Chapter 61: Fetch Quest
Orihime's healing power was incredible. Kirara wasn't even sure it could be called healing, with how effective it was. She'd seen it in action repeatedly during their time in the Soul Society, including when she had saved Ichigo's life after Aizen had almost managed to cut him in half.
Having finally experienced it for herself, Kirara could still feel her shoulder tingling where Orihime had healed her. The scarring, both visible and under the skin, had vanished, and the stiff feeling that had lingered there was gone too.
Unable to stop herself, Kirara scratched idly where the scarring had been. She didn't even fully realise that she was doing it as her attention remained on Ichigo. The orange-haired young man was being thrown around like a ragdoll by Hiyori over and over again, and though it hadn't even been a full day since he had beaten his Hollow into submission, he was still struggling with calling on his Mask in an effective way.
'I know we've had a lot longer to master this, but still. Ichigo mastered Bankai in three days. This shouldn't be a problem,' Kirara gave the slightest shake of her head when Ichigo's Mask shattered and he smashed through a rock.
"I think Hiyori might end up killing him," Shinji mused idly as he reached up and caught Kirara's hand, stopping her from scratching. His head was back on her lap as he stretched lazily, insisting that she was comfier than sitting normally when she'd tried to stop him.
"Maybe I should have been the one to teach Ichigo," Kirara murmured. Hiyori's angry yells drifted over, mixed in with Ichigo's own angry shouts. "But I think she's taken a liking to him," she added an afterthought.
"And here I thought you being friends with the harpy was the most concerning development around here," Shinji yawned, and Kirara looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. "It was definitely dangerous for me," he said as he reached up, tracing the scar across her nose lightly with his fingertips. She giggled at the touch, ticklish as always.
"It's only dangerous when you're being annoying," she replied, and another giggle slipped free.
"I'm not annoying. You're going to hurt my feelings, Princess," Shinji warned as his fingertips drifted to the scar on her chin. Despite his words, he had his usual deadpan expression, which made Kirara roll her eyes.
"Don't call me that," she warned, but the more she told him not to call her by the nickname, the less annoyed she seemed to sound. When there was another rumbling crash, Kirara glanced up towards the dust cloud rising up into the air. She shook her head again and sighed quietly.
When she heard the quiet chuckle, Kirara looked down, and Shinji's finger pressed against the point of her nose to squash it. She made a fussing sound, squirming away and catching his hand to stop him doing it again. "What?" Kirara questioned, tilting her head.
"It's cute, how attached you are to the idiot," Shinji told her. Kirara rolled her eyes again, trying to ignore the blush that heated her face.
"Ichigo, or you?" she retorted.
"If you keep calling me an idiot, I'm going to get upset," Shinji warned, but the derisive look on Kirara's face told him that she didn't believe a word he said.
"Kirara?" she looked up, having felt Hachi approaching slowly. She smiled at the pink-haired man, and Shinji reluctantly sat up.
"What's up, Hachi?" Kirara asked as Shinji stretched beside her.
"It's about that human…" Hachi started. Kirara tilted her head.
"Orihime?" she asked. Hachi nodded, looking in the direction of the stairs, and Kirara realised that he was still thinking of his barrier, and how easily Orihime had passed through it. Kirara had even watched her as she left; passing through it as if it weren't even there. It was a remarkable, but unnerving feat.
"I was wondering if I might be able to talk to her about her abilities. From what I was able to detect, they're very similar to my own barrier techniques," Hachi explained.
"Oh, sure," Kirara nodded, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. "I'll go get her. And you, behave," she warned Shinji, whose eyes flashed in a challenge. "See you in a bit," Kirara walked off, waving over her shoulder to them.
The sun had set already, but there was still warmth in the air as Kirara emerged from the barrier and closed her eyes. She reached out, feeling a range of presences across town. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt Haruki's Reiatsu, accompanied by the other Shinigami who seemed set to stay for a while.
With so many different Reiatsu around town, it took Kirara a moment to focus on the one that she knew to be Orihime's. Instantly her eyebrows furrowed. "Great, Kuchiki's with her," she complained aloud, before leaping into the air. It didn't take too long for Kirara to work out that they were at the school, and she used her Shunpo to reach there quickly.
She found the two on the roof of the school, with Rukia offering words of comfort to Orihime, who was managing to stop her crying at last. Kirara landed on the railings above, watching them for a moment, before clearing her throat.
Rukia jumped, startled by the sudden noise above them. She hadn't sensed anyone approaching, and with the Arrancar seeming to be appearing without notice, she was constantly on guard. Yet Kirara stood above, crouched as she balanced easily on the railings above.
"Wha-" Rukia breathed, her violet eyes wide as she stared at the woman, recognising her as not only their classmate, but the one who had helped Ichigo in the Soul Society.
"Hey," Kirara raised a hand in greeting, as if it was completely normal for her to be perched there.
"Kirara?" Orihime gasped, still on her knees on the ground as she wiped the last of her tears. With a grin, Kirara jumped down and landed between the pair without a sound, turning to Orihime.
"My apologies, Orihime," Kirara bowed and caught Orihime's hand. "But Hachi has requested an audience with you, and I'm not one to deny the big guy," she said cheerfully. Confused, Orihime didn't resist as Kirara pulled her to her feet.
"Who's Hachi?" she asked, not understanding what was going on.
"You'll see," Kirara spun suddenly, and Orihime yelped as she was pulled onto her back. "I'd hang on tight if I were you," she warned with a playful grin.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Rukia leapt up too, ready to stop Kirara. The woman met her gaze, and Rukia was struck by the resemblance to Hanataro. Then her grin widened; a devious look that she was sure Hanataro would never be capable of.
"I'm borrowing Orihime for a little while. You can have her back after. Laters, Kuchiki," Kirara winked, and launched into the air. She laughed as Orihime screamed in terror, clinging to her, and she moved too fast for Rukia to respond.
"What…just happened?" she breathed.
"Um, Kirara?" Orihime called over the whistling of the wind. She clung tightly to Kirara's back, crying out each time Kirara took another leap. "What's going on? Where are you taking me?" she asked.
"Back to the warehouse," Kirara answered, and Orihime yelped once more as she leapt, making her stomach feel like it was plummeting. "Like I said, Hachi wants to talk to you," she said, making Orihime's already confused features scrunch up more.
"Why does he want to talk to me?" she asked, which made Kirara's grin widen.
"No clue," she admitted, which only confused her more. Then she suddenly dropped out of the sky, and Orihime screamed.
To her relief, it didn't take too long to reach the warehouse, where the barrier was still up and as imposing as ever to her. Kirara reached out, pressing a hand to it, and Orihime watched in surprise. Unlike her, Kirara's hand didn't pass through it, and instead a doorway appeared for her to step through. "This is how we normally have to get through the barrier. What you do is something special for sure," Kirara told her.
"I see," Orihime murmured quietly, looking back at the barrier as Kirara didn't set her down.
"Back already, Kirara?" Rose greeted her, a little surprised to see her return so quickly. Orihime looked up at him nervously, wondering if he was Hachi. His own gaze was gentle but concerned as he studied her, and gave a weary sigh. "I hope you weren't too rough, Kirara. She's only human," he scolded lightly.
"She's fine," Kirara grinned, waving it off as she walked past him. "Hachi, I got what you ordered," she declared, carefully setting her down. Orihime's legs instantly gave out, but she stayed upright as Kirara held on. "Whoops. Maybe a tad too overzealous," she mused, before the large shadow of Hachi fell over them.
Orihime stared up at his massive, imposing form as Kirara patted her shoulder and walked off. She turned to call out to Kirara, but the woman was already walking away. She ruffled Shinji's hair as he turned to her, still sitting. He grumbled and swatted her away with a look of irritation.
"Brat," he grunted, but there was affection in his voice as she grinned at him. Instead of sitting down with him again, she just walked by to where Hiyori was yelling at Ichigo, who had been distracted by Orihime's sudden return.
"Hey, Hiyori?" Kirara earned her attention as she leapt up onto the raised platform to stand with Hiyori. The blonde was glaring down to where she'd just kicked Ichigo.
"What do you want?" Hiyori looked up, suspicious that Kirara had approached her. Especially with the grin on her face.
"Mind if I take a crack at it?" Kirara asked, gesturing with her thumb down to where Ichigo was slowly rising. He winced at the movements, but refused to show that he was hurting.
"You wanna teach the dumb baldy?" Hiyori realised, folding her arms as her suspicious scowl only increased. Kirara nodded, and it finally dawned on Hiyori that Kirara did have some experience in teaching newbies, even if it had been a long time ago. "Knock yourself out," she agreed without argument, surprising Kirara. She leapt down and away to take a break, leaving Kirara to handle Ichigo.
"Ready, Ichigo?" Kirara called, making him frown and look up at her.
"For what?" he asked, not understanding why she was there instead of Hiyori. Then suddenly Kirara was in front of him, and Ichigo jumped. He still couldn't keep up with her speed.
"Like Hiyori says, your first move after you call on your Mask is the most important," Kirara said, arms folded as her gaze roamed his body. Ichigo felt like he was under intense scrutiny from the look on her face. It wasn't her usual teasing grin. This was something far different. "That goes both defensively and offensively. Hiyori's teaching you through defence, but I think offence might work for you," Kirara mused quietly.
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo remained completely confused; a normal thing for him around Kirara.
"Hiyori has you reacting to her attacks right after you call on your Mask, right?" Kirara asked, and he nodded. "Well, most people aren't going to be prepared when you call on that power. And considering you can only maintain it for what…four seconds?" the tiniest smirk tugged at her mouth and Ichigo scowled. "You need to take full advantage of their surprise while you can," Kirara's explanation oddly made sense to him.
"So you want me to attack you with my Hollow Mask on?" he asked, ready to go.
"No," Kirara shook her head, and his scowl returned. It seemed he didn't fully understand then. "Before you get there, I want you doing some basic things at the very least," she decided. Ichigo's face scrunched up at the very idea.
"Basics? Come on? I already know Shunpo…" he complained.
"All the more reason for you to make sure you have the basics down. Don't worry, Ichigo. I have faith in your abilities," Kirara grinned, but it still lacked its normal devious air. "This won't take long at all," she promised, and Ichigo sighed.
"Fine…at least it means the midget won't be screaming at me for a while," he relented. Amusement flickered across Kirara's face, before she folded her arms again and took a step back. She started telling Ichigo how to move, correcting little mistakes to help him save energy and move more effectively.
"Not bad," Kirara said as Ichigo took a break, breathing heavily. After the basics, Kirara had him perform continuous Shunpo steps, where she would stop him and make him start again if he dropped what she'd told him. It had taken a while, but he'd gotten there.
"You're less…annoying about this than I thought you would be," Ichigo admitted as he caught the bottle of water she threw his way. "More of a teacher. It's weird," he told her honestly. Kirara laughed.
"Not weird. I was a teacher for a while," she confessed, and Ichigo paused mid-drink. Seeing, Kirara grinned, but there was something off about it. Something sad. "Remember? Haruki was my student," she reminded him, and Ichigo thought about the Shinigami.
"Right…" he nodded slowly.
"Breaktime's over," Kirara clapped her hands together, and he winced. He had no idea how she considered that a break. "Another 200 Shunpo steps, please," she smiled sweetly, as if she wasn't requesting something outrageous.
"How is this going to help my reaction time after I call on my Mask?" Ichigo complained.
"Trust the process, Ichigo," Kirara didn't lose the smile. "Once you've done that, we can get into the fun stuff," she told him. Ichigo grumbled, but reluctantly started to do as Kirara said. It felt weird to do as she asked, and it felt even weirder to know she was teaching him, but he did trust her.
"So we finally get to see Kirara's mysterious training process ourselves," Lisa spoke as she watched nearby. She'd torn her eyes off the book she was reading to watch as Ichigo moved at a rapid rate around, with Kirara never once losing track of him.
"It seems quite ruthless," Love commented as he saw Ichigo slowing down as he breathed heavily. What Kirara was asking him to do certainly felt like she was pushing him to his limits. "I feel bad for those old students of hers," he admitted.
"Despite her methods, Kirara was rather popular in the Academy," he looked at Rose, who was sitting beside him. "Those students of hers found her methods to be quite effective, to the point where they would end up reaching the top of their class," he remembered. Love's eyebrows shot up at his words.
"It's true," Shinji agreed, earning their attention. He was watching as well, but his attention was on Ichigo. "She amassed a small group of fans. They were annoying," he complained. Rose smiled knowingly at Love, who was hiding his grin.
"Okay, take a break for two minutes," Kirara told Ichigo, who was very glad to do so. He took the water again, gulping it down as sweat rolled off him.
"Please tell me you have a bath," he said once his breathing started to settle. Kirara laughed at his words.
"We're not animals, Ichigo. This place might be a dump, but it's our base, so we made sure it has at least what we need," she laughed. Ichigo's face was already flushed from exertion, but it went even redder in embarrassment. "We only have a shower, but if you really want a bath, there's a bathhouse close by," Kirara explained.
"A shower's fine," he told her quickly, almost afraid that she'd make some kind of comment. He was already getting flashbacks to when he'd bathed in the hot spring in the underground training area in the Seireitei, when Yoruichi had him tortured. Kirara, mercifully, had left him be at the time.
"Now that you've gotten warmed up," Ichigo bit back a cry of horror at her words. She considered that a warmup? "We can get into the fun stuff. I want you to call on your Mask and attack," Kirara told him. His horror faded, and Ichigo's brown eyes gleamed at the idea of getting into the proper training. "I'm not going to use my Mask, but I will be trying to dodge. Don't let me get the chance," she warned him.
"Right," Ichigo said, ready to go. In the time it took him to blink, Kirara had moved several feet away.
"Let's go, before I'm old!" Kirara called over, showing a glimpse of her true self. Ichigo growled, and raised a hand. He'd quickly learned how instinctive it was to call on his Hollow's power, forming a Mask over his face.
The moment the power settled, Ichigo launched himself forwards. He almost expected Hiyori to attack, and it made him hesitate just a moment too long, so when he landed where Kirara was, she was already gone. He turned quickly to follow, seeing her movements more clearly now that he was powered up, but before he could follow, the Mask shattered and he staggered from the sudden loss of power.
"Dammit!" Ichigo complained.
"Go again, Ichigo," Kirara called, watching him. She'd seen him hesitate, and cursed Hiyori quietly for instilling that defensive reaction in him. Ichigo didn't reply. He just took a second, and called on the power again to race after Kirara.
'His reactions aren't fantastic, and neither is the time he can hold his Mask for,' Kirara thought to herself as she jumped away before Ichigo could catch her. There was less hesitation this time, but he was still slow to react. 'But his recovery is good. He can call on his Mask pretty quick even after it breaks. But that's only here. Hiyori's methods will be better for getting him ready for a proper fight,' Kirara admitted to herself, shouting at Ichigo to try again.
As Ichigo continued to try and catch Kirara, she found herself looking over to where Orihime was still talking with Hachi. Her attention was fully on her conversation with the man, and she couldn't help but find herself curious about what they were talking about.
"I've got you now!" Ichigo's shout was loud, but as he grabbed for Kirara, she vanished and reappeared not too far away again. He cursed loudly, but didn't give up. He knew she was going far slower than normal; he'd experienced what she was capable of first-hand, but somehow that only annoyed him more.
"Again, Ichigo," Kirara's words pulled him out of his thoughts, and Ichigo didn't hesitate this time. When she moved away from where she had been standing, this time Ichigo was able to follow. Kirara's eyebrows lifted just a little, but he was still nowhere near her when his Mask shattered.
"Not bad," her words were as bland as the rest, but Ichigo could tell that it was praise.
"I'm going to catch you, Kirara," he promised. This made a smirk spread across Kirara's face, eager and amused.
"I welcome the challenge, Ichigo," Kirara replied with a laugh. Ichigo grinned, and tried again as he didn't even realise that he was starting to enjoy himself.
Even after Ichigo had successfully conquered his Hollow and started his training, Kirara's nightmares didn't cease. Her worries over him might have lessened, but there was still a lot on her mind, and once again she found herself dragged from sleep and biting back a cry of fear.
Sitting up quickly, Kirara scanned the room quickly as if she expected Aizen himself to be lurking in the shadows. She then forced herself to take a deep breath, but refused to close her eyes as her heart still pounded rapidly and her stomach churned.
"You're okay," Shinji's voice was rough with sleep, but his arms went around her from behind to pull her against his chest.
"I'm-" before she could apologise, he shushed her. Kirara huffed, but the faintest bit of laughter came with it. "One day you'll have to let me apologise," she complained, and Shinji pressed a kiss to her shoulder, where the strap of her loose cami had slipped down.
"I will, when you're annoying me," he reminded her. Kirara smiled faintly at his words, reaching up to hold onto his wrist as she turned her head just enough to press her cheek against his head. The strands of his hair, messy from sleep, tickled her.
"Thanks, Shinji," she whispered. He just kissed her shoulder again, and lifted his head. "I'm going to grab some leftovers," Kirara decided, pulling out of his grasp.
"Want company?" Shinji asked, but was already yawning again. Kirara shook her head, sliding out of the bed.
"I'll only be a few minutes. You get some sleep. It's been a long-ass day," she reminded him, leaning down to kiss him properly. "Besides, we're not allowed in the kitchen together," this earned her a faint chuckle from Shinji.
"Good point," he yawned, lying back down. It didn't take him long to fall back to sleep. Kirara smiled softly at the sight before she grabbed his discarded shirt and pulled it on over the thin cami and shorts she wore, and then crept out of the room.
The dead of night was always somewhat unnerving to Kirara. Everyone else was - or should have been - asleep, leaving a quiet to settle over the warehouse that caused Kirara to become more and more alert as she walked along the top floor.
When she focused, Love's snores could just about be heard down the hall, and that helped get rid of the eerie quiet as Kirara headed downstairs to the kitchen.
The kitchen was a decent size, having once been the break room for whoever used to work in the building before it had fallen into a state of disrepair and been abandoned. Knowing that it would be useful to keep, the Vizards had kept it from falling apart.
"Dammit," Kirara cursed in the quiet of the dimly lit kitchen as she checked the fridge and found it devoid of leftovers. "Who the hell beat me to it?" she wondered quietly, before shaking her head. For a moment, she considered just going back to bed, but her stomach growled faintly and she knew she'd get no sleep if she gave up. So instead, Kirara lifted the eggs out, and wandered around the kitchen pulling out what she needed.
A quiet gasp at the doorway made her smile faintly, and Kirara looked up as Ichigo stood there, looking surprised that he wasn't the only one awake at such a late hour. "Hey," Kirara greeted with a smile. "You're up late, Ichigo," she commented.
"Yeah…I uh…couldn't sleep," Ichigo admitted, a little uneasy as he lingered in the doorway, watching as she cooked. There was only dim light in the kitchen, emitted from a lamp in the corner.
"I'd almost be surprised, considering it's been a few days since you took a break," Kirara started, turning back to what she was doing. "But I imagine it's hard to shut your mind off surrounded by a bunch of weirdos like us while you're trying to get stronger in such a short time," she considered. Ichigo didn't reply, surprised that she seemed to have worked it all out. "Take a seat," she gestured to the small table in the corner. It looked a little rickety from a lack of use, but it held when Ichigo took a seat.
"I thought the others said you couldn't cook," he finally spoke as he watched Kirara preparing food.
"I just made them think that so they wouldn't ask me to cook for them," Kirara's words almost made Ichigo snort. "I don't like cooking, but someone beat me to the leftovers from dinner, so here we are," she shrugged, and glanced over. "I see you were listening while you were using that stupid Hiyori Trainer," there was teasing in her words, and Ichigo went red.
"Yeah well, not much else I could do, was there?" he grunted, going steadily redder as she laughed.
"True," Kirara agreed. She then sobered, and resumed cooking. "I owe you an apology, Ichigo," she said, and his brow furrowed. "I went too hard on you when you first got here, trying to get you to let your Hollow out. I'm sorry," Kirara apologised quietly. Ichigo was silent, before letting out a sigh.
"You're an idiot," Kirara's eyes widened and she looked around. He was looking away with an annoyed look on his face. "You were doing it to help me. Forget about it," Ichigo shrugged. Surprised, Kirara stared at him for a long moment. "What?" he growled when he realised she was staring. Kirara laughed.
"I can see now why Hirako's kind of fond of you," Ichigo was startled by her comment. "Here," a moment later, she'd set a plate of omurice down in front of him. "I figured you're probably hungry too," Kirara said as she slid into the seat opposite him and started to eat her own.
"Thanks…" Ichigo muttered, and they fell into a comfortable quiet as they ate. "And thanks…for today. For helping with my training," he spoke up, awkward as Kirara glanced at him.
"It's hard to kick the teaching habit, even after a hundred years," she shrugged, pulling a piece of rice from the corner of her mouth. "Never realised I kinda missed it," Kirara admitted, her smile turning dark as she popped the rice into her mouth. Ichigo was quiet, but he had a ton of questions on the tip of his tongue, begging to be asked. About Kirara's past as a Shinigami, about the other Vizards, and who they had been.
"You kinda pissed off Toshiro and the others," instead, he thought about the Shinigami in town. "Captain Hitsugaya," Ichigo clarified as he saw the confusion flicker in Kirara's eyes.
"Oh, the kid?" Kirara chuckled, and shoved more rice into her mouth. "It's fine. They won't be preoccupied by someone like me when Arrancar are showing up on a whim, and I'll stay out of their way," she said, soothing Ichigo's concerns that things would get messy with her around. "And pissing off Captains has been a speciality of mine for a long time. Just ask Hirako," she said, and paused when she saw the shock in Ichigo's face.
"Hirako was…a Captain?" Ichigo breathed as he struggled to process what he'd just found out. He knew the man was strong, but Captain-level just seemed crazy.
"Whoops. Let's keep that a secret too, shall we?" Kirara gave a guilty smile, and went back to eating as Ichigo ran a hand through his hair. He slowly did the same, wondering about the others. He had no doubt now that they were all former Gotei 13, but just how strong were the strange group? And just what had happened to have them hiding in the World of the Living as Vizards?
Once they had finished, Kirara stood and took Ichigo's plate, along with her own, and started to wash up what was used. "You should get some rest, Ichigo," she told him as Ichigo stood to help her with cleaning up. "Trust me, your training is just going to get harder, especially now that I'm going to be helping with your reaction times," Kirara told him with a grin.
"Why am I suddenly real nervous about that?" Ichigo muttered, letting her shoo him towards the door. Kirara smirked.
"You should be. Sleep well, Ichigo," her laughter followed as Ichigo headed back upstairs, suspecting that his sore and weary body was only going to suffer more before he was done with the group.
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