The only thing I know is I don't know a thing ~solo~

The scars became a silence so much deeper than a sound.

Kaiyo lay silently on the floor, her vision engulfed by the tall swaying blades of yellowing grass. So striking to look at alone, and yet when bowing down to the breeze, their synonymous movements swayed like a wave on the ocean. No under-current or violence to their movements, they were gentle and calm, brushing against one another with an analogous serenity. Kaiyo shut her eyes. The warmth of the sun alone seeming to keep that golden hue within the realms of her darkened vision. It was a welcomed comfort.

A tear squeezed between the girl's shut eyelids, glistening with a beauty in it's sorrow; holding no solace as it slid down the side of the girl's face. Kaiyo made no motion to stop the tear, instead she just lay there, wrapped closely between those swaying golden pillars. Her right hand tracing along the scar's on her stomach...It felt so selfish to care, so stupid and irrelevant. To consider that for the lives she'd saved, the penance of a permanent reminder had been too great a toll. Such a thought was one she would never share.

Kaiyo sat up, her hands wrapping around her knees as she brought them towards her body, her small frame hidden amongst the brush. Streaks of shadows split across her face, splashing through the yellow towers that were swaying around her. The warmth of her hands negated how cold Kaiyo felt. How empty.

Fear is pain in essence. It's true price is death. The one who fears death is the one who is truly alive; the one who doesn't fear it has successfully conquered one's self.

Kaiyo didn't feel like she had conquered herself, in fact she felt more lost than she had done in quite a while. One step forwards two steps backwards; the never-ending cycle that was pushing against any progress or understanding. How do you tell the people you care about so much that thy're going to die soon. The notion itself would have laughable just a short while ago. It wasn't fear, Kaiyo had long since accepted that every fight she entered had to begin with her winning, then the outcome was actually irrelevant. So her platonic loss of a fight was echoing closer, but could she really protect everyone...Well she could sure as hell try.

Kaiyo lowered her head into her knees, inhaling deeply as she let out a heavy sigh; her warm breath clinging to her clothes as her cheeks blushed a light shade of red. Now would have been a lovely time for the world to produce a punching bag for the Captain, sadly, she doubted such an appearance. A cracked laugh hollowed out through the air, a cry of desperation tearing through it as the girl remembered her last fateful meeting with the ruling body of Soul Society. Kaiyo had been a Captain long enough to be trusted with certain information that others may not have known, and whilst such clearing was usually helpful, it was also an extreme hassle.

~The meeting~
'Maybe because people want to know?!' Kaiyo yelled, taking an aggressive step forwards as her foot echoed through the chamber. The Captain was oblivious to the fact that the central 46 were considered by some as corrupt, but that didn't stop her arguing with them. The dark lighting of the room made it impossible to see the members that were seated around her, but their voices carried down to the girl just as well.

'We cannot trust the lower ranks to understand the full gravity of the situation yet!' snapped a male voice in front of kaiyo, his voice low and gravely, as if he had already been talking for hundreds of years. Kaiyo could feel the anger welling up inside of her, patience quickly knotting at the end of her tether as she threw her arms up in an over-exaggerated annoyance. 'It's not that hard to understand! People are going to attack us, and if we don't tell anyone, they won't be ready! And then they'll die!' The crux of her argument rested on such a point, the desire to help and protect the people she cared for. People who Kaiyo felt, deserved to know they were being signed up for a war.

'Don't be so dramatic Captain Saiyouko, we are still planning on informing the masses of their fate, but at a time more suitable for both parties' That particular woman's voice had always sounded so familiar to Kaiyo, the woman was usually a lot more patronising though. 'You mean suitable for you' Kaiyo mumbled, like a petulant child being told off by their teacher. The meeting had come about due to the indiscretion of the Captain actually, after one unfortunate spar with a member of kao's squad, it had gotten back to the central 46 that their trusted 11th squad Captain had been all too forthcoming in sharing information.

'Hold your tongue!' The noise boomed through the chamber, the echo alone sending a shiver up Kaiyo's spine, though she appeared as indignant as ever. A lapse in noise was filled with incoherent whispers that swarmed around the girl, unable to make out fully what was being said. Most likely it was the usual arguments. Kaiyo was fully aware that the central 46 had been split on their approval of her rank, some regarding her as too much of a loose cannon, or overly impulsive. Those arguments were long since buried though, she had been around long enough to know that the meagre whispers of the council members would lead to no real problem for her. As long as she played by their rules.

The girl had been holding her tongue, refusing to speak until a compromise at least was offered to her. 'Perhaps..' The voice began, catching the girl attention as she turned around, hopefully glancing at the shaded silhouette. 'A meeting, of our division representatives should decide such a fate. As clearly Captain Saiyouko is adamant in her conviction, i see little point on trying to persuade her...Though we must ask, Kaiyo..' The girl's blue eyes widened, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face. First name questions were never what she would call, a good thing. Taking a moment to gather her composure, the girl nodded firmly; her expression stoic as her hear began to rattle against her rib cage.

'Why do you oppose the war?'

~ ... ~

Kaiyo slowly rose to her feet, her small stature hiding all but her shoulders and head in the field. Kaiyo turned to face the breeze head on, smiling to herself as the cold air rustled around her feet, pushing her clothes lightly against her skin, and brushing away the heat from her face. The new wind was heading in, and bringing about changes that people would never have even imagined. The jagged puzzle pieces Kaiyo had been fed had created a worrying picture, and one that left only the markings of the battleground; not even a time of place. Her chest rose sharply as Kaiyo inhaled, taking one step forwards as she headed back to her office. There was still so much to do, and so much more to find out.