Adios Hollow Dreams
A/N: This chapter was originally connected to the last one but was so long I decided to cut it in half! GASP! Sorry this all took so long! Also be on the lookout for allusions to the first Bleach movie as well as the second! And also…I tried to keep some things light so forgive my cheesy humor! Also I use Chad's famous power speech in that one episode when he first releases his Right Arm of the Giant.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or nuthin but Sayomi, her family, Scamper, Arien, Airianah, Kalaki and such. I also don't own the song. Tite Kubo and Evanescence do.
This next song will be featured in this chapter as songs of the mo and well you'll see…look it up on utube cus then you'll see the effect it has in the story. Listen to it when it is made apparent later in the story. Anyways here it is: Sweet Sacrifice by Evanescence. (actually one of Sayomi's themes) Believe me listen to it.
"It's about time you guys." Ichigo grumbled in between bites at his rice at the latecomers as they finally entered the kitchen and walked toward the table. He noticed Chad holding Sayomi, he raised an eyebrow putting down an empty bowl.
"She fell asleep."
Ichigo waved it away, still a bit confused as how to best talk to his friend now that they had a fight. "I see." Rukia and Yoruichi watched the flicker of remorse whisper past in his eyes.
Chad, ignoring his friends pain yet again, looked to Tessai expectantly waiting for command of where to place the girl so she could sleep comfortably, only…he became conscious of Sayomi's increased squirming in her sleep. Two seconds later a large golden eye peered sleepily about. "Food?" She mumbled. "What…"
She yawned, stretching until her fist hit something really hard. "OW! What the…" Her eyes were wide awake now from her five minute power nap. Snapping her head up to see what she hit she was terrified to see…that Chad was holding her, his head punched upward from where she had hit him. "Geh!?" "Ow…" She looked about frantically, finding everyone in the shoten shooting her amused glances. And then there was the delicious aroma of…food. Sweet heavenly food…but soo…sleepy…eyes slowly closing again…it feels like a weight is on them…arms…warm…food smells good….EH! ARMS?! FOOD?! She tiredly locked eyes with the man, who was rubbing his nose. Understanding he let her down, relieved somewhat to have ended the awkwardness. "Eh…thanks Tora-san." But her legs were wobbling so in the end she just crawled sleepily to the table, in a sleep walking-like trance, not noticing anything now but the food (or the complete silence of everyone else as they gaped), she gave thanks for the meal, took a bowl that Tessai had set in her place, all but inhaled everything in one breath, took a long swig of water and…she promptly fell asleep faceplanting right into the empty bowl.
"Sami-chan!" Rukia cried out in alarm as the girl's breathing was amplified from sleeping in the bowl. Scamper, who was hiding under a chair this whole time because Kon and Chappy scared the crap out of him, finally came to his adoptive mom's side and jumped up on the table to lay in the bowl with her…or just on her head as she snoozed.
Wearily sighing Urahara patted a shocked Chad's shoulder sympathetically. "Guess we'd better move her to her cot before she starts drooling all over my good utensils. Tessai...you should also tend to her wounds again."
Without another word Tessai came, gently picked her and the kitten up and took her to another room, were an intensely frightened kitten mewled. Chad extremely tired just watching the whole ordeal joined the others at the table of bewildered and amused silence. Urahara passed a bowl to Chad as he too sat down amongst Yoruichi, Ichigo, Kon, Rukia, Chappy, Ururu, Jinta and Chad.
"If she's that insanely exhausted that means you trained her hard. Good job." He grinned to Ichigo.
"She's a hard worker." Ichigo shrugged. "Put up a decent battle though I shouldn't be surprised if she could fight against you and Mrs. Yoruichi."
"And she has an expert grasp of kido…unlike someone." Piped Rukia coyly. Ichigo started yelling as was the norm.
However it seemed Jinta grew tired of the twosome's constant bickering for he threw down his bowl with a clatter. "Oh just shut up and go get a room already!" Ururu gasped at her brother-like figure. "Jinta!"
Ichigo, in mid arguing slowly created an evolution on the progression of shades of red. Rukia not quite understanding what context everyone else was talking about assumed they meant something completely different. Cocking her head to the side she watched the red show and said simply… "Well yes I guess our grouchiness is due to sleepiness so we should head to our rooms to sleep." Everyone else sweatdropped for the umpteenth time. Chad was struggling not to laugh. Isn't that exactly what Sayomi said that one lunch? In Spanish?
"Excuse me Yoruichi could you please direct me to the room I will be sleeping in?" Rukia stood up, Ichigo had now faced the wall head propped on hand to hide the fact that he was still as red as his namesake.
"THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!" Urahara suddenly objected, fist slamming the table.
Yoruichi groaned and shook her head. "Again Kiskue? I think you had a bit too much sake earlier."
Chad and Ichigo took it upon themselves to clear the table, not looking at each other the whole time. Working quickly so they too could leave the area and go to sleep, feeling the grip of insanity from not sleeping and having the stress of preparing for an upcoming battle. Rukia and Ichigo and Sayomi all had jumped into their bodies for sleep. Unfortunately for Chad and Ichigo both of their cots shared the same room since the shoten wasn't THAT big for everyone to have their own room, even Rukia and Sayomi had to share a room. Which was an even larger awkward turtle factor. Later after both staring at the ceiling from opposite corners of the room, Ichigo would ask Chad what is exactly that happened that made him want to repay Sayomi…but of course he wasn't expecting an answer. Chad had closed his eyes, recalling the memories that once again popped into his head whenever Sayomi was around. Ichigo too gave up on speaking with his compadre on the other side of the room and instead tried to figure out exactly how his sister Karin had seen something in her dream that ended up coming true…a tiger attacking a defeated looking girl. Meanwhile across the hall, Rukia struggled to shove away her memory of Arien attacking Sayomi and feeling a familiar pang of her own situation where a friend had been controlled by evil and she had to…Rukia just turned over and begged for peaceful sleep.
There is a deafening sound but its miles away. There is dust and sand in my eyes and it's a miserable feeling of trying to wipe away sleep. Where am I? The sun is scorching and scratchy. Is this the beach where Mom and Dad and Lily and I all pitched a tent under the stars one last time before Dad had to go back to war? It's fearful and lonely out here where ever I am… There is another deafening sound. Is it gunshots?
I finally see something blurry with heat upon the sand. There is no ocean in sight and I cannot smell the salt nor hear the cries of laughing gulls. It's a small squadron of cars…camo painted ones. I run towards it to avoid the blaring of the sun, maybe there is water inside. But there are other people, other voices so I look cautiously behind the vehicles loaded with things I cannot see.
"Sir! We need to head west along the road! McCaulin is requesting backup aid for the cover of civilians in the next town sir!" A voice said, he is a wavy blur, like when I first began to see ghosts…they looked just like that. He has a tan camo uniform on. In fact there are a ton of blurs all around me, getting ready to jump into the vehicles. But one blur isn't as foggy. It's as if he's…staring straight at me…though I can't see his face…like it's covered by a veil of fog…
"Alright guys l want you to head inside." The familiar voice commanded, but I felt his eyes were fixed on me, they were soft. "And there are chances everywhere that there may be a roadside bomb. But we need to take that chance if we want to save innocent lives and our loved ones back home. Are ya with me!?" The blurry women and men raised a fist in agreement, giving a mighty cheer and proceeded to flood the vehicles.
"Dad?" I ask in a faint whisper. "Daddy?" He watched his troops file in and even though they knew the dangers on the uncertain road ahead, they still knew what they had to do. Their courage filled me. My father, the sharpest spirit figure of all, turned back to me, his sea grey eyes I was sure, were bright and kind with love and intelligence. It was as if he could see me…a ghost?
"Do you understand Sayomi?" The sandy breeze tousled his golden brown hair as he grinned like I felt he always used to, like a confident kid on a mission. Tears filled my eyes. "No I don't."
A blurry woman came running from the back of the first truck. "Requesting permission to move on sir!" Daniel Winters continued to smile as he nodded at his messenger, and grab a handle on the already started car. The despair as he started to leave was too much for me. I don't want him to leave again. My heart ached. "No wait Dad! What does that mean!? Wait!" Confusion and grief stuck my soul, a forceful hammer blow in the midst of loneliness. My heart bled with his as his envoy melted into the heated sand, heading off into the unknown and leaving me all alone in the blistering desert…."DAAAAAADDDD!!!!!! DON'TTT GOOOOOOOO!!!"
"NO NOT AGAIN!" Sayomi's eyes finally opened as she screamed into the lonesome darkness, suddenly aware that she wasn't withering in the sands of a country far away, a cat scrambling off her sheets in surprise. She felt the sticky tears streaming down her face, eyes wide and gasping for air as she regained her surroundings. It was just a dream…but why do feel like it meant something? Dad…why do you haunt me….? And why isn't your face as clear to me as it used to be…?
A sharp and sudden pang more powerful and tear-inducing than the pain in her physical wounds pierced the girl…grief. A grief so haunting and familiar that the girl threw off her covers in its pain. She reached into her pocket for a usually hidden object that she kept with her in panicked moments like this, only she remembered something vital. "It's back at the house." Rukia sat up, eyes wide in sleepy fright. "Say-Sayomi-chan what are you-?" But Sami-chan was already up and out of the room, limping as she ran down the hallway, she snagged her sandals and her skateboard and she was gone out the front door, Scamper mewling worriedly behind her, tiger keychain in her hand. How could I be so forgetful?! And I didn't lock the front door what if someone goes inside?! There is one thing I don't want to see get messed up or stolen. It will help me to never forget!
The girl's hair was in disarray, clothes a rather large green tank top she had borrowed from Yoruichi and some black sweat pants. She didn't care that it was the dead of night almost dawn as she sped down the slowly awakening street on her board, with a kitten riding on the back of it, having only slept a few hours. She didn't notice that she was being followed. She was almost at her house when something went terribly wrong. A shadow emerged from the alleyway between the houses. A shadow that a girl that had left the typical human realm had forgotten…that not all humans are kindly like Ichigo, Rukia and Chad and all the others she has met thus far.
"Hey babe." A huge burly thuggish man stepped out in front of her, three other sets of eyes leered from the darkness. "Why don't-GEH!" Sayomi just wheeled past him, ignoring all of the looks and dead set on her mission to care. But the shadowy thugs weren't just going to let her go on by, the ringleader grabbed her arm. "Wait a moment hun." A circle was formed blocking the girl's path, Scamp hissed and hid under the skateboard, sensing that trouble was nearby. "Hey boss maybe she doesn't speak Japanese."
"Well maybe she'll understand something else…" He smirked back in reply, trying to see Sayomi's face, but shadows hid her expression. "Come on-THWACK!"
Sayomi's sharp gold eyes were revealed…blazing with dangerous warning and tear stains still on her face, the thug was clutching his nose. "Don't touch me." She growled almost animal-like. Scamper mewed frightened as the thugs gaped in shock but quickly turned to anger at her threatening.
"This bitch needs to be taught a lesson." Growled the ringleader. He made for her, whipping the blood off his face. Sayomi didn't move an inch, merely looking as dark as she had before.
"Sami-chan!" A voice suddenly called from down the sidewalk…Orihime…with Tatsuki and Keigo and Mizuiro beside them. "I thought I saw you skating by! And Keigo and Mizuiro too when they were shopping for his sister-Oh!" The honey-haired girl realized the situation as the gang tightened the circle. What is Sami-chan doing out here all alone? Those guys…oh no Sami-chan is in danger!
Tatsuki called angrily to the crowd, cracking her knuckles and getting into a karate stance. "Get away from her!"
Keigo and Mizuiro too got ready to jump in and fight off the older guys. "My beautiful Sayomi I will protect you!"
"Sayomi-chan!" More voices joined the fray as Rukia, Chad, and Ichigo ran up, who all three looked hurriedly dressed from their pj's. "Where do you think you're doing running off in the middle of the night?!" The thugs looked at one another like 'what the hell? More people?' and just decided to make a dash and grab of Sayomi anyways before more people decided to interfere and they could react.
"Sami-chan!" Orihime screamed. But Sayomi wasn't in any danger.
"GRAH!!!" She was a blur, a beautiful whirl of wind and autumn leaves, a swish of golden hair. With a powerful kick, she knocked the ringleaders legs right out from under him, the next moment she punched out a guy coming at her from the right, the next she gave a roundhouse-like kick across the guy behind her's face. It was such a fast battle that when she finally stopped to stare at the last man standing, the others were still caught up with the first guy falling over. The poor last guy gulped, gaping at Sayomi like he had just seen the grim reaper…which was fairly accurate. "Only one more?" She whispered and the rising sun in the distance reflected in her eyes, giving the man a thought that she was a leering tigeress, ready to pounce, and kill him. Without looking away, she did a kickstand with her board, scaring Scamper out from under it and caught it with one hand. And suddenly she disappeared again, reappearing with the board slamming into the thugs head, and disappearing again as she skated off and the guy fell over with a humorous and comic look of shock and pain as he joined the star-seeing x for eyes pile of villains on the ground. They all groaned in pain wondering just what had happened that they didn't even get to blink.
"Eh…."Orihime got to blink in shock though. "Did Sami-chan just…?" Beside her Tatsuki nodded, unable to speak, Mizuiro and Keigo gasping, Rukia and Ichigo bewildered chibi stares, Chad sweating heavily. "It would seem…Sami-chan can…take care of herself…" He murmured in awe.
Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "Um…where'd she go now?" The sun was coming up and people were starting to appear from their homes like moths scurrying about in the presence of a flame.
Rukia crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And um…where is Chad going?" Ichigo blinked in awareness. "Huh?!"
The guy was long gone, at a sprint, feeling dejavu at not too long ago when she had raced off on her skateboard, pretended to mow him over, skid down a ramp and flick him on the forehead with a childish "Tag you're it Tora." And how that was the day that she saved his life…without him even knowing it, or witnessing it. Right now only he had seen something in her face before she sped off. She was crying…
"CHAD HEY WAIT UP!!" He could hear Ichigo call out behind him in the dust.
"Damn…" Ichigo grumbled still sleepy and hurt from all those words he had shared with Chad about their friendship. "I give up…they'll be back…" He turned back in the direction of the shoten thinking about more sleep. Rukia understood that he was growing frustrated with his old friend and his new distantness, though she didn't know what had been said.
"Yeah I guess…I'll go with you. Bye Orihime, Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo." Rukia waved as she walked next to him, just casually dismissing the chaos that had just occurred. "She obviously doesn't need help fending for herself and Chad is with her."
Orihime and the others were still in shock and confusion but uneasily waved as well. "Uh…well…I guess things are okay now…but I'm still not getting what's going on…"
Tatsuki shook her head but began to drag her friend. "C'mon Hime. Let's take that ice cream to my house before it melts. My parents are probably wondering where we are. We should actually sleep at a sleepover ya know."
Mizuiro started off towards Keigo's place, where he had been hanging out at while his mom was out of town doing crap. "Hey where are you going Mizuiro! We have to buy my sister some chips or she won't let us back in!!" "You're too loud Asano." "WAHHH!!??? WHY ARE YOU SO FORMAL!!??? HEEY WAIT!!!"
Sayomi could barely see through her tears now, she gave up wiping them away as they were endless, Scamp was struggling to stay on the board because she was wobbling to stay in a straight line, her muscles were still exhausted and the fighting had left her drained again. She fell off the board whilst going around a corner, rolling and scraping her legs, reopening wounds on her stomach, she slowly struggled to her feet, wiping her eyes to keep going, leaving her board behind and picking up Scamper and letting him ride on her shoulder. The anguish within her throbbed more than the wounds, the fear of forgetting was too overwhelming…too unbearable to imagine. She staggered to her gate, fumbled wearily with the latch, sobbing, tripping and falling over a fallen plant pot, Scamper flying into a bush then meowing in disdain, and crawling frantically, almost panicked to the front door where she was about to punch it if it hadn't already been open. Sayomi, eyes messed up and tired with tears, smashed her leg into the table leg in the kitchen, knocked over a chair with books in it, pushed past her bedroom door and fumbled crying to one wall, not even bothering to turn on the lights. Yes it's still here…safe and sound…
Her legs gave out as she gripped the object in her hand, hugging it to her chest. She curled into a pathetic relieved ball, her forehead against the wall, hair draping over her face as she just let out a good cry, tears etching rivers on her face. Scamper meowed up at the rain above him, rubbing against her leg in purring comfort. I've been crying so much lately…they would be ashamed of me…I wish…I wish they were here to chastise me…to tell me I'm a tough girl…to…to…Exhaustion became too much for her.
"Sami-chan." The lights somehow flickered on. The girl didn't bother to look up. She knew who was there…he always seemed to be there. And she didn't want him to be…because one day it would be his picture she would have to keep with her as well…so she wouldn't forget his face.
Her shoulders shook, she chocked back a sob. I don't want anyone to see me like this…go away Tora-san.
Chad saw that the picture of Sayomi's parents he had seen the time before when he had come to her room was taken down, he intelligently put two and two together. "You miss them." He whispered gently as he watched her collapsed against the wall.
SMACK! Yet another shoe was thrown at him…this time a girl's sandal. "Get out of here Tora-san!" The emotion in her yell was evident. But he made no motion to move.
"Get out of here dammit!" Her sobs mixed in with her yell this time as she tried to hurl her other sandal at him, but it was slow and he batted it away.
"It's okay to miss them." He murmured, watching softly. "It's okay to cry about them."
Sayomi blinked, surprised, then squeezed her eyes again, biting her lip. "What the hell do you know!?"
"You haven't really cried about them haven't you?" Chad looked out the window. "You may have cried about them at first…but now…it just really hit you harder in realization didn't it? That they really weren't here…that they will never return…"
Sayomi slammed her fist into the wall. How does he know?! How does he understand that the dream I just had…showed a face that wasn't clear anymore…that a face I loved is slowly vanishing from me?!
"I understand what it feels like." His eyes searched into the past, on that terrible day…on both of those terrible days in his life.
Scamper looked up into his adoptive Mom's eyes, waiting for her to stop raining. Sayomi bored a hole in the floor with her intense wavering stare."I-…I feel like…their faces are disappearing from my memory…" She sniffled. "And it wasn't that long ago that I saw my parents…but…"
"You feel afraid that over time you'll forget their faces…" Chad agreed. "…that over time they will just disappear forever from your mind…"
Finally, Sayomi slowly looked up and out of the cover of her hair, but not meeting his eyes. "Just when I felt that I could be strong enough to only rely on myself…something triggered the intense feeling of despair and panic within me…that my parents really weren't there to protect me anymore…I mean…I knew that as soon as I was all alone in my house…but it just didn't…register…that they were the only ones to…-" She looked away again. "I just…don't want to forget them…"
"How can you?" He said simply. "The ones you love are always with you Sami-chan. They are looking after you everyday…" He looked down at his hands…the ones that had a power from someone he had lost. "…lending you their strength." He took a breath, burying his past back down again. "And I believe it. You just kicked five huge guys asses just a second ago…with only your fists and your skateboard. If you aren't blessed Sami-chan…with someone's good will and strength combined with your own…I don't know what it is that made you so strong."
A sad smile, returned to her pretty features, she looked down at her furry friend and stroked him absentmindedly. "Thank you…Tora." She turned her eyes to his dark ones, wiping the last of her tears away. "I…needed to hear that…"
"The strength you possess is power. Power is like an animal." Chad continued. "It can't be predicted or contained, but because your power is that of an animal…I think…it's the strongest power one can possess."
Sayomi chuckled slightly. "Are you always this philosophical?"
He just shrugged, looking back out the window again, turning his back so she couldn't see he was smiling. He remembered something that someone told him long ago. "Do everything you do…in their memory just by living Sami-chan. It's what they would've wanted. To see you alive and happy…with a smile on your face…and friends by your side." Thank you Tora-san. Thank you Yasutora Sado. You are truly…something. I don't know anything about you but…you somehow know just what to say…
Using the wall as support, Sayomi Kurotora Winters…stood up…wiping her last tears off her face. She looked down at the picture in her hands…the smiles on her loved ones faces were newly memorized in her soul, her heart felt like she had renewed a strong impulse again. She was content. She was ready for more training to become even stronger. She was ready for anything ahead.
And it was a good thing too…because 'anything' was about to happen. Chad turned back around, the strength in Sayomi's eyes were brighter than ever. A resolve had returned, fueled by her sadness. Chad watched as she tucked the picture in her pocket, leaning against the wall, thinking about why she had to defeat those that possessed her.
"Sami-chan…" Chad said kindly. "We should head back to Mr. Urahara's. You need more rest and your wounds have reopened." Sayomi opened her mouth to speak and-SLASH!!
All that she could see was shattered glass, floating slow motion past her, splintered wood and remains of her wall flew like tiny little insects, so surreal and unbelievable that she couldn't help but gap at the strange sight. What…is going on…? Chad! Where is he?!
Amongst the slow flying things she could make out the blur of Tora-san as he soared into the opposing wall. The taste in her mouth…was blood. Oh no…
'Ekekekekeke! Hello little human squirt!' A huge looming, hideous changing face grinned at her threw the enormous place where her wall once stood. It was a jackal face, a human, a snake, a monster of everything all at once. 'I can't wait to eat you! They said if I ate you I could become the most powerful entity in the world little one!' Its body was a blur of colors and shapes as well, the size of her house, it towered above but just looked down at her in excited glee.
Sayomi couldn't breathe. Is it a hollow?! But its strange eyes show intelligence! What the crap is it?! She didn't have much time to react as it lashed out with a furry, scaly, twisted claw. She dodged out into her yard, crushing her precious garden. Oh no my little children! The hollow cackled and charged her as she struggled to get to her feet. 'Oh please oh please let me eat you!' She had no shoes, but she didn't care as she ran down the street, hurriedly looking for the keychain in her pocket. Where can I go? Where can I go that I can properly kill this thing without endangering my neighbors?!
A tentacle grabbed at her, but she dodged, still searching for her keychain and a place to fight. How come I can't sense its spiritual pressure?! How did it hide it from my awareness?!
'Come on and fight me kid! I'm huuunngggrryyy!!!' The hollow wailed, Sayomi found her father's ring and put it on, chanting Arien's name and completing the ritual without bothering with Kalaki's half, she had ran as far as the inner part of town where the first ten story building of Karakura came into her view, there was nowhere else to run. She didn't turn shinigami…she didn't have to turn shinigami to use her zanpakto. It was more convenient for a Nature Death Goddess to be able to dance back and forth from shinigami and human form as was best suited for a certain situation. Arien was a long curved, tiger claw-shaped sword made of red and gold cat's eye stone when he wasn't used with his sister, a lone silver chain with a leaf ornament hung from his hilt. "Let's go Arie'n!" With a flash step only she could use called Corto de Pasado. (Cut of the Past) It was a teleporting technique that could only be used when thinking of a certain spot she had been in the past. She thought about the spot behind the hollow when she was running from it. SHRIPPP!!
Her sword clanged against its talons, teeth, feathers. Nothing was going to hurt this creature she realized. Something was too off about it. "Arie'n I believe in our strength together! Help me find a way to slice through it!" Without Kalaki…I can use only one kind of attack. Search for the words in your heart my cub!
She dodged and dodged and flipped and cut but nothing came to her mind. Gritting her teeth, she swatted off wearily, the hollows attacks, but her back was now against the buildings brick, feeling her previous wounds and training coming back to her. "Crap…"
'Aw you were boring for something so supposedly powerful lil one!' The hollow pouted in hideous faces. Tension in her tired body, Sayomi didn't give up hope even though she knew the hollow could kill her easily in her state.
What do I do now? Arien…hmm…there is something in my head…what is it….it's like a name…a phrase that I've never said…it's something on the tip of my tounge…it tastes like blood and smells like moonlight and snow.
Then it hit her. "Hueco Ojos Atesora los Todos." (Hollow Eyes Treasure of All) Soft, innocent lips breathed on a breath of wind. A glimpse of gold light shimmered from her blade and that was all the hollow got to see before he disinigrated to cackling dust, her breath continued its new ritual. "Atesora los Todos en Muerte." (A/N: Atesora can also mean 'it hoards' as well as 'treasure'. "It Hordes All In Death.")
"I did it…" Sayomi sighed, lowering her blade, and still feeling strangely uneasy. "I don't understand what attack I did or how I did it but…" Ducking just in time, Sayomi narrowly missed having her head splat into the brick behind her as a new hollow tentacle dove out of the air. "Another one?!"
But it wasn't alone…it seemed…there was an invasion in the human world…Wait a minute…didn't Airianah say something like this would happen? She said something about that if the balance of life and death by the Nature Shinigami's hand was unbalanced…there would be creatures of darkness of both human and animal nature. Beasts like these…but how…? Was this just another part of Airianah's plan? I wonder…
Five more hollow-things stood before her, and she knew her strength was already waning having used so much power in one attack, like someone had flipped a switch letting all her power explode. "Get ready." Andddd…NOW! Huh!?
Right as she was about to lunge in to her new attackers, a whirl of smoke appeared before her. It was purple, and made her feel dizzy. "Wha…" That was when Sayomi collapsed, Arien dropping with a pathetic clack. What the heck…I…can't feel my legs…or my arms…or…anything for that matter. What is going on now!? One thing right after the other!! She looked sideways since she couldn't move her head as the hollow that was about to strike her disappeared, then the next one and the next one till the sky was but a sea of glittering stars. It was silent around her. Only the swish of the shahaksho of the man in front of her could be heard. Who is it…? The uniform was white over his black robes, and as he turned around…Sayomi realized it wasn't a human that saved her…but a monster…with terrible hungry eyes. A delicate looking woman with a short cut uniform robotically glanced up at her companion. "Mayuri-sama." "Shut up Nemu! I want to gaze upon my new specimen!" Sayomi felt like she had been locked out of her body again…like when Airianah had done so. And the eyes didn't read of anything in human emotion.
The man-purple head grinned cocking his head, white teeth flashing and eyes crazed. "Say little human would you like to be my new experiment? I couldn't guarantee you'd live past all the dissection but I really must observe more of your fascinating power first! I've never really had the opportunity to study a Nature Shinigami alive!" Lying on her side, unable to move, Sayomi could only think of the horrors awaiting her. Is this really how it's going to end for me?! Being a lab rat for some psychopath in a mask?! No please! I've just barely got the chance to defeat Airianah! Please don't end this way! Please!!
Her eyes widened as much as she could move them, terror evident as the sinister stranger approached with outstretched twitching fingers and menacing smile. Everything's happening too fast! What-?!
"This is a great day for me Nemu!" The woman looked away helplessly, not at all agreeing with the man who had some sort of control over her. "Y-Yes Mayuri-sama…"
Sayomi couldn't close her eyes as she wanted desperately to shut them and wince, tense her body for the icy touch of a monster that she couldn't combat. She felt sweat roll down her cheek, body fallen like a corpse in the dirt.
That was when the wall of the building just exploded. And a repeat of her house was all too fresh in her mind as debris flew about her head and the intense spike of spiritual pressure nearly suffocated her if she wasn't so used to swallowing down her own. The creepy man was staggered back away from her the dust cleared. There was a strange blue-ish glow and a rush of sound in silence. "We meet again."
"Quincy. I told you many times already…I've studied your kind enough." The beast named Mayuri said wryly as Sami-chan could see far enough to notice her classmate that had always been keeping a weary eye on her since she arrived like he knew what she was since the beginning, holding a blue wavering reishi bow and arrow trained on her would be dissector.
"Get away from the girl." Uryu Ishida commanded in his icy way, light from his weapon reflecting eerily on his glasses. "You know I chose to miss. The next arrow will kill you."
Sayomi was surprised at her classmate's power…but to an extent. She had been aware for some time that he possessed some sort of Death God influence though what he was was certainly a mystery to her till now. Ishida-kun…is a Quincy? Airianah didn't tell me about them…
But there was no time for all the amazement and wonder for the hollows were here again and in multitudes of numbers...measurable to the millions. And swarming around her motionless body. As Ishida stood far away to help quick enough even with his flash step-like technique, more hands reached out to snag her from all around.
"Uryu." A familiar gruff voice called as more black cloth, dust and reitsu came into the girls limited vision on the ground. "When the hell did you get here?"
A long ominous looking black blade blocked one pair of giant eagle talons with fluid easiness. The wielder looking confident as his orange hair tousled in the sudden wind. Beside him, another familiar character with flashing violet eyes held a gorgeous ivory blade to a pair of claws, a forcefield somehow shielding Sayomi's other side. "Damn so much for sleeping."
"What the hell took you so long Kurosaki?" Uryu rebuttled calmly in usual routine, still holding his bow at a level aim on the monster-man Mayuri. He glanced behind him out of the corner of his eyes. "Orihime. Be careful. You're defending Tatsuki-chan and Asano and Mizuiro-san as well."
The honey-haired woman behind him nodded, but the concentration on her usually smiling face unwavering as she stood protectively in front of her friends that had no powers to protect them though they could see every hideous, grotesque monstrosity gathered around them. They had just felt all the sensations of danger just outside their doors and come to investigate only to come upon a more dangerous gang-up than earlier.
"Well isn't this exciting?" Something blurred through all the hollows, leaving their shimmering dead bodies in their dust. Yoruichi joined the fray. An excited looking green-robbed man who was brandashing his Benihime about and holding his hat down on his head with the other hand, soon joined in as well as Jinta and his giant bat, Ururu and her explosive gunfire and Tessei…just destroying everything in sight. "Well we're all here!" Urahara grinned, flash stepping to the center and slaughtering the hollows in front of Orihime's force field so she could focus it around herself and her helpless companions.
"Almost!" Cried an older obnoxious voice. Huge slashes revealed a sudden path created by none other than the back in action Isshin Kurosaki. "SOOONNN!!! DADDY'S HEREEEE~! DON'T CRY!!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP OLD MAN!!" Ichigo snarled at his father before realizing something important. "Hey who's protecting Karin and Yuzu!?"
"BWAHAHAHAH~~!!! KARAKURA!! POWER FORRRCEE!!!!" Sang a eccentrically dressed man with dreadlocks and a cape and sunglasses.
"Hey Ichigo! Karakura Pink here!" Said Yuzu waved cheerily as he brother sweatdropped, and jawdropped.
"Karakura Red Karin here!" Karin dressed in red posed, winking in her bro's direction. That's the girl… She thought. "We're fine!"
"Hey I'm Karakura Red!" Jinta yelled after smashing in a hollow skull. The chaos just kept mounting.
"Uryu. You have something for Sayomi?" A silver haired man, the splitting image despite older Ishida said, calmly killing hollows without looking as he walked toward his son through the shifting blurs of hollows.
Uryu nodded, disappearing for a second then reappearing beside the stricken girl, in his flash step. "Mayuri poisoned me too once. But I was smart enough to ask Urahara to whip up some of the antidote in case I had to face him again. Drink this and you will be able to feel your limbs again and the poison will leave your bloodstream." His dark eyes penetrated hers in a gentle/cold way. He kneeled to her level and gently poured a strange hot liquid in her parted lips after tilting her chin so she could drink. The effects weren't immediate but Sayomi could slowly form words with her mouth, croaking a "Thanks."
By this time one hollow stood out against all the others as he stood at least ten feet taller than the rest in his shape shifting way. His eyes were the most intelligent. "So. Are you going to hand over the human yet? She is the Goddess that will make us all powerful beings…if I consume her."
"Hell no." Then the battle began. Ichigo kept one eye watchful over the still fallen girl and then flipping back between his sisters and Rukia. He had seen something that made him realize he had to protect Sayomi at all cost. The fear in her eyes…Why was there something so familiar in just seeing the fear in her eyes…the trembling of her body…? Why is it that whenever I see Sayomi that I feel like I'm trying to remember something that I can't? It makes me know that I'm making the right decision and going against Soul Reapers from Soul Society again. That bastard tried to do something to her…she's still a human…whatever it is that's possessing her…she's still just a human girl. And that fear is apparent.
There were brilliant flashes of blue, red, black, white and orange as the sound of flesh pieced by metal filled the twilight air. Ichigo dashed in and wiped out as many as he could, weaving in out of Rukia's white blade, they were the perfect synchronized harmony, melodious in red slashes and clinks of metal, sigh of cloth, but just as opposite. Isshin kept his family safe, hacking into hollows with the most serious face he owned masking the fact he was always joking around like an idiot. Yoruichi whirled by on light foot and impossible speeds, kicking into hulking hollows as Urahara destroyed half the road in Benihime's blast. Don Kanon'ji just did his usual thing filled with crazed 'Bwahaha's and the Shoten kids peppered their own equally powerful attacks. The hollows were endless however, and soon the small troops could only do so much to make a tiny dent in the swarm. Everyone was overwhelmed and overworked in a matter of moments, slipping up just enough not to notice that a hollow had snuck up to the top of the twenty story building behind them and lowered an inky tentacle down to wrap around the thawing Sayomi's waist chocking her like a python. Her limbs were only just tingling with feeling but still as limp and useless as noodles. "Ack!" Her wounds were spurting blood, lungs gasping for breath.
Pulled up like a doll on a yo-yo string of death, there was no time to think, no reason to think of panicking as she headed headlong into a waiting maw of changing teeth and fangs with a mass of her hair covering her eyes. "Ghh!" The arm wrapped around her squeezed her tighter till blood burst forth from her lips, right leg ironically getting some sudden pricks of feeling in them as her body was a moment away from being crumpled like a meaningless piece of math homework that never was completed.
"GAAHAHA I WIN I WINNN~!" Hollered the beast, graping the girl upside-down and ready to drop her into its mouth like a grape with beautiful golden hair and crimson juices.
"El Directo." There was no mouth left to consume anyone as a flash of light consumed the world. The hollow stared blankly at the hole in his body…but for some reason…he just laughed with his eyes…and whipped his limb with his morsel…till the girl was flung off the building…then it died.
There was a slowmo feeling of falling underwater as Sayomi tasted gravity, her hair whipping around her, clothes billowing and tugging upward, brain slowly realizing that even if she could slowly move her leg and now barely one arm…there was no way to survive falling from such a high skyscraper-like building. No way to breath as her stomach rose to her mouth, breath gone.
"…"Something suddenly snaked around her waist, but it wasn't suffocating…it was gentle. Individual albeit enormous human fingers dug into her shirt fabric for grip, the wind suddenly not whipping into her body and her breath caught as she was forced into a sturdy breathing being. Looking up past flapping fabric she knew who it was catching her once again. "Tora…san…" Why?! There's no way we both can survive! When did he get here?! The last I could see of him, he was thrown into the wall in my house! How did he survive that!?
She saw an arm with familiar markings dart out to punch into brick, never hesitating as it shred at his muscle and sinew to slow their freefall. With his body angled to brace for impact of the fast approaching earth, his face was covered with his dark curls, though one eye peered down at her. He pulled her closer into his vast and solid chest with long, muscular arms that could wrap around her twice over, she could hear his heart beating, warmth so close and engulfing. And it was so strange for Sayomi Kurotora Winters as they hurdled toward earth…she never felt so…safe before…his heart beginning to speed up now as the ground was nearing but on the outside she knew that it was impossible to tell he was tensing. Being so close to him…to the life within him as they neared random death…never felt so safe… Feeling dazed in her death-fall like an autumn leaf she realized something was tapping her on the top of her head as she fell, she reached up and touched metal. It must be…the coin he always wears on a chain.
Chad gasped in a silent way, still holding Sayomi tightly with one hand, digging into the building with the other, something spiritual zapped him when she touched the coin. A feeling so reminiscent and proverbial it couldn't be tagged with a description other than supernatural, a jolt to his brain and heart that sent a surge of extra power to his arm, an arm that was born from his plea to his grandfather. There was darkness…his arm tingled with a dangerous shadow that awoke something inside his caged human soul. All with a single touch to a necklace.
"GRAAHH!!!" He dug harder into brick to brace back the feeling he hadn't realized. "HANG ON!" Sayomi understood but only one arm could listen obediently, the other still a tingling mess. She just reached around Chad's back to clasp her numb arm as a way of hanging right as he used his other arm to dig into the building as well and-SLAM!! Everything was spinning as Chad brought them into a roll against the ground, a blast of air, rubble, dust, blurs, hair, pain. And then everything was still. She was on her side again. Her left side and leg the only remaining part of her that was still numb but she could feel her head was against something hard. Something was moving beneath her. Something alive was beneath her. Chad. His chest rising and falling and then…he got to his knees, arms supporting him over her head as he panted for air, over her shaking form. H-He…saved me…somehow…he took the brunt of the fall…and yet we are both still alive…what is…Tora-san?
"Now…we're even…"His chocolate eyes remained emotionless as he panted inches above her head, his hair draping down, arms torn and bleeding. She gazed up in wonder, but he dared not look at her again…something made him uneasy. Chad, having caught his breath enough, staggered to his feet, vaguely noting that Sayomi was okay and that everyone else had encircled the fallen, defending and not letting a hollow through. Everyone called out worriedly to him but it was as if his ears were plugged by something. He stared down at his hands…something wasn't right….that power wasn't right at all…
"Tora…san…?" Sayomi too pushed herself to her only feeling leg, clutching her bleeding stomach with her tingling left arm and wiping blood from her mouth with her other. Is he okay? Was this all he wanted? Did he just want to call it even for saving him that one day? I'm so confused. Sigh…I need Arie`n before something else attacks me. She didn't have to look far when Ichigo flash stepped to her side after slicing through a few dozen hollows with his bankai. "You okay?" He handed her her zanpakto, blandly nodding and just staring at Chad's back. "He's fine…I think…don't worry about him just-" Blood splattered on the girls face. Ichigo stood protectively with his sword already swung down, a hissing snake appendage snarled once more before disappearing. "-worry about yourself right now."
SLASH! Sayomi managed to kill another arm as way of replying…with only one arm of her own. "You too."
The others were tired, slashed at and bleeding but not down and out. There was still an endless sea of hollows twinkling in the first rays of the sun. Isshin stood defense to a tuckered out Yuzu and Karin, back to back with his old pal/enemy Ishida and Don Kanon'ji. Urahara blocking back hollows from an injured Jinta and a worried Ururu. Yoruichi tiring from endless flash steps, Tessei tirelessly killing, and Uryu firing away at hollows come too close to Orihime. Rukia kept up her strength to dart between groups, blood staining her fair skin and fairer blade. Sayomi used her new attack much to the awe of the others.
They almost didn't notice the hell butterflies. The quiet clack of traditional screen doors, emitted a generous calm in the midst of barbaric time-old violence. Suddenly the largest hollow appeared before his troops, leering like a maniac and twitched between wolf, elephant, horse, leg of a lion, wings of a swan, now a hoof, now a gross octopus. "Retreat for now my brethren!"
Just as the last of them evaporated with the night, three figures appeared. "Captain Kurosuchi. You disobeyed orders and left without the rest of us." A handsome, noble man with raven hair, strode into the light, blandly looking over at his sister/niece Rukia while in reality he was a relieved on the inside as the red-headed man was on the outside. "You are needed to help protect the Seirieti."
"Rukia!" "Renji!" The man couldn't help the look of complete and utterly obvious reprieve etched in every line on his face…and even in his tattoos. The other man next to him, Captain Ukitake, wiped his brow in his own relief and in a fever he was currently suffering from. "I'm glad to see all of you are all fine here in Karakura. No one's been hurt." Isshin nodded his way. "Yea well it looks like the worst is just beginning."
Byakuya settled his gaze on Ichigo, who was being healed by the hurried Orihime and bandaged by a worried Tatsuki. "I'm afraid to say…that it has already begun in Soul Society." He moved his gaze to Sayomi, giving her the impression that he was looking down on her like a disgusting piece of rotten garbage. "There appears to be chaos revolving around a certain individual…" She gulped, feeling everyone's eyes on her. I-I hate the stares! I'm not on display!!
Ukitake coughed before explaining what Byakuya neglected. "It seems that hollows have relentlessly begun attacking the Soul Society. Strange ones with incredible powers and intelligence. They have wiped out nearly every building and our casualty list is growing by the hour. I'm afraid that we have orders by Head Captain Yamamoto to…" He glanced sympathetically at the confused and startled girl barely able to stand on her own two barefooted feet, finally able to move her last limb. "…to arrest the human shinigami…and try her for violation of the Sacred Oath."
Rukia, Isshin, and all those shinigami's who knew the code word gaped, the girl in question just looked from face to face waiting for explanation. Urahara shaded his face with his hat. "I had a feeling this might happen…" Sayomi whipped her head in his direction. "What does that mean?! Does it mean you thought I never had a chance?!"
"Just what the hell is happening around here!?" Ichigo bellowed, unable to tolerate the confusion any longer.
Ukitake coughed again but continued to explain. "Sayomi…is a human…that has stolen the powers of the Nature Shinigami. Which is the most important entity on both worlds…she is what humans call…Mother Nature in a way. Somehow the power has been transferred to her. And there are two powers within her. She also has two zanpakto entities. It is…against the Oath of…the Death Gods. And if you recall Captain Hitsugayas case with his zanpakto…"
"B-But Captain!" Rukia interjected. "Didn't I do the same thing?! Didn't I transfer power to Ichigo?! Didn't we defy the laws!? How-!"
Ichigo softened his eyes in Rukia's direction when Byakuya held up a hand to stop his sister. "The law…must be upheld. She stole the powers of a shinigami. Your case was…different." For once the noble looked guilty.
"I didn't steal! I didn't steal anyone's power!" Sayomi shouted desperately as black cloth flapped in front of her, a hand on her shoulder.
"But there is nothing wrong with her! You can't just take her!" Ichigo instinctively stood in front of the girl in question. "She's still a human! She's just a girl! And she has fears and emotions just like everyone else!" As he spoke…everyone felt the strangest sensation of déjà vu. He just knew something strange was happening. Her eyes are defiant…she's shouting but…she's shaking in pain and fear…I can feel her shaking just by putting my hand on her shoulder…she's just a girl...not a monster.
"She's being possessed. Why can't we focus on taking the possessor away from her?" Uryu wondered aloud. Orihime nodded in agreement. "Maybe there is a way to heal her?"
Ukitake shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The only way there could be would be to sever her soul from the other shinigami's soul…is…"
Rukia shook her head, looking away. "Please don't say execution…"
"Fool! That orange head destroyed the only way of separating them when he ruined your wonderful execution!" Mayuri suddenly shouted, waving a finger with a lone long nail at Ichigo. "But I can separate her!" The mad scientist cackled. "Just give her to me and I can end all this! I'll separate her body and soul, her insides and her-!"
"Enough!" Ichigo bellowed. "She's not a lab rat! I'm not letting her go anywhere!" Where's Chad? I thought he felt it was HIS responsibility to protect Sayomi?! He's pissing me off! Doesn't he feel the need to stand up for her?! And this guy is pissing me off for talking about Rukia being executed with excitement like that!!
Renji took a step forward, hand on his hilt. "Sorry Ichigo…I don't want to do this…but orders are orders. The hollows are caused by Sayomi's existence and the unbalance she caused with uneven number of natural and human souls. Her fate will be decided by the remainder of the Soul Society. With her alive these attacks in the human world will get as terrible as they are Soul Society. Hundreds of innocent lives will be lost…and we already have half our troops in the temporary infirmary. Do you want that Ichigo?"
The strawberry looked at a loss. "Errgg..." Yuzu and Karin had a protective arm wrapped around them from their father. Tatsuki put a hand on Orihime's shoulder. Keigo and Mizuiro wondered how they could help with no powers. Ururu looked down at the floor hiding behind Urahara's cloak, Jinta scratched the back of his head and looked away. Chad stood with his back to everyone.
"We've lost so many…and the defenseless are being victimized as well Ichigo…the hollows in the Seiritei are so much more powerful due to their feeding of reishi there…they have powers to create illusions…just like Aizen did…they even got Captain Hitsuguya…" Ukitake added.
"Toshiro too!?" Ichigo blinked. Everyone was shocked.
"He's in critical condition…witnesses said that when fighting one particular hollow, he kept calling out Captain Hinamori's name…and acting like he was trying to defend someone that was actually fighting a different hollow not too far away." The sickly taichou wasn't done yet. "We need to end this…somehow…if this goes on…both worlds could be swallowed up in a darkness that no one has ever seen before."
Byakuya stepped towards Ichigo blocking Sayomi. "We must return now. With so many of us gone there are fewer to protect the unguarded. Come with us Miss Winters."
"I won't let you." Those helplessly gathered could only stare wide eyed as one man stood emotionless, eyes hidden behind a surge of brown hair, held a sizzling left arm to the back of the man, spiritual pressure fluctuating peculiarly. "Sayomi must live." Gold eyes flashed in astonishment. "Tora…"
"You will have to kill me to kill her." Wind flipped the hair out of his eyes as the sun rose, they were different, darker, but with flecks of light in them.
"Chad!" Ichigo blinked but understood how it felt to have someone you owed to be taken without a second thought. Now he steps in…but something's not right.
"No!" An unexpected cry of rebellion. And a gentle hand lowering his charged up arm. "Let me decide for myself."
She was young…a beautiful girl with tan skin, silky brown hair with streaks of gold and bronze and red, eyes a shock of gold light and dark like a tigers eye, a glow within her so bright and flickering it drew everyone to her side despite the shadows overwhelming her. She was wearing a now torn and bloody tank top, sweat pants, and her bare feet were scratched up. She was wild, fierce at times, shy and sweet at others. She had no family…or friends… There was no one or nothing but herself to live for. But she barely got to prove herself…now was her time. She understood what she was supposed to do now. The realization dawned in the dawn. Dad...you were telling me something important in my dream…I know that now…
"I don't want people to die on my behalf." She smiled confidently, though her eyes were sad. "What kind of person will let innocent lives be lost just so I can live longer?" Chad searched as deep as her eyes would allow, so much like when they met. Her hands are shaking…
"For once…I will decide my own fate. I will find a way to destroy the being within me. And restore the vital balance of the worlds." Sayomi scanned all the faces around her, life bustling on the streets not seeing past a force field that was placed around their small battleground. Abruptly she let go on the warm hand and strode calmly toward the Captains and Vice Captain. "I will go. If only to end the violence. But..." With one last look at her new friends she had made she thought of all the new memories she had made that weren't all bad. They have all been kind to me…and I just stepped into their lives with the danger I could ruin them…they still accepted me…and I will repay that kindness. But I won't give up on myself either.
She switched to Spanish, her expression fierce, passionate, and delving into the brown depths of her new friend's soul. "I will not give up on myself though. I will not die in vain. I will find a way to be rid of the darkness inside of me somehow. Whatever it takes. I will not die. You…reminded me that…it's what my parents would have wanted. That they are my strength in me besides my own. I thank you…" For the very last time…Sayomi Kurotora Winters turned her back to the man that had vowed to protect her. For the first time a woman he had known was in trouble…decided her own fate…and wanted to fight for it herself. Those gathered didn't need to understand the language to know she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
"And there are chances everywhere that there may be a roadside bomb. But we need to take that chance if we want to save innocent lives and our loved ones back home. Are ya with me!?" Yes…Arie'n what I'm supposed to do is obvious.
She switched back to Japanese. "Thank you all for your kindness. And Tora-san…I hate you." Even the Captains showed a hint of shock at her last comment. To say you hate someone for all they have done for you?
There were tears in Orihime's eyes, Tatsuki's, Keigo's, Mizuiro's, Karin and Yuzu's, Rukia's, Ururu's, and even some stubborn ones in Jinta's. Isshin hugged his daughters tighter. Ishida didn't look at his son. Uryu didn't know how he could comfort Orihime now. Renji looked away. Ichigo glared in anguish. Yoruichi and Urahara for once couldn't meddle. It's all over now…now we know what has happened in the Soul Society…but now there truly is no chance for her…Helplessness and indecision created a heavy burden on their minds. Isshin knew that protecting the town was all they could do anyways, it's what he said at the start. He glanced at his son, knowing that he was recalling their conversation. There isn't anything you can do to help her. Just save this town. It's someone else's turn to go into danger.
As they escorted her through the now appearing doors, the wind caught a whisper in the faintest, a Spanish one meant for only one person. "…enough to save you." It's like a dream…I can hear a song playing in my head and my heart, like background music in a very sad parting scene.
"Alright guys l want you to head inside."Dad had said that in my dream…talking to his troops but it was as if he was addressing it to me… Is there something inside Soul Society that can save me Dad? I will believe in you…like I believe in my blade. In a week Airianah will have completely controlled me…I trust I can find a way to defeat her and whatever plan she has in store for me…
"Adios…" Said the whisper as the doors clacked closed. "Yasutora." What could anyone do now that she had spoken her whim?
His eyes widened in electric shock. His heart beat faster, the words without title sending his memories into a spiral once again but that girl. One door that had been sealed shut slammed wide open, all the cold winter air rushing in.
The delicious aroma of Mama's cooking wafted to his nose like ants to a picnic. His five-year old stomach growled loudly as he journeyed into the kitchen. "Yasutora mi amor."(Yasutora my love) Her voice was as gentle and swaying as a crystalline bell. She had her apron on and was stirring some dinner with her right hand, but she stopped what she was doing just to smile at him. He beamed at her happily and showed her the kitten he had found by the shed in the yard. It was all alone and cold and mewling for its mother.
He raised it up to show her as she wiped her hands on her apron to give him her full attention. "Mama! Un gatito! Un gatito!" (A kitten a kitten!!) She smiled and ruffled his shaggy hair fondly. "Si, si Yasutora. Un gatito! He looks hungry ne? I shall fetch him some leche, si?" (Milk) And she stroked the mewling soul in his hands before grabbing some milk out of the fridge and a bowl from the cupboard. He loved it when she smiled at him. Like he was the most important thing on the earth. Like he was so special. She didn't make fun of his differences like the kids in his class. She instead loved them so much. He always felt such happiness just being near his mother. Such warmth.
And it was then as she set the kitten down on the table to let it lap milk up with its sandpaper tongue, it was then when the kitten purred happily, unsheathing and retracting its claws so innocently into the tabletop, it was then at that moment that everything went horribly wrong.
The knock on the front door startled him and he turned to see the urgent looking person standing in the doorway as Mama answered. His aunt. "Noa!" She called to his mother. " I-it's Takahiro hes…! He needs to go to the hospital!" His mother dropped the bottle of milk she was about to put away, and ran with my aunt out the door to her house eyes as large as the dish the kitten was drinking out of. He was confused. His mother never let anything spill. He watched the way the milk inched across the floor with interest. The kitten hopped down from the table and started to lap it up. Something was not right. He couldn't understand it because he was too young but he did understand that something was horribly wrong and it had to do with Takahiro.
"Hermanito?" Little brother?
He called him brother but they were not related. Takahiro was his only friend. And he was always ill. But he never let that get to him. He raced out the front door after his mother. "Hermanito?" What was happening? They ran into the house next door. Takahiro was on his bed, he was a year younger but he loved to talk, to hear new Spanish words, to fill the world with life and laughter and keep everyone smiling. He was the one who showed a young Chad that life needed to be lived. But…he…was dying…
"No! My baby! Noo!! Please don't leave me Takahiro!" His mother was crying. Chad was still not understanding. Takahiro did. His eyes were fading and he looked to his hermano, remembering a word that had been proudly taught to him since Takahiro was still too young for school. "Adios…. Yasutora…" His voice was so tiny and little. Goodbye. He was so young…yet so smart…he knew that life should be lived to its fullest.
Takahiro taught me so much…taught me what death was…even though I didn't understand it at the time…the next day I went over to see if he could go play outside with me…I didn't understand….
Soon…I grew…and grew wilder and mean…no one liked me because I looked different. Takahiro was the only one back then who didn't care…Then my parents died…in a car accident…I was thrown from foster family to foster family. No one wanted me…an unruly boy with strength and fierce temper…I was cursed at, yelled at, attacked by everyone that came in contact with me…I was a monster…till abuelo…
The people that care about me…always disappear…always stand above me. Takahiro…Mama, Papi…Abuelo…and Ichigo too…he's fading from me…he has someone he needs to protect now. But Sami-chan…she was someone that reminded me of my very first and dearest friend and partner in crime…it must be her eyes…there is that smile and jovial air to her that makes me remember of the past I struggle to lock away…to forget…I even find that I shove away the good memories…to be a numb soul. I lost the will to remember. She is just like Takahiro…she wears that smile tries to hide the fact that she is struggling, stubbornly clinging to life, finding small moments when she can to find happiness despite the obstacles like nearly running me over with her skateboard and kicking my ass in soccer. Takahiro made the most of the days he could run out in the sun and play all day. She is like my mother…a woman who cares for all living things. A gentle hand and a gentle smile. Like my father…a man that worked as hard as he could to give me a good beginning. Like Abeulo…strong belief in morals, not giving up on a hopeless case…
Doors closing, doors opening, doors closing, doors opening, doors closing…will they open again? This time will they stay open? Chad wanted to know. He still remembered how frail she felt in his arms. She's too fragile…she's too…
"What the hell do we do now!?" Ichigo bellowed, frustrated that for once he hadn't the slightest. There was nothing he could do if she was going willingly and to fight on her own…No…there was an option.
"Urahara." Chad said in a low tone, the sun now casting a long shadow. "Get me in there."
The green robed man covered his face with the brim of his hat. "I need three more days to create the Seikaimon."
"Do it now." His tone had an eerie flavor to it. "Now Mr. Urahara."
Everyone balked, caught up in wavering emotions and now the frustrating anger.
"Give me three days Mr. Sado." Urahara replied in an equally dangerous tone. It's time…someone realized how similar they are to Miss Winters power…
"T-They…won't kill her by then will they?" Orihime sniffled.
"No." Rukia shook her head. "Even with me they waited."
"But…Sayomi-chan's case is different." Uryu wished there was something he could do to comfort the weeping princess Hime.
"She… she really is amazing…" Keigo forelornly kept his eyes glued to the spot where he had last seen her. "I didn't even know her and she was always so amazing."
"Not 'was'." Chad growled fiercely under his breath. "'Is'. She can't die."
The others watched him stare intensely at his hands, flexing and unflexing his fingers. "I still haven't repaid the whole promise." I have saved her life as she has saved mine. But now…she has made me remember…and I can never forget. I have to help her once again…Abuelo said. "Use your big strong fists to protect people mijo.(grandson)" I know there is a reason for these fists…and I own my life to all them and to the one who saved my life and reawakened that dead part of me…
Everyone was tuckered out. Safety precautions of the town were taken in case of more hollows but the possibility was zip now that Sayomi was gone. Just being able to sleep was enough of a fact to keep everyone up. And one particular soul refused to sleep of his own will. He was sitting on the destroyed porch of Sayomi's house, his hand fingering at the chain around his neck. Why do I feel so…strange…?
The scattered plants all over the yard were wilted even though they had been watered just earlier by him. These plants aren't supposed to grow at this time of year…Sayomi must have kept them alive…
He knew he should sleep, replenish his strength…but living nearby only invited him to come to this place. That and a pathetic white furball wouldn't stop following him around. He was trying to tell Chad something he was sure…so he gave in and followed the fluff. He disappeared into the rubble. Somehow he had remained hidden in this very rubble till the battles had ended and when he couldn't find his adoptive mother he threw a frantic mewling fit. "What do you want from me gatito?" (kitten) He could still hear ticking from the annoying clocks inside only…one of them was still working in the remaining walls standing. Then he heard it. He heard something. And the cat was mewling again. Sighing Chad gave in again and investigated the cries of the one dubbed Scamper. "What is it you want to tell me?" He followed the cries till he came to her bedroom that two walls had completely been destroyed. The cat was pinned beneath something that apparently had fallen on him. Chad sweatdropped. "Again?"
He picked up what appeared to be a music dock for an MP3 player off the innocent thing without a family. His fingers accidently pressed a button. (A/N: play music mentioned earlier now it's just appropriate) The sound system was on low but it was loud just the same to the sensitive ears of the kitten and he dove under the crushed bed. So this is the kind of music Sami-chan listens to? Some creepy sounding music filled the air, and Chad was about to push the off button when he heard the first words that seemed to captivate him.
It's true…we're all a little…insane…
"…!" The music grew louder, the singer's voice so angelic.
But it's so clear, now that I'm unchained.
Scamper was searching for something again.
Fear is only in our minds, taking over all the time. Fear is only in our minds but it's taking over all the ttiimmmeee!
His eyes widened. Was this how she felt? The music grew even louder as drums, heavy guitar emphasized the futility of a human girl trapped in the paranormal.
You poor sweet innocent thing.
Dry your eyes and testify.
You know you live to break me. Don't deny. Sweet sacrifice.
Walking along a rubble-strewn road with Captains guarding her side though they weren't really sure why, Sayomi had no tears for her battle ahead. It was time to live to kill her evil.
One day I'm gonna forget your name, and one swweeettt day, you're gonna drown in my loooosttt paaaiiinnn…
Just you wait Kalaki...Airianah…one day…I'm going to wipe you from my memory like you're taking mine. Erasing my family's faces. You will feel the pain that I felt.
Fear is only in our minds, taking over all the time. Fear is only in our minds but it's taking over all the tiiimmmeee!!
You poor sweet innocent thing. Dry your eyes and testify.
I can't let you win.
And oh you love to hate me don't you honey?
Chad held a hand over his mouth in shock, the MP3 and its dock still in his other hand as he kneeled on the floor of the demolished room. This song…
I'm your sacriffffiiiicccce.
No!
I dream in darkness…I sleep to die.
He recalled her sleeping so peacefully. She had nightmares didn't she? About how her family died? He didn't even know that she nearly died in her sleep as Airianah and Kalaki relentlessly punished her in sleep.
Erase the silence, erase my life.
Hell butterflies danced in a deserted time. Her bare feet made not a sound on the earth, her face staring straight ahead.
Our burning ashes, blacken the day, a world of nothingness, blow me away.
No…I can't let Sayomi die…
Do you wonder why you hate? Are you still too weak to survive your mistakes?
The wind in Soul Society was bleak but her hair was the lighting shine, her eyes never looked around her as she asked herself if she was strong enough for this decision. Was she ready to destroy her mistake of trusting the voice in the rubble at home? Yes.
You poor sweet innocent thing. Dry you eyes and testify.
You know you liivvveee to break me. Don't deny.
Yes…I'm ready for you Airianah. You have used me for the last time.
Sweet sacrifice.
Chad stood suddenly, eyes wavering in realization. "She will not sacrifice herself any longer." That was when the music faded just as quickly as it had began and Scamper rubbed against the skateboard that had be placed there somehow. On it was a tiger key chain. Just waiting to be held in someone's arms. The darkness within him was stiring up, the resolve within him was overflowing.
Her fingertips held energy from the contact of a coin worn around his neck.
OMG IM DONE!!! O,o FINALLY REJOICE!! Now it's another cliff hanger drat me! Kekeke! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. YOU BETTER HAVE IT TOOK FOREVER!! And please listen to the end with the actual song because its just so empowering for this moment.
Sean: Well that was the entire end of all of Hollow Eyes I hope you will go cry in a corner now!
Sam: HEY DON'T SAY SUCH LIES!
Sean: Eheheh! I was just kidding my love!
Sam: GET LOST TYPO!!!!
Grumpy: Wow…it's been awhile since you've done this…
Sam: YEA!