amount of strength that came with that blow made him breathe inhale. Even when he absorbed the strength of that blow with his body, he was still resisting the force of her blade.
The Arrancar growled when she didn't answer him. The mere lack of response was the same as not acknowledging his words at all, ignoring him.
2.
He grabbed her handle with his claws.
"Where did you get that power?! Answer me!"
"Stop talking to me." Her voice came out distorted but it carried obvious annoyance. There was no time for her to waste. Seconds were counting down in her head. The element of surprise could only be so effective. She used Bakuhou to jerk them to the side to forcefully have him let go. The Arrancar barely had time to. Instead, he stumbled from the recoil. The effortless victory and future he imagined for himself was gradually getting torn down. He had to deflect the blade he pierced her with because she threw it at him.
She didn't feel any pain anymore.
She felt like she could do anything.
She just felt so strong.
And it almost felt too good.
She was already darting back at him after returning his blade, giving him no time to relax, her scythe ready to strike once more.
With a growl, he recovered his footing and thrusted his right claw while shooting several of his blades. She flash stepped below him, flying upwards while repositiong her scythe.
3.
Cloverras' eyes widened when he saw the wind and lightning swirling on her scythe.
"Gengetsu Reppuu!" She flung the attack at him, catching him basically at point blank range. She heard his scream along with pieces of his gear shattering. White pieces was flying off in different directions from the attack.
4.
With a flick of her hand, she removed her mask. Her eyes widened at the side effects. She could feel the sweat around her head just from the mask exhaustion and strain.
From her spot, she waited, eyes fixated on the cloud of smoke that covered him, waiting for any sign of hostility.
The Arrancar dashed out of the smoke with his armour falling apart, his face bloodied, and hair messed up, her hand gripped her scythe tighter.
Do I put the mask back on…?!
"Fuck!" he yelled loudly, pointing a finger at her. A small red orb was growing in front his finger. Katsuko squinted her eyes. Just what was that? Then she recalled something alike to it. It was like that time when Ishida summoned a Hollow party. The Menos tried shooting down a beam, a blast of red. Meaning, she needed to move her ass. Now! Her body was seconds from getting vaporized by that red beam. It destroyed everything in its trajectory.
She reappeared above him with her Hollow mask.
Cloverras tensed.
Katsuko felt the exhaustion building even more. Her body felt a bit sluggish.
Grit your fucking teeth and just do it!
Her hands properly gripped her handle.
Her scythe was pointing down on him.
Silver eyes widened when he saw the wind and lighting swirling on her weapon.
With a distorted voice, she shouted.
"Bakuhou!"
5.
The blast sent him crashing down.
…
…
…
I'm done.
I can't make another powerful move now. I'm all out.
I'm sure I would have lost without my mask. I was really losing that fight.
Katsuko panted when she finally got back on the street. She was trying to catch her breath while her body was leaning on her scythe to support herself. That last move was it. She squeezed out whatever power she had to attack him. Her Bankai was fine this time. With Urahara's advice, she tried to use her weapon carefully. There was some strain on her body but it wasn't as bad as last time. Her mask was mostly the reason for her exhausted state. She probably couldn't feel most the burden because of that good old adrenaline. The only practice she had with her mask was with Hiyori. When she removed it to conserve time, she already felt the exhaustion piling up. Putting it on the second time doubled it. This was her first time using it in a serious fight. It was different from when she just had to put it on and take it off for the sake of practicing it.
Also, she was able to see how her strength increased when she used the mask. Her Hollow was strong.
I didn't think that lightning would work in Bankai mode… It wasn't like when I first used it in Shikai back in the Soul Society. This was different… it almost felt like an instinct to draw it out.
Katsuko lifted her head to look in front of her. The opponent was lying on the ground meters away from her. He wasn't moving. He wasn't dead. She could feel weak spiritual pressure coming from him. It was just a case of him rendered unconscious.
With a wheeze, Katsuko dropped on her knees while still holding up her scythe.
Her body was tired and her mind was a bit hazy too.
"I… I need to rest…"
Her hands squeezed her scythe.
No. Not yet.
Katsuko forced her body back up. She reverted back to Shikai for now.
If I rest here by myself… I might be an easy target. I should be around the others.
From what she could tell, there was only one more threat nearby. It was the one she felt while fighting Cloverras. Ichigo's spiritual pressure was also coming from that direction. It was also the place where she felt Rukia's spiritual pressure coming from. How was the situation over there? Were they okay? Ichigo was in no condition to fight a deadly battle with that unstable Hollow of his, especially against someone who was similar in power to those two Arrancars. There were only two ways that battle would end: he would either get beaten like last time or the Hollow within him would take over.
The wound on her side was bothering her. It hurt more than she thought. The longer she stared at it the more she wondered if she could do something about it with Kido. Could she try? The last time she used Kido, she had to imagine the results to make it a reality. She could try remembering Rukia's use of Kido help her? She could maybe heal herself a little?
She lifted her hand and focused.
The blue light was stable.
But it started to spark dangerously when she tried to do something with it.
Time to stop.
Okay, no. Let's leave that alone. I might blast myself in the face if I'm not careful.
The use of flash step didn't help her arrive faster because she was slowed down from the effects of her fight's. She was moving on top buildings and houses, trying to hurry over to where Ichigo was. Her head was still hazy, hurting almost, but she did her best to keep moving.
Then, from afar, she saw something in the sky, causing her to stop and stare.
It was Ichigo. He was with that powerful Arrancar.
The Arrancar was downright beating him up without his sword. He landed a whole combo into his chest and mainly his face before lifting his leg and slamming it down on his head. Katsuko grimaced in horror at the sound of him crashing. It brought up a cloud of smoke like as if an explosion went off over there.
Katsuko forced herself to pick up the pace. By the time she got there, Ichigo threw a Getsuga Tenshou at him, wounding him. The girl readied her blades and prepared to strike the moment she saw the Arrancar put a hand on his hilt and began unsheathing it. If he was already doing so much damage with his bare hands, she wanted to keep his sword from unsheathing.
She had to do something just to get him to stop.
Enough! Just stop!
The two noticed her.
The orange haired teen panicked when he saw her. A brief flash of Rukia getting a hand pierced through her appeared in his mind. What if something even worse happened?
"No, wait! Katsuko, stop it!"
However, just as the blue haired Arrancar was about to make a move, a familiar face to them all blocked Katsuko's blade with his own and placed a hand on Grimmjow's shoulder to push him back.
Grimmjow and Katsuko's eyes that had met for a second directed their attention to the man between them.
"Enough."
It was Tousen.
He easily pushed Katsuko back who took wary steps away from them. The girl was ready to defend herself against him. But the defector from the Soul Society simply sheathed his sword and turned to the blue haired Arrancar, leaving her confused. "Sheath your sword, Grimmjow."
The Arrancar obeyed. "Why are you here?!"
"Why… you ask? I think you know."
The ringleader of this whole assault, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, was busted. He was caught by Aizen's commanding officer, Tousen Kaname. He came to retrieve Grimmjow and Cloverras for disobeying their superior's orders and mobilizing Arrancars. The moment Tousen spoke Cloverras' name, Katsuko could feel something back where she left him. It was the same feeling she felt when the two Arrancars left after causing damage. He was escaping to Hueco Mundo.
Katsuko narrowed her eyes suspiciously. So, he showed up without permission either? He probably ran off the moment Tousen showed up.
When the door to their home opened in the sky, Ichigo was quick to protest their departure. He was not having it. It was the same thing. They come and attack and leave without paying for it. But Grimmjow was blunt and told him he still wouldn't stand a chance, his life was only spared because of Tousen's interference.
Ichigo could only watch them leave, once again feeling absolutely defeated from another Arrancar's attack.
He couldn't keep going on like this.
Katsuko stepped on a building and sank to her knees. All the tension and fear she felt finally left her body. She survived the night. She somehow did it. Her Zanpakuto went back into its sealed state while she recalled everything that happened, especially that last moment. She couldn't believe she tried to swing her blade at Grimmjow while knowing full well he could wreck her in a flash.
Desperation. That must have been it.
Katsuko let out a shaky breath. It took a moment to recollect herself. But soon, the silence was filled with her hurried footsteps and the sound of her sheathing her blade. She went over to Ichigo who kept staring up at the sky where Grimmjow was with a frustrated look on his face. It was reminding her of when he fell into a slum. With a wish, she hoped he wouldn't fall down again.
Hesitantly, she reached her hand out to pinch his sleeve, but then he suddenly spoke.
"I can't let it go on like this any longer."
Her hand dropped. Katsuko stared at his face and saw the black receding in his eye. His hand gripped his sword tightly, the chain sounding a light clinking sound.
He wanted to control his Hollow now. He didn't want to waste time on that treadmill any longer. He couldn't waste his time on it when he could be preparing for another assault from the Arrancars. He wasn't like Katsuko, he couldn't be patient like her and follow their methods anymore.
"It might be risky…" she mumbled loud enough for him to hear.
"This has to end or else I won't be able to protect anyone."
Katsuko didn't have a response for that. His feelings was valid. This night just proved that they couldn't believe the Arrancars wouldn't show up again any time soon. Like Shinji said, the enemy doesn't wait.
She spotted a head of red hair walk up to them. It was Renji. His sword was in its Shikai state since he thought the Arrancar would still be present. The difficulty he faced against his own opponent had him concerned for Ichigo. He exchanged a look with Katsuko who just frowned and sighed.
"Did you win?"
Ichigo didn't answer him right away. He lifted his head to look at the sky where Grimmjow once stood, his teeth clenched.
"I lost."
With all dangers confirmed gone, everyone regrouped at Inoue's place where they found Rukia getting healed by the teen. Hitsugaya was already given treatment from her before they arrived. Rangiku was the one who carried Rukia all the way to Inoue. She also offered to relieve some of Inoue's burden by treating Katsuko's injuries with Kido until she finished with Rukia. Yumichika and Ikkaku didn't show up but they could feel their spiritual pressure.
They all learned new information from Hitsugaya who learned it from the one he killed. The ones they fought paled in comparison to the Arrancars ranked above ten, those who possessed more lethal power to kill them. Those ten were referred to as 'Espada'. With the information they had, Ichigo and Katsuko realized that Grimmjow was an Espada, the sixth one. Katsuko's fear was much more reasonable now. It also made her feel like a complete fool for even daring to swing her blade at him.
She basically acted like monkey trying to poke a sleeping lion.
But other than that, there was nothing left to say or do but to simply rest after the battles they had. Orders from the Soul Society would come after Hitsugaya gave his report. Until then, they would wait.
When Katsuko came home, she saw that Aiza was greeting her mother who just came back home. Her mother told her to sleep early after Aiza told her that she ate at Ichigo's house, giving Katsuko the opportunity to slip back in her body when she returned to her room.
Aiza was back inside her plush form. "How did it go with the Arrancars?"
"Bad." Katsuko replied flatly as she finished her homework. "I would have died if it weren't for my Hollow mask. I basically kind of lost that fight. No… I still won because I survived. That's enough." At the end of the day, it's not about fighting honorably or being the undisputable stronger opponent. It's about winning to survive. After all, you can't boast about winning when you're dead. "I can't always rely on the mask though…"
It's still not enough.
It's not reliable for an entire fight...
Aiza's ears lowered. Her little body jumped up to the bed where Katsuko went to sit and hold her head, her little hands grabbed her shirt. "But you trained so hard for several days! You got stronger right?! I know you did!" Katsuko lifted her head, the panic in Aiza's plushy face was valid.
"I know." Katsuko plopped her hand on Aiza's head. "But it's still not enough." If she couldn't do anything against a nearby danger, then what good was she with powers?
Aiza dropped her little arms and fell on her rear with a soft sound. "What are you going to do?"
"If I want to stand a better chance against them, then I have to keep training. That's just how it is. I might still have to ask you to sub in for me at school. Is that okay?" Aiza found it silly that Katsuko always asked her for her permission. After all, the sole purpose of Aiza's existence was to simply inhabit the physical body without question.
For once, Aiza became unusually serious. "That's fine with me. But remember, I can't be you forever. It's your responsibility to come back home, alright?"
Katsuko's gaze softened when she realized the meaning behind her words.
I know that.
There was nothing left to do that night but sleep.
…
…
…
Under the warm sun, we stood together in the quiet garden. Haruki and I had found each other and filled our boring time with each other's presence. Boredom turned into pointless exchange of words until we reached a bridge of where our ideas seem to complement each other's.
From our conversation, understanding budded between us and a wish for the future began to take root in both of is. As if the weather approved of this encounter and our discovery, it swayed his hair gently and made our audience, nature, clap by rustling the leaves.
I smiled and spun around my heel to hop atop a stone. "That is a future I hope is possible. It does benefit everyone." Proudly I stood and faced her. "I would like to avoid a needless headache while I am here."
Haruki chuckled softly at my words.
But our wish would never be realized.
I knew that the moment I saw Haruki bloom red flowers on a sheet of white.
My eyes would burn that sight into my brain forever.
…
…
…
Cloverras Vall Lulloc did not escape Tousen's summoning to Aizen's throne room. Grimmjow already received his punishment and retired to his room by the time he arrived. The current individuals waiting for him were, Tousen, Aizen and Ulquiorra.
Cloverras was a fallen Espada who wanted nothing more but to stand at the top again. Even though he knew full well he was inferior to Hougyoku Arrancars, he couldn't help but wish. That's what drove him to aid Grimmjow in his assault. He had hoped that by killing one of Soul Reapers Yammy and Ulquiorra encounter a few days ago, Aizen would recognize his worth and give him a seat at the table. But standing in front of Aizen made him realize that it was nothing more than unattainable future that he could only admire from below.
"Cloverras. I appreciate your enthusiasm to deal with our enemies for me. However, as I said, I have all the Espadas that I need." Aizen casually told him as the Arrancar looked up at him. There was a hidden message in his words.
Don't do it again. Don't disobey me.
Cloverras lowered his gaze. "I understand. It won't happen again." His fists couldn't help but clench tightly when he remembered the cause of his defeat and his ambitions to shatter. "Aizen-sama, I have something to report from my battle that Ulquiorra did not."
Ulquiorra quietly shifted his eyes to Privaron Espada who looked up at their leader.
"You do? Let's hear it."
"The other Substitute Soul Reaper, the girl… she used a Hollow's mask to fight!" The Hollow mask might as well have made her four times stronger. Why didn't Ulquiorra report that?! If he had known, there was no way she could catch him by surprise.
"A Hollow mask?" Tousen repeated. He was thinking back to the Hollow Chisaki had inside of her. It must be connected to this new information.
"She never used it against Yammy."
"Then she was hiding it from you!" Ulquiorra should have done something to draw it out that day. Now knowing that he didn't meant that he failed to get all the information regarding the humans reapers.
Aizen had been quietly thinking about this. He seemed almost amused. Katsuko was carrying the fruits of his labour. He would hate for them to go unnoticed. He looked at Cloverras with a hand casually held out to him. "I would like you to show us what you saw and felt."
Cloverras stiffened at his words. "… How?"
Aizen set his arm down on the arm rest. "Ulquiorra will do it. That's why I called him here." He answered. He had a feeling that he would learn something new on Katsuko from Cloverras the moment Tousen reported that he fought her.
"Yes, sir."
The Privaron Espada took a step back when the Espada started making his way towards him. He had one hand out of his pockets, ready to use to gouge out Cloverras' eye. Solita Vista was harmless when the user used their own eye. However, the same couldn't be said for others who Ulquiorra took an eye from.
"Don't move."
They would still get their eye back.
But…
Cloverras screamed when Ulquiorra pulled out his left eye. There was no hesitation in the action. He pulled it out as if it was an everyday occurrence. The Privaron Espada screamed as blood dripped out of his empty socket and onto the pristine floor. In horror, his hand shakily went up to the hollow socket to cover it. Perhaps this was his karma for acting on his own accord. He glared at him with repressed violence.
As soon as Ulquiorra crushed his eye, a playback of the fight became apparent to everyone in the room. The memory didn't take as long as the fight to share with the others, only a few seconds were needed to show it all.
Silence was the room when the attention was directed to Aizen who looked pleased with what they saw.
It's progressing faster than I thought.
Gyakufū (逆風): Adverse Wind
This chapter went through a few revisions. It was supposed to involve more Grimmjow and Katsuko until I realized that I would be rushing things. I'm happy with this one.
Here and there, I've been dropping little hints to make sense later...