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.
Crimson eyes averted their gaze, staring over the mountains instead of at the elder vizard. Perhaps what she said was right, but, then again, she didn't know the situation. Kaki remembered her dilema clearly. She remembered that she had at one time been able to understand everything that her zanpakuto had said; she distinctly remembered several occasions in which the man had refrained from saying those words only after the first syllable had been uttered: Hi. But, now, that tall, glassy man might try to speak to her of it; all in vain. The words, smashed, mixed, distorted beyond comprehension by her inner hollow. Her nameless inner hollow; adding fire to the flames. She wanted to subdue that annoying creature, but she had no means of doing so. Not now anyway.
Kaki's frustrations were nothing simple, that was certain. Her anger, fueled by one of the very things that defined her. Her hollow thrived off of her anger, but she couldn't do a thing about it. This frustration came from the very thing that thrived off of her anger, the dispair that she felt. The very thing that created her stress was thriving off of it.
Kaki could understand the metaphor to an extent; this time around, she knew to watch for them.
"Oh, he's tried. It's not his fault, I know that. It's her fault, and my fault for letting her have even an ounce of control. Demo, his idea of help is saying, 'try to make the best of it, kay?" Kaki spewed her thoughts casually, and then she closed her eyes in a deliberately slow blink.
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Jan 9, 2010 18:08:41 GMT -5
>>"Oh, he's tried. It's not his fault, I know that. It's her fault, and my fault for letting her have even an ounce of control. Demo, his idea of help is saying, 'try to make the best of it, kay?"<<
"Perhaps that is all that can be said for those like us," Rydia announced, verbally confirming that she too understood the troubles that the small youngling went through. "Make do with what you got. Be thankful for what you have..."
With that, Rydia spared a moment of silence as she uncapped her bottle and took a small sip. She could already her own inner conversations stirring, though having held so much experience, and living for so long, holding simultaneous conversations had become far less than second nature to her. Ryuuzin just seemed content that Rydia had finally found a kindred spirit after spending so much time in solitude. Sure, she had her 'human' life, having made quite the name for herself. Still... her teaching days had been something she had long since missed, and she knew for far too long that she could do little to hide her most inner desires from the one who had remained connected to her for longer than any other.
The elder Vizard pushed herself from her leaned position against the wall and walked over toward the shorter girl. Those long forest green strands seemed to curve ever so gently around her body, complimenting her lightly tanned skin and bright emerald eyes. Her peach-pink lips parted ever so gently before closing again, her features softening ever so lightly as a smile was produced upon her features. The familiar sense of confusion, not knowing what to do, and the frustration of not being able to know who one could turn to... she certainly was staring into a mirror of nearly a thousand years ago. The child-like antics of the elder Vizard had long since seemed to diminish, though never completely, as she stood with confidence and an aura of pure serenity as she looked to the younger former Shinigami.
"A fight for dominance for those like us is an endless uphill battle," Rydia explained. "Control could be lost at any moment in time should we let it... while one must remained focused and alert at all times... one must also remain calm, and collected as well. Some attempt to dominate their inner demon... some attempt to fight it off, prevent it from control... others... like myself, may have found that their inner demon is simply a piece of themselves... accepting that dark portion of them. Of course... the latter would take the better part of a thousand years to acquire in accordance to level of control... nevertheless..."
With that, Rydia finally extended a hand to the young Vizard, a warm smile quick to follow.
"Such a battle is always easier when fought along side someone who has also attempted to force their inner demon to submit."
Kaki titled her head. Well, there was one tiny detail that she didn't care to share with the elder. That one night in her entire life that was the reason she would never accept that hollow of hers. That hollow was the start of a long chain of events that lead to Kaki fleeing Soul Society. She was fairly sure that Rydia was attempting to convince her that accepting her hollow was the way to go.
Did she really want to do that? After all the chaos that hollow had caused for Kaki? After all the taunts and after all of the insults? After the constant put downs and the incessant verbal assaults? After becoming the reason for Kaki seeking solitude? Those negative thoughts flowed through her mind, she didn't know what she should do. The extended hand would have to linger for now, as Kaki had just remembered another tiny detail.
"Oh, I never told you my name," Kaki mentioned, rubbing the back of her head. "Aosawa Kaki."
The young vizard finally took the hand, though, she had certainly waited long enough to do so. A contented smile formed on the girl's face as hopped out of the chair. Suddenly, that faded and she yanked her hand back, her eyes wide. Soon, words followed: "MATTE! You're not going to drag me back to the people with those weird boxes and lights again, are you?"
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Post by Shinigami Kyra on Jan 15, 2010 2:51:33 GMT -5
"Rydia," the elder woman announced her own name softly, despite having done so earlier. It just seemed fitting to follow the proper line of introduction. Of course, the moment the young Vizard's own face began to melt from that smiling persona into that of a feared, confused child, Rydia's own complexion remained stoned smiling. Those saucer-wide eyes, that fearful gaze, and the immediate tensed response to the thought that seemed to finally filter into her mind.
>>"MATTE! You're not going to drag me back to the people with those weird boxes and lights again, are you?"<<
"Hai, ha~i!"
And that childish, beaming smile returned as that seemingly soft grip remained iron-strong as she brought the woman up, assuming their little 'break' was over.
"That was just for the cover," Rydia informed the girl as she began to arm-drag her once again toward the changing room. "We've just reached Golden Light! Perfect for the main article!"
And with the sun just barely fading over the horizon, now fully enlightening the room with a golden hue, Rydia used a free hand to point out a variety of, what seemed to be, random fashion attire, to which several men and women coming out like cockroaches retrieved, along with lighting and more 'boxed lights.'
"We're going up!" Rydia exclaimed, an arm pointed to the stairwell. "Dusk gives off the best Golden Light; it'll be perfect for the swimsuits! Reno, get the background set up! We're heading to the roof!"
"Huh?" Kaki felt her eye twitch. Not an angry twitch, but a twitch nonetheless. She thought they had finished! She thought she was free from those obnoxious constraining clothes! And from what she gathered, Rydia was planning on forcing her to wear a swimsuit. She'd never worn one before, though she'd seen humans wearing them. She didn't understand WHY though. Some of them seemed like the humans were simply walking around in their underwear. What was the point in wandering around in one's undergarments in public?
"We're heading to the roof!"
"No we're not!" Kaki yelled in protest.
Well, Kaki certainly didn't want to be in underwear on the roof! Actually, she didn't want to be in anything other than her own clothes on the roof. Or maybe she just didn't want to be on the roof at all.
Resolving to not end up on the roof, or in a swimsuit, Kaki proceeded to pull at Rydia's arm in a desperate attempt to free herself, at one point even trying to use her feet to pry herself off, heels pressed against the elder's wrist.
She was sure she'd recieve some strange looks from the many people scuttling around with equipment, scurrying back and forth like mice. She knew she shot them quite a few looks, some saying, "Help," some saying, "Say a word about this and I kill you," and more still saying, "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
Pulling free of the elder's grasp, Kaki dashed towards the window, and threw it open, leaping out. A few disturbed faces caught sight of the girl leaping out the window, though what they didn't see is her walking on air just a few feet below their line of sight. "Ok, never grab a stranger's hand again," Kaki reasoned as she began to make her way away from the scene.
