The Water Extinguishes Her Fire: Kiri and Kuro

Ahatake was laying back on the sand, listening to the sound of the waves. The city was finally repaired and he could rest. He smiled. And the best thing was, the sadness and frustration he had felt on Tereya's departure had faded. He was free.

It was a rather stereotypical setting for the beach. The skies were colored orange due to the aura of the sun that was just setting, and there were no clouds in the sky - the primary side effect of sunset domination. To the city, the atmosphere seemed to give it a more industrialized appearance, even more so now that it was fully repaired and activity was commensing as normal. Several people had even prepared for the occassion on the beach, wearing and bringing in their swimming suits, sandals, and whatever else that consisted of "beach material". Though the gathering was large, it was quite peaceful (aside from the kids' rambunctious playing in the shore waters).

Ahatake sighed. There were too many people showing up here for his taste, and they were ruining his mood. He'd just wait it out.

"Excuse me... sir?"

However, a female voice wouldn't allow him to get the silence he wanted. It cut through his thoughts, but as gently as a duck would wade through the waters he was listening. "Sorry for bothering you, but is this spot taken?" She was referring to the spot beside the Kurosaki. She wasn't in his view completely, though.

Ahatake looked up, annoyed, but his eyes widened and his annoyance faded when he saw the woman's face. She was very pretty, with ocean blue eyes and bright red hair that was braided off to the side.

"N-no it's not." He stammered over the beginning of the sentence.

"Thank you, sir..." Her tone was rather polite, and her blue eyes were glistening with nothing but a pure intention. Her own swimming suit consisted of a two-piece, both of the articles of clothing entirely white. Obviously, she wasn't shy; her figure was slender and gracefully curved. Her red hair, along with her soft-faced expression just served to magnify her beauty. She set the towel on her shoulder down beside Ahatake, before resting herself down on it.

Ahatake resumed his silence as he stared at the woman. She was very pretty, and she seemed nice. Then again, so had Tereya. He couldn't help but wonder why the girl had chosen to sit next to him.

The woman had remained silent, eyes closed, and hands behind her head. Her legs were crossed, and she seemed rather relaxed, bathing in the setting sunshine. Her red hair was scattered around her as she lay prone, content to her own thoughts.

Ahatake decided to speak. "Excuse me, but who exactly are you?"

"Hm?" The red-headed woman raised an eye to look over at him. "It's kind of impolite to ask for people's names before you give your own, isn't it?" She asked, though in a friendly manner.

"I-I'm sorry." Ahatake stammered again. "My name is Ahatake Noriko Kurosaki."

Her expression seemed to brighten at the mention of the word "Kurosaki". "What a coincidence! Last names sound similar..." She grinned, opening both eyes to look over at him. "My name's Kirisaki Megami. Pleasure to meet you, Ahatake-san." It was quite humorous to her that the poor guy seemed to be stuttering over his words.

"That is a coincidence." Ahatake said, smiling. Then he sighed. He really didn't know what to say in situations like this.

"Don't look so worked up..." Megami said soothedly, turning her head back towards the sky and closing her eyes. "Now that the city's repaired, we can all go back to our normal lives. No more oppression... no more army... no more corrupt King. Just us souls.... right?" Her last word had a hopeful tone to it, as to encourage Ahatake to believe the same.

Ahatake laughed. "You're right. No more of those laws that tick the living hell out of me." He said, grinning. "Though the king wasn't a bad opponent now I think about it." He added as an afterthought.

That made Megami do a double-take. "W...wait, you fought him?" She asked, finding a newfound interest in his story. She prooped herself up on her elbows, looking over the man with curiosity. "And you beat him?"

"The Current King and I fought him and we both beat him." Ahatake replied, grinning.

"I..." This time, Megami propped herself on her hands, grin eager as her ears picked up the news. "I had no idea I was talking to one of the heroes of Yuurei!" She exclaimed. "You must be really strong... was it hard fighting him?" She pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her arms on her knees in order to assure him that she was listening fully.

Ahatake's face was turning bright red. "Well it wasn't easy. Juushin and I had to double team him when we fought. The king was able to control space-time and even the likes of Juushin's speed couldn't beat him. No matter what attacks we used, he was able to brush them all off. It took a level 99 Bakudo from Juushin plus a Kido-Cero combination from myself to actually kill the man."

Megami nodded, a rather thoughtful look coming over her. She turned away from the Kurosaki for a moment, looking upwards towards the sky. "I don't think I could do that myself. Ever since I joined the resistance, I've been training hard in order to be a more helpful asset, but... it's never gonna compare to what you did." A weak smile came across her face. "Guess I have to keep workin', huh?"

Ahatake grinned. "Of course. I'm pretty sure you'll get stronger if you train. Of course there are always those who are born with power, and no matter how hard you try you'll never catch up to them." He frowned for a moment.

"It can't be that bad..."

"It is when it concerns the person I'm talking about." Ahatake sighed, looking up at the sky. It was almost dark. "That man could destroy the Seireitei five times over."

"...." The bitter tone in his voice couldn't help but make Megami give a rather sympathetic look. She was about to say something further when she realised, with a look of surprise, that the sky was now turning slowly from red to purple. She sighed heavily. "I pick the wrong time to visit the beach sometimes..." She looked over at Ahatake, silently hoping he wouldn't leave just yet.

Ahatake looked at her. "No, you picked the right time to visit." He said, smiling again. "You being here lightens my mood."

A faint blush fell across her cheeks. "R...really?" She asked hesitantly. "All right... I'll stay for a while longer..." She allowed herself to lie back down, but this time on her stomach. Sure, the sun was going down, but that didn't mean it was completely out just yet. Besides, lying on her back got a bit uncomfortable after a while...

Ahatake looked back up at the sky. This woman was far different than Tereya, and that was good. He looked back at her. "Um...Megami?" Ahatake started, his face red again. "W-would you be free for a date tomorrow?" He asked, stammering once again.

"Huh?" At first, Megami regarded him with bemusement, but it was brief. She allowed herself a smile to cross her lips. "....you find me that interesting?" She asked rhetorically, placing a chin in her hands. "Well, I suppose I'm free tomorrow, depending on the time. You know..." She looked innocently up at him. "You're kinda cute when you blush like that."

Ahatake grinned as elation flowed through him. "Yes I find you that interesting." He said, pointing his head at the sky. He fired a Bala blast and shortly after, fired another, they collided and exploded like a firework.

Despite her amazement, her eyes were like one of a fox's, and the satfisfied smile was clear on Megami's face. "Well, thanks... that makes me feel special." She said, in a minor manner of teasing. It was a shame that the explosion was brief; the skydancing colors had been dazzling to watch.

Ahatake smiled. "As much as I hate to, I have to go. Family at home and I don't trust my son alone in the house at night."

Megami grinned a little wider, allowing herself to get up from the towel she was lying on. "What? He a troublemaker?" She said jokingly, kneeling over to pick up the towel and fix it on her shoulder.

Ahatake laughed dryly. "I wish it was that simple."

"Well, you seem like a reliable father, so I think you can take care of him." Megami said encouragingly, turning on her heel and starting to walk off. She was, however, courteous enough to give him a good-bye wave. "Hope to see you again tomorrow, whenever I can!" She called over her shoulder.

"Of course." Ahatake replied, waving as he burst into flame, vanishing on the spot.

Immediately, she spun around, doing a double take of surprise by the vanishing at that the Kurosaki performed. She blinked a few times, as if trying to blink him back where he was sitting. But nothing happened; he had actually vanished into thin air... and fire. "Neat trick..." She commented, before turning to walk off once more.

Ahatake reappeared in his house in a similar burst of flames, and changed into proper clothing. He walked down the stairs, feeling happier than he had in awhile.

The first thing he came across was Taiki himself. He was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, eyes closed, and a rather peaceful expression on his face. At first, he seemed to be simply using the art of Jinzen, communicating with his inner spirit. However, it was obvious by the way he turned his head to see Ahatake walk in that he wasn't; Jinzen users would've had a much more deeper hypnotic state inflicted on them. "Oh, Dad, it's just you..." He muttered, turning his head back to its former position and closing his eyes.

"Just me?" Ahatake repeated. "Who were you expecting kid?"

Taiki allowed himself to shrug non-chalantly. "Maybe a friend of mine..." He was lying, but his calm tone was just too convincing for him to seem that he was lying. His pose was far too relaxed, as well. "Maybe not." He added, as an afterthought.

"I didn't even know you had friends." Ahatake laughed, washing his hands in the sink.

"Yes, well, we're not all anti-social morons who have nothing to do better than train their butts off." Taiki replied mockingly. However, he didn't even bother to smile at it, rather focusing on whatever he was attempting to do at the moment.

"Are you the only one here kid?" Ahatake asked.

"I haven't bothered to check. Though, I myself plan on leaving soon, after I'm done with this."

"Alright." Ahatake repied, heading over to the living room. No point in checking if Midoriko was here. He already knew she wasn't.

Taiki sighed, opening his eyes again and pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Slowly, he stood up, brushing himself down for dust that might have accumulated on his person. Then, he turned around. "I'm outta here. I'll probably be back later on this night, or the morning..." He called back non-chalantly, ignoring the possibility that what he just said might infer to a motive.

"Alright." Ahatake said airily. "Try not to kill anyone."

"Are you still thinking of Kaa-san again?" Taiki commented calmly, stopping at the door. "If you are, you shouldn't be so easy as to dismiss her as a traitor. After all, you did see your own strength over her own..." Without another word, he turned around and walked off into the night, shutting the door behind him.

Taiki was wrong however. Tereya was the furthest thing from Ahatake's mind. His mind was on Megami. He looked up as he heard the door open again, and he saw the figures of Aoi and Kyuui walk in.

Aoi was talking loudly. "SO nice not to have cops following us now when it starts to get dark!"

Kyuui was smiling sheepishly, squinted eyes in a slight U-shape. "Co'mon, sis..." She complained. "Not so loud... we're in the-- Ojii!" She cut herself off immediately at the sight of her grandfather sitting on the living room sofa.

"Oh, Aoi, Kyuui." Ahatake looked up grinning. "How are you two enjoying the lack of curfew."

"It's great!" Kyuui put on a big smile, clapping her hands together. "We're free to go anywhere we want to, just as long as we stay inside the city. There were some advisors there to watch us, just in case we got into too much trouble, but they weren't as strict as the Yuurei cops."

"So many places to go!" Aoi said enthusiastically. "We just came back to get a snack and we're back out."

"But..." Kyuui raised an eyebrow lightly, folding her arms across her chest. "What will you be doing? I' figure you'd be out doing something along with Ob--" Immediately, she cut herself off, eyes widening as the memory once again came to her: Tereya was gone. She looked a bit defeated after that, her words having been destroyed by the mere memory. "Well..." She started up again. "I thought you'd be doing something..."

Ahatake grinned. "Well, I wasn't going to mention if yet, but I do have plans tomorrow."

"Really?" It seemed to brighten up Kyuui immediately. She walked briskly past Ahatake and towards the refrigerator. "Can you tell us what they are?" Promptly, she opened the door, eyes searching around for what would be a refreshment for the two sisters. "Hey, Aoi! What're you wanting?" She said towards her sister, not bothering to turn around. It would've been too much trouble to.

"Throw me an apple." Aoi replied.

"Aw, you suck..." Kyuui complained, but complied and tossed Aoi an apple. She got herself, however, a bottle of water; if they were going to be out for a long time, she was going to need it. She turned her head back towards her grandfather, tilting her head curiosly at his silence. "Aw, c'mon, Ojii, don't be like that...we won't tell!"

Ahatake chuckled. "Alright. I'd gone down to the beach for some quiet. Unfortunately, people were coming down to surf and whatnot. Just as I was getting annoyed, a woman sits next to me, and we strike up conversation. Now I have a date with her for tomorrow."

Aoi was grinning. "Way to go Ojii-chan!"

It didn't seem to lighten up Kyuui's mood any. In fact, it seemed to make her a little bit upset. A small scowl came across her face. "...you're not falling in love with this lady... are you...?" She questioned, looking at Ahatake suspiciously. After all, she had the common sense to know that dates usually meant some sort of bond, and if that was the case... it would lead to love, and then... No, no! That couldn't be!

"I'm not sure." Ahatake replied, bewildered by the young girl's attitude. "I might be."

This gave Kyuui the go-ahead to narrow her eyes disdainfully at her grandfather. "I see." She said, retaining a calm tone. But there was a hidden disgust in it, as well as a stab of betrayal. She took her path, walking briskly past Ahatake and towards the door. "C'mon, Aoi. We got places to go..." That brought her good mood to a standstill; if the thing as marriage came up, this woman would be allowed to ste pinto their family - a replacement for the grandmother she loved. She would be forced to forget her, having to dismiss Tereya as if she had never came into her life. That's what her grandfather was asking her to do... just because he was willing to so easily forget about her.

Ahatake sighed as Aoi, puzzled, followed her sister out of the house.

"Kyuui, what's wrong with you?" Aoi asked. "I can tell you're not very happy for Ojii-chan."

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyuui countered, looking at Aoi with pleading eyes as she continued to walk. "If this ends up to where Ojii's going to marry this woman, it means we're going to have to forget our actual grandmother! I don't know about you, but I don't want to do that! She..." She trailed off for a moment, looking forward again. "She's just too far in my mind to just dismiss lie trash."

Aoi sighed. "Ojii-chan wouldn't let us forget about her. And besides, do you really want Ojii-chan to be alone for the rest of his life with only us around? I mean, Midoriko spends all her time with Kibou and Tou-san and Kaa-chan are always away. And even we're not in the house all the time. And his sister is in the World of the Living. He's got no one, Kyuui."

"You say that he won't let us forget..." Kyuui said, narrowing her eyes in disdain once more. "But how can you say that when he's already chosen to move on? He's gonna forget Obaa-san ever came into his life, and he's going to fall head over heals with this new woman! I know that he's got no one, but... if he marries this lady, then that's what's going to happen!" Her voice, throughout her speech, was getting more distraught.

Aoi put her arm around Kyuui consolingly. "Kyuui, I think you're reading too much into this. At least let this play out."

"STOP it, Aoi!" In frustration, Kyuui pulled away, lowering her arms and clenching her fists. "I can't accept this! I can't! I...I just can't!" Why was her sister not seeing it the same way she was? It was going to happen, whether they liked it or not! What use could Ahatake possibly have for Tereya, now that she had dumped their marriage in their face?

Aoi sighed. "You're reacting to this way too much. I think you should calm down and deal with it. You can't stop Ojii-chan from doing as he pleases."

"That's exactly what Ojii said to Obaa about Mom and Dad!" Kyuui snapped. "And look what happened-- ...forget it... I'm going back home." Clearly not in the mood for argument, she turned and walked off from Aoi, back in the direction of where they had come from. She might as well go back and get some sleep; it was getting too dark, anyway, for the likes of her.

Aoi sighed. No use being out here without Kyuui. She followed after her silently.

Kyuui, however, didn't really acknowledge her presence anymore, far too angered at the moment to say much. She didn't say anything when she came back home, tossed the water on one of the nearby chairs, went all the way to her room, and promptly lay on the bed. Guess she had no choice... a heavy sigh came from her lips. If only Tou-san was here with them... maybe he knew the right words to say, instead of simply "dealing with it".

Aoi had followed but instead of laying down to sleep with Kyuui, she walked over to the window and sat in the chair by it and stared outside. She didn't see the problem with dating someone. If Kyuui was to reject her (she shuddered at the thought, as it had happened before), she'd most likely find someone else. She couldn't understand why Kyuui was so mad. Aoi sighed a s cool breeze blew across her face.

"...I'm going to sleep." Kyuui muttered in monotone, turning away from Aoi and closing her eyes. "G'nite."

"Yeah, G'nite." Aoi replied, laying her head down by the window.

The Date
Ahatake was wide awake, despite being early in the morning. He hadn't been able to get a fraction of sleep, the anticipation had been overwhelming. He walked downstairs and sat down in the living room armchair. Everyone else must have been asleep.

It wasn't too long, before the white-haired man known as Taiki opened the door to the house. He didn't look too bad, but it appeared as if he too had been staying awake throughout the night. There were several ruffles in his clothing, along with bruises and scratches on the visible parts on his skin. There were slight bags under his eyes. However, he still had that non-chalant smile on his face as he shut the door behind him, hands in his pockets. Ahatake noticed the marks on his son's skin the moment he walked in. "Someone attack you kid?"

"Nah. I'm good." Taiki replied non-chalantly, easily lying through his teeth. He kept walking past Ahatake and towards the head of the stairs. "Just gonna go tell the daughters that their grandmother is A-OK." Considering that it was Ahatake, he didn't really expect a reaction from the non-chalant tone he used when he referred to Tereya, for he assumed that he had simply moved her from her thoughts.

"Did she attack you?" Ahatake chuckled as a mental image of it flashed in his head.

"Of course not. How could you think so lowly of her, Dad? I'm her son, as well as the only one who doesn't think of me as some sort of traitor." Taiki reminded him, walking up the steps. "What reason would she have to attack me?"

"Her insane temper." Ahatake pointed out. "I took her cigarettes once and she mauled me." He shuddered.

For a moment, Taiki stopped, a sudden urge to talk with his grandfather coming on. But he didn't allow himself to turn away. "You provoked her. She was fine until you disrupted her line of thinking. That's why you always touched her temper like you did." He reminded. "Her temper's just as insane as your love of fighting."

Ahatake sighed. "Only you would call my love of fighting insane, you and Kyuui being the only ones in the family who didn't inherit it."

"Now, when did I ever say that I didn't love fighting?" Taiki allowed himself to look over his shoulder, his expression slightly earnest. "After all, I enjoyed fighting Adela in my young age, and I reveled in it more when I nearly ripped out several of her rib-cages with my bare hand. It's only a pity she didn't start crying... that would've gave it even more flavor." A rather poutish look came over his features, and he raised a hand to rub two fingers together.

"You only fought her once." Ahatake replied. "Anytime after that was plain abuse, considering she never resisted., or fought back." He scowled.

"Yeah, I know... it really got my blood flowing, too..." Taiki smiled, seemingly oblivious to the scowl on his grandfather's face. "I should really get back to doing that, too. Now that she's finally gotten some guts, I'll be finally able to have a bit of challenge."

"And I'll laugh as she picks you apart, piece by painful piece." Ahatake replied harshly.

"Tch..." When Taiki turned around once more, a rather disapproving expression was on his face. "C'mon, Tou-san. Don't take it so personally. We were just talking about how fun fighting was and all that. Lighten up a little..." He emphasized his words with a careless shrug.

"Not going to lighten up when someone is talking about ripping out his wife's ribs." Ahatake replied. "And didn't you have something you were going to do?"

"Oh, that's right! Thanks for reminding me." Without furhter word, Taiki continued to head up towards the stairs and disappeared out of sight.

"Where did we go wrong with that one.." Ahatake sighed.

Hands in his pockets, Taiki calmly walked up towards the twin's door and listened closely. He heard the sound of light snoring, and a genuine smile, this time, came across his face. They seemed so peaceful while they slept, even when he couldn't see them... darling little angels. It was a shame he would have to lie to them... calmly, he pushed the door open and stepped in, looking over them with a warm expression. "Morning, my little angels!" He greeted.

Immediately, Kyuui allowed herself to get up, eyes weary at first. "Tou-san...?" She muttered weakly, attempting to get herself up from the bed. "Is that you...?" Taiki nodded in reply, allowing himself to sit down on one of the chairs that were in the room.

Aoi jumped up from her sleep and screamed. "WHOZAWHATSIS?!? Oh it's just Tou-san."

"Yes, it's me..." Taiki winced a little at the scream, using a pinky to clean out the ear nearest to him. "And I'm not Santa Claus, but I do bring gifts!" He said, attempting a joke. "Of news." He didn't really expect anyone to laugh, which Kyuui didn't. But she did allow herself to rise from the bed, now fully awake thanks to her sister's screaming.

"What is it, Tou-san?" She questioned.

"Yeah tell us." Aoi replied, sitting back in her chair.

"It's about your grandmother." Taiki seemed a little hesitant of telling them the news, but he felt like he should. "I met up with her, and we had a little talk." He wasn't really sure about how to go about this, feeling insecure as he put a hand to the back of his head.

"Oh crap." Aoi thought, looking at Kyuui anxiously. "Is she where you got those bruises?"

Taiki shook his head honestly. "No. But she's doing real fine right now. She's got a new husband..." He trailed off, with Kyuui looking a bit saddened at his words. "But she hasn't forgotten about us. In fact, she might be visiting once again." He himself put on an earnest expression just to emphasize his statements.

"You mean...." Kyuui looked much happier than she did. "She'll come back for us again? When will it be?"

"Not soon, I assure you. She's got some things to take care of, but once she does, she'll be coming back home... even if it is for a short while."

"Since she's married again, Kyuui, are you O.K. with Ojii-chan dating the new girl he mentioned?" Aoi asked this very fast.

Kyuui hadn't even paid attention too her, too far caught up in her very own excitement. She lunged over and glomped her father in a hug. "Oh, thank you for telling me! Ojii-san won't have to forget about her, after all!" She squealed, finding it much easier to breathe. Now she wouldn't have to forget about her previous grandmother, after all!

Aoi rolled her eyes. "Sure, ignore my question."

"Of course I'm fine with it!" Kyuui exclaimed, running away from him and leaping onto their bed. She raised her hands in the air, as if attempting to embrace the sun itself. "I don't care if he marries her, either! As long as I don't have to say goodbye to one of my beloved ones so soon!" This made Taiki smile in earnest. He got up from the chair and walked over to stand beside her bed.

"Good to hear. Now let's get downstairs! Breakfast is getting ready!" He turned her back to her, leaning forward and extending his arms out behind him. She didn't hesitate, leaping onto his back with a short shout of glee - a piggyback ride. Despite it being Taiki, it was a rather family-like, cute scene to see.

Aoi sighed, though she couldn't repress a grin she they walked out the room. "Let's get this show on the road."

Together, the small family walked downstairs and to ground level. The smell of food came clearly to Taiki's and Kyuui's noses. She rested her chin on his shoulder. "I guess that means we're not too late, huh?" She teased, causing a chuckle to come from Taiki.

Adela was at the stove cooking, while Ahatake was still sitting in the living room. She looked up when she saw her husband and daughters walking in, Kyuui clinging to her father's back.