I'm not a killer.
I'm not a killer.
I'm not a killer.
I'm not—
"YOU KILLED HER!"
Katsuko jumped and brought her right hand to her chest. Menoly was screaming something else at her as she flew to what remained of Loly. But the thundering of her own heart was blocking out all the sounds aside from the obvious truth.
Was it a truth?
She didn't want to believe it.
She didn't want to see it.
Why did this happen?
Why?
How could it?!
Katsuko aggressively shook her head. "N-No! I… I didn't!" She denied desperately, denying the obvious taint on her fingers, causing Menoly to sharply look up at her and then suddenly lunge at her.
But she didn't make it far.
A cero vaporized her on the spot.
Much like Loly, all that was left was her upper body, leaving two dead Arrancars in the room.
Frightened by the death, Katsuko took flustered steps away from the two bodies. Her mind was still too shaken up to completely comprehend what happened. Unlike her, whoever did it made a much better job at keeping the room clean. There was no blood. Just a dying scream. While clutching her right hand, she looked at the door and saw Grimmjow lazily holding up his hand, he had fired a Cero.
"Idiots." Grimmjow huffed before sliding his gaze to the only living person in the room other than himself. She was standing there like a deer in headlights, unable to move from her spot as her form shook lightly. The crimson stains on her fingers and the strong scent of iron were ways to discern what took place in the room.
She kept her gaze on Grimmjow as came closer to get a closer look at the two bodies. Oh yeah, there was nothing left off that annoying Arrancar. He sneered at them, mentally giving them an 'I-told-you-so'. He was a man of his word. But, he only did half of the work…
The dropped his blue eyes on her once more and tipped his head. "So, how'd you kill her?"
Kill her?
How'd I kill her?
Her feet moved without her thinking. Grimmjow didn't move when she suddenly clutched his jacket with her tainted hand. Her face was twisted in a panic and her eye showed nothing but pure confusion. Her small weaker hand trembled with how tightly she held the fabric.
"I didn't kill her!" Katsuko spat, raising her other hand to aggressively scratch the side of her head. "She was coming at me with a Cero! I didn't even have a weapon to defend myself! I just had Kido that couldn't do that! She just ended up like that!" She screamed at him, her eye growing wider when the sound of splattering blood echoed and replayed in her mind. Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at her outburst. But he didn't make a move to shove her away from him. A part of him was curious about the way she was displaying her denial so emotionally. It was a first.
Why was she trying to defend herself in front of him?
Did she think he would care?
Her hand then started scratching the damaged eye socket with a pitiful smile. "You could tell I'm too weak to do anything like that! There's just no way!" The more she dug into her left eye, a distorted red rose bloomed on the white bandages.
I'm not a killer.
"Grimmjow!"
I'm not!
"Oi. You're starting to irritate me now." He tried shrugging off her hand. "Get off me."
"I DIDN'T—!" Katsuko stiffened in place. Her eye which seem to search his for an affirmation of her denial now stared at nothing in particular.
They simply rolled up into her skull.
And like a puppet, she collapsed as if she had her strings cut.
…
…
…
School started a few weeks ago.
There wasn't much going on since it was mostly an introduction with slow learning processes. But just with the first few days, we could already see who was going to stand out. I was among those who walked ahead of my classmates, leaving them to watch my back as I will forever stand before them. It was just in my nature to do so.
"Hiragi-san."
A voice sought me out while I was busy staring outside the window. I was hoping to remain undisturbed until class finally started… but I guess not all things go the way you want them to.
Nonchalantly, I turned away from the glass to see an orange haired young man. He was smiling kindly while holding out a paper. He said it was from a teacher. With a quirked brow, I plucked it out of his hands and gave him a side stare. I knew this guy.
Kurosaki Ichigo.
How could I not?
Like me, he stood out among his peers.
And like me, it seemed like he would leave his shadow behind as the only piece of him others could try and touch, forever out of reach because of their inferiority.
And somehow, I was drawn to him.
He looked so… normal.
I found him interesting.
With a mischievous smile, I gave Kurosaki a close eyed smile and set the paper on the wooden surface. "I'm sorry… I don't think we've been properly introduced. You're Kurosaki Ichigo, are you not?"
"That's right. I, like you, knew your name was Hiragi Katsuko." He revealed. Ah. Of course. If I stood out like a star, he would notice me as well.
I chuckled to myself and leaned on my elbows. He just stood there smiling at him out of politeness... Any other of our classmates would properly call him out for being disrespectful if he didn't do the minimum courtesy.
And the last thing I wanted to deal with was complaints from anyone regarding ridiculous greetings. But clearly, I wasn't going to be too worried since Kurosaki Ichigo didn't seem like someone who would be all about status. It seemed like he only cared enough to appear that way in front of others.
That was perfect.
With an innocent grin, I held out my hand for a handshake.
"Hiragi Katsuko. Wanna be friends?"
It wasn't like me to be so forward…
But I wanted to get to know this person…
It could be fun.
Kurosaki Ichigo must have been confused about how I suddenly shot this question. It really came out of nowhere. To be friends with this person that was no more than a stranger ten seconds ago… How odd. But even so, it didn't dissuade Kurosaki Ichigo. In fact, his interest might have been slightly piqued…
"Sure, why not?" He shrugged and shook my hand. "Kurosaki Ichigo." He reintroduced himself with a smile.
That was what started it all.
She passed out for a total of ten minutes.
Immediately, she was being brought to Las Noches' throne room after word got out. She didn't even have time to clean the blood off her hands. She seriously thought she dreamed it all until she saw the blood on the wall, the smell of copper making her want to hurl. Her eye was also fixed again while she slept because of some aids that Grimmjow had to call in.
To be called to stand before Aizen right after…
Katsuko lowered her eye as she obediently followed Grimmjow.
It's over…
He's going to think I killed her…
I didn't kill her.
I'm not a killer.
"… Am I going to die?"
She had to ask.
Grimmjow replied with a scoff. "For that? Doubt it. You'd probably just get a warning or a slap on the wrist for killing a nobody."
She stiffened.
Kill?
Her teeth gritted.
The Soul Reaper clenched her fists and stopped walking, lifting her head to shout at him. "I DIDN'T KILL HER!" She screamed at him, her voice bouncing off the walls around them and carrying off to the ends of the corridor they walked in. Annoyed, he stopped and looked over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. She was screaming her denials at him as if trying to get him to believe she truly didn't kill Loly… or as if to make herself believe she didn't kill her.
He was tired of hearing her yapping pointlessly, causing him to turn back and roughly grab the front of her Shihakusho. Katsuko's eye widened when he brought his face closer to hers.
"Pipe down." He hissed. "You killed and survived. Would you rather have been innocent and dead?"
"But I didn't kill…"
He held her front tighter. He could feel her trembling.
"You lived by the rules of Hueco Mundo. That's just how it is no matter how much you try to deny it. Only the strong survive here. No need to beat yourself up over it." He spat before releasing her with a light shove. "And stop trying to convince me otherwise. It's not going to change what happened. Keep walking." He turned around and kept walking towards the throne room, turning away from Katsuko who fixed the floor.
Her hand lifted, the one with the ring and blood.
God… why?
She dug her face into her bloody hand.
Why did that happen?
Why?
Grimmjow had brutally knocked away the walls of denial she placed around herself to block out the truth.
I killed her.
She felt sick.
…
…
…
Ulquiorra, Gin, and Tousen were present when she arrived with Grimmjow. Aizen was sitting on his throne, patiently awaiting her arrival. She stood there in the center of the room with her head bowed down.
"How are you feeling?"
"…"
"I suppose the reopening of your wound must have silenced you again."
"…"
"It must have been hard to defend yourself without your Zanpakuto. I'm relieved you remembered to use Kido in the end."
That caught her attention.
She peeked at him through her bangs. "… You counted on me using Kido?"
Hearing her finally answer, he smiled and set his cheek on his knuckles. "Of course. Remember what I told you? I know what kind of talents you possess. You just needed a little incentive to wake them up."
Realizing what he meant, Katsuko tore her gaze away from him once more, unable to think about anything other than the fact that Aizen purposely allowed Menoly and Lolly to bully her. She bit her lip. In a way, he was indirectly at fault for getting them killed. That meant he shared the blame... but her hands were the ones stained with blood no matter what she tried to convince herself of. He purposely had her use a power she didn't know she could do. In exchange, she lost a piece of herself. Or at least, she was beginning to lose fragments of it.
That's what she was sure of when she was in Las Noches.
She somehow knew that she was going to lose something.
It wasn't her eye.
It was her morality, a piece of her.
The thing she wanted to respect and keep true.
Aizen had it trampled over, disrespecting her wishes.
There could be more pieces of her she could be losing in this place and she wouldn't even know it…
With a restrained sigh, she covered her bandaged eye with her hand, gripping her bangs in frustration. Losing her eye was just an added burden. This discovery filled her with lividity and she did her best to keep it sealed away in the back of her mind. Nothing good would come from screaming and lashing out. She was at Aizen's mercy... ever since she arrived.
Everything went according to what he planned.
… And yet, she couldn't find it in her to hate him for that either.
"Do not fret about your eye. You can get it fixed."
With a click of her tongue, she looked up at Aizen with incredible annoyance. "How?" She spat with irritation. "Inoue is not here. You got a magician over here?" she gestured with her arm to nowhere specific, attitude dialed up to eleven.
Okay, so maybe she wasn't doing a good job of keeping a lid on her anger.
She couldn't help it! He was saying she could fix her eye as if Inoue was right around the corner!
"As if you would have to stoop so low to ask another person to fix you."
What the hell is wrong with this man?! Can you stop talking like that?! IF YOU GOT SOMETHING TO SAY THEN FUCKING SAY IT!
She dropped her arm and rolled her eye.
"But you might need a little nudge to make that happen. How about you bring back Grimmjow's arm?"
Katsuko and Grimmjow looked at Aizen, confusion painting their faces when he so nonchalantly suggested this. Was he high? Ulquiorra discreetly looked over the two who were at a loss for words. But Katsuko's confusion was overwritten with a scowl as she crossed her arms over her chest to hide her hands. Her body was quick to try and make itself smaller.
Bring back an arm?
How can she do that?
It's impossible.
She's not Inoue.
She can't fix things.
She can only destroy.
And I hate it… I didn't want to become someone like that.
"You're asking the impossible."
"Am I? I believe that you most certainly can. Why do you think Kido is so easy for you? Is a strong affinity truly the sole reason for it?" Aizen's questions made her pause. For the first time, she truly started giving it some more thought. Those questions were very good… why? Doesn't Kido take a lot of practice? Why is it that she can conjure up these things with ease and little practice?
If it wasn't just affinity… then what was it?
His words weighed heavy around her neck.
Aizen could almost see the gears moving in her head.
"Your visualization to create Kido has always been your strongest tool to make it come to fruition."
Katsuko bowed her head as she grinded her teeth together. "You're asking the impossible." She repeated, mildly irritated. "I can't!" She grabbed her head to try and stop the world from spinning beneath her feet. But she couldn't. Now that it was moving, it was out of her control. There was little she could do to stop the world she that Aizen started shaking.
"Only because you haven't started imagining." Aizen shot back, lowering his arm on the armrest. "You can do it. I have the utmost faith in you, Hiragi Katsuko." He spoke in such a kind voice that an outsider could easily mistake him for a sincere individual.
I'm Katsuko…
I'm Hiragi Katsuko.
Katsuko clenched her eye shut.
I haven't even apologized to Jun and Haru for talking to them like that…!
I didn't mean to…
It just came out!
I didn't mean to!
"If you bring back Grimmjow's arm, I will give your Zanpakuto back to you."
…
…
…
In a monitoring room, Aizen and Noctter were watching the fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra. They were seated next to each other. The first looked interested while the last was simply bored with how he rested his cheek against his knuckles on the armrest.
"Sousuuukeeeee, why am I here?" Noctter droned, completely disinterested in the fight. "I thought you needed or wanted to say something. But, here I am, watching this pointless fight. We both know that Ulquiorra is going to win."
Aizen stole a glance at Noctter who jutted out his bottom lip to blow air to make his bangs fly.
"As I've said, I want us to observe this fight."
"Yeah, but for what?"
"Our own benefit."
Noctter paused. He jerked his head and looked at Aizen, perplexed by his reason. What, was there something to benefit from watching this carrot fight? Sure, he might get a laugh or two… but he could be out there doing something else. Maybe he could kill Ichigo in Ulquiorra's stead. Because why the hell was that blank sheet of paper not killing him on the spot? Was he playing around with his food?! Like come on, get on with it!
"Do you remember my Hollowfication experiments?"
"Very much so."
Aizen leaned back in his seat and rested his elbows on the armrest of his chair to intertwine his fingers. "For years, I have created many Hollows for numerous experiments. Many of them ended in failure. But about twenty years ago, I created a specific Hollow that was meant to Hollowfy Soul Reapers. It deviated from my expectations and also exceeded them in different aspects."
Noctter blinked. His cheek came back to rest on his knuckles while he looked at Aizen from the side. "Interesting. How did you create it?"
"With the soul of a Soul Reaper."
"Hmm…" Noctter nodded twice slowly. "I see."
"I called that one White despite its black exterior."
Funny name.
"But there was another that came before it."
Noctter's eyes shifted to the other screens that displayed the intruders of Hueco Mundo. It looked like all of them were moving forward. He could see Renji, Chad and Ishida pointing towards the towers where Ichigo was fighting. They could probably sense him fighting in there. His crystal green eyes shifted to the one displaying Inoue and Rukia. It looked like they were moving together. Knowing that human girl, she was probably begging Rukia to bring her along with her. And that brown haired noble was running and trying to fight off the enemies standing in her path.
"Prototype White."
The black haired Soul Reaper looked back at Aizen.
"It was made using a specific base."
Noctter lazily shot him a quirked brow. "Base?"
"Before using a whole soul, I first started the project by using a fragment of a specific soul." He glanced Noctter's way and met his gaze. "And the Prototype also exceeded my expectations. It became an unforeseen circumstance, something that I could not predict."
…
…
…
Angrily, she roughly tugged off Grimmjow's jacket to reveal his shoulder that was missing the arm attached to it. He glowered at her for her rough treatment, but she couldn't give two pieces of shit as she stared at the shoulder. Her eye then finally looked up to look at his.
This is impossible.
Katsuko slapped her right hand onto his shoulder and started using Kido.
If it weren't for Aizen, Grimmjow would have kicked her already for what she was doing to him. He didn't know whether or be optimistic or pessimistic about this. Could this girl really bring back his arm with Kido? It seemed quite far-fetched.
Seconds passed…
And nothing was happening…
No matter how hard she tried to imagine his arm, it wasn't working.
Reimagining the flesh… remembering Grimmjow's arm from that night… picturing a regular arm…
Nothing.
It only proved her correct.
Aizen was asking for the impossible.
With a scoff, Katsuko landed her gaze on Aizen with a frown. She looked as if as if he was a charlatan handing out fake evangelists pamphlets.
"What did I say? Impossible!"
Aizen blinked and straightened up in his seat, pointing at her. "Are you sure?"
"What the hell…"
Katsuko paused when she heard Grimmjow's voice. She looked back towards him. First, she caught sight of his shocked eyes that were staring at his shoulder. Second, she saw pieces of his flesh… his arm, slowly rebuilding…
His arm was repairing…
Because of Kido.
However, Katsuko couldn't see this as a good thing. No. The only thing she could think about when her Kido was doing something unintended was Loly. The blood splatter and the legs falling to the floor. It made her body freeze for a second but her heart actively pumped faster in her pause, making her body sway lightly.
Stop it!
Katsuko gritted her teeth and tried to stop it.
Stop!
Grimmjow's arm continued repairing, reaching the top of his elbow.
"STOP IT!" Katsuko screamed, wrenching her hand away from Grimmjow. The sudden stop of her Kido created a harmless repulsion that made Grimmjow and herself stumble away from each other. Much like earlier, her body stiffened and she collapsed on her knees like a immobile puppet, but she didn't pass out this time. Instead, she was left panting from the overexertion of Kido. Her body trembled along with the unsteady sways of her body caused by her heartbeat.
Why…
The girl didn't realize that the trembling of her body was partly because of the fear coursing through her body. The fear of the unknown was seeping out of her every time she used Kido… The unknown that potential had the power to destroy or repair…? What was this power? Was Aizen really fully aware of what was sleeping inside of her?
What kind of sick power is this?
Grimmjow stared at her form thoughtfully. If she could fully bring back his arm… then he could get his power back and snatch back his rightful rank. Yes. That could work perfectly. Maybe there was a good reason to be optimistic now.
"That's even better than what I expected. Good work." Aizen praised her while she clenched her fists on the floor. Discreetly, she peeked at him through her bangs that were splayed messily across her eyes. "You will get back your Zanpakuto in no time."
"What… are these talents?!" Katsuko demanded to know with a hiss. She was so fed up with dancing around in Aizen's palm! "What am I doing?!"
The brown haired Soul Reaper smiled a little. There wasn't any reason to hide the answer from her any longer. It's not like she could avoid the fate creeping around her. It was already showing its colours. "It's still Kido." He reassured her. "And it can be a powerful weapon if used correctly and at its full potential. For that reason, the Soul Society imposed restrictions, mainly Central 46, because they are nothing more than old-fashioned and rigid folks who hide in the shadows. That's why certain types of Kido are considered illegal and worthy of imprisonment."
"Illegal…?" Katsuko mumbled. She looked at her right hand, the hand that helped repair Grimmjow's arm. "Regeneration…?" Her guess came out unsure. What was it again? It was somewhere in her brain hiding in the corner… It was literally on the tip of her tongue. What was it called?
"The term you're looking for is time-reversal."
Katsuko stilled.
"Time manipulation, space manipulation, and the sacrifice of self are considered forbidden Kido. A restriction imposed on powerful spells by Central 46." Aizen informed her. "But you wouldn't bend the knee to them. Would you?"
Would I easily bend the knee to their rules?
The rules that restrict power and make us weaker…?
Why would I?
That answer came out without her thinking.
"No."
I wouldn't
Because I'm better than that.
Katsuko slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized how easily she answered that question. There's no way she could confidently answer that question. What the hell did she know about Central 46? Where did she get the right to think of herself above that government? Where was this coming from?
Shakily, she dropped her hand and pressed her palm flat against the pristine floor.
She could see reflection in it. Her eyes squinted when she could see her face filled with uncertainty and a shadow of apprehension. The squinting made the pain in her right eye flare.
Her fingers shakily brushed over the contours of her face on the floor.
What's... really happening to me here?
I'm... still me, right?
…
…
…
"She did what?"
Gin chuckled at Luppi's reaction.
After Aizen dismissed Katsuko and Grimmjow with the task of restoring Grimmjow's arm, Gin walked out of the room aimlessly until he came across Luppi. Oh, he did not waste any time in filling him in on the details of Grimmjow's left arm's inevitable return. Obviously, he knew it would make Luppi angry.
Grimmjow regaining his left arm?
His losing it was the sole reason why Luppi was promoted!
"That girl…" Luppiy gritted his teeth, clenching his hands angrily.
Gin smiled in amusement as Luppi contained his anger. The Soul Reaper put his hands in the opposite sleeves across his chest, giving Luppi a subtle mocking smile before walking off.
"But you didn't hear that from me."
…
…
…
Grimmjow and Katsuko were back in the first's room where they just focused on the restoration of Grimmjow's arm. They were sitting on his bed in silence until Katsuko suddenly stopped and dropped her forehead on his shoulder. All moments when she used powerful Kido was getting to her. But she had no intention of stopping now.
Because she couldn't not do anything.
She was scared of losing another part of her if she didn't do anything. Strange Kido was already leaking out of her.
If she continued restoring Grimmjow's arm, she could learn to somewhat control it and potentially regain her Zanpakuto. She made that clear when Grimmjow asked her if could thought she could truly restore his arm.
But either way, she might just be walking into Aizen's traps no matter what route she chose.
So, she had to choose the one with the highest rate of survival.
She needed her Zanpakuto back.
Grimmjow didn't see any point in rushing her lest she freaking rewinded his arm and entire body to an Adjuchas. Aizen said, time manipulation, did he not? He didn't want to push his luck. He didn't know just what kind of power this girl was hiding within her soul.
For now, he would let her take her time.
Because it was progressing albeit slowly.
He'd get back his rank today.
Patience was a fair exchange.
Katsuko removed her forehead from his shoulder and continued, grasping onto the faint memory of reversal as well as she could while still being terrified of its potential. Mentally, she could only thank Grimmjow for losing patience with her.
At least… I know I'm safe with Grimmjow…
He had no reason to harm her like those two other girls.
And she made his life easier by being an easy prisoner.
The relationship between the two was strangely placid.
"So…" Katsuko sighed while feeling sweat accumulate above her brow. The decision to suddenly talk was to remove Aizen from her thoughts, even if only for a brief moment. "You gonna do something to the current six who stole your spot when you get your arm back…?"
Grimmjow couldn't help the evil smirk creeping on his face. "Most likely. I might just kill him on the spot the next time I cross paths with him." He could already picture different scenarios.
"Oh yeah…?" Katsuko's eye narrowed, focusing on the restoration of his arm more intently. Perhaps talking was a bad idea. It was a little distracting. She looked at him with a weak grin. This was the closest thing to her usual self. "Please don't focus on me when I fix your arm."
Grimmjow silently watched her grin fall and her eye focus back on his hand.
She carried a joking tone as she asked for this indirect favour.
Was she planning on escaping again? That's bold. But it was his duty to watch over Hiragi Katsuko. He'd have to chase her down if she tried running off again… However, he had no intention of getting near an unstable soul capable of freaking deleting something if agitated enough. Loly's leftovers were proof enough.
What Aizen was describing was dangerous.
His fingers were slowly restoring. They shifted a little to test the muscles.
"I never cared about my duty."
As promised, Aizen returned her Zanpakuto when Grimmjow's arm was restored. Tousen was the one to give it to her. The second her fingers touched the sheath, she flash stepped away and made a beeline to the path that Ulquiorra led her through without delay. Back in the throne room, Ulquiorra made a move to go after her until Aizen stopped him.
The apathetic Arrancar looked up at Aizen.
"There's no need to chase her." Aizen pushed himself out of his chair. "She will return here soon enough." He said before walking off, wordlessly dismissing those who were present in the throne room.
…
…
…
She was running.
The distance she covered was more than her first attempt.
Katsuko put her Zanpakuto in its proper place at her waist as she ran. The adrenaline running through her body was fueling her stamina. She was running so fast with the sole intention to escape that she was barely controlling her breathing. It was all over the place.
I'm not staying here a second longer.
Katsuko leaped off the stairs with a reckless jump. Hell, if she could find a damn window then she would make a reckless jump out of it too. Her Zanpakuto could ease her fall after all.
At the bottom of the stairs, she saw a figure step out. Their hand was already on the hilt of their sword as they glared up darkly at her.
It was that guy.
The one who tried to scare her.
The one who freaking touched me…!
Angered by his earlier touch, she growled at ripped out her Zanpakuto from its sheath with her left hand while focusing Kido in her other hand.
"I'll blast you out of my fucking way!" She screamed.
Her sword clashed with his.
...
…
…
She didn't show Luppi any mercy. The pent-up anger from everything that happened to her was released under the guise of her Shikai. He could take his extra limbs and shove them up his ass because they weren't worth shit after she sliced them up with wind.
Katsuko sliced off the section of one of the tentacles with sharp spikes aimed at her. It had Luppiy growling in anger.
Meanwhile, she could only feel a certain thrill every time she sliced off another piece.
"I'll skewer you!"
Katsuko swerved around four tentacles that tried to pierce her. Her right hand shifted her hand around the hilt of her sword before she suddenly pitched it at him with a shout. It shot in between an opening she noticed, piercing him right into his right shoulder. This angered Luppi even more, causing him to use one of his tentacles to pierce her right side which was now open to attack.
He wanted to kill her for what she did.
She struck his face, threw her fork at him… and now dared to restore Grimmjow's arm!
Katsuko created that white spike from her palm and used it to parry off his tentacle.
"Gengetsu Reppu!"
The wind attack flew and hit nothing but the pillar behind Luppi once he used Sonido to escape. In the middle of his Sonido, he ripped out her blade from his shoulder and tossed it on the ground, giving her a clear idea of where he was heading. She darted to the left side with her right hand opened with blue light glowing in its palm.
He nearly missed the maniacal grin on her face right before she slammed her palm into his.
"EAT SHIT!"
The repulse attack slammed his head right into a pillar at full force, knocking him out instantly. She didn't even bother to check if his dome cracked out with that. Her legs brought her to her other blade before darting off down the path to freedom.
Anyone else could step up and try to stop her.
But she would not stop moving forward now that she was moving again.
No one could stop her.
Only herself.
Katsuko…! You're almost out of the fortress! This was the way we came!
I know. Once we're out of there, we're not going back in there! We'll keep running… I'll keep moving no matter what! I need to survive! I can't fall into Aizen's plans!
Katsuko dashed out the gates and made it onto the monotone side of Hueco Mundo.
Because I'm never going to be your damn 'friend'!
Just as she thought of that she felt the whole world around her pause. She could hear static noise. Arashihoro's faint voice was being blocked out by the static. And soon, her body was falling forward and landed on its side. She felt frozen. Disconnected from her own body. Her lips slowly moved as she tried to utter a word. But not even a gasp for breath was able to make it through. The grains of sand pressed on her cheek and hair as she stared at the endless horizon accompanied by a pitch black sky. A colour fitting for what was happening to her vision. It hastened its dominance over her sight until there was nothing left but darkness.
Her fingers were able to dig into the sand, the last clear feeling she felt before getting lost in the dark.
…
…
…
I chuckled to myself and leaned on my elbows. He just stood there smiling at him out of politeness… Any other of our classmates would properly call him out for being disrespectful if he didn't do the minimum courtesy.
And the last thing I wanted to deal with was complaints from anyone regarding ridiculous greetings. But clearly, I wasn't going to be too worried since he didn't seem like someone who would be all about status. In fact, it seemed like he only cared enough to appear that way in front of others.
That was perfect.
With an innocent grin, I held out my hand for a handshake and introduced myself while asking him if he wanted to be friends.
It wasn't like me to be so forward…
But I wanted to get to know this person…
It could be fun.
He must have been confused by how I suddenly shot this question at him. It really came out of nowhere. To be friends with this person that was no more than a stranger ten seconds ago… How odd. But even so, it didn't dissuade him. In fact, his interest might have been slightly piqued…
"Sure, why not?" He shrugged and shook my hand, his dark brown hair that matched his eyes swayed a bit with that simple movement. "Aizen Sousuke." He reintroduced himself with a smile behind his black framed glasses.
That was what started it all.
…
…
…
Noctter's eyes watched the screen attentively.
Ichigo and Ulquiorra were duking it out atop Las Noches under the black sky.
It was a one-sided fight against Ulquiorra's second release, a form that Aizen wasn't aware of and yet didn't seem too shocked by it either. Ichigo was getting absolutely wrecked against it. His Bankai's attire was barely on him. His black sword was still pointed up with determination though. He looked like he was still ready to fight and defeat Ulquiorra the second he found his chance.
Crystal green eyes narrowed in tremendous annoyance.
He couldn't stand to watch this pathetic display.
Aizen turned his head to see Noctter get up from his seat and stride towards the door. He swiveled around in his chair to see Noctter stuff his hands in his pockets. His coat swayed behind him as he walked.
"What's wrong, Noctter?" Aizen spoke, his calm voice reverberating in the silent room. "Do you need to go somewhere?"
"Yeah. I'm feeling irritated." Noctter stopped in his tracks when the door automatically slide open in front of him, making the front of his body bright in contrast to his back which was drenched in darkness of the room. He looked over his shoulder, halving his face in both contrasts. He smirked at Aizen with crystal green eyes that narrowed in amusement. "I've watched enough for my own benefit."
【The Truth Of H-K IV: Echo of Noise】
Ichigo getting worried over the blood on Katsuko's ring. Nah, that's just the blood of her enemies! Dw! :D
I purposely didn't post chapters because I wanted anime onlys reading this story to be aware of 'White' from the recent episode. I even waited for the next day to post it. It also helped me since my schedule was absolute hell for the past weeks (as if it's getting better with Christmas getting close x_x.) Oh, and add writer's block too! Fun, fun, fun!
I see that there are some new guesses in the reviews! There's actually 1 that's pretty close to the answer!
By the way, when chapter 13 came out... there was someone who said "Katsuko is a pretty good study right? What are the odds she'll become a terror with Kido at some point in the future?" I was like... UHHH... no comment ._.
Also, 360+ followers and 100+ reviews? with 280+ favorites? wth I didn't think I'd see those numbers O_O THANK YOU.
Next chapter might or might not reveal the answer (gotta reorganize my ideas...)
Anyway, Merry Christmas! Thank you for reading and I hope you have a nice day/night!