Izanami no Jidō: The Good Life

Preparations
"It seems that they managed to survive your best man's assault, as well as the plane crash." Brina spoke to the Prophet casually. "To be honest, I am quite amazed that the Captain and her husband managed to survive the attack." She closed her eyes and sighed, somewhat disheartened at the fact that the explosives did not work. "Conventional methods never seem to work anymore..."

She was standing with the Prophet in the time of the aftermath of the plane crash. After tapping into the security feed, she had seen everything that had happened. Because the inner of the plane could be seen by the cameras, she could not tell what had happened outside or where the trio had landed. It would make for a harder time finding them.

The Prophet had his hands behind his back as he normally did as he glanced down at the security feed within his tower's security room. "Fear not dear Brina. Kafiezial is simply acting as I had ordered him to. I expected them to survive the crash, only to find themselves closer to a more secluded area. A perfect target for you and your allies to assault them."

That brought the smile to Brina's face once more. "Of course, Mr. Prophet. My security feed did not tell me of where they had landed at. Would you happen to know exactly?"

The Prophet smiled as he directed her towards a larger monitor to their right. He himself walked over to it and pressed a couple of buttons on it's rather large keyboard. On the screen, satellite images of the United States appeared and it quickly zoomed into the northern Virginia area. Upon closer inspection, a large mountain could be seen with a castle shaped formation on it's top.

"This is where they crashed." he said, pointing to a large cliff like shape that was to the south of the mountain. "And this is where they are heading." he continued as he pointed to the mountaintop.

Brina peered at the screen for a few moments. "At this moment.... it would be unwise to strike." She said lightly. "Because of the earlier attack, they could be expecting us already. We must allow for a brief cool-down period before we can allow ourselves to get into position again." She directed her attention towards another part of the screen, particularly where it showed a village not too far away. "Maybe once they've allowed themselves to get acquainted with the locals...."

"I agree. It would be best to wait for them to lower their guard, then we may strike them. As for the village..." He began to look at it with a bit of curiosity, before resuming his talk. "...I doubt that they would go to the top of a mountain to a large castle only to go back down to a village for any reason. Of course, it is still possible and something that we should take into consideration."

As he finished, he felt the prescence of his assassin entering the room. He then turned to face him. "Ah Kafiezial. I assume that you weren't too badly scuffled in the fight?"

The Watcher walked up to the pair slowly. He held out his right hand, which held the detonator that he'd used earlier, and handed it to Brina.

As she shifted to face him, Brina allowed her eyes to fall on the detonator. Her eyes squinted, and her smile expressed moderate happiness. "I am glad that the equipment proved to be quite useful." She said, reaching out and taking the detonator from the man. "As our targets get acquainted, my colleagues will proceed to infiltrate and take up positions within the village to provide overwatch."

The Watcher simply nodded in response to her statement and Flash Stepped from view. The Prophet turned back to Brina. "It seems that he has already taken a liking to you." He then looked back at the monitor, taking her plans into consideration. "When do you think that you will be heading out?"

"Possibly a week." Brina estimated. "But that will be when I personally arrive on scene. My men will already be there, waiting for the moment to strike."

The Prophet's smile lowered as he read her face. "You're wanting to catch the Captain when she is alone, don't you?"

Brina closed her eyes and remained silent for a moment against the subtle accusation, the smile fading from her face. However, she kept that polite and light tone in her words when she spoke again. "If that is my reason for doing this, then I would've never placed the explosives on that plane, Mr. Prophet." She explained to him. "It is as if you believe I want my path of revenge to be an honorable one, that I believe purely that justice must be done."

Slowly, she opened her eyes to the screen again.

"I'm only human, after all."

The Prophet simply nodded in agreement and looked back up at the monitor before speaking again. "You know, I couldn't help but notice a familiar accent to your voice." He then turned his gaze back to her. "You wouldn't happen to be a McTavish would you?"

"I am." Brina said smoothly. "Why do you ask?" There was no point in denying it. The Prophet was more perceptive than he looked, so he or his bodyguard could probably tell if she was lying or not. Besides, it wasn't as if it mattered. She already showed that she was willing to commit atrocious actions against her own father just to gain her revenge. So what was there to fear?

The Prophet's friendly gaze briefly turned into a stern one before he resumed his previous expression. "It's nothing. I recognized your grandfather's accent within your voice and I thought I would inquire about it to see if I was right."

"I see...."

Remaining silent for a moment more, Brina presumed to turn on her heel and walk off. "If that is everything, I must be on my way again, Mr. Prophet, and Mr. Watcher." She said politely, turning around only to give a polite bow. "Do take care...."

As she left, the Watcher shut the door behind her before he crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall as his master continued to monitor the screen images. "She's obviously got something planned for us as well." he said with his empty voice. The Prophet did not move as he replied. "I know that. And what does it matter? Within a few days, her precious organization, as well as the rest of the world, will crumble before my feet..." he walked over to the window and stared out into the massive city. "...Once I wield the blade."

The Watcher simply kept his head down, slumped over as if though he was asleep. "Do you have any orders sir?"

The Prophet continued to stare at the window. "Continue to monitor her and her peers. Even if she doesn't have anything planned, I want to know what it is she's thinking."

The Watcher gave a respectful bow as he Flash Stepped from view.

Old Wounds
As it appears on the outside, Preacher's Virginia estate had a distinct classical feel on the inside, a welcome change to the various white and futuristic styles of living that the trio had seen earlier. It had been nearly two days since they had arrived at the highly elevated home, and it had already felt as if though all of the world's problems had disappeared. Of course, that would change very soon.

Akisame was laying on a large sofa inside of the main living room, looking out of the window to see the snow covered mountains that seemed to stretch off into and endless stream of ridges. His wife Soifon was sitting in a fur skin chair, fixing her up a new leather strap to put on her stealth uniform. She had become so used to having the weight on her shoulder, that taking it off would make her off balance while in a fight.

"Ah, the Onmitsukidō uniform...."

Haralson was sitting across from her, hands folded behind his head, and one leg shifted over the other. "Doesn't look like it's changed much from the old days." He commented in a statement of small chatter. "So I can probably assume the modern generation also hasn't changed much. How was it for you, serving in that particular position?"

Soifon looked back up at him. "Hard. Especially when you're surrounded by incompetants who don't know how to follow simple instructions." Just as she finished talking, she had successfully completed he new armor piece and began to stitch it to the leather pad. "Well, most of them weren't as bad, but there were a few..." she trailed off into thought, remembering how Omaeda was brutally killed by Ultharon.

"Heh...." Haralson had to chuckle a little at her words, considering how high he held the 2nd Division. "Idiots, huh? Did that count for those within the Onmitsukidō, as well?"

She smiled. "Not really. Out of the hundreds of members, I could count the idiotic ones out of them with my fingers. The difference between them and the 2nd Division, is that they were more trained. We were taught to be emotionless killers, completing assignments without remorse or pity, and complete them with the best precision available. That's how I was for a long time." She then turned her friendly gaze towards a now sleeping Akisame. "Until that big lump came along and crashed everything."

Haralson squinted his eyes in a slight upside-down U shape, smiling all the while. "A family life can do that to you, lassie...." He commented lightly.

She looked back at him with the same gentle expression. "I don't know how he did it. But there was something about him that just...I can't explain it."

She then set her armor piece down on the table in front of them before sitting up with her left leg crossed over her right. "So...how did your family end up getting together?" She wanted to avoid speaking about the issue with Brina.

Surprise came across Haralson's face. But it only existed for a brief moment before it went back into a thoughtful look. "Well..." He began, as if hesitant where to start. "I don't think there's really much to explain when it comes to that... me and my wife were young and romantically stupid at the time. We fell in love at first time, but.... it was pretty awkward the first few times we met. Both of us hardly knew what we were doing. But, as time passed, we began to grow more adapted to one another and things went pretty smoothly from there. We got married, had our two children, and whatnot."

Soifon continued to smile. "That sounds alot like me and Aki, minus the children of course." She looked over to see her now awakening husband.

"I'm going to go on the top porch for a bit. I'll be back in a few." she said as she left the room they were in.

Akisame got up and rubbed the back of his neck. "You two didn't do anything while I was out did you?" he joked with a tired voice.

Haralson closed his eyes, folding his hands within his lap. "Only shared a few words of small talk while you were knocked out." He said honestly. "And, besides...." He cocked a slight eyebrow and smirked. "When you're speaking in human aging, I'm 45, while she's probably in her early 30's. You know me better than that, Akisame."

Akisame simply chuckled as he sat himself upwards. "Well you can never be too sure."

He then lit a cigarette and sat back, relaxing his apparently tired muscles. He held out his pack of cigars, motioning Haralson if he wanted one.

Haralson wordlessly took one of them from the pack before leaning back into his chair, pulling out a lighter from his hankama pocket. Stuffing the butt in his mouth, he lit the other end quickly before extinguishing the flame for his lighter, keeping his cigarette between two fingers as he smoked it. "In case you didn't hear, the lass'll be back shortly." He reported.

Akisame puffed a blow of smoke away from him. "If it's about the smoking ordeal, she'll get over it. I do it back at home around her all the time." He put the cigar back into his mouth as he looked outside. "Have you ever seen gramps smoke?"

"Tch...." Haralson scoffed at the remark lightly. "I don't even think he heard of it before. Maybe he did it around you, but I was never around him enough to know."

Akisame smiled and held up one finger as he continued to look outside. "I've seen him do it once. It was when Sophie and I started dating. He was watching me smoke and he told me "Them bloody things will get you killed."" he said as he tried to imitate the old Soul Reaper's voice.

He chuckled somewhat. "Well, I tried to convince him otherwise but he wouldn't have it. And at one point in that day, I walked outside of the 2nd Division barracks and I saw him smoke the weirdest looking pipe. It was like a snake you know?" he puffed another cloud of smoke out before continuing. "He never knew I saw him, at least I think. He probably felt my presence and all."

"Dad was always quite the crafty bastard...." Haralson commented, half-lidding his eyes and leaning back in his chair to relax himself. "He could probably tell what people were thinking about him just by glancing in their general direction.... though, that could be just an over-exaggeration on my part."

"Yeah. He always did have that special touch." Akisame said, tossing his cigarette butt into the trash can next to him. "And you said that he and this...Prophet...were partners sometime ago?"

Haralson gave a silent nod, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and blowing out a cloud of smoke.

"Hm." he replied crossing his right leg over his left. "He always was a bit strange when it came to the Red Sun." He looked up at the ceiling fan, watching it spin and form a circle in his eyes. "It's like...when he turned on Sophie and I...we honestly thought he'd lost his mind. Saying that only the Red Sun could save us from Ultharon. I don't know why he felt he had to kill us to go through with it all. Maybe studying it for so long caused him to go mad." he finished as he put his hands around his neck and leaning back in the seat.

"Well, if he went mad because of that reason...." Haralson said logically. "Then how would he have maintained his sanity when he spoke to me within the vision that De Soto gave me? He seemed quite right in the head to me."

Akisame shrugged. "Maybe because that was the Charles that you knew, you know your perception of him."

"I would've believed that, too... but there was just one thing about it." Haralson, unsure of whether or not he had explained this before, took in a deep breath to explain presumably again. "At a certain point in time, he inserted a small part of his mind into De Soto's Zanpakutō for the small purpose of linking to me within the Arrancar's final moments. That was him, all right."

Akisame looked at him in a sort of dumbfounded look. "Huh. I guess he was in his right mind after all, not that that really helps." He leaned forward and rubbed his hands togather. "You know...I've never really believed in this Red Sun stuff. I've never really been the religious type you see. And he would always tell us that the Red Sun was the only hope for salvation or some stuff like that." He leaned back. "It sounded like rubbish to me, no offense."

"None taken...." Haralson dismissed it smoothly. "But I find it a bit funny. Despite the fact that the old man had spent more time with you than me, I honestly would've believed that you would believe in Red Sun."

Akisame's smile became somewhat lower as he looked down at the table between him and Haralson. "Well...he wasn't much of a father to me either. It was always either fighting him and growing stronger, or reading about some Red Sun history thing."

He looked up towards Haralson. "The thought of a paradise beyond Soul Society, a paradise for departed souls in itself, just sounded odd to me. I mean, what will happen to the worlds afterwords? How can people tell who will be there to inhabit it? And what happens if they die? Do they go off into another paradise and the process eventually repeats itself?"

He leaned back. "Religion has always been something to be cautious of, at least in my case. I know that may sound foolish and whatnot, but that's how I honestly felt." He looked back out the window. "Something the old man never could understand..."

For a moment, Haralson did not allow himself to speak, eyes peering at Akisame as he contemplated his words. But it wasn't long before he began again. "Of course you're cautious." He said calmly. "Religion can lead to extremist movements, immoral and unethical action. It's really no different from the concept of patriotism for government, or even love for your family. But the fact that what religion you believe in could be nothing more than a myth is what puts it above everything else."

Akisame looked back at him. "Did you ever run into that sort of problem before..."

He was cut off when his wife Flash Stepped next to him. "The wind feels good out there. You want to come out there with me?" She looked back at Haralson, realizing the rude motion she'd just made. "Oh, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't interrupting anything important was I?"

"...nah." Haralson stuck up his bottom lip in a brief, thoughtful frown before returning to a casual look. "You weren't interrupting anything at all."

Soifon smiled and leaned towards Akisame. "I'll be waiting." She then turned to leave for the porch, smoothly running her right index finger along Akisame's shoulder. He then looked back up at Haralson in a comically excited manner before getting up to leave. As he went towards the hallway, he turned back to Haralson. "Hey Haralson..."

"Hm?" Haralson muttered, cocking a slight eyebrow.

"...It was good talking to you."

"No problem, mate. Have fun with your wife."

With that, Akisame cracked a smile and quickly turned to catch up with Soifon.

An Unwelcome Surprise
It was just a few hours after that, that the couple had left the castle and were heading down towards a small town that was about a mile away from the area. Soifon simply wanted some fresh air and atmosphere that was different from the smoke filled castle, while Akisame merely wanted to walk with his wife out in an open area, something that they hadn't done in a long time. She was wearing her stealth uniform under a brown, fur skin coat that she had taken from the closet in one of the rooms, while Akisame was wearing his normal black trench coat with a black shirt under it.

As they walked towards the village, Soifon remarked on how familiar the area was. "Dang it, this town is just like the little dirt piece that Haralson lives in. I swear have these humans even tried to advance in the last 600 years?" Akisame smirked as he held his wife's hand while treking through the snow covered town. "Hey we've been living in a massive city for like two centuries. It's a pretty welcome change if you ask me."

She kept walking slightly faster than he was. "Like I said earlier, you're a lazy bum."

He chuckled some more as he looked around the area. This town was slightly bigger than the one that Haralson occupied, and it was slightly more advanced than it as well. This town held the airport that their plane was to land in, as well as having a 12 story building that served as the town's center. There were numerous diner's and coffee stands, as well as a small clothing department and a number of gas stations.

"Well at least this place isn't as primitive as his place." she scoffed, inching closer to her husband. "You know, I can't help but feel that we're being watched." she said.

"What makes you say that?" Akisame replied, stopping at a sign that signaled them to wait to cross a road that was full of moving cars. As he looked around, Akisame noticed a small flock of crows flying over to the coffee shop to their left across the road. As one of the crows landed on it's top, Soifon managed to glance over towards the same shop and see the crow, only to look directly below it. What she saw sitting at a table on the outside made her blood freeze with shock.

"N-No way...It...it can't be her!" she quietly said, letting go of Akisame's hand.

Sitting in the chair with a book in one hand was a young woman with long, brown hair and equally colored eyes. She was wearing a Shinigami's uniform, but nothing that signified her as a member of the Gotei 13 rather than the Zanpakutō hooked on her waist. She happened to look up from her book, her eyes casting themselves on the two and widening in surprise. However, this lasted only for a brief moment - for it became serene and calm, a seemingly warm smile on her face as she gave a gentle wave.

It was Brina.

Soifon's fists tightened with surprise and anger, but she quickly withdrew them. Akisame looked over to where Brina was and looked down at his wife. "Who is it? Friend of yours?"

She kept her stern glare on Brina as she responded. "No. No Aki it's Brina. Brina McTavish."

Akisame's eyes widened in surprise as he looked back up so see the polite Soul Reaper waving at them. "Huh. She doesn't look upset. Maybe you should go talk to her." he said, gently nudging her. She continued to look at her former nemisis. "Aki, if I go over there, one of us is going to end up dead."

He continued to nudge her. "Just give her a chance. Who knows? Maybe she's as willing to forgive you as Haralson was." She gave a deep sigh as she stepped forward, looking both ways across the road as she then Flash Stepped over next to where Brina was, standing right in front of the table that she sat next to.

"Brina...is that you?"

"Sensei...."

Brina kept a pleasant tone within her words as she spoke to the woman, hiding any hostility that would have been detected otherwise. "It's been quite a long time, but I see the years have been nice to you and the smell of blood on you hasn't faded away completely." She said. "How have you been?"

Soifon's cautious expression remained the same. Though she wasn't certain, the feeling of sheer hatred and torment was radiating off of her former apprentice, but she didn't need to start a fight here in the town, not where her husband could see. "You shouldn't call me that. I'm not your master anymore." She would have sat down, but her caution kept her from doing so.

"I shouldn't? I'm sorry...." Brina closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, snapping the book she was reading shut. "I should let that habit just die... but you did teach me everything you know.... how to fight.... how to kill.... how to express yourself when killing someone.... but of course, you already know that, considering you were the last victim of it...."

Even through her polite tone, her words seemed to be more mocking than anything else.

"Brina..." Soifon wanted to hit her with everything in her power, she wanted to make her suffer for slaughtering her squad, defecting from her duties, defeating her in battle, leaving her to die in the most humiliating way possible, and for having the audacity to mock her over it all...

...But she decided against it. She knew that Brina was still infuriated over what had happened. If anything, the last thing Soifon needed to do was act as the aggressor or the victim. After all, all of this was her doing.

"...how have you been? You appear to have grown quite alot since I last saw you." she said, trying her best to be polite to the younger Soul Reaper.

"It's rude to change the subject so abruptly."

Brina's gaze shifted to Akisame for a moment, before her eyes switched back to Soifon. "But, I think that's a bit too much when it comes to the likes of you. At this point, you shouldn't disappoint. You willingly evaded the task of killing my mother and left me to carry the burden. Clearly, you ran away from your own supposed duties as Captain and Commander of the Stealth Force, seeing as you're trying in vain to live a family life. And now, I find you trying to run away from yourself."

At that point in time, Brina opened her eyes once more.

"The word "coward" comes to mind, no? Is that the true reason why all of those puppets under your command died that night....?"

Soifon's inner anger only rose in response to the insult. She briefly tightened her right fist, thinking to use it to throw the table up in her face and kick her in the stomach with a blast of Shunko...

...But she couldn't do it. Something was holding her back, and she couldn't place it. "...Brina, I know that you're angry over the...the incident...that I had you do. I understand that, if anything, i'm to blame for all of it. I know that you are just fighting the instinct within you to kill me where I stand..." she closed her eyes. "...But I've moved on from that part of my life. Maybe it would be best if you did the same."

But Brina closed her eyes and shook her head, making three "tsk" noises seemingly out of disappointment. "Now, sensei, you should know better." She spoke coolly. "I have no reason to be angry at you. Why would I hold any hatred towards someone who's obviously fallen so far? You're nothing but a shell of the power you once was. No, it's pointless to be angry at you, one who is so weak. I wonder what our predecessor Yoruichi would say, seeing you as you are?"

That was the last straw.

She grabbed the table in front of Brina and threw it aside, causing it to fly through the window of another building. She then grabbed Brina by her neck and slammed her into the side of the building, holding her in place. "Don't you DARE bring Yoruichi into this you little bitch!" She then raised her right fist to strike her former apprentice, but a strong arm caught it before it could do so. She turned to see Akisame as the one holding her fist, a dead serious glare in his eyes.

"Soifon. Enough."

It had hurt.

Brina's pupils shrank, and she ended up dropping the book out of shock as Soifon slammed her into the building. She had not counted on Soifon still having so much strength within her. However, she remembered that time may have not worn away her former mentor's skill. Her heart beat a little faster at the thought, a pleased smile crossing her face. She remained silent, the serene gaze in her eyes returning right after it had faded away even as her mentor's husband came to intervene.

She remained silent, waiting ever so patiently.

Soifon's rage turned over to her husband. "You. I told you this wouldn't end well!" she looked back at Brina, trying to hit her with her fist, but Akisame's grip was stronger than she thought and it wouldn't budge. "Soifon. Let's go, now."

She gritted her teeth as she kept looking into Brina's calm eyes, and then let it go with an exhale. Akisame himself gave a disappointed look towards Brina before gently tugging at Soifon's shoulder. Her face was now relaxed and she turned to leave with her husband...

...Only to whirl back at Brina with a punch powerful enough to knock her out.

This time, Akisame could not stop it.

But this time, Brina was prepared.

If she blocked the punch outright or attempted to catch it, chances are she would have a better chance of snapping her own wrist rather than keep herself from injury. There was no doubt that Soifon's skill and power had not dulled completely and that she was still proving herself to be a formidable opponent. However, at this moment in time, her sensei seemed to be completely overtaken by anger and only thinking of striking her.

Therefore, she found her opportunity.

She rose one hand up, grasping Soifon's wrist before it could reach her. Then, she pulled the former Captain towards her, reached out to grab her other arm, and pin both of them behind her back. Then, while locking one of her hands in order to keep the captive arms secured, she raised the other to clasp around her prey's mouth. All of this was done in one swift and fluid motion, no movements wasted. It showed just how much of a threat she herself could prove to be.

Soifon was too stunned to react.

Akisame immediatley turned around to see his wife in the most precarious position. At first, he simply sighed in annoyance over his wife's foolish mistake, but he knew that he had to do something.

He spoke to Brina in a rather calm voice. "Brina. Let my wife go please."

"One moment."

Briefly giving him a bright smile, Brina leaned in to Soifon to whisper in her ear. "You see what happens, sensei...?" She whispered. Now, in the situation that was taking place, Brina's pleasant tone seemed to take on a more disturbing feel with each and every word that she spoke. "You let yourself fall completely into my trap... again. Let this be a lesson for you. No matter where you turn, no matter how far you run, no matter how much you try to deny it... I will always be there, and I will always have complete and total control over you. I always win, and you will always be doomed to fail."

With a vicious shove, she pushed the Captain towards Akisame, leaned over to pick up the book dropped, and stood back up. "See you later!" She said in a sing-song voice before performing an impressive Flash Step out of the area, leaving the two to themselves.

Being caught in the arms of Akisame, Soifon instantley turned around to attempt to strike Brina again, but she had disappeared before she could have. She looked around furiously, trying to find her target, before she felt her husband's arm gently grasp her shoulder. She turned to face him, hatred and tears in her eyes.

"Sophie..."

Akisame realized that this was his fault. Had he simply left Brina to her devices, none of this would have happened. And now he has possibly destroyed his marriage.

Before he could say more, she Flash Stepped out of view, leaving him alone in the small open diner.

"Ugh....I'm so bored...."

Haralson was still sitting in his chair, although in a haphazard fashion with his body sideways within the chair instead of horizontally. His head was bent back, and all he saw was an upside-down wall. "Bet those two are off having a blast, while this old man is stuck in here doing nothing...." He grumbled, folding his arms across his chest. "Really makes me wish I was bloody 22 again...."

He should've brought his guitar. Then he could've started playing a tune or something....

Then, the front door was loudly opened and followed by a powerful slam. Then it reopened again and shut again in a more quiet manner. Had he looked, Haralson would have seen an infuriated and tearful Soifon stomping through the house up towards her bedroom. Akisame was right behind her, trying to calm his wife down as he glanced over to Haralson.

"....I have a feeling this was somehow my fault...." Haralson sighed heavily, slapping a palm to his face and allowing himself to stand onto his feet. "I'm going to just shut up and leave you to alone...." With a rather comically irritated demeanor about him, he shuffled past Akisame and disappeared from the room.

Soifon entered her bedroom and slammed the door shut, not bothering to lock it. She then threw her shoes at the wall, causing two large cracks to form within them. She then took off her wolf amulet and prepared to throw it at the wall as well, but before she could, a strange pain made it's way into her stomach area as she leaned up against the bed holding it.

"She's already kicking..."

Suddenly, the door gently opened to reveal a sympathetic Akisame slowly coming in. "Soifon..." She immediatley picked herself up, the pain had gone away for now and she turned to face her husband. "Leave. Now." she said, her stern voice riddled with anger.

He ignored her and slowly walked over to her, reaching his hand out to take her hand. "No." she said, whipping her hand back. His guilty expression didn't change as he tried again, only to have her slap it away from her. "No!" she said with more anger. "Get out of my face Akisame. I want to be alone right now!"

He then placed both arms on her shoulders and gently pulled himself to her, while she tried to push herself away. As she got closer to him, and her face was near his chest, she reared her fist to strike him until she looked into his eyes. "Sophie...please." he said.

She looked into his eyes at first with her angry ones, but then, they slowly became more relaxed as tears began to emerge from them. "Aki...i'm...i'm so weak." she said as she put her head onto his chest, letting the tears run down his shirt. "She's...I should be stronger than this...I should have kept my cool I should have..."

He cut her off when he gently took her chin and raised her head up to where it was looking into his again. "...Sophie...you're not weak."

She pulled her head away from him, though not from his grasp in total, and looked away. "No. No she's stronger than I am. I've...I've become so...so soft...so vulnerable. She just tore through and...my anger got the better of me." He raised her chin up again as he reassured her. "Sophie, you're not the weaker of the two. She is a coward, using other's emotions to her advantage." he brought her face closer to his and whispered. "You're better than she is."

With that, she closed her eyes and gently pressed her lips against his. He slowly slid his arms around her waist as she placed hers around his back. Her tears of anger turned into tears of joy and love, knowing that no matter what happens, whether it be Brina or the Prophet or anyone else, Akisame would always be there for her.

"In the end...all we have is each other."

Message From The Boss
"Ah, that was fun...."

Brina was walking outside of the small town, a content smile on her face. The wind blew ever so slightly, billowing her clothing as well as her hair a bit. She didn't seem to mind the finger marks where Soifon had pressed into her neck, nor did she seem to show any sign of her being in danger other than the smile. It pleased her to know that Soifon's darker side had not yet faded away, and at that given moment, she wanted to make that the final moment. However, it just wasn't time yet. She knew better than to let her emotions get the best of her.

Even when they did allow her to see how cruel the Soul Society was...

"You're a natural at this sort of thing, aren't you?"

Had she looked up to her left, she would have seen the Watcher sitting on the branch of a tree, overlooking her. The full moon being the only thing that allowed his dark figure to be seen in the darkened forrest. He had a crow perched on his right arm, looking for prey as always. After the incident on the plane, Kafiezial had somehow managed to obtain another crow, one that was slightly more docile than the last.

Brina stopped in her tracks, not bothering to turn to face the Watcher with her body. However, she did turn towards him with her head, her content smile turning into a polite one. "Thank you, Mr. Watcher." She answered him. "I assumed you were still...watching me during that scene?"

"I'm always watching. As I was ordered to do."

He then fell out of the tree, landing onto the snow covered ground with a quiet thud. His crow quickly coming back to his side, perching on his shoulder as he stood straight up. "And that wasn't a compliment."

"Ah...." A slightly sheepish expression came over Brina's face, and she performed a quick, apologetic bow. "Then I'm sorry for offending you." Straightening up, she approached him casually and quietly. "Has the Prophet news for me?"

"Indeed." the tall being said, looking down at her as if though he was disappointed in her.

He then looked at his crow, who in turn looked down in front of the Watcher. Out of it's mouth emerged a dark cloud that came and formed in front of Brina. The cloud then formed itself in what appeared to be an etheral Prophet.

"Brina McTavish. I trust all is well?" it said.

"Some sort of astral projection....? Interesting...."

Despite her thoughts, she kept up her pleasantries as she directed her attention to the Prophet. "Of course, sir..." She answered readily. "Might I ask what would you required of me?"

The Prophet's face was stern and serious. "Brina. Time is of the essence as of right now. I must have the fragment by tomorrow."

Brina closed her eyes and nodded in acknowledgement. "I understand. But it can be as early as today, if you so wish...." She answered, folding her hands out in front of her. "Everyone is within their respective places, and the villagers suspect nothing. Once I give the order, everything and everyone will be destroyed. The three will not hesitate to come to the town in an effort to save them." She opened her eyes back up to stare into the Prophet's own.

"That is where I have a request for you. I would like you to be by my side, if you can, and watch as the fruit of your rewards come into fruition...."

The Prophet gave a slight smile as he looked over to the Watcher, who looked back at him and nodded. "Very well Brina. If that is your request, then I am obligated to reply in return for your assistance." He then crossed his arms with the same expression. "If you can begin the attack now, then please proceed as you will. Kafiezial will assist you in what ever amount that you see necessary. Though I'm afraid that I will not be able to be there within but a few hours."

With a quick nod, the girl reached into her gi and pulled out what looked like a cellular phone. After pressing a few buttons, she placed it into her ear. "Initiate Code 6-Alpha-Crawl." She ordered briefly, before pressing another button on it and sheathing it back within her gi. It only took a few seconds....

BOOM!

Several explosions started to shake the ground under their feet. Within the village, several houses exploded without warning. Those within the streets had abruptly stopped to look on in shock and horror before erupting into a panic, screaming as they tried to instinctively run for cover. However, from hidden positions within the village, gunfire started to erupt and tear apart those who had been exposed in the streets. Indeed, preparations had been made to full effect.

The Prophet simply kept looking at her as the explosions tore throughout the town. "I look forward to seeing your work in person." he then turned his attention to the Watcher and nodded, as his form quickly turned into a black cloud and returned to the crow.

The Watcher slowly looked out into the burning town, seeing all of the innocent people burning and running for their lives. He then turned back to Brina, and looked at her with a disappointed look as closed his eyes and shook his head.

"A man goes out looking for blood, he is going to find it...."

He opened his eyes and looked into Brina's. "....but it may not be the blood that he was searching for."

With that, he Flash-Stepped from view, his crow flying towards the castle.

"Hm...?"

Brina's eyes widened in surprise at the Watcher's words, considering what the Prophet had said earlier about him. That time, she saw the emotion of disappointment within. Hadn't the Prophet said that he was completely emotionless? Was it an attempt to deceive the Prophet? Or... were they working together to deceive her instead? It brought about so many questions... yet she knew she could not answer them just yet. Her brown eyes cast themselves on the village as it was destroyed by the gunmen.

Drawing her sword from its scabbard, she walked calmly back in order to assist in the slaughter.

A Dark Past Destroyed
Akisame and Soifon stood out on the porch outside of their room, slowly dancing with one another. It had been almost two hours since the Brina incident and Soifon's eyes had dried from her tears as she held herself close to her husband, whom rested his head in her hair, looking out into the full moon. They had successfully forgiven one another for all that had happened previously, and they were now getting to spend time with one another like they had wanted to do for a while.

She hugged Akisame tightly as they continued their movements. "I remember that time, when you told me how you would always be there for me...you shouldn't."

He looked down at her. "Why do you say that?"

She looked out into the moon as he was previously. "I'm a former Captain, former Commander of the Stealth Force. I should be strong enough to look out for myself. I should be strong enough to face people like Brina down without having to give into anger and envy."

He looked at her with a stern yet gentle gaze. "Sophie, you knew that one day this would all catch up with you."

"I know that. It's just....it's just a very inconvieniant time, right now at least." she replied without looking at him.

He became somewhat confused. "Why is it a bad time? What's wrong?"

She then gave an exhale and looked back up at him. "...Do you remember when I told you that I knew that Haralson was a former Captain? And that I tried to tell you before De Soto attacked?"

He nodded in agreement.

"...Well....I lied. It was something more important than that. FAR more important than that actually."

His face became somewhat dreadful as he looked down at her. "Yeah? Well what was it?"

She down as she hesitated to answer. "I'm...i'm." She then looked back up at him in a serene fashion. "I'm pre-"

BOOM!

"Dammit!" she said as she was interupted by a series of explosions in the town below. Her husband let go of her as he turned to see the pillars of fire reaching up to the sky. "What in god's name happened?"

Woosh!

"We have a problem!"

Haralson's tense voice sounded beside them. He was leaning against the outside wall of the house's exterior, looking as if he had just come out of a fight. Burn marks and tears were present on his clothing, yet it appeared to be nothing serious. He was breathing heavily, a clearly shocked look on his face as he stared at the both of them.

"There's a bloody confrontation going on in the town nearby!" He informed them. "I nearly got myself shot up when I was coming back here! Everyone's being shot dead where they stand!!"