Ichigo waited on the hospital roof. Yuuko was drawing out the spell in vibrant red liquid, arcane symbols sizzling on the stone as her massive brush slid across the roof. Ichigo was leaning against the edge, watching her perform the rite. He could feel the magic in her movements, so very similar to tatsuki's energy, but smokier.
The others were standing to his right, waiting just as patiently as Ichigo himself.
Yuuko made her final brush stroke, tossing the glorified mop to the side before stepping forward. She was careful to avoid the circle itself, pulling her robes well away from the markings. The reddish liquid was shifting in color now, back and forth it went from an acidic orange to red to sorrowful indigo.
"Do you have the payment?" Yuuko asked Ichigo.
"You never told me the price."
"And yet, you agreed," Yuuko smiled at him. She walked closer to him. "In your pocket, there is a ribbon."
Ichigo pursed his lips before reaching into his pocket and handing the silken strand over. The vibrant crimson silk held many memories for Ichigo. The first and most important was when Tatsuki gave it to him. Often, if Ichigo could hold his mother's hand, he would hold onto her necklace. But the chain had broken, sending the little boy into tears. Tatsuki had come over to him, scowling as she pulled the ribbon from her hair and threaded it through the charm.
"She's given it to you many times, hasn't she?" Yuuko asked, turning the red silk over in her hands.
"More than I deserved."
"Step into the circle, Kurosaki Ichigo."
Ichigo did as told. The moment his foot entered the circle, a bizarre tingling overcame him. From the soles of his feet to his fingertips, even his hair seemed to buzz with Silence.
"Wait, I thought we were all going?"
Orihime's words were understood by the boy in the circle, but he didn't hear them. He couldn't hear anything other than his own heartbeat and the steady thrum of Shizukami.
"Then you must all pay a price," Yuuko shrugged.
Ichigo saw Orihime step up first, handing over a photograph before Yuuko could even say anything. A strip from a photo booth. Yuuko smiled and nodded, and another heartbeat joined Ichigo's ears. Sado was next, handing over a hair tie. He'd known Tatsuki's scret regarding her hair. His heart was strong, a low bass added the the rhythm. Ishida's price was a bit different, having no real attachment to Tatsuki, he was forced to surrender his cell phone.
"Don't run up my bill," Ishida scowled as he stepped into the circle.
Yuuko only smiled, though it turned to a frown as she observed the last individual.
"And why would you want to go?"
"There are souls trapped-"
"And they will remain as such," Yuuko cut her off. "You do not serve our silent god, you do not respect her, you have no right to send the souls in Shizukami to your realm." Yuuko calmed herself before she spoke once more. "The souls within shizukami may only be sent by a priestess. If they are to be sent, they will be taken care of by my daughter."
Yuuko turned away from the shinigami, facing those within the circle. No longer a well groomed CEO, the woman had become an intimidating sorceress of power, wise and cold. Her dove gray suit was gone, replaced instead by voluminous robes of scarlet and indigo.
"You shall return to the real world as the sun rises," Yuuko spake. "With, or without my daughter in your possession. Should you fail to return with her, you will be sent into Shizukami upon the setting of the sun. This process will continue until you have reclaimed my heir from Shizukami." Yuuko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Two amongst you may send souls without punishment. One may destroy them without guilt. And one may restore them without fear."
Yuuko opened her eyes. They were glowing with a sorrowful indigo light and her voice floated across the circle, a whisper pounding in their ears. The tingling sensation they'd previously known had intensified from an uncomfortable buzz to a near painful feeling, as though thousands of needles with tattoing their skin all at once.
Tatsuki followed the blur of orange and black down the hall, curious as to why Ichigo would be here of all places. He had Rukia to listen to. He had Orihime to go dote upon.
Tatsuki shook her head, hardly aware of the shadows that had been reaching for her as her thoughts turned dark. They recoiled as she pulled herself from her negativity, falling back to the dark wood of the walls.
At Every corner, Tatsuki was certain she would finally catch up to Ichigo. But he was always one step ahead of her. Until the twisting hall opened up into a large room, a sitting room or a meeting room perhaps. IT held a certain similarity to the dojo she'd met Ichigo in so many years ago, though the padded mats were replaced instead by frayed tatami, several large cushions still in place. A wide black stain sprayed across the floor, covering the cushions and tatami both. The more Tatsuki looked at the stain however, the more she realized it extended much further than she'd previously thoguht. There were many more bloodstians than she'd previously though there to be, the largest of which Tatsuki was standing in the very middle of.
"Fuck," Tatsuki whispered as the blackened stain began to moisten.
A flash of orange caught her eye again.
It was not Ichigo. The massive sword, the bright warmth of the head, the dark shadows surrounding the body. A rusted, reddish orange helmet covered his features, triangular and huge, muddied with substances Tatsuki didn't want to name. Black ash covered gray skin while stained pants covered his lower body.
The creature was coming straight for her, raising his sword. Slow and fast all at Once, Tatsuki tripped over a torn tatami as she tried to escape the mighty blade.
A gurgling sounded behind Tatsuki. The marital artist rolled to the side before she looked at whatever had been standing behind her. A man had been standing behind her with a hatchet, face masked as he stood in pristine white. He was turning for her, raising his hatchet just as the pyramid headed monster raised his own sword.
The man in white fell into two pieces and her feet, blood pooling thickly out of his form. The sword bearing figure continued hacking at the ghost, rage coming from beneath his helmet as the man in white started putting himself back together. With every hack and chop, the blood multiplied, surrounding Tatsuki on the floor and soaking through her running pants. It stung, cold and furious with her.
Tatsuki was not going to wait until one or the other was finished, nor was she going to sit in the painful liquid. Scooting back on the now blood soaked floor, the martial artist stood and ran from the two monsters behind her. A switchblade was no use against either of the masked men. As she ran, the blood on the floor pooled behind her, chasing her from the room. It followed her down a twisting corridor, staining the wood and the shoji until finally, she burst from the hall into a courtyard.
The blood stopped at the threshold, sinking in between the floorboards sluggishly.
She let out a shaking breath, clenching the switchblade in her hand as she tried to calm down. The thundering of her heart was too loud in her ears.
She wanted Silence.
Letting out another breath, Tatsuki slid the door shut and turned to see what she had walked into.
It was calm, peaceful, and silent in this courtyard. A rather large courtyard made up of a deep, inset pool. The water within was clear and calm, flowing around an alter made of black marble. This was safe. Tatsuki hopped from the deck to the marble alter, breathing a sigh of relief as the Silent God wrapped her arms about Tatsuki's being.
Ichigo fell to his knees, teeth grit as Yuuko's spell wore off and his spirit adjusted to Shizukami.
Seireitei had radiated with spiritual energy, malevolent and benign, strong and weak. There were human souls and spirits in that realm, each waiting to continue on to the next life. Hueco Mundo had a steady pulse of negative energy, strong and unyielding, devouring itself. Monsters had lived there, anger had lived there.
Shizukami was dead. The energy of souls was gone, he could sense nothing but the spirit of those he'd entered with. A true god of Death ruled this world. He could feel her watching them.
There was a faint pulse, distant, that he knew to be Tatsuki. Shizukami was surrounding her.
"Everyone make ti through okay?" Ichigo asked, looking at those surrounding him. They'd landed on a large stone platform, surrounded by crimson and indigo posts. Each post bore a different set of symbols, matching those on the circle Yuuko had drawn, giving off a sickly glow.
"Fine," Chad spoke, already standing.
"All here," Ishida agreed, sitting up on the blackened ground. "This is where Tatsuki is?"
"I don't think so," Ichigo shook his head. "But she might have passed through. Orhime?"
"Fine." The ginger haired teen was holding her stomach, nodding as she pushed herself to stand. "Not fine."
Ichigo took a step back as Orihime emptied her stomach onto the ground. The bile soaked into the earth as the various bits turned to ash floated away on the breeze. Everything withered in this place, even if it wasn't truly living.
"We need to get going," Ichigo spoke as Orihime stood upright once more.
"Give her a moment," Ishida scowled.
"Every moment we delay Tatsuki is getting further and further into this place." Ichigo turned and started towards a path. "Every moment, she could end up dead or worse."
Orihime stopped Ishida's argument, moving towards the path in silent agreement. She wiped at the corner of her mouth as she looked around them, eyes filling with sadness as she took in the scorched landscape. Charred remains of flora and fauna surrounded them. Some falling to the ground in a pile of ash while other's crumbled in chunks.
The path was winding through and around the corpses, through beasts large enough to eat them whole and between things the size of small children.
A black tenticle shot up from the edge of the path, wrapping around the strip of stone and pulling something massive and moving from the dirt beneath. It was almost female, bound in a filthy red haori. The creature didn't have hands or feet, it barely had arms and legs, but something head like was opening a vertical mouth, wet and cavernous, and moaning at him. A club like arm swung at him, blade erupting from the fleshy bulb at the end.
Ichigo pulled his sword free without a thought, cutting the twisted creature down. The creature burned away from it's wound out, still moaning and writhing as it burned up.
"Ichigo."
Ichigo turned when Chad spoke his name. Another creature was pulling itself up onto the path behind them.
"Take it out and lets keep moving," Ichigo told him, finally realizing he had his zanpaktou back.
It was different though. Stronger, perhaps even brighter in spirit than it had been before.
Chad's fist went through the creeping she beast, an explosion of hot cinders lighting up the dusky sky. Ichigo would ponder his zanpaktou at a later time. He had to find Tatsuki.
Tatsuki's eyes were heavy as she tried to open them.
The alter upon which she rest was still safe, she was still safe in this place, but someone was staring at her from across the water. Fair skin was eerily clean, the woman's form was just like Tatsuki's mother, and her hair, long and dark, kept her modesty.
"Tsuki."
As though summoned by her whisper, Tsuki was suddenly standing in front of Tatsuki, eyes bright with indigo light. Blackened lips were pulled into a sad frown as her brows knit together in worry.
"You must finish it," Tsuki's voice whispered. "You must. You must finish the ceremony."
Tatsuki shook her head. "I don't know what you mean."
"You must," Tsuki insisted, moving closer. Tatsuki backed away from the mad woman, noting the shift in her aunt's eyes towards crimson. "You must finish the ceremony."
"I will," Tatsuki breathed out. The Silent God had fled from the alter, leaving the teen alone with the spirit. The waters, once so clear and peaceful had turned dark, lapping hungrily at the edges of the pool.
"You must finish the ceremony, before she returns."
Tatsuki didn't have to ask who her aunt was referring to. Tsuki's eyes had turned crimson before they turned black, so deep and dark Tatsuki felt she could drown. The woman's hand clamped around Tatsuki's wrist, burning as it ground the bones of her wrist together. The ghost threw Tatsuki across the formerly tranquil pool, through a wall and into a mass of bones. She was in front of Tatsuki again, grinning wide as she grabbed a hold of her hair, pulling the martial artist behind her and down the hall.
The laughter of the vengeful spirit chilled Tatsuki to her core, sharp and cruel as it pulled her by the hair.
~!~
"Do ou hear that?" Ichigo asked as they approached a building.
"It sounds like moaning," Ishida nodded.
The white path under their feet was directing them towards a small and dirty house. The rushes atop, rotting away as they slid from the roof in great clumps. The scent of blood and sex was cloying as they moved closer, Ichigo praying with every step that Tatsuki was not within. Since Zangetsu had returned to him, he could feel his inner darkness fading, melding really. This land of Silence was reforming him to her will. Fine. So long as he got Tatsuki back.
Chad's hand was on the door handle when another moan erupted from the house.
"I don't want to go in there," Orihime whispered from Ishida's side.
Chad slid the door open, those behind him wishing they could slide it shut. Within the structure of rot, small, glassy creatures cackled and cracked as they danced around a somewhat larger creature, whipping it with white ribbons. Another female looking creature, though this one was more obvious, more human looking. Tied down by it's own hair, the creature was moaning as a hulking mass tore a chunk from it's body.
One of the glassy creatures noticed them, screeching from a mouth running the length of it's torso. White tendrils shot out from the mouth, the ribbons from before, lined with teeth and barbs. The teens moved out of the way, fully aware that all of the small glass creatures were coming for them now, as the tendril struck the wooden floor.
Orihime was not quite fast enough to dodge one of the other tendrils. The white whip wrapped around her ankle, glass baby pulling itself towards her with a dripping mouth. Tsubaki shot out from her pins, severing the ribbon before shooting through the glass baby.
"It's made from ice," the fae commented as he darted back to Orihime. "I don't suppose you have matches?"
Ishida took the rest of the glass, ice, babies out, arrows shattering the creatures into a fine dust. The female creature in the middle of the room was no longer bound by her hair. She was no longer alive or whole, merely a mess of reddish, moaning, flesh on the ground. The creature that had been devouring her stood, lips smacking with bloody spittle as he laughed.
Without the distractions, Ichigo could see what the creature was. He could see what both creatures were. The woman had been a part of the wooly monster once, a part of this twisted grand fisher. Unlike the one from his memories, this creature was a part of the house itself, the wool nothing but splinters of wood. Unlike the hollow who destroyed his mother, this creature could nto speak, it merely growled and made hungering gutteral noises.
Ichigo pulled his sword once more.
"Focus on the woman," Ichigo told them. The lure was reforming itself, fingers turning to claws as she writhed wantonly on the floorboards. The lure looked too much like Tatsuki. It made him feel and want things he shouldn't even think about.
~!~
Memory was pulling her down the hall, laughing low and wild as she did so, taking delight in Tatsuki's pain as she tossed ice babies out of her way. They shattered against the wood, coating Tatsuki in ice before melting against her skin and coating her in red. She was sliding along the wood, leaving a trail for anyone to follow, specifically the men in the rooms they passed.
With every room they passed, Tatsuki was forced to realize her miseries. Three times Yamata had been in those rooms, touching her. Five times she'd been forced to watch as no one helped or stopped him. As they'd walked past a room, Tatsuki had seen the man in red and black hacking into three Yamata men. She screamed for him, her throat horse from sobs, tasting her own blood and that of the ice babies all at once. The man in black had turned, faster than she expected. Memory had noticed as well, hurrying in her steps, the rooms becoming more graphic until Tatsuki's eyes blurred with tears and her skin crawled. Memory could not escape the man in black anymore than Tatsuki could escape the visions surrounding her.
The possessed woman had tossed Tatsuki in between herself and the bloody knight, snarling as she tried to attack him.
The arm holding onto Tatsuki had been sliced off, the man in black prowling closer to the she bitch as Tatsuki scrambled away. Memory's limb was still holding tight to Tatsuki's hair, maneuvering itself to latch onto her throat as she fought with the masked swordsman. Spots were appearing in Tatsuki's vision as the now bloated hand latched tighter to her neck.
Something white and snarling was very suddenly lunging for her neck, spotted vision warping it.
The spots faded as the sound of steel clashed and snarls combined with roars. The whitish gray creature was swaying as it spat out the arm, wide teeth clacking together as it moved into a crouch by Tatsuki's feet. The skin was cold, she could feel it on her leg as it backed over her form.
"No," Tatsuki whispered, over and again, insistent as it got closer. She could hear her memories playing in the rooms around them and she could feel the loss and rage bubbling around her. The knight and Memory were tearing at each other now, spraying blood across the hall and everything within it.
The whitish gray creature picked her up, hand across her mouth as it climbed out of the manor window and up the outer walls.
Orihime had never known her friend's mind could be so very dark and full of sorrow. Yuuko had explained it very carefully before they left. Shizukami would test Tatsuki, yes, try to break her even, but the Silent God would use Tatsuki's own mind to do so. The monsters and images were from Tatsuki's own heart, darker and crueler than anything Aizen could dream up.
The healer glanced over at Ichigo. He was having a hard time accepting that idea. Orihime could see the guilt eating away at him. After everything they'd done to protect her, to try and keep Tatsuki out of harms way, she ended up in hell. A hell made worse by them and their actions.
Orihime wondered what else they might see in this world of Tatsuki's.
She stopped, grabbing onto Ishida's arm. She could hear someone sobbing ahead of them.
"You can hear that, right?" Orihime asked. Those around her nodded.
"I've heard it for a while now. Since the Fisher house." Ichigo admitted.
"That long?" Ishida asked, adjusting his glasses. "I only heard it a few yards back."
"The Yamata house," Chad spoke, looking around for anything that might attack. Since they first arrived in this land, everything seemed to be looking for blood. The swingers had pounced on them three times, and the ice babies seemed to travel in packs.
"Why did I hear it last?" No one answered her. "It sounds like Tatsuki,"Orihime settled on saying. The sobbing was getting worse, wracked with sorrow and greif. "Maybe we should split up?"
"It's almost dawn," Ishida agreed. "You and Ichigo are the ones who know Tatsuki the best, you each know what is symbolized in this realm."
It was a good idea. They needed to find her soon. Chad and Ichigo took one path, closer to the forested area of Tatsuki's mind. Orihime and Ishida took another, heading towards what might have been a lake. Orihime and Tatsuki had spent a good amount of time at the lake this summer, though there were occasions Tatsuki had gone alone. Neither had any idea what the forest meant, but Ichigo had a sneaking feeling.
The sobbing got louder and more pained the further Ichigo and Chad walked into the forest. Ashes fell from the branches in large clumps, clouds rising from the scorched earth with each fall and footstep. Her world was so destroyed, charred and dead, the buildings and land left behind. Ichigo ducked under a branch, Zangetsu nearly vibrating in his grip with something akin to excitement.
"This doesn't feel right," Chad rumbled as he followed Ichigo through the coal forest. "This test, it feels like a trap."
"I know," Ichigo nodded. It went unspoken that the Silent God was testing them as well. "Let's just hope she's there."
The forest thinned, leading the duo to a very familiar river bank. The Silent god was actively targeting Ichigo now. Before, monsters had attacked him or Orihime first, in larger numbers than went after Chad and Ishida. This riverbank held some of his worst memories.
And there, sitting by the water, was a woman covered in blood, sobbing as she held herself. Thick hair hung around her form, sticking to her skin and covering what her torn clothing did not. The crimson fluid was pooled around her form, rippling with every sway that Tatsuki's form made.
"Tatsuki!"
Ichigo all but ran down the hill, slowing only when the woman lifted her head to face him. Icy blue eyes were staring out of Tatsuki's face, trails of crimson falling down her cheeks as she glowered at him. With her head lifted and hair shifted, he could see long scratches on her chest, she'd been clawing at her heart. The flesh and skin under her nails hung in ribbons along her hands.
"You left me," the creature spoke in Tatsuki's voice. Worn and ragged from her tears. It was filled with rage and sorrow, betrayal shining through brighter than any other feeling. "You left me, alone, you left!"
Ichigo barely had time to catch the creature coming at him. Her nails had turned to claws, mouth opening impossibly wide as her teeth lengthened and turned to fangs. Still, he did not want to crush her wrists in his hands, did not want to draw his sword on her.
"Tatsuki," Ichigo grunted, leaning away from her as he tried to push her away. The longer he held onto her, the more he could feel it's emotions.
"You left me," she sobbed again, crimson tears falling anew. She was trying for his throat, fingers scratching the delicate skin.
It was Chad who pulled the creature off of him. Clawing and screaming at Ichigo as Chad pulled her off. The woman screamed as she pulled her hair out, flinging it at Ichigo as her nails dug into Chad's arms. Razor sharp, the inky strands cut through his clothes and skin, stinging to the very bone, her nails must have done the same, for Chad released her to activate his own power.
"I think she's angry at you," Chad finally spoke as Ichigo dodged the wailing woman.
"I picked up on that," Ichigo shouted as he was forced to dodge yet another clump of hair. He didn't want to strike her. She was too much like Tatsuki, the sorrow in her voice echoing in his own being.
"Ichigo, if you defeat her sorrow, maybe we can bring Tatsuki out quicker." Chad was trying to deflect the woman from the sidelines, punching the earth and creating ditches for her to stumble over. It was working well enough, but they could feel the dawn coming and they needed to find the others before they were taken back to the real world.
Ichigo flipped Zangetsu's blade to face the demonic woman. He'd been holding back throughout, unable to cut into a form so very like that of Tatsuki's. Even Zangetsu had been hesitant to strike her; something they agreed finally agreed on. The sobbing, screaming, woman had not been so hesitant however, lunging at him despite the blade cutting into her chest.
He lost his breath when the blade went through her, watching as the top of her body fell into the river, crying out as his mother had before. The water was crimson, blooming out from where she'd fallen. The ground as well was coloring. He'd lost another to that river, sent another woman he cared for to a watery death.
"Ichigo."
Chad's voice broke him from his guilt. He pointed at the river, at the top of a head and a pair of icy eyes glaring at them, moving closer as inky hair swelled to the top of the water. It was moving slowly through the water, the body in the grass twitching.
"We should find the others," Ichigo started up the bank. This wasn't something he could destroy. He could hear the weeping woman splashing out of the river as they left, cries growing fainter as they returned to the place they'd left Orihime and Ishida.
They were waiting for Ichigo and Chad, Orihime blushing a curious crimson while Ishida was very focused on cleaning his glasses. Both were covered in blood and muck, various rotting waer plants sticking to Ishida.
"Fall into the lake?" Ichigo asked, glancing back towards the river.
"Something like that," Ishida started to blush. Orihime's face had gone even redder as she focused her gaze onto the ground. "We didn't find our Tatsuki. But, something like her."
"Well what happened?" Ichigo asked.
"I'd really rather not discuss it," Ishida continued cleaning his glasses as his skin matched Orihime's. "What about you?"
"We didn't find her either," Ichigo breathed out. Dawn was very close, pulling at their being as the world around them brightened and began to pull. "Just something like her."
The trip back to the real world was less of a shock to them. Orihime didn't puke this time and the tingle that had been trailing along Ichigo's skin was lessened. The wounds they'd suffered remained. The muck and dried fluids were still on their clothes, less sinister in the light of dawn.
"I see," Yuuko gave a sad smile. She'd been waiting on the roof for them, still garbed in her robes. "I take it you met the girls?"
"If you mean the sorrow, yeah," Ichigo scowled. Why did he still have Zangetsu? It felt solid in his grip, realer than it had before.
"Sorrow?" Ishida asked. "She didn't seem very..." the blushing was back and Orihime had begun to speak about robots.
"The one you called Sorrow is Nassatu, Tatsuki must defeat her before she can return." Yuuko looked over the the red teens, trying not to laugh. "I think they met Habassu."
"Habassu?" Ichigo asked. The sunlight was welcome on his skin, assuring and comforting. He'd never been so upset to leave the darkness before. He wanted to share this feeling with Tatsuki. "What is she?"
Yuuko only smiled once more. "You'll know when you meet her. She'll look for you, call to you, just as Nassatu did." Dr. Ishida walked onto the roof as Yuuko spoke, face grim as he came over to look at their injuries. "Both of them are aspects of Tatsuki. Parts she has trouble accepting. Her sorrow for one. A tomboy is not expected to weep over a man."
Ichigo's hand went to his chest, touching his heart as he remembered the torn look of Nassatu's skin. Zangetsu pulsed in his grip, asking that he speak with them.
"Go clean up, go to school," Yuuko spoke. "You'll have another chance tonight."
Tatsuki's breath shuddered as the grayish being prowled back and forth in front of her. His face was blackened, curling horns emerging from a mane of white hair, and while she'd expected his skin to be as cold and clammy as everything else, it had been alive. Not warm, but not carrying the cold of death. His teeth clacked together as he moved about in front of her, wide mouth reaching from what would have been ear to ear. It crawled about on all fours, sniffing at the air and the ground like an animal. It's head swung over, vertical eyes blinking at her, and started clacking.
"I take it you aren't planning to eat me?" Tatsuki asked, squeezing the blood from her sweatshirt. It wasn't helping much at all. She would have taken it off, but something told her this creature wouldn't see it innocently.
The creature clacked it's teeth in laughter, gurgling something as it walked away from her. Clacker only walked a few feet before glancing back. His head titled and jerked.
Tatsuki rose on shaking legs and followed him through the courtyard he'd dropped her in. Unlike the last safe place, this place held a single tree, decorated with prayers, stone tablets at it's base and clay idols in the branches. Clacker led her past the tree, climbing awkwardly over benches and stones, towards a wide set of doors at the other end of the courtyard. The doors were stained with black and deepest brown. How many people had been struck down as they reached for the handle? Hundreds, thousands of priestesses must have died in this place.
Clacker nudged her at the door with his head, horn scratching Tatsuki's thigh.
"Fuck, I'm going."
Her answer was a laugh.
"I really hate opening doors here."
Tatsuki glanced behind herself as she started opening the door. The creature was watching the other entrances, swaying as his head twitched. She pulled the door open, nearly laughing at what she saw. Her living room. The beige carpet her mother hated so much and the couch neither could bring themselves to get rid of. Even the TV was in there, mounted on the wall as it played Tatsuki's favorite show.
There was a woman in the room as well. Winged and beautiful and terrifying all at once. The woman was garbed in nothing but her hair and a wide, jeweled belt. An elaborate caul was resting atop her head, shifting in color and sparkling in the soft lamplight. She was sitting in her mother's favorite chair, smiling a nearly wicked smirk full of many things.
"Ereskigal."
The woman nodded, beckoning Tatsuki into the mock home. Tatsuki slid the door shut behind her, ignoring the laughter of Clacker, and entered. This place, it felt like home.
"That is because you are home," Eres laughed. "I am granting you one hour of rest. Change, cleanse yourself, eat. I will call you back before the sun rises."
"Why?" Tatsuki couldn't help but ask. "What is that thing in Aunt Tsuki?"
Ereskigal's mouth twitched, nearly losing it's smile as her face shifted ever so slightly from the grinning beauty to a grinning matron.
"A demon. Each of you has one to fight." She spoke so simply, shrugging even. "Of course, you have the strange luck to be Tsuki's reincarnation. So the demon within her, is yours as well." Ereshkigal rose, taller and larger than Tatsuki had assumed her to be. Her wings fell behind her in a feathered cloak of ink and pitch. "Your mother took more than just her sister's diary that day. Tsuki had stowed away part of her very soul, hoping to try my test again."
"I'm not Tsuki."
Ereskigal grinned as she walked past Tatsuki and towards the door.
"No. You're not."
Tatsuki let out a breath as Eres left through the strange door.
She would shower first.
~!~
Wow, second chapter was a long one. Also, because I know I will get questions, I've thrown in a bit of a glossary for you guys to look at.
~!~
Nassatu – Sorrow, to lament – Weeping Tatsuki represents of course, the pain she feels at being left behind and alone during painful times of her life. The gym clothes reflect her first abandonment, Coach Yamata, as Ichigo did not understand what she was trying to tell him at the time. The blood is the second abandonment, when Orihime pretended they had not been attacked by a hollow – Orihime's brother- the night before. The wounds on her chest, the clawmarks on her heart, represent the third incident, when Ichigo actively told her they were no longer connected. She is incredibly aggressive towards Ichigo and Orihime both, and will not hesitate to cut through those who stand in her way.
Habassu – to swell (with happiness or pleasure) – Pleasing Tatsuki represents her need to please those around her, despite the pain she feels; Habassu embodies the pleasure she receives from helping others. Habassu also represents the pleasure and lust she denies allowing herself. She is a passive being, and can sometimes be benevolent to the group, specifically Ichigo. However, she is rarely far from Nasaru and/or Sagasu and tends to ignore any females, occasionally acting out. The blindfold she wears represents the trust she places in those around her, while her bound hands represent her inability to act as she wishes to. She will often giggle, showing that while the is sexual, Tatsuki has not allowed this side of herself to grow. Her giggles also show Tatsuki's exposure to sex at a young age.
Nasaru – protective spirit – Clacker, an interpretation of Ichigo's inner hollow made by Tatsuki's soul. While Tatsuki herself has never seen Ichigo's hollow side, she knows it exists on a spiritual level, and sees it as his more primal self, the more trustworthy side of his being. Nasaru will often pull tatsuki out of a situation if she begins to crack, occasionally calling Sagasu in. The presence of Nasaru is unusual for a priestess of the Silent God, as few priestesses have deep connections with those they fall in love with. His presence is made stronger by the fact that Ichigo does in fact have an inner hollow. Rarely aggressive, Nasaru will more often 'play' with those he encounters.
Sagasu – to punish, to kill, to execute – The Red Man. Tatsuki's interpretation of Ichigo's shinigami form and that of Tensa/Zangetsu. She has only ever seen Ichigo destroy in this form, therefore, she associates this form with killing as well as protection. It is in Sagasu she places the grim duty Ichigo holds as a shinigami. The presence of Sagasu is not unusual for a priestess, though more often than not, they represent the pain she feels, as well as the guilt they feel for falling in love. In most Shizukami, Sagasu will hunt the priestess, rather than destroying those who have hurt her. Very rarely, Sagasu will defend the priestess if she has been hurt by others in the past. He is especially aggressive when encountered.
Ereskigal – The Silent God - The silent god is of Sumerian origin, the eldest known culture to date, She is one of the first three gods, the other two being An of Heaven and Ki of Earth, both male. Discovering the dead had no place to go, she took the underworld for herself, her wings breaking when she descended into her kingdom. After going into the underworld, she found herself unable to enter the light once more, hence the constant dusk within her realm.
Ereskigal is a very dark, very violent deity, often judging her priestesses harshly before granting them any power. She prefers taking priestesses who have fallen in love and known pain, as they are often wiser than those who have locked themselves away from the world.
Ichigo's presence is a rarity for her, only three times before has a man entered her realm to reclaim what they lost. The man before Ichigo failed, falling at the hands of Nassatu. The second man rejected his love upon discovering whom she served and was destroyed by Sagasu. The first, and only successful being was Ereskigal's husband.