ohayo minna-san!! I would first like to apologize for taking such an extended break from this story. Many real-life changes were occuring and I merely did not have the time to write or update. Please forgive me *bow* Well as you all know I had a little contest and our winner is Silver Kitsune Lunara!!*cheers* If you did not get a chance to participate, don't worry! I just might host another one later on. Now without further ado, the next chapter!!
A/N Just a warning, this chapter will not be centered completely around Arena. She will come back later on,promise! This chapter is also not dark, so you can breathe easy. If I make some characters a bit OOC, forgive me. It was not intended. With that out of the way, enjoy!
'.IT!!!! If I did Hichigo and Ichigo would be strapped to my bed...... in my room........under the covers........with the lights turned.......with me in the middle.....close to them........LOOKING AT MY SPANKY NEW GLOW-IN-THE-DARK EASY BAKE OVEN!!lol, fooled you..............pervs....
Murmurs could be heard thrumming around the room, the serious tone reflecting the combination of anxiety, anxiousness, fear, and high tension coiling and churning inside each person situated in the room. A sudden noise halts the various conversations flowing around the area and all eyes lock on the figure lying on the futon in the center.
Orihime was the first to react, stretching her hand out to lightly brush against damp strands of dark hair. A concerned frown appears on her face and teeth nibble furiously and distractedly at her bottom lip. Scooting up towards the limp figure, she gently strokes her fingers repeatedly through the soaked tresses, shifting the now warm towel laid across the burning forehead. A gasp swiftly escapes her mouth when her fingers come in contact with the burning flesh and a whimper comes from cracked lips, the figure subconsciously trying to maintain the contact with her cool flesh by turning weakly to the side she is on. Orihime grabs the towel, submerging it in the bowl near the head of the futon and wringing it out, places it back on the flushed forehead. Jerking and releasing a low keening sound, the figure weakly shakes its head from side to side, moaning lowly.
Tears form in Orihime's eyes at the pathetic sight and she twists her head to the side, closing her eyes to try and rid her self of the broken image. She moves herself back to her original position and lays her head on her arms. Urahara and Yoruichi glance at each other and nod, coming to a silent agreement on their own discussion. Clearing her throat to gain everyone's attention, Yoruichi swiftly makes eye contact with everyone before beginning, resting her eyes on the subject of the conversation.
"You all are no doubt wondering just who she really is, ne?" Nods show affirmation on this stated fact. Nodding her self, Yoruichi proceeded on.
"While I can't disclose everything until she has awoken and regained some of her energy, I will tell as much as I can. But before I begin to explain what few things I can, can anyone tell me of any strange things that happened since she has been involved or that you noticed of her during any time?" Golden eyes took in the various expressions fleeting on everyone's faces. Ishida was the first to raise his hand and at a nod from Yoruichi, explained.
"I did feel an enormous burst of spiritual pressure shortly before our run-in with Arena-san at the school. I thought it quite a coincidence that she should be around when that happened. Also that a violent storm such as the one last night should occur when she was allowed to rest and ran off from the shop that very night." Ishida glanced at everyone, finished with explaining his observation to the group. Furrowing her brows and briefly analyzing his explanation, Yoruichi nodded, storing the information for later review.
Orihime looked at Arena's shuddering figure and again reached out towards her, this time encasing a flushed hand and entwining their fingers together. Closing her eyes and going through her memories, Orihime quickly opened her eyes, twisting her head to face Yoruichi and spoke urgently, yet addressing everyone at the same time. "Did anyone notice that Arena-kun's eyes change colors…or specifically darken or lighten at certain times?" Eyes shifting to gauge the groups' reaction to this question, Orihime quietly swallowed and tensed. Each individual went over this question gravely in their minds, sifting through their memories, going back to the first encounter with the enigma of a girl before them. Shocked expressions settled on each face as they saw what Orihime was speaking of.
Chad was the first to respond, his deep baritone voice resounding in the room. "I also noticed something. It seems that whenever we question her, she tends to lean more towards her left side, more so covering her hip. Why would she be worried about us going for her hip? Also she tends to look at the walls, as if searching for something. Why would she do that?" Voicing these questions out loud, Chad fell back into meditative silence, searching for the elusive answers he so desperately sought.
The tension in the room deepened as minds pondered over the various questions and statements, dissecting each and going over them repeatedly. Urahara, who had been extremely still and silent since the beginning, raised his head and surveyed the frustrated group before him. Opening his mouth, he started to speak when a thundering scream ripped through the room. Gasps of surprise and startled yelps followed as another scream resounded in the room.
Eyes snapped to the violently convulsing figure and shouts were heard as Arena's body was lifted from the bedding, her limp appendages dangling and locking up repeatedly, and abruptly slammed back with a force that shook the floor beneath. Screams tore from her mouth repeatedly as her left hand jerked up to her chest, nails sinking into the thin pristine white yukata that adorned her body, gripping and tugging at the flesh until faint pink spots began to form where the nails dug in, rapidly darkening to a crimson the more she applied pressure. Her chest arched off the futon, pressing her left hand more into the center of her chest, causing more blood to spread across the blemished yukata. Another scream raged through the air, though not from Arena, but from Orihime.
Tears spilled over the sides of her cheeks as Orihime tugged furiously at Arena's right wrist with her free left hand, trying to get her to release her crushing grip. Bodies jumped up to assist her, Ishida reaching first. Wrapping his hand around Arena's wrist as well and putting his other on Orihime's tensed forearm, he tugged hard managing to loosen her bruising grip on Orihime's trapped hand. Both tugged, attempting to use their combined strength to wrench the rest of Orihime's hand from Arena's grip as Chad, Renji, and Ichigo used their weight to hold down the rest of her writhing body. Chad grabbed her kicking and thrashing legs, Renji snatched her left hand away from her chest, keeping her from inflicting more damage to her already battered and just healing body. Ichigo pressed his hands on her shoulders, firmly keeping her to the surface, yet being gentle so he did not cause further harm. Arena's head shook from side to side, throwing off the dry towel and screamed again, tears flowing off her face and soaking the rumpled linen beneath her.
A howl of dying pain wrenched itself out her mouth, sending chills down everyone's spines and freezing their blood. Simultaneously, deep gashes appeared on her body, blood trickling from the wounds. Screams once again filled the air, her body thrashing, fighting against the restraints that were Chad's, Renji's, and Ichigo's hands. Bruises started to cover her skin and her lip began to bleed, a cut adorning it. Commands were shouted out as Yoruichi jumped up and grabbed a syringe near her, already filled with an amber liquid. Urahara barked for Tessai to acquire bandages, bowls of warm water, and healing salve. Tessai did as he was commanded, gathering the various items and depositing them near Urahara. Urahara then called Ururu and Jinta to the room. Both came in and looked at Urahara, trying hard not to stare at the scene that was rapidly unfolding before them. Urahara requested that they close the shop and put up barriers around the grounds. Both nodded and went off to perform the tasks assigned to them. Urahara then looked back to the struggle in front of him.
Yoruichi was straddling Arena's waist, shouting for them to hold her still. Chad, Renji, and Ichigo all slightly increased their weight on the appendages in their grasp. Yoruichi pushed part of the yukata off Arena's left shoulder, pushing the plunger of the syringe to squirt some of the liquid out, and swiftly and accurately, drove the needle into her twitching skin, pushing through muscle and injecting the liquid into her bloodstream. Another scream was cried out and all movement stopped. Arena slumped to bed, her body going completely lack and sighs of relief were released. Ishida gently pulled Orihime's hand from Arena's limp hand, massaging the bruised and swelling flesh.
Heavy breathing filled the room, the dwindling rush of adrenaline starting to leave them fatigued. Everyone looked at the limp body in the middle. Chad released her legs, arranging them into a more comfortable position and pulled the discarded sheet up them. Renji also let go of the appendage in his grasp, his eyes falling on the bloody spots on her yukata and on her hands, the liquid running warm down her sides and soiling the sheets. He placed her arm across her waist and tugged the sheet up to cover the sight. A shuddering gasp caused eyes to go to her, but upon discovering that it was not she who made the sound, drifted to Ichigo who had not released her shoulders yet. Sweat trickled down his face, his eyes wide and mouth gaping, drawing in ragged puffs of air. Gulping air into his body greedily, Ichigo felt a shiver pass over him, the adrenaline starting to leave his body. Glancing down at the death-like body, Ichigo slowly raised his eyes, locking sight with Yoruichi and blacked out, slumping next to Arena's still body. Shouts of concern and "ICHIGO!!" were voiced, Chad and Renji rushing to his side, flipping him onto his back and calling out his name repeatedly, shaking him to rouse a response from the youth.
At the same time, a sob and cough passed out of Arena's mouth, a small trickle of blood slipping down the side of her mouth. Yoruichi immediately pressed her right hand to Arena's chest, a blue glow emitting around it. Speaking words in a quiet and fast tone, Yoruichi pressed firmly on her chest, her spiritual energy slowly mounting. After awhile, a light sheen of sweat coating her face and her breath coming in slight pants, Yoruichi lifted her hand from Arena's chest and sat down against the wall, gaining her breath back. She looked over to where everyone fretted over Ichigo's unresponsive body. Urahara silently moved over to Arena, arranging the material in the order he wanted them in. Grabbing a submerged towel, he began his work. Wiping the now drying blood from her mouth and throat, gently patting around the areas that were too tender to be directly pushed on, he went over what had just transpired right in front of him. Making a quick and brief conclusion just as he placed the crimson towel into the bowl, he addressed the frantic group.
"Minna-san, what I am about to tell you is merely a hunch, but I would like for you to listen none-the-less. Is everyone okay with that?" He glanced over at the worried group of friends, making sure that they were paying attention to what he had to say. Eyes were locked on his person and glancing warily at the damaged body being tended to. A sigh passed from thin lips as Urahara continued to wipe at the blood coating bruised skin, making sure to be careful at particularly nasty looking wounds. Once he cleaned as much as he could without dishonoring the young woman's virtue, he picked up the healing salve and uncapping the jar began applying it to the broken skin. He let the words flow from his mouth, while continuing to tend to Arena.
"What if Arena-san was so psychological damaged that not only was her mind completely destroyed, but her soul was obliterated as well? What if this caused a serious disruption around everything that she came in contact with? Completely changed her from how she was? What if this also caused her to achieve such a massive amount of unbridled raw power that she could destroy cities if she so chose to?" Eyes widened at these prospects, defenses immediately going up.
Urahara recapped the jar and picked up the roll of bandages, looking up at Yoruichi to come and help him. Yoruichi nodded and moved, placing her self beside Arena and shifting her body carefully on to her lap. Both worked diligently, bandaging the most serious wounds first, before attending to the others. Once finished, Yoruichi began placing Arena back before catching sight of the blood staining the sheets. Shifting over to her original spot, she arranged Arena into a comfortable position in her lap, resting her head in the crook of her shoulder and began rocking her gently.
Silence captured the room as everyone took in this scene, random thoughts fleeting before all attention settled back on Urahara. Readjusting his self, he looked up meeting their stares. He continued his speculation, his brows furrowing in strict concentration. He plowed on "What if someone became aware of this and tried to reign in her unstable power, only destroying her more for a extensive amount of time? What do you think could potentially happen, say in a few months?" This question hung in the air, the hidden meaning poised clearly understood to every person. Just as he was about to continue, a low groan was heard from a certain strawberry. Everyone watched as he pushed himself into a sitting position, rubbing his head and squinting. After letting his sight readjust to the light, he blinked a couple of times and looked at everyone, his trademark scowl shifting back into place.
"What happened?" Ichigo asked, trying to remember what he did last. Flashes of the struggle and the following events passed in his mind and placing his sight on the limp body encased by Yoruichi, he frowned.
Urahara started again, but was once again interrupted when Arena snapped her eyes open and flung her self up, gripping Yoruichi's shoulder in a vice grip. Sweat dripped off her face and her eyes widened, looking frantically around the room. She muttered under her breath in a strained tone, licking her lips and suddenly flinging her self out of the warm lap, scrambling for the door. Yoruichi immediately restrained her, once again straddling her waist and pinning her arms above her head, being as gentle she could without breaking her grip on her arms. Furious yells and snarls rose from Arena's throat, trying to free her self from Yoruichi's grasp. Angry tears tracked down her face as she howled for her release. Those screams dwindled into pleas and soon turned into weak whimpers. Tensed muscles soon went limp again as the last of her strength gave out. A small sob was let loose one last time as Arena slumped against the floor, looking up into cautious eyes. Her eyelids closed, opened then closed again, fluttering against tear-stained skin, finally giving her self over to the calling darkness of slumber. Coiled bodies relaxed slightly, observing the way she gulped in air, her breathing regulating out. Sighs of relief were passed in the air when Yoruichi lifted off the slumped body, picking her up and cradling her.
Her mouth moved wordlessly, air passing over cracked lips. Arena blurrily opened her eyes again, fighting the call to sleep. She looked up into worried eyes and faintly grabbing what material she could reach, she weakly pulled. She worked hard to tell them, to warn them. She had to tell them before they were destroyed as well, burned along with everything else that she had tried to protect and failed.
Finally, at the last second, words faintly formed causing those golden eyes to widen and glance over at Urahara. Her eyes fluttered shut and she went limp, finally losing the tiring battle to stay conscious.
Yoruichi stared down at the broken body in her arms in wonderment and concern. Looking up at everyone, she repeated what Arena had said.
"Time is drawing close….you must choose….will you let it burn?....or will you let me go?"
TA DAAAAAHHH!!!! A little choppy, I know, but good enough to start with. Reviews and suggestions are once again welcomed!! Until next time!!