Kitsui's Journey Continues: Seeking A New Start

New Sights and Sounds
The moon dominated the sky with a multitude of twinkling stars filling the nights sky, looking down on the world below. Kitsui's gaze was locked on the sight. It was transfixing; but at the same time, so calming just to be able to look up at the nights sky and see it as clearly as he could see his own hand. Hueco Mundo, with the swirling blackness that obstructed everything but the moon, was a truly awful sight when compared to the view the humans around him took for granted.

The wind was cold, though. Really cold. White, fluffy stuff covered the floor and children bunched it up into balls and threw it at one another. Goosebumps rose on his exposed arms and he hugged himself tightly to try and keep heat within his body. Even when he started rubbing his limbs, the cold crept in. "At least in Hueco Mundo, I was never cold." He stopped dead. Where had that thought come from? He was free as the birds that chirped so happily and beautifully from their trees and as the fish that swam in whichever direction they wished.

Shaking his head and continuing on, Kitsui began thinking what he was going to possibly do next. He knew nothing of this world, nothing of its people, scents, sights and sounds. He was like a child thrown headfirst out the door for their first adventure; only there'd be no parents to welcome him back with open arms and laughing voices when he decided he was not ready. Even now, with his freedom all but won; a part of him wanted to return to the only life he'd ever know. The continual beatings, the training and the insults. They had been harsh and brutal, but in a strange kind of way, he owed Averian everything for having molded him into the person he was now.

His ears pricked up at an unexpected sound! Turning, he saw a child blowing a whistle as she chased after her friends. The scene brought a smile to Kitsui's face, but also a sadness to his heart. Would he ever know friendship like that with others apart from Shagetsu? The thought gnawed at him, even when he left the street and walked into a building called "The Nest". The people couldn't see him, nor could they hear him; but he could feel the heat and it seeped into his limbs like liquid fire.

Taking a seat out of the way, Kitsui began planning. He initiated Jinzen as he'd done previously in Hueco Mundo. His surroundings shifted, and there stood his best friend; the ever present and comforting spirit of Shagetsu...

A Night at The Nest
Yoshiaki Hiroshi walked into the flame-lit pub he knew so well and greeted the local bartender. "Yoshiaki?" The round-bellied barkeeper said with a slight slur to his words. "Get kicked out, old friend? You left not half hour ago." Cracking the old fellow a smile and sliding some coins over the bar, Yoshiaki nodded. "She said I was a good-for-nothing drunk. Sad thing is, I've only had three pints." He sighed and accepted another, drinking from it slowly; savoring the taste.

The Nest was a small, but well-kept little place that few people came to; the very reason Yoshiaki went whenever he could. The roof beams were low, a danger for someone of his height as he had to duck most of the time; but the quiet was worth the trouble. The floor had a plain, varnished wooden floor with a neat finish, circular tables set with enough room so folks could past and a large fireplace to the left of the bar which roared with a warm fire.

"Well, my house is yous Mr. Hiroshi," Alice, the plump barkeepers wive said with a smile. She spoke slowly, as she was still unused to the English language. "I thank you," Yoshiaki replied, combing his wet, black hair back. He got up and took a seat on the cushioned area of the floor he normally sat and took another swig of his drink. He wore a belly warmer, with nothing but a thin, black-colored kimono over it and a pair of shorts. By the way he dressed, you'd have thought it the middle of the summer!

Looking around, he noticed a young boy with silver hair and closed eyes sitting in a meditative pose on the ground. He breathed in and out in a relaxed way. "A Shinigami, then?" He thought calmly, sitting opposite him in his usual spot. "Who just happens to have spiritual energy like that of a hollow? Just who are, son?"