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.