A Time Of Self Finding. (Tatsu & Kaiyo)

The battle was heated and there weren't many enemies left, Tatsu's spiritual pressence was a glaring beacon of energy in the scenery and the 2nd division omnitsukido were fleeing and Tatsu was fending off the remaining foes, they stood no chance, whatever wound they had landed on him left nothing but a scar that would vanish, they didn't understand his shikai, but they sure knew they had no chance. His fighting abilities and his strength of will kept him in the fray for longer than they had been trained to carry on fights like this, his skills with the sword made him a very tough opponent that simply didn't care about falling down beaten to the ground.

In fact, a mission had been sent to some members of the 11th division to track and capture a spotted rogue shinigami, no more information had been given out, because all of the members would've refused when they learned Tatsu Chirako was the target.

The day was bright and hot, his little house was destroyed and mud was sprung everywhere in the little pond, blood....of the 2nd division was marking the ground and Tatsu's was staining his shinigami rags, his body had no scars but someone that knew his shikai knew that every slice in his clothing meant a a slice that landed home. Spiritual kidou marks on the ground could be seen, but no marks on his clothing could be seen.

Tatsu eyed the remaining of the 2nd squad flee, they were no more than 5 left and he was already taking care of the bodies dragging them away from his little shed, he knew he had to leave, reinforcement would be on their way and things would be ugly for him this time, they wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

When he was done with the bodies his shikai deactivated itself and he started flash stepping away, quickly trying to get away from the scene of battle as fast as possible.

He hadn't actually slayed all of the 2nd division members, he had just defended himself from an straightforward attack, most of them could probably be saved by a 4th division member and at the worst case, where a man was actually looking at his guts, a quick attention of the 4th division captain.

Kaiyo rolled her eyes, flailing her arms behind the large squad members of hers as she groaned, 'Eurgh! Why'd i have to come along, i trust you guys just fine!' The girl's annoyance was not with her squad, no, the higher ups had decided that after wiping out the 2nd squad strike teams, Kaiyo had to accompany her squad to the real world. Even the Captain herself didn't know the details of the rogue shinigami, so as far as she was concerned, it didn't affect her. Of course the casualty list was a little rude of whomever the ex-shinigami was; striking down previous allies to callously seemed all too aggressive, even for Kaiyo. Though again, she hadn't been told specifics of the injuries yet.

Kaiyo dropped her shoulders, curling over her spine in an over-exaggerated annoyance as the Senkai gate opened. The girl shot up straight as they arrived though, the various team of her squad members flash stepping off to leave behind the girl. Looking more like little girl now, her eyes wide in shock as she stared straight ahead. As if she'd seen a ghost, no, that was actually quite a regular occurrence. What Kaiyo had felt was so glaringly obvious that shock was all that registered on her face. At first. Anger followed soon after.

Consumed by her own annoyance, Kaiyo vanished from sight. Unlike her squad members, the obvious existence of Tatsu was a reiatsu the Captain knew all too well, so following the guy was like child's play. In a matter of seconds, Kaiyo had silently stalked Tatsu, he was of course running. For a reason the girl could not yet find. In her usual subtle manner, the girl decided to greet her old friend in a caring manner. Flash stepping in time with him, Kaiyo appeared at Tatsu's side, her own momentum pushing against his as she lung at him. Shoulder pushing up into his ribs and her arms grasped firmly around his torso, the short Captain tackled the man onto a nearby roof.

Flustered and utterly confused, she scrambled up to her feet. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?!' she yelled.

Tatsu was running and flash stepping until something similar to a brick wall stopped him, that something was blond, smaller than him and definetly mad at him. His mind couldn't register the fact that this was kaiyo, but he couldn't move she had her arms wrapped around him and before he could bring it to mind he was against the ground Kaiyo standing above him, and he remained there flabbergasted, in awe. There was something about her that he couldn't believe, she was suposed to be dead, or so he was told, what the hell was this. ''I...I ...I thought you were dead!'' Feelings rushing up the shinigami's heart. The red bandanna still holding his hair together proving that he didn't forget her, he didn't even try to unsheath his zanpakuto he just layed there on the ground his ribs yelling him pain but he remained there.



''I don't know what I'm doing...'' Tatsu was visibly emotionally distressed at this point, he didn't know what to do and once again he would never show those feelings to anyone else than Kaiyo. ''I thought you were dead, people told me you were dead, I had nothing holding me back to the Soul Society.''

Slowly coming back to his feet Tatsu was lightly shaking, he had no clue what was going to happen to him. ''I'm scared, I'm regretting my choice and I've been defending myself from people who've tried to take me in, but don't expect me to fight you, you know my feelings towards you, Its too hard to keep them under control...this is just too much...'' At this point he took his zanpakuto and dropped it to the ground in between them, even though the distance between the both of them was most likely very short. ''What's going to happen now?''

A face like thunder melted into the wind, the shock of the man she cared so much for dissipated her anger in a matter of seconds. Her arms dropped, their tension falling to the ground as she stared, her mouth a-jar, bewildered by the lie of her own death. The short Captain opened her mouth to respond, cut off by the frantic response of the man. He was shaking now, all Kaiyo felt was guilt. A weight at the pit of stomach for even assuming that he might just leave her without even a goodbye. She flinched, the rattling metal of his blade hit the floor and she flinched. So on edge that she couldn't find the words for a moment after.

Her eyes lingered on Tatsu's Zanpakuto, it was the wrong moment for such an observation, but she could already tell just how much stronger the man had gotten. It brought a light smile to her face, and she lifted her gaze. Swallowing the lump in her throat as she stepped closer to Tatsu, gently wrapping her arms around the taller man. 'I'm not dead...' It seemed like an obvious thing to say, but it was her only response. Of course Kaiyo had come very close, especially recently, but her death was not fully formed just yet. Her small hands gripped to the back of Tatsu's shirt, desperate for just a moment longer with him.

She pulled away, sweeping her blonde hair back into place as she looked up at the rogue shinigami. There was no way in hell she'd even draw her blade against this man. She just couldn't do it. 'You...You could...I'll protect you no matter what...But.' Her mind began to race. Of course kaiyo could bring Tatsu back, and protect him from harm, but if the powers that be decided on his death or imprisonment, well she'd have to crack a lot of heads to get him out. That was no issue to Kaiyo particularly, she would risk her life for all those she cared about. In fact that was usually why Soul Society had kept the 11th squad Captain on a rather short leash. A vast lexicon of power, but often a rule unto her own.

Her eyes dropped back down to the sword on the floor.

'Captain, we've got a lock on the rebel, we're following his reiatsu now'

Kaiyo turned away from Tatsu, the instinct of protection not even wanting him to hear. 'Stand down, our priority is the injured' Her commanding voice offered no excuse for opinions. The moment of silence before the response was to be expected. 'Hai, Taichou' Her earpiece went silent as Kaiyo turned back to Tatsu. Her eyes wide.

'You can't go back, not yet at least. If you stayed just for me, it was wrong, and you've already left now...You...You just need to find what you're looking for' The sorrow in her voice was un-mistakable, because Kaiyo was effectively agreeing to not see him again. At least not often. She stood by what she said though, maturity beyond her appearance, the Captain knew more than she often let on.

Tatsu saw the captain's face lighten and soften, it made him feel at ease, she was such a good person for him. Tatsu stood up and looked at the woman in front of him, plunging his eyes into her own and just stared there, he wish he could just leave with her forever and keep her all to himself.

Tatsu was standing there in front of her, and the reason he had become stronger was right before him, she looked down at Mizu Megami, a nice Zanpakuto with a blue tint around it, glimmering with his shikai powers, he still wore his blue bandanna to the hilt of the sword and her red bandanna to tie his hair, on his whole body that was most probably the only peace of cloth that wasn't ripped or damaged in any point. Seeing as the captain stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him, he copied her movements and hugged her as hard as he could knowing it wouldn't bother her, or hoping it wouldn't. The samurai was so passionate for this woman. He never wanted to leave her side and thinking she was dead he left. ''I feel...I feel like I'm dead without you at my side. Like I lack a reason to keep pushing onwards, Like I don't need to follow those corrupted dictators at Central 46 that forces us to abide by their rules.''

Tatsu never actually let go of her to say that, he just layed his head on hers and talked lightly into her ear, hoping she wouldn't look up because he was crying right now, knowing he wouldn't be able to see her as much as he wanted, knowing he wasn't allowed to love her anymore.

Seeing as she pulled away from him he didn't stop him, wiping his tears with his sleeve he attempted at a serious face. He knew she wasn't going to bring him back, it meant too many things, and he didn't even dare think about her going rogue for him.

The samurai heard her stand down order, he kind of expected them to obey it on the tone she ordered it, he listened to her and nodded he knew this was the moment to get away, she wouldn't be able to keep all her underlings for trying to 'help' the captain forever, they were all glory hungry afterall.

''Kaiyo..'' Tatsu stepped closer to her running two fingers through her hair unless he was stopped. ''Aishiteru'' The man stayed there glancing in her eyes as if he was waiting for something, some kind of approuval, a lingering desire deep within himself he just wanted to steal that kiss from her but waited.