Antipathy of the Crocodile and Piranha

New Path
Stick running along string.

Finger pressing against wire.

The melodic moan of a cello being played.

The general stillness of the environment as the music swept into it.

That was the condition of the room as Shiro Haruo, 15-year-old girl, played her recently bought instrument for the entertainment of her family. She was standing in the center of the living room where all eyes would be on her, her own eyelids closed in concentrated. As she moved her slider and fingers along the strings, there was nothing but a haunting and chilling rhythm contaminating everything. Though her face betrayed nothing, her body exumed volumes of passion as she played the tune. Her head slowly shifted every so often, and her shoulders swayed slightly, as if she herself was moved by her very own music.

She was playing a song she had heard on their television. It went by the name of Return Game, though she had relatively no idea who the artist was. Still, it was a pretty good song. Even as she played it, chills were going down her spine at how closely she was matching the real thing. Yet, she felt no pride in her actions, but only concentration on completing and finishing her performance.

The girl's father, Nori Haruo, sat on the couch in the room, his other daughter, Mitsune, and his wife, Nami, sitting on either side of himself. He was utterly entranced in his daughter's performance, and as she continued to play, he leaned on his wife, a wistfull expression obvious on his face. He stared at her with admiration and pride that only a father could hope to muster. When she was finished, she was sure to get praise from him.

Mitsune, on the other hand, sat leaning against the arm of the couch with her chin propped against her hand. She was trying to keep a bored and neutral expression on her face, but anyone who even attempted to look closely would be able to see the jealously and surprise she was expressing at Shiro's newfound talent. Would she always be compared to Shiro, now? ''Shiro took up an instrument, Mitsune. What do you play?'' Is that what her father would ask? She already knew Shiro was his favorite; that she was second-shit to her younger sibling, but if he actually started telling her to act more like her sister... Mitsune didn't know how she would react.

Nami herself had an arm wrapped around her husband's shoulders, her own eyes closed and her ears perking up to the enchanting music. She had a satisfied smile on her face as she listened, clearly pleased at what she was hearing. She had taken up the liberty to buy the thing for Shiro in the hopes to lighten her rather depressive mood. It was right away that she had taken a liking to the thing, almost to the point of being quite possessive over it. She treasured it as if it had been her only child, like a piece of fine China that couldn't be scratched under the finest of circumstances.

She couldn't tell if it worked.

But it certainly brought emotion to them.

SHING!

The music stopped.

Shiro had jerked the slider stick upwards to point at the sky - a symbol to halt. She opened her eyes to a half-lidded position, waiting for the reactions of her family. Her mother was the first one to start clapping in appreciation, opening her eyes. "Hell, if I knew you could play that good by ear, I wouldn't have thought about getting you a teacher!" She remarked. "Good job, honey."

"BOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"That was fucking horrible; I can't believe you made me sit here and listen to that shit, Dad." Mitsune, almost as soon as Shiro had stopped playing, began with her insults. "If what you were going for was a second-rate rendition of that song played by an obvious amateur, you sure hit it spot on, sis!." Her father, accustomed to the by now, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "You were wonderful, Shiro. Mitsune, go to your room. You're not eating any dinner tonight."

Of course, that was how it always was from her older sister.

Shiro's lip curled slightly, and she tilted her head to the side slightly. Obviously, it wasn't out of criticism that those words had been spoken. It was simply meant to provoke her anger, to cause her to fire back in order to defend herself. However, the best defense she would use? She remained silent, choosing to let the words bounce off of her cold exterior. That would anger her sister to know that mere taunting would not affect her. She knew of the elder's bitterness towards her, and she only knew her father was adding fuel to the fire.

But, it was no problem for her. The only regret she would get out of it was not being able to silence the wench herself....

Nami only gave a raised eyebrow glance towards Mitsune. She didn't mind the fact that Mitsune had been rather sharp-tongued towards Shiro. After all, in the past three years it had always been this way. Shiro and Mitsune weren't the perfect sisters. In fact, they were far from it! If she handed a toothpick to each of them and left them in a room with only one another, they would most likely thing of how many ways to torture and kill the other with it. If looks could kill, they would've buried each other until they both melted on the Earth's inner core.

Maybe it was an exaggeration...

....but the hate was very strong.

With a hmph! Mitsune disappeared from the room, leaving the two parents with their star child. Nori was hugging his wife's arm now, obviously upset. He didn't like punishing his daughters, but he couldn't let Mitsune do that and not recieve any punishment whatsoever... Why couldn't they both just get along? It'd been a long time since they started hating eachother; why couldn't they just get over it?

"....I am getting too old for this shit."

Nami let out an exasperated sigh, pinching her bridge between her nose with her free hand. Because of the fact of her slow aging, she was still considered relatively in her prime. However, despite this, it was obviously a very long time that had passed for them. By this point, she felt as if she could have seen it all. Sadly, there was still a lot more years to go before she passed away.... at least, if she didn't suddenly get killed off....

Shiro lowered the stick and lifted the cello in the air with one hand gripped around the neck. Rather than immediately leave, she watched her parents silently for a moment as if curious to their interaction.

"No, shut up. You're not old. We're not old. We can't be old, right?" Nori asked exasperatedly. He didn't want to get old! What if he got all old... and wrinkly... Ugh, he wouldn't be able to stand it! He wouldn't be able to stand not being able to do anything by himself, or not being able to have sex!

"Uh--"

At first, Nami looked over at him with what seemed like an incredulous expression. Was he actually getting panicked over those simple words? One of her mouth's corners curled upward in a smirk. She released herself from Nori's grip, shifting herself so that her head would be resting onto his lap. Her brown hair was scattered over his legs, her own legs hanging on the edge of the couch. "Gee, I donno, Princess.... if we were human, we'd be considered wrinkly, old, and complacent all the damn time. So far, I don't think the "wrinkly and old" part's came to us yet. I mean, look at you--"

Then, she pretended to gasp, hands coming over her mouth as if she was in shock. "Oh, my God...!" She whispered. "Is that a liverspot I see under your neck?!"

"WHAT?!"

Despite his wife's rather comfortable position on his lap, Nori stood up, and ran for the bathroom, to inspect the so-called liverspot he supposedly had on his neck. When he discovered it wasn't there, there would be sure to be a shitstorm for Tereya...

Even so, it was rather comical seeing him run, with his never-ending "oh my god oh my god oh my god"'s and his frantic breathing.

"OOF!"

At Nori's abrupt rising to his feet knocked her off, she was sent off of the couch and onto her stomach as she hit the floor. She noticed that he nearly tripped over her in his narcissistic panic, but simply continued to lie there for a moment as he ran off. When he finally disappeared, she allowed herself to start snickering. The guy was such an idiot! Sometimes, it was annoying. Other times, it was cute. In rare occasions like this, it was just too damn funny. She sat herself up, not able to keep the snickers from turning into chuckles.

A disapproving sigh was heard from Shiro, and she momentarily released the hold she had on the entirety of the cello. "Mom, you know he's just going to get mad at you for doing that, don't you?" She asked dryly to her laughing other, placing one hand onto her hip.

"Hell....!" Nami gasped out. "He can summon the fucking wrath of Poseidon on me, I wouldn't care! It's not going to change how goddamn funny it is!!"

And, as if on que...

"FUCKING LYING BITCH."

Nori's reiatsu flared as the rage within him came to a boiling point. The scent of it flooded out of the hallway and back into the living room, and became stronger with every advancing step he took towards his wife. "I'm going to fucking KILL you!"

When he finally exploded into the living room, he was in mid-air, obviously pouncing towards Nami.

"There they go again...."

Shiro just shook her head and looked on for a moment more as Nami immediately performed a back flip in order to avoid being pounced. However, she wasn't going to stick around to see anymore. Grabbing her instruments, she used a Kogeru to head into the upstairs. Once she was at the top of the steps, she walked slowly to her own room in order to stash her cello away. Maybe she would play it in order to drown out the noise....

The moment she had reached her own room, she discovered it in ruin. Her clothes were everywhere; all over the floor, flung up on the curtains. They all had holes and tears in them; some had even been ripped to pieces. Any glass in the room had been shattered; the doors plagued with a plethora of scratch marks, and the matress to her bed was nowhere to be found.

At first, Shiro was silent. She stood there for a moment in the doorway, her blank eyes staring at what had used to be her room. Her fingers tightened around the cello until she felt the wires start to cut into her skin, her blood running down the strings. She stepped inside, ignoring the glass as it prickled her feet. Gently, she set the cello and stick down upon the ruins before she stepped backwards out of the room. She stepped backwards, quietly shutting the door behind her.

Then, she took in a deep breath.

"MITSUNE~!!!!!!!"'

A scream--

No... a roar tore through the household, filled with nothing but fury and the murderous intent to kill the one who had destroyed her room in such a manner. That one word was enough to promise pain for the elder sibling now that she had committed the act, her bloodied hand curling into a fist. After snatching what appeared to be a sheathed sword from the remnants of her drawer, she used a Kogeru to re-appear in front of Miharu's door. Raising her foot, she kicked it open....

'''WHAM! CRUNCH!!!'''

The door split under the very force, and its attacker stepped in, her eyes gleaming with a furious desire.

Her sister was waiting for her.

The moment she stepped into the room, there was a flash of light as the sun reflected from the window onto a katana, and then a swishing noise as that same katana swung for Shiro's throat. Mitsune was crouched on the floor, her body mid-positioned into a sword swing as she glared down her sibling.

SHING!

Shiro didn't bother to unsheathe her own blade from its holster.

Instead, she raised her blade in a backhanded position, allowing Mitsune's own to collide with it and effectively intercepting the attack. Reflexively, she threw herself to the side and dragged the blade out of its sheath. Once it was completely out, she spun it around in her hand so that it would face the right direction. Then, she brought her weapon in a backhanded slash towards Miharu's skull. Her own eyes were wide, but the malice was all too clear.

A rather perfect bond, isn't it?

Mitsune wasn't really daunted.

All she had to do to avoid the attack was lean backwards; the blade zoomed harmlessly over her head, and once it was clear, she pushed off the ground and did a little summersault for some range. "What's wrong, Shiro? Why are you so upset? Did something happen~? Maybe you should go cry to Daddy about it, uuuu~!"

Shiro narrowed her eyes, lip curling slightly once more. However, what looked a smile of her own crossed her lips. "Really....?" She said softly, a slightly mocking expression in her sword stance. "Maybe you should cry to Dad and Mom about not being like me." Her voice was cold, yet held the indistinct tone of amusement. "Oh, that's right.... he wouldn't care much, considering that I'm the only one worth his time, isn't it?"

"SHUT UP."

It appeared Shiro really knew how to pull Mitsune's strings. The moment she had finished the sentence, Mitsune launched herself at the girl, completely disregarding reason and strategy in her fit of rage. She swung her sword with all of her strength towards her sister's midsection, hoping to cleave the girl in half.

A flip of the sword, and Shiro's hilt was facing Mitsune.

She stepped back, her enemy's sword grazing her blood-red shirt. Because of the strength put into the attack, momentum would be temporarily lost. After the arc of the swing had been scouted out, the girl lunged inwards, thrusting the sword's hilt. It squarely connected with considerable force into Mitsune's nose before pulling back. Then, Shiro jumped onto the remnants of the destroyed door, hair hanging over her face.

"My room can be repaired...." She continued on, her voice monotone. "But Mom and Dad will know that you had been the one to destroy it in the first place. All you've done and going to do is make all of us angry at you. More importantly... you've ruined what little chance you've had of redemption in their eyes. Nice job breaking it, nee-san...."

Tears streamed from Mitsune eyes as she examined her nose. Has her sister broken it...? It didn't seem so... But the blood gushing from it seemed to denote that she had caused substantial damage. This deterred her from further retaliation, but it didn't stop her from fighting her sister. "I'll... I'll just tell them I wrecked your room because you attacked me...!"

"And they'd actually care about what you think....?"

At that comment, Mitsune burst out into all-out sobs. Shiro was right, why would they? They loved Shiro a lot more than they loved Mitsune... Shiro was better than her in every way! She was smarter, more talented... better mannered...

Mitsune was just a mistake...

"I didn't think so....." Shiro whispered, slowly beginning to step forward once again. She grabbed the hilt with both hands, twisting the blade so that when it swung, she would easily decapitate the girl. "Now do something useful for once in your life.... and stay still, my big sister...." As she spoke the words, she raised the sword up high, eyes gleaming with nothing short of insanity. This was it! She would kill Mitsune and get rid of the thorn in all of their sides!

Things would never be that simple.

The moment she saw her sister raise the blade above her head, Mitsune kogeru'd out of the house, and began running. As fast as her feet could take her. Far, far away from the house. She would keep running until not even an nanoangstrom of energy was left in her body. Shiro wouldn't kill her.

Mitsune would rather be a coward, then die...

"!"

So she decided to run.

That only fueled the hatred within Shiro even more. Immediately, she used her own kogeru in order to vanish out of the house, pursuing Mitsune like a bloodhound. She didn't say anything, but allowed her words speak through her actions. Her blade flashed in the sun, and it almost looked like they were simply playing an innocent game of tag. Well.... when she caught her sister, she would not be simply saying "You're it!"

Or.... maybe she would.

In her own....favorable....way.....

Gasp...

Was she far enough away?

Mitsune leaned against a tree, unable to keep running any longer. She was in a forest now. When she had entered it, she did not take notice. She had only kept running, with one objective in mind:

Get away.

Still, she was rather pleased with her progress. Her house was no longer in sight. Although she was too exhausted to search, she didn't feel any immediate spiritual energies near her; notably that of her sister, whom she was sure would have given chase. She didn't hear any footsteps.

There was nothing but her.

And the only word she could think of to describe it was... Perfect.

Nearby, a lone man walking through the streets of the city had looked up to see the children racing after each other. Most would have been unable to see the pure instinctive speed they displayed, but Ryuzaki's keen, dispassioned eyes watched with perfect clarity. With a sigh, he himself disappeared in a flash and appeared on the roof of a nearby building, watching the chase. Quietly, he held out his hand as if to grasp something that was not there. A sword materialized from dust as he closed his eyes. This particular blade allowed the human to sense emotions around him. The two girls were radiating like beacons to him; one full of anger and hate, and the other full of fear and a bitterness tinged by sadness and anger.

Who are they...? wondered Ryuzaki. He considered what he knew, and then came to the conclusion that they most likely were connected, if not related, to the hell hunter he had run into years ago, that had apparently settled down in this very city he had come to investigate. With a grimace he remembered why he was here, and realized that two spiritually powerful and aware girls would not likely go unnoticed, and the heartless energy that had been gathering over the city would make sure of it.

Quickly he began jumping from building top to building top; pursuing the girls at a distant and dispersing his spiritual pressure to such a point that no one would be able to sense him.

Shiro, meanwhile, had temporarily lost sight of Mitsune.

She continued to kogeru through the forest, her eyes shifting and moving every which way. She could still sense the girl and was following the trail quite easily. She leaped through the trees, making sure that she stayed out of sight until the right opportune moment. Her sword made a continuous wooshing noise as its blade cut through the still winds. Her heart beat madly, fueled by adrenaline and her maddening desire to kill her enemy.

It was such a shame that Mitsune had chosen this time to relax.... for Shiro needed only seconds to re-appear right above her.

With a final kogeru, she launched herself from the branch and threw herself at Mitsune, her blade raised and swinging.

She was only diverted by the sudden spiritual surge around the two; physically manifesting for a mere moment to blow Mitsune off her feet and throw Shiro, who was in the air, even farther. A maw of black ripped the very air as slowly a towering black creature, with a white mask with long nose, rose out of the depths. Soul-less eyes promised no mercy as it released a roar that would pierce the souls of the faint of heart.

Mitsune was more concerned with the presence of her sister than that of the hollow.

With her cover blown, Shiro was out in the open. It almost frightened her how close she may have been to dying. But... The tables had turned. Grabbing her blade, and finding more confidence now that her sister had been thrown out of sorts, Mitsune gathered spiritual particles beneath her feet and launched herself towards her sibling, unsheathing her blade and launching a swift swing of the sword towards Shiro's hamstring.

"!!!!"

WHUMPF!

Because of the sudden surge of spiritual pressure, Shiro was thrown off balance. She was sent forward towards to the ground, her sword scattering away from her hands as her palms unconsciously opened themselves. For a moment, her heart stopped as her eyes fell onto the beast that was towering above them in the sky. However, because of that moment, she allowed Mitsune to get the edge on her. Now, as she descended upon the ground, her pupils jerked as she saw her sister lunge at her. Her eyes widened as far as they could go, but her reactions were far too slow...

SLASH!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Mitsune's blade ripped through her hamstring, and all she could do was let out a gut-wrenching scream. She finally hit the ground, slamming onto her back and arching her neck as vicious pain raced through her body. Her affected leg was already caked in her own red fluid, the wound steadily bleeding out. "Ah....Ah....!" She continued to groan, twisting violently in a vain attempt to rid herself of the pain. It now occured to her that she was helpless.... she would either be skewered by that wench of a sister, or be consumed by that monstrosity threatening to come down on them.

At this thought, her pained expression snapped to one of fury. Her eyes were widened, her eyebrows furrowed, and her teeth curled in an animalistic snarl as she turned to give her sister one last glare. She was certain Mitsune was going to approach her to finish the job.... if she was going to die.... she was going to do it spitting in Mitsune's face!!

Shiro's predictions were right.

Mitsune pounced on her sister the moment she hit the ground. Her blade was poised in a back-handed position, facing down, and already being thrust towards Shiro's heart. In her eyes were only satisfaction and relish. It was perfect! Afterwards, she could even say that the hollow had killed her sister! And then Mitsune would be an only child again...

Again a killing blow was diverted by the Menos however. An Cero of immense strength when flying through the air, blowing the girls away from each, knocking Mitsune's blade from her hand, and blasting her then outstretched arms.

Shiro was sent sprawling.

Her back slammed into a tree, and she slumped onto the ground on her stomach. She was barely moving now, eyes wavering in and out of unconsciousness. It didn't help that she was still bleeding out, and the Menos's Cero had aggravated the injuries. She let out a groan, humiliated that she was going to die in such manner. Maybe she should've diverted her attention to the Hollow first before attacking her sister.... then, there would've been no interference. But it was too late now.... they would both be consumed.

She closed her eyes, waiting for death to grab hold of her and take her away.

Nngh....

Mitsune... was no longer conscious. She had been totally unprepared for the cero that hit her, and it took off the better part of her hand, sending a shower of blood and gore in a radius around her. Her Zanpakuto was blasted far away from her body. With herself thrown from Shiro, the overwhelming pain was too much for her to handle, and she was eventually dragged under...

The silence of nothing but the charge of another cero was ended by the resounding thud as a blade flew through the air and sliced through the ball of energy; causing it to explode. In another instant, the Hollow roared out in pain, as the assailant appeared behind it with a lone sword drawn; dripping blood. Ryuzaki stood there quietly for a moment, before turning around as a another blade appeared as if by the wind's will into his offhand. With a quick charge he was now in front of the Menos, blood running along the intricate carving of black wings that ran across the blade's flat. The warrior waited as the beast dropped to the ground. Then followed his blades as they slowly disintegrated into dust that flew off into the wind.

With the threat ended, he began his approach on Shiro, seeing if she was conscious and if so, what her first reactions were.

"Is.... is that..... death.....true death.... walking towards me.....?"

Weakly, Shiro raised her head up to stare at the oncoming figure. Her eyes were half-lidded and blank, betraying no emotion. However, she slowly raised her nearest hand up. It would be everyone's time to die sooner or later.... there was no use fearing it. If this was death taking her into her fold, she would gladly embracing it. She extended her shaking hand, wanting him to take it within his own and take her away.

So accepting of death... it's odd in a child so young... thought Ryuzaki to himself as he grasped Shiro's hand with a strong grip and quickly but carefully hauling her onto his back. Quickly he held out his hand as a strap appeared in his hand. This would have been interesting without Tezuru... After securing the youngest child he moved over to Mitsune, who was still unconscious. He picked up both Shiro's and Mitsune's blades as he passed them; placing them in sheathes that formed at his hip on his desire. As she was still out, he quietly scooped her into his steady arms and began the walk to the house he had seen them first exit from. He would move faster, but both of them had rather serious wounds and he did not wish to harm them further. Still, what he had seen concerned him, ''Even with the threat of something like a Menos, neither of them would even consider turning their attention from one another. Hate really can lead to oblivion.''

Another thing to consider was the parents, as on closer examination, both had hints of Nori in them, though Shiro likely gained more from her mother, and he knew how emotional parents could become when their children were harmed, and this was from some scraps and bruises. Too, Shiro's wounds were obviously not the work of a hollow. Silently he contemplated as the house came into view.

The elder sister stirred slightly in her sleep. By the way she was twitching, however slight it was, it was somewhat obvious that her hand was causing her pain. The children weren't really used to it; Mitsune especially. Any grevious injury either of them had gotten was immediately healed up by their father the moment he noticed. Neither had had the misfortune of having to wait months for a single injury to heal. Neither of them had any real scars or marks showing that they had ever been harmed before. The prolonged exposure to this pain left her feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable.

Mitsune felt the warmth, though. Even in her sleep, the man's comforting aura promised her no harm. Silently, she nuzzled into his arms, hoping the deepness of her slumber would act as morphine towards her pain.

Ryuzaki couldn't hide the smile that crept across his face. The action reminded him of another he knew. She would likely slap him if he ever brought it up though. Still, it concerned him that at 15 she felt uncomfortable with prolonged pain. Overprotectiveness was one of the trials of parenthood though. Nori would overcome it eventually as the two girls grew older, whether he liked it or not. If he didn't, he'd likely walk as a haunted soul. At last he came to walk towards the house's door.

''KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!''

"Huh?"

From her position, Nami looked up with a raised eyebrow. She was currently sitting on the back of a worn-out and bruised Nori, whom she had just recently defeated in his attack against her. A scowl crossed her face, and she fixed an annoyed glare at the door. "God damn it...." She grumbled irritatedly, slowly getting off of him and walking away. "Nori, did you call for any visitors? I sure as hell didn't!!" She was just enjoying her victory over her husband, and now someone had to go and ruin it?! She briskly walked towards the door.

Nami's inquirey was responded to only by a groan. Nori couldn't even raise his head. Even after the woman got off of him, he didn't bother to rise from the floor; she could easily just put him down there again and make him even more miserable than he was right now.

Nami grabbed the doorknob. "Guess it's time to put on my no telemarketer face...." She muttered, rolling her eyes as she twisted the knob and promptly opened the door. "Hey, moron, we don't need any--"

However, her eyes immediately widened at the sight of Shiro and Mitsune, bloodied and carried by the stranger that dared to greet her. A pensive look crossed her face, and she curled her lip slightly. "....what the hell are you doing with my two kids....?" She asked quietly, a venom seeping through her tone as clear as day.

She seems the calmer of the two... Nori would probably have charged me, mused Ryuzaki, though he knew better than to let his amusing thoughts creep into his face. His eyes held a calm and purposeful gaze. He stated simply, try to ease Tereya's venom, "Neither of them could walk. I'd say you could take the one in my arms but I'd rather not disturb her." Still, he turned his head slightly to look at Shiro, "Can you take her though? She'd likely be more comfortable in someone's arms, but your other daughter was worse off."

"...." She fixed him with a suspicious glare, but slowly extended her hands to gently take the other girl from his back. Unhitching her, she turned towards Nori. "Hey, Princess!" She shouted. "Wake up and get over here. Mitsune and Shiro are bleeding like crazy!!!"

This seemed to spur Nori to life. He was at the door in a matter of seconds, and his injuries no longer seemed to bother him. Though it wasn't in his possession while he was on the floor, his blade was now in his hand, unsheathed, as he glared angrily at the visitor holding his daughter. Without a word but give or take a few nasty looks, he took Mitsune from him and laid her on the couch, then took Shiro from his wife and laid her next to her sister.

"Weed out, Nasuka!"

The small burst of reiatsu from the release reflecting Nori's tired state, but he apparently still had enough left to get going. "Gahou!" He shouted quietly. Sticking the barbs of the staff in the open parts of a wound on either of their bodies, he watched disdainfully as the openings closed up, and healed without a blemish. The two children were in the perfect condition they had been in before their fight.

It was as if they had never even been injured.

Nori, however, looked extremely hurt. The moment he could see that his children were in better condition, he turned to Ryuzaki with nothing but rage in his eyes. The mediocre amount of reiatsu he had left was building steadily, and it was somewhat obvious that once it came to a climax, he'd unleash some kind of attack on the man he thought responsible for the state of his children.

That was the signal to act.

Nami's hand placed itself on Nori's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. If he had looked at her, he would've noticed the rather stern glare directed his way. If he knew any better, he would stay put where he was. After all, the guy had the kindness to actually bring the children back instead of something else. However, she felt a pang of shame. The children had left while she was squabbling with her father. She should've really been more responsible....

Abruptly, she turned her stare to Ryuzaki. "Well?" She said rudely. "Are you going to stand there, or are you going to answer me?"

Ryuzaki had been considering his answer; he wasn't entirely sure telling them why they had managed to get injured would be the right thing, "I noticed a Menos was attacking them. I destroyed it, but I didn't get there in time to prevent their injury." All of it was true so he was not worried of his expressions giving himself away.

She looked away for a moment at the two daughters. A flash of guilt raced across her eyes, but it was only for a millisecond. "Guess they went out for their own little fight while we were having ours, Princess...." She commented grimly, folding her arms across her chest. That would've been the reason they were out together - they had once again gotten into a fight. But over what....?

Nori directed his glare towards the floor. "I guess we'll find out when they wake up..." He mumbled quietly. He didn't like having to take the man's word for it that a menos was the cause of their injury. He'd rather have the children wake up and tell him themselves that the man attacked them.

Ryuzaki decided a compromise on what truths to give out. He pointed at the shattered glass still stuck in Shiro's bleeding feet, which had prevented full healing; having come up with a theory for what the chase was about, "...That's a lot of glass; would someone trashing her room enrage her?"

!!!

Almost immediately, Nori fell to his knees near his younger daughter, and began picking the shards of glass out of her foot. Sure, it may cause her momentary discomfort now, but he'd rather have her deal with it while she was sleeping rather than while she was awake... as he picked the pieces out, the open areas immediately started to close. Nori would be too transfixed over his daughter to respond properly; he left that to Nami.

"Why would anyone trash--"

Then it came to her.

".....oh, good fucking God...." She muttered, a hand slapping to her forehead. Mitsune must've obviously destroyed it after the performance that Shiro had performed was finished. "Yeah, it'd definitely tick her off."

Ryuzaki nodded in understanding; many were like that. He then pulled out Mitsune and Shiro's blades. Mitsune's was still covered in Shiro's blood, though he did not clarify that it was hers. He did this in order to gauge the reactions of the two.

Nami took a moment to analyze.

She took a step forward, raising a finger to point a deducting finger at the blood-covered blade. Then, her eyes had switched to the unconscious Mitsune and Shiro. From what she could tell, Mitsune's wounds had been from a more explosive weapon than a sword based from the damage sustained. However, the wound to Shiro's leg had been nothing more than a cut of the flesh. Based from how the blood ran on the blade, it was obvious what had happened.

Mitsune had struck Shiro down in their fight at some point.

In annoyance, she threw her hands up in the air briefly and walked away. "If this shit keeps up, my own daughters are going to be in their graves before they reach the age of twenty!" She said irritably, not pleased with how their bitter rivalry was escalating. With their slow climb up the peak of power, this would only continue to rise and rise until it went out of control!

"Hollow activity has been increasing in the area, that might speed up the process," put in Ryuzaki. He then decided his words weren't adequate "Actually it's occuring all over the world, this is just the place of highest activity for some reason. Random or not, I don't know."

Promptly, Nami plopped down in a seat, folding her arms across her chest. "And I take it you're some sort of messenger boy, right....?" She remarked dryly, cocking an eyebrow. "Well, no need to worry, we've got our shit handled, thank you very much."

Ryuzaki looked squarely at Nami and shook his head, "I'm simply curious why it's happening; the fact that I ended up here is pure coincidence. I'm sure a Vizard and former Hell Hunter can manage just fine."

Nami scoffed. "Well, we sure as hell don't know." She turned towards Nori for a moment, looking over at him as he tended towards Shiro. "Right, Princess?"

However, what answer he would've given to her was interrupted by the sound of groaning.

"Nnnn....."

It was from Shiro. She had woken up, slowly opening her eyes. One corner of her mouth curled a little at the sudden pain in her foot, but she showed no other reaction than that. Automatically, she slowly attempted to stand up, blinking continuously as to shake the haze away.

"Yeah..."

That small excerpt of a response was all Nori could manage once he noticed his daughter waking. As he stared at her, she would be able to see the concern written all over his face. Her father backed away a little, giving the girl breathing room as she stood. He wondered how she would take in the situation.

For a moment, Shiro didn't move herself. Then, she shook her head in what seemed like a violent and unpredictable manner, her neck threatening to snap at its hinges. Then, she stopped, finishing off with a slight shudder of the body. Slowly, she pushed herself off to her feet and turned her gaze towards Nori, her expression apathetic and unreadable. However, there was a slight twitch in her neck when her eyes drifted over to the unconscious Mitsune.

"At the very least.... she could've died...."

Nami raised an eyebrow, but didn't get up just yet. Nori could handle the children.... she was dealing with speaking with the man that had brought them back safe and sound. She kept her eyes on Ryuzaki, awaiting his response.

The ghost of a smile crept across Ryuzaki's face before he turned and murmured quietly to Nami only, "She has talent, if that Menos hadn't interfered Mitsune would be the one with the injuries of a blade, and they would likely be more serious."

When Ryuzaki had first started whispering to her, Nami leaned in slightly to listen intently. However, when she heard the words, she frowned in skepticism. "Well, thanks for the compliment..." She whispered back, cocking an eyebrow. "But where exactly are you heading with this?" Her train of thought was that if someone pulled a compliment or the like out of nowhere, they were heading somewhere.

Ryuzaki shrugged, "I've trained with the blade since I was about their age, I don't see such skill in people as young as them."

A sigh of relief escaped Nori's person as he took in the fact that Shiro wouldn't actually try to kill her sister upon awakening. Still, he couldn't help being a little wary of the wistful look she was giving her older sibling. He stood, blocking her view, and gave a somewhat-fake smile to her, however painful it was for him to pull off. "Are you feeling alright, Shiro?"

"I'm alive...." The girl answered, not answering the question directly. She made sure not to make a remark towards Mitsune, for it would only get her in trouble beforehand. She would tell him what happened without hesitation once he asked. Her near-blank eyes drifted, locking themselves onto Nori's. "Thank you for healing me, Dad...." She knew the injuries she had suffered beforehand would've been healed only by the medic of the family.

"It's no problem... What happened?" Nori braced himself for what he was about to hear. No matter what it would be, he was sure it'd cause him some emotional strife... Still, it wouldn't do anybody any good to ignore what would happen. She had been harmed and attacked, and while he hoped it was the stranger in the doorway who had done so, he had a feeling he already knew who it was...

"Mitsune went out of her way to destroy my room before she headed to hers." Shiro explained dryly, not betraying her hidden emotions. "I went out of my way to punish her. She fled from me, and I was just about to kill her before that Menos interfered. The majority of her wounds came from the monster, and the majority of mine came from her."

Perhpaps if she hadn't been so honest, Nori would know who to punish. But, because she hadn't taken time to sugar-up her side of the story, Nori was left at a stalemate. Mitsune shouldn't have destroyed Shiro's room. Shiro shouldn't have tried to kill her sister. Nori hopelessly stared at the girl, hoping there was something more to the story she hadn't told him that would give him reason to be more upset with one of the girls than he was with the other.

Shiro simply raised her arms up in what would've seemed like a taunting "come on" motion. However, her voice was dry. "We both acted against you. But I can only speak for myself when accepting whatever punishment you give me." She said simply. She wasn't eager about receiving it.... but she wasn't about to be cowardly and try to talk her way out when she knew she played a sinning part in the role. Lying would only make things worse....

"... You're not going to be punished..."

Nori sighed. This was unbearable. He couldn't punish her, even if he wanted to. For whatever reason, he had chosen a favorite child, and it was Shiro. But... he didn't want to be unfair, when the situation was like this. "But Mitsune isn't going to be punished either. Come upstairs with me, I'll help you clean your room and fix it, okay...?"

Shiro lowered her arms, turning away from him. "Yes, Dad...."

However, she immediately refocused them on her mother and the stranger that had rescued her. Her eyes widened slightly, and she started to walk forward towards him. There was a slight hint of curiosity in her gait as she approached him, her speed deliberately slow as she looked him over. Yes.... he was the one that she had presumed to be Death. Was he the one that saved her and her sister....?

Ryuzaki's eyes locked onto the girl; her performance just now had given him a good read of her personality. Still he said nothing on it and let Shiro finish her observation of him.

Shiro leaned over to the side, looking him over. She could sense the power radiating from him now - it may have not been Death, but it was considerable. He looked so casual... and yet, at the same time, he seemed to exude a certain demand for respect to her. His expression almost matched hers, but unlike hers, it held a certain amount of emotion within. If she were a person capable of doing so, she would've smiled. Instead, when she was done, she turned away from him and walked off to her room in order to begin cleaning up. Her mother was watching her, smiling in amusement and raising an eyebrow.

"Hope I won't have to deal with Shiro wanting a "new daddy" any time soon...." She thought jokingly.

And Nori ushered the girl upstairs, leaving Nami, Ryuzaki, and the sleeping Mitsune to themselves.

Ryuzaki was silent for a moment, before commenting, "...She's been through a lot it seems."

"A lot? You have no idea...."

Slowly, Nami stood up, walking towards the unconscious girl. Once she approached, she leaned over her and pressed a hand to her shoulder. Gently but continuously, she began to shake Mitsune in order to stir her out of her dreams. "Hey, sweet pea." She remarked dryly. "You dead yet?" Outwardly, she seemed indifferent. Inwardly, she held a motherly concern. She didn't care who was the star child - both of them were valuable to her.... even if this one was nothing but a pain in the ass.

"Mitsune says that if the crab wants her to wake up, she should go make Mitsune some goddamn food..."

Still, the child stirred, slowly opening one eye as she allowed herself to take in her surroundings. There was her mother, her was shaking her like a retard... Her father and Shiro were nowhere to be seen, but there was a stranger in the room.

And he was handsome~!

Mitsune caught herself grinning slightly, but didn't blush.

"Unless you're actually hungry, I ain't makin' shit." Nami scowled, clearly annoyed at the response she got. She stopped shaking the girl, placing her arms on her knees. She was squatting, keeping her legs closed as she did so. "Now get up, or I'm going to drag you around by the ear." She'd do it, too! She did much worse to Nori when he was acting childish, after all...

"Why, where's the fire?" The daughter didn't see a reason for her mother's need for her to get up. She could see the handsome stranger perfectly fine from where she was sitting, after all. She supposed a better look at him couldn't hurt, but it wasn't as if an oppurtunity for that wouldn't arise eventually.

Yank.

This prompted Nami to reach over and grab her daughter by the scruff of the ear and force her to stand onto her feet. "Well, stranger...." She said coolly over to Ryuzaki. "If you got no more business with us, then you're free to leave. Me and my daughter need to have a little discussion." Then, her head abruptly snapped from him to her "captive", giving her a stare that exuded intensity. It was a non-verbal question of "You want to loose your hands? Go on and do it." for she already knew Mitsune was going to attempt to retaliate.

Some children never have respect for their parents.

Mitsune's eye twitched, but she did nothing to indicate anything other than displeasure at her situation. Still, a hand went to the one Nami was using to pull on her ear, out of instinct. "If you're going to rip it off, fucking do it already..."

Ryuzaki fully empathized with Mitsune at the moment; he disliked commands with no point. He couldn't necassarily argue with her though. He didn't want a fight, nor did he want to be on her bad side. His thoughts were cut off though as he suddenly felt a large amount of reiatsu suddenly begin flaring throughout the house. ...Oh shit.

It was soon learned why he held such thoughts.

As soon as she stepped through her door, Shiro was now face-to-face with three Menos that had wrecked her room simply by standing where they were due to their sizes. Her eyes widened, but she remained silent. A normal person would've started panicking, screaming, and running away from them as fast as she could. However, she held a rather reserved area around herself. The only real reason she was caught off-guard by the Hollow that had first attacked her was because it had attacked so suddenly. Because they didn't move in immediately, they had been slightly easier to predict. She knew what she had to do.

Calmly, she stepped towards the creatures.

"What in the....?!"

At the sudden spike of reiatsu, Nami immediately let go of Mitsune's ear. "Oh, that's just great...." She growled, immediately sprinting towards the stairs. "What the fuck's going on now?!"

Nori watched his daughter calmly. He knew these creatures well; if any of them directed any kind of attack towards Shiro that he thought she couldn't handle, he'd step in and intervene. But, for this one instance, he'd see what she was going to do. She was stepping forward with such confidence, that it'd be a little disrespectful for him to step in and do things himself.

The room Nami, Ryuzaki, and Mitsune were in suddenly became a lot more crowded as Menos and many regular hollows surrounded them within. With a flourish Ryuzaki pulled out both Mitsune and Shiro's blades and with a whirl of movements too fast to be seen, slashed through the first wave; arms working independently of each other to hold them all off. Within a few seconds most of the hollows dropped dead. Ryuzaki hadn't even been touched. As the last two of the regular hollows tried to strike at him in tandem, his arms blocked both of their attacks and with a spinning flourish he pulled off a kick that smashed straight into the first hollows abdomen. Quickly he plunged Mitsune's blade down into the hollows skull, leaving it standing so that the girl would be able to retrieve it at her leisure if the need came for her to fight. He did the same with the other hollow as well; this time stabbing it straight through the spine after appearing behind the creature.

Seven Menos remained however and quickly two swords appeared from dust. Their blades shined as did the black feathered wings which ran down their flats; shining like obsidian. The menos charged a simutaneous strike of ceros, and though Ryuzaki knew he could dodge, he did not want to accidently pull the two others in the room into the way of a harm that they would not see coming if blocked by his outline. Considering his options, he decided knives would be a good option.

Letting his blades fall to the ground for a moment, he whirled and let loose throwing knives which flew true; striking each charging cero head-on. As each exploded in each meno's face, Ryuzaki drove his blades through two of the menos, and proceeded to charge in and strike down 3 more; slicing in half two on his way to the third. Noticing the last two lunging for Mitsune, his blades quickly reshaped into throwing spears and throwing both in tandem, he impaled the two Menos in their faces.

Then a short period of silence set in as the spears slowly dissolved into dust. Not one of the original 3 people in the room had been touched.

"....tch. Show-off."

Nami had not moved since the other Menos had spawned right in the area. She had her arms folded across her chest, and from the moment Ryuzaki had attacked, she knew she wasn't needed. She simply allowed him to do what he wanted without consequence or limitation. Once she was done, she turned to look over her shoulder, her back having been turned to him all the while. Once it was all clear, her gaze re-directed towards Mitsune to check her over for any injuries.

All Shiro had to do was raise her hands.

Immediately, all motor functions of the three Menos ceased. Even though they let out barks and growls of surprise, they couldn't unleash their full might and intimidation because of control ripped from their hands. Because of previous encounters with the things, she had adapted this technique many times. It had been an ability accessed partially from her Zanpakutō, but she could only use it on creatures such as these. Therefore, the timing was perfect. Now, she had complete control over their bodies, their will under her command.

She extended her hands towards the sky.

Immediately, all three Menos shot towards it and separated from each other at a rapid rate. The girl waited for several seconds before performing her next action. Her fingers curled, and she brought her palms inward to face each other. Slowly, little-by-little, she began to close the distance between her two hands, eyes narrowed in dangerous concentration. Then, when she had them close enough, she brought them together with a motion that made a loud clapping noise.

SPLURCH!!!

The three speeding Menos, at the same time, had collided with each other at incredible speed.

A cloud of red could be seen overhead, spreading apart as gravity overcame it. Then, they began to feel the first drops of Hollow blood on their faces and body. Shiro didn't flinch as the sticky red fluid splashed onto her face and the skin on her arms. She didn't waver as it decorated her room with potent crimson stains. She simply watched on, eyes blank and unreadable as ever.

Twitch.

As the drops of sticky, smelly red decorated his body, Nori, for once, expressed annoyance at his daughter. Was there a point to having them collide over the house? Now the entire building would be bathed in hollow blood, and unless it was all cleaned it, it would start to smell. Not to mention, the amount of bugs and flies this would undoubtably bring to the household...

And now, not just the outside was bathed in crimson, but her room as well! And himself, and her...! He appreciated how talented she was; how powerful, to be able to control and manipulate three Menos at the same time, but it would have been nice if she could have avoided coating the house with blood.

Mitsune's mouth jaw was hanging open with awe. As she stood there, watching, she could feel both admiration and envy building up within her. She liked this man. He was powerful. He didn't boast it, and he didn't try to control others with his power, but he was powerful. He commanded respect without commanding respect. Mitsune wanted to be as powerful as this man. She wanted his power, she wanted to control it, she wanted to conquer things with it...

Mitsune wanted to kill him.

She couldn't explain it if she wanted to, but she wanted to kill Ryuzaki. The thought of someone so much more powerful than herself bothered her. She needed to kill him...

Ryuzaki considered the pools of blood converging throughout the room. He sadly wasn't surprised by this occurance; likely the first of many. Hollows naturally wanted to devour those of high spiritual energy, and a whole family of such nature was a literal beacon to the senses of a hollow. He no longer sensed the menos originating from the room he assumed was Shiro's; now the rest of the house just needed to be deinfested. Hollows were entering the house with abandon it seemed. The way they were streaming right now it might never end. He was confident thus far they could surivive, but the house could easily be destroyed in a battle with so many participants; especially if ceros started flying all over the place. It might even be destroyed simple because of how many large creatures were inside and moving around. He turned to look at Nami, whom he assumed had also sensed the presenses, and asked, "It's your house, how do you want to handle this?"

A heavy sigh came from Nami's throat, and she slapped a face to her palm. Just super! Once again, they were going to have to find some place to stay thanks to the presence of Hollows! By now, she was thinking that they would've been better off in Soul Society! "You know what? It doesn't really matter anymore, now that the house is wrecked beyond repair...." She said irritatedly, walking over to the nearest wall. Leaning against it was her own personal sword, which she didn't hesitate in kicking up in the air in order to grasp. "But I'm thinking we take this somewhere else. The Hollows are attracted to us, right? We just have to lead them right to us.... in a more favorable place, of course...."

Upstairs, Shiro turned away from the mess and walked briskly past her father. "The house will soon be destroyed...." She said, her voice distant. "But, then again.... so will they." She stopped outside of the doorway, placing her hand on the rail. Despite the mass of foreign spiritual pressure gathering, she didn't care in the least. She slowly stepped down the stairs, head lowered and hair falling over her face once more.

A similar sigh escaped Nori's lips, and before leaving Shiro's room, he gave it one more wistful look. He hated moving. But now, it seemed that it would have to be a necessity...

Mitsune grabbed her own Zanpakuto before heading back to her mother's side. She would observe the man more.

"Sound tactic," murmured Ryuzaki as he considered. "...But instead of possibly having to explain or leave behind any trouble in any other part of the city, what if we just speed along this place's collapsing?" He placed his hands in his pocket and pulled out a fully armed and ready C4 plastic explosive charge, along with the detonator. He shrugged, and with a touch of humor added, "Nothing like some explosions to brighten up the day."

"... Oh, so you just left the house today and decided to bring you C4 with you for no particular reason." Mitsune drawled, leaning awkwardly on her weapon which was propped against the floor. There was no way she'd give up the chance to see something like her house going up in flames, but... Wasn't it just a little bit reckless to carry aroud fully armed C4? Especially when half the enemies you would face always knew some kind of explosive energy beam.

"....yeah. On that note, I think you've got a little bit of some personal problems there, buddy!" Nami added with false cheerfulness. She hooked her sword to her side, resting her hand on the hilt while her free hand was on her hip. However, it wasn't as if she was objecting the plan. However, there was the possibility of having to explain the explosion in the event that they were caught.

Not bothering to reassure them of his sanity, or explain his abilities, he instead moved to place the pack in the houses corner, and placed at least 5 more around the rest of the perimeter; not bothering to explain where it came from. He wanted it to fall straight down; not slide. Placing 2 more in the houses structural middle, he then said to Nami, "I'll make sure no one else notices, so if you don't have any problem with it I'd clear to somewhere with a view if you want to watch. I'll get Nori and Shiro and then clear out with them."

The latter option was not necessary.

Followed closely by her father, Shiro was just landing off of the last step before her eyes once again spotted Mitsune. Immediately, she froze in her tracks, fingers curling into a claw-like position. However, she had the sense enough to refrain herself from attacking her sister once more, as she was basically unarmed now and both of her parents were watching her. She instead turned towards the man and extended her hand out. She didn't have to explain - the only thing he had that belonged to her was her blade.

It took everything Mitsune had not to seperate that pretty little hand from the rest of Shiro's body. Her eyes narrowed, and her sharpened teeth formed into a viscious snarl as she watched her sister enter the scene.

"Nami, where are we going to live...? We're going to have to move..." The moans could be coming from no one other than Nori. The solemness that his daughter's harm had brought to him before had already worn off, and now he was back to his moody, whiny self. "This is such a pain in the fucking ass...

"Oh~ Don't you worry your dumb-shit head over it...." Nami cooed, wrapping her arms around Nori's shoulders and pulling him into a comforting embrace. Her tone was as if she was calming down a child. "Mommy's gonna find another place to live...." This was followed by a short chuckle. Shit.... if she wasn't his wife, she might as well have been his mother! Thank God she wasn't....

Ryuzaki pulled the blade out of the body on the floor and moved to hand it to Shiro, until he noticed a mass of hollows charging in from behind her and whirled; flipping the blade and once grasped, spun a complete circle with one his blades again appearing in his off hand. The spin sent him forward, as well as high and low to keep balance and managed to dismember and decapitate every hollow then charging. As all of them fell around him and his blade disappeared, he walked back calmly and handed the blade again to Shiro with his own vanishing. "We should go," he said flatly. He looked out a window and pointed out the top of a nearby building to Nami. "Does that work?"

"Mhm...."

If the guy insisted on doing all of the work, then who was she to stop him? He was just taking a load off of all of their shoulders. Having to keep a hold on Nori, she used a kogeru in order to get to where Ryuzaki had pointed at. The daughters could catch up at their leisure.

As Shiro was handed the blade, she temporarily flashed back to the man killing the Hollows by himself. He was indeed very powerful, and his skill demanded respect. He certainly wasn't Death.... but he was certainly one of his most trust advisors. Grasping the body of the sheathed weapon, Shiro turned her feet and began to go when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. It was blocking one of the cracks that had been freshly made in the walls. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she turned her head completely to look....

....and her blood froze.

All she saw was that yellow, gleaming eye.... before the figure promptly disappeared out of her sight.

For a moment, she couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She couldn't even move. As something she had rarely shown to the family in her teenaged state, Shiro felt fear controlling her every move, rooting her to the spot where she was standing. She had felt that terrifying, dark energy before.... and she had seen that even horrible figure in her dreams. She couldn't be here.... not now!

THUD!

Shiro would feel a sharp pain in her rear. Her sister had kicked her in her ass in order to get her going. "Is there a problem, sis? Did you decide that you finally wanted to die?" Mitsune drawled. She unsheathed her blade for emphasis. "I won't let the hollows have all of the fun, if you have. Otherwise, get the fuck out of the house. Everybody's going to be waiting."

"H... Hey! Don't... Don't... Don't make fun of me...!" Nori protested. Despite his problems with Nami's way of comforting, he refused to relinquish the hug. It was just so nice~! And she had used such a comforting tone... It was like she enjoyed humiliating him in a way which he could not possibly respond to. What a dick.

Nami simply stuck out her tongue in response before flipping it back into her mouth. He could release himself when he wanted to, but as of now, it could be safely assumed that he enjoyed where he was.

"!!"

Shiro was jarred out of her thoughts by the kick to her back-side, whipping her head around to give her sister an angry glare. But she said nothing. Instead, she turned her head back and used a kogeru in order to join her parents in order to watch the destruction of their own home. "You should've died...." She thought, mentally referring to her goddamned sister.

Her husband merely hugged her a little tighter in response and closed his eyes. He was not to be disturbed.

Mitsune chose the spot almost immediately next to Ryuzaki to materialize herself, grinnin wickedly as she did so. Reaching out, she smacked the man's ass (or, at least, attempted to), before nodding in the direction of the house. "Hey handsome! How about we light this shit up already!"

Ryuzaki deftly grabbed her hand before she had even gotten close to touching him and placed the detonator in her hand with an amused edge to his voice, "Go ahead."

"Oh, somebody knows how to please a woman~..."

Despite her somewhat ill-bearings for it, Mitsune took one more moment to take in the fact that she would no longer be living in this home. She had a noteworthy amount of history in it. Memories from before Shiro was born rarely occured to Mitsune at the age she was at now, but at least she could remember the time before the girl became the star daughter of the family

Oh well!

BOOM!!!

Even though they were so far away, pieces from the house's splintered base nearly reached them. The house erupted into a literal fireball. The blood from the menos could be noted as well, and though the house collapsing wouldn't have actually been enough to kill them, the C4 took care of any problems they might have had extinguishing the hollows afterward.

All that remained of their home was charred rubble.

And Mitsune couldn't possibly be happier.

If Nori wasn't taking up room in her arms, Nami would've cheered like an idiot at the destruction. But, as it was, she simply smirked and looked on with satisfaction. The wind from the explosion hit her full force, hair whipping behind her. It was a beautiful display to her.... such sights always were, after all.

Said husband merely let out a groan. This was all just a pain in the ass. A huge pain in the ass.

A Cruel Kindness
Sayama Makoto held a basket full of vegetables on her right arm and her purse on the other. Her eyes... Didn't seem to hold the same brilliance they once had, and her step had a bit of a drag in it, like she was hesitant to keep moving, or had no reason to, but she was still very much alive.

Judging by her apparel, she was out grocery shopping. Nearing a store that seemed to be a farmer's market, she entered, then exited only a little while later with a whole new slew of fruits and veggies in her basket.

"Mmm... Guess it's time to go back..."

All she had to do was step through those double doors....

What used to be a sunny environment filled with people.... had turned less than favorable.

Streetlights were leaning over, broken through the middle and hanging dangerously from their posts. The bulbs had been cracked, every one of them. The sky had turned an eerie orange color, the clouds moving at an alarming rate. This simulated the appearance of the very sky being on fire, incinerated by an unknown dark force that seemed to permeate the landscape. Buildings were blackened, rusted, and charred as if the sky's flames had managed to reach down to them, if only for a brief moment. Behind her, the doors seemed to shatter into glass, leaving only a wall.

And all around her, there were constant whispers, their words incomprehensible and alien to her ears. Though there was no one there, it was as if every one of the voices speaking came from a source directly beside her....

Immediately, the woman materialized her Zanpakuto and drew it. She slashed directly to her right and left; without looking. It was instinctual, and anything there would have easily been eviscerated. The basket she was carrying was the least of her worries now; she readily dropped it and her purse upon exited the store.

It was slightly obvious the change in scenery wasn't to her liking.

She hit nothing, of course...

...but the voice still continued to pursue her hearing, growing a bit louder as she performed the actions. However, there was one that would break through...

"God damn it!!"

It was that of Shou's.

He was running across the sidewalk, clutching a bloody arm and carrying a rather frustrated manner about him. His clothes were tattered, and his face was bruised up a little, indicating that he had gotten himself into some sort of a battle. He hadn't seemed to notice Sayama however, continuing to run towards what looked like a building which had its doors open.

"Shou...?"

Sayama stared ahead in disbelief. Shou was dead. She had barely come to terms with it. Why was she seeing him ahead of her? It was unmistakably him... his voice...the way he carried himself, even while wounded...

She couldn't help herself.

"SHOU!!!" screamed Sayama, as she gave chase towards her love. He didn't seem to be stopping... didn't he recognize her...?

Too late.

He had disappeared into the building.... into the darkness, where his figure could be seen no more. However, he didn't bother closing the doors behind him. As she was chasing him, it gave her full entrance to where he had went into. As soon as she stepped in, the doors promptly shut behind her, and she was enveloped in immediate darkness. She could see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing...

But that would change.

In front of her, a light snapped on to reveal a glass barrier a few ways in front of her. On the other side, Shou could be seen standing and looking, glaring at something while keeping his body tensed up.

"Shou..." At first, Sayama seemed calm. She only tapped on the barrier slowly, but methodically. As soon as it increased in pace, and got louder, so did her voice, and it's urgentness. "Shou... Shou.... SHOU....!" It reached a point where she was flat-out wailing on the barrier with her hands.

"Huh?!"

That was all that was needed to get the man's attention. His eyes snapped to the right of him, only widening in shock as they spotted his wife banging on the glass. He shifted his body, running over and stopping to press his own hands against the glass. "....Sayama....?" Although there was no holes in the glass, his voice was clearly audible to her. "I...." He immediately breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, God.... I thought I would never see you again, especially after what happened!" A relieved smile broke out onto his face. "I'm glad to see you're still in one piece...."

"Shou... They said... you died..."

Tears streamed down Sayama's face as she spoke with her love. "I didn't want to believe it... What happened to you? What happened to your arm? Angelika and everybody will be so happy to see you again... We--we should go! Why can't I get through this...?"

Her tears caused a tear to fall down his eye, as well. She seemed to be so upset.... it was just spreading over to him, as well! "L...listen, I'll explain it all later when we can meet face-to-face." He said lowly, a saddened expression on his face. "Right now, there's just too little time to do so. I need to go--"

"You're not going anywhere...."

Immediately, a voice, female and carrying a fearsome tone within itself, sounded through both of their ears. At the sound, Shou immediately cringed and looked away from Sayama at the ceiling, only to have an involuntary shiver run down his spine. A dark, terrifying energy was spreading through both of their bodies, and it almost was enough to paralyze the red-haired male where he stood. He jerked his head back to Shou, expression stern. "Find a way up to the roof of this place! I'll meet up with you there!" Immediately, he began backing away from the window in order to execute the said action....

....but his blood froze cold when he felt a cold hand onto his shoulder, fingers digging into his shoulder.

Sayama could see clearly who it was. A female body that seemed to be made completely out of ash. Yet, it was holding up fine, stabilizing itself easily. The body itself appeared to have no clothing covering it, yet its visage was too muddled and disfigured to show anything very shameful. Pieces of ash continued to float downward, blowing away from it. As it leaned closer to Shou, his lover would see the smile etched across its face, its eyes covered by its long "hair".

She was frozen in place by fear. Her mouth was slightly agape with horror. Normally, she would be the type to take action, but... She just couldn't move. Her feet were almost literally rooted to the ground. Her arms wouldn't work for her. She couldn't even say anything.

All Sayama could do was watch.

It was then that the figure looked up at her. "Oh.... I'm so sorry....." She whispered, wrapping one arm around Shou's shoulders while her chin rested on his other one. "Is this yours....?" Slowly, she lifted one of her claws to point at the scared woman, letting it linger for a moment. Then, her eyes widened, and her grin showed a flash of feral teeth within....

BOOM!

....before the glass promptly exploded in a vicious display of flame and embers.

This spurred Sayama into action, at least partially. Her hands shot up to defend her face, and she dropped her sword; after taking in the initial impact of the blast, she was thrown back against the very doors that had slammed shut on her, and sat there gasping for air for a few moments. Her eyes were still focused on where the being had been with her lover, before the explosion... Was he still there...?

He wasn't.

Now, instead of a room with the two of them standing close to each other, there was only a destroyed remnant of what had been. The barrier had been shattered, leaving a somewhat clear path for her to take. Shou's words flashed through her head: "Head for the roof! I'll meet up with you there!" It was no doubt that he could handle himself. Even now, there were bursts of energy and Shou's angered yells as he fought off the enemy outside of her view. It would be up to her to find her way to the top of the roof.

Sayama staggered to her feet. The rawness of her arms that had been burned no longer bothered her. As she passed it, she picked up her sword from the rubble. Slowly, she gained speed, until she broke into a slow jog as she headed for the staircase. Once she reached it, she flung open the door, and looked up. How many floors were there? Maybe she could just Shunpo to the top...

There was only a total of three.... well, four, if you counted the roof. It was designed in a way that when one went through each corridor, there would be a staircase at the end that would lead to the next level. All of them had their own numbers burned onto the doorway to indicate what floor she would be on. That terrifying aura seemed to be everywhere, closing in around the very building itself.

Wasting no time, Sayama gripped the railing hard and sprinted up the stairs--nearly tripping over a few--before bursting through the doorway to the second floor and starting her run down the hallway to the next staircase. She tried to take in as little of the scenary as possible. She had to get to the roof quickly, and she was sure that whatever she would see if she looked would be horrible, and waste her time.

She was right.

The moment she burst in through the door, she was greeted by her feet stepping in something warm and wet. It was nothing but blood, the depth covering her ankles completely. Floating around were several corpses that looked like nurses, mutilated and horribly disfigured. It seemed to follow a pattern of grievous injuries; one had her chest cavity torn apart, while another's head was smashed in like a watermelon. Blood was also dripping down from the ceiling as well as the walls, and the ceiling itself was a crimson red.

"He made quite an entrance..... waking up and killing them all while they still thought he was dead.... he's certainly a trapping man.... isn't he?" Her voice sounded within Sayama's ears, mocking and taunting her as she pressed forward.

"Shut up, you bitch..." The blood was certainly making it harder for her to walk, but somehow ignoring her surroundings she was able to make it to the end of the corridor without a change of opinion towards the man she loved. "He wouldn't tell me to race through the building if he killed everyone in it and knew I'd find out. He wouldn't....

And so, Sayama ripped the door open and raced up the stairs to the third floor.

WHAM!

Instantly, she was greeted with a weight throwing itself into her, pinning onto the floor. It was a humanoid creature, and from first glance, it looked human. It had its own clothing and its platonic structure was fine. However, its appearance was less than human. It had charred skin, and its eyes were burned out. It had rotting, sharp teeth which was decorated in a vicious snarl as it glared at her. It kept her pinned down, even as the voice spoke again.

"Then.... under her orders.... he killed every single one of them. Hehehehe..... women.... children.... men..... it didn't matter.... all of it was for his own benefit.... you should've seen the way they screamed as his blade tore them in two...." With that, the creature got up of her and backed a distance away. It was holding some sort of steel pipe, and he was brandishing it in a threatening stance. Behind him were several more with various make-shift weapons in order to attack the girl.

Sayama held her sword in a defensive stance, and began to slowly advance towards the group. She could take them. They looked rather... fearsome, sure, but she doubted they posed any real threat to her. She wasn't a dumb woman. It was apparent she was being toyed with. Wouldn't that thing she saw in the lobby stop having fun if she were to die here?

"I already know that, and accepted that. In case you didn't know, I'm part of V-14, too."

They charged.

Their weapons fell on her, and they came at her in a zealous manner. They had no defense, only attack. The tactic of numbers was being used, all of their rage channeled onto her. They uttered deafening screams and cries as they attacked her, wanting to end her life as if it could end the pain they themselves were going through.

It was easy to poke holes in them when they were not defending themselves. She was able to kill the first few with one stroke; it easily sliced through all of them. Their charred bodies were not tough. It was there where she thought it prudent to defend, but the makeshift weapons weren't exactly combat-ready, and she was able to easily deflect most of them with her sword and dodge the ones she thought wouldn't be a good idea to block.

With a simple method of rinsing and repeating, the crowd of monsters were down in moments. Their tactic of numbers had backfired. Because they had swarmed, they were easier to predict and it was easier to take out more than one with one blow.

However, as if something was calling them from somewhere else, more and more began to appear, stumbling out of the hallways and continuing to charge her. It was as if there was no end to them; for every one killed, another one took its place. On the other side, the door was opening and closing repeatedly, but no one was there.

There was nothing but efficiency in Sayama's movements, so no energy was wasted. But she was still using energy. Slowly, she began to advance towards the doorway. She needed to get to the roof. That was where she needed to be. The creepiness of the door opening and closing was somewhat unnerving, but she had bigger problems to deal with. A step from the door, she sliced through the charred remains of one of Shou's victim's and charged inside. She was in.

They continued to attack her, spawning from every which direction. Despite the fact that she was in, the wave didn't seemed to stop coming, intent on making her spend all of her energy before she even got to the other door. Their weapons continued to fall on her, striking at her repeatedly.