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| - “Well, this is where I leave.” Aiden took off north, back into the Seireitei. He no longer lived with Neve, as of recently he had been staying with Kalle. When she tried to ask why he just brushed it off, leaving her confused and a little bit hurt. She trudged back to the small house at the edge of the woods, where a soft bed lied there waiting for her. It was still hard to believe Central 46 hadn't made a move. It had only been a little over a month since that night, but it still haunted her memories. Hiaro, Kalle, Lucia and even Aiden were all called to testify. There wasn't enough evidence to convict her and so they let it go. At least that's what she was told. But Neve was smart enough to know better. They wouldn't just let it go that easily. Ever since then she's watched her every step, waiting for the trap she knows they set up. Nothing had happened so far, but that wasn't a reason to let your guard down. Perhaps she was just being paranoid. As usual, no one was home. It's amazing Hiaro never got tired of all the work he had to care for. She didn't bother to change out of her clothes or clean herself up; that could be done in the morning after she had a good night's rest. The house was dark and still, you could hear almost anything going on inside. A needle drop, a mouse scurry, the soft sound of a footsteps against hard wood floors. Neve cracked open one eye. Yes, her ears weren't betraying her. If she tuned them just right, she could hear the sound of agile footsteps against the wood floors, coming from somewhere in the hall. Could it be the Arrancar? No, something was off. She didn't feel any energy, no sign that anyone was here. Tentatively, she crawled out of bed and grabbed her sword. Opening the door as softly as possible, she crept down the hallway, senses on full alert. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No one met her eyes and nothing looked different than when she had first entered the house. Tuning in again, the footsteps had stopped. Everything was still, only the sound of her breathing breaking through the silence. She must be paranoid. No one was here. Setting her sword by the bed, she plopped back down and shut her eyes. The stress was finally getting to her, making her loony. That had to be it. But her instincts told her otherwise. An ominous feeling crept up her spine and shouted at her to stay awake. It got stronger and stronger, until she eventually gave in and opened her eyes. This gave her just enough time to see the sword moving rapidly towards her. ................................................................................................................................................................................... Turning on her side, she dodged just in time for it to dig into the bed. She didn't hesitate. Jumping up, she grabbed her sword and turned to face the intruder, all in less than a second. He was wearing all black, including a ski mask and gloves. It wasn't the guy from that night, she could tell that much. This guy wasn't wearing a cloak, just a simple black one piece that covered his entire body. And apparently, he wasn't the only one who showed up. A second intruder jumped out and almost took her head off with one swing. She blocked at the very last second, pushing him back out of arm's reach. She couldn't take them in here, there wasn't enough room. Before they could process it, she threw a pillow at the closest one and took off down the hallway. They were on her heels in less than a second. She stopped in the living room, spinning on her heels and delivering a powerful offensive Kido. It wasn't enough to do any damage, but it gave her just enough time to make a dash for the front door. Her hand gripped the knob and the scent of fresh pine hit her like a hurricane. But they seemed to have invited all their friends, because the moment she took a step outside, another man in black threw her back inside. The damage from the spell cleared to reveal the two men, who were completely unscathed. They surrounded her like a pack of dogs, eager to pounce on their prey. She took several deep breathes in an effort to clear her mind. Just like with the Arrancar, they were too strong for her to take head on, meaning that her only choice was to try and outsmart them. But comparing how sleep deprived she was, that wasn't going to be an easy task. On cue, they all charged. She set up a weak barrier around herself in an attempt to stop them. They burst right through, and this proved a fatal mistake. Neve wasn't stupid, she knew the shield wouldn't stop them. But they didn't know that, and if they became so engorged in focusing on the shield than they would totally miss the powerful offensive spell that was set up right behind it. The fact that they decided to charge head on didn't help. It didn't kill them, but she could tell that they were to dazed to do anything. Not skipping a beat, she sprang out the door and started north, towards Seireitei. The strong lights and outline of tight packed buildings were quickly becoming bigger as she forced her feet to move faster to the horizon. The sounds of wandering Shinigami stuck on night duty carried to her ears and gave her hope. A pain erupted in her side from the speed she was moving, and had she been paying a little more attention to her surroundings she might have seen the figure that jumped right in front of her, crashing into her and sending her flying back with the momentum of the run. She dazedly got back to her feet, baffled as to what had stopped her so suddenly. The fog slowly cleared, and she was able to get a good look at him. He was dressed in the same manor as the others, but there was still something that set him apart. He stood with an air of dignity that demanded you obey him and his almost pitch black eyes seemed to pierce right into your soul. He was much more powerful too, not for the fact that he had more energy, but that he had less of it. He was much more skilled in controlling it than the others were, and that couldn't be a good sign. Neve stumbled back a step and drew her small sword. “Who are you?” That question seemed to be getting popular these days. He didn't even respond, but his sharp gaze was enough to tell that he would never tell her. To quickly for her to even catch, he was directly in front of her, his hand wrapped in an iron grip around her throat. For a moment, she thought he was going to try and strangle her to death, but this was put to sleep when he tossed her across the field of grass and into a nearby tree. He came up quickly on her side, and using a low branch, she hauled herself up just in time for him to glide under her feet. Not missing a beat, she snapped the small branch and using all the force she had, whipped it across his back, shattered into millions of splinters. He was unfazed, and ready to take her on less than a second later. She tried the same trick that had been successful with the others earlier, but sadly he wouldn't fall for it that easily. Instead of charging through, he delivered a powerful offensive spell, canceling out both her Kidos. There wasn't anytime to think, any time to breath. His eyes made the objective clear: she was the prey, and he the predator. If she didn't make a move, he would end her right there. So she did the only thing she could think up. Hopping into the nearest tree, she scaled the branches, reaching for the top. Her years of experience in the woods gave her an advantage in speed, but it would only last so long. Raising up the palm of her hand, a large ball of energy shot out and illuminated the sky, finally bursting into several shining pieces in a beautiful display. The man had finally reached her and grabbing her foot, yanked her out of the tree. But she had done what she needed to. Even if he killed her, the least she could do was make sure someone finished him off. A spark of fire erupted in his hand, the heat tearing at her skin at it got closer to her vital point. This is it. There was nothing she could do now but roll over and hope it ended quickly. Central 46 would probably laugh when they heard the story. Wait, Central 46? How could she have forgotten?! This explained almost everything. Her eyes shot open and a new blaze of hope ignited in her. She wouldn't let them take her out like this, not by the hands of these people. Before he could end her, she muttered the only thing that popped into her mind. “Onmitsukido.” He balked, pausing for just a second, giving her the opportunity she needed. Using her knee, she tossed him off of her, and made a clumsy dash for Seireitei. He was on her quickly, but unlike before, now she had a plan. They were only several yards from the walls of Seireitei now, on the outskirts of one of the Rukon towns. She tried the same techniques she had before; a shield laced with an offensive spell, only to be canceled by his much more skilled spells. She circled around him, dodging just in time for his hits to nick her. Cuts sprang up in her arms and legs, but did nothing to deteriorate her. Finally, after she felt like she would collapse from exhaustion, she stopped. He turned to her with an expression that could only be a mix of irritation and relief. Irritation at the fight she was putting up, and relief that she was now to exhausted to fight back. They stared at each other in silence, and slowly but surely, a tiny smirk began to bloom on Neve's face. “Think you've won, huh? Try again.” He heard the words a second before he understood them. Her palm smacked to the ground and she allowed all her energy to to flow down into the earth. An octagon formed around him, each corner shining in renewed energy. He hadn't ever seen anything like this before. What was she trying to pull? “You should have known better; I knew I couldn't take you down with just those shields. But what mattered wasn't how strong they were, it's where I was putting them. Even after you canceled out all my spells, a trace of them was still left behind. And when I reactivate them, well, you can guess the rest from there.” He looked at her in shock. She was definitely not the strongest of children he had met, but by far the smartest. He didn't have any time to move before she channeled all her energy into the large octagon, causing it to burst in a multitude of spells. They shot towards him, spells of fire and ice, and at the last second he could she her, the girl he had been ordered to execute, stroll away as if nothing had happened. Neve approached the mountainous walls of Seireitei, not sure what to do next. Hopefully he was the last of them, she didn't think she could take much more. Someone would have noticed her signal and would be coming soon, leaving her to only wait. The spells from her 'magic ring' had settled down and when she peaked over to see what was left, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not even a pile of ash to show he was there. But that wasn't right. Those spells weren't strong enough to completely incinerate him, which could only mean . . . “You should have known better.” A thin blade pressed against her throat, the smell of burnt flesh wafting into her nose. Out of the corner of her eye, she could spot him, her predator. The spells had burned his uniform and left his face open to view. His features were acute and strong, topped by hair that was only a shade darker than his eyes. He looked infuriated now, and pushed the blade against her soft throat, drawing a trickle of blood. He gave a lopsided grin, and Neve could do nothing but wait. “What the hell do you think your doing?” Neve flinched at the familiar voice. Her eyes opened and a wave of relief washed through her, cleansing her burnt soul. Not a few yards in front of her was Kalle and Aiden, both poised to attack at a moment's notice. The man only response was to press the sword down harder, making her whimper. “Let her go!” Aiden shouted, sword now drawn and ready to dice someone. Kalle stepped forward, and with an intensity in his eyes that could make pro wrestlers shiver, addressed the man. “You make one move and there will be no going back. Your mask is gone, so don't think I don't recognize you. Let her go now, or be forced to face me and regret it for the rest of your life.” His hand planted on his sword, and given the signal could slice someone in two before they had a chance to blink. And the man knew this. Tentatively, he removed the sword from her throat and stepped anyway. Neve struggled to get back to her feet, and was pulled away into safety by Aiden. The mysterious man turned his back and began a slow stroll to the walls of Seireitei. Since the first time in a long time, he had been defeated. Maybe his mentor had been right. Maybe there are just some people he would never surpass. “Wait, one thing.” Kalle directed at the departing man. “What?” “Who gave you these orders?” Of course he would ask that. But deep down, they both knew he already knew the answer. “Central 46.” And with that, the man disappeared behind the walls of Seireitei. Neve was passed out cold, and Aiden was making a poor try to heal some of her wounds. Cradling her, Kalle picked her up, and together they took off the same direction the man had gone, to the Fourth Division barracks. Neve stirred in his arms. Before she could drift off into the sleep that she had so badly wanted earlier, she had just one thing to ask. “Why?” There was no response. ................................................................................................................................................................................... Neve awoke to the sounds of footsteps. She opened her eyes and surveyed the room she had been placed in. It was a hospital room, and the closer she looked, she realized that it was the same one she had been placed in before. Unlike before, there were no needles going in and out of her skin, instead just a thin blanket to provide little warmth. Her eyes turned to the guest couch in hopes of seeing Aiden, but this feeling was crushed when the only person she could find was none other than her father. He looked up from the coffee he had been stirring and gave her his trademark goofy grin. “Sleeping beauty up from her eternal rest?” She just brushed him off. “Where's Aiden?” “Glad to see you to. As for Aiden, he left with Kalle to go deal with Central 46. And no, not in the way your thinking.” He set the hot cup down on the small table and sat at the foot of her bed. She didn't have the guts to look him in the eyes, after everything that's happened, they knew so little about each other that it would be hard to believe they were relatives. There was an long, awkward silence, before Hiaro finally broke it. “You know, this is the first room I had you in.” “What?!” “Wait, wait, that came out wrong. I mean, after you were born, I took you here to rest. It's was the first time I was able to get a good look at you, to finally see my baby. That's why we always take you here, to keep the memory alive.” His eyes were trained on the wall and his mind seemed to have wandered off the another world. “You mean the memory of mom dying?” The question came out more harsh than intended, but how he could feel happy about that night was beyond her. He had lost the most important person in the world to him, and she had lost the person that might have one day become the most important person to her. There was nostalgic about that night, at least in her opinion. Hiaro paused, thinking about what she said. “You know, you're right. It was probably one of the worst nights of my life. But there's this funny thing, about nighttime. No matter how cold and horrid it becomes, no matter how long and hopeless it may seem, the sun will always rise again in the morning.” And there, he'd gone and done it. Drowned all her anger and brash in a tidal wave of sincerity. It was that trait alone that made him the famous Shinigami that he was. No matter how bleak the situation had become, he could always find a way to make the sun rise again. “I guess so.” Things weren't as uncomfortable as they had been before, but the elephant in the room had yet to be addressed. “So who were those people?” She knew the basics: they were from the Onmitsukido, they had been ordered to execute her, and those orders had been from Central 46. But who were they exactly? “I'm not sure about the first three, but I know of the last one.” “And he is?” “Severin Temperance.” Even the name sounded evil. “And who is he?” “From what I know, he's the commander of the second ring in the Onmitsukido, the Patrol Corps. Usually something like this would be carried out by their Commander in Chief, Viviana, but since she was away on another mission he took over. That's all I really know at the moment.” He paused. “Oh, and that Severin's original mentor was banished some time ago.” “For what?” “I'm not quite sure. Something about gaining powers through illegal means. It doesn't surprise me though, he always was a bit of a nut job.” That explained so much, yet so little. “So what are we going to do?” There was no more skidding around it. Central 46 had put a target on her head, and after hearing about their failure it wouldn't take to long for things to go public and for them to throw a fit. So the question was, how were they going to handle it? Hiaro picked up his coffee and began stirring it again, his eyebrows knitted together in worry. “We don't know for sure, but at this point we're positive that it would be bad for you to stay in Soul Society any longer.” He let the information sink in. She didn't even bat an eye. Frankly speaking, it almost sounded good. She had spent her entire life being ostracized, if leaving finally meant a chance at being free, then she would take it. “I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you didn't care. But if things do boil down to that, we do have a plan.” “Which is?” “We have a friend, an old mentor of ours, who currently resides in Russia. We don't have a way of asking him for anything, since inter universe communication has never been popular, but I'm knowing him he'd just be happy to have some new guests after do many years.” “Guests?” “Of course, you think we'd let you go alone? Aiden volunteered to come with you.” “Of course he did.” That's the thing she would never understand about him. He did so much for her, but for what? What is it he had to gain? She was in no way ungrateful for it, she just didn't quite understand. “But don't worry about that any time soon. Central 46 may be powerful, but they're nothing compared to the Tianxia Guard.” He finished with a smirk, to which Neve just looked away. “Ya, I guess so.” At this point, she just wanted to be alone. Hiaro took the cue and gulping down the rest of his coffee, took of out the door. Now it was just her. The sense of Deja Vu crept into her. Had she not been in this same position less than a month ago? Would she be in the same position a month from now? She was getting tired of it. She felt like she had no control over her life, over her destiny. But who's to say she had to just lie down and take it? She didn't just lie down when someone was threatening her life, so what makes the difference if they were holding a sword or writing down orders? That's it, then. She would lie down, she wouldn't wait. They wouldn't bully her any longer. It was time she took control of her own fate. It was time to act. Previous Chapter > Snakes of Despair Next Chapter > Lingering Anxiety
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