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.
Kaki snorted at Stour's wording. It wasn't really candy that exploded - just fizzled. She was hard-pressed to figure out how that happened but it wasn't all that important. Instead, she tilted her head as Stour suggested they could get more, and show him around town in the process.
"That's very kind of you," Hotaru said with a soft smile. "We got these from a little candy shop nearby, and there's quite a bit to see in this town."
Kaki didn't particularly want to go and get more candy. She would have preferred to say goodbye to Stour and hang around, but she supposed she could play along. After all, Stour had helped her escape. Maybe she owed him at least a half-assed tour.
"It's right that way," she said, gesturing across the playground and to a street light and intersection. Cars passed by frequently and quickly, so maybe crossing the street wasn't going to be fun. Perhaps Hotaru and Stour could shunpo or sonido across, but Kaki could only really cling to one of them - not ideal - or pull some amazing display of agility out of her metaphorical hat. And Kaki was pretty clumsy.
She'd already been hit by one of those metal monsters just before Xuan caught her.
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
Stour grinned, "I'm surprisingly kind, apparently," he said with a laugh. He put his hands in his pockets and asked, "What are those things that are moving across that road, there? Are they... Alive?" Stour tilted his head. "I've been curious about them. Humans seem to willingly climb into them, and then, the things take them around, right?" Stour tilted his head the other way. "How does that work?"
He started walking towards the street, in the direction Kaki pointed. "Well, let's get some dangerous candy! I want to know what candy that explodes when eaten tastes like!" And in his head, he wondered how Szayel had never considered making candy that explodes to give to people who annoyed him. Of course, those explosions would be much bigger. He shook off the thoughts. How annoying, that he'd have those memories forever. Memories of being a monster.
Well, you gotta remake yourself when you realize you're broken. Just like anything else. At least he noticed he was wrong, after all.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
"Those?" Kaki asked, pointing at the cars. She tilted her head. She remembered being hit by a car. And right after she started walking, she answered, "Cars. Humans ride around in them because they can't walk or fly or anything. They can barely even jump. And also they use them to show off money...I don't know why, I think they're stupid."
"Nee-san..."
"Well I can walk just fine!"
"Well, let's get some dangerous candy! I want to know what candy that explodes when eaten tastes like!" Stour announced, walking. Hotaru followed as well, blushing brightly.
"It doesn't explode...it just sort of fizzles in your mouth," Hotaru murmured, slipping her hands into the opposite sleeve. Kaki sure was capable of making strange friends. Of course...Hotaru really didn't have many friends. Kaki had that Rydia person, and Adan, and Stour, and Hotaru had Samyeru but that was really all.
"I don't like crossing streets," Kaki said. "Last time I remember crossing a street, I got hit by a car."
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"They sound rather stupid, indeed. Why not come up with something that doesn't seem like it was invented to crush things as a method of transport?" Stour asked, to nobody in particular. And he turned to Hotaru with a hurt look. "Well, fizzling is just tiny explosions..." he said quietly in his defense.
Kaki mentioned being hit by a car and Stour grimaced. "Would you like me to toss you across?" He asked, then tilted his head, realizing how that might not actually be better. "Or, take you for a sonido. In that case, actually, you can steer me right to the store, I can just carry you both right over." He adjusted himself, feeling odd, still, offering to help. It was better than being a tool, though, he thought, not realizing the humor of the thought in the other meaning of the word.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
Hotaru frowned lightly as Stour murmured, "Fizzling is just tiny explosions..."
"I am sorry," she said softly, not having meant to upset anyone. As they stopped at the street, she watched her sister turning between the cars and Stour. Hotaru knew very well that Kaki hated shunpo, and she supposed that sonido might be similar.
"Eh, I don't like going that fast," Kaki murmured, adjusting her scarf and generally fidgeting. "It makes me sick and stuff."
Of course, Kaki eventually voiced her complaints. Hotaru waited for a moment before she appeared on the other side of the road in a flash of shunpo. "Same as last-time, Kaki-chan. Besides, it's clear right now."
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"It's fine," Stour smirked to Hotaru, as she apologized. "I don't really think it matters. But I like the concept of exploding candy." And Kaki smashed his plan of simply moving them across. She seemed oddly nervous about sonido.
"You really should get over your fear of it. Shunpo and Sonido are quite useful tricks," Stour said earnestly, motioning his hand across the road, and appearing on the other side. "Plus it's fun," he added with a nod.
Stour turned to Hotaru and raised an eyebrow before asking, "Did she get caught because she couldn't run away fast enough?"
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
"You should get over your fear of it," Stour said. "Shunpo and Sonido are quite useful tricks." He waved across the road and appeared on the other side, near Hotaru. Kaki raised her hands above her head, pressing her fingers against her scalp. They just left her alone! Why would they do that? That was so mean! She began to pace slightly, stepping towards the road and then stepping back when a car passed by.
"Did she get caught because she couldn't run away fast enough?"
"Hai, Kaki-chan doesn't know how to shunpo," Hotaru explained softly, enough so that Kaki couldn't hear. It was partially because Kaki couldn't run away, but Hotaru had a feeling that her sister also wouldn't have run away. She was stubborn. And choosy. "And she was using her shikai. She wears herself out too quickly when she uses it."
Meanwhile, Kaki had planned everything out. She just had to jump. Yes, jump. She could definitely make it halfway across the street in a single bound, and maybe in a second she could pass by Hotaru and Stour. Yes, that would work just fine. She bent her knees and leapt forward. But instead of her feet planting solidly on the ground, they planted right on the top of a car.
"AH!" she squeaked, losing her balance and tumbling off the side. She stood up, glanced about, and jumped forward, this time landing a few feet past Hotaru. She gathered herself, turned back to her sister, and waved as though nothing had happened. After all, if they were going back to the candy store, she could get her sweet bread after all! "Ok! Let's go!"
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"Interesting," Stour said with a nod, as Hotaru explained Kaki's rather extreme fear. He decided that he'd have to try to keep more aware of her presence. Shouldn't be too difficult, as long as she wasn't excessively far off. No reason to have to risk going back to Las Noches and blast through a lab again. Though, it did sound fun to blow things up. "Well, next time someone tries something, perhaps I'll be close enough to help."
And at that, Kaki fell, but was over by them on the sidewalk before Stour had even registered she had fallen. He held back a laugh, but still wound up with a stupid looking grin on his face as she pretended nothing happened. "So, we're just pretending that wasn't funny? Got it," Stour smirked, and started walking. "This way, right?" He added, realizing that he wasn't exactly sure where he was going.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!
"Well, next time someone tries something, perhaps I'll be close enough to help," Stour said. Hotaru thought it would be more complicated than that - Rydia normally would have come rushing to the rescue. If there was ever such a mass of confusion again, Hotaru wasn't sure what they would do. They would try to escape, yes, but they couldn't get separated from anyone willing to help them.
"So, we're just pretending that wasn't funny? Got it. This way, right?"
"It wasn't funny," Kaki pouted, turning to Stour with wide eyes. "What if I'd gotten hurt?"
"Nee-san, the odds of you getting hurt by a thing that lacks any sizable amount of reishi are very small," Hotaru said, frowning. "Besides. You got back up again. And it was funny."
Kaki crossed her arms and started to walk, taking long, exaggerated steps. "Fine...but it's this way. I think. Right?"
"Yes, it's this way."
Character List "Let's eat, Grandma!" "Let's eat Grandma!" Commas save lives.
"I'm certain you survived worse," Stour said, raising an eyebrow, and smirking as Hotaru agreed with him. "Now let's get us some candy!" He yelled, pointing a finger in the wrong direction, before Kaki had a chance to point them in the right direction. He sulked, shoulders more hunched than normal, and walked off towards the store. At least he was getting exploding candy out of this. As his feet hit the sidewalk, he thought about how strange the human world was. And dangerous. He looked around at the buildings, and the metal things humans rode in to travel quickly. All so odd-looking, coming from spending most of his time living in a desert. It was like a metal forest, full of ridiculous things like exploding candy. It was going to take him a while to get used to this place.
Our bed becomes a grave before we blow ourselves away!