I broke through the trees to witness Yuzu being picked up by a monstrous, hairy hollow. Karin was stuck under one of its hands being crushed. "Yuzu!" I called out to the small girl, but I knew she would only barely be able to hear me. I unsheathed my Zanpakuto from my back and sliced the hollow's limb which held her captive, grabbing a hold of her before she fell to the ground. I handed her to my replacement soul, preparing for my next move. My attention turned to Karin who was still struggling under the hollow's weight. "Hang in there Karin; I'll be there soon!"
"Kukiko, help me!" Her cries sent a shiver down my spine, but Ichigo arrived before I could take action. The hollow lifted Karin carelessly before she lost consciousness.
"One hostage is all I need. I've been waiting for you Soul Reaper."
"Karin!" Ichigo desperately called out to his sister.
"Wow, now that's an ugly one," a soul reaper I'd never seen before said and I nodded my head in agreement. The hollow let out a deep laugh before a girl with short black hair covered in what seemed to be a cloak appeared before us. Ichigo instantly froze.
"It's not possible," Ichigo said quietly. The hollow continued to laugh. "It's her. It's the girl I saw that day six years ago. The one down by the river." My eyes widened as I realised what he was talking about. He'd explained to me before what had happened that night.
"That means," I trailed off as I shuddered. The thought was one I definitely didn't want to consider; Ichigo's mother was killed by the very hollow standing before us.
"It's Grand Fisher. That's the code name we've given him," Rukia explained, "He keeps himself invisible and disguises the lure coming out of his head as a human. Anyone who sees the lure he knows has high spirit energy and immediately attack and devours them, thus, gaining all of their power. For over 50 years, this hollow has evaded every soul reaper that's gone after him. And we know his favourite victims are women." My mouth opened agape as I learned about the monster standing in front of me. He took away one of the people I cared for all because she was a woman.
"So does that mean my mother was actually killed by," Ichigo started but Rukia cuts him off by nodding. His face turned to pure anger and rage coursed through my veins.
"Impressive. You have been lucky little boy; you saw my lure and yet you lived. Perhaps it was my intention to eat you on the spot for your spirit energy, but there's just something about the women... They're just too sweet and lovely for me to pass up." He continued to laugh and I could see that he was trying to bait Ichigo which pissed me off.
Ichigo let out a battle cry and charged towards Grand Fisher. "Ichigo!"
"Karin!" he yelled back as he brought his blade down but the hollow easily dodged.
"Don't be so reckless you idiot," Rukia said as she ran at him. The hollow's arm reached for Ichigo who jumped up onto a ledge. Grand Fisher jumped up and his hair grew. It took Ichigo off guard, getting a firm hold on him.
"Ichigo, no!" I yelled out. Thoughts were frantically through my mind, but my body refused to move.
"I knew you were ugly but up close you smell worse." I wanted to slap Ichigo and tell him that it wasn't the time for insults, but that wasn't possible. Rukia moved her hands to perform a kido.
"Disintegrate you black dog of Randineni. Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat. Bakudo number nine, strike!" Grand Fisher groaned in pain as a red light surrounded him.
"How dare you interfere?" His hairs began to grow again and struck Rukia, causing her to fly into a memorial.
"Rukia are you alright?" I asked walking up to her. She was panting heavily and a streak of blood fell from her forehead.
"I-I'll be fine." Another deep laugh erupted from the hollow.
"Now just sit there and watch as I devour this little girl."
"Hang on!" Ichigo shouted as he struggled to get free.
"Tasty." The monster brought Karin closer to its mouth. Ichigo continued to struggle but there was little use.
"Don't!"
"If you feel so strongly about it maybe I should eat you first." Just as things seemed hopeless, the soul reaper, whose name I didn't know, jumped up and took off Grand Fisher's arm. Ichigo used the distraction and cut himself free. The hollow let out a chuckle as hairs shot from his body straight towards a defenceless Karin. I raced towards her without a second thought.
"Karin! Kukiko!" Ignoring Ichigo's cries, I grabbed onto Karin's body and turned her away from the incoming attack, angling her so that she wouldn't be struck. The wind is knocked out of me as spikes shoot through my shoulders and chest. I had expected more of an impact, and used nearly all my remaining strength to turn and discover the reason. The unknown reaper had jumped in front of the assault. Slowly, my vision began to blur and I dropped the blade in my hand. I couldn't make out any words being said to me and dropped to the ground.
"Kukiko, can you hear me?" I faintly heard Rukia's voice in my ear, and I feebly nodded. My breaths were become ragged and shallow.
"D-damn that hurt. I-is everyone e-else okay?" My voice was weak and barely audible.
"They're fine. Stay still; I'm going to try and heal you the best I can for now."
"Okay," I weakly replied. I felt Karin being lifted from my arms, as well as Rukia using her ability. My breathing was becoming less laboured but I still struggled to hear what was going on. My eyes grew heavier and closed slowly as I began to slip in and out of consciousness. I was aware that it wasn't a fatal wound but that didn't take the pain away.
I felt myself being dragged as the rain began to pour to the earth. When I stopped moving, I noticed that Rukia had stopped her kido and I could only assume that Ichigo had gone to do something reckless. I didn't blame him in this case. Usually, I'd scold him for it, but under these circumstances, I didn't believe it was necessary. I wished he wasn't so careless but he needed to avenge his mother for all the pain that it's caused him these six years. "Good luck Ichigo..." My consciousness left me.
When I came to, the rain was still falling. I struggled to sit upright as the wounds on my shoulders and body still stung. I stand up as soon as my vision clears and stumble slightly. When I saw his body laying like that, my blood ran cold. "No..." My voice was weak as I walked towards him. His form was laying still on the ground: no movement, no signs of life. My head felt slightly dizzy, but I didn't let that stop me from approaching him. I knelt down, placing Ichigo's head on my legs. As he let out a shaky breath, I let out my own that I didn't know I was holding on. He was battered, beaten and had a hole in his shoulder much like my own. I held him closer to me, sobbing into his shihakusho. I thought he was dead and I couldn't be happier that I was wrong. "You idiot Ichigo. I don't need any more worries today you dumbass, so don't scare me so much."
"He'll be fine. His wounds are not as serious as yours."
"Thank you Rukia." I looked up smiled. She nodded and a gentle expression appeared on her face as she looked at the two of us. "What happened to that other soul reaper?"
"He went back to the Soul Society. Don't worry; he gave his word that he wouldn't talk about us."
"That's a relief. How long do you think we'll be safe for? Even I know that they'll come for you and to kill Ichigo. I don't want anyone of you hurt. You understand that, don't you?"
"I understand your concern for Ichigo but why me? You barely know me." She gave me a confused look.
"Despite you might think, I've been thinking us of friends. You've helped me a lot and I hope that you think the same way," I said with a wide grin.
"Are you willing to be my friend despite the fact that it could get you killed?" she asked with a serious look on her face.
"Of course; that's what friends are for right?" For the first time Rukia gave a genuine smile and it was a sight I'd been hoping to see for a long time. When she first came here, I was nervous around her simply for the fact that she could have had me killed. When I realised that her and I were in the same position, I loosened up. I got to know what she was like and I knew I could trust her with my life and she could trust me with hers.
"Yeah, that is what friends are for."
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It was Saturday which meant that I could finally go practice with Kisuke. I'd never been so excited to try something new. I knew that I was probably going to be beaten to a pulp by him but I didn't even care. All I wanted to do was find out what my power was. As soon as I awoke, I changed into a pair of denim shorts and black T-shirt with a tiger printed on the front. I grabbed a breakfast bar on my way and headed out towards the Urahara shop. When I arrived, I saw Jinta picking on Ururu again. I walked up to the pair, grabbing the back of Jinta's shirt.
"Again Jinta? Don't you get tired of this?" He turned back and gave me an angered glare.
"Butt out of this Shorty! This is between her and me." An anger mark appeared on my forehead.
"What did you just call me?" An evil smirk made its wat onto my face, his face instantly paling at the sight.
"N-nothing! The boss is waiting for you in the training ground," he nervously stuttered.
"Thank you Jinta. Be good now and leave Ururu alone." He didn't say a word as I turned and walked away. I headed into the store and down the ladder to the training ground. As I was told, Kisuke was sitting on a rock waiting for me.
"Good morning Kukiko. I hear you've finally heard your Zanpakuto's name," he said with an intrigued smile.
"Yes I did," I cheered, "he told me that we could practise here with you in order to control my power."
"He was right. I haven't seen you this excited for a long time so let's get started."
"Alright; tell me what to do."
"What you need to is release your Zanpakuto. Look inside and find your release." His tone was serious; his excited mood disappearing in an instance. I steadied my breaths and tried to search my soul for anything. I didn't know what I was looking for but I needed to find it.
"Blue, what am I supposed to do?" I tried to ask. I had no idea if it would work but it was better than doing nothing.
"Call my name!" Something inside me clicked and my eyes jolted open.
"Soar across the heavenly skies Aoi Tori!" I screamed as a newfound power coursed through my veins. I could feel my hair fall from my pony tail. When I sensed the power calming down, I studied the new form of my Zanpakuto. It's original single blade had split into three and each curved at the end, looking like the talons of a bird. The guard had also changed into the form of a golden feather. "It looks so cool!" I grinned.
"It is a pretty impressive set of blades; I'll give you that. The question is what powers does it posses?"
"This guy is straight to the point, isn't he?" Blue comments.
"When it comes to training yes. Can you help me out?"
"Just focus your spirit energy into the blade and see what happens," he laughed. It was a pretty obvious thought. I closed my eyes and focused my energy into the blade and hear something slice through the air. I opened my eyes to see feathers piercing the ground. I bent down to pick them up and gasped as it cut through my skin with ease.
"Ouch that stings." I picked it up cautiously and studied it. It was made from some form of extremely sharp metal and it shined a bright blue in the light. "This could be really dangerous."
"That's the point of it Kiko," Kisuke chuckled at my obvious statement. "That's a pretty dangerous Shikai though. I'm impressed."
"I'm just getting started," Blue chuckled. I had to admit, his laugh was really attractive. "Once you've perfected summoning the feathers you can control them." I could feel him smile as he boasted.
"Apparently, I can learn to control them with practice."
"You're speaking to him?" Kisuke asked somewhat surprised.
"Yeah of course. How else would I know what to do?"
"It usual takes a lot of time to learn how to contact and control your Zanpakuto's spirit. You're a fast learner as always. Anyways, I suppose we should get practicing. Since it's an accuracy attack, I'll get some targets. By the end of the day, you'll be an expert and we can finally fight each other without holding back. I gotta admit, I'm a little bit excited."
"I'll try and make it worth your time," I smirked, "Now let's get to it."
Most of the day was spent with me being really bad at the attack and Blue giving me crap about it with the occasional pointer on how to improve. "Blue, I really don't think that I'm going to get any better at this. I've never been any good at accuracy," I groaned in frustration.
"Trust me, if you weren't meant for this, you wouldn't have me as your Zanpakuto. I'll help you get there." He must have sensed how stressed out I was over this because it was the first time he'd been kind to me all day. His kind and regal attitude from when I used to visit him in my dreams had almost completely disappeared. It turned out he was a joker and was more of a pain then a help. Still, it was good to have someone around with a sense of humour. The only person like that was Keigo but he's extremely annoying and I could barely stand him.
"If you say so. Thanks, Blue," I smiled lightly. His words gave me a little more hope that I could master this. He had a point; why would I be given a power that I couldn't master? My determination grew and I poured my spirit energy into my blades. The feathers flew out and struck the target before me straight in the heart.
"I told you that you could do it."
"I can't let this power beat me. I don't want to let people die because I couldn't aim straight."
"That's a good way to see it. Give it a few more tries and if you've truly got it down we'll work on controlling the direction. Now keep going!"
"Okay, okay calm down." I started practicing again for another half hour before I was being lectured on how to control direction. It was extremely hard to do; you had to try and follow where the blades flew and continue to put spirit energy into the feathers and guide the energy where you wanted it to go. While this happened, you still need to be tracking your opponent and avoiding their attacks. It was complicated.
"Try not to think so much about it. If you do, then you won't be able to focus on your opponent. Let your instincts take over and don't forget I'll be able to help you as well. I am the source of this power after all."
I nodded and tried to calm down my nerves. My instincts would help me through this. I let the powers flow through my fingers and into the blade. The feathers fly out and I let the fingers of my free hand move around in the direction that I want them to fly in. A few feathers hit the first target and the next few flew into the second one behind it, hitting them both square in the heart.
"See? You've got the hang of it now."
"Yeah! This is amazing," I said jumping around in excitement. I did it over and over again, enjoying the adrenaline rush it gave me.
"As always, you got it down quickly. You're the fastest learner I know Kiko." I turned back around to see Kisuke at the base of the ladder.
"It's easy to learn when it's so much fun. I'm looking forward to the battle between us," I grinned.
"That might have to wait for tomorrow. It seems that we lost track of time," he said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that it's almost 10 o'clock at night. Aren't you hungry?" I gasped. Looking at my stomach, I laughed.
"I never noticed how hungry I actually was. Do you happen to have any food?"
"I had a feeling that this would happen so I prepared dinner earlier. Come on." I followed him up the ladder and into the common room. Two bowls of freshly cooked rice are sitting there waiting for us.
"Food!" I yelled as I sat down and start stuffing my face.
Kisuke looks at me and chuckled, "You really did use a lot of energy, didn't you? You know that can be dangerous?"
"I know, you've told me this before. I'll be more careful next time though."
"I advise you don't tell Ichigo about this," Kisuke said suddenly and I was instantly curious.
"Why wouldn't I tell him about it? I mean it wouldn't come up in normal conversation so why would I mention it?"
"It's up to him to find out his true power. I don't want you to interfere with what is to come and I'm not going to lie to you; I am willing to stop you to let fate take its course. I know you noticed me the night that it first started." I froze at the realisation that he was the one at my house that night.
"What are you aiming to achieve? Are you really that desperate to achieve it?"
"I can't tell you but I can warn you that you have to prepare what's going to happen. You're not going to like it." I shook my head in annoyance.
"With your plans I generally don't. I swear, if you are planning on hurting Ichigo, I will never forgive you." I glared at the man with intensity. I never thought I'd say that to Kisuke who was practically my father. He gave me a sorry look before continuing.
"I won't harm Ichigo but that doesn't mean others won't. You know that they're going to come for him and, when they find out about your existence, they'll take you away as well. I will protect you but I can't take on the whole of the soul society on my own."
"That's all I ask. I'll be leaving now. Thank you for helping with my training and I'll see you tomorrow for our fight. I suppose three o'clock will be good?" I said with little emotion in my voice.
"That'll be fine. I'm sorry Kukiko." I didn't respond as I walked out the small shop. I was angry, I was confused and worst of all I felt helpless. If I couldn't get involved, how was I meant to help protect my friends?
"Don't worry too much about it Kukiko. I'll be here to help and you are not helpless. When the time comes, you'll be able to fight and I'll be here with you every step of the way," Blue said to try and calm me down.
"Why did your personality change so much when I learned your name?" I asked. It had been on my mind throughout most of the day.
"When you were younger, I wasn't going to be completely straight forward with you like this but, now that you know everything, I can be myself around you. I've been waiting for this day a long time."
"So, your natural self is an A grade ass?" I teased.
"I'm not that bad. I'm trying to help you here," he wined and I laughed.
"I know, I know. Thank you for this and, to be honest, I prefer you a lot more like this," I said with a smile plastered onto my face. I didn't know that my Zanpakuto could become one of my closest friends.
The whole way back home, I still had Kisuke's words on my mind. Blue was helping me keep my mind off it, but I was very anxious about what was going to happen. For now, I had to keep it at the back of my mind. I had Ichigo and Blue to help me now and that's all I could really need.
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Re-written and edited over. Enjoy :)
Kumori