Somewhere in a devastated training ground(Closed)

The sun was blazing down on the devastated training field of the 11th division, a training field that wasn't used often. The samurai knew this spot because he had trained there a while back with the captain of his division. He remembered her everytime he saw the red ribbon in his hair. The grass hadn't grown back, and he could still see the marks on the ground that the lightning left by her bankai that day.

He came here everytime he felt the need to clear his inner thoughts and spend some rage, he usually kept his neutral face but ever since the captain had fell and he was told she died, he always had that sake bottle with him to sooth the soul a little.

His sword was drawn, his spiritual energy flaring high, a blue hue floating around him. It had been like this for hours, he wanted to see how long he could keep his energy flaring high. He took a step forward slashing horizontally as fast as he could before twirling his own body and side kicking, he mixed the teachings of two captains to achieve his inner peace once, it showed him how much he respected those people.

Chaining his kick with another vertical sword blow he lowered the tip of his sword and shoulder slammed the air pushing his spiritual energy forward to make it seem like it was an impact. He put so much emotion into his fighting that it could be felt in his movements, the anger and restlessness, it almost made his attacks easy to decipher easy to predict. Its as if he had grown bold unafraid of something that has been tracking him for some time. He stopped for a moment sitting down taking his breath back, fighting ghosts is not always something you do easily, its a battle of the mind as much a battle of strength, he ran his hand down the side of his neck, to feel the massive burnt scar left on his neck and chest, letting a deep sigh roll he let himself fall on his back to look at the clouds of Soul Society. ''What am I fighting for?''

'Honour...Victory...Fun?' she smirked slightly down to her friend, he alone would understand the cohesion Kaiyo held between her answers; and he alone would appreciate her words themselves. Her face settled to a smile, sorrow ached through her large blue eyes; glistening with joy as she held her gaze on Tatsu. Emotion welled in her chest as Kaiyo felt the tension constrict her breathing.

Kaiyo had only been back alive for a short while. That concept itself had left her bewildered. The final announcement had not yet been made; so her revival was no fully known around the Gotei 13. Though word did travel notoriously fast. Already the bubbly girl had been inundated with the whispers of the ferocious 11th division Captain: so tough that even death couldn't beat her. She could only wish that had been true. Never before had she felt so small and vulnerable; so weak. It was hard to find the drive to achieve further when you knew already that your strongest had not been enough...

Pandering around the issue of returning to find Tatsu; Kaiyo had held off for too long. Finally, on a scorching day, Kaiyo had found her mind wandering from the menial tasks of paperwork. The continual awareness of Reiatsu that rumbled around the girl had twigged at Tatsu's release. After spending a very long time arguing with herself, Kaiyo had found her way over to the very field she'd trained with Tatsu on. The earth remained broken; wisps of their reiatsu clung to the tendrils of life that clung to existence.

The air was still as Kaiyo remained frozen in place. For a man she would readily give her life for, it was a delicate moment to return from death. Tatsu was an endless sunrise; that first sprawling light that light up her face. That same warmth radiated from the small girl's frame. Her shoulders relaxed as she spoke. Never had Kaiyo meant her words more. 'I miss you Tatsu'

The words echoed through his body and mind as if life itself made its way inside the samurai's heart. He heard them again and came to realize that the girl was smiling right in front of him. His eyes widened as his mouth became slightly ajar. Slowly turning around while standing up, his towering, proud posture building itself before the small captain. He could feel his heart pounding he moved his hands to her shoulders, he still was flabbergasted . He gazed at her as if she was unreal, it was as if the path laid before him redrew itself with a new possibility he had never imagined possible with the happenings.

''I'm right here..I've been waiting. It's you...Kaiyo...you're here, you came back.''

Without further words he attempted to pull the woman towards him, everything that Tatsu was, is still there, although that he seemed to have more experience. The endings of the bandanna were a little used, a massive scar could be seen on his neck and making its way underneath his shinigami garbs.

''I'll always be here, I'll never let you go again'' At this point he didn't give a damn about station or standing, right there in this field, to him he was Tatsu and she was Kaiyo, not soldiers, captains or seated officers, he just wanted this moment to last forever. Tatsu fought and bled for a soul society that he didn't believe in for so long, it was as if her reappearance gave him a reason to keep going, he had been fighting more and more recklessly, he had almost died. ''What a fool I've been, to have let you go in the first place.''

He just didn't let go, he wanted to keep her there forever. To make things a little more perfect a warm breeze rolled in, cooling down the scorching sun that was blazing on the pair of shinigami.

His warmth surrounded her; cushioning her pounding heart as she smiled. Her eyes glistened against the sunlight. She embraced him tightly, tugging at the material of his uniform tightly as she clung tightly to his towering frame. Her sharp breathing faltered as she froze; praying for an endless day. Slowly, she exhaled, dropping her shoulder as she steadily withdrew from the man; still holding tightly to his arms as she looked up to him. She flashed a weak smile as she shook her head, her hair swaying across her face as she spoke. 'Heh, I'm the one who left you I think' she laughed slightly. How else could someone apologise for dying?

The breeze rustled past the pair, leaving them at the epicentre of a vortex of swaying debris; curling around them with a poetic beauty. Her eyes fluttered around his frame; soaking up everything about the man, every small detail she'd committed to her memory. Her bandanna bristled along behind the man, battle-worn and scolded with pain. Inwardly, she felt a choke of emotion returning to her. Kaiyo couldn't hold down her smile.

She stepped in closer to the man, her own body radiating warmth next to him as she leaned up on her tip toes. She traced her hand slowly along his scar with a worried look. Funny how she regarded each of their safety. She had died; but she was clearly more worried over his latest wound. 'Who the hell managed that' she smirked playfully, dropping back down to her feet. Kaiyo herself had been reborn in a way; she felt almost empty without her battle scars- unworthy in a way. All but two scars along her cheek; reminders of her final battle.

Joy surged around the girl's body. A revival of her own spirit; sparks of life finally exploded from her soul and she was able to breath again. Hope was suddenly so much easier to achieve; when hope was all she wanted to be. She had so much to ask, so much to know and even more to tell. Words stammered around her mind in a muddled excitement. Her body finally relented as she exhaled steadily. 'How have you been?' she eventually managed.

Tatsu stared down at the blond woman as she pulled away from him. He still felt her holding on to him, holding onto his arms, holding onto his soul. He smiled back at her as she spoke her first words, they echoed through him, his mind recorded everything that she said. "I think that the correct way to put it, is that you were taken from me." He corrected her, not wanting anything to turn bad. He didn't want to make her feel guilty of anything, he was just glad she was back.

His eyes roamed on the frame of the blond woman, Kaiyo was standing there right in front of him, the sun making her features even more apparent, he blond hair and blue eyes even more dazzling, he felt himself submerged by her gaze, he didn't even want to break away.
He felt her touch on his scarred skin, it made him shiver, he wasn't used to such a touch on his skin, he relished on the feeling though, letting her touch his scar without fleeing, he wouldn't let anybody else do this. ''Somebody who doesn't breathe anymore, luckily I saved the bandanna from that hit.'' What he wasn't saying there is that he almost died during that fight, and that he wasn't the one who had slain the one who did this. As she dropped back to her feet he moved his hand to the side of her face, with his thumb he gently traced the scar on her cheek.

A bright smile appeared on Tatsu's face as she asked her question, right now he was the happiest man in all the worlds. ''I've been...me, a little lost...getting in trouble, there's so much I have to tell you about'' Tatsu had been in some kind of trouble ever since Kaiyo had vanished for the first time, it is really surprising that he wasn't dead by Seireitei's own hands. ''How have you been? When did you...I mean..how did...how..I thought I'd never see you again. Almost got myself killed too...I don't know what to think now'' It was obvious that his idea's were stumbled in his mind and that he was a little confused.

She scoffed a slightly laugh at Tatsu; he was probably the only person who'd care for her bandanna so much; that part of why she'd trusted him with it. Of course more questions surrounded his answer, but she didn't want to dwell on it. For at that moment, she became utterly engrossed in his image. Towering over the girl, a light shadow cast along the side on his face as she looked up at him. His gaze was a strong as ever; piercing her soul with every look. A shiver shot up her spine as his hand traced along the scars on her cheek. The only reminder of her death that had stained her body. She felt paralysed, unable and unwilling to move or risk losing such a perfect moment in time.

She'd almost forgotten was utter and serious joy felt like; she lowered her gaze to the ground; smiling as she felt her cool defences melting away around her. Around him. She caught herself as Tatsu replied; her head flickering up as that familiar warm breeze fluttered against her hair. She stepped in closer to him, gently grabbing on to his uniform just around his waist. She wasn't ready to let go again. She smirked back up at him, Tatsu (much like herself) always found the perfect way to get in to trouble. As he began to ramble on, her face settled in to a more blissful smile. Utter serenity flowed from her smile as she looked silently up at him for a moment. It was difficult, everything was- for both of them. He'd fought on without her and she'd literally died and returned. Things never were simple.

'I guess i'm just really hard to properly kill' she laughed slightly; it was an easier way than admitting she'd lost control and now owed her life to Sereitei. She wasn't sure how she felt about that yet. It toyed on her mind, rolling back and forth with tentative weight. Guilt stabbed at her chest when Tatsu said he'd nearly died. That would kill her for sure. 'At least we're fine now...Well, I'm still getting re-used to me I think, but i'm alright...I'm good...Better now' Her soft voice echoed with joy.

With so much to say, she blinked hard. As if returning to reality for just a moment. Sweeping her haori around her, she let go on Tatsu and sat down; gesturing with her eyes for him to sit with her. 'I hear you're not in my squad anymore' she mocked. Kaiyo really didn't mind, but she'd heard some rumours that explained it and she just wanted t find out what she' really missed.

Tatsu left his hand there staring in her eyes, his deep blue eyes filled with intent, feelings, and questions. He wanted to know what happened to her, how she was defeated, to him she was an undefeatable bastion of destruction, and also the only woman he cared for this much.

The samurai let himself slip in the restraint of the woman without any protest. It was a little weird for him, back in the near past the only woman who were willing to get this close to him were willing to kill him to bring him back to Soul Society. ''To me, you are invincible, as long as you are in my mind, you will never die, I won't allow it anymore.'' That was his reply to her first line after his words, he wouldn't let anything happen to her anymore, even if it would mean destroying his honor, he didn't bother about that anymore.

''Kaiyo..This is so perfect, it feels like I'm dreaming, I've been training here because the place reminded me of you'' He smiled as he enjoyed the moment move around them, his reiatsu fluttered as though it wanted to entwine itself with Kaiyo's. He wasn't much stronger than it was in the past, but it was still as unrelenting as it was, there was also something else within his energy, as if he had unlocked something else within himself, he had broken the first seal.

Re positioning his scabbard so that he could properly sit down beside her, pretty close at that. ''I am not, but I can explain, I have much to explain, much story telling that I have to do, I'll be honest, I'm not out of trouble yet.

With those words the samurai lifted a wrist band he had under the sleave of his shinigami dressings and revealed a mistodome. ''I've been branded, I was to be executed...I was offered release if I accepted to help them.'' He trailed on a little lost in thought. ''What scares me is that they haven't really asked anything of me yet.''

Heat prickled along her cheeks as she lowered her head to the ground, toying with blades of grass between her fingertips. She allowed the grass to float back into the breeze when she felt Tatsu sit beside her. His warmth radiated so close to her own, pulsating with her heart-beat. She lifted her gaze, her eyes caught by his own in a trance as he spoke. Her shoulder shrugged briefly, as expected, trouble really did follow him around. She could empathise.

The beauty of being around Tatsu was how little Kaiyo had to hide, of course that was often a double edged sword, but it was nice to hold nothing back every now and then. When Tatsu revealed his wrist, she jerked forward involuntarily; curling her own small hands around his wrist as her eyes studied the mistodome intensely. Her thumb traced the marking, sending shivers down her spine as she withdrew. Her hands slowly traced down her mouth in disbelief. That was bad by any account. In effect, Tatsu owed his life...The question would be how they would take their repayment.

Sorrow glistened in her eyes for a moment, blinked away by a tougher attitude as she nodded firmly at the man. Her hand brushed along the soft fabrics of her own uniform, before resting on the edge of his knee. 'You know I won't let anyone even try and kill you right?' she smiled. Forged beyond friendship was the truest feelings Kaiyo had felt, ever, and she refused to lose the soul responsible. No more honest truth could likely have ever been spoken by the girl. A habit of nerves; she chewed lightly on her bottom lip. Very engaged with his story as she urged him to continue, 'Okay, what else?'

Tatsu enjoyed the vibrance of the pair, it was as if the ripple of their spiritual energy repercuted against the grass around them, but in reality it was the wind doing its beauty. His eyes trailed on the distance of the training ground, nothing was to be seen except an example of power. Feeling her hand on his wrist he didn't move, he let her manipulate his arm so she properly see the marking.

The samurai smiled at her comment about not letting him die, it amused him because of the pair, he was the one that stayed further away from death. ''Now that both bandanna's are together again, I don't fear anything.'' Taking a deep breath he kept his story going after the parenthesis.


''Remember Buzz? When that little girl told me to go back and nothing would happen? Well, I didn't listen to her judgement, I was afraid I fled even further into the mountains that day, not that I didn't trust her, but I knew I couldn't it was something I needed to do. I stayed as a rogue for so long I thought I could make it, one day came onmitsukido members...they didn't stand a chance, on that day my weapon revealed its name...I couldn't control my power...'' He didn't go on, he knew she would catch on the fact that he had killed them.

''After that..the secret service corps always came at me, rage in their eyes, because I had killed their brothers and sisters...from that day forward I was always on the run, until I found a shack...a little home on the top of a mountain, a place I could call home...it reminded me of your garden..so I made my stand there.''

He layed his head against the tree gazing at the leaves in the wind. ''I stood there for month's, fending off attacks on a comon basis, only difference is that I didn,t kill anyone. One day, I made a trip to town, and I met Captain Akarui, he was fighting a hollow so powerful his squad members had flad for their safety under his order...but he couldn't order me around, I stayed and helped him, I didn't know which captain he was, he didn't know I was -that- rogue. Half my zanpakuto broke that fight and all its abilities changed, even its released form.''

Raising up his arm carelessly he dropped it on the little woman's shoulder and pulled her towards him, as if he needed the feeling to know she was near. ''Came one night, I felt the overwhelming spiritual pressure, I knew it was over then. I don't know how many onmitsukido members were there, but I ran, I ran so fast only one man was fast enough to catch me....Kuro Akarui.''

He chuckled. ''Little did I know of his plan, he tossed me in the maggots nest for two days, I was after judged for execution and tossed in the tower...horrible feeling. Not long after a man came to me, and offered me freedom...I couldnt refuse...he in turn gave me the Mitsudome and has contacted me once ever since.''