The Rule of Two: Contemplation

Memoirs of the Fallen
The bustling city of Tokyo, Japan, resembled a massive two story bee hive more than anything else. The city was divided into two sections, the "upper" section, of which was literally on top of the lower section of the city via massive towers, and the lower section, which was the other way around. On top of the upper section looked what appeared to be a large metropolis of sorts that was nearly twice the size of it's 21st century counterpart, glistening with it's gold and black hue that was reflected from the equally mesmerizing sunset. It was here that the rich and the wealthy could enjoy themselves in whatever lifestyles that they could possibly hope to indulge themselves in. Whilst the lower section was a reminiscent of the slums of New York City. Dark, damp, full of poverty and corruption, and practically radiating criminal, none could hope to survive in this part of the city...

...Except for one certain young man who laid out on a rather clean mattress that was situated on the top of a rather large apartment complex. He was sprawled out on the blue makeshift bed, his snore filled mouth wide open and comically drooling, two earphones found themselves resting within his ears, the wire of which led to an MP3 player that was within his right hand. Though it's battery was nearly dead from supposidly leaving it on for extended amounts of time, one could make out the cover to what could only be described as a Deftones album, and the song that was playing was that of "Knife Party".

Within his sleep occupated mind, his dreams seemed to correspond with the beat and flow of the music. In the beginning electric guitar strums, the black figure of a young woman with long hair and glistening green eyes stood in front of a nearly blinding light, staring straight into his soul. She reaches out her hand as if she wishes to grab his own, a bright smile barely visible on her black face. As he reaches out for her as well, the pleasant guitar strums are exchanged for the climax of the beginning parts of the song. When this happens, the light behind the woman shatters like glass, revealing a massive wave of deep blue water rushing towards them, preparing to ensnare both himself and the woman in it's wet grasp. .

When the wave of liquid impacts with the two, the song's vocalist begins to sing his introductory lyrics. The peaceful remedy was made perfect when the dreamer found himself holding the hands of the woman while under the water, seemingly unaffected by the thought of drowning as they could both breathe just fine. The woman smiles at him with gentle warmth as he does the same to her. But then, the vocalist begins to change his pleasant voice into one of slightly louder proportions and as he does so, the woman's happy expression becomes blank as a red mist begins to emerge from both corners of her mouth. The dreamer is shocked and concerned, but as he reaches out to help her, the red mist ingulfs all of the water, changing it's deep blue into a light red. The man cannot help but lose his breath from the sensation within his mouth that he could only describe as blood. Then, the woman's face becomes pained and weakened as she holds her stomach with her right hand and begins to sink to the bottom of the water. The dreamer catches her with both arms, and as he does so, the water begins to drain and sink like a bathtub's.

When the liquid all drains away, the next chorus begins as the dreamer holds the woman with both arms. They both were now in what appeared to be a ruined house in what appeared to be the Rukongai District, of which was being rained on with rain that originated from a black and purple sky, cracking with occasional bolts of lightning. Both he and the woman are soaking wet and blood poured from the corners of her mouth. He held her close as he tried to speak to her hurt and pained face, putting his left hand on what appeared to be a massive gash within her stomach area while holding her head up with his right hand. She looks into his face with tears emerging from her eyes, and slowly reaches out to his face with her left hand. He takes his hand off of her wound to grab hers, but as he does so, her eyes widen and she jerks slightly, before slowly closing her eyes and succumbing to her apparent wound. He cradles her head within his chest, but something causes him to look up briefly. When he does so, he sees a tall woman with a haori, pointing a cross like weapon directly at his face. He realizes that this woman was the cause of the death of the younger woman that now lay dead in his arms. He begins to speak, but she suddenley thrusts the sword into the middle of his forehead...

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

With a loud yell, the man awakens from the dream turned nightmare and rips his headphones out, holding his head and groaning. Letting his pained face relax, the man dropped his hands and looked up slowly to see three ragidly dressed individuals with clown masks sitting on sides of the same building that he was. He looked down to see a small metal rod laying in front of him. He realized that one of these individuals had woken him up by dropping the piece of metal onto the same spot that he had supposidly been impaled...

"Hey boss are you awake now?" one of the bigger figures said. He was dressed in a wife-beater vest with dark blue jeans and a funny mask on.

"Yeah we was trying to wake you up without hurting you! But it doesn't look like we could! So we used that little metal thingy there!" a smaller petite female figure said, pointing at the piece of metal with rabbit like energy. She was wearing a much higher class dress with a tie, as well as having long yellow hair braids that emerged on the sides of her equally ridiculous mask.

The other individual remained silent as he awaited his "Bosses" reply.

The man rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes, speaking in a drowsy voice. "God you guys are such pricks." He then stood all the way up and stretched slightly before turning off his music player and wrapping his earphone cord around it, and then placing it in one of his jeans pockets. In full view, the man wore a dark blue t-shirt, with black leather pants and equally dark shoes. His hair was short and black, and his eyes were a bloodish red, both of them staring menacingly into those of his comrades.

The bigger figure then pulled out a brown paper back and reached into it to pull out an oval shaped hasbrown, before tossing it to his leader, who caught it without looking, giving the man a nod as he took a bite out of the potato product. As he ate it, he looked out into the rising sun, speaking as he swallowed his first bite. "Are we all set for this evening?"

The third individual spoke finally, his voice british sounding, which matched with his casual attire. "Yes sir, the explosives have been successfully placed onto the train tracks. Our target is scheduled to arrive around 4:30."

The train that he referred to was on the upper section of the city. Their target was a retired Soul Reaper from an unknown division of the Gotei 13.

Finishing his hashbrown, the man then turned around and walked towards a wall on top of the building that was revealed to be the entrance to the building itself. On it's side was a coat rack that held a black leather coat that matched his pants. He took it and put it around his back, letting it's neck frill come around the bottom of his head. He then turned towards the three. "Then proceed as normal. Do nothing until I give you the order to. Understood?" he said, his voice commanding and stern.

All three of them nodded in response and then left the building, the female one giggling as she did so. "Heh, bye Rushifa!" she said with a loud giggle. Clearly she had a disorder of sorts.

As they left, the man now known as Rushifa gave a sigh as he pulled a wallet out of his back pocket. He opened it to reveal a few stolen credit cards and pulled out a picture behind where his driver's liscence was. In the picture stood a younger version of himself with the young woman from his dreams. He was kissing her on her cheek and she was smiling with blushing red cheeks. He smiled slightly before putting it back in his wallet and then putting the wallet back in his pocket. He then looked up towards the black and gold city before him, before Flash Stepping away from view...

The Confrontation of Old Allies and Enemies
By 4:15, the scenery between the upper city and the lower city was like the concept of yin and yang. In contrast to it's lower counterpart's dark and depressing shade, the upper section of the city was bright and beautiful, practically gleaming with life. The noise was louder here though, as cars and trains zoomed across the rails and roads in hasty speeds.

One such train of more advance proportions was going through a track that was in the middle of the city via upper levels, meaning that the track for the train was above the road that held one of the larger roads. This train was black on the exterior, matching the color of the city, while the interior was more golden. Despite being a normal train, the accomodations within it would suggest that it was an upper class train by 21st century standards. The seats were shaped like booths that all faced the same direction as where the train was going. Passengers could only see the back of the heads of the passengers in front of them. The floor had a black carpet, and the seats had red leather to them to provide a form of comfort to the passengers...

In one of the seats was a young woman in a kimono-like attire. She had one leg shifted over the other, her hands folded within her lap. Her eyes were closed, her tied hair resting on the leather head of the seat. Leaning beside the window was a walking stick - one which would be normally associated with the blind. To anyone, it would've looked as if she had been sleeping. However, her mind and body were fully aware of their surroundings, even the small talk going around in the areas farther away from her. However, her mind was not concerned with such thoughts. Instead, she was focused on events that she had went through, before this journey to nowhere...

Her name was Evelyn McTavish.... and as far as anyone else was concerned, she was a nobody.

At least, to simple humans.

"Excuse me."

A swedish sounding voice broke through her trail of thought in the form of a younger man sitting in the seat that was before her. He was rather well built, with short blonde hair and brown eyes. He wore a green hoodie with black pants as he turned his sitting position to where he was looking at her partially. "Are you feelin okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine..."

Even as she spoke, Evelyn did not bother to open her eyes. Her tone was serene, peaceful, and yet held an extent of formality she would only extend to the hands of strangers. The only thing that broke what would've been otherwise a still body was the slight bumps that the train went through as it traveled. Her own tone held an American accent, despite her appearance. "But, thank you for your concern." She continued to speak, lapsing into silence and allowing him to speak.

"What division are you from?"

The younger man was quite the curious one, but he did so in good intentions. But somehow, he was capable of telling whether or not someone was a Soul Reaper. Was he a Soul Reaper as well?

Evelyn slowly opened one of her eyes to a half-lidded position, tilting her head to the side slightly as she did so. She remained silent for a moment, regarding him with what seemed like tension. Yet, she did not show any sign of sudden reaction or anything else. It would be questionable that she knew anything of what he was talking about. If she was genuine in her reaction, then it was normal. But if she was not, then she was certainly a master of hiding her true intentions from the ones that wished to pry.

"I'm afraid I don't follow you, sir. I've never served in any kind of military." She said smoothly, lifting a finger to point up at her eye. "They wouldn't dare let a blind woman like me into anyone's ranks." She lowered her hand to her lap again in its folded position, once again lapsing into silence.

The younger man looked kind of confused. "Oh well...I thought you were part of the Gotei 13, based on the feeling of your presence. And the Gotei 13 has had blind members in it before." He then smiled somewhat, letting his teeth show. "You're a Soul Reaper like me, aren't you?"

Slowly, Evelyn closed her eye and thought for a moment. Anyone else would have thought him to be insane from what his claims were. But she knew. She understood it, as direct and obvious his words were to her. With her eyes still closed, she leaned forward a little to close her voice to him. "You lack tact, young man...." She said in a lightly scolding tone. "You should be more careful when using such terms in the presence of them...." She lightly nodded her head towards the rest of the car, her words referring to the presence of the other passengers.

He looked on at the other passengers, most of whom were too busy handling their own affairs and only a couple glanced in their direction.

But he still should have thought that one through a little more.

"Ah, forgive me. Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me." he said in a modest tone while closing his eyes somewhat. After a few more seconds, he resumed his conversation. "So what brings you to Tokyo, hm? Trying to escape the life of violence like me?"

"If only for a moment...." Evelyn answered, allowing herself to lean back in her chair once more. "There's really no escape from violence. It's going to be with all of us until our very end. The only thing I can really do.... is sit and allow myself to drift away, every time it starts to come close to me." She directed her closed eyes towards the window that had a good view of the city blocks passing by. "What exactly happened to you to make you feel the same?"

He then sat to where his knees were sitting on the couch and he was facing towards her, his arms folded on the top of the chair as he gave a slight sigh. "I just couldn't handle all of the rules and stuff you know? Like, we would get punished for even the dumbest of things. Like one time I stepped into the 11th Division's barracks, believing it to belong to the 3rds, which was my division. They forced me into temporary seclusion for a week! I just couldn't take it any more." he finished, looking out the window like she had.

This revelation brought a smile to Evelyn's face, although she didn't chuckle (even if she found it to be somewhat humorous). "So you're just looking to work without such rules in effect...." She summarized. "I understand. The life of a military soldier can be quite grueling for most, and it only takes the most hardened of individuals to truly rise to the top. Tell me, what rank were you?"

"4th Seat of the 3rd Division." he replied with a friendlier voice than normal. "They had that old saying where the 3rd Division was disturbed or depressing. Definatley not my type, which you've probably figured that out by now." he said, looking back at Evelyn.

The woman, in turn, moved her head so that her closed eyes would look back at the young man. "Your seated position shows in how you act." She commented. "I was Captain of the 8th Division, after the previous Captain had been killed."

The younger Soul Reaper widened his eyes before bowing his head slightly. "Oh forgive me, ma'am. I knew that you were a Soul Reaper, but I had no idea..."

"Don't bother bowing to me now...." Evelyn warned him, though still retaining her calm tone. "We're both in the same boat. I'm just a wandering woman, and you're just a wandering man. We're people with names, nothing more...." She placed a hand to the center of her chest. "And my name, before we talk any further, is Evelyn McTavish. What about yours?"

A sparkle came into the younger man's eyes. "My name is Fyodor Milkov. It's my honor to meet you Mrs. McTavish."

"Not honor, Fyodor.... a pleasure." Evelyn corrected, lowering her hand back to its folded position within her lap. "There's really nothing honorable about me. I'm far too damaged for such titles...." She raised a pinky finger to scratch the side of her cheek idly before lowering it back down.

Fyodor simply nodded his head. "I understand, I don't know what you may be referring to, but I won't ask further." As he looked out the window, a slight hint of dread came across his face. "Well, I hope that we really are in the same boat, because with the Black Wolf running rampant around here, people like us aren't safe. I'm actually heading to the airport to leave the country." He then turned to look at Evelyn, his face somewhat bored. "Have you ever heard of him? The Black Wolf?"

"No." Evelyn admitted. "Who is he?"

His look became somewhat more concerned. "He's a Soul Reaper, like you and me. He used to be part of the 5th Division, that's where he learned how to fight you know." He then looked back out the window, the same look in his eye. "He's a terrorist who camps out in big cities like Tokyo, hunting both retired and non-retired Gotei 13 members like us." He leaned forward slightly. "No one knows why he does it. Some say his whole family was slaughtered by one of the Gotei 13 squads, but no one knows for sure. There was a recent case where a retired Captain was brutally murdered outside of his own home. The Black Wolf is the only one capable of doing so."

"I see...." Evelyn took in a deep breath and exhaled, leaning her head back on the seat and tilting her head slightly upwards. "I don't suppose no one ever happened to pick up his true name?"

He shook his head somewhat. "No. The only real details that anyone has on him is that he always has a form of black on him, and his eyes are a blood red color." he sighed somewhat. "They say if you look into his face directly, you can see a black wolf instead of a humanoid one. Hence his name."

"Ah, a title for his traits...." Evelyn smiled a little. "I myself had my own title created by the populace. I never really paid much attention to it or truly accepted it as my own, but I still do remember. "Tiger Snake", it was."

Fyodor's face became somewhat happier. "Oh yeah! I remember some of my squadmates referring to one of the Captains with that name. I didn't stay around long enough to see most of them in person though." He then leaned back a little bit. "Why did they call you that name?"

"A tiger snake has rather ferocious accuracy when striking down its prey." The woman explained. "My fighting style focused on swift, unpredictable, and flexible moves in order to quickly kill any enemy I was facing. My swordsmanship skills even intimidated the 11th Division Captain at that time. Although even now I don't really consider it.... I still find it a rather close metaphor..."

Fyodor chuckled somewhat. "Remind me never to get on your bad side then." Turning his attention back to the city, he sighed again. "I'm glad you still find it appropriate. Those skills will come in handy should the Black Wolf ever find you."

"How skilled is he in combat, this Black Wolf?" Evelyn questioned.

His face then became almost dead serious. "Very. Based on reports from investigators, nearly 3 Captain level Soul Reapers have died by his hands. The thing is he doesn't utilize traditional combat with them most of the time. He usually uses a terrorist method to either kill them, or catch them alone. That's why he's wanted in nearly 5 countries. Including Japan."

"That doesn't sound like one who is skilled in the art of fighting more than it would sound like someone skilled in the art of tactical warfare." Evelyn said. "One usually utilizes such violent methods against their enemies because they are unable to fight their targets directly. To those with a passion for direct combat, he would be considered a coward, at best."

"Well...that's for most cases. I remember a few coherts of mine recalling how he challenged one of those former Captains in one on one combat and the Black Wolf one." He shivered somewhat. "From what they described...the Captain was mutilated and he was full of holes, as if he was fighting with both a sword and a gun at the same time." He looked out the window of the other side of the train. "But can't decide whether or not that's true based on a few rumors can we?"

"If it is...." A small smile came across the woman's face. "Then I wouldn't mind facing him in direct combat myself. Although I don't intend to purposely wander into trouble, I have been wanting to put my skills to good use for quite some time. It's just another excuse to raise a sword, sadly... but it's something I can't lie about."

Fyodor smiled while still looking outside. "Yeah. Fighting with a Zanpaktou always was fun to do. Sucks that we couldn't release them within..."

His eyes widened and horror flashed upon his young face. Outside of the train's window, on the top of a building that seemed level with the train, stood a youthful man looking directly into Fyodor's eyes. The red within them reminded him of the view of blood. The young man looked at him with a casual smile, before pressing a button on what looked like a cell phone.

"No..."

BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With a great shaking sensation, the front end of the train began to glow with a bright orange light and then black smoke made it's way towards the outer end of the train.

Needless to say, Evelyn was surprised.

Her blank eyes finally opened in shock, and she involuntarily lurched forward as the vicious explosion knocked her out of her seat. She felt the train de-rail itself with a moan, control lost and its body forcibly splitting from the tracks. She accidentally fell against Fyodor, but she couldn't find the balance in order to raise herself back up again. All she could hear in her ears was the screeching of the wheels against the track, the sparks flying outside with a violent flair....

The young man then Flash Stepped off of the building and nearly 50 meters from the derailed train, standing in front of it with a menacing grin as if he planned to stop it.

The train then fully derailed from the tracks, all of the carts pushing against each other, transforming it's straight form into that of total disarray. It smashed into the ground and grinded along the road, smashing both cars and bystanders that stood in it's way. With a loud moan, the train finally stopped just a few inches from the still grinning man, who was now holding what appeared to be a large, black and silver Desert Eagle.

The Crystal Mirror of Time
"....."

The car that Evelyn and Fyodor had been on was a complete mess. The walls had crumbled in, turning into a twisted mass of metal and glass. There was blood staining the material; a prominent sign that death and injury had occured. It was a wonder how the woman, as concussed and wounded as she was, was able to survive. She had somehow ended up underneath the seats, both of which had collapsed on her person. With a soft groan, she slowly opened her eyes and tried to push herself up, but to no avail.

"What the hell happened....?!" She thought to herself, blood trickling down her temple and staining the ground underneath her. "Was that a bomb that went off just now....?!"

"No....no no please don't do anything brash!"

The voice of Fyodor suddenley broke the cycle of other noises as the young Soul Reaper found himself crawling along the bottom of the train's now filthy floor. In front of him was the man with red eyes, the two piercing orbs staring straight into his with a blank expression. Fyodor was holding out his right hand, begging for his life.

"Please Mr Wolf! We're retired! There's no reason to hunt us...!"

BANG!!!!!

Before he could finish, the Black Wolf fired a bullet out of what could now be recognized as a high calibur Kido Pistol, going straight through Fyodor's head with enough force to tear it from his neck. As he watched the head roll over to the side of the train with his still blank face, the Black Wolf began to look around for any possible Soul Reaper survivors...

"Oh, no...."

From her senses alone, Evelyn could tell what happened. She immediately stayed still, keeping her spiritual pressure hidden and doing her best to look like she was dead. Her mind was far too hazy for her to engage in combat now, and the man would obviously shoot her if she attempted to rise up. Her blood-stained appearance as well as the fact that there was a crimson-pool underneath her could convince him.

Hopefully, she wouldn't die waiting....

As he walked around searching, he noticed a small trio of human survivors who stumbled out of the wreckage of their seats. Speaking in japanese, one of them held up his hands in a surrendering pose when he looked at the man. The Black Wolf simply stepped aside and pointed his gun towards the end of the train, motioning them to leave. He was here for Soul Reapers, not humans.

As they did so, the Black Wolf looked over to where Evelyn's blood pool was. He crouched down and looked at her with his blank face. Her head was tilted to the side so that he could not see her face, and he couldn't turn her head to where he could see it without causing something to fall on her. He put his gun to her head and nudged her with it a couple of times. After being convinced that she was truly dead, the Black Wolf simply sighed and stood himself up, turning to exit the ruined train...

Evelyn stayed still.

She knew that he had not left completely. She felt his presence nearby, and knew that it was only a matter of time until he left. She could not allow herself to lessen up, for she knew that one-slip up would cost her very life. Still, it was getting harder and harder to maintain her consciousness and actually falling into the abyss of death. She silently prayed, hoping for him to leave as soon as possible.

"Hey Rushifa! Rushifa! I got one see!? See!? I stabbed him in the throat and let him bleed! Isn't that-"

Suddenley, another gun shot rang out of the train from the same gun that the Black Wolf held. If one could see, they would have witnessed him fire a Kido bolt through the chest that belonged to the deranged female seen on the roof with him earlier. She screamed and yelled, holding her chest tight as blood poured out of the massive wound.

"I told you..." the Black Wolf said, his voice empty and shallow. "We were here for Soul Reapers, not humans. I fail to see how you could be so ignorant to forget such an obvious rule..."

The woman then looked up to him, blood coming from the sides of her masked mouth as he held his gun to her head. "...P-please...Rushifa...don't please..." she begged through a croaky voice.

BANG!!!!

With a single bolt, her body was tranformed into a bloody mess as the projectile went through her forehead and out of her neck.

"Freakin' moron..." the Black Wolf said.

Out of instinct, Evelyn's eyes widened at the sound of his voice, as well as the mentioned name.

"That voice....!"

Immediately, they narrowed into dangerous slits, her fingers slightly clenching.

Maybe she had over-exaggerated her injuries. She could feel her fury overriding her pain, her motor functions slowly starting to return. It would be to a limited extent... but she could bring herself to fight. It just so happened that her pole was right in front of her, just waiting to be grasped.

She didn't want to escape anymore.

She wanted to kill.

BANG!

With a quick twist of her body, she managed to bring herself on her back. One of her legs swung up, connecting with the back of the chair she was under and ripping it off of its hinges. The force of the kick sent it flying towards the Black Wolf with immense speed and power. As this was happening, she twisted herself around and pushed herself towards her feet. She grabbed the pole and swung it off to her side, revealing a three-pronged blade.

It wasn't a pole.

It was a Yari spear.

She threw herself at Rushifa, using the flying chair as a distraction in her effort to spear him through his torso.

A sinister grin came upon the man's face as he turned his gun towards the flying chair. Fortunatley for him, he was far enough to where he would have enough reaction time to turn and intercept it. With his right hand, he pulled the trigger of his weapon, a blue flash radiating from it's barrell as an equally colored bolt flew towards the seat and tore it in half.

His grin turned into one of shock and his eyes widened when he saw Evelyn charging towards him, his bolt whizzing past her head. Without thinking, he bent himself backwards in an attempt to let her fly over him. He succeeded, with only one of the blades scathing his right cheek...

But she was not through.

She managed to catch herself in mid-air, performing an elegant backflip over his bent-form. However, in the midst of her backflip, she switched her Yari to one hand and flipped it with supernatural speed. Its form was a pinwheel, a saw aiming to tear through his form. Because he was bent backwards, it would be nigh impossible to avoid being cut. Evelyn knew this, a sadistic smile on her face as she spun her weapon with such a frightening flair and a terrifying speed.

The same sinister grin came over his face as he watched her recover.

WHOOSH!!!!

With a Flash Step, he barely avoided the next impact, reappearing outside of the ruined train, waving at her in a taunting manner as he unsheathed a white katana from behind his coat. Fighting inside of a close quartered train was not fit for a fight like this...

Relying on her senses, Evelyn turned her body towards her enemy, her Yari gripped in one hand. She clutched her side, a large gash bleeding and staining her torso even more. Beads of sweat were falling down her face, and she knew he would have an advantage over her. She used an opening in the car created by the train crash in order to hop out, breathing audibly as she walked to her opponent. She slipped off her sandals, allowing her bare feet to tread the ground as she walked.

"I have to finish this quickly as I can...." She thought to herself.

The man sneered as he pointed his sword's hilt end at her. Dark and low words emerged from his mouth

"Put them Down...."

The weapon then became enveloped in a black and cyan energy before he quickly turned his blade to his left. When the energy dissipated, the katana's blade was now that of a large butcher knife, and it's handle and hilt were reminiscent of a revolver. He sliced the concrete ground twice in front of him, letting the sparks fly in a battle taunt before pointing the weapon back at her.

"...Puraimaru Gansuringa."

Evelyn closed her eyes, her brows furrowing slightly at the release command being stated. She could feel the energy as his sword shifted to its Shikai form. "I can sense a great difference from the power you had back then...." She said lowly, continuing to hold her wounded side. "To think that you would become a simple cut-throat with your potential and abilities.... what a pitiful way to fall...."

Rushifa smile became slightly wider. "Come on now...ma'am..." he said, still pointing his sword at her. "Remember, I would have been alot different had you simply listened to your subordinate's reason." He then closed his eyes somewhat and looked down, retaining his closed smile. "But like most of the mindless beasts that makes up the Gotei 13...it's always slaughter first, then ponder asking questions later with you." he then opened his eyes and pointed his sword at her chest. "Just like this."

CHITOW!!!!!!

With a pull of the trigger and a blue light, a Kido bolt discharged out of the blade's tip, heading straight for where it was directed...

PANG!

With a flick of her Yari wrist, Evelyn managed to deflect the bolt away from her person and charge at her opponent, her bare feet slapping at the ground as she ran. She only needed few steps in order to complete her distance. She twisted her Yari again, beginning a furious assault on Rushifa with a set of fast, precise, and fluid strikes.

Rushifa smiled. As he had predicted, Evelyn's skills had not decayed over the half century that he wouldn't have hoped. Parrying the first set of her blows with an equal amount of speed, he managed to let a few mocking words emerge from his mouth. "Just think, if I could kick your ass back then..." Then he quickly brought his downward facing sword back up to force Evelyn's Yari to go up with it. "...Just imagine what I can do to you now!" he finished.

As the blades of her Yari went up, Evelyn switched her movements fluidly.

She shifted her body so that her side was facing Rushifa. Her hands gripped the staff of her spear, and she began twisting it at the inhuman rate that she had done before. This time, the blades ripped up the concrete underneath their feet, sending bullet-sized chunks of it at the point-blank range her opponent was at. All of this was done without hesitation and without pause, even as he was speaking to her.

Rushifa's grin becamed somewhat angered as the concrete bits went into his eyes, blinding him for a brief few moments while rubbing his eyes with his free left hand. Most would expect him to be completley open...

Sensing a potential hope spot, Evelyn shifted patterns again, pulling back her Yari before delivering a power-backed strike towards his neck in the hopes to decapitate her opponent.

As she prepared her move, Rushifa's ears picked themselves up and he sniffed the air a few times. Then he smiled, bearing his wolf like teeth. Using the flat edge of his blade, and holding his left hand up against the other flat end to give it support, he successfully blocked the tip of the Yari's pointed blade. The blow was more powerful than he anticipated however, as the force of the now locked blades pushed him to where he slammed against the side of the building straight behind him, struggling to keep himself from being overwhelmed.

"Perhaps...I should explain..." he said, still struggling slightly. "You see...Puraimaru Gansuringa doesn't just let me fire Kido bolts like guns...It also gives me the senses of a wolf...which are significantly more advanced than...the likes of humans...hence the name....Primal Gunslinger..." He grinned again. "So in a way...you and I are in the same boat....McTavish!"

He then shifted the upper torso area to his right, grinding his sword off of Evelyn's spear and letting it go forward towards the building, before quickly twisting around and holding his sword up in a position to slice her arms off...

Had she been fine, she would've been able to escape unharmed. Hoever, as it was....

SLICE!

She gritted her teeth as the blade cut into one of her arms, even as she forced herself away from his swing. She staggered back, barely able to keep her balance. Her free hand managed to go to her side again, blood continuing to spill from the open wound. Her bangs were hanging over her head, and it was clear that the fight tiself was taking a toll on her. It took all her might not to fall to the ground, her legs slightly shaking.

SLAM!!!

With a brutal kick to the stomach, Rushifa put the elder Soul Reaper onto the ground back first. Giving a blank expression (with a slight smile) Rushifa then pointed his gun's tip onto Evelyn's forehead, letting a small red droplet of blood emerge from the bottom of it's sharp tip. He then pulled back the revolving mechanism on his gun-like handle, enjoying what may have been his foe's last moments. "I remember when Temari was in a similar position like this...What are your thoughts on her now McTavish? Any regret or remorse for your savage actions of the past?"

"....yes."

Despite the pain that she was feeling, Evelyn managed to speak in a soft voice. "I can't argue with you.... that the Gotei 13 possesses such corrupt roots." She whispered, her eyes still closed. However, her voice did show a tone of regret, though it was contained and composed. Her Yari lay at her side, but she could not bring herself to pick it up in order to defend herself. "For simple beliefs.... my family was harrassed and threatened with their very status and lives despite serving so faithfully. After what they did to me.... I just can't hold any more forgiveness in my heart for any of them, allowing such poison to seep through their cracks. It disturbs me to know how willingly I served under them, how I killed your beloved in their name, and how.... just how alike both of us really are...."

Despite not being able to see, she opened her eyes to a half-lidded position. In the distance, she could hear police sirens as well as ambulance sirens going off. It wasn't a surprise to her; such damage inflicted onto the city would be sure to attract attention. However, she was concerned about the fact that death was ever so close to her.

Rushifa's smile became slightly sympathetic as he heard the elder's words. He lowered his sword to where it was against his side, still looking at Evelyn's pained face. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I don't forgive you, but I won't kill you, not here, not like this..." He stepped back slightly, before grinning a little once more.

"...but that doesn't mean I don't mind slowing you down a little."

He then quickly brought his sword back up and discharged a Kido bolt into the thicker part of her upper right leg...

A gasp of pain escaped Evelyn's lips as the bullet tore through her thigh, and she instinctively shut her eyes tightly. Her back arched as she tried to stifle the scream that threatened to tear her throat, before she gritted her teeth and sucked in breath through the cracks. "Damn it....!" She managed to gasp. "Why did you even bother doing that....?!"

Rushifa chuckled a little. "The same reason why you bothered to impale Temari through her chest when her stomach was already cut open..."

He then leaned down to where his mouth was just an inch or two away from her left ear and whispered. "Because like you, I'm a cold-blooded bitch." He then pressed his right foot onto her stomach for a few seconds before letting go and walking away, re-sealing his Zanpaktou as he did so. He gave her a slight wave, knowing that she couldn't see it. "See you around....ma'am."

With that, he Flash-Stepped from view, leaving no trace of his existance.

That was when the last of Evelyn's strength gave out.

Her body finally became limp, and her eyes closed once again. Although she would survive, she would drift in her state of unconsciousness. The ambulance would surely pick up her body and tend to her wounds, and she would be fine within the arms of time. But her revenge would not come today.... it would have to wait.

With a heavy sigh, she allowed herself to fall asleep, her mind sinking to unconsciousness.

Breaking the Cycle: A Glimmer of Chance
Sure enough, the ambulance had found the woman's unconscious body and had her immediatley moved to into an ambulance vehicle to be sent off to the nearest hospital. Nearly two hours after that, Evelyn laid in a rather wide open room that had a dark blue tint to it. She was in a rather comfortable bed with a nightstand on her left side and various other medical equipment laid out to her right side, and she was wearing a standard black patient's uniform.

"Nnn...."

Slowly, she opened her eyes to the blind void she had always been used to. Because of the sheet wrapped around her body as well as the beeping of the equipment to her right side, she knew she was in a hospital. She let out a soft groan as she placed one of her hands to her face, massaging her temples. It was a good thing she was blind, otherwise she was sure to have been blinded by potential lightning on the ceiling.

"So I'm not dead, at least...." She thought to herself. "I should be gratefuly for that....but...."

The door to her right then opened to reveal a middle aged asian man with short black hair and a kind expression on his face enter the room. He was wearing a doctor's uniform and he had a datapad in his left hand. In a strange sounding english voice, he spoke to Evelyn with a polite tone. "Are you feeling well ma'am? You have been through quite alot, both during and after the crash."

"I'm....fine, I'll live...." Evelyn said, closing her eyes and lowering her hand back onto the bed. She took in a deep breath, the events of what happened before hitting her immediately. She had heard the gunshots as well as felt the presence of the retired Soul Reaper fade away. She remembered his pleas for mercy as he was ruthlessly shot. She practically felt his head tearing off of his shoulders as the bullet went through it. He hadn't deserved any off it.... he was a young soul, just having wandered out on his own....

She was almost tempted to shed a tear.

Somehow, she managed to keep herself from doing so.

The kind doctor walked over to her casually and gently placed his right hand on Evelyn's forehead, feeling her temperature before taking it off. "Hmm. Your fever is much lower than it was in the vehicle. That's good to know. Is there any part of your body that hurts significantly more than others? Your torso, arm and right thigh were severly wounded during the crash. The stomach wound was from the crash itself, but the other two were caused by an unrecognizable source."

"My wounded arm...." Evelyn admitted, referencing to the gash that Rushifa had delivered to it in the last moments of their fight. "It's minor, at best, though.... but it's the only part of me that's actually aching. Everything else feels fine...."

"Hmm." the doctor said as he gently lifted up her arm and pulled back the sleeve to study the wound. "Well, the best that I can tell, the arm wound was more than likely caused by a piece of shrapnel from the train crash. The leg wound more than likely the same, though I find it strange that the leg wound was sustained a few minutes after the crash...."

The doctor pondered for a few moments before slowly resting her arm back where it was and then walked over to one of the pieces of medical equipment, pressing a few buttons on what appeared to be a monitor of sorts. "Well, the majority of your wounds are well on the way to recovery. Best we can tell...." he drifted off again, looking into what appeared to be medical results on the monitor. "...You should be able to get back to full health by tomorrow." He then looked back at Evelyn with a smile. "It's a good thing we live in this era of technology, no?"

"Yeah...." Evelyn had to agree with him, taking in a light breath and exhaling. "I appreciate your efforts, sir." It was quite.... strange.... easily allowing the doctor to believe such things. It was better than him knowing what really caused the wounds other than the one to her stomach. "Speaking of which.... you wouldn't have happened to have picked up a Yari spear in the wreckage, would you?"

The doctor then gave a rather confused look as he looked at her a bit more. "Well...we didn't find a spear, but you were laying next to a brown cane of sorts." He then walked over to a desk to Evelyn's right, next to it was Evelyn's walking cane. He then picked up the cane and leaned it next to her bed to where she could grab it easier. "Here you are. We knew that it was yours since you were found next to it, but we didn't see a spear of any kind..." His face then became slightly comical. "...what exactly would you have been doing with a spear on a train, if I might ask?"

"The blades retracted on their own....?"

Evelyn almost smiled, knowing her Zanpakuto had done the work for her. "Oh, nothing...." She answered smoothly. "Just an idle question. I'm glad you kept my cane safe...."

The doctor smiled again as he stood all the way up. "You're very welcome ma'am." He then turned to walk for the door's exit, before turning to see her again. "I've placed a little remote on the left side of your bed, should you need me, simply press the button on it and I'll come for you. Okay?"

"I understand...." Evelyn gave a slight nod of her head in order to confirm. "Thank you very much."

The doctor nodded in return and prepared to exit the door. As he left it, a figure walked up to him and said some inaudible words, holding a special badge to the doctor. In response, the doctor gave an understanding nod and stepped out of the man's way to let him into Evelyn's room.

In the room's light, the man was rather tall and youthful with neck length, messy brown hair. He wore a pair of black military like cargo pants, a black sweater, a long black trench coat with silver markings on it's shoulders, as well as wearing a pair of sunglasses.

"Mrs. Evelyn McTavish?" he said. "My name is Akisame, I'm a private investigator. May I ask how you are feeling?" he asked with a kind and caring voice.

"Huh....?"

The woman didn't open her eyes, but her expression showed slight surprise. She turned her face in his direction, the surprise lasting only for a brief moment before returning to its original expression. "Well, as I told the doctor, I'll live...." She repeated her words, not minding the fact that she had to tell the same story over again.

Akisame simply chuckled slightly as he pulled up a moving chair to where he could be somewhat closer to her. "Forgive me for that, I had to make sure for myself."

He then took off his sunglasses and folded both sides down and put them in an upper pocket on his coat. He then reached into a back pocket and pulled out a smaller datapad similar to the doctor's. "So, Mrs. McTavish. Can you tell me what happened during the crash? I know about how it happened, but you're the first of the survivors within this hospital to actually regain consciousness, and I'd like a viewpoint that's different from the official report, which states that the crash was due to difficulties with the tracks."

This would be a test of how well she could keep herself out of the spot-light and retain her innocence.

"It...." She paused for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing for a moment. "Wait.... how could no one have noticed that....explosion?" She stated, her voice slightly confused. "I could smell the smoke and I heard what sounded like a bomb go off..... then I lost consciousness." She sighed in slight frustration. "I'm sorry.... I can only remember myself waking up underneath a chair....my stomach was bleeding.... from there, it's all a blur.... the only thing I remember after that was the sirens coming...."

Akisame typed a few sentances onto his little pad before looking back up at Evelyn. "I understand the confusion over the official report. But that's how stuff around this country works. With this....Black Wolf terrorist going around, the officials have to do what they can to prevent widespread panic. Even if it means coming up with a bs story." he said in light humor. He then prepared another page of "notes" as he continued to question her. "Did you recognize anyone on the train? Friends, family, something of that sort?"

"...no...." Evelyn's voice was slightly bitter as she spoke the words. "There was a young man by the name of Fyodor Milkov that I spoke to prior to the crash, but.... we just met in that moment, nothing more. Other than that, I was basically alone on that train..."

Akisame's eyes furrowed slightly as she mentioned the name to him. Something about the swedish sounding name struck him as oddly familiar, but he paid it no more thought as he typed a few more words onto the datapad. He then resumed his little survey. "What about anyone that looked odd? Strange facial signs, abnormal behavior patterns? Someone who's personality seemed to stand out?" He was hoping that she would remember someone bearing a resemblance to the Black Wolf so that the authorities would know what to look out for.

That was when an anime vein popped on Evelyn's head. "Sir? I'm blind." She said lowly, although a slight bit of irritation could be heard.

The Private Investigator's face then became somewhat comically embarrassed. "Oh yeah that's right..." He apparentley typed that into his little pad and rubbed the back of his head. "...the doctor told me that before I came in...just me being stupid again...my bad."

He then stopped rubbing and looked back at her with serious look. "Well, I guess that you probably didn't hear anything out of the ordinary either, right?"

"Well.... after the train aftermath....." Evelyn's annoyed look lightened up. "I thought I heard gunshots within the car I was in. But I'm not sure...."

Akisame closed his eyes in what appeared to be sorrow as he typed her next words into the datapad. "I did find a couple of bodies within one cart. One of them was shot in the chest and then apparentley in the head. Can't be too sure since there was hardly anything left of her." He then looked back up at Evelyn with the same serious gaze. "And the other was just shot through the head, though the force was enough to...well...decapitate him." He tried his best not to sound disrespectful, but he had to tell the truth. "Both cases are evidence enough that this wasn't a track accident, nor just an explosion. This was the work of terrorists."

To this, Evelyn remained silent.

Akisame then simply typed a few more phrases into his datapad, even he was becoming slightly annoyed by the noises that it would make. "So, Mrs. McTavish. What were you doing on that train? Where were you headed?"

"Truthfully, I wasn't heading anywhere...." The woman answered honestly. "I was just wandering the area like a nomad, never really staying in one spot for too long."

The man then put his datapad away by closing it and putting it in his back coat pocket, before folding his hands in front of him as he leaned a little closer to her. "Well....I asked this because...in comparison to the wounds that the other survivors sustained, your wounds were somewhat odd...besides the gash in your stomach from the crash." He then smiled somewhat. "The one in your leg looked an awful lot like it had been hit with a Kido Bolt...."

And then it became obvious.

He knew.

Somehow, or other, this man knew about such forms of weaponry despite being an apparent human investigator. Though Evelyn showed no signs of her surprise on the outside, it was very apparent inside. How did he know? Was he human? Could he tell she had been falsifying information? In any case, there was no point in hiding from him any longer.

"....how do you know about such weaponry....?" She whispered, eyebrows furrowing slightly as she spoke.

Akisame smiled a little bit as he leaned back in his seat. "Because Mrs. McTavish, like you and the Black Wolf, I'm a Soul Reaper. Personally trained and tutored by a retired Soul Reaper Captain. I'm a Private Investigator within the Yurei Okuko and this crash struck me as rather odd. My wife and child and I are on vacation here and I was taking a little stroll through the town to get a glimpse of what it was like, when I saw the train crash. I could feel the presence of two Captain-level Soul Reapers fighting it out and then...well, here I am."

"Then I guess there's no need to try to make myself look like an ordinary civilian...."

Following this statement, Evelyn let out a soft grunt as she sat herself up in her bed, folding her hands within her lap. "After the train crash...." She explained, her eyes still closed. "I woke up with the injury to my lower torso. When I came to, I could hear Fyodor nearby as well as sense the Black Wolf approaching our car. The boy was begging for mercy and trying to reason with Black Wolf, but didn't get very far before the--"

However, she stopped herself before she could finish, her fingers tightening slightly on the sheets. What had been about to come out of her mouth was an obvious insult - something that she didn't want the police officer to hear.

"...the cut-throat shot him." She finished. "Fyodor was the beheaded body you found. Then.... a woman, presumably his accomplice, came up and started cheering on how she had killed one of the other survivors of the crash. However, the Wolf was only hunting for Soul Reapers, and the one she had killed was a human. Therefore, he shot her in the chest, then in the head. That was the other body you saw."

Akisame's smile faded for a more solemn look. "Then it's worse than I thought." He looked back at her with a sorrowful look, before continuing. "And then he found you correct?"

Evelyn nodded. "The only reason I didn't get killed immediately was because I was playing dead." She said, a somewhat grim tone in her words. "Right after he killed his subordinate, I managed to summon the strength and attack him. Because of my wounds, I was only able to fight him for a limited time period before I succumbed to my injuries. The last wound I sustained, the Kidō shot to my thigh, was simply insult to my weakened state before he left the scene."

He then looked down somewhat, fumbling his fingers a little. "I see...." He then pulled out his datapad again and put his finger to where it would be able to type quicker. "And I don't suppose you wouldn't know the real name that this sick son of a bitch uses...would you Mrs. McTavish?" Her response would tell him whether or not his hidden suspicions were correct or not...

Ignoring the rather vulgar language that the detective used, Evelyn spoke her confirmation in a slightly colder tone.

"His name.... is Rushifā Sureiyā."

His smile returned and he typed the name in to the datapad before quickly putting it up. "Thought so."

He then sat back in the chair once again, his voice professional and informative. "I would know that name from anywhere. He's wanted in all kinds of places..." He then held up his right hand and held up his finger to symbolize a location. "...Soul Society, Yurei Okuko, at least 5 different human world countries."

He let his hand go back down. "He used to be part of the Gotei 13 sometime ago...just like you and my wife."

"Who is your wife, if I may ask...?" Though her eyes remained closed, Evelyn turned her face to him and put on a slightly questioning expression.

Akisame smiled just a little bit more before exhaling. "She's gonna kill me for this, but no point in keeping it a secret now...It's a name I'm positive that you're familiar with..." He then leaned forward slightly, still holding his hands in a folded manner below him.

"Do you remember a woman named Soifon? Captain of the 2nd Division?"

It was a very subtle motion made by Evelyn, mild at best - but the fingers of her hand flinched in a brief millisecond before sliding back to their original position. She turned her face away from him once more to face forward, her head hanging down slightly. "....yes...." She said readily, keeping her calm and composed tone.

Akisame couldn't help but become somewhat nervous. If anything, they did not want another incident like with Brina. Not when they had a child with them...

He inhaled and spoke once more. "Trust me, I know what you're thinking, and believe me. She has attoned for what she did to you and your family. But she has no idea that you're here and alive. And if you want my honest opinion, I would rather her not know at all..."

"Am I really supposed to believe what you say about her so-called "atonement"?

Now one could hear the venom within Evelyn's calm tone as she spoke to the man. She only allowed herself to speak one sentence before she lapsed back into silence, letting the tension seep into the room as quickly as her voice stopped.

"Shit"

It was the first thought to come into his mind. He began to regret even entering the room. He had to find a way to convince her that his wife had truly paid for her crime. The only thing that he felt he could say just came out...

"...Haralson and Brina will tell you the same thing."

"....Akisame, wasn't it?"

For the first time in the conversation, Evelyn allowed herself to open up her eyes and direct her gaze towards him.

Now the tranquil fury was all too clear, a seemingly insatiable anger flashing repeatedly through those blank pupils of hers. There was no light, not even from any outside light source that could be reflected off of her eyes. It made the hawk-eye stare even more dangerous and disturbing to look into, perfectly expressing every part of her anger she had hidden within the surface.

"I don't mind you speaking about my husband...." She whispered. "But I would appreciate it if you didn't bring up that bitch's name ever again to me. Please...."

Akisame widened in surprise at Evelyn's sudden angry tone. Her glare seemed to tear straight through his mind and even made him wince slightly. If she referred to his wife as a bitch, then he would understand, but Brina? Her own daughter that has expressed countless times the regret of her actions towards Evelyn? The thought of her now somewhat vulgar and furious tone threw him off guard completley.

He shook the feeling off and prepared to resume his questioning. "Forgive me for getting so off topic. My mind tends to wonder off in thought when thinking about family or friends..."

To this, Evelyn remained silent, closing her eyes and once again shutting off her fury from the outside world. She turned away from him to face forward once again, patiently waiting for him to continue.

He tilted his neck side to side, letting the bones crack in them as he loosened himself up. "Now...What is the history between you and Rushifa? Soifon has told me about the incident before, but she recalls not being well informed of the situation. Kind of surprising if you ask me, something like him to be kept from a Captain like her."

"Rushifā... before he came into the Gotei 13, was no different from the rest of the poor citizens of the Rukongai slums." Evelyn began, her voice steady and reserved once more. "He served as a Seated Officer in the 5th Division. Back then, he was more of a troublemaker than anything else. He had fallen in love with a Seated Officer by the name of Temari Utsukuchi under my command. He cared for her so much that he would even sneak into the 8th Division barracks in order to be with her. If anything, I was more of a scolding mother to him, giving him the slap on the wrist before sending him off to his own barracks. He never did stop, though, and I never could bring myself to do anything more than scold him...."

She chuckled softly at the memory.

"Then.... all it took was one night for all of that to come crashing down. One night, Temari and I, as well as four other members of my division, came to corner a wounded criminal within Rushifā's home. When I saw Rushifā healing his injuries... I didn't hesitate to declare them both to death. Temari was quick to stand in my way in protest, even going so far as unsheathing her sword to me. I should've done the good thing and tried to reason with her first... but... I struck her down instead in cold blood, shortly before I killed the perpetrator."

Her bangs were overshadowing her blind eyes now.

"The boy took her dying corpse and ran away with it. In the pursuit, he somehow managed to acquire the name of his Zanpakutō, release it, and then kill my four subordinates. All my subordinates had an extreme loyalty and devotion to me, and so their deaths only fueled my own desire to kill the boy. In my own personal anger, I failed to see his tact. All it took was a simple Kidō bolt to my shoulder in order to distract me.... and he was gone, just like that. I never saw him again.... until recent times, obviously."

Akisame's head lowered in slight sympathy. Such a charming love story between Rushifa and Temari reminded him of his days with Soifon...

He brought himself back to her attention. "A Seated Officer took down four other Soul Reapers with just a few trigger pulls..." There was no doubt, if Rushifa could do that back then, one could only imagine what he could do now.

"So he was healing a criminal. Is there any doubt that he knew who the man was?" he continued.

"He didn't know. I know. I should have informed him of who he was before I made such a drastic decision...." Evelyn answered.

Akisame sighed a little. "Well...no point in dwelling on it. I think-"

RING RING RING!

The datapad in his hand began to ring, signaling a phone call. "Hold for just a second." he said to Evelyn, standing up and facing away from her, albeit still in the same room while talking over the phone in a calm voice.

"Hello?...Yeah...Yeah it's all good I'm finishing up right now...She did what?....That little snot.........Well sure, if that's what you two want to do....Yeah I'll bet she'd love to see those.....Okay...Alright I'm leaving right now....I love you too Sophie....bye."

He then hung up the phone and placed it in his pocket, turning back to face Evelyn. "Sorry about that. Soifon and Eve are wanting to go to a light show later tonight and they were wondering how much longer I would be." he said.

"I don't want to keep you from your family." Evelyn said smoothly, turning her face away from Akisame as she spoke. "So if you wish to end this early, I understand."

"It's fine..." he said in an equally smooth voice. "...I apologize for disrupting your peace in such an adrupt manner. Thank you for your cooperation."

He then turned and opened the door that kept him in the room. As he prepared to exit, he turned back to glance at her one more time.

"Get well soon Mrs. McTavish."

"Mhm...."

That being said, Evelyn allowed herself to slide back into a laying position, the back of her head resting against her pillow. Now, with her closed eyes, it appeared as if she had fallen asleep instantly, as if she had not been awoken at all.

Invitation From the Clique
It had been a few hours since Akisame had left Evelyn to herself. Her expression was more peaceful than it ever would have been as she slept, her folded hands resting on her chest. Her chest rose and fell with each breath that she took, and her breaths were steady and stable - a clear sign that she was recovering rather quickly from her wounds. An earnest person might see her recovery as quick as within the hour.

There had been no nurses or doctors to check up on her, allowing her to get an undisturbed sleep. She really had nothing else to do other than lay in the bed, for she was sure she would get scolded if she attempted to leave. The only sounds were the constant, steady, and rhythmic beeping of the monitors. But even that did not disturb her. Despite everything that happened to her, she seemed quite at ease.

The door then creaked open in a slow manner, revealing a masked man with a torn and frilled coat that covered all of his body. He wore a long hat that concealed the top of his head, and his mask was white with two eye slits that revealed nothing but blackness.

He then casually walked over next to Evelyn's bed, apparentley not caring that she was asleep, before placing a note down gently onto her folded hands...

"Mmmm....."

The sudden touch made Evelyn groan a little. She slowly opened her eyes out of instinct, her expression slightly confused as she stirred. Because she was just coming out of sleep, she did not yet pay attention to the messenger that had given her the message.

As the masked man slowly backed his hand away, he turned around and proceeded to leave the room, gently shutting the door behind him...

Evelyn's ears jerked slightly, and her eyes widened to their full stature. She immediately turned her head towards the spot where the door had been. "What the.... was someone in my room just now....?" She thought to herself, rising to a sitting position in her bed. "Probably just a nurse or doctor checking up on me and didn't want to disturb my sleep...."

She closed her eyes, directing her attention to the letter in her hands. "Hello, what's this....?"

She grasped the letter with both hands, her fingers prying at the mouth in order to open the envelope. She slid the letter out, placed the empty envelope beside her, and unfolded the letter itself in order to view its contents. With one hand holding the middle of the letter, she used a finger to trace its face. Because she was blind, there was only one way in which she could read the letter: Braille. She wondered how exactly did the messenger know she was blind, but didn't allow herself to divulge on it.

"Dear Evelyn...." She read out loud. "If you are reading this, then you are aware that you've attracted the interests of an old friend. You may not know me, but I knew you from the very beginning. If you would, please come to the Okinawa Islands and meet me in the underground caves. Perhaps you will recognize me from my title.... after all, ones with names for themselves aren't too far away from one another." She stopped tracing the words, lowering her hand from the letter and letting it rest in her lap.

"An old friend...." She muttered to herself, taking in a deep breath and sighing heavily. "Now who would I know to send me such a letter....?" She folded the letter back up before placing it back within the envelop and closing it. She reached over to her nightstand, resting it on the flat surface. "Well, I can't dwell too much on it now..... I'll wait until I'm cleared out." With that being said, she nestled herself back within the covers, laying her head on the pillow.

A Beautiful Exchange
Nearly three hours later, the sky had transformed from golden, into black as the sour yellow clouds passing over head visage was reflected by an equally colored moon. The upper section of the city was still shining with it's golden tint, matching almost perfectly with the sky. The combination made it seem as if this part of the city was now the lower section.

Within what was called the "center" of the great city of Tokyo, was a rather large diamond shaped courtyard that stood outside of the largest tower in the city. There was a large crowd gathered both around and in the center, most were dressed rather fancily, while some were simply casual. It was here that a festive light show was taking place, in which little flares would fire into the sky and create brilliant streams of light that would reflect the northern lights.

Joining the crowd was a small group of four. A tall man known as Akisame, wearing his same attire from the hospital, and with him was his wife Soifon, who wore a pair of black sweatpants and a brown fur coat. Resting in her arms was a small infant wearing a tiny black shirt and small purple pants and bare feet. The infant was awake, but it was quiet and it looked around at all of the people oohing and aahing at both the lights and her. Soifon broke their silence by speaking to their fourth companion. "Thank you again for coming Brina. I don't know what little Eve would have done had you not been within her radius." she said in a gentle voice.

"It's no problem, sensei...."

The companion in question was a female who had a somewhat unique attire compared to the rest of the crowd - something which caught a few eyes. She was wearing a sleeveless, white shirt tinted with gray due to the night sky's influence. There was a black sash around her waist. Below that, she was wearing shorts that reached down to the upper thigh. Her brown hair was tied in a short ponytail at the top of her head, instead of the long one she usually had at the bottom. Her trademark smile was on her face as she stood by her companions, her brown eyes looking on with interest at the fireworks for a moment before feasting themselves on to Soifon. "I always try to come visit when I have free time, so you don't really have to thank me...." She continued.

Soifon smiled as she turned her gaze back forward. "Sure I do. After all..."

When she said that, Evelyn turned her eyes up to look at one of the lights that exploded with a brilliant blue light. She gasped before smiling and clapping her hands twice, giggling as she did so.

Soifon looked over to her daughter and chuckled a little at Evelyn's reaction. "...Eve wouldn't have anyone to play with." She then directed her words to Evelyn, tickling the infant with her nose, which in turned caused her to giggle more. "Wouldn't she? Wouldn't she?"

Akisame gave a smile of happy approval as he watched the two goof around with one another. Such a peaceful feeling this was...

After laughing a little with Soifon and the child, Brina directed her attention back to the lighting, her arms folded behind her back as she watched the display. It was moments like this that she really seemed to enjoy the outside. Even if it was artificial, she didn't mind the brilliant and artistic way the fireworks were brightened up. She certainly couldn't regret coming with them. Her only disappointment was that her father wasn't here to join them.

"He's such a loner...." She thought to herself, though out of teasing for Haralson.

Akisame then shielded his eyes with his left hand as a pink light emerged from one of the projectiles. "...Ow..." he said in a low and goofy tone.

Soifon looked over at his direction with a slight hint of concern. "What's wrong?" she said

He rubbed his eyes a few times before looking forward once more. "It's the synthetic eyes. Pink and bright things don't work for them all that much." he said in the same voice.

Soifon scoffed and rolled her eyes, slightly shifting Evelyn up a little more over her right shoulder before looking back at him. "Well why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have suggested we come if we knew that." she said with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

He simply shrugged it off. "Don't get your panties in a wad it's nothing to worry about. Besides it's not like they're going to use just pink right?"

Right then, Soifon punched him in his right arm with her left free one with a bit of force, causing him to grasp it in comical pain. Before he could even react, another pink firework emerged and made his eyes shiver in an equally comical fashion.

"That's what you get for bringing that form of my attire into conversation in such a rude way." Soifon said with annoyance.

"Karma does not like your lack of chivalry in such situations, Akisame." Brina said in a comical interjection, popping up from the bottom of their vision briefly when she made the statement.

Akisame rubbed his arm a little more before looking at Brina, one of his eyes closed. "Yeah. Thanks for the reminder Brina." he said with comically pained annoyance

Evelyn then leaned back to where her tiny body could be seen more visibly as she looked at her father. "Na! Na!" she said, pointing her right finger at Akisame as if she was telling him no. Soifon's eyes widened as did her smiling open mouth as she looked towards Akisame and gave a cocky smile with squinted eyes. "The odds are against you here Aki." she said

The man simply glared at his daughter and pointed at her in comedy. "I think Tenshina put it best: You suck."

"Ah!" Brina blinked, looking away for a moment in thought. She switched her arm positions, folding them to her chest. "That's right. I should've invited him over with us.... he might've enjoyed this, too...."

Soifon looked over to Brina in reassurance. "Maybe we can still get ahold of him? See if he isn't too busy to come over?"

"Eh...."

Reaching to her sash, Brina slipped out what looked like a cellular phone. She dialed a few buttons, then looked on the LCD for a moment. "No, he's too busy with work to come...." She summarized, sighing lightly and slipping the phone back into her sash. "A shame.... guess I'll have to tell him all about it when we meet up again...."

Soifon tilted her head slightly. "I'm sorry. Maybe next time." she said, briefly putting her right hand on Brina's shoulder while holding Evelyn with her left one, before switching back to her old pose.

As the group stood near the edge of the diamond, Akisame noticed that most of the crowd was actually dancing as if they were in a ball within the rather large diamond shape. He almost asked Soifon if she wanted to dance, but he decided against it, since Evelyn would not make it very easy to.

Soifon on the other hand analyzed the crowd, looking for anyone outstanding. One particular person caught her eye for some reason. As she looked closer, she could tell that the man appeared to be in his early 20's, had black hair that was swept forward, was wearing a black and purple suit with a classic watch hooked to his coat and extended to his pants via chain and black gloves on his hands. He had orange eyes and he was talking on what appeared to be a cell phone. After rolling his eyes in response to what the other line said, the man quickly noticed Soifon and gave her a friendly smile before looking over to Brina and widening his eyes slightly. He then retained his friendly gaze as he looked back at Soifon, putting the now hung up phone into his pants right pocket, before facially motioning Soifon to get Brina's attention.

Soifon smiled in response and nodded in acceptance. She looked over to Brina, who's form was illuminated by a green light from a firework. "Hey Brina." she said. "I think that boy over there wants to dance with you." she said in a teasing manner.

"Hm?"

Curiosity dawning on her face, Brina turned around to see where her former master was pointing.

Her eyes widened slightly upon seeing his form. In the current attire he was in, he looked so.... spectacular and classy. In her casual, eye-candy attire, it made her feel somewhat insecure to be in his presence. Yet, if he was willing to show an interest in her, then how bad could it be? A slight blush came over her face, and she couldn't help the small smile that crossed it.

"All right, then...." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling it. Then, she allowed herself to walk over towards the man, waving behind her. "Wish me luck, sensei...."

Soifon simply smiled with her teeth showing as she watched her former apprentice walk on towards the man. "You'll do fine Brina, just work your charm."

As she came closer to him, he began to walk towards her with his friendly smile, his eyes squinted slightly in a collected manner, his hands in his pockets. As they came closer, the man held out his right hand to her in a professional manner before bowing slightly, closing his eyes as he did so. "My name is Lee, to whom do I owe this pleasure?" he said in a charming voice, opening his eyes to their collected slints.

A composed giggle escaped the girl's lips, and she put on her own smile. "The name's Brina..." She answered readily, reaching out to slip her left hand into his right. "The pleasure's all mine, Lee...."

His calm smile then cracked slightly to reveal a glistening set of teeth before speaking again, gently and slightly wrapping his fingers around her newly acquired hand. "Brina?" he said in his still charmed american accent. "What a lovely name. Would you care sharing a dance with me, Ms. Brina?" He didn't bother asking for her last name, to him, doing so was a rather rude gesture.

"Of course not...." Was the polite answer of the girl. She gave a brief wink in return for his charm. "I'm all yours...."

He let his teeth hide behind his smiling lips as he slowly stood straight up, still holding her hand, and stepped backwards a little bit, letting her form follow his. Then, with a gentle gesture, he took hold of Brina's other hand and held it in an upward position, just slightly lower in elevation compared to their other set of hands. They then began the classic step-by-step dance manouver, looking into each other's eyes with charm and excitement.

"So..." Lee said in the same low, charming voice. "...What brings a lovely specimen such as yourself to Tokyo hm?"

"Oh.... nothing above the norm." Brina somehow managed to keep her calm and pleasant tone even as she allowed herself to listen to the purr within his voice. She liked it, as much as she liked the feel of his fingers intertwined with hers. "I'm just here with family and friends. We came to see the light-show.... but I think I might've gotten a bit more out of it than I thought I would...."

"Ah yes, they do this every...let's see what day is it....?" he said, tilting his head to the right and turning his eyes upward in thought, before coming back down to meet her gaze again. "...5th of January that's it. Yeah every 5th of this month they put on a little light show like this, attracting visitors from all around. Some say that they last all night long."

"All night long, huh....?" Brina murmured, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "That's good. I don't think I want to leave this so soon...."

He chuckled slightly, keeping his eyes in their cool and collected half open slits, his white teeth showing again. "Really? Am I doing that good? Or is it just the lights?" he said in a low and humor filled tone. As he said that, a golden light popped above them, letting a rather beautiful display show itself over the pair.

It was for a brief moment that Brina turned her gaze towards the brilliant display. But it was only for a brief moment before she settled her eyes back into the gaze of what she thought to be the better of the two. "Oh, I don't know...." She answered, slightly teasing him. "You could do a bit better...."

He raised his right eyebrow while smiling still. "Oh can I now?" he said in an equally teasing manner. "Well...I've never really been much of a dancer, but I do recall an old trick that my father taught me..."

Then, in a quick manner, he let go of her right hand and held her left one up higher above both of them. With an unpainful and gentle twist, he caused Brina to slowly spin in a single circle. As he did so, and while still keeping a gentle touch onto her left index finger, he quickly spun around her still spinning form in the opposite direction. While she was spinning to the left, he spun to the right in a greater display of speed. Then, with amazing yet gentle accuracy, he stopped both of them right in the same position that they were in before the trick was started, their hands held back in each other's hands.

Soifon smiled as did Akisame with a bit of entertained surprise at the man's skill. Evelyn looked on and gave a slight huffing noise as she then looked away from them, putting her right hand in her mouth. Soifon looked over to her with a gentle look while patting her on the back. "Hey you quit that. Give aunt Brina some alone time."

"Wah--!"

A slight yelp of surprise came from Brina when she found herself spun around. However, the surprise was only quick to last. She allowed him to spin her, moving with a flow to satisfy his own movements. She didn't have to lift a finger when he made his movements, relaxing back into her immediate position once her hands found their way around his again. "Well, I've got to say.... not too bad, for someone who claims not to be much of a dancer...." She complimented lightly, continuing to move in step with him.

Lee simply chuckled slightly once more, letting his teeth show through a narrow crack in his mouth. "Well, I'm glad you approve cause ah....that's pretty much it besides this step to step thing we have going on." he finished with a gentle smile.

As they continued to move for a few more minutes, Lee spoke once more, hoping to break the cycle of silence. "I must say, a person such as yourself could certainly stand out in a crowd." he said in a charming and polite voice. Hopefully, she wouldn't think that he was referencing her outfit, when in fact he was commenting on her own personal and facial attractions...

"I try my best to...." Brina answered, opening her eyes from their closed position once more. Her gaze met his once more. "It's rather boring when everyone looks the same, don't you agree?"

"Indeed." He said, still looking into her eyes with his same expression. "I don't like it when everyone looks so alike, it's better when a little...spice or variety is mixed in with the whole recipe." Slowly he switched the elevation between their hands, and turning their directions to where both were in the same spot as the other previously was. "Funny how such a little bit of something can brighten up an even bigger something..." he said, waiting for her reply.

A slight smirk came across Brina's lips. "Now I know you aren't just talking about the lights..." She said in good humor, her eyes narrowing into slightly mischievous slits. "Although they make this all the better...."

His gentle grin widened somewhat as he chuckled again lowly. "Ah, you wound me Ms. Brina. A lowly person such as myself could not possibly hope to flirt with a fine example of radiance such as yourself." He said as he briefly closed his eyes with his chuckle, before opening them again. "Such a shame that I will only be here for tonight. Such fond acquaintences we could make with each other, no?"

"Only tonight?"

Her eyes contorted out of disappointed surprise for a brief moment. She let out a light sigh, closing her eyes and hanging her head a little. "Well, I suppose there's no helping it, I suppose...." She admitted in resolution. "You're probably a busy man with places to go, and I'm a busy woman myself. But I have to agree.... it's fun while it lasts...."

"Yes, such inconvienances life can make for one..." he said as his face became equally disappointed as well. "But with people like the Black Wolf or incidents like the train crash earlier today going on, it truly can't be helped..."

"Wait a minute...." Brina's expression faded to a slightly confused look. "I thought that train crash earlier was due to technical difficulties. What's with this mention of the Black Wolf?" Her deductive senses kicked in right away. Because he had linked the two within a single sentence so casually, it couldn't have been a slip of the tongue. She also happened to know who exactly the Black Wolf was; a terrorist individual with a criminal carnival of killers to back up his doings.

There was one question she needed to ask herself.

What position was this man in, when it came to that?

Lee gave her his signature charming smile and retained his collected half lidded eyes. "Heh, technical difficulties they say?" he said with a slight scoff as he closed his eyes and tilted his head downward. "Ah the lies governments will tell us to keep us safe."

He then looked back up at her with his previous look. "If it was due to technical difficulties, how would one explain the gunshots heard after words? Or the two corpses with gunshot wounds in them?" he finished.

"....I see."

Brina closed her eyes in thought, the smile fading slightly but not leaving her face. Her voice was low as she spoke to him. "To speak in such a manner would mean that you aren't part of any law enforcement. You can't be a civilian, for all of them are unaware of what really happened. Lastly, the fact that you're able to blend in so easily with the crowd tells me that you weren't a henchmen...."

Her smile widened a little more.

"So that leaves only one option as to who you are.... and I think we both know what it is."

He smiled a little more, raising his left eyebrow. "Who I am? Heh, if you're referring to the head of security for Yang Shao Industries, the company that produces the trains such as that one, then you're most certainly correct."

"Ooooh, he's good...." Brina thought to herself, having to admire his cover. She would have to maneuver herself a little better than that if she wanted him to admit to his doings.

"Really....?" She purred, shifting her fingers in one of his hands a little. "I don't know about that...." Her voice was a little bit playful, and it seemed as if she was treating this as a simple game.

Lee gave a low chuckle in response to her muses. He knew what she was getting at, and given how perceptive she had just revealed herself to be, it was only a matter of time before he would be forced to spill the beens.

He would simply have to play along.

"Yeah, the train that crashed earlier was actually a new experimental one that had been introduced just last month. My manager and I, along with several others, were observing the train's movements and seeing if it's functionality and other systems were in check." he said, still keeping his smiling and serene expression locked onto her playful one.

"Since nearly an hour after the crash, my coherts and I have been paying compensation to the victims and their families..." his eyes closed and he looked down somewhat in a sorrowful expression before looking back up at her with his original face. "...It's the noble thing to do, no?"

"Yeah..." Brina agreed. "But there's something else...."

She gently squeezed one of his hands - that which happened to be his gun hand. "All I need to do is apply a bit of pressure to your hands.... and I can feel callouses underneath your gloves. From the pattern in which they stem, it seems you've been using a hand gun within the recent hours. Such bruises would only come from the likes of a high-caliber weapon. But considering the nature of the Black Wolf, fighting him directly would've not only been the only option with such a weapon, but also next to impossible to survive through."

Her eyes half-lidded slightly.

"Am I wrong?"

And there he had fallen.

He chuckled slightly louder as a blue light popped above him, but he kept his friendly gaze on her. "Ah, I underestimate you Ms. Brina." He said in his polite and low voice, still keeping the dancing moves fluent. "I had known that you were perceptive and whatnot, but I didn't expect you to learn my cover so quickly..."

He then waved his hair behind him somewhat as it was partially blocking his vision. "My name is Rushifa Sureiya, also known as "The Black Wolf..." Has he continued to speak, a fire work sailed overhead and popped with a blood red light. "What would you like to know...Ms. Brina?"

Although keeping her eyes locked within his, Brina was inwardly cheering like a moron for her deductive skills.

"Well... firstly, I'd like to know why you're killing Soul Reapers, even those that have long retired from the Gotei 13...." She began softly. "Why do you seek the lives of those that have long since parted ways with such a tyrannical and hypocritical society?"

He grinned in a charming manner. "It is as you said, they are and were pawns of a tyrannical and hypocritical society...but there is a fine difference between out right quitting the Gotei 13 and simply retiring from them." He continued to dance with her, reveling in what may soon turn out to be tension between them. "You see...in my earlier antics, I simply hunted down active members. But it wasn't until one certain incident with a Vice Captain, that I learned that a "retired" Soul Reaper, is nothing more than a simple mole, an agent of the 13 who is "officially" retired, but they still do favors and take jobs for them."

Out of an idle motion, Brina traced her upper lip with the tip of her tongue. She had to admit.... she too was getting excited from the revelations. She would've expected him to pull out a knife in his sleeve and perform a "silent kill" on her at that moment. But, of course, it was probable that he didn't know who she was. The fact that they were dancing so casually only enhanced that. She decided to test him with her next question.

"So.... what would you do...." She said coyly. "If I told you that I myself.... might be one of these "retired" members....?"

His serene face relaxed and he gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Ms. McTavish....Soul Reapers that openly rebel against Soul Society...like you, your father, and your brother...are perfectly safe from my antics. You have nothing to fear." He then glanced over to Soifon and Akisame, both of which were now cuddled together with their baby on a bench that was facing to the duo's right. "And neither do they."

Brina gave a slight nod in return. "Thank you...." She said politely and with genuine gratitude. "Now that I know who you are, though...." She closed her eyes and smiled, seemingly to herself. But her words were still directed to the man she was dancing with. "I can safely say that this might not be the last time we'll see each other."

His grin lowered to a smile and his eyes became partially closed. "I do have the means to make that so..."

Letting go of her right hand briefly, Rushifa reached into his purple shirt and pulled out what appeared to be two necklaces with silver crosses on each of them, one significantly bigger than the other, that were around his neck. Using his free hand and while they were still dancing, he took the smaller necklace off of his neck and then gently took back Brina's hand, sliding the necklace into hers. "This is a special amulet that my mother gave me before I enlisted..." he started, keeping a warm and honest look on his face as he looked into her brown eyes.

"...They say that when two people seperatley have these unique amulets, one has the big one, and the other has the small one, the two individuals are destined to meet each other. How many times and what ever places they may be in...depends on the ones who wear them." He said. As they danced more, a pink light shined above them with a popping noise as he continued to look into her gaze with warmth. "Until now, I have had yet to find an individual such as yourself that would be worthy to hold it." He gently squeezed her hand slightly. "Please, I insist that you take it."

"....on one condition."

After listening to his speech, Brina gently relieved him of the amulet and held it within her hand for a moment. Then, she moved the necklace over her hand and around her own neck with one smooth motion. "Do make this night as memorable as possible...." She whispered, using her newly free hand to wrap around the middle section of his arm. She moved it around her so that he would be at a perfect position to hold her around the waist. She moved her hand that positioned his arm there to his forearm, while still keeping her other hand within his other one.

His easy smile remained as a slight sparkle briefly shined in his eyes. "Well that depends..." he said in his low and easy voice as he positioned himself to where both of their chest and torso areas were gently pressed against each other, slowly wrapping his arm around her waist. He then came a little closer to her left ear and whispered. "...What did you have in mind?"

Brina was certain that her heart had never beat so rapidly before in her life.

The way Rushifa wrapped his arms around her her and the way his breath hit her ear was sending chills down her spine. Certainly, the man knew what he was doing and how to pick up on her hints. "Mmmmm....." She let out another soft purr of satisfaction, clearly happy with how he was treating her. "I'm really not sure, considering you're only here for tonight.... but, considering how adaptive you are.... maybe you can figure something out for the both of us...."

He backed his head up slightly to where their faces were just a few inches away from each other, his gentle smile still present. "Oh I have something in mind as I'm sure you've already found out..." he began as he slowly slid his right hand down her left arm and then gently placed it onto her upper back. "...but it's rude for the male to start..."

"You're such a gentleman...."

Now it was her turn to pick up where he left off. Taking the initiative and following his hint, she closed her eyes and leaned into him completely. She placed her lips on his own in a passionate kiss. Because both of his arms were wrapped around her, she placed both of her hands on his own back in order to keep the balance. It was a rather blissful and wonderful feeling, to be in such a position....

Rushifa then closed his eyes as well as Brina placed her lips upon his own. He slowly tightened his hold on her in a gentle manner as they kept their lips in their locked position. Under his exterior, he was slightly nervous. Even though it sounded rather odd, Brina was the first woman that he had actually ever kissed before, he and Temari never had the chance to do so. But with Brina...an odd sense of inner peace seemed to transfer from her lips into his own soul. All of the problems that he had in the past, Temari, Evelyn, the faces of those that he had slaughtered, all of it just seemed to...dissapear with her touch...

Brina didn't want to pull away.

But she knew she had to.

After a moment or so, she gently pulled her lips away from his, smiling in content. "Now.... for the remainder of the time that we're here.... let's stay.... just....like....this." She closed her eyes and once again immersed herself to the sounds of the environment going on around them, the lights continuing to go off, and the soft music playing within the background.

Rushifa then slowly pulled his lips off of hers as she did, a satisfied and understanding look in his face as he listened to her smooth words with an easy smile. "Sure...whatever you want..."

They then smoothly danced to the near perfect atmosphere while keeping their pose, lights of all kinds of different colors popping above them, the music matching perfectly with their movements. For the first time in years, Rushifa felt happy to be in the presence of another Soul Reaper...without the want to hurt or kill them.

At the bench mentioned earlier, Akisame had dozed off, while Soifon and Evelyn watched their friend witness love for the first time. Soifon gave a slight smirk while watching them. ''"Way to go kiddo..." ''she said with happiness.

Evelyn on the other hand simply crossed her arms and huffed again while watching them, earning her a comically annoyed glare from her mother.

It had been nearly thirty minutes since the pair had resumed their dance and swayed to the music. By that time, a large portion of the visitors had left the scene, though still leaving a rather large crowd behind in the diamond. Only a few were still dancing, including Brina and Rushifa.

At this point, their pose was much more intimate than before. Brina's head laid softly on Rushifa's chest, while the right side of his face laid gently on top of her head. His eyes were closed as he tried to enjoy the moment, until...

RING RING RING!

Rushifa then gave an annoyed scoff as he slowly took his head off of Brina's and pulled out the phone. It was a text message that was done in symbols that the average person's eye wouldn't be able to recognize.

"....that's your call, isn't it....?" Brina asked softly. She didn't raise her head up from its position on his chest just yet, but she did look up at him. Her tone was slightly sad. She was expecting him to leave, but.... even knowing that, she was still reluctant to let him go. It was the curse of getting caught up in the moment.

Rushifa gave a slight sigh while looking at the phone, before looking down at Brina with an equally sad expression, his lips in a slight frown. "Yeah....yeah that's my call..."

He let his right arm slowly slide off of her back and down to where he could gently hold her left hand, lifting it up slightly. He then let his other arm slowly come off of her waist and folded it behind his back. He then bent down slightly and kissed her uplifted hand. "Thank you for the dance...Brina..." he began. His reluctance to leave almost hindered him unable to speak.

A slight blush came across Brina's face as Rushifa kissed her hand, her other one folded behind her own back. "N...no....thank you...for everything." She managed to say, giving a weak smile. "This was probably something we both needed."

He chuckled a little more. "Yeah really..." he said with a gentle smile, his eyes still looking into hers. He then stood straight up and gently took her other hand within his free one. He now held both of her hands in a loose fashion, his gaze now sorrowful, but reassuring. "Trust me...as long as you have that amulet on....we'll see each other again." he said with a slight smile cracking the left side of his face.

"I'm going to hold you to that...." Brina answered, her smile growing a little bit wider. "So don't leave me hanging, all right....?"

His smile widened just a little bit as he leaned forward and gave her a light kiss to her right cheek. He spoke as he slowly withdrew. "You have my word."

With that, he slowly let go of her hands and turned to walk away from her, his head looking back at her as he did so, and his hands now in both of his pockets.

After tossing one more look in Rushifa's direction, Brina turned around and walked away in the opposite direction, straight towards the ones that had accompanied her. She couldn't help the rather cheery look when she turned away from him, unable to contain her happiness at that moment. She knew she was probably over-reacting, but... she felt as if she could bounce on a cloud! The light blush was still so present on her face as she walked.

Soifon noticed Brina walking over to them and she stood up to meet her, still holding Evelyn in her arms over her right shoulder. "So....?" she began, a slight grin on her cool and collected face. She could tell that Brina was overjoyed, one could see the blush for miles. "...How did it go?"

"Better than I ever would've imagined!" Brina said, the bottom of her eyes formed into a slight upside-down U shape. "I think we hit it off real well, considering it was only a first meeting. He definitely knew what he was doing and how to treat a woman. Best thing is that it won't be the last time I'll see him!"

Soifon chuckled as her grin widened. "Aww I'm so happy for you! What is he like exactly? He seems rather collected and calm, well from what I saw."

Evelyn then looked over to Brina and stuck her bottom lip out and crossed her arms somwhat, her eyes looked like they were wounded, but she is a baby after all...

Soifon noticed her daughter's gesture and scoffed, rolling her eyes back to Brina. "She cannot get over the fact that you like someone besides her." she said. While her words were now directed at Brina, Soifon was looking at her daughter's pouting face.

This made Brina's smile turn a bit mischievous. She leaned over a little, placing her hands on her knees. One of her eyes closed while the other was kept open. "Sorry, Eve. But I just can't focus on you all the time...." She teased, reaching over with her finger to tickle the child.

Although she giggled at Brina's tickling, she turned back to her pouting gaze and looked away from Brina when she was done, earning another scoff from her mother. Soifon then began to rock her around slightly while looking back at Brina. "Hopefully she'll go back to sleep like him." she said while glancing at her husband. "I'm thinking about just leaving him here." she said in good humor.

"He fell asleep?" Brina asked in surprise, looking over Soifon's shoulder and looking at the dozing Akisame. "How could one even do that, what with the fireworks and all?"

The woman gave a sigh as she looked over at him, still rocking Evelyn around. "Unless I'm onto him, he's the laziest thing to have ever stepped foot on this planet. I've jumped on him about it time and time again, but he's just as stubborn as I am when it comes to sleep."

Brina's expression was thoughtful, a finger placed to her mouth out of thought. "Should I wake him?" She questioned, looking over at the sleeping man as well.

Soifon's smiling expression mixed with a thoughtful one as she looked at Akisame, then to Brina, and then to Evelyn, before looking back at Brina. "How about you and Evelyn wake him up? Let's see what they both do."

Evelyn, by apparant instinct, instantly turned to Brina and began reaching out for her.

"Hmmm.... you have an idea?"

With curiosity dawning on her, Brina reached out to take the child into her own arms. She turned her attention to Akisame, slowly walking over to him and sliding herself into a position in where Evelyn could be within reach of his face. It was just an assumption.... but she couldn't help but be curious.

Akisame's head was tilted down and he was breathing gently, his arms spread over the top of the bench and his mouth closed. As Evelyn inched closer, she reached up her left hand and popped her father on the forehead, letting a happy and brief yell emerge from her mouth.

Needless to say, Akisame freaked out.

"AH!!!!!!!"

With a brief yell, Akisame immediatley reared back and forced the bench to fall back with him. Both of them crashed onto the smooth concrete ground behind them in a comical manner. Soifon couldn't help but cover her mouth in laughter. Evelyn simply gooed and clapped at waking her father up in such a fashion. As he laid on the ground in a manner that would make anyone laugh, Akisame lifted up his head to look at the two females that had awakened him. "What...what the hell was that???" he said in a drowsy voice.

However, Brina could not respond.

Holding the child in her arms once again, she had her head tilted up to the sky, laughing hard at his unfortunate wake-up call. Somehow, she was able to stand up in an idle posture while not falling over from the hilarity that the situation ensued. Had it not been for her earlier fun, she would've managed to say at least something. But she was laughing far too much for any words.

He then stood himself up and set in to dusting his outfit off as Soifon walked over to him with her arms crossed, her face giving a cocky smile as she spoke. "Your daughter and Brina just gave you a rather painful wake up call, if i'm not mistaken."

He rubbed the spot on his head that was sprained, opening one eye to look at Brina and Evelyn. "...Man...you guys really suck..." he said in good humor, though one could not tell as much from his comically annoyed face.

Evelyn simply clapped her hands more and laughed with Brina.

"Ah....!" Finally, the girl managed to get a hold of herself, looking at the man with a mix of sheepishness and amusement. "I'm so sorry, Akisame.... but it was such an obvious thing to do, even your child knew it...." She said jokingly.

He gave a sigh as he let his hand fall down. "No worries Brina. How did your ah..."dance" go tonight?"

That's when Evelyn gave another huff and reached for her mother, who gently took her out of Brina's arms, still chuckling at her husband's reaction.

Brina gave a teasing grin, folding her hands behind her back. "Good enough to make little Eve jealous of the one I was dancing with." She answered readily, with another teasing laugh for the infant.

Akisame scoffed as he looked at his daughter with one eyebrow raised. He wanted to reference how Evelyn and Brina were comparable to Soifon and Yoruichi, but he knew how his wife would react. So he simply wrapped his arm around both of them as Soifon leaned against the right side of his chest. "Do you want to come back with us to the hotel Brina? We have an extra bedroom." Soifon said to her former apprentice. Evelyn looked at Brina with her bottom lip stuck out, as if she wanted her to come.

"Well, I--"

Just before Brina could deny, she took once look at Evelyn's pleading face.... and immediately sank in. "Gah, I can't say no to a face like that!" She whined, her shoulders sagging in defeat. "All right, all right! I'll come with you...."

Evelyn practically yelled as she reached for Brina with enough force to have Soifon nearly lose her grip of her. "Whoa now easy easy little girl." she said with another chuckle, catching her daughter and holding her little body to where it was facing Brina. "Heh, you'll have enough time to play back at the room, alright?"

Evelyn then reluctantly gave in and relaxed slightly, before taking everyone off guard by reaching for Brina again.

Of course, Brina was prepared. Gently, she relieved Soifon of her burden and held it within her arms. "You are so picky, you know that?" She teased Evelyn, lowering her head down and nuzzling her in an affectionate gesture.

As he watched his daughter play with Brina, Akisame couldn't help but look over to where her "date" was. The young man was sitting on a concrete table speaking to one another. The man looked over to Akisame and smiled slightly, giving him a friendly nod, to which Akisame did the same. He then rubbed his left eye before exhaling. "Alright guys let's go, I can't stay on my feet for too long."

He and Soifon then turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction, expecting Brina and Evelyn to follow. Soifon was still leaned against him with her arm on his back, while his arm was around her waist as they both walked.

Of course, Brina was not too far behind him with little Evelyn in her arms. In order to buy time, she decided to sing to the child as a means to help her go to sleep. "Oh, holy night...." She hummed. "The stars are brightly shi~ning...."

She managed to keep a firm pace with Akisame and Soifon as she continue to sing out the melody in a quiet, yet rather beautiful and accurate tone.

"it is the night... of our dear Savior's birth~..."

As Evelyn lay in Brina's arms, she laughed slightly in enjoyment at Brina's song. As she sung further, Evelyn's little eyes fluttered to a close, and thus she fell asleep with her mouth closed.

Soifon closed her eyes as she listened to Brina's beautiful voice, letting it mix rather perfectly with the atmosphere.

"Long lay the world, in sin and sorrow pi~ning, til he appear'd.... and your soul~ felt it's worth~...."

It was almost as if the night itself had gone silent under the young woman's singing. The moon seemed to glow brighter, its light shining on the city they were in. It was as if everything had stopped just to listen to Brina fill the air with the melodic lullaby.

Certainly, a good night had passed.

A New Age is Dawning...
Rushifa sat upon the concrete table, watching the young woman and her friends leave the area. He leaned forward and sat his elbows on his knees, folding his hands together and placing them on his mouth in a thoughtful manner. He closed his eyes as he listened to Brina's singing, it was so beautiful and harmonic, that he could hear it all the way from where he was. He even started to pick up where she left off, albeit singing quietly to himself.

"...A thrill of hope...the weary world rejoi~ces...for yonder breaks....a new and glorious morn..."

He stopped his little melody when 3 well dressed men walked up to him and sat next to him on the table and it's respective seats. Two of them wore sunglasses (at night) and had short black hair along with a fair build. The third one was a tall, middle aged man with a bald head and a brown beard that went around his mouth and around his chin, as well as a celtic cross tattoo on the back of his head. He wore a black and blue suit in comparison to the purple of Rushifa's, as well as a brown leather coat with fur in it.

He sat next to Rushifa on the seat below him, pulling out a pack of cigars and handing one to him, to which he kindly took. They then lit the two products as the bald headed man spoke first in a raspy british accent. "Well now...looks like little Ru Ru has found himself a sweet lass he has..." he said in good humor, exhaling a breath of smoke.

Rushifa smiled and scoffed. "She's no ordinary sweet lass Lars..." he said, calling the man by his nickname. "If she was a sweet lass, I wouldn't have given her one of my amulets."

Lars cocked an eyebrow at him, albeit keeping his friendly smirk. "Well now...she certainly isn't an ordinary one if she could fall for you."

Rushifa cocked a similar look back at Lars before exhaling some smoke into his face, forcing him to comically cough slightly. Rushfia's eyes then became serious as he continued to watch Brina walk away. "Any news on the other McTavish?" he said.

Lars regained his figure and pose. "Yeah. Some of our agents managed to place a camera in her room prior to her being brought their. Someone brought her a note not just a few hours ago." He inhaled another breath of his cigar before resuming. "The note was in braile, but when we replicated the note based on the feed, one of our boys managed to incript it. Someone wants to have her as a bodyguard for his base at Okinawa."

Rushifa then stood up and discarded his cigar butt, still keeping his gaze on Brina. "When will she be leaving?" he asked.

Lars then through his cigar away as well and walked next to Rushifa. "Sometime early tomorrow, best we can tell. We have agents on the outside watching her every move. She won't escape from us." he said with reassurance. He then noticed Rushifa trail into thought watching the woman leave. "Is she going to get us closer to her?" Lars asked.

Rushifa simply sighed. "No. No I don't want her involved unless she wants to be. She doesn't know that her mother is alive, and I would prefer that she didn't find out..." he then closed his eyes and looked down. "...She's a little something I'm going to be..." he could not help but look up and and admire Brina's physical features before turning around and scratching the back of his head. "...something to keep and eye on."

Lars chuckled slightly as he lit another cigar. "Ah you haven't changed a bit Ru." he said. "Not one bloody bit."

Rushifa scoffed slightly before taking on a serious tone. "Alright. Prep the boys and the truck." Knocking his contacts out of his eyes, he then turned to look at Lars with an excited yet cool gaze. "We're going to give her a little parting gift."

A Taste of the Scorched Earth
It was 2:05 PM.

Evelyn, after a final check-up by the nurses and doctors, was given clearance to leave the hospital. It was a bright and sunny day, with not too many cars out on the street. However, there were plenty of people that were walking about on the sidewalk to their respective locations. All-in-all, it was quite a good day to be outside.

As the woman walked with her walking "staff" in hand, she slowly made her way off of the "porch" of the front entrance and down the steps. Her gait was calm and steady, despite the obvious obstacle of being blind. She was able to navigate her way through the coming and going current of people with natural ease. Off of the short stairway and into the sidewalk, she relied on her other six senses in order to do the work for her as she walked. It was a rather curious sight for some to see; a blind woman easily roaming the area without need for anyone else.

Eventually, she made her way towards a street corner and, after staying still for a moment, raised her hand up in a hail for a taxi.

Sure enough, one taxi pulled over next to her and the back door of it opened automatically. Inside was an average built caucasion man with tan skin, messy shoulder length hair, sunglasses, and a soul patch for facial hair. He gave Evelyn a slight smile as he spoke to her, knowing her handicap. "Where to Mrs?" he said in a somewhat scottish sounding voice.

"Haneda Airport."

Her eyes closed, Evelyn made her way to the car, leaning over in order to slide into the back seat. She leaned out the doorway to grasp the handle of the open door and shut it. "I'm taking a plane to the Okinawa Islands." She explained, keeping a calm and somewhat formal tone of voice.

The man then raised an eyebrow while looking back at the road and joining the moving trail of traffic. "Okinawa eh?" he said in his unique voice. "Heard that the place has been abandoned for quite some time. Not trying to sound like a nosey little bother, but why would you be going there of all places?" he finished. His taxi was mostly black in coloration, with yellow stripes that symbolized it's status.

"Apparently, it's not as abandoned as one might think." Evelyn answered readily. "Someone from there sent me a letter to go there and meet up with them." Her answer was honest and true, and she didn't bother to hide behind any "enhancements".

"Ah. I see." he said in understanding.

The radio he had was playing a rather unique melody that gave both a sense of peace and excitement at the same time. The taxi driver simply whistled along to it, before resuming his conversation with Evelyn. "Been in Tokyo long? Just came here from my homeland a few months back to make a living. Get a different taste of atmosphere you get my meaning?"

As they rode along the road, the traffic was surprisingly smooth and fluent, barely stopping at any point. The section of the city was rather thick with skyscrapers though, and the airport that she mentioned earlier was nearly 6 miles from where they were.

"I just came in on the train involved in the incident yesterday." Evelyn explained, her hands folded in her lap. Her staff was resting right beside her. "It's a rather short stay, I understand. But I'm too much of a traveling woman to stay in one spot for long."

"A nomad are you?" the kind, albeit strange man commented, before returning to the topic of the train. "Aye, terrible little skirmish that was." He looked into the rear view mirror to mimic the effect of looking at her without totally taking his eyes off of the road. "My apologies for having to go through something like that on your first arrival." he continued.

As they talked, a rather large tunnel was in view nearly a mile from where they were. On the other side of it was a very wide road that was big enough to fit nearly 10 lines of traffic. The road was like a downward slope, in which led to an equally wide bridge that stretched nearly 4 miles to the airport, standing over the massive atlantic ocean.

"I lived, so it's only natural that I put it behind me." Evelyn answered, leaning her head back against the seat. She shifted one leg over the other to cross them, with her top "tapping" just above the ground. "But thanks for your concern."

"Aye." the man said in response. They then entered the tunnel, it's bright orange lights illuminating the car. "Ah bloody hell..." the man said, even with sunglasses he had to cover his eyes partially. "That's one thing about this town I don't like; the bloody colors."

Because Evelyn was blind, she had to smile. "At least you're able to see colors...." She said lightly. "Someone blind like me would get tired of seeing nothing but a black void all of the time...."

The man then chuckled slightly. "Ah my apologies for that. You know I used to be blind myself, still am slightly, but not to the point to where I can't drive." he finished with a smile.

To his right, a couple of lanes away from him, he noticed a large black semi auto truck with a large silver trailer on it's back. The driver was a bald man with a brown beard and wore a brown leather jacket with fur in it. He looked over at the taxi driver and tilted his head up briefly to symbolize a greeting. The scot simply held his hand up with a blank expression.

Of course, Evelyn could not see this. She simply sat still and remained silent, almost looking as if she was asleep.

As they came closer to the edge of the tunnel, the driver began humming to the pleasant tone playing on the radio. As he continued, they left the large tunnel and began going down the non-steep slope that led to the bridge. From what he could see, the airport took the guise of a city itself, albeit smaller in size to it's Tokyo counterpart. The view was rather daunting, the bridge itself was nearly 4 to 5 miles long, and it stretched over the part of the Atlantic Ocean that would have normally split the airport's island from Tokyo.

Then, the song on the radio changed from a peaceful melody, to a more heavy oriented one. "The hell..." the driver started. Distracted by the change in music, he didn't notice the 18 wheeler truck driver changing lanes to where he was but a few feet from the taxi. The driver of the truck then pulled out a 9mm pistol and shot the taxi driver straight through his head, killing him instantly. The taxi then skidded to the left, hitting the wall and continuing to go forward at increasing speeds due to the now dead driver's foot staying on the gas pedal.

It all happened within the blink of an instant. One moment, the driver was fine. The next, his signature had dropped right out of her senses.

VOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM~

As the car accelerated, its surviving occupant lurched back against the speed it was gaining. Her eyes opened and widened in shock, and her heart was accelerating as much as the car itself was. Fighting against the momentum, she gritted her teeth and forced herself into the front side of the car. She grabbed the dead man by his collar and forced him into the passenger's seat before climbing in herself. Her hands gripped the steering wheel, and for a moment, she could feel fear within her heart. At such speed, she knew she couldn't drive the car herself.

So she would just have to stop it.

She forced her foot on the brake pedal.

SCREEEEEEEEEECH!

Friction came to life, and the taxi's tires were melting under the intense heat. However, little by little, the taxi began to stop. Within several seconds, it finally managed to cease movement with an abrupt halt. Somehow, she managed to make it from the brink of doom yet again.

But there was no time to celebrate.

She quickly jumped into the back seat, grabbed her pole, kicked one of the back doors open, and quickly ran out. She had to get out of here, now!

The truck driver snickered as he then rapidly turned his steering wheel to the left, with a large skidding noise, the truck turned and swung the trailer violently in the newly changed direction, swiping other cars and bystanders off of the bridge. When it became forward facing, the truck driver pressed down on the gas and went straight for Evelyn. He then turned the truck's wheel again, this time he made the truck turn left slightly, before making it go completley to the right, forcing the trailer to swerve to the right. When the ordeal stopped, the end of the trailer was facing Evelyn nearly 10 meters away. The back opened to reveal a young man with a black coat and black pants, along with a blue shirt and black shoes, accompanied by several other goons dressed in black and wearing clown masks. His black hair was messy and slightly neck length, matching his piercing red eyes, and in his right hand was a sword shaped like a large knife with a revolver like handle.

"Well well..." he began, taking easy steps towards her. The radio in the taxi was still playing the heavy music, of which seemed to be on a loop, playin the song over and over again. "...It appears fate is not really kind to one such as yourself."

"Rushifa....."

Evelyn's eyebrows narrowed, and her teeth gritted inside of her mouth. She swung her pole out, once again revealing the frightening three-pronged blade of her Yari. She held the staff with one hand, brandishing it in a defensive position and remaining silent as he approached.

Rushifa grinned in a sinister manner as she brandished her weapon. He continued to step forward, letting his sword drag along the ground, which in turn made some sparks fly from the tension between ground and metal. "Tell me...do you know how a wolf kills a snake dear Evelyn?"

As he said that, his blade began to engulf itself in a black and blue energy, as if he was preparing an attack. "They take them, then they swing them..." he then picked up his sword and began to twirl it around in a slow manner, letting the energy extend and become longer like a whip. "...around and around and AROUND!!!!"

With the last word, Rushifa then pointed his blade at Evelyn. "Okami no Haaku!" (Japanese: "Wolf's Grasp")

Then, a black and blue energy shot towards Evelyn while still connected to the sword, the end of it shaped like a claw of sorts, aiming to grab Evelyn and ruthlessly throw her around...

Quickly, Evelyn reacted.

She thrust her staff out once it came close, allowing the energy to grasp onto the blades. But the moment she latched onto it, the trapped metal glowed a brilliant yellow for a brief moment. Then, lightning bolts of the same color shot down, using the very energy Rushifa had utilized as a current to reach him. It was a wordless Tsuzuri Raiden Kidō spell. It wasn't meant to just shock him, but disrupt the energy flow of his very Zanpakutō and severely cripple his defense in one swift move.

"Oh Fuck!"

It was the first thought that came to his mind as the electric currents came straight for him. With a split second reaction, Rushifa then swung his blade to the right and forced the energy wave that he'd launched to discharge itself in the form of a rend attack away from him. The lightning unfortuanaley (for him) had been able to successfully nip him in his arm, sending a brief but painful stinging sensation into his body before he regained his fighting pose.

He gave a blood thirsty grin as he began to run straight towards Evelyn, dragging his sword along the ground as he did so. Nearly five meters away from her, he quickly fired two Kido Bolts towards her...

The woman stood her ground, unmoving in the manner of a stone wall. She gripped her staff with both hands, pulling the Yari back before swinging it, deflecting the two Kido bolts back towards Rushifa. However, in the wake of her swing, a burst of concentrated spiritual pressure was released in order to combine with the attack power of the reflected bullets. Throughout all of this, she continued to stand there in her spot.

Even though she was remaining silent, no readable expression on her face, the notion was clear.

She was mocking him.

And he knew it, but he knew that such a naive gesture wouldn't faze him so easily.

He grinned a little more as the two bolts came for him. With a Flash-Step, he moved right behind her and held his weapon up to slice her, but he looked up towards one of the crooks in the open trailer and nodded.

PSSSSSSSHOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The crook being signaled then pulled out an RPG launcher and fired it straight towards Evelyn. Rushifa managed to maintain his spot in the air, waiting for her to make her next move.