From ash & dust (Tatsu)

Back to reality...

Her hands swiped across the bed sheets as she rolled on to her side. Burrowing her head into the pillow as she sighed lazily. The few moments before reality beckoned her were adrift in silence. Her legs stretched and sprawled around as a yawn crept up from her stomach. Kaiyo had been gone for a while, a rest period. For too long she'd avoided the duties of her position for the benign existence of peace. Now there was no peace.

Things had gotten out of hand, quite hectic in fact. Her eyes scrunched closed as she groaned, reviving her vocal chords from months of silence. Sereitei was a derelict ruin. The Soul King was dead, the central 46 were long gone and nothing but jaded memories remained of the Gotei 13. She’d been asleep, adrift in the isolation of her own mind while her body recovered. Kaiyo had out-lasted the rebel war, she had watched and felt loved ones and subordinates die and change. They were never prepared for the Quincy Blood War, few factions had been. She had changed, so had the world. A seed of mistrust had taken root. Enforcers were brought in and so many people had abandoned their position entirely. The worlds were colliding with one another and the road to hell had split open; with hollows tumbling out like wolves drawn to the smell of blood. The first wave had been held off by the last threads of humanity. The second, third, and twentieth had not fared so well. A constant stream of terror, there was no sleep when you’re living a nightmare.

One in particular had landed Kaiyo in her seclusion. One fight that had been the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was the best of her life and nearly the last. Kaiyo hadn’t considered losing, in fact she viewed it as a draw. She’d assumed the Espada dead; the rest of the universe had assumed her the same. Kaiyo was dragged from combat, pulled away by an old friend. The war crippled Soul Society, structure was abandoned and chaos reigned. Kaiyo had been asleep, for years, her body had been left alone to recover. The man who saved her, had sealed her reiatsu, for her safety and others; her body was for the first time since her arrival in Soul Society: allowed to heal. In a torrent of life, she’d awoken. entrenched in glistening shards of her reiatsu as the world exploded around her. The girl was weak, her muscles were faded and her bones felt hollow. Kaiyo heard the whispers of Soul Society, she felt the threats like familiar nuances that had become the background of life. She longed the change things, to rebuild the world and save whatever was left. Five years of training, hiding and forcing her body to new limits. It seemed almost silly to wear her Shinigami uniform, to adorn her Captain's’ haori, the emblazoned 11th squad insignia pummeled dread and shame at the pit of her stomach.

She rolled on to her back, squinting at the ceiling before dragging her hand across her face. As if wiping away her doubts would make this day go easier. Kaiyo had been assumed dead, the irony that she had actually died before was not lost on her.

Even in her remote hiding place, the whispers of the world had reached her ears. A thousand miles away, the assumed dead Captain had been stripped on her rank, from a system no longer in place. The other Captains were dead or gone, Kaiyo couldn’t sense any of them.

She leapt out of bed, not wanting to leave time enough for regrets and fear to drag her back.

Kaiyo would fight. She would set new markers and destroy any corrupt soul that dared to invade her home. She would avenge, conquer and rebuild.

So much was behind her, but that's where it would stay. Faded memories and important lessons. So much bad and slightly more good, Kaiyo was alive, she had to be grateful for that. It had taken the longest time for Kaiyo to just let herself feel the rush of emotions. Now it was more of a trickle, a gentle reminder of constant humanity. If mass graves weren’t enough…

She shuffled her shoulders side to side as she stood in her doorway. Her shinigami uniform fluttered in the breeze. Fields of long grass swayed ahead of her. It was amazing she'd not only endured but enjoyed the solitude for so long. She was heading back to sensory overload, to the noise, the posturing and the challenging world of Sereitei. Kaiyo had been gone for so long that a generation had passed, shinigami had come and gone. Friends and acquaintances had left, died and moved on. Of course, some had stayed around. Bearing new scars and living through the best and worst around. The threats were real and the danger closer than ever. She couldn’t stand it and in the farthest corners of her heart, she could feel the pain of thousands tearing her apart.

Kaiyo was changed; better, stronger... she would be, better, stronger. In the middle of the field, tied to wooden post that had remained steady beyond the seasons and years that had passed. Her red headband flickered and swirled, a beacon of change. She hadn’t tied it there, when she’d woken up, she was alone. Kaiyo had found the headband, noticed it one day; waving at her like an old friend, beckoning her back to a world she wished she could escape.

In a single bound, her outline shimmered ahead and vanished. She'd been working on her shunpo. Her fingertips stroked the red silk, the original headband. So many replacements had been made but here was the original. There would be no more hiding or saving the best until last, this was last. The material slid against itself with a gratifying sound as Kaiyo tied it around her head. Another breeze tickled her ankles as she breathed, slowly, steadily. The familiar weight of her Zanpaktou was a comfort, it always had been but now it was lighter, no longer weighed down by her fears. Her blade and mind were sharper than ever.

Her blue eyes glistened as the sun began to splash through the field. It was just about time. One last exhale and her image vanished, flash stepping the miles back to the ruins.

Like watching a car crash in slow motion, faded screams haunted the blood stained rubble. Memories of brutality boiled over her mind. Colour drained from the girl’s cheeks as she stood above her broken world. Kaiyo hadn’t seen it since she’d left, she didn’t realise it would be gone. Everything was gone. Pathways she’d walked in blissful ignorance were littered with bodies. Abandoned buildings crumbled into dust. There was eery silence, like the world around her had given up. Arms in the air, Soul Society had stepped back from life itself.

Quietly... a spark.

Her brow furrowed in slow motion as her hands curled into tight fists. Rage consumed her sorrow. The soldiers who had given their lives did not do so to enable a retreat. People did not die for a surrender. Shinigami were fighters, they saved lives. They should have saved lives. A drum began to beat through her body, shaking her back to a gaunt reality. Time to change the world.

When all is said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

When you start at nothing, things can only get better.

Kaiyo had emerged from a war that had been fought for so long that people started to think it was existence itself. The meatless bones that remained of Soul Society were less appealing to the hordes of monsters that had flocked like lambs for the slaughter. There were main access points that she needed to sever, to block at all costs so that she could finally help the world restart. This kind of thing couldn’t be done alone. A faint memory of fighter had ticked over to her conscious and finally, Kaiyo could feel the spark of hope begin to grow. Bounding around her brain with endless energy, for the first time in years: she smiled.

When you don’t speak for a while, you forget the twangs of your voice, or how it feels to talk. The release of tension when noise escapes your dry mouth. ‘Tatsu..’ she whispered. If ever a man could be more attune to her spirit, it was him. The one man who had followed her so effortlessly, her chest cracked open as tears welled in her eyes. Of course, he would be the last man standing. The last man fighting by her side. It seemed fitting, he would be at her side to start again. Kaiyo closed her eyes, ignoring the world around her for senses she trusted more than eyes. The rips between the worlds were rifts, the forced selvage of three universes. They sucked the spiritual energy of the air and spewed out darkness, they were fairly easy to locate. Especially when such a prominent figure was holding down one. He’d gotten stronger since their last meeting, Kaiyo wished beyond words they existed in a world where she could explain better how she felt. Priorities.

Kaiyo slowed down as she neared the tear in the veil. Like revisiting a nightmare, she could feel the hunger of the beasts; the intentions vanished as quickly as they did. With each bound closer to the site, more of the hollow's faded from existence. Kaiyo ground to a halt, littering clouds of dust around her small frame as she watched in silent. The hollows seemed to be attacking in waves now; disconcertingly more organised than their initial swarms. From the maelstrom of darkness appeared a red glow, glowing against the girl's eyes as an explosion thundered towards the shinigami. Kaiyo didn't flinch, too enthralled by watching Tatsu block the cero. No easy feat. He flash stepped side to side, easily avoiding the slow Menos before striking down through the mask. A shockwave of his reiatsu rippled past her, pushing against her haori as it danced around her; revealing brief glimpses of it's yellow lining.

'Well done on not dying!' she cheered. The warmth returned to her eyes, filled with Tatsu's image as she stepped closer. Already she could feel it, the palpable tension of the air, clinging to her warm breath. This was it, this was their new beginning. Things were about to change forever.

There he stood, after the dust settled, still as a breath, the only thing betraying his movement was the wind rolling through the area, lifting up some of his hair, but mostly that ribbon holding his long hair in place. The samurai was there physically, his reiatsu was all over the place, but the fighting was endless and some parts of the mind of the samurai were lost in a killer instinct.

His energy was chaotic, as if searching for more targets, endlessly looking to prolong the fight, if only to buy the people behind him a little bit more time, he was a fighter, he wouldn't stop fighting, and he'd fight to keep fighting. His frame was covered with momentos from another era, a ribbon here, a tattoo on his hand, depicting a flower, a red haori, to remember his seat and position within seireitei.

It didn't take much observation from a closer point of view to notice the released state of shikai on the samurai's sword. instead of having a normal katana, he was weilding a full fledged 2 handed sword, and a keen eye could also notice the ground was drenched wet, by the time the woman came closer the sword regressed back into its original form, and when she was a few steps before talking, the samurai sensed her.

That keen look in his eyes, that killer instinct, all the war wounds, for a moment they seemed to be appeased, a legitimate smile appeared on his face and he'd say "Welcome back''. He'd turn around to look at her and he waited, patiently, as if waiting for something, wondering what she'll do. His energy was still flaring around the area, as if eternally looking for the next fight.

He'd take a good look at her, making sure she was alright too. ''We should head further away from the rip if we want to be able to talk, this calm won't last long, it's the first time I've had a menos come through this one.'' Saying that, Tatsu sheathed his blade, and along side it, all his fighter instincts, all his spiritual energy, seemed to be sheathed away, like a warrior sheathing his senses.

She watched with a cocked smile as he sealed his shikai away. It seemed so juxtaposed; to have him stood next to the tear. The warmth of his smile washed over her, like heat from a sun it radiated across her skin for just a moment, then it was gone. She took in the view for a moment, allowing her eyes the vanity to survey the man. He'd been fighting for too long, he looked tired but just as determined as she'd expected. Kaiyo lunged at the man, wrapping her arms around his neck as she swung her feet in the hair, hanging from his shoulders as she hugged him tightly. Her fingers grasped tightly to his haori, exhaling a calming breath before she gently dropped herself back to the ground. Now that was out of the way, they probably needed to get moving.

If hollows were the epitome of gluttony, she was a damn buffet to draw them in. She smirked up at her friend, 'You're just showin off that you can take on a menos now' she nudged her elbow at him playfully as she began to stroll further back from the tear. 'How long have you been here?' the playfulness faded from her voice. It was unavoidable. Kaiyo walked slowly, keeping the void in her sight as she edged around it, distancing herself. No doubt more would follow through. She huffed to herself in annoyance; she knew so many smart people who could work out how to block the hole...She just wasn't one of them. There had to be a better way than just fighting off anything that came through.

Her foot hovered above the ground, her eyed glazed over as she froze for a moment. 'Have any, ya know...Humans come through?. She'd not even considered until now, but if everything was falling in on itself, then surely the humans had realised that as well. Surely they were in equal danger. No, they were in more danger, they couldn't defend themselves. The rage began to simmer within her again, toiling away behind the surface. Kaiyo kept walking in silence, allowing darker thoughts to consume her mind.

At a safe enough distance to watch and react but not drag any out; she turned back to face it. The ugly spot on the face of the earth. She leapt up in a single bound, perching atop a roof. One of the few buildings left standing; it looked to be an old barracks, probably hadn't even been in use when the wars had broken. Yet it remained, amidst the ash and dust, one last tower of hope was left standing. She felt an affinity with the old building, bringing her knees in as she wrapped her arms tightly around them. A little self comfort went a long way.

A breeze swayed against her, cooling her flushed cheeks and feathering strands of hair against her face. 'So...You up for it?'. So entrenched in her own mind she forgot to form full sentences. Kaiyo in truth, didn't even know where to start. She'd always been a reluctant leader but she'd needed a rank to help people and now she'd have to assume that role again. She was just a fighter, just a warrior, could she really try and rebuild Soul Society. There was only two of them...She halted her train of thought just long enough to get mad at herself. She'd let this happen, she'd been taken off and left for years while her home burnt. She would be stronger this time, if she had to build it brick by brick herself, she would restore some kind of order; she owed that much.

Rewriting

Tatsu nearly fell to the ground as the woman lunged at him, from up close she could easily notice how age had worn him out, his hair graying from time, the war; he had seen it all, fought every battle, but as she crashed onto his chest, he stood up and the smile reappeared on his face.  He enjoyed every seconds of the moment, it had been so long since he had met another shinigami. His reiatsu vibrating, trying to sense her's to find that made him feel so much comfort. He answered her hug with his own, pulling her closer to him and holding her there for a few extra seconds.

He laughed as she mentionned the Menos. ''If only that was the only thing I had to take on..'' He dragged on thinking of the many other foes that all wished him dead. Tatsu started to follow her in her track, to find a safe spot where they could discuss. The further they went from the scar, the more often the samurai looked back, like a proficient soldier. ''I'd say for as long as the tears started to open up, I picked this one, and tried to lure as many as possible towards me'' He was looking for a fight that would best him, one that would pull him down into a blaze of glory and death, it was subtle but it was there in his voice, he had almost given up.

He stopped walking a few steps after her and he took the time to think about if he had seen any humans after the blood war. ''No, I can't say I've seen humans come through that one rift.'' He even shrugged, to him humans didn't mean much anymore, he had lost some sense of duty, in the years he spent fighting. He didn't know anything about them, he had been too busy trying to kill quincies during the blood war.

Tatsu eyed the woman jump on top of a lucky building, and he decided he'd follow her with a shunpo, had to keep the cool air about himself after all! He stood in front of her as she spoke the ultimate question to the old and tired warrior. He stared at her, his hairs going on along with the wind, moving his hand in front of his eyebrow to prevent anything from going in his eye. He had to think about it, for so long he had been taunting death, facing hollow day after day provoking them, trying to meet his end, and now, a reason to prolong the fight had come up, he wasn't sure he was up for it, maybe a speech worthy of a captain could convince him. ''I, I don't know'' He said, turning towards the rip in reality. ''I mean, you know you can count on me, but I don't think I'd do it as a shinigami, I'd do it as Tatsu, for Kaiyo, everything else is either dead or meaningless. His heart felt heavy as a flourish of emotions he hadn't felt in a long time rose to his mind, effectively confusing the warrior, so he sat down, dangling his feet from the side of the building.

Ravaged by time, loss of friends and battle, the last person who mattered was asking him to fight some more. ''Is it worth it, what is it worth to you? Why?'' All those questions, he hoped she had the answers, because he's been feeling empty for so long, he doesn't know what to think.

A small smile lingered on her lips. The dutiful soldier within Tatsu, had remained behind from the terror that had struck the world, he had continued to fight, to save the people he didn't even know had survived. Kay hoped beyond hope that there were more survivors; she dreamed of them emerging from the cracks, creeping back to view once they knew there was hope. The most malignant of symptoms: hope. It had been absent for so long, she wondered if it could even be welcomed back. Her distant thoughts were drained back to current, as her eyes focused on the shinigami in front of her. She took in his sight, his scattered uniform with trinkets of a long life. He was the same man she'd met so many years ago but he'd been fighting on auto-pilot. Habitually trying to save everyone he could, now she'd offered true meaning it stood to reason he might question it.

Kaiyo peered beyond him, gazing in to the abyss that linked their world with others. She worried for Soul Society, for the humans who had no doubt been lost to the years of terror they had been subjected to. Without the protection of the Gotei 13. If the districts of Rukongai had ever hated Shinigami, their decimation in such an hour of need had not done much to ingratiate themselves. A sigh escaped her lips. her warm breath clinging to the breeze that ruffled against Tatsu's hair. His large frame protecting her from the cold. She chewed her bottom lip in thought, agonising over the insurmountable task ahead. In a broken world they were all that was left.

She shook her head defiantly, her eyes sharpening with intensity as she looked at the man. Her piercing gaze narrowing in on his soul. 'No, stop that...' Her thought's trailed around her mind as the beating pulsed through her body. The fire inside of her igniting once more. 'We're not fighting for ourselves, we don't get to be that selfish.' She stood up to her feet, gesturing out her arms to the expanding horizon's from their rooftop. 'Look around Tatsu, we're what's left! You and me! And now we finally have something to fight for, like, really fight for... and you're asking me why?' The rage that had been quelled only by her sorrow was finally escaping, bubbling and boiling with all the catharsis she needed. 'Because we have to! Because we need to! Because there is nothing worth more and there never will be if we don't change things!'. They were starting from the ground up, literally. For as far as the eye could see, they were on the only building left standing; they were the only people left standing. She understood his reservations and the loss of faith in the Gotei 13 and it killed Kaiyo to admit that her squad was behind her now. They didn't even have enough for one damn squad. Kaiyo took stock of herself, she knew it was unfair to yell at Tatsu for something so far out of his control but she was angry. Mostly, Kaiyo was angry at herself for not stopping anything, for being inches from death when she had been needed the most. Her knuckles turned white, clenched tightly to a fist as she began to pace the edge of the rooftop.

'So we're gunna start here. You and me, we're gunna plug this damn hole, so people can start to feel safe. Then when they feel safe, they'll want to protect that and they'll help us fight.' Her toes balanced over the edge of the roof. 'Yeah, right here...' Her shoulders relaxed slightly, her eyes glazed with thoughts from a million miles away. There were others, enough already to help them, Kaiyo could sense them all: hiding and giving up. Once they knew, once they understood that even the smallest amount of hope existed, they'd return. These would be the souls who couldn't not.

She flash stepped next to Tatsu, appearing by his side with a firm look. 'I know a few handy guys who can help build up this barracks...I'm keeping my hoari...We're not re-making The Gotei 13 or the central 46, we're just, making something new, something we can both stand for.' It was all she could do, Kaiyo was ready to fight, ready for the grind that life would be. She just hoped, in the depths of her heart, that Tatsu would fight with her. Not because it was her, or him but because he understood, it was right. So maybe they didn't have a uniform, or a name, or a building or any kind of structure...They had the last thing that couldn't be taken away: hope.