This one explains stuff from the last chapter that I couldn't fit in. It has actually no comedy at all. It is pure angst, and gets fairly depressing at times. Which is odd seeing as I'm in a perfectly happy mood. Oh well...

Chapter 50 : The girl

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Tetsu sat on the porch of her home, watching as the snow gently glided down from the sky. It was deep winter. And yet, the cold didn't seem to bother Tetsu in the least. The bare trees glistened where the white had touched their limbs. The ground's cover sparkled when the sun peeked through the clouds above. There was no flaw in the blanket. It was a perfect blank sheet on top of a far less perfect hider.

Tetsu knew her mother was worried about something. Every now and then she would look up from her sewing and gaze at her daughter. She seemed as if she was debating something in her mind, as soon as an answer formed it would be deleted by another argument. Tetsu wanted to ask about it, but knew her mother wouldn't tell her until she was ready. That was just how her mother was.

Tetsu ran the damp stick in her hands across the wooden floor, drawing shapes and patterns. Wherever the moisture touched there would be a faint mark on the wood. It would gradually fade until the textured surface was bare again, and Tetsu could create something new on top. She watched as her small hands began to trace the outline of a bird. It was fat and inelegant. It had lines for feet and a triangle for a beak. The simple wings jutted off at bizarre angles. Maybe when she was older she would be able to redraw the bird and make it look more realistic.

"Tetsu, would you come here for a second?" Tetsu raised her round face so she could see her mother from behind the thick fringe.

"Yes" she answered as she stood up and scurried across the porch to where her mother sat on a tree stump that they used as a stool. She stood in front of her mother and smiled. The young woman returned the gesture. Tetsu thought her mother was beautiful. The dark hair tied into a bun behind her head hid the silky waves from sight. The soft features on her face were not masked behind any of the pastes she had seen other women using in the village. The slender figure was concealed in the plain kimono. And yet she still looked beautiful. Tetsu hoped that perhaps one day she too would be that beautiful.

"I want to give you something" her mother spoke in that beloved caring voice she had. She placed the sewing on the ground beside her. Tetsu's eyes widened.

"Like a present?" she asked excitedly. She didn't get presents often. They just weren't common in a village like this. Money wasn't used often, dealings were done on the basis of trade, and so not much money existed to buy presents with.

"Sort of" her mother reached up and undid the clasp of the locket around her neck. She held it in her hand in front of her. Tetsu looked at it. She had seen it many times in her short life and couldn't remember a time when her mother wasn't wearing it. The silver oval reflected the light and a patch of luminosity darted across the wall as her mother shifted it slightly in her hold. It was the only jewellery her mother ever wore. It was probably the only jewellery in the house.

"Your father gave this to me before you were born" she said while her eyes settled on the shiny object, "He wanted it to belong to you. He told me that when I thought you were old enough to look after it, I should pass it onto you"

"What is it?" Tetsu asked quietly. Her mother opened the locket and allowed Tetsu to see the contents clearly. Tetsu gasped. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was as if starlight itself had been condensed and placed inside the stone. Something like that shouldn't be real. Tetsu wondered if she was dreaming, for surely things like this only existed in dreams, not reality.

"It's like a good luck charm. It's very precious." Her mother told her. Tetsu remained staring open mouthed at the glowing crystal. "Actually, it's priceless"

"Isn't priceless bad?" Tetsu asked, knocked out of her thoughts by her mother's words. Her mother laughed slightly at this.

"No, hunny, priceless means that it is so valuable that a price cannot be put on it"

"Oh" was all Tetsu could say to this. What was her mother doing with something so valuable? They were simple people. They didn't own fancy items or precious stones. And yet she had this. "Wait, are you giving this to me?"

Her mother nodded in reply. Tetsu looked shocked.

"No, but I can't. What if I loose it? Or break it? If it's priceless then that would be bad, and I don't want to do something bad. I'm not old enough to look after it" she rambled on. Her mother looked at her carefully.

"The fact that you're so worried about it tells me you're ready" she said. Her daughter shook her head. She shut the locket and sealed the fantastic thing inside. She looked at Tetsu, genuine concern in her eyes. "Please, take it, for me. I just... want you to be safe"

Tetsu swallowed. Her mother really wanted her to have this strange thing. But she was only little. Surely she would loose it. And what then? She looked into her mother's eyes and recognised the silent pleading they were putting forth.

Slowly, she nodded.

"Good" he mother spoke. She took the locket by the chain and held it in front of Tetsu's face. Tetsu lifted her hair up off her neck and let her mother lace the silver chain around it. When the clasp was secure, she placed her hands on her lap again and smiled at Tetsu. Tetsu smiled back to comfort her mother, but inside she was nervous. Tetsu's mother became serious again. "Never take it off. Keep it on at all times. It'll keep you safe."

"Yes" Tetsu replied quietly. A broad grin spread across her mother's pretty face and Tetsu looked confused.

"And then, one day, maybe you'll find someone who you think is precious enough to you that you'll want to keep safe, and then you can pass it on to them, just like your father did to you" she told Tetsu.

"Yes" Tetsu said now a bit happier. Her mother picked her up around the waist and lifted her onto her lap. Tetsu sat there and looked at the snow that continued to fall. The warmth from her mother made her feel completely safe. She didn't need this charm, as long as her mother was there everything would be fine.

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It was a month later when things changed.

Tetsu noticed that her mother had been acting strangely for some time. Whenever someone came to the door, she would jump. Whenever they went into the village, she would constantly be looking around her in caution. Even in their own garden, she would be on guard. It was as if she expected someone to pop out of nowhere and attack them. It was more than a little unnerving for Tetsu.

Then, one dark winter evening, it happened.

Tetsu was helping her mother prepare the simple evening meal. Her mother had a pot of broth simmering over the fireplace. Tetsu was cutting up vegetables that would be added to it later. While she cut she chatted away to her mother. Her mother would nod or laugh at the stories coming from her small child, remembering when she was at that age. The girl certainly did see the world strangely. The points she came up with were bizarre.

"I had a dream last night. It was in another world and people went around wearing black robes and fighting with each other. There was this girl who could make fire come from her hands and direct it at her opponents. And another one that could tie them in an invisible rope. And ano-"

Tetsu's story was cut short by a knocking at the door. As was usual with her mother these days, she jumped and dropped the bag of rice on the floor. It spilt and tiny white drops coated the wooden floor.

"Mother?" Tetsu asked worried.

Her mother just walked to the small hole in the wall that they had been meaning to fill and looked through it to see who was at the door. She gasped. She spun around on the spot and stared panic-stricken at her daughter.

"Tetsu! Quick, get in the storeroom!" She whispered ferociously. Tetsu peered at her, not understanding what her mother was saying. She ran to her daughter and picked her up. She brought her over to the small storeroom that could barely hold the little food they had. She placed her inside and was about to shut the door.

"Moth-"

"Tetsu! Listen to me! This is serious. Don't move. Don't speak. And don't, no matter what you hear, leave the cupboard." She hissed. Tetsu's eyes were wide. She had never seen her mother so scared before. It was terrifying. Before she could ask any questions, her mother slid the door close and shut Tetsu inside. Alone. In the dark.

She sat down and huddled into the corner of the cupboard. She heard scuffling coming from inside the house. Her mother was speaking to someone. They were male.

"You can't! I told you to leave!" at her mother's words Tetsu shivered. What couldn't the man do? Why would her mother tell him to leave?

More shuffling could be heard. The door to the house slammed loudly and the noise echoed through Tetsu's skull. Her mother was shouting. So was the man. She tried to block out the noise. She wanted to run out of the cupboard and see what was happening. See what was hurting her mother so much. But her mother's words resounded in her memory. She was told not to leave, not to speak, not to move. She couldn't disobey her mother's orders when they were so resolute.

There was a crash.

Tetsu lifted her head from being buried in her knees. Her eyes widened as she heard it. Her mother's scream bounced off the walls and reverberated in her mind. What was happening? Why was this happening? Was her mother alright? The screaming wouldn't stop. Tetsu hid her face back into her knees, trying desperately to think of something else. Anything, just anything, to distract her from the terrible din that came from the room next to her. Tears were streaming down her young face. She couldn't hold them back. Who was his man and what was he doing to her mother to make her scream like that? Throughout it all, she huddled there, in silence. The dark eating away at her eyes, making the sounds even louder.

The screaming stopped.

Tetsu didn't even notice. She continued to silently sob were she was. In her mind the screaming still resounded. In her mind she could still imagine her mother's face contorted with pain.

Footsteps.

They gradually got closer to where Tetsu was hiding. And yet, she didn't notice.

The door to the storeroom moved slightly under the touch of someone.

Whoever it was stood outside, hand on the frame, about to fling it open. They were about to discover the small girl crying in the corner of the dark closet. The door shook again.

And then it stopped.

The footsteps moved further away until they could no longer be heard by anyone who cared to listen. The door of the house opened and closed.

Tetsu stayed there. She didn't move, didn't speak, didn't leave. Just like her mother had told her to. Her kimono was soaked with salty liquid that had poured from her eyes. Her mind couldn't contemplate what was happening. All she knew was the deafening sound of her mother's screams. All she saw was the palms of her hands. Red now leaked from them where she had clenched her fists unknowingly. She didn't care. It didn't matter. All that mattered was staying here, where her mother had told her to.

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It was three days until someone else finally arrived at the house. Tetsu's mother hadn't shown up for work in the fields like she should have, she hadn't even sent her daughter to tell them she was unwell, and they were sent to investigate the reason for the absence. When they came to the small home they got no reply. They had opened the door carefully only to scream at the sight before them.

Soon others arrived. The daughter was missing. They searched the house for any trace of the girl. Finally, they opened the door to the small storeroom and peered inside.

There was the girl – crouched over her knees, face hidden from view, dried blood coating her small hands. They had taken her out of there, inspected her for injuries and tried to feed her. The girl was too weak to complain about it being against her mother's orders.

She didn't return to that house again.

A few days later she had stood at the edge of the village with others surrounding her. Her uncle held onto her hand as he silently wept.

The girl didn't shed any tears.

Smoke rose into the air as the casket burned. The girl watched the red and orange flames rise into the air and engulf the box.

They never caught him, the one who did it. He lived out the rest of his life in freedom. The girl hoped that at least in his heart guilt acted as a prison. She doubted it.

The girl lived for another thirteen years after that, until her luck at last ran out and a forest fire consumed her body.

She searched for her mother in Soul Society, but after two hundred years, gave up. Wherever she was, the girl obviously wasn't supposed to meet with her again. Maybe one day she would, but looking for her wasn't the way to do it. She would have to wait.

That night the mother was murdered, and Tetsu's hope died with her.

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Kya sat on the porch of another's home, watching as the snow gently glided down from the sky. It was deep winter. And yet, the cold didn't seem to bother Kya in the least. The bare trees glistened where the white had touched their limbs. The ground's cover sparkled when the sun peeked through the clouds above. There was no flaw in the blanket. It was a perfect blank sheet on top of a far less perfect hider.

Kya sighed.

She was glad Byakuya had accepted the charm that, she still believed to this day, had saved her all those years ago. What would she have done if he hadn't? The lumiére de la fortune had enough spirit energy that it almost behaved as an individual soul in itself. It chose who to protect and who not to protect. Once offered to someone else, it would not protect the giver any longer. Kya knew this. That was why she needed Byakuya to accept it. If he hadn't she may have been forced to simply throw it away or place it somewhere where someone may one day pick it up and it would decide to keep them safe.

But mainly, she just wanted him to be safe. She could handle herself. She had learnt over the many years of her afterlife how to defend herself and was probably the most talented combat fighter in Seireitei. But Byakuya, despite his undeniable skill and strength, was still just a captain. There were those out there that could hurt him. Kya couldn't think about that. It was too much to bear.

A finger suddenly touched her shoulder and ran down her bare arm. Kya didn't blink.

"Aren't you cold?" Byakuya asked her concerned. She looked at him and smiled warmly.

"No, I've got all the warmth I need right here" she replied. She moved closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, finding calm in the rhythmic motion of his breathing.

The girl sighed.

"Thank you"

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Eeee!! Just some background info for you there, although it is rather late on in the story.

See? There was absolutely no way I could have fitted that in the last chap, it would have almost tripled the length. And I was gonna include other things in the last chap, I aim too high.

I've got a teacher training day tomorrow so no school! Whoopee! Rhea's coming over and we're just gonna muck about. Then I've got sixth form open evening at my school in the evening. I dunno if I'll get one out tomorrow. But when the next one comes out I promise it will have Christmas comedy in it. I've kinda been putting it off a bit.

Review PLEASE? I'll cry otherwise! Wahhh!

See? That's me crying coz you didn't review! Feel ashamed of yourself!