Chapter 13

Day 28
My days fell into a routine: sword fighting with Kagine and occasionally Aiko as well, spending "quality" time with Jikan, and running through the catacombs. I had only lived there for a month and yet it felt like I had been there all my life.

I spent some time exploring "Soul Sanctuary". It was amazing, like an underground city. In the main district huts were stacked one upon another, forming a massive shantytown similar to the districts of Soul Society.

Across the cavern, there was another division of living quarters built into the cave wall. They were first designed by Urahara to hold prisoners, but were eventually converted into living quarters for the people who had high reiatsu like Chad, Kagine, Aiko, and myself.

Orihime did not live with us in Soul Sanctuary; her visit was short, as she had to return to Soul Society to heal the injured on the front lines.

Chad spent a good deal of time replacing the door that I broke. The door was something he himself carved from stone and destroying it was like hitting him below the belt. This time, he made sure to line it with seki seki.

Kagine, thank God, quit trying to interrogate me; it was really Aiko who "persuaded" him to lay off.

Most of the people who lived here were wholes that lived around Karakura. The reason why they are still here is because Kagine, who was watching Karakura at the time, refused to send them into Soul Society. He had the same idea I had, that Soul Society would not be safe from Aizen, and sadly, we were both right.

About nine years ago, the hollows and arrancar successfully invaded Soul Society. Since most of its defenses had been taken out in the Battle of Fake Karakura Town, a massacre ensued. It was a miracle that Byakuya took charge and lead most of the people to safety. However, back in the world of the living, Hollows and Arrancars did as they pleased and murdered anyone they came into contact with, including soul reapers.

The entire incident reduced words like "disaster" and "chaos" to utter meaninglessness. There were no words for how terrifying the universe had become with this shift in the cosmic balance.

It wasn't the Soul Reaper's fault; most of them weren't able to beat arrancars and those who did were eventually killed by Aizen, or later, the Hollow Lord. The only thing that saved Kagine and his people from them was Kisuke's haven hid their spirit energy. But even so, there were occasions when hollows accidentally stumbled upon the cave.

For the past few years, they had lived in a state of fragile prosperity. However, if the Hollow Lord discovered the haven, not even Kagine and Aiko could protect them, for they, Chad and I, and three others, were he Soul Sanctuary's only defense.

But today was special! The festival to celebrate the life they once had. Very depressing really; most of them don't really realize how terrible the war has gotten.

The festival started with an enormous feast; everyone could eat and drink to their hearts content. The games followed. They weren't really my thing, so took my opportunity to head outside.

The entrance at the base of the mountain was very clever. The hollows wouldn't think of searching for people inside a mountain when they had cities to devour at their leisure.

I sat down on a rock and tried to spot the moon; however, it was too cloudy to see.

"You're looking in the wrong place," a dark voice said.

I was unarmed at the time and panicked, thinking that it was a hollow. As I turned, I saw Aiko hiding behind a rock, laughing at me.

"You look like a frightend little child!" she laughed

"Shut up!" I scuffed. "You just surprised me, okay!"

"I know!" As she continued to laugh maniacally. "Thats what makes it so funny!"

"Ha ha. So all jokes aside, what do you mean I'm looking in the wrong place?"

"You're looking straight up. The place you should be looking is in the southwest."

Sure enough she was right. Hidden by many layers of clouds, I saw a faint glow.

She poured me a cup of sake to share with me. I thought it would be fun to joke around.

"Aren't you a little young to be drinking."

She hit me in the stomach really hard, and then blushed.

"Oh shut up, Saidō! I could take back my sake anytime I want."

"So I'm guessing you're here to watch the moon right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I can't stand the carnival. It was where I died."

"So you weren't killed by a hollow."

"No, it happened many years ago. I had a argument with my parents when they wouldn't let me go to the carnival with my friends. I was angry, so I snuck out. The carnival was fun, but we got in a car accident on the way home."

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"It was only afterwards that I realized just how much my parents loved me. They mourned for me for many years while the people i thought were my friends simply moved on."

Her story made me realize how long she had been lonely and how much she loved them. Even though I saved her from being eaten by hollows, she would have rather been eaten before she would abandon her family. I wondered who my family was and why they abandoned me.

For the next couple of hours, we enjoyed both each others company and the sake.

"We should go back inside. It's almost time for the fireworks."

Just as we entered the cavern, a beautiful explosion of fireworks surrounded us. Fireworks of every kind were being set off from various parts of the cavern. No wonder it took Kagine so long to get them set up.

"You know about the legend of fireworks: if you make a wish, then it would come true."

"Oh really! In that case, I wish that I would get kissed by a beautiful woman."

"Well then, its your lucky day." Aiko said.

Her lips touched my cheek! It was the closest thing I had felt to heaven. I wished I asked for more than a kiss.

"Thank you Saidō. For rescuing me."

And then she left. For those remaining moments I spent up there, I wondered why she kissed me.

It was probably the sake... or was it possible..?

Could she could have fallen in love with me? Or maybe it was I that had first fallen in love with her.

One thing for sure was that tonight was a good night.

The other was that the line I used had to be the stupidest line I had ever come up with.

Oh well, I could blame it on the sake.