Chapter 24: Kirara Yamada, High School Student
A bell chimed loudly, echoing throughout the building for everyone to hear. The sound of it put Kirara on edge, and her fingertips dug into her arms as she stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall.
It took everything Kirara had not to rebel against the clothes she wore. The skirt she could live with. The shirt, maybe. But the blazer? It felt like cruel and unusual punishment to wear such a thing. The plaster that was stuck over the bridge of her nose was annoying, and she wanted nothing more than to rip it off.
Worst of all, however, were the shoes and socks she was forced to wear. Kirara had been ready to set something on fire when she'd been presented with the knee-high socks and plain black shoes she'd been given. But she had no choice, if she was going to fit in.
"I hate them all," she hissed under her breath, not truly meaning it. Finally the door beside her slid open, and Kirara pushed herself off the wall as a woman taller than her looked out.
"You can come in now," she told Kirara, who nodded wordlessly. "Alright class. Exciting news!" the teacher clapped her hands as she walked back to her podium with Kirara trailing behind her, trying not to look so reluctant. "We have a new student joining us today! Please introduce yourself," the woman was so chipper, Kirara almost rolled her eyes.
Instead, Kirara looked away from the teacher and scanned the class with her big blue eyes. Most of them were staring at her, both because she was new, and because of her appearance. She hadn't bothered to hide the scar on her chin, and she knew that a lot of them would instantly be speculating that a similar one was hidden under the plaster.
That had been a request from the head teacher, when she had enrolled in Karakura High School. In order to make sure that she wasn't painted a delinquent, he asked for her to hide at least one of the scars. She was just glad most of her other scars weren't visible in this outfit.
In 100 years, Kirara's appearance hadn't been altered very much. Her hair had been cut a little shorter and tidied up so it was less unkempt and spilling from its ponytail, which was still tied up in a very worn blue ribbon.
In the uniform that was identical to the one that every other girl in class was wearing, Kirara blended in almost too well. Especially when compared to some of her new classmates. One young woman was staring at her with brown eyes bigger than Kirara's, with gorgeous burnt-orange hair that fell down her back, clipped out of her face by a pair of pretty blue hairpins. The moment Kirara's eyes met hers, however, she jumped and looked down quickly, as if scared. Kirara almost smirked.
Then there was the massive dark-skinned young man who seemed far more out of place than Kirara did. He had a mop of brown hair that fell over his eyes, and if he had been standing, Kirara knew he would have towered over her.
The one person that Kirara didn't look at, however, she already knew. With bright orange hair that made him stand out even with the other two in the class, he wasn't looking at her either. He had his head in his hand and was looking bored, ready to get the day over with.
She had to admit, the resemblance to Kaien Shiba was uncanny.
"Hey there," Kirara spoke, a smile on her face as she bowed to the class. "I'm Kirara Yamada," she introduced herself as she straightened up, the smile still on her face. "Nice to meet you all," there was a quiet murmur of greetings back at her.
"You can take a seat right there," Ms. Ochi directed Kirara to the empty seat that was near the front.
"Sure," Kirara nodded, walking down between the rows of desks to take a seat. Two seats to her right, Ichigo Kurosaki sat, completely oblivious to her true identity, and from what she could tell, his own.
'Boy is a walking Hollow magnet. How the hell has he survived this long?' Kirara wondered as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end at the prolonged proximity to his Reiatsu. It was spilling out of him, uncontrollable and wild. Up close, he looked like a regular student, and nothing told Kirara otherwise.
She resisted a sigh, keeping her gaze forwards. Kirara didn't dare risk even looking at Ichigo. Not while she was the new student. She could feel multiple sets of eyes on her, and it put her on high alert. After years of being in hiding, it felt wrong to have so much attention on her at once.
So instead, Kirara dutifully played the role of high school student, all while keeping an eye on the strange boy known as Ichigo Kurosaki, with Reiryoku higher than a lot of seated officers that Kirara had known. Something lingered in that pressure, something that had unnerved Kirara the first time she had gotten close to him, and while she wasn't eager to find out, she and the others knew they had to keep an eye on him.
Picking at the edge of the plaster stuck over her nose, Kirara pulled the notebook from her bag as Ms. Ochi began to talk, ready to play the part of dutiful high schooler to perfection.
By the time the lunch bell sounded, Kirara was already thinking about a nap. The classes were tedious and uninteresting, and she struggled to pay attention. Especially as a lot of the class seemed just as bored as she was, finding her much more interesting.
"Welcome, Kirara Yamada!" the shout came from behind her, and Kirara instinctively stepped to the side. A young man with a mop of brown hair crashed to the ground with a cry.
"Do you often try to tackle new students?" she asked, tilting her head as she watched him on the ground.
"He tries to tackle a lot of people," Kirara looked at the shorter young man, who had black hair neatly kept out of his face. "I apologise for Asano," he bowed.
"Mizuiro!" the student Kirara assumed was Asano wailed as he leapt to his feet. "How can you be so cold! I was just trying to give our new classmate a warm welcome!" he pouted. Kirara stuck her pinkie finger in her ear.
"And deafen me at the same time," she complained. Mizuiro smiled as Asano pouted tearfully. "So you are…" Kirara's question made him brighten instantly.
"Keigo Asano," he beamed brightly. "This is Mizuiro Kojima," he introduced the other student, who was on his phone with a disinterested air about him. Kirara liked him already.
"Would you leave her alone, already?" a girl with short black hair called over with an annoyed look on her face. "You're just bothering her, and deafening the rest of us," she complained. A few of the others didn't bother hiding their laughter as Keigo went red.
"It's no problem," Kirara soothed, uncomfortable with how much she was the centre of attention in the room. "Excuse me," she slipped around Keigo quickly, making her way to the door, eager to be away from so many eyes.
It didn't take long for Kirara to find the rooftop, and mercifully there weren't any other students around. As the door closed behind her, she took a long, cleansing breath, and walked over to the high railings at the edge of the rooftop. There, she closed her eyes again and shrugged off her blazer to give herself a small amount of comfort.
Kirara could feel Ichigo's presence without even trying. It was a constant pressure, reminding her of the reason why she was there in the first place, and she whispered a curse under her breath.
They had only been back in Karakura Town a day when Kensei and Love passed close enough by Ichigo to feel that wild, untrained Reiatsu. For just a moment, they had thought it was a Shinigami, but logic pointed out that even new Shinigami learned how to control their Reiatsu output, and no newbie was capable of the sheer power emanating across town.
So curiosity had won out, and the two had carefully traced Ichigo's presence without being seen, and reported back.
"A human?" Hiyori scowled at the very notion after the two explained what they had found.
"You're sure about that?" Shinji asked, standing nearby as he looked thoughtful.
"Of course we're sure," Kensei scowled back, offended. "He's just a kid. Nothing Shinigami about him. Except his looks," he said roughly. Love nodded.
"His looks?" Mashiro cocked her head, not understanding.
"Looks almost identical to Kaien Shiba," they all went still at the name that Love uttered. They knew Kaien well, both for his Shiba name, and his status as a Lieutenant. "For a moment I could have sworn he was him," Love said. He'd frozen the moment he'd laid eyes on the boy.
"It's not him though, right?" Lisa asked.
"Not a chance. He's just a kid," Kensei said, having checked to be sure. "But that Reiatsu is insane. I can't believe no Hollow has gone after him already," he admitted, running a hand over his much shorter silver hair.
"There's something else. Something about his Reiatsu is…off," Love spoke up, glancing at Kensei for a moment.
"Off how?" Rose asked, sat nearby with a worn guitar in his arms.
"No clue," Love's shrug earned him a droll stare from him. "It just was. I think we should keep an eye on this kid," he spoke. Instantly Hiyori spat a series of curses out.
"Keep an eye on a human? You're crazy!" she snapped, instantly against the idea.
"I have to agree with Hiyori," Lisa spoke up, though her voice was much calmer than Hiyori's - not that that was a surprise. "We have our own problems. Why should we risk it to keep an eye on one kid with weird Reiryoku?" she asked. It was blunt, but made sense.
"I think Love is right," she turned to Kirara, who had been sitting quietly by Rose. "If his Reiatsu is really as crazy as they say, then it might draw unwanted attention, yes," Kirara acknowledged Lisa's point as she met her gaze. "But if there's something off about it, then it's worth keeping an eye on him. Especially if he draws certain unwanted attention," she didn't have to specify, as a heavy silence descended on the group.
"I agree with Kirara," she looked over at Hachi, and smiled faintly. He nodded back.
"I do too," Rose lifted his head to smile at the woman sitting near him. Kensei grunted and nodded, while Mashiro gave a thumbs up. Hiyori huffed, but folded her arms, and all of them looked at Shinji. It had basically been unanimous amongst the rest of them to make him their de facto leader.
"So we'll keep an eye on this kid," Shinji had folded his arms as he listened to them. "Question is, how?" he asked, and they all fell quiet again.
"Well…he's a kid, isn't he?" to their surprise, Mashiro was the one to speak up. She cocked her head to the side. "He goes to school, right? Why not just keep an eye on him there?" she suggested. For a long moment, they all stared at her.
"How do we decide who goes?" Lisa asked.
"Draw straws?" Kirara suggested.
"Or perhaps…" Rose started to strum a few notes on his guitar, filling the air with music. "We send someone who is talented at blending in and gathering information," he suggested. It took a second for his words to dawn on Kirara, and by then everyone else was looking at her with looks that said they'd made up their mind. She opened her mouth, but found no words to deny or argue what he'd said.
Kirara's head fell back and she gave a loud, defeated groan.
"You are going to pay for this, Rose," she warned him. Rose just smiled and continued to play his guitar.
Kirara was pulled back to the present by the sound of the bell ringing, signalling the end of lunch. She pulled away from the metal railings, shrugging her blazer on before lightly slapping her cheeks.
"You've got this, Yamada. Just a simple surveillance job," she told herself quietly. "Watch. Nothing will happen, and you can leave as usual," Kirara murmured, heading back to class to resume her act as a high school girl.
The classes after lunch were equally, if not even more boring. Kirara had zoned out almost immediately, completely disinterested in whatever lessons the teachers were giving.
'How humans put up with this tedium is beyond me,' Kirara thought as she packed away her books at the end of the day. 'Even the Academy-' she instantly flinched, cutting off her thoughts to shove them back into the box where they had been kept for a hundred years. She couldn't think about the Soul Society or her former life. Not after everything that had happened.
So instead she steeled herself, headed straight for the door as a few students chatted amongst themselves and planned how they were going to spend their evening. So determined to forget about the past, Kirara almost missed the orange-haired girl who was backing up as she chatted with the black-haired girl from before.
"Whoa," she raised a hand and caught her before she could bump into her. Instantly the girl jumped.
"Ah! So-sorry!" she stammered an apology quickly, backing away from Kirara. She tilted her head, wondering just why the girl was so nervous.
"It's okay. I wasn't looking where I was going either," she said as she managed what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "See you tomorrow," Kirara then waved lightly, headed out the door before she could scare the girl even more.
"What's with her?" Chizuru wondered as she moved to stand with Orihime, hands on her hips. "She doesn't seem too eager to make friends," she considered. Orihime stayed quiet, while Tatsuki frowned.
Kirara made it less than two streets away from the school building before stripping off half of her uniform, leaving just the shirt, ribbon and skirt. If she'd had her way, she'd have burned them, but she knew she had to repeat it all again tomorrow. So instead she shoved the blazer, socks and shoes into her bag and walked.
If she'd really been eager to return to the base that she and the others had claimed as their own long ago, it would have only take a few short minutes to get back. But Kirara instead took her time, walking through the quiet streets and enjoying the peace that surrounded the city.
She passed a small shop surrounded by walls, not looking in as she did. She knew the place well, but unless there was a problem, she had no intention of going near it or its inhabitants.
Finally Kirara came to the industrial district of Karakura Town, which was filled with warehouses. Some of them were in use, while others were abandoned, but Kirara didn't see anyone else around as she reached the largest of the warehouses.
To anyone else, nothing was there. In fact, they would feel compelled to look away and move around it without even realising it. But Kirara could see it, and the massive orange-tinted barrier that completely encased it. She reached out, putting a hand on it, and after a moment a doorway appeared, allowing her to step through.
With that hole in the barrier, Kirara was able to hear the sounds of a guitar, and feel the presence of her friends within. Instantly she found her tense muscles relaxing. The moment she passed through, it closed up again, sealing Kirara inside.
"Why am I not surprised that you couldn't even last a whole day in the full uniform?" the greeting made the smallest of smiles tug at the corner of her mouth. Kirara looked at Rose, who was sitting by one of the windows with his guitar.
"Waiting for me, were you?" she asked. The blond man smiled.
"I wanted to see how your first day of school went," he answered her, stopping his playing just long enough to scribble the notes down in a notebook beside him. "I do hope you at least kept the shoes on. Humans these days don't seem to appreciate the barefoot lifestyle as you do," Rose commented as he looked at Kirara's dishevelled appearance.
"Would you believe me if I said I kept the entire uniform pristine until I left?" she asked, and Rose gave her a probing stare. When he didn't see the usual telltale signs of mischief, surprise won across his face.
"Then I believe that Kensei owes Lisa quite a bit of money," Rose said, and Kirara laughed as he resumed playing. It was an original melody, as it always was with the dreamy man whose hair had only grown in their exile.
"You'd think he'd learn to not bet against her at this point. He's never won," Kirara shook her head. "I'm going to go change. This shirt is awful," she complained, tugging at the red ribbon tied around her neck.
"Don't forget to do your homework," he called after her. Kirara flipped him off, but before she could get to the stairs that led to the upper floors where they'd claimed a cluster of rooms for their own, a sharp wolf whistle carried through the massive stone building. Kirara stopped and slowly turned a tired look on Lisa.
"I knew you'd suit the schoolgirl look well," the taller woman gave a thumbs up.
"This is exactly why I wanted to change before I was unfortunate enough to cross paths with you," Kirara sighed. Lisa smirked.
"Too bad. I've been waiting till you got back," she replied, openly studying Kirara's outfit.
"You really have no right to talk," Kirara gestured to Lisa's outfit. She wore a sailor fuku, with the top just a little too short so her midriff showed when she moved. "This is tame compared to your wardrobe," she said, embarrassed by Lisa's roving gaze.
"Perhaps, but you still wear it well," Lisa said. Her attention then moved just over Kirara's shoulder, and her smirk widened just a fraction. Too embarrassed by Lisa's words, Kirara didn't even notice it. "I give it my seal of approval," she nodded.
"Yeah, yeah," Kirara rolled her eyes. "Enjoy it while you can. I'm going to change so I'm not at the whims of a pervert like you," she took a few steps back before turning to walk away, and froze before she could collide with Shinji.
There was a tense pause for less than a second as she looked up to meet his sharp gaze. It was as impossible to read as ever. Then Kirara looked away, moving around him without a word to continue towards the stairs.
Shinji took in the quietest of breaths, ignoring Lisa and her victorious smile as he kept walking. As he vanished too, Lisa looked over at Rose, who hadn't stopped his playing.
"Don't push it, Lisa," he warned lightly. She just shrugged in response.
Kirara shut the door of her bedroom closed behind her before she dared to let herself breathe. Once she did, she took another, and another, until her heartbeat settled to a normal pace again. Kirara then tossed her bag aside, and threw herself onto the unmade bed to bury herself amongst the stack of pillows. She didn't get a lot of things for her room, but pillows were the one thing she wanted an abundance of.
Before she rolled over, Kirara reached up and pulled the ribbon free from her hair, and moved onto her back to look at the worn blue fabric. Not for the first time, she wondered if she should have gotten rid of it long ago. If she should just get rid of it now.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Kirara's chest grew tight and she clamped her eyes closed.
'I can't…it's too hard to let go,' the words whispered in her mind.
'Do you mean the ribbon?' Kokoro no Kage whispered back. Kirara instantly shoved him out of her mind, refusing to have the same conversation with him that she had been having for a hundred years now.
A hundred years. That's how long it had been since that night they had ceased to be Shinigami. The night that, as far as they were aware, the majority of the Soul Society believed they had died. Sometimes Kirara wondered if they truly had died that night.
But no, that would be too easy. Instead, they were more than just Shinigami, and less than Shinigami at the same time. The darkness that resided in Kirara's soul could never be healed or cured, and she'd long since come to terms with that.
What was harder to come to terms with was putting a stamp on the feelings she had only started to embrace all those decades ago. But Shinji had stepped away first, never truly offering an explanation as he kept his distance from Kirara the moment they had awoken, changed forever.
And Kirara had let him step away, not fighting to stop him.
They remained together as part of a group, but that was it. They rarely spoke. Rarely acknowledged one another unless it was part of a group discussion.
That was their punishment for surviving Aizen's experiments. They couldn't go back to the past, to their lives as Shinigami. As Captains and Lieutenants within the Gotei 13.
They were Vizards, and one day Sosuke Aizen would learn what that meant.
Hope you liked it!