Karissa Ai Megami looked at Kisuke Uruhara over the table, as she drank from her cup of sake, it leaving a hot, tingly feeling down the back of her throat. Her brown hair were pulled back into a loose bun, leaving her bangs falling across her freckled face lazily, between her eyes. Her eyes, so brown they were almost black, darkly contrasted with her pale skin, as she lay back against the wall, her knee's pulled to her chest. She wore a pair of lace black panties, and a white baggy crop top that fell off one of her shoulders, and bared her midriff for all to see. At the base of her stomach, close to her left hip bone, was a black and pink butterfly tattoo, a lot like the one that Soi Fon's zanpakutou used to kill. She also had a large rose at the base of her neck, and a smaller one on the inside of her wrist. Her belly button was pierced, and it had a plain white diamond ring through it. She sighed, and spread her legs out, hooking her slippers onto her feet as she did so.
From Kisuke's point of view, he could see every scar, no matter how small that adorned her small, but curvaceous body. He stared at her from under the rim of his green striped hat, sipping his sake, marvelling once again in the burning sensation it left as it trickled down his throat. He chuckled, humorlessly. The silence in the room was heavy, and the air was thick with tension. It was almost strangling him. She didn't seem to care, as she savoured every drop of sake from her cup, before throwing it at him to get a refill. She was scowling, her pouting pink lips turning down at the edges. He handed the cup back to her, silently. She took it, and downed it, before throwing it at the wall, and watching it smash.
"Your going to have to pay for that, you know," Kisuke joked, but there no was no cheerful tone to his voice. She just grunted and stood, weakly. She untied the string that held her bun up, and Kisuke couldn't help but admire as the brown locks fell like a waterfall around her body, curling loosely at the ends. It stopped at her hips, swishing slightly as she walked over to the smashed cup, and bent down to pick up the pieces.
"How did we end up like this?" she asked him, her tone no higher than a whisper, desperate for a plausible answer. She sharply breathed in, when a shard of porcelain slit open her palm. Tears filled her eyes, and she fell back onto her butt, clasping her hand to her bosom. Seeing her like that, reminded Kisuke of the day they met. He stood and walked over to her, sitting behind her and pulling her into his arms, as she cried for reasons other than the pain emitting from her small hand. Blood dribbled down her am, from her clasped palm, and she snuggled into his chest, tears still pouring down her face. He kissed the top off her head in a loving way, rubbing the smooth skin of her back. The shattered cup forgotten, he picked her up, and carried her through to the bathroom, placing her on the edge of the sink. Her cries had stifled to whimpers, and he got out the first aid kit. As he bandaged up her hand, she looked at him innocently. It was the same look, from the day they met, he realised, and he nearly chuckled at it. Her brown eyes were large, and teary, her cheeks slightly pink, and her lips pouting. His calloused fingers lightly brushed the cut that was already clotting with blood, as he wrapped a white bandage around her hand.
"Karissa..." he whispered, and she sighed. He looked down at her hand, his body between her legs as he wrapped it up.
"Yes, Kisuke," she questioned quietly, and he started to wipe the dry and wet blood up of her arm. It had gone a rusty brown colour, and stained her top from were she had held her arm to her chest. The heat from him was comforting, and her head was beginning to clear from the loss of blood.
"Do you remember the day we met?" he asked, almost cautious. She looked at him, startled. Yep, he had seen that look that day as well. She looked down at her hand, bandaged up, red blood staining the white. Her eyes closed, and she smiled to herself.
"Of course I do. I remember everything from my time in Soul society," she whispered. Kisuke caught he sadness in her voice and gently gripped her arm. She smiled to her lap,and hugged him, inhaling his musky, sweet scent.
"It's one of my favourite memories though..." she mumbled, gripping the back of his green haori. Kisuke smiled, and rubbed his hand up and down her back. She wrapped her legs around him, and he lifted her up. His hand cupped her bum, and her arms wrapped around his neck, as she began to breathe heavily, sleepy. "Tell me about it..." she whispered, her voice muffled slightly. "Tell me about the day we met..."
Kisuke chuckled, and nodded, as he carried her. "Well..."
It was hot, really really hot. The people of Rukongai district 75 all lazed in the shade, the kids couldn't even be bothered to move, as flies buzzed around them. Down by the river a group of boys, who looked to be the age of eleven, watched as a beautiful little girl, who couldn't have been older than five, paddled in the water. They sat under the cool shade of the large tree's that surrounded the river, each with a bucket of water, and a cloth for damping the sweat off their foreheads. The little girl giggled, as she splashed happily. Her hair fell in loose waves, from a small ponytail at the side of her head. It brushed against her shoulders. She had several bangs surrounding her face, and a short curl that fell between her eyebrows. She giggled again, and her freckled button nose scrunched up and she splashed in the water, a happy grin on her face. Her baby pink kimono was soaked, and too big for her. She looked over at the boys and waved. None of them waved back. Her face saddened, and she turned back to the water, splashing it again.
It lacked the happiness it had had before. One of the splashes fired back at her, and she fell back, onto her bum. The boys started to look worried. The little girl raised her hands, and looked at them. She looked confused, as too why they were so painful and nearly screamed when she saw blood forming, and dribbling down her arms, into the clears blue water, changing it to red. Her lip quivered, and tears began to fill the edges of her eyes. The boys started to stand now, and make their way over to her. Then, in a surprisingly loud wail, she began to cry. Thick, wet tears poured down her face, as she screamed, wailed and whimpered.
"DADDY!! DADDY!" she screamed, her cheeks red, and her hair soaked. The blood poured freely from her hands, and she pulled them to her chest, weeping. The boys all looked worried, and finally, the sandy blond one walked over to her, wading through the river to her. The girl sniffled, and looked up at him, her expression one of total innocence. Tears poured freely down her face as she stared up at him, her lips turned down sadly. Her face began to scrunch up, as she gave in to another wave of loud tears. She wailed loudly, and the boy bent down. He took her hands in his and looked at them. She mewled with pain as he gently brushed his thumb over them. "Can you take me to my daddy?" she asked, her throat painful, and raspy, and her eyes sore. He looked at her, and she looked up at him weakly. He nodded, and she raised her arms so he could pick her up. He looked at her, and she looked at him with pleading eyes. sighing, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her. He was surprised at how light she was. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her soaking wet form back to the banks of the river. She yowled quietly to herself, as he carried her to the group of boys, and buried her face in his tunic.
"Hey Kisuke, what's up?" one of the boys, with dark hair, and sharp eyes asked. Kisuke shrugged, and looked at his friends.
"I'm going to take the kid back to her house. She shouldn't have been out here anyway," he said, and the others nodded, and waved him off. The black haired boy stood, and walked over to him.
"I'll come too," he said, and Kisuke nodded.
"Sure, Isshin," he said, as they walked away. He looked down at the little girl. "Hey, kid, what's your name?" he asked, and she looked up at him, her eyes wide and slightly bloodshot.
"Karissa. Karissa Ai Megami," she whimpered, and she looked at the two boys. They stopped and looked at her.
"Your Li Megami and Jae Megami's kid?" Isshin asked, and the little girl nodded. "How old are you?"
"Nineteen," she stated, and the boys nodded.
"Wow, your young," they said, and she blushed brightly, before burying her face in Kisuke's tunic again. They heard her mumble something, but it was muffled. Kisuke carried her two her house, on the edge of the district, and Isshin knocked on the door. The door opened, and a woman opened it, a bright smile on her face, and long blond locks cascading down her back. She looked at Karissa and sighed. "Oh dear me," she said, and she gently took Karissa from Kiskue, and carried her into the house, gesturing for them to come in out of the heat. They walked into the house, and were surprised to see that it was well-decorated. The smell of bread baking floated through out the house, and as they followed the tall, graceful Jae Megami, they stared around in shock. The sounds of Karissa's wailing re-erupted, and the two ran towards the room that Jae had gone in. They walked in to a perfectly white bathroom, with pink soaps and towels. Karissa sat on the toilet lid, her mother down on her knee's, gently wiping the wailing girls hand with a cloth. Beside her was a bottle of disinfection lotion. Karissa howled in pain, as her mother cleaned up the cuts. Jae just shook her head, an brought the little girls hands to her mouth, and blowing on them. The girl's wailing, and howling, began to cease as her mother's cool breath soothed the burning sting of the disinfectant. Jae reached into a small pink box and pulled out two white wrapping. she looked down at her daughters hand, and saw that the blood was already clotting up on her palms.
"Mommy, it hurts..." the little girl said, and Kisuke and isshin felt uncomfortable watching such an affectionate display between mother and daughter. Jae laughed.
"It will, sweetie, you grazed them rather badly. Your daddy wont let you until they are healed, you know," she said, and the girl looked shocked. She pouted, as her mother rubbed lotion, and wrapped bandages around her hand, careful not to press to hard. Jae then wiped the blood of her arms, and looked at her kimono. Her brow furrowed. "Karissa, were you in the river again?" she asked softly, and Karissa nodded, ashamed, looking at the dirty edges of her kimono. Jae sighed, and shook her head. "Karissa, you have to stay out the river, people put dangerous things in there, okay? You could get hurt, do you want that?"
Karissa's head shot up, and she shook her head. "No! That would be bad!" she stated, bewildered. Kisuke chuckled at her expression, and she looked at them, having forgotten they were there, once again startled. Jae stood and looked at the boys, picking up Karissa.
"If you want, you can go and wait in the kitchen, while I get her changed," she said, and the boys looked shocked. She was going to let them stay for a while? Karissa nodded at them. "You can help yourself to some of the food, if you wish," Jae called to them, as she carried Karissa into a room with a pink door. Kisuke and Isshin looked at each other, and made their way through the house in search of the kitchen. After stumbling across a training room, a study and a living room, their noses led them to the kitchen, and, to freshly baked cakes. Karissa sat on the side, happily munching on a pink icing covered cake, swinging her legs and wearing a blue dress with pink flowers on it. She had her eyes closed, as she savoured the taste of the cake as it melted in her mouth. It was sweet, and had a slight edgy taste to it, but, because her mother had made it, it was perfect. Jae smiled at them when they entered. "I figured you would get here eventually," she smiled, and the two blushed brightly, as she handed them a cake each. Karissa gigled when she saw them, and hopped down from the kitchen counter. She ran to Kisuke, and hugged him tightly.
"Thank you for helping me!" she said happily, and she looked up at him with sparkly eyes. Isshin chuckled, and she hugged him as well. Then, she stole their cakes, and rushed of laughing, the two boys chasing her, while Jae shook her head a smile on her face, and her dark eyes glowing.
Karissa sighed as she gently breathed in her sleep, and rolled over in Kisuke's bed. He stroked her locks gently, and lightly kissed her lips. she smiled in her sleep, and pulled him closer to her. He had known her for three hundred, and fifteen years, yet she had barely aged into a twenty year old woman. Unlike him and Isshin, who were older than her, sure, she had managed to keep her youthful looks. She sighed again, and he wrapped hisarms around her, pulling her closer, so she was on his chest slightly. She gripped him tightly, and Yoruichi padded in, and jumped onto the end of the bed. Kisuke made a shushing sound and pointed to Karissa, and Yoruichi rolled her eyes, before sitting on Karissa's back like an actual cat, and closing her eyes to sleep as well. Kisuke chuckled, and closed hie eyes, drifting into dreams of the past.