And it Feels So Good [Group.R/Artix]

Living like this brought back so many memories for Artix Von Creg. The memories of his time in rukongai were the most dominant. It was just the same as back then; during the day he would venture out and do his own thing and at night he would stay in one of his many hidey-holes. Of course this time he wasnt wreaking havoc upon innocent people due to his own mad lust for vengeance. He had changed so much since then and learned so many things. For the better it seemed.

One of the things that he learned was that he was no longer a shinigami. The mask proved this although it didnt prove exactly what he was. He assumed he was somewhere inbetween hollow and shinigami but he wasnt quite an arrancar. Arrancar leaned more to the hollow side of the spectrum, Artix guessed that he leaned more to the shinigami side, but what would that make him? Despite the confusion Arty had been learning the basic functions of his mask rather quickly, donning it with instinctive reflex and using some kind of strange power that emitted shockwaves.

Because of his new nature however he couldnt stay within the soul society, he knew this and as a result had given up his captainship to his second in command; Hikari Miyazaki. Of course his younger sister Rose demanded to go with him to the human world (despite Artix's protests). They had agreed that she should remain in the SS for a few more weeks until they could establish whether or not he would be missed by the shinigami government. And by "missed" he meant needed for experimentation, because if they caught him he knew that the fourth division would have a field day.

A great change in Artix's personality had struck too. It had been pointed out by Rose a few days ago when she noticed that he didnt speak as much as he used to. This wasnt entirely true, he spoke just as much as he normally would have (Which still isnt much). This time however he often had little sessions where he would go silent and just think. Sometimes about random things like where he would eat, what he would eat and how he would eat it. Mostly it was about Satine, The mask, and his past. All in that order. Artix knew what it was like to have no past, to not be able to remember anything of your previous life. As a result he cherished the memories he had, even if most of them hurt him.

But today was a new day! Actually it was the anniversary of the day Baku park was first opened according the poster on the wall outside the gate, but that wasnt why Artix was here. He was here for a number of reasons; because he was bored and needed something to kill time, because these people needed protection. So many souls in one place would attract any number of hollows.

The real reason he was here however was because he had felt a familiar reiatsu signature coming from this place. He recoginised it and knew that he should be able to name who it was and how he knew them but it was as if something had changed about it. It was much like his own, like a destructive force that had been tamed.

He walked the paths of Baku park in search of the souce and as he did so people stared at him in awe and fear. But who could blame them? Artix was a large man, reaching a full six foot three with a build a proffessional wrestler would envy. The battle scars all across his face and neck and pretty much his whole body added to the intimidating factor, especially the severe burn mark that reached from his jaw to his hip. The eye patch that he wore over his eye made him seem all the more threatening. He was different to these humans, and sometimes humans could be so fickle in the sense that they shunned whatever was different away from them.

Artix turned a corner, the source of the reiatsu signature growing stronger. If he was more skilled in this field he would have found it by now, he damned his lack of reiatsu sensing skills. Not wanting to overlook somebody Artix slowed his pace and studied the crowd, but could find nobody who seemed the most likely to have any significant spiritual power, it could be coming from anybody.

The calls of one of the street vendors caught his attention, and so did the fresh smell of meat buns. He turned his head to gander at the products, various pastries and food stuffs. Mostly the buns. The vendor was bellowing that the first one was a free sample and Artix just couldnt help himself. He reached over the shoulder of a small looking woman with boyish black hair with his battle scarred hand , his ring shining with the enitials A.V.C and aimed for the meatbun in the bottom left of the tray...

[Sorry if it seems forced. I didnt save the original post to my hard drive =P]

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[align=right]I don't want to fall another Minute into your gravity[/align]

[align=justify]She reached for a tasty looking meat bun that was second to the last on the bottom right, another hand reaching for the one beside it just as she did so. She noted a ring that would look large on her hand, almost turned smaller by the hand that it was hugging. There were three letters on it, and they triggered something inside her, a memory. A swinging hand falling beside her's with their twin steps. It was scarred, and looked familiar, making her squeeze her eyes shut tight. When she opened them again, the hand was gone, along with the meat bun. She sighed, turning, and almost ran into a thick chest behind her. Mumbling out a fast, "excuse me," she walked a couple steps past, the meat bun already in her mouth. Her thoughts kept returning to the ring though. She wasn't sure what it was about it, but it reminded her of something.

She stopped suddenly, her eyes widening, dropping her hands, the meat bun stayed in her mouth, half-bitten. She wasn't sure but she thought that maybe.....no. She firmly told herself no. After her first week of being the only one of her kind, she was already lonely. Kya wasn't even with her anymore, as when she had tried to return to the Soul Society, shinigami had already attacked her not recognizing her rietsu, or her appearance. She had been unable to get any belongings or her best friend and ally. After a few days of being alone, she had found herself taking second glances at tell, dark haired men. She didn't realize she was doing so until after a few hours those were the only faces she remembered. She was searching for Artix really.

After a few months she had given up all hope, realizing it was silly from the start. The only way she would see Artix again, would be in a fight. She found herself holding his picture in the twilight of the morning, wishing for him more then she wished for anyone else from her old life. Her face grew pink with embarrassment. She was being a bit of a pussy, pining away for something she couldn't have. But still, she could not take a step forward, the meat bun still dangled from her mouth, and she was running out of time. She realized that she was being an idiot. She was excellent at sensing rietsu, and she would be able to tell. But she couldn't do that either. It was as if she was frozen, not even being able to move her pinky.

She wanted to slap herself, for being so worked up over the prospect of seeing Artix. She just missed him terribly. Before she had been at least able to sneak peeks of him, even when he did not want to see her. He had told her that the night he had broken her heart. The memory of that was like a stab to the heart and a slap to the face, and her expression grew hard. Why was she pining for him when he didn't want her, and why did she care so much if it were actually him standing behind her? Because if that were him, he was either here to kill her or to bring her to the Soul Society for Aros to experiment on again. She let out a slight hiss at the thought, preferring the idea of scratching out the silly man's eyeballs instead.

She struggled fitfully with herself for a moment, desiring to see the man who despised her so bad maybe made her a masochist, but she didn't care. Trying to give up the thought of seeing Artix again was like trying to get an alcoholic to abstain from his favourite poison. But still, she couldn’t help feeling that terrible, longing hope. It was the one that came when you wanted something so badly, but you knew you were never going to get it. Because you don’t deserve that happiness, so why would you? Even though she knew it was impossible, that hope grew and grew, making her angrier and angrier. She finally bit off a piece of her bun, angrily mashing it up in her mouth, turning it into a pulp before finally swallowing. Now the memory of Artix was even ruining meat buns for her. What else would he take from her?

She knew that it was an irrational anger that was eating her. Most of the things that she was feeling now weren’t even about anything that he actually meant to do. But she had no one else to direct all these horrible feelings at, so he was the image that received it. He was growing distorted in her mind, going from a sweet, strong, yet fragile man to a hateful brute. Now all she wanted to do was slap him, which was how she usually ended up feeling when she thought about him. She would certainly never let him see her heart again. No, last time she had bared it he had hurt it. Torn it in two actually.

Her views on love were still terribly childish, as she had to wait almost four hundred and eighty years to actually feel it. Growing up without dreams of a knight in shining armour, but with knowledge of a fat old man to come had certainly set her back in her human life as well. And now she was entirely confused to how she should feel about the whole idea. She did not know how to deal with these stupid emotions, and the more frustrated she got with them, the angrier she felt. Now here she was, a stagnant rock in a flowing river of people, and she couldn’t even turn to look her tormentor in the eye. Chances were that it wasn’t even him.

Squaring her shoulders, meat bun still in her hand, she turned to glare across the crowd, not entirely sure if she was ready for whatever it was she was going to see. If it was Artix, or if it wasn’t, she wasn’t sure how she would feel, but she did know that whatever she felt, she was Satine Purpureo.
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It turned out that the bun Artix craved for had been targeted by the woman he stood behind. When she hesitated for an unknown reason Artix felt a competetive streak in his body and snatched away the bun for himself. Triumphantly he popped it into his mouth, atleast half of it had been bitten off by Artix's huge jaws before his mouth became too full. He removed the other half of the bun. At that moment the woman turned abruptly and Artix gagged in surprise. She almost bumped into him as she hurriedly made to leave.

Joy or sorrow?: Will of the heart

"Excuse me." Everything seemed to slow down for a split second. The girl was stepping around Artix at a snails pace. Then it all sped up again and time flowed naturally, except for Artix who seemed to still be within the grasp of slow motion. He followed the woman with his eyes as she walked away. Three things had Artix spooked.

That voice. The perfect angelic voice that had talked and laughed, giggled and sobbed in Artix's presence. He remembered, but couldnt believe. The voice that had been used to convey emotions and feelings, thoughts and beliefs. The voice that Artix had been longing for for what felt like an eternity, but could never hear. But he heard it this time, he heard it say "Excuse me." But was it real? Was solitude and longing causing his mind to warp?

And those eyes. Those watery, crystallin blue eyes. They were almost the same as the ones that Artix had lost himself in once upon a time. This time however they were different. He saw them only for a second or two, but he could see the sorrow and loneliness within them. This couldnt be real, it was too much too soon to be true...

But this reiatsu. It was definetly hers even if Artix thought of this as a blissful torture reaked by his sub-conscious. It was strong, graceful and smooth. Exactly as it had been before. Although something was mixed in with it, it felt like his own. A wild and immeasurably destructive force that had been recently tamed. Was she like him? Did she have a mask and strange new powers? Artix;s hand flew to the photograph of the woman in question, residing in his pocket. Did She have something to do with why all of this.

Was this really Satine?

He didnt know what to think or what to feel. So many different thoughts and emotions were all ramming into him from all sides. The bar, the woods, the clearing. The friendship, the interest, the love. The heart break. Should he feel joy that Satine was here so that he could try to make ammends? SHould he even try to make ammends? Artix had thought long and hard about that since the day he left her. He had been scared that Satine would be hurt in Artix's presence, hurt by one of his enemies. At the time he wanted her to live life to the fullest to badly that he didnt even concider her strenght and independancy. Afterwards though he realised that Satine had attained the rank of captain through her strength both as a person and physically, and with him at her side how could they be beat? But then his thoughts always began speculating; there was always a chance that he would slip up and she'd be hurt. Or worse.

Then he always wondered what it would be life if he had chosen to stay with her? Could he make her happy? Could he always be there for her? You never knew what was waiting around the corner when you were a shinigami, or whatever the hell he was now. He could be dead tomorrow for all he knew.

What should he do now? Leave her be? Check that his isnt playing tricks on him? If he so much as stepped towards her he knew he wouldnt be able to turn back and he knew that whatever protection he had given her at the expense of their love would be broken. Or should he just walk away so that she must never be burdened by his presence?

He couldnt make the decision again. It was too hard. The want for Satine and the want for Satines protection were two incredibly powerful forces and yet neither seemed to be stronger than the other. It felt exactly like it did when he was fighting that thing inside of him. They were both so equally matched that neither could win.

She turned around. It was her, it was Satine. Her hair had been cut short but Artix could still recognise those brilliant blue eyes. The shape of her face and her body. The way she carried herself. He knew it all. The arm daggling at his side dropped the remaining half of the bun. She was here. After what he had done to keep her safe, she appeared out of nowhere.

"S-Satine?" Artix stepped forward. There was no going back.

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[align=right]I don't want to fall another Minute into your gravity[/align]

[align=justify]Satine stared at Artix, watching his face, and the way he said her name, as if it was broken, and he wanted to fix it. The sound of him saying something, directed at her, and not anyone else was almost too much. The last time he had said something at her might have been at least half a year ago. And now, there he stood, in the most unlikely place possible, finding her just after she had stopped searching. Reflexively, she stepped back as he stepped forwards, not being able to stand being so near, yet so far. Reaching back behind her, she gripped her badge, wanting out of her gigai so that she could do something she had been wanting to do for quite some time. Her heart literally was going to break in two, and she made sure to keep her expression hard.

Breathing through her nose, she chanted to herself, trying to center herself again. "I am the circle, the circle is me." She found it kept her in check when she felt like she was slipping away. Blinking slowly, she parted ways with her gigai, to reveal the actual clothes she was wearing. A form fitting sweater, and black leggings with boots. As her gigai walked a ways off, Satine stepped closer to Artix, all the while keeping her eyes locked with his. Her eyes and brain were speaking, saying his name curiously over and over again, finally letting him back in now that he was here, and angrily, she tried to stop it. But her body was too happy, and her heart was already screaming with joy.

Restraining herself, she reached Artix, and she had to look up to see him again. She placed a hand on his chest, and felt his heart beat. Tentatively, she reached out with her rietsu to feel his, wrapping her's through his, she could feel that same cut grass smell, and hard leather tanned by the sun. At the same time, it had a new feel to it, as if toxins had leaked all over it. It was that same feeling she got from her own energy. /a shocked feeling ran though her. Either Artix had already completed becoming another one of what she was, or he was about to and had been sent by the Soul Society to find and kill her. Satine stared up at Artix, all the pain of seeing him again making her so happy, that her eyes hurt from all the emotion she kept from her mouth.

"Artix."

She tasted his name on her tongue. She hadn't said it in a while, only thought it. but it wasn't as good as saying it. It made her mouth taste sweet, and she could feel a bump growing in it. Time was ticking too slowly for her, and she had all but forgotten the crowd around her. They were no longer important. Reaching up, she rested her hand carefully on his cheek, feeling his scars, making her sigh in relief. It was him, even an impostor could not get that face right. only the original would. She was just happy to have him back, and seeing him was like adip in a lake or pond, she felt cooled off, and happy at this simple joy. A flash of pain and anger in her head made her cringe, and suddenly, she was slapping Artix hard across the face.

She stared at her hand, uncomprehending, an angry red mark forming on Artix's handsome face. Just now she had felt a hatred so powerful inside her that it seemed to have to unleash itself upon something. But it hadn't felt like herself at the same time. Sure, she was angry at Artix, but she wouldn't have slapped him. That wasn't her, that couldn't have been. That hatred was terrible, and it felt like it was burning up her insides. Staring blankly at Artix, Satine tried to apologize, tried to sound normal. "Sorry, that wasn't really me," she didn't feel the need to explain herself, but she felt as if she were going to double over in the pain of it all. Seeing Artix only now was like being told that she wasn't allowed to be happy, because she would never truly let him go.

but she didn't want to either, and she was allowed to be selfish now. Banished from a place she had devoted her entire existence to for over four hundred years. She had never lived her life for herself, and now here she was, in charge of her own destiny, slapping the man who had hurt her. Maybe her heart was controlling her hand for once. Whatever it was, she was sorry, and she hoped Artix knew that. Besides, he also kind of deserved it for being such an idiot for all those months. She carefully stepped back, waiting. Her mask glinted on her back, out of site of Artix, but he most likely already knew it was there.[/align]

Each step taken made Satine more real. Just as she was doing Artix's eyes never broke contact with Satines, red lost in blue. What was she going to say? She hated him, she never wanted to see him again after this? That was what Artix was expecting and sadly he watched on steeling his heart and emotions for the one thing that he had heard so many times before. This time it would be different however, it would hurt him just as much as he had hurt her and Satine would have her much deserved revenge. That seemed fair, an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth.

She halted directly in front of him and looked up. He couldnt ascertain what she might be feeling, he assumed maybe sorrow, hate, anger. Yes, definetly anger. She placed her hand over Artix's chest which was clothed in a plain red T-shirt and open leather jacket.

"Artix." Artix's eyes began to water. It may have sounded silly but Artix was expecting to find out that Satine had forgotten him, that his experience with her had all been a dream, one of his fantasies and she, like everybody else, refused to go near him. Atleast he could be thankful that that wasnt the case. He could look back on his memories and know that it was real no matter what happened here.

She graced his face with her hand, the warmth of her skin rejuvinating him in a way that it had never done before. Half a year without her touch and Artix had almost forgotten what it was like, it was like a pleasant rush of warm air after coming inside from the cold. Despite himself he leaned in towards her fingers. Suddenly Satines hand drew back.

SMACK.

Artix's cheek stung and his face flipped to the side as Satines hand struck.It was the same side that his burn mark was. A large red mark outlined where Satine had slapped him. Combined with the joy of hearing Satines voice and the stinging of his cheek, the acknowledgement that Artix had hurt Satine washed over him and his eyes grew red as a tear or two slid down his face. Well if that was Satines version of revenge then Artix would gladly take it and anything else she chose to do to him. Lord only knew he deserved it.

"Sorry, that wasn't really me." Slowly, so that Satine wouldnt be alarmed by his movement and as gently as he could to show that he didnt want any further conflict Artix took hold of Satines wrist and gradually guided it down to her side. His face now solemn and understanding. He wasnt quite sure if a comforting embrace would be welcome at the moment so he settled with a gentle "I know Satine." and a slight brush of the cheek with the back of his hand.

"Look," he began as he lowered himself to Satines height and leant his head near her ear so that he could whisper to her and only her. He removed Satines photograph from his pocket and held it out to her. He hoped that the fact that he had kept this picture on his person at all times since finding it would clue Satine in to his current intentions.

"Let me explain everything, please. I had a reason for doing what I did."

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[align=right]I don't want to fall another Minute into your gravity[/align]

[align=justify]Satine stared at the photo, leaning into Artix, using him for support. It was as if every singles cell in her body wanted to be closer to him. She slowly reached under her sweater, to a utility belt that was kept on her waist. Opening a pocket, she slowly took out a folded square of paper. It was a bit yellowed from wear and tear, but it was all in one piece. Opening it up, she held it up beside Artix's photo of her old self. The two of them were side by side finally. Except they both were completely different from the people in their photos, Artix as the Demon King, and Satine as a Captain of the Second Division. She still felt sore when she thought about the position she had worked so hard for. but in the photo that Artix held of her, she was smiling.

She put her fingertips to her smile and then slowly touched her own mouth. She had only smiled like that twice in her life. When she had entered the Soul Society, and one sunny afternoon in a meadow with the man standing beside her. Quietly, she moved onto the second picture, looking into the red eyes of the blurred demon king. She put her hand on that picture as well, and then, this time tentatively, she touched Artix's lips. They had touched her's as well. She snatched her arm back before she could hurt him again, but stayed leaning into him. She had been waiting to see him again for so long, and now that she had, she really had nothing to say.

But her body was still screaming his name, and she was quivering with a weird mixture of need and want. Something told her to slap him again, but she didn't want to. She'd rather just fall into him. Every orifice was pining for him, but at the same time she needed to maintain her dignity somehow. She still remembered the way he had walked away from her, when she was so undone and confused. That was the day she had shown him her scar. She reflexively put up her hand to touch it, although it was no longer there. A flash of anger and embarrassment crossed her face quickly, but it was back to normal in a second.

What she would call her mood right now, was resentment. She was angry, yes, but that was to be assumed. She felt betrayed really, and not very sane. She had lost some of her sanity with fighting herself she supposed. But right now she felt particularly unbalanced. her mouth tried to smile like the photo, but what ended up happening was a sad little, half smile. just seeing Artix brought her closer to the brink. For all she knew, she was seeing things right now. Perhaps she had been so lonely that she was making things up even now. It was hard figuring things out on your own when you didn't even know what you were, but it was harder still missing someone so terribly that you made up meeting with them.

But if this is what her subconscious wanted, then so be it. Maybe this specter was going to tell her the reasons that Artix left her behind to stay in his memories. Maybe the specter would tell her he loved her. Either way, she had to making this up. Sure, he felt real, but so did most things. Staring blankly at Artix, she pulled him up, leading him through the crowd, her hand wrapped around his larger one. She brought him away from the noise, smells, colour, and sound, and sat down on the edge of a marble marker in a grove of trees. Staring hard at him, she said, "speak then." She was willing to hear him out, but she still hadn't forgiven him.[/align]