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.
Adan didn't want to bring up Kaki or Hotaru in front of Xuan...even if he was unconscious. It was paranoia, but in Adan's opinion it was healthy paranoia. "Just one," he murmured. "Head east first. I'll tell you... a little further away."
Adan stuck his sword in its sheath and wrapped his arms around Stour's neck. He hobbled higher up by pressing on his back. "Jeez, Stour, I never thought you'd be giving me a piggyback ride."
"Yeah, I don't trust him even when he's asleep, either," Stour grinned, standing with Adan on his back. "And you never know where the world's gonna land you, Adan. Me giving you a piggy back ride, or one of us in a cage back in Las Noches. We just have to do our best to make sure the latter never happens. And let's face it, we should know that better than most people. I mean, who would have ever thought we'd end up having more shinigami and human friends than hollow?"
Stour shrugged, and tore off with sonido, leaving his left arm behind him, making sure Adan didn't fall off. Things surely had changed, and changed fast. And, oddly, despite all the troubles the changes had brought with them, he was happier now.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
Adan listened, solemnly, for once, as Stour lifted him up. He wondered if Stour ever woke up in the middle of the night, convinced that Szayel and Xuan were after them. Adan had done that once or twice, but he'd been quiet. Mostly.
"You never," Adan grunted as Stour started off with Sonido, "You don't just wake up at night and haf'ta remind yourself where you fell asleep, do ya?"
"Geez, I bet Kaki-chan's got it worse," he muttered. Unlike them, Kaki was worth something to Szayel. They were, had always been, fodder. Useful for gathering test subjects, which Szayel could do on his own. And, unlike them, Kaki had actually been on the operating table.
Well, Adan had seen Szayel angry, but not angry enough to want him dead. He wondered if Stour had.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"I don't trouble myself with things I can't control. If they come for me when I'm asleep, so be it. If they somehow manage to sneak up on me, so be it. If they slip up, I'll strike with no mercy," Stour sighed, jumping off further to the east. He solemnly thought that he might eventually be killed by Szayel. He'd just have to make sure to leave his mark if it came to that.
"Well, Adan, Kaki's a bit unique, but I don't think Szayel will have much luck unless he goes to get her himself. And let's face it, we'd both notice right away if he did. We could at least slow him down," Stour sighed. "He'll probably just blow me up, though. I maybe might have made him a little angry."
"Anyways," Stour said, changing the subject. "Where to, now?"
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
"I don't trouble myself with things I can't control," Stour said. Adan frowned - that was a rather pessimistic view. Then again, so was waking up and assuming he'd been captured and imprisoned in his sleep. "If they slip up, I'll strike with no mercy."
Szayel, Adan thought, never slips up. The only mistake he'd ever made was trusting Adan's word. Oh, it was an enticing lie, but Adan hadn't been sure that it would work. He couldn't think of anything that would send him off, leaving a "bumbling idiot" with a favorite prisoner.
"I don't think Szayel will have much luck unless he goes to get her himself. And let's face it, we'd both notice if he did."
Adan pursed his lips. He could have sworn he'd sensed Szayel in the area since their escape, but he'd never come near Kaki or himself. Adan didn't know if he could even stall Szayel for very long.
"Kaki and Hotaru live in this abandoned house," Adan said. "In the residential district. It's southwest of here."
He pointed Stour in the appropriate direction.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"Off we go, then," Stour said. "Hopefully you're all safe there," he added, as he used a few bursts of sonido to ensure that if Xuan was following somehow, he'd never keep up. Stour hoped that he'd have more time to get stronger before he ever met Szayel again, but with Xuan being that close, he was starting to doubt the chances.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
Kaki and Hotaru were bundled in Rydia's spare blankets. Kaki had stopped asking where Rydia went, and Hotaru had only kept wondering if it was her fault. She would have assumed that if Kaki came back, it would be with the woman. Not on her own, wearing an arrancar's jacket.
And then Kaki sat upright, out of her usual slouch, and shuffled, blanket cocoon and all, to the door. "I think Stour-san's coming this way."
"Are you sure?" Hotaru asked, certain that Kaki was mistaken. But then she realized that Kaki was correct. "Why would they be coming here?"
"I dunno," she muttered, getting on her tiptoes to stare out the peephole. It was almost low enough for her. ---- "Right there. The one with the lights out," Adan said, indicating the house.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Stour slowed down, and walked to the door. He hadn't been checking in on Kaki as much as he probably should have. She had been through quite a traumatic experience at partly his fault. He still felt guilty, even after getting her out of that place. Something he would probably never feel content about.
"Suppose we should knock, then," Stour said, approaching the door. He raised his hand and knocked, time to tell Kaki that Xuan was just out in the forest. That should be oh so much fun.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
Kaki saw a glimpse of purple hair, confirming Stour's arrival. She opened the door, doing her best not to trip on the blanket's she'd wrapped herself in. He looked upset about something or another, though what Kaki could only imagine. She frowned herself. "Oh, Stour-san, what's wrong?"
Adan poked his head over Stour's shoulder, grimly asking, "You and your sister - you guys know how to heal, right?"
Kaki flushed. She didn't, but Hotaru did. "What happened?"
Hotaru cast the blankets aside and approached the two. Part of her was mad at them - they should have been able to go somewhere else. But no, they only knew Kaki, and her. And they may have been putting Kaki in danger, for all she knew.
"I'm a decent healer," she said. "What happened?"
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Stour's face only got more grim. "Xuan was here. Out a ways in the forest. Tried to take Adan out. I got lucky and stopped him fast enough, but Adan's still hurt," Stour sighed. "I can't heal, and I don't have anyone to take him to, so we came here."
"Adan had me double back around, and I should have been fast enough to lose Xuan, even if he woke up just after we left," he said, roundabout admitting he didn't kill him. He lowered to a knee, allowing Adan to get off of him. "Trust me, I wouldn't have come here if Adan wasn't hurt. I know you don't think of me as much of a friend."
He glanced out the doorway, his body sideways in it, so as to allow Adan to get off into the house. "I won't leave for a while though, even if I have to stay outside. Just in case."
Stour suddenly found himself wondering if anything he had done was the right choice, right back to the beginning. He shook the thoughts, his body shivering at the cold thoughts. He had to shake it. He wouldn't be sleeping for a while. He'd have to be on high alert for a few days. Xuan was bound to be extremely upset with the whole situation.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!