抑制密愛
Suppressed Ardor
"Anyone who seeks to destroy the passions instead of controlling them is trying to play the angel."
~Voltaire
Night had fallen and most were asleep or at least trying to. Michiko didn't feel drowsy at all, even from her recent ordeal, and she was still healing. Her anxiety of becoming a corrupted dark angel kept her up. It finally came to the point where she was preparing to sneak out and rescue Hana no Tenshi. She threw on a midnight blue cloak and snuck out of her room stealthily. She turned her head left and right, scanning the halls to make sure they were clear. When she saw they were, she quickly put the teachings of Soi Fon to use. Soon she was outside the gates of the Seireitei, completely inconspicuous.
###
Meanwhile, Hana was conversing with Haineko, Tobiume and Sode no Shirayuki. In short time, she had really warmed up to them. Maybe they weren't so bad after all.
"Glad to see you've lightened up child." Sode no Shirayuki said with a meager grin.
"Thanks, I'm feeling a bit better, but I am a bit homesick." She said with a small smile that was getting smaller. Haineko heaved a heavy sigh.
"C'mon Hana-chan, can you just stop whining about her; what's so special about that damn girl of yours anyway?" she asked. Hana scowled.
"She's just the most perfect person you'd want as your partner. She's brilliant, she's witty, and she's so sweet and so wonderful and beautiful…" Haineko smirked and cut her off with a scoff.
"Really, sounds like you have a complex with her." she teased. Hana's cheeks were stroked with a bright pink hue of embarrassment.
"Sh-shut up! I don't have a complex with her!" she cried. Haineko threw her hands behind her head and leaned on a smooth stone, still sneering.
"Oh, okay, then you love her." she taunted.
"W-well, of course I do." Hana said falteringly. She nodded her head still smirking teasingly.
"Uh huh, just what I thought." Haineko vexed. The blush across her face became redder.
"Not that way! I don't love her like that, I-I love her like a sister!" she stumbled and shouted.
"Yeah, yeah, we believe you." Tobiume said sarcastically. Suddenly, Hana felt a fond spiritual pressure. She knew exactly whose it was, all she had to do was find it. She sprung up and started heading outside.
"Hey where're you going!" Haineko called out. She didn't stop. Before continuing she took a cautious look around. Neither Murumasa nor Senbonzakura were around, easing her heart a bit. She started sprinting and flash stepping swiftly. Don't worry Michiko, I'll find you. She told herself.
###
The midnight's breath was chilling and filled with reiatsu. The black sky was lighted by a sprinkling of stars and the bright moon. Michiko leapt, tree to tree. She struggled to focus on Hana's spiritual pressure, thought it was made extremely difficult from all the others. Hana where are you? She thought desperately.
###
Meanwhile, Hana sensed Michiko's presence, though couldn't pinpoint it. She spotted a glowing towering reflection; a cascade rushing down the facade of a small mountain. Via flash step, she was a top of the summit. There, she had a perfect view of the dense forest. No sight of her. She heaved an outbreath.
"Oh, Michiko where are you?" she asked in a whisper, her eyes watering and the shine of the moon reflecting on her tears as they streamed down. She suddenly got a cold shoulder, literally. She made a small scream in fright, turned around and saw Hyourinmaru behind her; phlegmatic as usual. Hana smiled and sighed.
"Oh, it's only you; please don't scare me like that." She said.
"Sorry about that." He said unemotionally.
"So why're you here?" she asked.
"You said you knew my name because your mistress, Michiko Michishige sparred with my master for training correct?" he inquired instead. She gawked at him.
"Uh yeah." She replied.
"I need to confront this girl and ask her about the one who wielded me." he told in an austere tone. Her head dipped down, eyes not looking at his.
"I know how you want to return to your master but you do know that Michiko's my wielder… I-I can't let you just hurt her…" she began timidly, and then was halted when his ice cold hands were abruptly placed on her shoulders, startling her a bit. He stared in her eyes, dead serious.
"Hana…" he said simply, a hint of desperation embedded in his voice. Although her name was the only thing he uttered, it sounded like he was pleading, saying that she was his only hope. The contemplated a bit and heaved a sough.
"Alright, I'll help you find your master." she agreed reluctantly. His face was still austere and dead pan.
"Thank you, Hana." He acknowledged, his icy hands slowly drawing off her shoulders. "And Hana," he continued. She looked at him, wide eyed. "I promise I'll help you find your mistress, and when I encounter her I promise I won't harm her; understand." He said, his hands draped on her shoulders again. A hint of rose appeared in her mien, she felt shaky and timid all of the sudden. Why am I acting like this? She asked herself. She forced herself to beam a smile.
"Thank you Hyourinmaru." She acknowledged. After that, the two decided to go separate ways; Hana searching in the west and Hyourinmaru searching in the east. Her pace slowed down as she many thought rambled in her mind. Why was I acting like that? She asked herself again. When she was around him, she felt awkward, wary, introverted, but she was usually never like that. Could it be, that in her heart filled with incomprehensible affection towards Michiko, prejudice and hatred against Soul Reapers, that her occupied heart made room for some fondness for Hyourinmaru? Before she could continue speculating, she finally found her mistress's spiritual pressure. She'd have to think about her confused heart and passions later.