"A vaccine?"
"Yes. You will use it on Hiragi-san."
Not long after Rukia and Renji were brought back to the Soul Society on the Captain Commander's orders, Chisaki went to see them after hearing what happened to Katsuko from Mitsuhide. She expressed her desire to participate in saving Katsuko when she saw how they were planning on going back. Together, they escaped from the Soul Society and went to Urahara's place. The owner was expecting some visits when Ichigo's human friends started coming in one by one. All that was left was for Ichigo to arrive.
While others caught up with the situation, Urahara pulled Chisaki aside to inform her of a task he was giving her.
It involved a syringe.
The former Captain delicately held the syringe between his fingers and observed the glowing purple liquid inside.
"The changes in her spiritual pressure during her training here barely gave it away but Hiragi-san's soul is being affected by the Hollow's composition since her soul was being rewritten. "
"What do you mean by composition?"
Urahara tore his eyes away from the syringe to look at Chisaki's eyes which expressed her lack of following. He couldn't blame her for being a little lost.
"To create a Hollow like the one you used to have— the one that Hiragi-san currently has — you need a number of souls cultivated ideally from Soul Reapers. Think of it as a maelstrom of souls swirling to create one entity: the Hollow. Normally, they shouldn't retain singularity. But what is happening to Hiragi-san tells me otherwise."
"An impossibility?" Chisaki frowned deeply. "Are you sure that is what is really happening?"
"Everything else didn't add up. Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." He held up the syringe. "And this should stop what is improbable. However, I can't confidently say it will definitively stop it since I can't make a thorough analysis without her."
Chisaki stepped closer to look at the object. What was this? Her hands gingerly took it from him when he motioned for her to hold it along with the box it was meant to stay in. "You made this? How?"
"After Aizen took her, I took all the data I recorded from Hiragi-san to try and find out what Aizen did. This is meant to isolate her soul, to create a figurative borderline inside of her. You just need to inject it inside of her."
Chisaki bit her lip. Her mind conjured up the image of that child innocently eating her snack and having her destiny completely changed because of one selfish decision. And it was the same selfishness, the wish to keep her alive after everything that happened, that kept her mouth sewn shut about the powers she strangely had.
It was her. She was the one who indirectly caused this.
If had she just chosen to say something then maybe something would have been different.
But there's no point in crying over spilled milk. It's done.
All that was left was the after and what she chose to do now.
The candy shop owner helped her safely put the syringe in its case. "Knowing Aizen, he probably knows who the singularity is. If it progressed far enough, she might not look like herself since she's in her soul form. It might be hard to find her if the presence of her soul has changed as well."
Trying to stop one of the Hollowfied Soul Reapers is not an easy feat. The attempts to get close to pull them away only got them caught in the crossfire. One harsh blow to the side with lightning pitched Chisaki to the ground and might have caused a crater if Chad didn't run with his arms open to catch her.
"Are you okay?"
""M fine… thank you." Chisaki wheezed as Chad helped her stand on her feet. Thankfully, the lightning wasn't too deadly. She got burned and she was bleeding thankfully not too profusely. She grimaced and stared at the scene before her, trying to wrack her brain around a solution that will help them get some form of control over the two.
Chisaki grimaced when she took in Katsuko's form. Her body looked almost the same as that Hollow that clawed its way inside of her that night. There were so frighteningly similar. This sight was never one she thought she'd ever see again outside of her nightmares.
She already informed the others about the syringe before they began their attempts at stopping the two. Eager to put a stop to this, the others began moving without delay. Since the battle was aerial, Inoue and Chad stayed down below to provide support. The rest were focusing on pure offensive measures. The reason for being aerial was that Katsuko was focusing on trying to erase Ichigo from a distance. But he was smart and moving on pure instinct, trying to get to her in the air.
Dividing their manpower and trying to stop the two at the same time wasn't going to work.
Chad and Chisaki looked to the left when they heard Renji and Inoue cry out when they got blown away by the shockwave of Ichigo's sword. Ishida was able to catch Inoue immediately since he was behind her while Renji simply rolled into the sand.
"Damn it, this is crazy!" Gathering his bearings, Renji got back up on his feet and gritted his teeth. It was frustrating. How the hell were they supposed to stop them when they were both making it so damn difficult?! Keeping up with the fight while trying to survive was almost impossible. The two Hollowfied Reapers didn't even seem to care that much about the others trying to stop them. Getting killed in the crossfire was starting to look voluntary at this point.
From below, Rukia tried to freeze Katsuko in the air with Sode No Shirayuki. But Katsuko didn't even have to do anything before Ichigo plowed his way through and launched Getsuga Tenshou, ruthlessly shattering her ice.
Inoue looked behind her and watched worriedly as Ishida stayed inside her healing zone. He was supporting his arm which was barely attached to his body. A moment ago, he suffered a slash from Ichigo's blade and it almost took off his arm. His other arm was well enough to catch her when she got knocked back from the shockwave.
"Ishida-kun..."
"I'll be fine. Just give me a moment."
"How are we supposed to get them under control?!" Renji readied his arm to swing Zabimaru. He was trying to wrap the blades around one of their swords to yank it out of their hand. But they were too chaotic. Instead, his Shikai was suffering damage from the attacks he tried stopping.
If they wanted a better chance at keeping the two of them alive then they needed to limit the damage. The brown haired noble observed the way Ichigo and Katsuko were fighting in the air, trying to kill each other. Logically, the one who could cause more destructive power was Katsuko. The area of effect the lightning could cause would hurt everyone indiscriminately. And she seemed fixed on her goal: killing Ichigo. That was clear.
Chisaki surveyed her allies to see how they were doing. So far, there were no grave wounds aside from Ishida's. Thanks to Inoue and Chisaki's quick thinking in erecting barriers, they were able to limit the damage on their side.
That's the only reason why they were still alive right now. Otherwise, they would just be fish on a chopping board.
Destruction and speed.
Which one had to go first?
Standing upright, Chisaki readied her blade and shouted out to the others to get their attention.
"Focus on Kurosaki-san!"
Renji whipped his head in her direction when she took charge of the battle plan. They were shifting focus on Ichigo? Wasn't that even worse?
"But who's going to keep Katsuko at bay?!" Renji dodged a stray lightning ray. It's as if it was emphasizing the danger of not keeping their attention on her.
"We'll use her attacks to our advantage," Chisaki replied. "It might give us a better chance at restraining Kurosaki-san and stopping him. After that, we can focus on stopping Katsuko as well."
"Do you have any idea how we are supposed to restrain Ichigo?" Rukia asked when she flash stepped out of the stray Getsuga Tenshou's trajectory. She was training to pay attention to the other noble while keeping her life intact.
"I'll use Kido to bind him. Everyone else should focus on making him open for attacks." They could trust her to do her self-assigned task. But it might be tricky with other Soul Reapers nearby. She needed to make sure she didn't get the others wrapped in the binding as well.
A shrieking cry came from Katsuko. It sounded more akin to a groan of frustration though. Getsuga Tenshou had slashed her across the body. Her blood leaked and dripped from the sky. Unlike Ichigo, her regeneration didn't work as fast.
She might be the one to die first.
"Katsuko told me that breaking off the mask stops the Hollowfication." Renji informed them all. He was recalling the way her mask shattered and her explanation whenever she unwillingly Hollowfied, the solution to stopping it was to break the mask.
"Then the same should apply to Ichigo." Rukia concluded. They had nothing else to go on and stop it. Defeating Ichigo was simply out of the question.
"Better than nothing." Chad watched the way Ichigo and Katsuko fought in the air.
Katsuko launched a Cero at Ichigo which he easily avoided and proceeded to slam her down into the ground, kicking up a giant cloud of smoke. A black Getsuga Tenshou chased after her which she avoided by disappearing from the spot she fell in, leaving behind a crater when she disappeared. Her body was enveloped in sparking light and rapidly flew up and behind Ichigo. She faked her attacks by zig-zagging everywhere before violently swinging a giant ray of lightning into him.
Inoue and Ishida flinched at the loud booming noise.
Renji and Rukia looked at each other to exchange looks and then nodded at each other. Chad looked over to Ishida and saw him wave his hand dismissively when he gestured to his healing arm. He was going to make it. He just needed a few seconds. Inoue kept her eyes on Ichigo's figure while holding her arm tightly as if it would bring her some sense of comfort. Her earlier attempts at trying to bring him back to his senses by calling his name didn't change anything which made her feel more helpless.
Renji was the first to act and unleash his Bankai. Rukia jumped up in the air and Ishida copied her. The first wave of attack came from Rukia who used Hakuren the moment she found an opening. But it still isn't enough to cage Ichigo. The cracks in the ice demonstrated just how his physical strength was more than enough. The ice burst and flew in different directions when he roared out, sending waves of his spiritual pressure all over the place, completely chaotic.
Katsuko didn't waste time sending whips of lightning after him. They shot around in hazardous directions as they zeroed in on him. However, he vanished and reappeared behind her mid-swing. The black steel doesn't come in contact when a burst of lightning shockwaves from her body, knocking him away. The next blow is Katsuko's when her shrill cry distorted from Hollowfication accompanied the way she lunged at him and slammed her lightning blade into his body. The blow threw him into a free fall, and the blood coming from his body has Inoue gasping in shock.
Renji pointed his weapon at Ichigo. The snake stretched its jaw and a red light rapidly swelled before shooting off in his direction. As if sensing the annoyance, Ichigo maneuvers around to kick off the sky to head directly towards the redhead. On his body, a white substance bubbled out and closed the wound Katsuko inflicted. At the tip of his horns, a bright red light almost akin to the snake's grows and becomes saturated in an even redder colour.
A Cero.
Ishida appeared behind and above Ichigo and pointed his bow at him, aiming at the horns specifically. As he unleashed a rain of arrows, their Hollowfied friend turned around and aimed Cero at him which completely negated his attack. Ishida dodged the attack, narrowly missing Katsuko who launched herself in the center of the attack with a lightning blade. Her body was covered in lightning that would protect her as she sliced her way through to create a path.
Ichigo reappeared next to her and grabbed her sparking blade with one hand, unfazed.
A strangled scream ripped out of Katsuko's throat when his clawed hand wrapped around it and then proceeded to rip out her throat to silence her. In retaliation, she slashed his hand off with her free arm. The blood splattered against their white bodies. Katsuko's regeneration commenced but Ichigo was already finishing her off by landing a fatal blow across her body. He cut through her mercilessly but her body suddenly lit up and exploded into the lightning, stunning him.
The real body slammed a foot into his head and kicked him down, expelling a broken shriek before a lightning ray shot up in the sky darted down rapidly like a lightning bolt to create a double impact.
Rukia, Renji, Chad, and Ishida all launched their single assaults during his free fall.
But of course, he dodged it all.
And Chisaki took a bet.
"Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro!"
Six thin wide beams suddenly slammed into Ichigo's midsection to restrict his movements and keep him there. But Kido against this feral Hollow would never be enough. She knew he'd find a way to break free somehow. His raw power was too much for Kido to handle.
Which is why she put her faith in another monster.
Rukia and Renji readied their blades when they sensed the pure animosity radiating from his body.
"Naogoma-san!" Ishida shouted.
She pointed her Shikai at Ichigo. A white tendril of light dashed towards him and wrapped itself around his neck. Chisaki flinched when Ichigo roared and shattered the beams with his body, breaking free.
"Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro!" Rukia summoned the same spell to keep Ichigo bonded.
Katsuko was coming.
The brown haired woman pulled back her Zanpakuto with both hands with all her might. Ichigo was yanked downward, putting his face in the trajectory of a giant ray of lightning.
The watery floor started cracking from an unknown pressure.
Sensing the abnormality, the woman of wind looked down and saw only her reflection on the cracked watery floor. The skies were still blue but just a little cloudy to cast shadows. But there was something wrong that was disturbing the equilibrium.
The lightning destroyed most of Ichigo's Hollow mask.
His dazed expression was revealed beneath the mask.
"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue shouted with worry when he was free-falling again. Chisaki released him from the light whip when she felt no more resistance as all the white over his body started falling to pieces. His Hollow hole was immediately sealed from the remnant of his Hollowfied form, returning to him his disheveled human appearance.
Renji breathed in relief when Inoue caught him on his shield while she hurried over to his side. But then his senses as a swordsman suddenly spiked, warning him about his surroundings. Without looking back, he swung his arm to have his wooden snake slither around narrowly guarding against the hazardous lightning rushing past him. Rukia hurriedly stepped in front of Ichigo and Inoue to position herself to do Hakuren.
Immediately, Katsuko stopped in her tracks when a burst of ice encased her inside.
"Now, we have to concentrate on shattering Katsuko's mask." Rukia voiced. She was hoping for the smallest chance that Katsuko would back down once Ichigo no longer posed a threat. But it looked like that wasn't the case. If anything, it only seemed like his vulnerability was getting her excited.
"Let's just hope this is a bit easier." Renji eyed the cracks in the ice that started spreading, foreshadowing her freedom.
"If we can get that vaccine inside her it'll be over." Chad pulled back his arm into position, waiting for a chance to strike.
"We're going have to shatter the mask ourselves though." Ishida pulled back his bow.
Chisaki readied her blade and breathed in deeply to remain calm. They couldn't mess up now. Urahara only had enough time to make one vaccine after gathering data and coming up with his conclusion.
"She hasn't been using Kido at all so let's hope it stays that way."
She couldn't let his efforts go to waste.
She couldn't let Aizen treat her like an experiment anymore.
Safeguarding her life was her responsibility.
Instantly, the ice shattered around Katsuko followed by an outward burst of lightning that ruined the rest of the ice fragments. The air around her was tingling. Her golden eyes narrowed behind the mask.
Everyone around her was standing in her way.
How annoying.
Everyone pounced.
Katsuko just lifted her arm and swung her lightning blade down, aiming at no one but the distance to her right. Ishida and Chisaki stopped their attacks out of caution. A powerful ray flew from the tip of her blade before suddenly turning as if it was attracted to something. Before Chad could make contact with Katsuko, she disappeared and showed up behind Rukia, looming over her smaller figure.
"Rukia!" Renji cried out.
The small noble didn't have time to react to how violently Katsuko kneed her in the guts and kicked her towards the lightning that was suddenly coming for her. Katsuko pointed her blade at her figure and let out a blast of lightning that created a shockwave, knocking back Renji and Chad. From the front and back, Rukia was caught in the impact that sounded a lot like thunder with how it boomed.
Renji flew to her side to fend off any more attacks when he saw Rukia struggling to get her bearings.
Chad punched the ground and caused a ripple that destroyed the firm ground beneath Katsuko's feet. Seeing her stumble, Chisaki lunged at her like a darting light and aimed her steel at her body.
The lightning blade simply blocked hers effortlessly.
Chisaki's expression pinched when she felt her blade getting overpowered. With a firmer grip on her blade, she used her Shikai's light to temporarily blind Katsuko. It made her back off with a roar and she started swinging her sword around haphazardly, causing whips of lightning to fly off in random directions.
Inoue hurriedly made a shield to protect her nearby allies and herself while Renji used flash step to drag Rukia away.
"Uh oh…" Chisaki lowered her blade and lifted her other hand, getting ready to cast more binding spells.
Using her instinct and detection of spiritual pressure, a powerful stroke of lightning was sent flying towards Inoue and Ichigo. She wanted to kill him, to decimate him, to destroy him. Inoue gasped when she realized too late what was coming for her. But even if she had time to protect herself, the attack was simply too fast.
"Bakudo 81: Danku!"
A giant wall was cast in the attack's way, forcing it to collide with a transparent wall. Katsuko growled and Chisaki appeared in front of the invisible wall with a glare once enough smoke cleared. She pointed her blade at Katsuko and made the tip shine brightly to blind her again when she came lunging at her. It was working. Katsuko jumped back and into the air.
From opposite sides, Ishida and Renji's Bankai appeared above her.
"Hikotsu Taihou!"
"Licht Regen!"
Red and blue crashed into her without mercy.
"Naogoma-san! Bind her!" Rukia quickly said as she got up on her own, bearing the pain. After hearing her words, Chisaki quickly flash stepped closer to where the smoke screened Katsuko's free fall. Her mind was ready to cast Sajo Sabaku and Gochutekkan to restrain her long enough to break off her mask if it didn't already, ready for this whole damn thing to be over.
Chisaki got closer to her…
… And a blade flew straight into her gut.
It's the useless blade that doesn't produce lightning piercing her body and slowing her movements until she ultimately crashes on her knees and face first into the ground. Her blue eyes were wide with shock as she registers what happened while ignoring the concerned voices around her, but she doesn't think about herself for too long when she tries feeling around for the box hidden in her clothes.
It's still safe.
She doesn't even get to even think of one thought of relief before Katsuko is at her side and kicking her onto her back and then taking hold of her sword to push it deeper into her body, locking her in place with a groan of pain.
Her blue eyes took in the way her form bled and smoked from those last two attacks.
"I'll… destroy… the lot… of you."
…
…
…
Ichigo's eyes snap open. His eyes capture Rukia and Renji's crash landing just in time. His spot was the closest to him so he could see the way her blood scattered. Her cry of pain immediately had him sitting up to get a better look.
"Rukia! Renji!"
"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue gasped in surprise, startled by his sudden awakening. His Shihakusho was halfway repaired thanks to Inoue's aid. As if just realizing she was next to him, he looked at her in bewilderment. She had several cuts but appeared fine despite the obvious show that she had been through a rough time.
From this angle, he could see more of his allies.
Chad was on one knee supporting his left arm which was completely ruined: black and smoky.
"Chad!"
"You're finally awake." He responded with a huff. But the brown haired human redirected his attention back to the sky.
Renji was also on one knee and glaring up at the sky. There was a large gash on his shoulder.
Up in the sky was a Hollowfied Noctter Grandett surrounded by a maelstrom of lightning. His black hair whipped around from the effects and he looked eerie just standing there with the light highlighting parts of his white body.
Ichigo's eyes widened. "That's… Noctter?!"
"No, that's not Noctter," Inoue spoke regretfully. "That's Hiragi-san."
What?
"What are you saying? That's not Katsuko!"
This was the guy that stabbed Chad in the back, mocked them, and killed him in front of his friends. Were they seriously saying that Noctter, that same guy, was their friend?
"It's her." Chad responded to his confusion.
"We just couldn't see or sense her." Rukia managed to choke out while trying to give herself some minimum healing to reduce the damage.
Chisaki was using her family's seals to close her wounds. She could worry about them later. For now, she needed more strength to get up. "She was becoming someone else because of some soul complications that Urahara explained but–"
Noctter suddenly landed on the ground with a loud thud that broke the ground beneath his feet.
"Damn it…!" Renji stood back up and got his weapon ready to try and defend himself.
At this rate, Noctter, Katsuko, and the Hollow were going to kill them all.
Ichigo steadily pushed himself up to his feet while taking his black sword in his hand. He couldn't believe it. How did she end up like this?
The woman of wind gasped when the watery floor cracked even more.
Silence.
The pieces of the floor were coming undone like glass…
… They were sinking.
The man of lightning lost his footing and rapidly looked down to see his feet sinking into the water.
"What the hell?!" He tried to pull his foot out but quickly started flailing when he was the first to start sinking in. He whipped his head around and saw Katsuko, unconscious, lying on her back while the woman of wind pulled her away from the sinking parts. Arashihoro exchanged looks of confusion and mild panic.
A single hand rose out of the water and firmly slammed the cracking floor as if to pull itself up.
As if a hand was climbing out of the watery grave.
The Hollow form around Noctter suddenly shattered away. The lightning ceased.
His face appeared dazed just like Ichigo's. But the light in his crystal green eyes came back and he blinked several times to properly look at his surroundings. Inoue, Ishida, and Chad tensed when they remembered just what kind of chaos this identity could cause with Kido. It might even be worse than the Hollow since he was more intelligent than some mindless Hollow.
Noctter suddenly threw his head back and slapped a hand over his eyes. His shoulders shook with obvious delight.
His maniacal laughter reverbed around them.
Noctter lowered his hand with his hand still over his eyes. His grin was so stretched wide when he started peeking through his fingers.
But his laughter gradually changed into pathetic laughing… and then into sobbing.
"Ahhhh…!" Noctter screamed in frustration when he shut his eyes, his voice coming out like a distortion of noise. "Why?! Why?! Why can't I stop it?!" He tore his hand away from his face.
Ichigo's face twisted when he felt his heart ache from hearing the pure anguish coming from Noctter's distorted voice.
I can hear her.
This was Katsuko. The echo of the noise from within.
Noctter started backing away clumsily to take in the sight properly. His face became one of utter devastation. Like a lost child, he appeared so scared by his surroundings.
"No, no, no, no!" Noctter screamed, throwing down his Zanpakuto to grip his hair. He bent down and screamed loudly. He started heaving breaths with hiccups and sniffles. "Stop! Stop! I don't wanna kill anyone else! It's killing me!"
I see you.
"Katsuko!" Ichigo called her name amidst the wailing, running to the fallen Zanpakuto to keep it away from Noctter by kicking it away.
He caught her wrists that were clutching her hair tightly, tearing them away to have her look him in the eye. Because of Noctter's height he was looking at her directly in her face. His sword was left pierced in the ground next to them.
"Calm down! You're okay! You'll be okay!"
"I'M NOT!" Screaming, she cut him off with a crack in her voice. "Every time I think I'm in control I take twenty steps backwards and cause more harm than good! I killed you! I'm going to kill all of you!"
She was stressing herself out. She needed to calm down.
"Look at me!" Almost obediently, she looked at him with broken eyes, afraid. He saw it in her eyes. She was too afraid. "I'm still here! I'm right here! We're all here!" Ichigo's louder voice overlapped with her cries and it succeeded in shutting her up for a second while she trembled in his grip. "I won't let you kill anyone else. I swear to you. I told you: I came here to save you! I'm not going anywhere until I get you back!"
But how was he supposed to stop this?
"He's right!" Chad decided to chime in, forcing her to look where he was. He managed to give her thumbs up and smile for her. "We're okay. You're going to be okay. So, hang in there."
"Hiragi-san!" Inoue exclaimed. Her heart was aching to see Katsuko despairing like this.
"Katsuko!" Rukia shouted to have her look her way. Katsuko could see Renji and Rukia expressing determination to fix whatever she was caught up in.
Ishida and Chisaki were looking at her. They could see her clearly now.
"Trust us." Ichigo pleaded, making her eyes look back in front of her.
But her green hues tore away from him in a shameful manner. Katsuko hiccupped and bent her knees as if she would fall on them and collapse. Ichigo bent down to her level to follow her but he started noticing how her wrists were getting smaller. Was it just his imagination?
"Katsuko?"
Her short black hair started becoming ash blond from the roots.
And no, he wasn't imagining it. Her body was getting smaller too.
Just like her usual self.
Suddenly, Chisaki flash stepped behind Katsuko and aimed her hand at the back of her neck, aiming to tackle her. But Katsuko wrenched her arms away from Ichigo and back stepped away from them both. Her hand generated blue light that she threw at Chisaki to send her falling back before backing away to stand at a safer distance.
Ichigo dodged her attempts to attack him with Kido as well, recalling the dangerous Kido Noctter used in their fight. Katsuko fakes going left to right before swiveling past him to snatch her sword off the ground. He copied her and guarded against the steel that pierces the air to stab him, meeting her dark brown eyes that look relatively sane compared to Noctter's.
"Katsuko!" He spoke her name. He was at a loss with about what his next move was. What was happening to her now? How could he bring her back?
Her free hand grabs his black sword tightly, drawing her own blood on it.
"Sorry about that." She suddenly spoke, sounding a little remorseful. Her face looked a little sheepish. "A little interference on my part might have made things worse."
"Interference?" Ichigo repeated, confused. Something was off. The manner of the way she spoke triggered warning bells in his mind, reminding him that Katsuko was not herself. Her spiritual pressure's familiarity was fluctuating and he could sense something foreign. A stranger. "Who the hell are you?" He growled, eyes glaring at her.
Ignoring him, Katsuko simply looked past his figure to smirk at Chisaki. "You look like you have a plan. I suggest you hurry up and do it. I can't hold on to her much longer." She looked at Ichigo again and gave him a grave look. "Don't die. If any of you die, then forget about saving her."
Katsuko wrenched her hand away as if his sword burned her and she backed away.
Aizen set his arms down on the armrests of his chair. His dark brown eyes shifted to another screen that displayed wavelengths of spiritual pressure. He leaned forward and pressed a button that brought out a transparent cube with particles swirling inside.
He opened it and allowed his senses to identify the spiritual power.
There it is.
A smirk came on his face when he recognized the feeling.
Just when he thought things couldn't be even stranger, the impossibility somehow occurs.
Aizen gingerly left his chair and started heading to the exit of the monitoring room. There was nothing more to watch now that he knew the conclusion of this struggle.
All that was left was to join the battlefield with Gin and Tousen where his Arrancars were already fighting the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
Slipping.
"Blast!"
Hands firmly wrapped around a midsection to try and keep a body from sinking into the abyss below. Crystal green eyes surveyed the surroundings and saw how the woman and the Hollow were almost completely submerged into the water. It's not something urgent in comparison to their master sinking.
A Zanpakuto only dies with its Soul Reaper.
As long as Katsuko was still alive then they would be alright.
Shaking the ash blond hair away from his crystal green eyes, he gritted his teeth and did his best to keep her from sinking in the water with a groan. The few seconds he spent warning the girl's allies made him lose grip and almost lose her to the abyss below.
He could not concentrate on keeping Katsuko's current outward self still while trying to save her soul from collapsing. Her inner world was collapsing, sinking. The abyss below would swallow it all and change everything.
With the Hollow gone, the lightning faded. Now, they were dealing with Katsuko who used Kido like Naogoma Shisugu with a normal sealed blade. Her Shikai stopped after her hair became ash blond. Inoue was instructed to focus on the protection while the others were attacking Katsuko to try and find an opening to bind her. Unlike before, there was no concrete goal for Katsuko's attacks. It didn't look like she wanted to kill Ichigo anymore. No, she was simply fighting back, resisting everyone.
The traits that this version of Katsuko displayed were some that a few could recognize. This calm and collected, nonchalant demeanor was similar to Katsuko. Her way of speaking was reminiscent to Shisugu. But this savage somewhat berserk side could not be recognized when she'd jump in the air and slam her sword down on someone to cause an explosion of energy. Most of the time the attacks failed because of shields from Inoue and Chisaki, mostly the first than the last.
After seeing how Inoue was becoming quite troublesome, Katsuko stood high up in the air and gave them all an apathetic look as she stared down, twitching her fingers lightly with her free hand when she itched to use Kido to simply obliterate everyone.
Ishida appears behind her with his bow pointed at her.
"Come on, Hiragi-san. Enough of this!" Ishida shouted to get her attention.
Katsuko calmly looked behind her before suddenly dropping down rapidly after she ceased her stand in the air. Her long ash blond hair fluttered after her while she created a wall similar to Danku to make his arrows stop and shatter.
"Move aside!" Katsuko shouted, swiveling around and shattering the the wall when she burst through it. Her blade was glowing in bright blue. Her body rapidly turned and her sword let out an outward ring of energy. The energy made contact and repelled him, slamming him down to the ground mercilessly.
Her body jerked around in midair when she noticed something coming from behind. It was Renji's snake head with its mouth wide open. It was trying to trap her inside. It wasn't going to be that easy. She used Seki to block the snake and push it back. She flash stepped away and Ichigo followed her. He didn't expect her to suddenly stop in mid air to pivot and lunge at him. Her familiar eyes glared at him while he gritted his teeth when their blades met. Aside from her face, he couldn't recognize her at all. There was no trace of her. He couldn't feel anything familiar from her sword when he clashed with her.
A moment ago, Ichigo was somewhat caught up. Chisaki's brief explanation of Katsuko being affected by an old soul from her Hollow which explained the change, and the syringe. Add that with the odd warning from the stranger within Katsuko made him even more determined to stop her. He wouldn't let her disappear while she was still there underneath it all. He wouldn't let her fears be the last thing she left behind, the fear of hurting people she cared about and becoming someone else.
She was scared. He saw it and he hated seeing her like this.
All this time, she was right in front of him and he couldn't see it, so close yet so far away and out of his reach, slipping through his fingers like sand from an hourglass.
Not this time.
When he saw her try to do something he conjured up the Getsuga Tenshou around his blade, numbing himself to the feeling of harshly throwing her down to the ground with a single stroke.
Before she could land, Chad launched a blast of energy in her direction during her fall.
"Get away!" She roared. Katsuko didn't even flinch and simply pointed her palm at it to create a blue orb that swelled and protected her, repelling the attack back towards him. She reeled back her sword after swiping her hand across the surface, lighting in on fire. With a cry, she violently threw the wave of fire after him which Inoue's shield was quick to protect him against both attacks. But that didn't stop Katsuko from trying to hit him. Instead, she flash stepped past the shield and slammed her blade on the ground, blowing up the space with powerful Kido. Chad flinched and tried backing away but he was blown back when she emitted expanded a pushing force.
"RAAH!" She leaped up in the air and flung her glowing sword at him. A cry of pain came from him when it create an explosion upon impact.
"Chad! Ugh, damn it!"
Her landing was smooth as she slid against the ground while seamlessly picking up her blade and stopped Ichigo's blade with her own. With an irritated frown, she swung back and tried to cut him while he just tried to avoid her hits and guard against them, unwilling to do physical harm if it could be helped. After all, they just needed an opening to pin her down.
"Snap out of it, Katsuko!" Ichigo tried to reason with her, hoping she would at least hear him so that she can try and restrain herself even for just a few seconds.
"Begone!" Katsuko shouted before expending her power to create a force that pushed him back. Ichigo stumbled backwards and stared in confusion as he tried regaining his footing. Just what the hell was that? She didn't even move!
He didn't even have time to ponder it over when he saw her stomp her foot and leap towards him with her blade ready. The black blade covered his center just in time to meet the powerful savage stroke that knocked him back.
Ichigo grunted and slid agaist the floor while she continued coming for him. This time her hand was glowing blue. She was going to use Kido against him. Flash stepping away, he appeared behind her and witnessed how the Kido broke the ground when she tried aiming for his feet.
He waited with his blade ready for her next attack.
Her hand slid upwards as she straightened up which created a jagged dent in the ground that sent a wave of Kido from what remained of the last before she kept moving forward. She wasn't going after Ichigo this time. With flash step, she lunged at the unsuspecting Inoue with a feral grin, glowing her sword blue and raising it high enough to plunge it into the ground, sending waves of spiritual power flowing her way. The healer's eyes widened when she saw the attack coming for her.
"Expire!"
"Inoue!"
Chad ran over to her into a defensive position and used his remaining arm to guard her against the attack. The attack was severe and it carried so much weight that it was actually making his knees buckle. The proximity of the attack caused slashes to appear on different parts of his body, including his ruined right arm. It was too much.
A piece of the attack actually slipped past him and gashed Inoue's arm, evoking a cry of pain from her and forcing her to step back a little.
Not good.
With a grunt, he properly ground his feet and repelled the attack to the left with a roar, sending it flying somewhere else.
Katsuko clicked her tongue in annoyance when she straightened up. "You still stand? Abandon any hope."
"You're not the type to attack someone like that, Katsuko." Chad said, taking his shot at trying to speak some sense into her before Ishida made his next move.
Dodging some arrows, Katsuko grunted when Renji's snake caught her and tried to imprison her in its mouth. That one caught her by surprise. She clumsily caught its upper and lower mouth to keep it from chomping on her all while getting pushed back by its power.
"Of all the…!" Katsuko nearly slipped and fell when the snake accelerated and then suddenly nudged her into the air.
"Stop moving, would ya?!" Renji yelled at her, reeling back his weapon.
She maneuvered around in the air to point her finger, index and thumb towards them all. "Break."
Ishida and Chad stiffened when they felt her spiritual power flare with that pose. Knowing what was coming next, Inoue rapidly prepared her shield for the incoming attack.
"Hado 33: Sokatsui!"
Katsuko deflected her attack by flicking her hand Kido and she looked at Rukia with the most irritated look for interrupting her. The Kuchiki was with the Naogoma, assisting her and trying to cause distractions every now and then.
To get her attention, Ichigo flash stepped behind her and waited for her next move. Pivoting, Katsuko and swung her blade at him which he dodged by sidestepping, and he firmly grabbed her sword arm to restrain her movements. Unfazed, her grip immediately dropped her sword, twisted, and suddenly clamped around Ichigo's arm with an iron grip, surprising him, as it felt like getting caught in a spider's web.
"Ichigo! Keep her still!" Rukia shouted while she and Chisaki moved a bit closer to where they were situated.
"An arm for an arm then."
Katsuko's free left hand created a white blade that shot out from the center of her palm. She firmly held her new sword and raised it high in the air.
She was going to cut off his arm.
With a grunt, he lifted his blade and blocked her Kido blade. But that didn't deter her when she ducked a little and shifted her hand to slide against his blade, still aiming for the arm holding hers. But Ichigo couldn't let go of her yet. If he let go of her now, there was a possibility they wouldn't be able to get a hold of her like this again.
Katsuko could be lost forever.
It sliced deeply into his arm.
Ichigo winced with a grunt and shoved her off a bit without letting go to make her lose her balance.
"Persistent!" Katsuko raised her arm again…
… But then a beam of red shot past them, grazing their sides, and vaporizing her left arm.
It was quick but not painless.
Blood spilled immediately followed by a scream of agony.
Her fingers released his arm in favor of holding the place where she bled. Her head bowed down as she whimpered and tried to contain her screams.
Ichigo turned his head to where the attack came from. It wasn't from any of them. The attack came from afar. It was a Cero. It came from an Arrancar… Why? What was the reason for him to–?
"Bakudo 63: Sajo Sabaku!"
Rukia's clenched her fist and summoned thick ropes of light that caught Katsuko's body, restricting all her movements and making her lose focus and fall out of the sky to crash down. The last time this spell was used on Katsuko proved to be useless when she simply forced herself back up on her feet and broke free with lightning and raw power from Hollowfication.
This time, she was weaker and easier to handle.
With a nimble step, Rukia backed away from her position as Katsuko forced herself to get back up on her feet again. "Naogoma-san!"
After muttering a lengthy incantation, Chisaki finally summoned her long awaited binding Kido. "Bakudo 99: Kin!"
Long black spiritual fabric started appearing out of thin air and wrapped around her, binding her last arm to her back as the fabric stretched out and got pinned to the floor by iron shafts, slamming her down on the ground with a grunt. With her body pinned down, everyone started rushing over to her just in case they needed to keep her down together.
The syringe box flew over Chisaki's shoulder while Chad and Ichigo pushed her upper body down to keep her from moving. The orange haired teen took a handful of Katsuko's hair and held it out of Chisaki's way as she flew to her side and on her knees next to him. Ishida and Inoue tasked themselves with keeping her legs down just in case.
"Get… off… me!"
Ichigo and Chad applied more pressure when they felt her move. The blood on Chad's side spilled even more from her agitation, making him grimace.
The small needle pierced the side of her neck.
Chisaki bit her lip and pushed the liquid into her body smoothly. Ichigo's eyes observed the way the purple fluid seamlessly flowed into his friend. His brown eyes searched her face when she stiffened, eyes wide and teeth bared.
The Inner World shook.
The ash blond haired man jolted in surprise when he saw the watery floor slowly rebuild itself. Arashihoro was forced out of the water and thrown onto the surface as if rejected by the world below. The ash blond haired man saw this and made a move to push her out of the water while he stayed halfway submerged in it.
However, he let out a yelp when he felt himself get forced out of the water as if the abyss was rejecting him too.
Bright light started to shine across the floor to finalize the repairs, sealing the danger below and firmly separating the Inner World from it. No hint of the abyss below appeared now that the bright blue skies reflected on the water in absolute silence.
With Katsuko in his arms, he paused, blinking a few times in, lost.
He could only utter one thing.
"Huh?"
…
…
…
The first real reaction Katsuko had to the vaccine was a shriek that tore its way out of her throat, her voice gurgling as if she was drowning in her own lungs. Everyone jumped at the sound and they backed away when lightning started to flash around her body with the cringeworthy sounds of bones cracking. The shape of her body started getting bumps that would protrude all over and then flatten.
"What's happening to her?!" Chad wondered, extremely concerned as her screams worsened.
Ichigo became alarmed when he saw this and he could only think of those alien horror movies that Keigo once showed him. "Katsuko!" He isn't able to keep her name from flying out of his mouth as another attempt to snap her out of whatever thing she was caught in. He wanted her to respond to her name to show that she was at least resisting.
Chisaki threw the syringe on the ground with trepidation colouring her face. All the worst thoughts started painting in her mind to create one horrific piece: death.
The sound of fabric ripping apart was the telltale of her breaking free, lightning destroying her binds with ease. Once the fabric loosened enough, clumsy desperate movements were made before she flash stepped away and flew up in the air where she thought was safe. The others were getting ready to get her back down until Ishida put out his arm to stop Renji from moving next to him, stopping everyone.
"Wait!"
Under the moonlight, they watched as her arm started growing back when they saw and heard her puke out the same white substance that started her Hollowfication. Everyone dreaded the idea of her Hollowfying again. However, after her arm regenerated she was still freaking out and screaming without changing. They all don't even know what to expect this time. Katsuko went from being a man whose face belonged to a deceased, to a Hollow possessed Soul Reaper and a version of herself with ash blond hair.
As if keeping them in suspense, she suddenly ceased moving in the air and stood limply, staring up at the moon in abrupt silence.
And slowly, she tilted backwards...
... She started plummeting down head first.
Her body was wrapped in a gentle purple light, her clothes and her hair were becoming inked in black.
She was returning to her normal self under the moon as if she was being cleansed from being a lunatic dancing under it.
She had no reaction to her fall. They all saw that she wasn't conscious anymore, she was simply falling.
Ichigo ran a few steps before using flash step to instantly cover the rest of the distance. His arms easily caught her and moved her around and he looked like he was cradling her when he held her properly before flash stepping safely to the ground.
On his knees with his sword next to him, the way he was holding her was reminiscent of the way he did when he first found her soulless body in the park. His eyes took in the shape of her body and quickly noted how she took back her smaller frame. She looked like herself again. He could feel her spiritual pressure.
His eyes and soul told him that it was her.
But he wanted a clearer sign.
"Katsuko. Hey, can you hear me?"
As the remnants of the purple light finally faded, her face twitched after a few seconds of tense silence. And slowly, the eyes he was familiar with fluttered open and stared directly into his when she noticed him. When her gaze found him he didn't expect a sudden exclaim of joy and relief but he was concerned when she had little to no reaction at all.
She felt… okay.
The sensation of something standing behind her, looming over her, waiting to drag her down– the threat to her self– was gone. But the relief that starts to spread from her heart abruptly stops when doubt rapidly became the threads in her skin with fear flooding through them.
What if it was all in her head? What if this was all fake? What if she's actually seeing another memory and mistaking it as reality?
She was scared to ask.
But she wanted to know.
"Ichigo… am I still a part of this world?" She asked him, mumbling, and Ichigo's eyes widened just a little.
And there she is.
Ichigo's body suddenly sagged, relief making him close his eyes with a sigh while bowing his head down low enough for his bangs to tickle her forehead. That simple question that only she could ask in this situation. It was over, right? Thank goodness. He didn't know if she was going to wake up as someone else again. He was so tired of seeing her as stranger. He really just wanted his friend back.
His actions made her freeze and assume the worst. It made her wonder why he fell silent like that. She was worried that he was some sort of puppet that lost its strings. Why?
If this was fake she wanted to get away.
She–
"Yeah. You're still here." He lifted his head and looked at her with a smile of relief for her. It made all her thoughts pause and then they all vanished with her doubts. "You really had me worried there. Are you okay, Katsuko? Any pain?"
For a moment, he twisted his body around to motion his arm to the others, signaling them that it was over. Chad was the first to react when he started running just as Ichigo brought his attention back to her.
He witnessed the way her eyes regained some fire of hope and how her lips parted when she heard his affirmation. She bit her bottom lip and her eyes squinted in a way that made him think she was about to cry. She couldn't even form a proper response to that. Instead, she became honest and let out the first thing she wanted to say.
"I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't want to hurt you... I didn't want to hurt anyone."
Ichigo shook his head and gave her a reassuring look when she looked guilty for all the wrong reasons. "That wasn't you. You didn't do anything worth apologizing for." He started to help her sit up when he felt her move up from his arms. She opted to sit on her knees in front of him.
"But because I learned Kido," she mumbled sadly, holding up a hand and pushing her bangs away from her face absentmindedly. Kido was what killed him. "I'm somewhat responsible, don't you think? If I didn't get so eager to learn... then maybe you wouldn't have died…"
"Maybe. But I didn't see you. You're Hiragi Katsuko, nobody else. I know you. You didn't hurt me." Ichigo insisted. Hiragi Katsuko wasn't someone who would willing hurt the person she cared about. As long as he knew that, there was nothing left to say. "If you're asking me what I think, then I don't think you're responsible. And I rather not think about who to pin the blame on. So, why don't we just leave it at that?"
"... Are you sure?"
Geez, why are you so eager to take the blame?
Ichigo lifted his arm and plopped his hand over her head, gently ruffling her hair, making her squint. He was still smiling and giving her that reassuring look, showing her that he really didn't care about Noctter now that he knew the truth. She saw no lie on his face. "I'm just glad about seeing you safe and yourself again. Nothing else matters to me. Now, back to my first question: are you okay?"
"Oh... yeah. I'm fine." Katsuko's eyes slid away from his face when she looked at the arm that was patting her head. She saw the gash in his arm that was still fresh. Silence cloaked her as she gingerly took hold of his arm to take a better look. Ichigo didn't try to pull his arm away and hide his injury. The way her eyes examined his wound almost made her look like a sad puppy.
"It's really not that bad." Ichigo mentioned before she could say anything after she let a little sigh escape her lips.
"Yeah, but you almost lost an arm again…" It would have been so easy to brush it off as Noctter's fault, but the sight of it just reminded her that he got it trying to save her. It's not the guilt from blaming herself instead it's the one that makes her feel guilty of someone getting hurt for her sake. It's the same feeling she felt during the whole struggle to recover herself.
And as she thought of this, it's all he could see when his light brown eyes were watching her.
His fingers started flexing by opening and closing his fist before pulling back his injured arm to rest it by his side, shrugging his shoulders appearing unbothered by his injury. "I'd get over my loss," she lifted her eyes to look at him again. "But I wouldn't be able to get over what I cost you. You were pretty hard to catch, y'know?"
She was at a loss for words.
Oh.
She stared at him in silence.
Oh, what the hell…!
A single tear escaped her eye. Katsuko shook her head and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. God. What was with these feelings of joy, relief, and gratefulness hitting her so hard? Her sleeve lowered from her face when she realized more tears were coming out. It was suddenly overwriting any feeling she felt about guilt. It was so powerful.
Seeing her her tears made Ichigo stop and stare with softened eyes when he realize that this was actually the first time he was seeing her look raw. There were no pretends to be okay or any quips to brush it off. The feelings were allowed to overflow out of her and make itself known to him. She was allowing him to see this part of her. She simply looked at the spot between them and watched her tears fall with sniffles.
"Sorry."
"Come on, stop saying that word." Like the many times he's cheered up young spirits, he decided to take her hand and hold it to let her know it's okay. "You don't have to apologize for that either." She was allowed to shed more than a few tears after what she went through.
For some reason, this made her laugh a bit because of what she said next,
"Can I say thank you instead? Is that okay?"
Ichigo chuckled and shook her hand lightly before using his other to pat it. "I'd prefer hearing that over another 'sorry'."
It was so much nicer to hear anyway.
Her remaining tears were wiped away with the back of her hand and she gave him a wobbly smile. "Thank you, Ichigo." She held his hand a bit tighter to express her gratitude, remembering everything he said to Noctter in regards to saving her.
Seeing her smile the best way she could made him feel like it was definitive proof that she was here and okay in front of him.
"Jun wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I came back without you." He joked.
"I can actually see him doing that." She huffed.
"Oh yeah, that reminds me."
Abruptly, Ichigo pulled his hand away when he remembered something which Katsuko stared at him for. He was removing something off his pinky. She paused when she remembered what was on his finger this whole time.
"I figured you'd want it back." He held it between his index and thumb, displaying it to her briefly before holding it out to her.
The ring on his pinky was a symbol and a constant reminder of his determination to save Katsuko. He would only give it up when he was sure she was safe with him. And with her sitting in front of him, smiling gratefully as herself there was no better time to relinquish the ownership than now.
A soft smile came on her face when she saw the bloodied ring. It was going to need some cleaning later. Even though the blood was associated to something horrific, she couldn't help but appreciate how Ichigo kept it safe with him as she had hoped.
"Yeah... I was the one who gave it to you. It wasn't Noctter. I wanted it be somewhere safe until I could get back to normal in case Noctter took it off and threw it away." She reached for it and gently took it from him, holding it gently like it was a small treasure.
So, it was her?
When her words sank in, Ichigo thought back to all the times Noctter displayed questionable behaviours. He must have been reverberating Katsuko's self and wishes. His knowledge on video games, healing him, staring at the ring, killing Ulquiorra, it was her. She was fighting her own battle and they didn't know it.
The ring was a source of courage and hope that she'd turn to when she felt scared. It was too precious for it to be lost in Hueco Mundo. Without it, she needed to try and toughen up after entrusting it into his care.
And now, Ichigo was returning it to her after keeping it safe with him.
"Thank you for keeping it safe, Ichigo."
Oh. My. God. (°ロ°) I did it.
It's finally over. THIS KATSUKO-SHISUGU ARC IS OFFICIALLY OVER! I actually can't believe I made it this far. I can't believe this chapter is out.
I'll admit, during intervals of not posting the last 3-4 chapters... my brain was losing track of what scene I was supposed to be at since I had to show different sides of the story while keeping up with the timeline lol. Thank god for my notes.
I was determined to get this prepared on the day Bleach TYBW 2nd Cour starts~ Had it ready three days in advance. And I was going to post this before heading out for the day but I decided to post it after the episode came out! I'll TRY to be consistent and post a chapter every saturday like during the first cour. No promises though. (Not me dozing off near midnight and almost forgetting to post this tho.)
Also, instead of Aizen, Tousen and Gin showing up in Karakura Town, Aizen watched TV instead of being trapped in a ring of fire. Aside from that, everything moves according to the timeline.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you have a nice day/night.