Turn Back The Pendulum: Tereya Chronicles

Crimson Roses
Ahatake and Asami were having a sparring match. It wasn't going in Ahatake's favor.

Asami stared coldly at the figure of Ahatake on the ground. Her foot collided with his gut. "You're Kaemon's boy and this is the best you can do? You disappoint me."

Ahatake glared up at her and he forced himself to his feet. He swung his blade at her hand and she dodged it gracefully, and grabbed his exposed arm and flung him down onto the ground again.

They weren't alone, of course.

"You're letting yourself stick out too quickly!" Tereya called out, arms folded across her chest, and her figure leaning against one of the nearby trees. "You have to move quickly to keep her from grabbing you!"

The only thing that disrupted her mood into a more annoyed one was the smug voice of her inner Hollow, who had taken a liking to communicating with the woman more often.

"That's what she said..."

Ahatake growled and launched a cero at Asami. She pressed her arm into the ground and used it to propel herself into the air, effectively dodging the cero and it hit a tree, disintegrating it.

"You're emotions rule you too much." Asami called from above. "No matter how much power you have, if you go into a fight without thinking, you're going to get royally screwed."

Ahatake gave her a very ugly look, and vanished with a crack like a whip, reappearing in front of her and swinging his blade down with a buzzing sound. She blocked it and forced him back.

"Damn..." At the display of power Asami was giving up, Tereya couldn't help but whistle. She had expected Asami to be much weaker, but the sight of pushing back her husband had immediately dispersed any thought of that. No wonder Kaemon had a reason to fear her so much.

Ahatake quickly ripped on his mask. He growled and Asami stared at him for a moment. "Seems that runs in your father's side of the family." She said, eying him oddly, as though she'd love to crush his skull. She merely contented herself with raising a finger and performing her daughter's favorite spell. "Bakudo 61, Rikujōkōrō!" The six binding rods collided with Ahatake's midsection, rooting him to the spot and preventing further movement.

Tereya's assurance wasn't deterred. "That's not going to keep him forever... especially with that Hollow Mask on..." She thought, putting on a little smile.

She slowly walked up to Ahatake and her hand glowed yellow. She tapped his forehead with her index finger once, and Ahatake's mask cracked and shattered, She sealed his Hollow the same way Seireitou had so many years ago.

"Ba..bastard!" Ahatake growled.

Tereya blinked several times, face contorting to one of surprise. "Then again, I could be wrong..." Ignoring the chuckles coming from the depths of her mind, she added her own remark: "That's bitch, dear!"

Asami clicked her finger's, shattering the Kido as she walked away. "We're done for today." She said as she entered the building.

Ahatake threw a look a deepest loathing after her. What the hell was that woman?

"I see you're still standing..."

The female that was still with him took it upon herself to stand before him, one hand on her hip, and the other slung at her side. Her eyes held a serene and apathetic look, almost as if the fact that he had just been overpowered held no meaning.

Ahatake sighed. "I hate that woman." He put a hand to his face, making sure he could still feel his inner hollow. "She reminds me annoyingly of Seireitou."

A light scoff escaped Tereya's lips. "You sayin' that only because she just sealed your Hollow?" She asked skeptically.

"And I couldn't land a hit at all." He added grimly.

"Well, you survived, didn't you? Had she gotten serious, at least from your point of view, you would be taking a dirt nap right now.." The black-haired woman placed a hand on his shoulder for encouragement. "So don't worry about it."

Ahatake smiled for a moment. "Alright. Well I'm getting hungry so I'm going to see what I can whip up within' the next 10 or so minutes!" And he walked into the house, his spirits slightly higher.

"Hmph...glad you're happy..."

Closing her eyes, Tereya followed in a calm manner. But mentally, her mind was swirling with constant thoughts of her encounter with the peddler... more importantly, how she had been so easily beaten in a simple game of fisticuffs. "...cause I'm not." She finished her thought, her scowl deepening ever so slightly.

Ahatake began to feel her discontent before he opened the door and turned around. "Is something wrong Tereya?" He asked.

"Nah, I'm fine." She replied, a deadpan pointed look on her face once more.

Ahatake knew she was lying but decided not to press it. "Alright. If you need to discuss anything though, I'm all ears." And he walked inside the house.

"..." Although she continued to follow him, Tereya's face lightened a small bit. She switched her arms to a folded arms position and kept walking, where they would eventually reach their destination.

Ahatake began pulling out pots and pans, and opening the fridge to get eggs and rice. "I'm starving." He would mutter whenever he pulled out a foodpiece.

When she herself saw what was happening, Tereya turned away and walked in another direction, towards the living room. She waved a hand behind us. "I'll be sittin' in the den, if you need me..." She stated lazily.

"Alright." Ahatake called as he cracked open eggs into a bowl.

In the den, Aoi and Kyuui were immersed in a conversation.

"-and he said your name first?" Aoi asked, sounding impressed.

"Yes!" Kyuui replied eagerly, raising her fists up in front of her to emphasize. "Maybe once he knows a bit more, he'll learn to like me a bit more!"

"Lucky!" Aoi hissed, looking at the baby Chunori, who has on his mother's lap. "He never says anything intelligible to me..." She sighed looking downcast.

"'Course it's intelligible..."

It was at that point Tereya had allowed herself to come in, wearing her usual casual look on her face as she studied the tree. "But only to other babies." She stated.

"Yea, but I mean like my name Grandma." Aoi replied laughing.

"Tereya." Chunori said upon the woman's entrance into the room.

The said woman couldn't help but smirk a bit. "Heh... Chunori." She retorted, in a similar manner to the way Chunori himself had said her name. "Ahatake'll be cooking for today." She added in a reporting manner.

"Really?" Aoi asked. "Sounds interesting."

Chunori placed a hand to his mother's face, as if trying to tell her something. Whatever it was, nobody knew.

Aoi sighed and placed her head on Kyuui's shoulders. "Today has been slow!"

Her expression was shared with the white-haired girls, laced with boredom for the events of the day. She looked back up to Tereya. "Baa-san... haven't you anything to entertain us?"

"Do I look like a clown?" Tereya replied dryly. "...or a comedian?" She added, as an afterthought.

"Yes you do." Aoi piped up instantly as Chunori said "Clown."

"Well, fuck you both." Putting her hands on her hips indignantly, Tereya turned away and walked towards the couch, plopping herself down on it carelessly. "This "clown" doesn't do encores."

"Meanie." Aoi muttered, looking angry. "You're our grandma, you're supposed to be entertaining."

"That's your sis's job." Tereya replied dismissively. "She, along with the people who hang out with you most of the time. Someone like me has too much to worry about."

"Onee-chan, can't you do something about her?" Aoi asked hopefully. "Like make her more entertaining and a hella lot nicer?"

Skeptically, Tereya looked over at her granddaughter, who simply hung her head in sheepishness. "S...sorry, Aoi-chan..." She apologized in a slightly flustered manner. "But I really can't do anything about my elder..."