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Zabimaru drawn, Renji scouted the park. We both felt that the Espada was there, and I was furiously trying to let Rukia and the others know where we were. I stood watch at the entrance to the park, perched on top of the tallest statue. I could feel Captain Hitsugaya and Ichigo approaching quickly, which was slightly comforting. But I couldn't pick up on Yumichika, which worried me terribly.
I assumed he was too far away and bounded down to meet Hitsugaya.
Ichigo was the first to reach me. "Is it Grimmjow? Do you know?" he asked breathlessly. "Do you know what number??"
I shook my head. "I have no clue. But Renji and I both know that it's a high ranking Espada. And the world rift is still open." I pointed to the rigid hole in the sky. "So that must mean there's more, right?"
Hitsugaya finally reached me, eyes narrowed. "It's very possible. Which is bad. I can't find our other group. Matsumoto is gone," he said. "I need to go back and find them."
"Are you sure you want to go alone?" I asked.
"I'll be fine. You and Ichigo help Renji."
We nodded and started into the park as Hitsugaya disappeared.
I immediately focused on Renji's energy, bounding left and right over the ornamental hedges. Ichigo kept pace easily. He surprised me really, mainly because I wasn't sure if he was a real Soul Reaper or not and his Zangetsu was ridiculously huge. I wondered why the Soul Society hadn't asked him to stay.
"Who is Grimmjow?" I asked him, incredibly curious.
His trademark scowl only deepened. "He's a jerk, I'll tell you that," he answered. "I took his arm off. But he ran like a coward."
His tone told me not to ask anymore, so I silenced until we found Renji. Rukia had already located him and was following him closely.
"That's not surprising," Ichigo growled. "I can't seem to separate them for two seconds."
Yet again, I didn't ask anything. I lit next to Renji and Ichigo next to Rukia as they neared the park fountain. "It should be right here..." Rukia said quietly.
I glanced around, knowing that spotting an Espada shouldn't be this difficult. But none of us could see it and it began to wear on our nerves. To be honest, I was scared. Terribly nervous. This could be my promotion or it could be my end.
Something white caught my eye, over to our left, but it wasn't moving much. I stopped to look and Renji immediately stopped with me. "I think you found it," he said. "It's that Wonderweiss thing..."
Ichigo groaned. "Him? Really?"
As "Wonderweiss" came into focus, I realised what they were complaining about. He was hunched over on his knees, scurrying like an animal after a cricket on the ground. As soon as he caught it he picked it up by the antennae, marveling at it, until he popped it into his snaggle-toothed mouth and continued his search for another snack.
"Michiru? Would you like to have a go?" Renji asked. "He's stronger than he looks, but you're welcome to do whatever you like. Just keep an eye on his movements."
I nodded, drawing my zanpakuto. Rukia made a noise, a confused noise, as I drew it slowly not to scare off the strange Espada. When I looked back at her, her hand was on the hilt of her zanpakuto, as if she was jealous that mine was completely white like hers. But I ignored it.
When I got close enough to Wonderweiss, I whistled at him. He answered like a puppy, cocking his head sideways, staring at me with ridiculously huge eyes. "Who?" he gasped. He made a movement toward me, but I didn't back away, I simply put the tip of my zanpakuto against his forehead. He stopped.
He looked up at me, his eyes narrowing. I guessed he was about to try something stupid. And he did. He lept at me, squealing like some ungodly demon, so I did the first thing that came to mind; I ran my sword through his chest.
I thought I had killed him. He stumbled back and fell, clutching at his chest, and I took the chance. I pounced and attempted to pin him, but something went terribly wrong. I wasn't entirely sure what happened.
My vision whited out. I could hear Renji and Ichigo yelling, something thudding, and felt that I was being squeezed. I struggled, but my arms were pinned to my sides and I couldn't move anything but my feet. So I kicked.
I was mad. So mad. I'd made a stupid mistake, and I felt like tearing Wonderweiss apart starting with his head. It didn't help that I had no clue where I was at or why I couldn't see-- it felt like I was wrapped in some kind of fleshy sack, being smothered. But I wasn't going to let that happen.
I called out a kidô. One that I knew would make him let go. Number 52, a fire kidô, burned through the white sack around me, making Wonderweiss squeal and drop me instantly. And I was back in action, zanpakuto in hand, trying to figure out the situation.
Renji had already called Bankai, but there was something wrong. Wonderweiss was bubbling. It was his body I'd burned, and that was what I assumed had trapped me. He squealed and screamed, thrashing at Renji wildly. Ichigo took a step back to lunge.
Wonderweiss's head ripped around and his elastic body whiplashed around Ichigo, squeezing him tightly and making him drop Zangetsu. Rukia sprang into action, knocking me out of the way to get to Ichigo as I moved to help him. I ran to Renji's side as she freed Ichigo with another kidô.
"Are you ok?" he asked, Wonderweiss turning toward us.
"Pretty great, just a little angry," I said, watching the elastic limbs carefully.
"As long as--"
Wonderweiss swept his good arm at us and I managed to flashstep and avoid it. But as my feet touched ground again, I realised Renji was gone. Wonderweiss had him. I lept to save him, ready to cut the entire limb off, until I felt something hard connect with my forehead and I fell backwards.
Rukia was above me, attempting to hack and slash her way through it with just her plain Zanpakuto. No shikai, no nothing. Ichigo was screaming at her from elsewhere, trying to get her to listen, that she needed to let me do it. She ignored him.
Stunned, I struggled to my feet, realising that Wonderweiss was expanding. His body flattened and stretched, forming a cavernous hole in his middle. I knew what he was trying to do with Renji.
Wonderweiss ate Soul Reapers.
I lunged toward Wonderweiss, toward the hole in his center, and slashed as hard as I could. I managed to separate his upper torso from his lower by cutting the two sides of the hole apart and he fell, dropping Renji. I didn't stop.
Kicking his remaining feet out of the way, I threw myself into a two-hand slash, cutting him in two from head to center. And I didn't think twice about it. Sparks flew as the blade of my zanpakuto hit the concrete under him, telling me that I had made a clean cut.
He didn't make another noise. I kicked the pieces away, making sure that he wasn't going to suddenly regenerate out of the severed limbs. He didn't so much as twitch, so I turned my attention to Renji and Rukia. Renji was obviously angry, but not at me.
He was mad at Rukia.
As the pieces of Wonderweiss faded into reishi, Ichigo and I sheathed our zanpakutos, rushing over to help Renji up. He was ok, it turned out, just sore and apparently very, very angry. He didn't speak to Rukia at all, and when she reached out to touch his shoulder, he shrugged it off and began to walk off.
"We're done here," he said simply, his Bankai fading out and Zabimaru returning to normal.
I began to follow Ichigo, confused, but satisfied that I had killed Wonderweiss. It was a short battle and I was proud of myself. This was going to get extra points in my evaluation.
Rukia fell into step behind me, her head low. I glanced back at her and she looked up at me, her eyes remorseful. She saw the mark she'd left on my forehead, and the blood that was dripping down over my eye. The wound was too deep for me to kidô myself.
She sighed and I continued walking, dreading going back to Ichigo's room. It wouldn't be a quiet night.

"You could have gotten ALL THREE OF US KILLED!!!"
Rukia cringed. I tried not to squeak as Yumichika patched up the gash on my left brow bone, listening to Renji's tyrade on Rukia's actions. I knew he had a temper, and Rukia had set it off. On about six levels.
"Do you realise what you did? And if this is her evaluation, surely someone was watching! You'll be lucky not to get demoted! That was ridiculous, Rukia. And stupid. Stupid."
"I didn't think she could--"
"YOU DIDN'T THINK AT ALL."
The room silenced. Yumichika dabbed at my cut gently, reaching up to stick a small healing bandage over it. "There. Now just give it a day or two," he said lowly, so as not to stir up the fight again.
Sniffling, Rukia left, slamming the door on her way out.
Renji stared blankly for a moment. He blinked once, looking over at me, then realised that we were all watching him. He sighed. "Nobody heard that," he growled. "None of you."
We all nodded. I stood to check myself out, wondering if I had any other marks or scratches from when Wonderweiss caught me. There was only one, on my forearm, that was easily kidôed away. I could feel stares on my back now and I turned, finding Rangiku and Hitsugaya looking at me with wide eyes.
"You cleaved Wonderweiss in half?" Hitsugaya asked.
"Yes, sir." I said it confidently, hoping to impress him.
"And didn't even use Bankai?"
"I haven't mastered it completely yet, sir."
He glanced at Rangiku, then silenced. I began to feel as if I did something wrong. Even though I knew what I did ended the fight quickly and effectively, it felt like I hadn't done it how they wanted. They wanted to see some sort of massive Bankai and Shikai, and I didn't show them. In fact, the only thing I showed them was that my zanpakuto was really, really sharp. If they were disappointed in me, I wasn't surprised.
"Michiru. Come with me," snipped Renji. I wasn't sure if the venom in his voice was for me or leftovers from Rukia, but I followed him obediently.
"Where to, sir?" I asked, but he silenced me.
"Just come with me."
And so I did. I followed him down the stairs, past Ichigo's unsuspecting family, and out into the near-dawn air. We plodded along silently until we came back to the park, where he flopped down onto a bench. He sighed heavily.
I stood in front of him nervously, digging my toes into the dirt. He motioned for me to sit next to him and I obeyed immediately. "Michiru, you really did great today," he said quietly, his eyes closed as if to relax. "You're going to make a great officer."
I blushed, tugging at a thread on my jeans nervously. "Thank you, sir," I murmured.
"But. There is no excuse for what happened with Rukia."
For a moment, I thought I was about to be in massive trouble. Even though I knew the situation wasn't my fault.
"Her actions were thoughtless and stupid, and I'm sorry you got hurt over something to petty," he continued, rubbing his forehead. "This isn't something she normally does...at all. I've never known her to do something so...selfish. Or violent."
"I would never hold it against her."
"I know. I just want you to understand that this will never happen again. Ever."
"Did she mean it? Did she want to hit me?" I asked, trying to sound timid, even though I was angry beyond belief. "That's all I want to know."
"Do you want me to tell you the truth?"
I nodded.
"I think she did. Because I think she's jealous of you," he snipped. "I think she's jealous that you have the attention of most of the Seireiti right now, and it's not on her. She can deny it all she wants but she likes the fame of being a Kuchiki. And then you come along, and you're this intelligent, serene person and everyone likes you. You're good at everything you try and you outshine most of the other females in looks. She's jealous, and that's all there is to it."
My heart stuck in my throat. I wasn't sure how to react--I was getting praise from one of the most well-recognized officers in the Soul Society, and on top of that, he was claiming that there were people actually jealous of me. It almost scared me. Was he proud of me? Would he recommend me for placement?
"What do I do?"
"Just do whatever you've been doing. You'll probably get asked to take your officer exam soon and then there's nothing anyone can do or say."
I gritted my teeth as my forehead began to throb painfully. It twanged like a stab wound but throbbed like a punch, something I wasn't appreciative of. The healing salve obviously wasn't doing its job, either.
"Let me see that," he said, reaching up to my forehead.
Instinctively, I flinched away, but his hand was gentle.
"I won't hurt you, Michiru. Let me look." He brushed my hair behind my ear and away from my forehead, making me bite my lip to keep a calm appearance. "She really whacked you. I understand why it hurts," he said as he peered under the bandage.
"It's not pleasant, I'll put it that way," I said, but his fingers were suddenly under my chin.
Carefully but sternly, he tilted my chin up to make me look at him. His expression was serious and his fingers gripped my chin tightly. "Tell me something," he started.
"Anything, sir," I stuttered, confused.
He stayed silent for a moment, contemplating. His eyes bored into my face for what seemed like forever. "You. You're in love with me."
I gasped and he let go of me, still staring at me. Stunned, I couldn't say anything, and I struggled to resist the urge to get up and run. He scared me. I didn't want to ruin what I'd worked so hard on by admitting to it, and I was sure that if I told him he'd have me thrown out of the Academy.
"You have been since I started helping your class," he continued. "Why?"
"Wh-why what??" I choked.
"Tell me why you think you love me. I've only met you a few times."
This time I was definitely stunned. I knew I looked like an idiot, sitting there with my mouth hanging open, but he didn't seem to care. I struggled for thoughts. "I...I think that...you're a v-very talented Assistan C-captain. A-and that you're very st-strong..."
"Is that it?"
"S-sir I don't think this is--"
"Michiru. Is that it?" he said sternly.
I shook my head, being honest. He stared, almost glaring at me, until I nearly sniffled. "I didn't want to be thrown out of class. I know it's wrong," I choked.
He leaned back, crossing his arms. "Now why do you say that?" he asked, seeming a little less tense.
"Because I know what happened to Haru and Anjin. I know they got sent back to the Rukongai."
"But they were two students."
"Does it matter?"
"Yes, it does." He shifted, and for a moment I felt that he was nervous. "Student relationships can be disruptive. Captains and teachers are always separated from the students so there's no interaction between them. Therefore...no chance for relationships other than moderate friendship. But-"
"But what?"
He took a deep breath. "Knowing this, you can't be in our company. But that's it. No big deal. I had you figured out, y'know."
I almost felt shallow. Superficial. He was so intelligent that I felt incompetent, even stupid. Ridiculously blind to the fact that he knew nearly everything about me. "It's ok. I want to be an Assisstant," I said quietly. "I'm not picky about companies."
"You sure?"
I nodded.
He thought for a moment, tucking a stray hair back into his ponytail. "Are you old enough to remember Kaien Shiba?" he asked. "Or have you at least heard of him?"
"I remember him, actually. He used to hike in the mountains near Zaraki." Which was true. Kaien visited the people of the Rukongai often, sometimes with his wife. I had seen them numerous times and even talked to him once. He dropped off candy to the children of our district and brought clothes and food to some of the older residents. "He was married, wasn't he? To the third seat of...um..."
"She was the third seat of the Eighth Company. What I'm trying to say is, it's not uncommon for things like this to happen. And it's not a death sentence, either. I'm sure you'll find someone you like and..."
He trailed off. A disturbing silence settled over us, and suddenly I felt as if I'd done something very, very wrong. Had I offended him? Or was he ashamed of me?
He looked up at me, his eyes suddenly dark. "Michiru," he said, but it was clipped.
"Sir?" I squirmed. Something was wrong.
"Don't fall in love with me."
With that, he stood up, straightening his clothes and walking off briskly.