Chapter 25: A Glimpse

Time had always been a confusing concept for Kirara. Back when she had been in the Gotei 13, she had paid little attention to anything save the change of the seasons. Yet now, as a high school student, she found that time managed to both fly and drag.

Attending school everyday was a routine now, mindless and fleeting for Kirara as she followed the same pattern. She would attend school, return home, do homework and then train with her fellow Vizards. She wasn't about to fall behind with that just because she was keeping an eye on Ichigo Kurosaki.

Before she realised it, the first month of her life as a high school student had come and gone, and she was completely settled within that setting. It was second nature by now that when the bell rang, she packed up her things and got ready to leave.

"Give it back!" the flustered, panicked words caught Kirara's attention over the chatter of their classmates. Out of the corner of her eye, Kirara saw one of the boys in her class holding a book in his hand to flick through it. Straining to reach for it was a small girl with brown hair tied back in fluffy pigtails, with one of her green eyes hidden behind her fringe.

"I'm just looking, give me a break," the boy complained, lifting the book higher out of her reach. Her already red face turned redder as panic and embarrassment made her eyes water.

"Please, it's mine!" she pleaded, reaching up for it again.

"What's the problem? You should-" before the boy could finish, the book vanished from his hands. "What?" he blinked rapidly, now finding himself looking at Kirara, who had gently pushed the smaller girl behind her.

"She asked for it back. It's rude to ignore a lady's request," she said coldly, and for a moment his face reddened.

"Why you-" he stopped, as if something in the back of his mind warned him not to cross the strange new student who had a cold look in her eyes as she stared him down without an ounce of fear. Then he became aware of the other students having fallen quiet around them. With a scoff, he shoved past Kirara, bumping her shoulder as he did, but he found that it hurt him more than it hurt her.

"Here you go," Kirara turned and pressed the book into the girl's hands. She stared up at Kirara, tears still lingering in the corners of her eyes.

"T-thank you," she managed to say quietly. Kirara smiled, and shrugged the strap of her bag further onto her shoulder, and without another word left the room.

"Yo, Kirara!" she was only halfway down the hallway when the shout carried after her. She looked around at the call of her name, seeing the short-haired girl she now knew as Tatsuki jogging after her with a grin on her face. "We're gonna grab some food and hang out before heading home. You in?" she invited.

For a moment, Kirara was surprised by the offer. While she had started to talk more with her classmates, even having a few fleeting conversations with Ichigo, she had never been invited to hang out after class. It was unexpected, to say the least. Especially since Tatsuki's best friend, Orihime, had seemed terrified of her when she had first joined the class.

"Sure," Kirara answered before she realised. She then grinned. "I've got nowhere else to be," she said.

"Great!" Tatsuki was pleased by her answer. "Orihime, come on," she called to her best friend. Kirara looked over, meeting the gaze of the timid girl who reminded her a little of Haruki.

"S-sure!" Orihime nodded after a second, and Kirara had to fight a laugh. She might not have been terrified of Kirara anymore, but she hadn't completely warmed up to her yet.

The three walked together, with Kirara happy to listen to the pair talking as she wondered just why Tatsuki had invited her to join them. Especially since Orihime was still a little nervous around her.

"That was pretty impressive, standing up for Arai like that," Tatsuki suddenly addressed Kirara as they left the school, with Tatsuki leading the way.

"I don't like bullies," Kirara answered simply. Her blood had boiled when she'd seen the boy teasing her like that. He was lucky she had remembered that she was in school, and that most schoolgirls didn't usually use martial arts to beat the hell out of bullies.

"It was still impressive," Tatsuki said, admiration in her eyes as Kirara glanced at her. On her other side, Orihime was smiling too. It was more relaxed than before now.

"I didn't do it to impress people," Kirara shrugged, a little embarrassed by it. She didn't like attention on her, especially nowadays.

"So where did you go to school before here?" sensing her discomfort, Tatsuki changed the subject. Kirara bit her lip.

"Oh, uh…I've been all over the place, to be honest," she replied with a weak smile. She hadn't quite expected anyone to ask about her past. With the plaster permanently across her nose and the scar on her chin, some of the other students had already labelled her a delinquent. Those outside of their class kept their distance from her, as if they expected her to start picking fights.

"Travelled a lot, huh?" Tatsuki sounded sympathetic.

"A lot is an understatement," Kirara's words were quiet, and Tatsuki and Orihime exchanged curious looks. Then Tatsuki shook her head, and elbowed Kirara lightly.

"Come on. We'll show you the best noodle place in town," she said with a grin.

"The best, huh?" Kirara managed a smile, trying to remind herself that she was supposed to be a kid herself.

"It is!" to her surprise, Orihime piped up. Her smile was dazzling; she was going to grow to be a true beauty, Kirara could tell. "They do amazing dishes, and even let you pick your own toppings. You should try the pickles and peanut butter!" Kirara blinked, unsure if she had heard her right.

"I'll warn you now. Orihime is amazing at a lot of things, but her food choices are just plain weird," Tatsuki stressed. Orihime just smiled, seeming oblivious to what she meant. "Pickles and peanut butter is one of her tamer concoctions," she said.

"Pickles…and…" Kirara burst out laughing. It was a cathartic laugh, as a weight lifted from her shoulders. She then grinned at the pair as they watched her, both pleased that they had gotten such a reaction from her. "You know what? I'll give that a try next time, yeah?" she said. Tatsuki blanched as Orihime beamed.

"You're braver than anyone else I know," Tatsuki said simply. "Or maybe stupider," she amended. Kirara grinned at her; a devious smile that made her eyes sparkle, and something told Tatsuki that this was the true Kirara she was finally seeing.

"I'm going to go with both," she said honestly. Tatsuki grinned at her.

"Then you're going to fit in great here," she replied.

The sun was setting by the time Kirara finally arrived back at the warehouse, her stomach full and a grin still on her face even as she stepped past the barrier and felt the clashing Reiatsu beneath her feet.

"You're late," Rose spoke in his attempt to sound stern, standing a short distance away. Kirara glanced over at the man, who wore a black suit with a ruffled white shirt. It suited him far too well.

"Sorry, mother," Kirara grinned at him, and his eyebrows lifted just a little.

"You're in a good mood," he noted. "Just where did you go gallivanting off to this evening?" Rose asked as Kirara passed him to head up to her room.

"Two girls in my class invited me out for noodles. We lost track of time," Kirara answered, already tugging her ribbon.

"My my, making friends at last. I'm so pleased for you," Rose smiled, entirely honest in his words. It was nice to see Kirara in such a good mood, especially after being gone all day. With how things were, he couldn't help but worry sometimes that one day one of them would vanish and never return. "Next time, could you at least let me know, so I'm not waiting up all night worried sick?" he asked, and Kirara laughed.

"Now you really are acting like my mother," she told him, glancing over her shoulder to grin at him. "I'll make sure to let you know in future," she said, only partially teasing.

"Good," Rose was satisfied. "Now hurry up and change. You're late for training," he scolded, and Kirara's grin widened.

"My sincere apologies. I will be only a moment," she told him, vanishing in the time it took him to blink. Rose shook his head, but a smile was on his face. It had been a long time, but he was getting a glimpse at the true Kirara again, and he was glad to see her back.

By the time Kirara had changed into a pair of khaki high-waisted shorts and a purple tank top, ready for training, Rose had descended down below, traversing the steep stairs that led into a secret underground facility that they had built a very long time ago, in need of somewhere to train where they could go as hard as necessary.

The massive area spanned for miles, with hard ground and rock formations scattered around for them to utilise in their training. Above their heads, it looked like the sky, bright blue even as the sun set outside. That was the one problem Kirara had with the place - it was too easy to lose track of time there. There had been numerous times when she had accidentally spent an entire night training.

"About time you showed up," Hiyori grunted as Kirara approached them, hands shoved in her pockets as she moved.

"Lay off," Kirara rolled her eyes. "I had a very hard day of learning all about the history of Japan," she complained, and paused. "Or was it English class? I can't remember," she mused, more to herself than them. Hiyori glared at her.

"You're in a good mood," Lisa noted as Kirara stopped beside her, looking up. Above them, Kensei and Love were sparring. They threw hard punches, barely holding back in their actions. Each hit that landed was audible to their spectators, who were well used to it by now.

"Am I?" Kirara asked, and Lisa turned to her properly, eyebrows furrowed. Kirara had her hands behind her back and a pleasant smile on her face.

"She's making friends at last," Rose sniffed, as if delighted.

"Rose, you realise that you're not my mother, right?" Kirara asked, shooting him an exasperated look. "You don't need to act like I'm some recluse like in those manga you read," she told him as Rose just smiled at her.

"Looks like you have the energy to burn," Love's words made her look up as he landed a short distance from her. "You can tag in," he told her, trying to catch his breath after an intense workout.

"Against Kensei?" Kirara's face lit up. "I'd be delighted to," she held up her hand, and Love slapped it lightly with his own to tag her in.

"You had to pick her when she's like this?" Kensei shouted down. "Thanks a lot," he complained, unhappy with Love's choice.

"Kick his butt, Kirara!" Mashiro cheered loudly from nearby, watching with an assortment of snacks.

"Shut it!" Kensei snapped at her, before Kirara materialised in front of him. She had that same devious smile on her face, knowing that it riled up the short-fused man in front of her.

"I mean, I'd be happy to spar with Mashiro instead?" she offered, and Kensei's eyes flashed. Even now, there was a strict ban on Kirara and Mashiro sparring. While they weren't the most powerful of the Vizards, they were both destructive and had a tendency to get carried away when sparring one another, rarely having the opportunity to go against another master of Hakuda.

"Brat, you're going to regret this," Kensei growled. Kirara only laughed in response.

"I think I might be a little worried for her classmates, if she keeps up this attitude," Love admitted as they watched her.

"We should have been worried from the start," Hiyori muttered. None of them argued that.

Kensei felt the force of Kirara's kick as it travelled up his arm when he blocked it. He ignored it, throwing a punch with the other arm. Kirara dodged it, bending backwards so that it sailed past where her head had been, and she twisted in the air to kick his arm up.

The two jumped apart, sizing one another up as Kensei couldn't stop himself from rubbing his arm. He then gave a small, pleased smirk as Kirara grinned back at him.

"Heh. Maybe you're not so bad when you're like this," he told her. Instantly Kirara's face lit up.

"Aw Kensei, you know just how to make a girl happy," she teased. Instantly Kensei's smirk vanished, and he couldn't stop his blush.

"Why do you have to go and ruin it like that?" he complained. Kirara laughed, and used Shunpo to move behind him. Kensei turned in time to block her next kick, and she grabbed his arm this time to twist it behind his back. He cursed as pain stabbed through his shoulder, and he had to put more effort into pulling free than he expected. "Not a bad-" Kensei was cut off when Kirara caught him with a punch to the lower back. He'd been too focused on getting free that he didn't expect the followup attack.

The two continued to spar in the air, trading blows as Kensei managed to catch Kirara across the face with a punch, but she didn't stop or tap out. She enjoyed sparring against the gruff man as much as she enjoyed teasing him. When Kirara decided to take training seriously, Kensei did too, and he didn't even think to hold back against her, even with her smaller stature.

Spitting out the blood that had pooled in her mouth, Kirara weaved around Kensei's next series of punches to catch him in the stomach with one of her own. The moment he grunted, unable to stop himself from doubling over, she caught him on the chin with her knee.

When Kensei's hand suddenly caught her ankle, however, Kirara's eyes went wide. She didn't even have the chance to cry out as Kensei swung her through the air, causing her to tumble as she struggled to try and right herself. Just as Kensei reached her with a swing intended to send her back down to the ground, Kirara managed to dodge him at the last second.

"Good throw," Kirara said, breathing heavily as she jumped away from Kensei. "If you'd put any more strength into it, you would have had me," she told the man, who grunted.

"Thanks for the feedback," he said, wiping away the blood that was trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Glad to help," Kirara smiled. The two resumed their fighting, trading blow after blow as neither of them refused to back down. It went on for some time, with Kirara dodging the worst of Kensei's attacks while he blocked her own. Bruises were already starting to appear where he did, and he'd had to shake his arms out more than once.

Sweat rolled down Kirara's face, and her lungs burned from the exertion of their sparring. It had been some time since she had put so much effort into the fighting - definitely before she'd started attending high school. It was cathartic, and with her good mood, she was loving it.

Kirara then lifted her hand and touched the small cut at the corner of her eye. "I should stop before I can't explain these bruises tomorrow," she said cheerfully to the man. He snorted, lifting a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"How you blend in with those brats is beyond me," Kensei told her honestly. Kirara laughed.

"You and me both," she agreed, and darted in quickly. "Quick, before the others figure it out, who do you want me to tag in?" Kirara whispered to him. Kensei swatted her away, but she didn't miss his faint smile.

"Pick whoever you like, brat," he said, keeping that gruff voice. Kirara saluted, and made her way back towards the ground. For a moment, she was tempted to tag in Mashiro, but the moment her feet hit the ground, she looked in a different direction.

"Lisa, you're up," Kirara walked past her, lightly slapping her hand as she lifted it without looking up from her book. "Oh, which one's that?" she asked, taking it as Lisa rose smoothly from the ground.

"I think you'll enjoy it. Just don't lose my page," Lisa warned. Kirara grinned and started to read the back of the book as Lisa went to join Kensei in the air above.

"Hmm…not bad," Kirara decided, setting the book down where Lisa had been sitting. "Let me read it after you're done!" Kirara called up after her, and Lisa flashed a thumbs up before giving Kensei her full focus.

"Might want to start thinking of some excuses about why you're showing up with a black eye," Hiyori snorted as Kirara reached up and touched the tender spot by her eye again. She could tell it was starting to bruise.

"Perhaps…" Kirara murmured. For a moment, she considered using her Kaido to heal it, but she could swear she felt Shinji's eyes on her from where he was sitting nearby. Instantly she dropped her hand to her side, deciding that it was fine as it was. "Ah, they already think I'm a delinquent. Why not add some fuel to the rumours?" she shrugged lightly.

"Why am I not surprised?" Love asked wearily, looking up from the manga he'd stolen from Rose. "You couldn't even pretend to be normal for a few weeks?" he asked her. Kirara pressed her fingertip to the scar across her nose.

"Little difficult when I'm so hideously scarred," she said lightly, turning away before he could call her dramatic. "I'm going to go shower. Have fun," she was already walking back towards the stairway as she waved idly over her shoulder.

"Brat," Love shook his head, but was smiling fondly as he went back to his manga. Like the rest, he was glad to see a glimpse of the real Kirara, reminded that despite everything, they were still themselves.

As expected, rumours were already flying the next morning when Kirara arrived in school with a bruise beside her right eye. She ignored them, of course, and went to class as usual to take her seat.

"Whoa, Kirara," she glanced at Mizuiro as she heard his surprised tone. "What happened to you?" he asked, eyes wide.

"Kirara! Don't tell me that you're a delinquent too!" Keigo's yell was too loud for the morning, making her roll her eyes. "You're as bad as Ichigo and Chad!" he gestured to the two nearby.

"Hey…" Ichigo turned an irritated look on him. "Watch who you're insulting, idiot. And stop shouting so early," he warned Keigo, who only wailed again.

"So mean!" he cried.

"You called him a delinquent first," Kirara pointed out as she set her bag down on her desk. "And he's right. Stop shouting. It's too damn early," she complained.

"They're all bullying me! Mizuiro!" he turned to the dark haired young man, who was back on his phone.

"Do I know you?" he asked pleasantly, which only made Keigo wail even louder.

"They said to shut up!" Tatsuki's fist slammed against the top of Keigo's head, and he dropped to the ground. She shook her head. "That's a nice shiner," she commented as she saw the bruise by Kirara's eye.

"Thanks. Training got a little too intense. You do martial arts too, right?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Tatsuki had mentioned it the previous evening, and Kirara had heard her on multiple occasions talking about it.

"You do too?" Tatsuki's eyes lit up at the idea of another girl in the class studying like she did. "You should join the karate club," she suggested. Kirara shook her head.

"Sorry. I'm still settling into class here," Kirara denied. She liked the idea, but attending a karate class with humans meant that she would have to hold back the extent of her skill, and that was just a waste of effort to her. "But thanks," she smiled pleasantly.

"Suit yourself. Offer's there if you change your mind," Tatsuki told her, walking back to her desk.

"Y-Y-Yamada?" the stammered words came from behind Kirara, who would have jumped had she not sensed the approaching figure at the last second. She turned, and found herself looking at the same brunette from the previous day. "I just…just wanted to…" she stumbled over the words as Kirara tilted her head.

"Take a breath," her gentle words made the slight girl with green eyes stop. She did as Kirara instructed, taking a long, deep breath. She then looked up at Kirara, and smiled shyly.

"Thank you for yesterday," she said, her voice soft.

"Don't worry about it," Kirara replied, keeping her own voice soft so it didn't draw attention to everyone else around. "And call me Kirara," she added.

"R-right," the small girl nodded. "I'm Hibiki Arai," she introduced herself with that same shy smile.

"Nice to meet you," Kirara smiled.

"You too," Hibiki replied, before jumping as the bell rang. She quickly rushed over to her desk, and Kirara chuckled quietly as she sat down in her seat.

'Seems that there's a few interesting people in this class,' she thought as Ms. Ochi walked in, calling out a greeting to the class. Kirara leaned back in her seat, and looked over her shoulder through the corner of her eye. Hibiki was sitting behind Tatsuki, tugging at her hair thoughtfully.

It took focus, but Kirara could feel it. The tiniest flicker of Reiatsu coming from her. 'I wonder if it's Ichigo's Reiryoku…if it's managing to awaken latent power in others?' she mused idly, lifting her book as she slid down in her seat.

Either way, things were not going to be dull in her class.

Hope you liked it!