| abstract
| - You can only spend so much time in the sun before you begin to hate it. The young boy turned over onto his side, no longer caring about the heat. The sun glared down at him and showed no signs of residing any time soon. His stomach had stopped hurting some time ago, when exactly, he wasn't sure. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten, his caved stomach showing that it had been long, long ago. Strangely enough, for the first time in his life, he wasn't hungry. It was hard to tell whether that was actually a good thing. The town that had been destroyed only a few days ago was long behind him. Large, beastly creatures had ruined several houses and left many injured. They had all been after one thing: him. He ran as fast as his thin legs would carry him and barely managed to stay ahead of the gnashing claws. Then, out of nowhere, they just left. Not a sign or reason as to what had made them change their minds. But the damage had been done. The townspeople were furious over their destroyed lives and looking for someone to blame, they turned on him. Cruel words were spat out at him and some even resorted to throwing objects, one being a small rock that left a decent sized gash in his back. He ran from the growing crowd, more desperate to get away from them then he was from the Hollows. It wasn't like there was anything he was leaving behind: he had no money, no home, no family. Most of his days were occupied with finding food – usually out of the garbage – and finding somewhere safe to sleep. Life was difficult, and his chances of surviving in the wild were no better than in the city. So he took off into the desert, unsure of where to go or what to do next. It didn't take long for him to get dehydrated in the heat and finally, after walking for so long that his feet blistered, give up. Collapsing on the ground, he waited for nature to take him away, hopefully to a place better than this. It never got a chance to. He closed his eyes, ready for a nap he knew he might never wake up from. But something stopped him before he could slip away. A scent so sweet it was sickly. His stomach turned, disgusted and wanting at the same time. He let it fill his nostrils and take him away. He didn't recognize the smell. Some kind of candy, maybe? Before he could deduce what it was, he jolted up quickly enough to give someone whiplash. Water had been poured all over his face, the cold feel against his overheated body practically shocking him back to life. He couldn't even guess what had happened when he felt something press against his lip. It lifted and washed cool water water into his mouth, slowly burning his ache. He wrapped his hands around it and gulped it down. It was gone in a few seconds. He set it down, glad, but not satisfied. It wasn't until his body began to have feeling again that he realized he wasn't alone. He turned his attention to the person who had handed him the water, his savior. “Who are you?” He didn't know what to make of the person sitting next to him. She was probably his age, if not a little younger. She had the build of a healthy child, with thick black hair that was the complete opposite of his bleach white, but the normal part of her stopped there. Her skin was a pale white and most disturbingly were her eyes. White irises surrounded by pure black. It sent shivers down his spine. “Is that how you talk to someone who saved your life?” Her tone held no conviction. He blushed at his rudeness. He never really talked with people, or rather they never talked with him, so he wasn't very good at socializing. He was slowly getting over the shock of seeing her. “Sorry.” For a moment, she studied him. He was scrawny from lack of nutrition, but not to the point of leaving permanent damage. His hair was a matted mess and skin covered with a thin layer of dirt. But unlike the rest of his body, his eyes were stunning. A light, crystal shade a blue, only emphasized by thick eyelashes. Had he been in better shape he might have been pretty attractive. “Take this.” She held out another bottle, which he emptied as quickly as the last. “Why are you helping me?” He wasn't complaining, but no one had ever been this generous towards him. “Simple. We're outcasts. Outcasts have to stick together.” “What makes you think I'm an outcast?” The words made him feel stupid before they even left his mouth. Of course he was an outcast, he was lying in the middle of the desert without any food or a home. “I saw what happened, back in the town. Your energy attracted those Hollows, and no one was going to help you. I managed to scare them off, but not before they did some damage. Sorry you got blamed for that. It's hard, being so different.” Her eyes held compassion he hadn't seen since he was abandoned. “Oh . . . uh, thanks.” He'd heard of Hollows when he was younger, men from the town dressed in black would talk about them in disgust. He never thought to connect the two. The girl handed him a small pear, which he ate despite his stomachs protests. It felt so good against his tongue he thought he might cry. Like the water, it disappeared quickly. “So . . . now what?” She didn't appear to have anymore water on her and given the way she looked she had to have come from somewhere pretty nice. Giving him a bright smile she stood up and began walking away. He scrambled to his feet and followed right on her heels. He was sure of one thing: where ever she was going, he wanted to be. They started west, where the blazing sun would eventually set, only to be replaced by luminous stars and a large, gleaming moon. ................................................................................................................................................................................... Neve kept her head low. Aiden was three steps ahead of her, anxious to finally see the academy. Today was the first day and unlike her, he was excited to begin training. The academy itself was quite large and sat at the very edge of Seireitei, right where it broke off into the Rukon districts. It had been turning out Shinigami for centuries since Yamamoto first founded it, aptly named the Shino Academy. “Come on, it's not that bad.” Aiden grabbed Neve's wrist and began tugging her along, speeding up her snail like pace. No one at the academy knew who she was, but that didn't make her any less hesitant to go. She had spent years training in the hopes of learning to control her powers, hardly ever seeing anyone in the process. When she had grown into an adult she had gained enough experience to deal with it, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a risk of being exposed. Yamamoto had convinced the academy to let her in without an exam, which would no doubt unmask her true nature. Luckily, Yamamoto was her instructor, along with many others, and top that off with the fact that Aiden got in, and maybe she just might survive this thing. “Look at that,” Neve turned her attention to where he was pointing. In front of them was a huge building, with shining golden roofs that reflected the sun and white plaster walls that looked like they had been made yesterday. Cherry Blossom trees lined a large yard covered with fresh green grass. Students of all shapes and sizes filed in and out of the building, going this way and that. Even Neve looked on with wonder. So it was really happening, she was leaving home and venturing into a world she had never seen before. “Come on.” They raced inside. Just like Seireitei, the Shino Academy was an easy place to get lost in. Intricate hallways weaved this way and that and within just a few minutes, they were lost. Neve was too shy to ask for directions and Aiden just really didn't care. Most people ignored them, save for the occasional girl who stopped to ogle at Aiden. Eventually, after what felt like forever, they found their dorm in the east building. “See, told you I'd find it.” Neve just rolled her eyes. Academy rules state that boys and girls aren't allowed to share a dorm, but once again they were forced to make an exception. This time, however, it had nothing to do with Neve's powers, but instead her personality. She had hardly ever been beyond the woods and the only 'friend' she ever had was Aiden, meaning that sharing a room with someone she had never met before would be difficult. It took a lot of begging, but eventually they gave in. The room consisted of little more than two beds, two dressers, and a small bathroom. This was going to be fun. “Oh shit!” Neve jumped up, sword in hand. “What?!” “We're going to be late!” She blushed and put down her sword. She was going to have to break that habit. Tossing their stuff on their respective beds, they dashed for the direction they guessed their first class to be. It wouldn't be till they passed the same person three times that they realized not only were they lost, but an hour early. Put clock on the list of things that needed to be fixed. ................................................................................................................................................................................... “You're early,” Yamamoto commented as Neve and Aiden crashed through the door. “But- but- I thought-” he stopped when his eyes caught the clock. Oops. “Nice one.” Neve stepped into the empty room. It wasn't much, just a medium sized Dojo with hard wooden floors and one large window to the north. Yamamoto was setting wooden swords against the wall, one for every student. He seemed calm, this year was just like any other year, new students to teach and new butts to kick. It's amazing it never got old. “Well, if you're just going to stand around, you can at least be productive.” He pointed to the pile of swords in the corner of the room, and they didn't even need to be told what to do. Picking up several swords, they mimicked Yamamoto. “So how's the academy?” Neve turned and connected eyes with Yamamoto. They to knew each other well enough to know what he was really asking: Do you think you can survive six years here? “Okay, I guess,” Yes, I think I can survive. Aiden was oblivious to their invisible conversation. “Good. But don't expect any special treatment while you're here.” She nearly burst out laughing. She hadn't even been here a day and she already got special treatment. It was still nice to see he hadn't changed. Slowly but surely, students began to fill the room one by one. They sat awkwardly at the edge of the room, squirming as Yamamoto eyed them all. With each new person Neve got more anxious. Habitually, she reached her hand up to rub her necklace, the stone those Arrancars had given her all those years ago. Her hand met nothing. That's right. She had thrown away the stone just less than a few days ago, into the large river miles off from Seireitei. The academy was a new beginning, and taking it with her seemed pointless. Never once since that day has she seen the Arrancars, no sign that they even existed. No matter what they did, no one could find what made the stone so special, besides the fact that it was nearly impossible to break. So she got rid of it, the threat they had made was probably just a bluff to scare her. How would they even knew is she had it? It seemed pointless. “Okay, I'm hoping everyone is here.” Yamamoto addressed the class. No one made a sound. “Good, now let's begin.” Neve tuned him out, there wasn't much he could say that she hadn't heard before. Aiden, on the other hand, drank in his every word. Her eyes wondered the room, examining her classmates. Her eyes stopped at the window. Though it was hard to tell, she could have swore that off in the distance, she saw someone, someone watching her. He disappeared the moment she tried to get a better look. No one else seemed to have noticed. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Shaking her head, she turned her attention to Yamamoto's lecture. It was probably just her imagination. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. ................................................................................................................................................................................... “Hey, how's my little Cutie Pie?” Kalle ran up and swept Neve off her feet, spinning her around a few times for good measure. “You've got to be kidding me,” She didn't remember anyone telling her about him showing up to the academy. It wasn't that she hated it, it just wasn't the greatest thing to ever happen. On the other hand, she did hate that nickname. “Be careful with the affection. We're trying to keep on the down low.” Aiden warned. Kalle just ruffled his hair like he was a toddler. “Ah, is someone jealous?” He teased. “No, I just think having the captain of the Third Division playing with us will attract more attention than we really need.” Though he didn't say it, he was a little jealous. Kalle had led the Third Division for years, almost as long as Hairo had been Head Captain. Kalle could be an idiot, but he was a great leader at that. Neve couldn't believe someone could be this childish and powerful at the same time. “So, what are you doing here anyways?” Neve asked. “Silly, don't you know? I teach Zanjutsu classes. On occasion, that is.” Of course, how could they have forgot? “And what's the occasion?” “The first day of a new school year, of course!” Why did I even bother asking? Neve made a mental note to avoid talking to him at all costs. Sadly, her next class was, of course, Zanjutsu. How wonderful. The classroom the lessons were going to be in looked about the same as Yamamoto's, but with some slight differences. For one, this room was much larger, easily five times the other room's size. The window was also larger and took up nearly the entire northern wall. Other than that, they were identical. Students whispered to each other, all eager to meet the captain. Captains were practically like celebrities to the students, as if a famous singer or actor had come to teach especially them. Having known Kalle for years, neither Neve nor Aiden really cared. They could only hope he didn't make any idiot of himself, but comparing he's been doing this for years, it couldn't be that bad. Everything went off without a hitch, he didn't even seem to notice them as he went on and on about the importance of this and how not to do that. Neve tried her hardest to listen, but something kept distracting her. A feeling, an instinct telling her that something was wrong. It bugged her throughout the entire session, but seemed to disappear towards the last minutes of class. Everything seemed fine; that is, until the roof of the classroom collapsed. Everyone jumped to their feet the avoid the falling rumble. No one seemed to be hurt, and as the dust cleared, where able to get a good look at what had caused such destruction. There, standing right in the middle of the collapsed roof, was an Arrancar. He had messy, midnight blue hair and a cocky smile that just begged someone to challenge him. He wasn't alone, either; behind him another Arrancar jumped down, but with more grace than his sudden entry. She was tall with light blonde hair and golden eyes, her expression serious and authoritative. They examined the room, searching for their prey. The girl's eyes stopped at Kalle; but worst of all, the tall one was looking right at Neve. Kalle was the first one to break the silence. “Who are you two?” His hand was wrapped firmly around his sword. “I'm Zsa Zsa, and this is Baldassare. We're members of the Prosodias.” Prosodias? Kalle remembered Yamamoto telling him about them, all those years ago. This was the first time he was actually seeing them, and if they are just now coming here after all these years, it couldn't be good. “Okay, so what do you want?” “What do we want? That depends on who you're asking. I want a good fight, Zsa Zsa probably wants a tidy report, and our master wants us to return something. And I have to tell you, we always get what we want.” Baldassare was looking at Neve with a thirst for blood clear in his eyes. Return something? To who? Then she remembered. That could only mean . . . “Too slow,” Before she could even she him coming, Baldassare had kicked her through the wall and clear across the hallway. She stopped at the second wall, but not without leaving a huge dent. “Wait a second-” Kalle charged at Baldassare, but his strike was blocked by none other than Zsa Zsa. “His battle is with the girl. I'll handle you until he's finished.” Kalle stepped back to analyze his opponent. Everything from her expression to her energy shouted dangerous. But there was one other thing. “Hey, your kinda cute. What's your name again?” Leave it to him to notice something like that. “Your an idiot.” “Really? I like that name. It suits you well.” Maybe he's better at mind games than originally given credit for. She raised her energy and drew her sword, now absolutely pissed. “You'll pay for that.” “Only if your cheap,” Their clashed swords, the force blowing away a great deal of the debris and knocking some students off their feet. Not wanting to put any of the kids in danger, Kalle took off out the damaged roof, with Zsa Zsa hot on his heels. ................................................................................................................................................................................... “Neve!” Aiden bent over her, checking for injuries. The wall she had been thrown into had a large dent from her body and she was struggling to get back to her feet. She had some scratches and a few broken ribs, but overall come out fine. Baldassare was just a few yards away, waiting for one of them to make a move. Unfortunately, Neve left her sword in the dorm, hoping to use it as an excuse not to participate. Aiden, on the other hand, was locked and loaded. He drew his sword, but was stopped by Neve. “Stop, Aiden. He's Vasto Lorde class, you challenge him and you'll wind up dead.” Aiden just gave her a humorous smile. “And what, you stand a better chance?” Actually, she did, but compared to Baldassare they were nothing. Neve was completely unarmed, meaning that Aiden was the only one who was capable of doing anything at the moment. “You know what? This is getting boring. I recommend someone makes a move now, or I'll be forced to take action.” Aiden didn't hesitate. He charged the Arrancar, sword held at the ready. He missed by more than a few inches, before Baldassare turned around and delivered a sharp jab to his back. It dug in deeper than necessary and within a second Aiden was on the floor, out cold. “Aiden!” He never did listen, did he? Now it was just her and Baldassare. He ran up to deliver a punch to the gut, but instead met the wall. Neve ducked and took off in the direction he had just been. She went as fast as her feet would carry her, weaving in and out of the intricate halls. Baldassare was right on her heels, a sadistic smile growing on his face. “What, too scared of a little fight?” “Little fight, my ass.” She tried performing an offensive Kido, but this was only blocked by his much more powerful Cero. She charged through the nearest door. The room she arrived in was huge with porcelain white walls and a tiled floor, tables lined up and down in neat rows. The cafeteria. It wasn't ideal, but it would do. Baldassare charged into the room right after her. She hopped from table to table, narrowly avoiding his hits. Finally, she stopped and turned to him. He didn't hesitate and was right on top of her in an instant. She ducked and let him fall past. He tried pouncing again, but with the same results. Every hit was either dodged or deflected by a shield. She was purposely avoiding a fight, and it irritated him to no end. “Don't think it's going to be that easy.” He stopped and geared up to fire a large Cero. Her eyes grew wide as the ball of energy shot out directly at her. When the dust cleared, a large portion of the cafeteria wall was destroyed, and right in the middle stood Neve, completely unscathed. Instead of saying anything, she just stuck out her tongue. “Why you little-” He was not going to be made a fool out of. Charging her, he fired several Ceros in quick succession, each one more powerful than the last. When the dust cleared, she was gone. “Take that it, you little-” Wait a second, weren't the orders to make sure she was alive? Oh shit! But his worries were put to rest in a moment. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of black hair. “Got ya,” He took off after her. Unbelievable as it may seem, the plan had been to have him fire all those Ceros. Neve knew she could never outrun him, and she needed her sword if she even stood a chance. So she tricked him into destroying the east half of the building so she could make a direct dash for her sword. She was probably going to pay for this later, but right now all that mattered was staying alive. He was already gaining on her. Stopping at what she guessed to be her dorm or somewhere around there, she opened up the walls with a large offensive Kido, slipping through just as he caught up to her. “Sword, sword, sword . . . sword!” She grabbed the thin red sheath, relieved to finally have it in her hands. But that relief disappeared when she was kicked through the wall – again. “Sneaky. But not quite enough. Unless you happen to have something as powerful as Bankai on you, I doubt you'll get anywhere.” She pounced, sword drawn and ready to fight. He blocked her hit with only his arm, the thin blade not even breaking skin. With a flick of his wrist, he sent her flying back through the ruined wall. “I'm getting tired of this. How about we finish this?” He remarked. She stood up and let her energy freely flow through her veins. She had been a child since she was last allowed to do this. It felt good; it made her feel alive and ready to take on anything. Baldassare stopped, questioning the odd energy. He knew she was different, but this energy, this girl's energy, it was unlike anything he felt before. What was she even supposed to be? “You're right, let's finish this.” She raised her sword and pointed it directly at him. “Come Alive, Akshio-” Her chant was interrupted by a swift punch to the gut. She collapsed on the ground, her body curling in pain. The hit had no doubt injured some important organs. “Like I said, I'm tired. Let's just get this over with.” Reaching into his pocket, Baldassare pulled out a small rock. It was a smooth silver; Neve would recognize it anywhere. Slowly, he grabbed her by the collar and lifted her to her feet. “You know, you really should have listened to Cirocco. He was the one who gave this to you for a reason. Sadly for you, I'm not quite as gentle as he is.” Still holding her up, he took his left hand and began slowly digging it into her chest. There was a sickening crunch and Neve screamed. It took her a second to figure out what he was doing. Vaguely, through all the pain, she could feel him setting the rock inside of her, directly inside her heart. How this hadn't killed her was wonder. He drew his hand back out, and the wound quickly closed over. Mission complete. “There, now you'll always have it with you, right inside your heart.” His tone was taunting and sarcastic. She collapsed on the ground, her energy rapidly declining. Front the ruins of the building Zsa Zsa emerged, dragging a badly wounded Kalle. Though he was in bad shape, she didn't get away scot-free: her arms were well cut up and their was a large gash in her back. She dropped the captain onto the grass. “Ouch, someone have a hard time?” Baldassare mocked. She gave him an icy glare. “Coming from the man who had to fight a child.” His smirk was still high. They each strolled off, with Zsa Zsa opening a small Garganta. Neve could do nothing but watch them helplessly. To bad for them, they wouldn't escape that easily. ................................................................................................................................................................................... A wall of fire erupted, blocking them from entering the Garganta. It circled the entire yard, burning anything in it's path and effectively trapping them. From above, Yamamoto jumped down, sword held tightly in his hand. “Who's he?” Baldassare questioned. Zsa Zsa just sneered. “No one hurts my students and gets away with it. You said you wanted a good fight, well,” he held up his sword, “here I am.” Zsa Zsa, still mortally wounded, backed away. She had no intentions of dieing today. Baldassare, on the other hand, welcomed the opportunity. His fight with Neve had been one sided, maybe now he would finally get some action. He shed his burnt jacket and held up his fists. His mission had been completed, so now there was no boundaries. Looks like today was his lucky day. In a flash, he took off in Yamamoto's direction. The old man was prepared, and geared up to strike back. Neither would ever get a chance to strike. Baldassare was sent flying back after crashing into something. It hadn't been Yamamoto, the man was just as flabbergasted as him. Looking up, he saw none other than Cirocco looking down at him. “Cirocco? What are you doing here?” He didn't remember master mention anything about him showing up here. “Sadly it appears you can't get your job down correctly. I've been sent here to collect you two.” His eyes were trained on Yamamoto. “Collect us? We're perfectly-” Cirocco turned around and gave him a sharp kick to the stomach, making Neve smile. Show him what it feels like. There was just one problem. “How do we get out of this?” Zsa Zsa's wounds were slowly closing. Cirocco examined the fiery prison. Closing his eyes, he took several deep breaths. Sharp winds tore through the prison and threw the flames this way and that. They seemed to glide around it's occupants, which was good, because they were strong enough to cut someone in half. The flames gradually grew smaller until they were big enough to jump over. On cue, Zsa Zsa opened another Garganta. She and Baldassare stepped through. Opening his eyes, Cirocco began to slowly following them. Right before he stepped through into the unusual black world, he turned to Neve. His eyes were harsh and judging. “I warned you, child. Had you listened this wouldn't have happened. Don't expect my pity or remorse. Next time, listen closely to what I say.” With those final words, he stepped into the portal. Together, they all disappeared behind a clear blue sky. The prison disappeared and slowly members of the Fourth Division showed up and began attending to patients. Neve could feel her mind wandering off. He was right. Had she just listened, this wouldn't have happened. But there was nothing she could do now. The pain and guilt were weighing her down, and slowly she let her mind drift off, off to better places. Her body felt heavy, every muscle ached. It felt like . . . . . . It felt like her heart was being weighed down by a rock. Previous Chapter > Emergence of the Haunted Next Chapter > Snakes of Despair
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)