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.
Of course Hotaru was eating candy. And of course Kaki was sitting next to her, sticking her tongue out. It was only natural for the two to disagree no matter what the circumstance. This time, it was on snackfood. Not only was Kaki uncomfortable with Hotaru's means of obtaining the evening's snacks, but she was also uncomfortable with the snack itself. In Hotaru's hand was a small packet of sour hunks of...something...that popped in her mouth.
"How can you stand that stuff?" Kaki asked, squinting at the bag. "It feels weird on your tongue...like something's blowing up."
"It's supposed to, Nee-san," Hotaru explained, swinging her legs gaily below her. The pair sat on a pair of swings, Kaki seeming content to swing back and forth and Hotaru just sitting quietly. The younger sister would have preferred to play around and send herself flying, only to tumble through the park. Hotaru, on the other hand, just wanted to sit, and gave Kaki a warning look each time she swung further than a few feet.
"But why would you want to eat it?"
"I like it, Nee-san."
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Stour was coming back from a recent, rather risky, excursion into Hueco Mundo, and had lost track of where he was trying to come back to. Aside from, somewhere in Karakura town, he wasn't specific with where he had intended his garganta to end. And, as a result of this extremely well-thought-out plan, he found himself screaming as he slipped and fell down a slide face first into the dirt below. Coughing, he dusted himself off, and backed away from the slide.
"What the hell?" Stour questioned, looking at the slide. "Humans think that that is fun?" As he continued to back up, however, he was introduced to an even more fun device, the see saw. "Oh what the he-" Stour began to say, before he found himself bouncing back up. "-ll?"
He found himself sitting on the see saw even as it settled to the floor again, trapped in this horrible torture device, he tore himself free, screaming, sending chunks of plastic and metal flying all around him. "Torture grounds! I have to escape!" He yelled to nobody as he stood, terrified by the horrible machines surrounding him.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
Hotaru hopped off of the swing, her hand flying to her sword. Kaki didn't object, aside from wanting to run away as soon as a garganta opened. But as soon as she heard the arrancar speak - "What the hell?" - she realized that he was familiar.
"No," she murmured to Hotaru, a small smile coming onto her face while Stour had his little...episode. "I know him - that's Stour-san."
Hotaru looked to Kaki as if she'd grown a second head.
"Nani? This is the one who helped you?"
"Hai!" Kaki chirped, looking to Stour. She hopped back on the swing and brought herself back before kicking off - for a normal child, it would have started the momentum. For Kaki, however, it nearly sent her over the top. "Stour-saaaaaaaaan! It's a playground! I think you're too big for it!"
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Stour turned towards the voices. He raised his eyebrows in recognition, and then looked terrified. "Humans really do play on this? Is this how they weed out the weak?" He thought of how horrible life was as an adjuchas, but still he couldn't imagine being tormented with these traps every day of his life.
He sighed, and waved to Kaki. "Glad to see you're doing alright, at least. Who's this you're with?" He eyed the other for a moment, long enough for him, before looking behind and around him. He wasn't really sure where in Karakura he had managed to pop out. Apparently, he had picked this 'Playground'. What a terrible name. Probably used to make humans assume it is fun before it tortured them.
"And what in the world were those things you were on?" Stour asked, motioning to the swingset, with tangible fear all over his face.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
Kaki looked forward, continuing to swing as Stour complained. It was pretty funny, actually, to hear him so terrified. A few weeks ago, that had been her, hadn't it? She could have sworn she'd asked what would happen to her before Stour led her down the hall, truly dreading the answer. Only perhaps her fear was more rational, seeing as it was at the hands of a person who genuinely enjoyed hurting her and Stour's was at the hands of...no one. He was just stumbling around.
"Eh? Humans take their kids here and they run around and play games," Kaki answered. "Like, they'll pretend the floor's made of lava and they can't touch it but they have to run around...or they swing on these things."
"Who's this you're with?"
The younger sister jumped off of the swing, meaning to stick her landing but failing and taking a step or two. She spun her arms to balance, eyes a little wide. Once she righted herself, she turned to Stour and gestured to Hotaru. "This is my sister!"
"Hello," Hotaru answered politely. "My name is Aosawa Hotaru."
"And what in the world were those things you were on?"
Kaki stuck out her tongue as Hotaru offered her some of the pop rocks. She shook her head, and then answered to Stour, "It's a swing. You sit on it, and then you move your legs back and forth and you start moving. It feels like you're flying, a bit...I think they make these things because little kids chase each other around and then their moms can talk to each other instead of their kids."
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Stour turned back to the park, and imagined the ground as lava. Yep. It certainly was made for torture. Poor humans. This place was worse than the forest of menos. He sighed and turned back.
"A pleasure," Stour nodded to Hotaru. "I'm Stour. Formerly more insane." He stared at the 'swings' as Kaki explained them to him. "Humans are more cruel than I could ever have been, aren't they?"
He put his hands behind his head and yawned. "So, Kaki, how is freedom treating you? I certainly hope better than it is me." He sighed and looked towards the city. He did enjoy seclusion, but he had limits. At least this random encounter broke up the monotony of wandering through the human world and dodging through Hueco Mundo. It could get rather stale, after all. He never really had friends, but at least he had colleagues. Even if they were all insane.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
"A pleasure. I'm Stour. Formerly more insane," the arrancar said with a nod to Hotaru. The little girl also nodded, and then started back to her pop rocks. Kaki had made a rather interesting friend, but that wasn't really her concern. It was good to have allies, she supposed, no matter how strange.
"Humans are more cruel than I could ever have been, aren't they?"
Kaki laughed - it was probably the first time Stour would actually hear her laughing since before she'd either been too scared to laugh or in too much pain. After she stopped giggling, she dropped her arms to her side and smiled up at him. "No, no, it's fun. Maybe you have to be a kid to get it...but it's a place to run around, and that's kind of fun sometimes."
"So, Kaki, how is freedome treating you?" yawned Stour, putting his hands behind his head. "I certainly hope better than it is me."
The vizard in question gave a soft nod. She was terrified that someone would come after her, like Xuan or Szayel - Szayel had even come after her once, but obviously he hadn't taken her back. Something else had gotten his attention. But still, after she'd gotten back, her senses slowly started returning to her, and she realized she had more control. It was a little overwhelming.
"I hope I never lose it again," she said.
Hotaru looked to Kaki, and then to Stour. It was interesting to see this man - she'd only heard a little about him from Kaki's account of their unlikely escape. Perhaps it made more sense when there were details to be had. Still, Hotaru didn't quite trust the man. He was an arrancar, for one, and she wouldn't have been surprised if he'd hurt Kaki too.
In a way, it was like when Kaki trusted her. Maybe Hotaru had redeemed herself, but she didn't deserve to be treated as innocent. Not that it bothered her - she was just as confused as Kaki.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"I'm sure it is," Stour said, giving the 'playground' one last look over. He would never subject a child to that, he was sure. Not now, anyways. He sighed as Kaki said she never wanted to lose her freedom. He didn't, either. Not being subjugated by an insane ruler was nice, after all. Even if he did enjoy it at first.
"If he sends someone after you, find me if you can. I'll help. I feel rather responsible for this situation," Stour said, lowering his hands and crossing them before himself. "I mean, I am rather responsible for it."
The noise of the pop rocks caught him by surprise. "What in the world are those things?" Stour asked, raising an eyebrow. "Explosive treats? Why do humans have these things?!" He added, looking completely exasperated. Stour was more and more baffled by the things humans did for 'fun'. They were all clearly insane.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
"Thank you very much, Stour-san," Hotaru said before Kaki could. It was nice to know that the man was willing to help, and knowing Kaki, she wouldn't thank him appropriately. She bowed her head. "We'll keep that in mind."
Kaki also nodded as Hotaru straightened out. Then Stour indicated the pop rocks, and Kaki felt the absent tingle of them on her tongue.
"I know! They're so weird! I don't like them," Kaki exclaimed, waving her hands around above her head. "I wanted to get some sweet bread but Hotaru said she liked Pop Rocks so we got those!"
Hotaru sighed, clenching the emptied bag of pop rocks in her fist. "They're gone now...candy never lasts long enough."
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"You like candy that explodes?" Stour asked, leaning and looking around him. He didn't really have the feel for this town. That was an understatement, actually, taking into account his wonderful dismount from the slide.
"Perhaps we can get more explosive candy, and you two can show me where things are in this town. I suppose I need to learn my way around, after all," Stour said, continuing to stare at the town. He figured he may as well get used to it, he'd be spending a lot of time in this world. Hueco Mundo was dangerous, he was certain Szayel wasn't pleased with his departure. Though, that too might be an understatement.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!