With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
It was the same place, the same old run down warehouse Ai had taken Kyra when they first had a chance to talk to one another after their first meeting. The place Ai took Kyra to hide out and rest to recover from her wounds after facing the current 3rd Espada. Now Ai has brought her here to recover from the wounds she inflicted upon Kyra herself. A thought that refused to cease within Ai's mind unrelentingly disturbing her. In a way, Ai did not want it to stop plaguing her, she wanted it as a reminder - more accurately something to make herself suffer for, for harming another that she held dear.
In a certain way, it was a bit of deja vu as well, laying Kyra down on a very large box with some make shift bedding just like the last time. Only this time, rather than sit idly by - she laid down beside Kyra, shutting her eyes and falling asleep beside the crimson haired girl. It had been a stressful experience for her after all, on an emotional level it was far from something she used to. Though, Kyra suffered the worst of it both physically and mentally, it only pained Ai all the more with the realization and understanding of this.
"I'm sorry...", Ai murmured as she lay beside Kyra, while gently brushing a few stands of Kyra's crimson locks out of Kyra's face with her finger tips as the 5th Division Captain lay unconscious. It was only a trice later that Ai's eyes grew heavy, and fell asleep beside the Captain.
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Sept 16, 2009 18:43:52 GMT -5
Behind those closed lids, her eyes moved frantically about, solid evidence of an inner struggle while slipping in and out of consciousness. Every now and then, her limbs would make a pathetic attempt of moving, though in her heavily weakened state, it would merely result in a sudden twitch at a joint, or a fidgeting of a finger or two. Her skin was cold to the touch, as if the woman had been kept in the freezer of a morgue, even after the woman who had struck her down placed blankets upon her beaten body after applying some bandages to her more serious of injuries. When the elder Vizard had laid down next to her, the simple warmth of human ... or in this case, spiritual contact, there had been less severe twitching or movements, but those eyes continued to shift frantically about within closed lids.
Kyra panted heavily, sweat pouring off her forehead, her left arm bleeding profusely while her right latched firmly onto one of her two Zanpakuto. Her Inner Hollow's laughter echoed within the cave-like scenery, with only the faintest light of the blue-flamed torches and their own spiritual pressure giving a source of light within. That long crimson haired woman stood far taller than Kyra herself, and within her grasp, the other half of Kyra's own Zanpakuto. The Vizard had fought her Inner Hollow for dominance once before, but now nothing but doubt clouded her thoughts. Could one ever win against their Inner Hollow? Was it simply a matter of time before she became like Ai? Would she succumb to the darkness within? Kyra didn't want to believe it... but Ai was living proof that she would soon become like her... she would become more Hollow than Shinigami...
"No," Kyra shook her head as she looked up to her Inner Hollow with a fierce look in those fiery crimson hues. "I won't become like her! I'll take you down... then, I'll take her inner hollow down next!"
"Wishful thinking," the Hollow spat out as she brought her blade up with a single hand, easily parrying the attack Kyra had launched with relative ease. The taller woman pushed the woman back and pinned her against the wall, the two blades sparking with cobalt spiritual energy, and dark blue flames encircling both swords. "The Vizard was right; it's futile to fight against one's own Inner Hollow; you should know by now that you're useless without me."
Kyra yelped sharply as the woman's hairs hardened and stabbed straight through her midsection and chest, several strands piercing easily through her body and pinning her against the wall. The sudden blow forced her grip upon the Zanpakuto to loosen, and she slowly felt her body growing limp. Still, with blood pouring down her lips, Kyra couldn't help but smile faintly.
"What the hell are you smiling about?" the Inner Hollow could do little but find humor in the woman's strange behavior. "Don't you realize you're going to die?"
"I... was... waiting... for you..." Kyra started to breathe out, her words barely above a whisper and forcing the inner hollow to lean in just to hear the rest of the sentence. "To... get... closer...Bakudō 61; Rikujōkōrō..."
With that phrase, six piercing rods of light slammed into the pair, pinning both in place. The Inner Hollow's expression turned to one of shock as she attempted to yank her body from the kido spell, to no prevail.
"Feh," the Hollow let out a look of disgust, being pinned down rather ironically by the kido master. "You're still going to die."
"Ye lord... m-mask of blood and flesh... all creation... flutter of wings..." Kyra began to chant, her voice dried and cracked as a spiral of sapphire blue spiritual energy erupted within the palms of her hands. "Ye who bears the name of Man... On the wall of blue flame... inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens..."
"You'll kill yourself if you fire that at this range!" Kyra's Inner Hollow shouted as she attempted to move, though with the binding spell keeping her in place, there was little she could do. "Are you crazy?! You'll kill us both!"
"I'd rather die..." Kyra muttered. "Then let some monster like you bring harm to those I care for... Hadō 73; Sōren Sōkatsui!"
And with that, the entire cavern lit up in a bright, sky blue color as flames engulfed the two, overtaking the pair and forcing both entities to nearly shatter from the destruction...
Sweat glistened off her ice-cold body, which prompted a shiver as her limbs attempted to hug her own body. A sharp pain developed in one of her arms, forcing the crimson haired Captain to let out a low groan. She felt something heavy on her chest, her breathing having been in short pants until she finally woke. Those dark crimson hues blinked unsteadily open to a rather familiar scene. It had been the same place she had awakened before, when she had first met Ai.
Ai... Ai!
Kyra blinked and attempted to sit up, but a sudden pain in her chest, as well as something preventing her to do so, forced her to remain laying on the makeshift cot. Her head turned to her side, and it was then that she found out what the weight upon her chest had been. Ai was laying next to her, with an arm draped over her chest, almost protectively, with one of her legs curling against Kyra's own.
Her cheeks flushed instantly, the far shorter, petite girl both too small and far too weak to really do anything to free herself of the woman's embrace... and quite frankly, she didn't want to. She wasn't certain why... perhaps it was the secure feeling that enveloped her when she realized who it was that was hugging her soundlessly... or perhaps the warm rush that seemed to flow straight to her brain, making her thought process all but impossible. For the moment, Kyra remained content and shifted her body very carefully to its side, using caution on her severely burnt and injured arm.
The leg that had wrapped itself around Kyra's own responded by securing that lock, twisting her ankle around the girl's own as she pressed her forehead to Ai's. She didn't know why she felt so comfortable... Ai had attempted to kill her... yet... as the woman slept next to her, she didn't seem like the monster she was before... she seemed... like...
"An angel..." Kyra whispered hoarsely, her voice dry and cracked. In all honesty, if it hadn't been for Ai; her own determination to bring Ai back from Aizen's grasp, perhaps she would have lost against her Inner Hollow... she wasn't sure what to think... all she did know was that she was comfortable... she was content... she was happy with where they stood at that very moment...
A young woman looking upon another young woman who wore a white 8th Division Captain's haori over her Shinigami uniform. The young woman in her haori looking at the other with a skeptical gaze as her head was tilted to the right side a little, her left eye closed, the right eye squinting. The two young women looking not all that unlike, the one in the haori looking a dash younger than the other, "You're gaining strength too fast, Ai...", she said to the woman donning the haori, "You've climbed so far so quickly... But, you're just feeding aggression, while it'll make you stronger - it'll destroy you quicker."
She already knew what was happening to me...
The Hollowification taking over the young woman in the haori, the white colloid Hollow mask spreading across the left side of her face. The front of the mask having taking it's form as it covered the left side of her face as she cried out in agony. The young woman holding herself tightly as she bled from the wound caused by a blade that ran right through her. Tears streaming from her eyes as she shut them tightly. Drawing her blade - held in an inverted grip she thrust it at her own abdomen. But her eyes gradually opened out of her perplexity when she realized it was not herself that she stabbed into, "Amaya!", the young woman cried out in horror.
And then you killed her...
Yeah...
And turned to me to learn more of your inner strength...
Yeah...
Recognized you're not a Shinigami anymore...
Yeah...
Recognized your soul is more synchronized with that of a Hollow's...
Yeah...
You fight like a Hollow...
Yeah...
You even manage to look like--
>>"An angel..."<<
W-What...?
Lazily Ai's eyes begun to slowly open looking straight into Kyra's, for a moment all Ai did was gaze back into those beautiful crimson hues as their brows rested against one anothers. A crushing weight begun to squeeze and pull at Ai's heart. Tears formed under eyes and rolled down her face as she whimpered in a whisper, "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I never meant to hurt you, too...", pleadingly as she spoke hervoice cracked under her emotional state, "Please, Kyra... please forgive me... it wasn't supposed be like that... I... I can't bear the thought of harming another that's dear to me..."
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Sept 20, 2009 23:00:00 GMT -5
"And that's... that's why..."
Kyra's good arm traveled up ever so gently to wipe those tears away, her palm cupping the woman's cheek as she gave off that faint smile she was well known to carry. She rested her head down a bit more as she curled her leg against Ai's own, enjoying the warmth... the comfort... the security. Despite the fact that the very woman who had struck her down and nearly killed her was laying before her, she could feel no anger toward her... for Kyra knew that inner hollow all too well. No... Ai was no Hollow... not by a long shot.
"You're no Hollow," Kyra smiled as her hand moved to the side of the woman's head, her fingers unable to keep themselves from wrapping around those thick, brunette strands. "We all lose ourselves... you taught me that. We, as Vizards, have no real place... we are neither Shinigami nor Hollow... we are both, yet neither."
Her hand moved to the back of the woman's neck where she could easily feel the tension of the woman's worries, to which she could only smile even further in reply. She knew the woman cared for her, and quite frankly, Kyra herself was starting to understand her own feelings. Ai... the very first Vizard she had ever encountered... she had shown to her a whole new world... and though they themselves were worlds apart... Kyra was content with the world they were in at that very moment.
"Hollows hold no feeling of regret," Kyra informed the woman. "Hollows do not feel sorry for attacking those they care for... I know... I know you did not intend to bring harm to me... and I forgive you, Ai..."
The lazy Captain found herself finding words she would rarely use, bringing up a rather heart-felt speech; another trait she never really held. Still, she found her heart was filled with more than just words... but emotions as well. Kyra could open up to Ai... and she wanted Ai to know that she too could open up to her. Her thumb drew circles along her jawline in a soothing fashion, her toes curling slightly while she bit down on her bottom lip.
"Still..." Kyra found herself troubled over words, a trait she was actually quite well known for. Sheepishly, she averted her eyes, attempting to find the right words to express the inner most thoughts she had, deep down, known to finally exist and finally accept as truth. Those crimson hues slowly blinked back up to Ai's own, her brows twitching down in a bit of worry. She wanted their lives to be different... for Vizards to be accepted by Soul Society... she didn't want to fight Ai... she didn't want her to side with Aizen... nevertheless... none of that mattered now... what mattered is where they were, at that very moment. Hollow, Shinigami... Hueco Mundo, Soul Society... none of that mattered... what mattered was the here and now... what mattered was where Kyra stood on that very moment. She was no Captain... no Shinigami... no Vizard. She was a simple woman, who had finally confronted her true feelings... feelings that had developed ever since she had met the woman, and only increased with each passing day. Every day spent without the woman, she could do little but to think about her... worry about her... wonder if she as alright; if she was eating properly, having trouble with her inner hollow, if she were bored... or even if she were thinking about Kyra.
Emotions built up as high as they could, and before Kyra could allow another word to escape those parted lips, she instead pulled Ai closer to her, tilting her own head ever so slightly as she pressed her lips to the woman's own. She felt the small amount of air within her lungs flee almost instantly at the small amount of skin to skin contact. She wondered how such a small action could have such a large effect upon her. Kyra's eyes closed ever so slowly as she tried her best to keep the woman's head in place, wanting to just freeze time right then and there... to forget about the outside world... forget about their alignments... and just remain as two women... two lovers... two kindred spirits...
Last Edit: Sept 22, 2009 15:40:22 GMT -5 by Shinigami Kyra
All Ai did was lay there as she gazed into Kyra's crimson hued eyes, touched by Kyra's wiping away her tears, and overwhelmed with emotion for the feelings she holds for girl she lay beside. Ai never said a word as Kyra spoke, she did not know what to say amongst the jumble of things she wanted to, and even if could say something - anything - she would be unable to organize the thoughts to articulate them properly; so all she did was listen as she gazed into Kyra's lovely crimson hues.
Tears formed under her eyes again the second Kyra told her she forgave. How could she possibly forgive Ai for all Ai has done to her? In Ai's eyes, Kyra is too good to be amongst the Shinigami, Seireitei is not worthy of her. From the moment Ai first saw her, Ai wanted to help, she did not know why then - it was just a whim, something to do--... No, there was something about Kyra that drew Ai to her, an attraction perhaps, which Ai could not exactly see right then. But with time, being with Kyra and getting to know her - spending time with her, she begun to understand it.
Kyra's touch felt so comforting, so soothing, so warm - Ai gently closed her eyes forcing out the tears that once again begun to form. Her adoration for Kyra weighed on her heart more, she understood what it was she felt for her - it was love - a feeling she had not truly felt for a long, long time. Before she could really gasp what was happening in that moment, their lips met - Ai's widened for a trice a little taken aback by the kiss at first - she did not expect it. But Kyra's lips - they felt so soft, so warm - Ai reciprocated, easing into the moment all the more, it was a bliss of its own kind. Gently closing her eyes, Ai let herself drown in the moment with Kyra, she is all that mattered now - all that ever mattered...
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Oct 6, 2009 15:00:32 GMT -5
Her breath was taken away. Her mind, completely void of thought, attempted to wrap itself around the swirl of emotions that ignited the moments their lips touched. Ai... she never understood her feelings until that very moment. Kyra truly cared for Ai... she could have never explained it before... perhaps, be in denial, should someone have brought it up to her in the past, never thinking for a moment that she could have such feelings toward someone of the same sex... and yet, there she lay, next to the very woman that she now confirmed she loved. She wanted to run away... to run away with Ai... she wanted to be with her, always, away from the fighting... the drama... everything.
"Ai," Kyra finally broke the kiss, tears formed in both bliss and sadness as a weak smile appeared upon those soft features. "Run away with me..."
Kyra couldn't believe her own words. Her mind screamed at her, and yet... her heart ached. She could no longer listen to her own thoughts, as her heart felt they did nothing but betray her as of late. Instead, she spoke straight from her very own soul, deeply suppressed emotions beginning to flow out all at once. To run away... to leave everything she knew behind... her responsibilities of a Captain, her best friend Momo... everything... she was willing to sacrifice it all in a heartbeat, should the woman agree...
"Run away with me, Ai," Kyra repeated after her words sank in. "Shinigami... Arrancar; none of that matters. We don't have to align with anyone but ourselves... let's... just run away from it all. We can live together... we can be happy, Ai... we... we don't need anyone else. We have each other..."
For Ai it felt like the longest moment as she stared off as Kyra spoke to her, about leaving everything behind them. A heavy weight tugged on her heart, crushing it with an unimaginable pressure. She did not have any words to respond to Kyra with still, what could she say? That every word Kyra has spoken Ai feels the same, that every feeling Kyra holds Ai holds equally as much for her. Why given into such redundancy?
There was only one response Ai could think to answer Kyra with; with a gentle, caring hand she pulled Kyra's slim body against her own. Ever so easingly as she pressed her soft lips against Kyra's, she laid Kyra down on her back while Ai herself lay on top of her. Laying on top of Kyra's lean physique, she was ever so careful not to do any harm to Kyra's wounded body treating her as if she were made of glass. Running a slender fingered hand through the silky crimson locks of Kyra's, Ai intimately and lovingly kissed her as she held the woman against her.
An idle hand of Ai's pulling the make-shift clothe they used as a blanket to cover the two women up more as Ai kissed at Kyra's neck and shoulder. Eventually, as she held Kyra in both arms once again, she found the only answer she could put into words were, "I'll follow you anywhere, Kyra...", another deep, intimate kiss was placed onto Kyra's lips before Ai broke the kiss to say with an adoring tone, "I love you..."
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Oct 11, 2009 15:22:59 GMT -5
The Vizard did little to fight against the woman's movements as Ai pulled her in close, feeling a heavy warmth build within her chest the closer she got to her. Her heart raced as those beautiful lips caressed her own, forcing a bit of a moan to escape her throat. Soon, the woman was on top of her. Despite Kyra's own height and weight, the slightly taller woman seemed even more frail than she herself; that, or she was being so extremely careful not to bother the injuries she had, by now, completely forgotten. She felt Ai's fingers caress her crimson strands, a subconscious purr escaping from the playful manner of the older woman. She couldn't help but feel her breath catch every time she was before the woman. She could no longer deny her feelings... it just felt completely wrong to do so!
>>"I'll follow you anywhere, Kyra..."<<
Ai spoke softly as she showered the girl in kisses, each one sending a wave of pure pleasure throughout her body. She cooed, she moaned, and she even cried a little out of pure happiness. She had never thought it possible for her emotions to feel the way they did toward anyone... and in hearing the woman's agreement, it made her so happy, she couldn't think of anything else to do but cry. The woman then pulled Kyra into a deep, passionate kiss, to which the crimson haired woman returned in full, to the best of her ability.
>>"I love you..."<<
And with that, it was confessed. Even though she had heard it before, it seemed that those three magic words had more meaning behind them than anything else the Captain had ever heard. She felt her heart lifted up, as though she were floating. The injuries seemed completely forgotten and unfelt, as she moved her arms up to wrap around the woman's form ever so tightly, despite the heavily injured one. The pain wasn't even registering as she buried her face into the woman's bosom and could do little but to cry out her emotions.
"I'm... so glad..." Kyra spoke between her sobs, feeling the warmth between the two as a pure bliss of physical comfort. "I... I didn't want us to leave again, Ai... because... I love you to... I really really do. I didn't know it until now, but I really do love you..."
All that remained on Ai's mind was comforting and giving all of her affection to Kyra, it is all she really wanted - to express every ounce of love she feels for the woman. With Kyra's burying face into Ai's chest, Ai decided to turn over onto her back while ever so carefully pulling Kyra on top of her, so it was easier for the crimson haired woman to rest her head against her supple bosom.
Letting the woman lay her head on chest, Ai soothingly stroked Kyra's soft, silky hair with one hand as she readjusted the make-shift blanket to wrap snugly around them both. It was only a moment later when Ai lay a hand on the back of Kyra's head making comforting caresses to her hair, while the other gently ran its finger tips up and down Kyra's sultry back.
With a soft kiss to Kyra's brow, she asked quietly to this lovely girl - the only one who holds Ai's very heart in the palm of their hands with a small smile on her face uncertain herself as what to do next, "Now what...?"