Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach nor the name Kurosaki Masaki. Both belong to Tite Kubo. However, I do own my OC under the name of Mai.
Feedback: Please review, they keep me motivated! Thanks to all my reviewers and alert adders (don't be shy let me know what you think!)
Ligtningblade49: Thanks for reviewing! You'll find out later what happens as a result of Ichigo's training!
AwestruckingAmy123: Arigato!
AN: Just as a reminder, anything Masaki says will either make sense towards the end of the story or be clarified in subsequent sequels. I suppose this is obvious, but nonetheless I wanted to remind you guys. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it!
Edited formatting 2/1/18
Dawn was breaking when Kurotsuchi Mayuri finally arrived at the hospital. His golden eyes gleamed with more annoyance than usual and his mouth was contorted in a thin line and clutched in his hand with an air of distaste was the necklace Masaki had used to travel back into the past. The obsidian butterfly covered in odd markings with an ancient looking key lodged between its feet jangled as the clown like man held in front of him, preparing to deliver his report on the object. The only people gathered before him were Yamamoto, who was standing to his left, hands gripping his wooden cane, and to his right Shunsui, Jūshirō, and Masaki; all of them wore unreadable expressions.
"According to my analysis, this device works in a similar manner to a Senkaimon and a Garganta, allowing the wearer to travel to another dimension. However, instead of simply opening a passageway into another dimension like a Senkaimon or Garganta it amplifies the effect. Meaning this device does not simply open a new dimension. It cuts a passageway through the fabric of dimensions, that is, through space and time itself, which is precisely why she was able to appear here. You see, there are more dimensions than just the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the Human realm. All of these locations are set within one particular all encompassing dimension or universe if you will. These universes are all interrelated, existing alongside each other, which is why the past can exist alongside the present or future. It all depends, of course, on the point of view of the user of the device."
"The markings"— he pointed his left index finger to the closest butterfly wing—"on the wings of the butterfly serve as the coordinate indicators. That is, you can specify what date, hour, and location. The ridges of the key"— he pointed towards the block like teeth at the end of the key— "are used to indicate the year."
"This device had already been programmed for the precise moment when she arrived, so when she attempted to use it without obviously knowing how and merely touching the wings, she inadvertently confused it by giving it wrong directions. And although she managed to get it to function three times, it wouldn't have returned her to her time, because she had only changed the timing within our year and not to her own, 2141."
"But did you manage to fix it, Kurotsuchi?" the sōtaichō asked.
"I managed to reprogram it to her year. However, as I said yesterday, this sort of device requires tremendous energy in order to open such a large interdimensional gateway. Its energy source"— he pointed to the bulb shape that was the handle of the key, lodged between the tiny legs of the butterfly, where something was visible underneath its obsidian surface—"is unlike anything I have ever seen. The results of my analysis indicate that in her travel to our time, a short circuit of energy occurred—apparently Urahara Kisuke failed to correctly calculate how much energy is required to travel 140 years and to keep it stable," he finished with a note of contempt.
"What does this mean?" Jūshirō wondered.
"The short circuit ended up corrupting the energy source, diminishing it. Which means that there isn't enough energy to transport her back to her time," Mayuri explained.
Masaki stiffened, pressing her lips together and knitting her eyebrows.
"But can't you create a new energy source or something?" Shunsui asked.
The Twelfth Division taichō shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The energy source is something I have never seen before, to attempt to replicate it would take a considerable amount of time, if not months, then years to find the right combination of ingredients to yield that same source."
"I see," Yamamoto said.
"What about Urahara Kisuke?" Masaki suddenly said. "He could probably fix it. Where is he?"
"Isn't he in the Soul Society in the real Karakura Town?" Jūshirō asked, glancing at the head of the Gotei 13.
"He was," the older man answered, "except once the fortifications were completed for the town he left, and I have not had any contact with him since his last report."
"So, he's most likely in Rukongai, I suppose," the white-haired man guessed. "I doubt he would try to go to the Seireitei."
"Yamamoto-sōtaichō, may I be allowed passage to the Soul Society to find Urahara Kisuke?" Masaki asked, stepping forward, turning to the right to face the direction where the old man was, and inclining her head.
Before he could answer, Mayuri said irritated, "It doesn't matter if you find him or not, he wouldn't be able to fix it either. I'm telling you that this energy source is completely different from the energy sources currently in existence."
"Kurotsuchi-taichō, I'm grateful for the analysis you have conducted, but perhaps, Urahara-san will know how to create that energy source because he is the one that created it after all," Masaki pointed out, turning her head to the left to stare at the Twelfth Division taichō.
"But you have no idea when he created it, do you?" he retorted. "Or how long it took him to create it? He might have created it, in your year or years from now, when he was able to find the ingredients to create such a substance that are currently unavailable."
"I think Urahara t—san is capable—I mean, shouldn't he be the one to make the verdict after he has seen the device himself?" Masaki said calmly.
Mayuri narrowed his eyes. "If you wish to waste your time looking for him, be my guest, but he is only going to tell you the same thing. And, besides, with what lab is he going to analyze the device? I'm not going to let him use mine," he said, glaring at her.
"You have far too much faith in that man just like your father," he added,disgusted, but then as if remembering something, his eyes brightened. "Ah, yes, I wanted to find a way to instill fear in him after this war was over, but wouldn't it be more interesting to see exactly how much you resemble him, from those genes that gave you that horrid incandescent hair down to every last bit of Reishi."
Masaki narrowed her eyes. "Tou—"
"Kurotsuchi-taichō that was uncalled for," Jūshirō interrupted, placing a hand on the orange haired girl's shoulder, slightly pushing her back towards him, which she did of her own accord, all the while glaring at the clown-faced man.
"Enough," Yamamoto said. "Are you absolutely certain your analysis is correct. Kurotsuchi?"
"Hai," he answered,irritated.
"So, are you going to allow Masaki-chan to find Urahara-san, Yama-jii?" Shunsui wondered.
"There is no point in finding him, Kurotsuchi has just told us that this device cannot be fixed without taking a considerable amount of time," he declared after a slight pause."I'm afraid, we cannot afford to direct our energies to tasks that do not help us stop Aizen. Once the war is over, we could do so, but as it stands now, Kurosaki Masaki, you must remain in this time period. I will allow you to go to the Soul Society to remain in the Seireitei. Seeing as this is not your war, you will not have to participate."
"But,Yamamoto-sōtaichō," Masaki protested, looking past Jūshirō and Shunsui to the First Division taichō. "I can't stay here…"
"Sorry, but you must deal with the consequences of your actions," he said in a gruff tone, "And besides do you wish to endanger the result of this war by distracting us and Urahara Kisuke?"
Silence filled the room, as Masaki froze, contemplating his words.
"No, Yamamoto-sōtaichō, I do not," she finally said quietly, staring at the floor.
"But, are you sure the Soul Society is really safe with the Hollow activity starting to increase there, Yama-jii?" Shunsui asked.
"What exactly did Urahara Kisuke say concerning these altered Hollows? Did he have any idea why Aizen was doing this?" Jūshirō added.
"No, he did not; he was in the process of figuring that out," Yamamoto admitted. "I'm sure he will make contact when he does, however, for the moment the Research Bureau is monitoring the situation. I'm well aware that it appears Aizen has something in mind with the alteration of Hollows. And now with their appearance in the Soul Society, I've decided that several Gotei 13 members will return to the Seireitei to make sure the Soul Society is protected in case Aizen attempts an attack there. I will discuss this in the taichō'smeeting later. Kurosaki Masaki, you will depart with them once the selection has been made, is that understood?"
"Hai, Sōtaichō," she murmured.
"Ukitake, find Komamura and tell him to issue an alert to his division saying that an error was made concerning the Ryoka. I will leave the details up to his discretion."
"Hai," Jūshirō nodded.
"What about the device?" Mayuri asked.
"Return it to her," Yamamoto ordered.
Mayuri extended his hand, the butterfly dangling, as he held the chain in front of him.
Masaki watched him warily as she took a step forward, grasped the butterfly with her right hand, and he released his hold of the chain. Quickly, she pulled the chain away from his grasp and took her place beside Jūshirō, all the while staring at the Twelfth Division taichō with an icy gaze. Slipping the chain over head, she was careful to place the end of it within her robes, hiding the butterfly.
"Very well, this meeting is over," the sōtaichō declared.
Mayuri immediately started walking towards the door, followed by Jūshirō, Shunsui, and Masaki. Once they were out in the hallway, and Mayuri had disappeared out of sight, Shunsui said, "Looks, like he's in bad mood because he couldn't figure out how to fix Urahara's device, which is why he was trying to take out his frustrations on you."
"He's a bad mood? What about me? I'm the one stuck here," Masaki said, annoyed.
"Perhaps, Urahara will be able to fix it, after the war that is," Jūshirō tried to reassure her.
"Kurotsuchi-taichō is a proud man and doesn't like to be compared to Urahara. But you did make a valid point that Urahara is the creator, and maybe he will be able create that energy source that it needs. It might take a little longer than planned, but you'll get back to your time."
"You don't understand Ukitake s—taichō, at the end of this war, fixing my device will be the last thing on everybody's mind," she said, worry filling her voice. "If I ever get back it could be years from when I left."
The two taichō stared at her, concern and sympathy lining their faces.
"So, are you planning on finding Urahara-san once you're in the Soul Society?" Shunsui asked.
"No," Masaki admitted. "The sōtaichō is right. I would just be distracting him; I can't bother him. Besides, I have no idea where he would be. Rukongai is too big to search. I have no choice. I have to stay."
"You know, it might not be years," Shunsui said, looking thoughtful/ "Kurotsuchi-taichō did say that you can specify the date, time, and location, so whenever your device gets fixed, nobody will have ever noticed you were gone."
"That's true," Masaki said, pondering his statement, her worried violet gaze beginning to calm down.
"You should probably get something to eat, Masaki-chan," Jūshirō said, placing a hand on her shoulder as a comforting gesture.
"Uh…" She seemed like she was going to decline, but the white-haired man added, "Don't worry, I'll make sure for Komamura-taichō to extend the message to the fukutaichō."
"Even if you're not hungry, it'll do you some good. You must be really tired of being cooped up here," Shunsui pointed out. "Go on, Masaki-chan, we'll let you know when you'll leave."
Masaki nodded, and Jūshirō dropped his hand away from her shoulder. She began to walk away from them, made a left, and followed the hallway down to where the door to the stairway was located.
She entered the stairway, glancing at the steps below, muttering, "And I thought my life couldn't get any worse..."
Grabbing a hold of the handrail, a pained, angry look came over her features. There was a screech of creaking metal, as the rail started to bend underneath the pressure exerted by her hand. Realizing this, she released her hold.
"Damn it. He isn't going to stay away from me. He never listens…" she continued to mutter to herself, as a worried look came over her features. "He—they're going to notice I'm gone…Taichō be smart, make up an excuse," she pleaded as she began to descend the stairs.
"I'll make it back, somehow," she promised to herself, a grim, resolute look appearing on her face.
Five minutes later, she reached the first floor and carefully glanced to see if anyone was in the vicinity. Seeing no one, she began to walk down the hallway, turning right into another corridor. She was heading towards the cafeteria lost in her thoughts, not even glancing as she passed another hallway where Iba, Shūhei, and Izuru had just appeared. Only when she heard their voices did she stop walking, but by then she had walked a good twenty feet from where they had been standing.
"It's her," Izuru said in a hushed voice. All three of them had stepped out into the hallway where she was standing. They looked somewhat fatigued.
"Who?" Iba's distinct Hiroshima voice traveled up the corridor.
"Kurosaki's daughter," Shūhei replied in a hushed voice.
"How do they know?" Masaki whispered to herself, eyebrows quirking up.
"She's the Seventh Division fukutaichō?" Iba said, surprised, as he took in Masaki's five-foot one frame, her mid-shoulder length vibrant orange hair, and the crescent moon pin grasping the top portion of her hair.
Masaki knitted her eyebrows for an instant, annoyed. Suddenly she turned around, cocking her head to the side, cool, amethyst eyes landing on Iba. "Are you implying I'm not fit enough to be a fukutaichō?"
She has great Reiryoku…taichō class…Shūhei observed.
Before Iba could make a reply, Masaki had turned around, crossed the remaining distance separating them, and stood right in front of him. Tilting her head up, her amethyst gaze peered through Iba's sunglasses.
"He doesn't mean anything by it," Izuru quickly said before Iba could answer. He was standing on Iba's left while Shūhei flanked him on the right.
"Don't answer for him," she said, eyes still locked on Iba's sunglasses covered face.
"Don't mean anythin' by it," Iba agreed. "Just surprised to see that it's true, you're actually the future fukutaichō of my division and Kurosaki's daughter," he explained, eyeing the badge covering her left arm.
She looked at it briefly.
Turning her gaze back to him, she narrowed her eyes, "Do you think I became a fukutaichō because of my last name? Because I didn't… I worked hard to get where I am… I wasn't even a seated officer for years... I know I can take care of the division without my taichō. I did it when he was on leave…"
"Are ya seeing yer better than me?" Iba said, his eyebrows quirking downward over his eyes, lowering his head to get closer to her.
"I'm just saying, I know I can do the job," she said coolly, not moving an inch. "You don't even know me, so don't judge me."
"I'm not judgin'," he retorted.
The future and present Seventh Division fukutaichō continued to stare at each other, making Izuru and Shūhei feel as though they were suddenly in Soul Society witnessing a battle of wills between Nanao and Iba, except this time it was this orange-haired Shinigami.
Izuru glanced at Shūhei urging him to stop this.
Moving away from Iba's side, Shūhei stepped to the side in front of the two Shinigami, placing one hand on Iba's shoulder and the other on Masaki's shoulder. "Oi, you guys..."
"Don't touch me," Masaki snapped, tearing her gaze away from Iba to give Shūhei an icy glare.
He immediately released his brief hold on her, looking a bit taken aback.
"Don't worry, if I didn't hurt him before I'm not going to hurt him now," she said, stepping back away from Iba, her glare disappearing.
Iba's jaw tightened and his mustache bristled.
"So, who's your taichō?" he asked.
"Who's my taichō? That doesn't matter… I'm not a fukutaichō here, you are. So I don't have to worry about reporting to my taichō," she answered.
"What do you mean?" Izuru asked.
"Does that mean Kurotsuchi-taichō was unable to fix yer device and yer staying here?" Iba guessed.
"How do you guys know about who I am and my device?" Masaki asked, a bit of annoyance creeping into her voice. "Only the taichō and the…others know about me."
The three males stared at her, looking like they didn't want to say anything.
"Well, one of Kurosaki's friends told Rangiku-san…" Shūhei explained, after she continued to eye them.
Masaki froze for a minute, then said, "So, let me guess, now all the fukutaichō know about me."
"Hai," Izuru answered.
"So, I'm right?" Iba asked.
Masaki sighed. "For the time being, I'm staying. My device will be fixed after the war. It's more complicated than he thought. I'll be going back to the Soul Society later."
Silence filled the room as they contemplated her words.
"What's your name? I'm Third Division Fukutaichō, Kira Izuru," the blonde introduced himself, realizing that nobody had done the introductions yet.
"I'm Sev—" Masaki bit her tongue—"Kurosaki Masaki."
"Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san," Izuru said politely.
She nodded in kind.
"I'm Iba Tetsuzaemon," the sunglasses wearing man said.
"Ninth Division Fukutaichō, Hisagi Shūhei," the spiky, raven-haired male said.
She merely nodded, acknowledging them as well.
"I'll be going now," she announced after a moment's silence, and they just nodded. Without another word, she turned around, resuming her walk down the hall.
The three fukutaichō were walking behind her, eying each other, but they didn't speak. She suddenly turned right, pushed open the women's restroom door, and entered it. Once inside, she let out a long sigh and went inside a stall and untied her fukutaichō armband, draped it over the door, and took her kosode off. Taking her fukutaichō armband, she wrapped it over her shitagi covered left arm, then grabbed her kosode and slipped it on.
To her absolute horror, Rukia's plan to lie to her friends did not go as planned. Yesterday, she had found Sado and Ishida sitting in the lobby by the hospital's entrance. She had tried to act normally as if the whole incident with Masaki and the Gotei 13 meeting hadn't happened, and they had acted in the same manner, careful not to say anything. They explained to her that they had just come back from their training. When she asked about Inoue's whereabouts, and they said that she was probably visiting Matsumoto-fukutaichō and Hinamori-fukutaichō, which was nothing unusual, she could detect that there was something weird in their expressions, almost as if they weren't really sure where she was.
She ignored it and sure enough, the auburn-haired girl appeared, saying that she had indeed visited them and had ended up taking a nap, explaining why her hair was a bit disarrayed. She continued to ramble in her own unique way when she asked if there was any news regarding Masaki and before Rukia could respond, she congratulated her, prompting a blush and perplexed expression to appear on her face. For a second, she thought she had seen a pained look hidden on Inoue's overly cheerful face, but she wasn't quite sure. She had suspected that Inoue had a crush on Ichigo since she met her, but she figured it had gone away now that they were friends.
Inoue didn't allow her to dwell on those thoughts because she started talking about how she had never seen Ichigo so upset, that it wasn't like him, when Renji arrived catching the last bit of Inoue's words, asking what the substitute Shinigami was upset about. She noticed there was something odd about him, and she briefly caught sight of Third Seat Madarame and Fifth Seat Ayasegawa looking at her from a distance as they passed by heading towards some hallway.
She thought it was weird, and before she knew it, she heard Renji ask if it was due to the intruder, and Inoue nodded, looking somewhat hesitant to elaborate, but she still ended up explaining that Masaki didn't mean any harm. Prompting Renji to ask then what was the big deal, revealing that he knew the truth regarding Masaki.
Rukia had been stunned. She didn't think Nii-sama would tell him anything (She thought he had only told her the information because the sōtaichō had accepted for her and her friends to know). But then it hit her that it couldn't possibly be him, since Renji had arrived from guard duty. It wasn't until after the whole explanation of how Ichigo had reacted that she found out from Renji, once they were alone, that all the fukutaichō and top seated officers (Ikkaku and Yumichika) knew about Masaki. She had to admit it had been a rather awkward conversation.
At first, Renji kept cursing Ichigo's stupidity, calling him an asshole for his reaction, which she secretly agreed with, but nonetheless tried to point out that these were tough times and there was the fact that Masaki had begged Renji not to say anything, which seemed contradictory to her intentions to seek help from a taichō. Then he started saying that if he acted like that when they got together, then he would kick Ichigo's ass. Apparently, he had the sense to know they weren't together. However, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed when he said that. He then said he needed to rest, leaving her to think about the fact that all the important people of the Gotei 13 knew of her future.
No wonder she had thought the fukutaichō were staring at her earlier. They never did that. Why would they? She didn't talk to them. She wondered if they had believed the rumors about her and Ichigo before this news; if they didn't, they probably believed them now. She was well aware that in the Soul Society rumors circulated that she and Ichigo were a couple and that's why he came to save her, but as a Kuchiki she always put a cold face, ignoring those childish stories.
Ichigo would surely find out now; someone was bound to say something. There was nothing she could do to prevent that.
She knew it all been Inoue's fault. She had told Matsumoto-fukutaichō, who was the biggest gossip in the Gotei 13. While she was mad, there was nothing to be done about it now.
She was walking down a hallway headed towards the cafeteria when the women's restroom door opened, and an orange-haired female Shinigami with her hair kept away from her face save for a thin pair of strands that dangled over her forehead and a thicker chin length pair that framed her face, stepped out.
Rukia froze.
Masaki turned, spotting the raven-haired Shinigami.
Violet orbs met amethyst as the women regarded each other. Neither woman said anything for what seemed the longest time.
"Ka—Kuchiki-san," Masaki began.
Rukia's cheeks became pink at her slight slip of tongue, but Masaki continued anyway, "I'm sorry for lying. I just never wanted you to find out about who I really was."
Rukia nodded, eyes roving over the girl as though she wasn't sure she was really seeing what she was seeing.
"Well, I'm not sure if you know already," Masaki admitted, "but I didn't lie about who I was."
"I know," Rukia said quietly, finding her voice. "I understand. But what are you doing here, Masaki? Hasn't Kurotsuchi-taichō fixed your device yet?"
"He couldn't fix it," Masaki admitted in a low voice, sadness flickering across her eyes.
"W-What?" Rukia stammered, shocked.
The orange-haired female proceeded to explain what had occurred earlier, careful to keep her voice low so that only Rukia could hear her in case anyone dropped by.
Rukia stared at her after she had finished, taking a moment to reflect on what the girl had just said.
"So, you're staying here, in this time period?" she asked, knowing the answer.
Masaki merely nodded.
There was another pause before Rukia said, "I think Urahara will be able to fix it."
"I hope so," Masaki replied. "So, what are you doing?"
"Uh, I'm going to the cafeteria," Rukia explained.
"Me too," Masaki said.
"Shall we go then?" Masaki asked, after another brief lapse of silence.
Rukia nodded and fell in step beside the young woman. Out of the corner of her eye, Rukia studied her.
She has Ichigo's skin color and his hair… Her great Reiryoku is obviously because of him...
It's a miracle she doesn't look weird with his hair and my eyes, Rukia mused. Instead, she looks exotic…pretty
Continuing to watch her, she noticed Masaki seemed to hold herself in a graceful, dignified matter, no trace of the shy, nervous girl she had portrayed herself to be.
"Why are you up early?" Masaki spoke, her cool voice, snapping Rukia out of her thoughts.
"I always get up early," Rukia admitted.
"The others won't be there," Masaki said it as a statement more than a question, turning to glance at the petite Shinigami.
Rukia stilled for a moment then said, "No, they won't. They'll probably come later. Actually, I was thinking of heading over there after I finished eating. They're at Ichigo's house."
Masaki didn't say anything just returned to staring ahead; they were almost reaching the cafeteria.
"Ichigo won't be there, though," Rukia said, "He's training."
She still hadn't felt his presence, so she assumed he was still training with the Visored.
"He's having trouble with his Hollow, isn't he?" Masaki said, earning a surprised look from Rukia.
"H-How did you know?" Rukia wondered.
"When he came to help my teammates and me, I noticed his Hollow took over while he was fighting some lowly Arrancar. I was surprised his Hollow came out just for that, but then later on I remembered my father saying he used to have trouble with his Hollow."
"He still has a Hollow?" Rukia asked, looking surprised.
Masaki stared at her, amethyst orbs shining with a bit of surprise, "He does. His powers are intertwined. His Shinigami powers cannot exist without his Hollow powers. He hardly ever Hollowfies, though because there's no need for him to use such power. He usually leaves every month or two to go to the mountains on the outskirts of Rukongai to train using his Hollow powers, so that he won't hurt anyone."
They had reached the cafeteria door. Masaki pulled it open, nodding for Rukia to enter first, which she did and then followed her. The cafeteria was empty save for Hanatarō and Isane, who were standing in the back of the room in front of a table with pots, pans, bowls, and utensils, and Shūhei, Izuru, and Iba, who were sitting in a table toward the front of the room.
"Ohayō, Rukia-san," Hanatarō chirped, trying not to stare at Masaki when the two women came to them.
He knows too, Kotetsu-fukutaichō probably told him, Rukia thought, smiling as though her future daughter wasn't beside her. She knew the other three fukutaichō were staring although they were trying to be discrete about it.
"Ohayō, Kuchiki-san," Isane said, as she grabbed the bowl the Seventh Seat of the Fourth Division handed to her and added something to it before handing it to her.
"Ohayō," Hanatarō said to Masaki, although he wasn't looking at her in the eye.
"Ohayō," she greeted him. "I know you've heard of who I am," Masaki declared.
Rukia, Hanatarō, and Isane stared at her.
"I ran into those three"—she nodded towards the fukutaichō—"and they told me everyone knows. I'm Kurosaki Masaki."
"I'm Yamada Hanatarō," the male Shinigami introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, Masaki-san."
"Fourth Division Fukutaichō, Kotetsu Isane," the tall, silver- haired woman said, a shy, embarrassed smile sweeping across her face.
Rukia and Masaki quickly grabbed their breakfast and settled in a table by the windows, close to where Rukia and the others had sat yesterday.
"Although I was really trying for you, Kuchiki-san, and T—Kurosaki-san to not find out about who I was, looks like everyone knows now," she said, as she started eating. "I suppose it's easier now that I'm staying," she added, after swallowing.
Except Ichigo, Rukia thought. She was not looking forward to that conversation.
"I guess it is," Rukia acknowledged. With Masaki's appearance, people couldn't help but curious. And there was the fact she had been labeled a Ryoka yesterday.
"Gomen that people have to stare at you too," Masaki said.
Rukia was eating, so she didn't say anything.
"It's okay," Rukia said, once she was free to talk. "I'm kinda used to it."
In a sense, it was true. She had been used to whispers and stares ever since the Kuchiki Clan adopted her, but this was something new.
"I've been used to it all my life too. People have stared at me, even before I was born"—Rukia froze, staring at her, but Masaki didn't seem to notice—"I know how I look like…but this is just weird, staring at people that should know you, but they don't…" she admitted, taking another bite.
Poor Masaki.
Rukia wasn't quite sure what to say. Gossip was insignificant compared to having to be in some other time period than your own with people that in a sense regarded you as a stranger while you knew them.
Her parents must be wondering where she is…
If future Ichigo was anything like the Ichigo she knew when it came to protecting his family, he would probably be worried about why his daughter wasn't in the Seireitei. Then another thought struck her.
It must have been awful to hear those words coming from the person that sounds just like your father…
"Gomen nasai about Ichigo," Rukia said quietly.
It was Masaki's turn to stare at her.
"You don't have to apologize for him, and he doesn't need to either. I understand why he would think I was lying;I know it's hard to believe what I said. I know he's mad that I lied to him, especially since I went through the trouble of acting—He's always hated it"—a small smile briefly appeared on her face—"and begged Abarai…fukutaichō not to say anything. The truth is I didn't want him mentioning anything to Komamura-taichō because I figured he wouldn't believe me. I only wanted to talk to Ukitake-taichō and Kyōraku-taichō because they're the most reasonable out of the taichō… Imagine if I had told my story to Oji-sama, er, Kuchiki-taichō he would have probably used Senbonzakura on me."
She's probably right… Oji-sama? Does that mean Nii-sama accepts her as his niece? She doesn't seem bothered by his comment…
As if reading her mind, Masaki said, "I know how he is…I know he didn't approve of my father but he got over it. Everything works out for my parents." Her gaze was focused on the bowl before her, busying herself with getting another chopstickful.
I wonder if she thinks Ichigo and I are together… But, no, surely she must know that didn't happen until after Ichigo came to the Soul Society… She is careful to treat me as though I'm not related to her…
A silence ensued as they continued eating, but then Masaki started asking questions regarding the recent events with Aizen. Kyōraku-taichō appeared after they were finished, sporting his usual lazy grin, as he passed by to get his own breakfast.
"Looks like it's going to be a nice day," Masaki commented, as she stared out the window.
The warm, soft glow of the morning sun was visible; the clouds surrounding it contained an orange yellowish tint.
"Are you going to be training today?" Masaki asked.
"Hai." Rukia nodded. "That's what we've been doing ever since everyone has recovered from their injuries."
"You were watching Inoue and me training, weren't you?" Rukia suddenly realized. "When you saved her."
"I was," Masaki admitted. "I just quickly passed by where the others were training, before stopping to watch you." She seemed a bit embarrassed, suddenly finding the table more interesting, as she rubbed her fingers absently over its surface.
"Arigatō for saving Inoue," Rukia said, smiling gently. "I needed the help."
Masaki looked thoughtful for a moment. "You're welcome, but I don't think you needed the help."
"But how can you say that, Masaki?" Rukia said, surprised. "I was busy with those other Hollows…"
"Hai, but Inoue-san would have been okay," Masaki said confidently. "I think…Kurosaki-san would have saved her…He arrived right after I took care of them. She might have gotten more hurt than she did, but she would have been okay. I just didn't think about it in the moment."
Rukia stared at her, realizing what she was saying.
Turning her head towards the window once more, Masaki said, "You can leave, Kuchiki-san, if you want to get started on today's training with the others. I wouldn't want to keep you from it." She smiled, her gaze landing on the petite Shinigami.
"You're not keeping me from it," Rukia responded. "They're bound to come here anyway; it's just I go over to them for a bit of fresh air. I can't stand being here all night and day…" she trailed off, becoming conscious of the fact Masaki hadn't been out in hours.
"You could come with me, if you'd like," Rukia offered.
Masaki stared at her.
"You could use some fresh air, couldn't you, Masaki?" Rukia said, knowingly.
"I could," she agreed, looking in Shunsui's direction. "I'll just let Kyōraku-taichō know in case the Gotei 13 wonders where I've gone off to."
"It won't take long," Rukia promised.
Kyōraku-taichō readily waved her off, saying she'd be informed if it was her time for departure, and that she should enjoy some fresh air. Their trip to Ichigo's house was done in a comfortable silence; both women simply enjoying the feel of the breeze in their hair. Rukia knew her friends were bound to hear of Masaki staying. There was just no point in hiding it, and, besides Ichigo wasn't going to be there, so she saw no harm in taking Masaki.
Rukia opened the door to the Kurosaki home, beckoning Masaki to enter. The orange-haired girl stepped inside; her expression indifferent as her eyes scanned the room. An empty end table stood beside the entrance, and as she walked down the hallway following Rukia, she couldn't help but notice the room was devoid of any personal items. Rukia explained that all places within the fake town didn't contain personal items, they only physically resembled their real counterparts.
Suddenly at the stop of the stairs, Orihime appeared, clad in her Shihakushō.
"It's Kuchiki-san, Ishida-kun!" she yelled, her eyes widening as they spotted Masaki, who was standing behind Rukia.
Uryū appeared followed by Sado.
"Ohayō," Orihime said, as she began to descend the stairs with the others trailing behind her. "You're…"
"Ohayō, Inoue-san, Ishida-san, Sado-san. I'm Kurosaki Masaki," Masaki introduced herself properly. "My apologies for lying about who I was."
"Oh, you don't have to apologize," Orihime stopped her, as she arrived at the bottom of the stairs to stand in front of the two women. "I understand why you did what you did, but what are you doing here—May I call you Masaki-chan?"
Masaki nodded, launching into the explanation of why she was here.
"Oh, that's too bad, but I'm sure Urahara-san could fix your device, Masaki-chan." Orihime smiled kindly, placing a hand on Masaki's shoulder. "You'll see!"
"I hope he can," Masaki said offering the girl a small, grateful smile that was unlike her overly bright smiles she used to give during her act.
"I'm amazed he was able to create such a device," Uryū said thoughtfully.
"Me too," Sado agreed.
"But if Kurotsuchi couldn't fix, then Urahara-san will probably be able to," Uryū stated.
"We should head back," Rukia said, breaking the silence that had fallen. "You guys must be hungry."
His spirits were high as he jumped from one rooftop to another. It felt damn good to finally know he wasn't losing his soul to his Hollow, that he had indeed finally conquered him or rather forged a truce of sorts with him.
Whether he liked him or not was irrelevant. He knew without a doubt his power was something that was a part of him, something he needed, something that has helped him survive this far just as much if not more than Zangetsu.
Spending the last couple of hours battling his Hollow, learning from him, had been unlike anything he had ever experienced. He had to give the bastard credit he sure knew how to fight.
When he awoke at the Visoreds' warehouse, he hadn't been sure how much time had passed. It had felt like forever, but according to them it had been eighteen hours that he had just lain there motionless. Apparently, he hadn't transformed into a Hollow, just merely gone to his inner world.
Mashiro had been worried that he had died seeing him there motionless; she still seemed a bit shaken due to Hiyori's death he noticed. Hirako wanted to know what happened, and he merely told him, "Arigatō, I'm fine now."
His body was sore as hell, having been laying on that hard ground all this time, but he didn't care. It had been worth it; he had gained a new power.
With a burst of speed, he Shunpoed past several houses, approaching the street where his house was located.
One, two, and there was his house.
He jumped down on the ground. His heart dropped as he saw who was standing in front of his house.
Orihime, Uryū, Sado were standing on the sidewalk in front of his house and right beside Rukia was an orange-haired female Shinigami.
Clenching his hands and scowling, Ichigo shouted, "What the hell is she doing here?"
AN: I know I'm evil, but don't worry it'll be good. At least in my head, it's supposed to be epic. Don't forget to review, so I could find the inspiration to do justice to what I want to happen in the next chapter.
Quick Glossary:
Reishi- spirit particles
Otou-san- father
Reiryoku- spiritual power/ spiritual energy
Kosode- black outer robe of Shinigami uniform
Shitagi white undershirt worn under kosode
Ohayo- good morning
Oji-sama- Uncle
Okaa-san-mother
Shihakushō- Shinigami uniform