Lightning Strikes Again, Their path intertwined, A Fated Farewell

Kiriko paced in her office, hands darting across her desk with such ferocity that she nearly jostled her tea cup off the table. That forced her to pause, and stabilize the porcelain cup, still warm from that morning's tea. The announcement that had just ripped through Seireitei had been loud and intrusive, passing into the Annex despite her earlier assurances that such technology had no hold here in the secretive Second. At first, Kiriko hadn't been sure of the sender, but then she recalled all that had happened a mere handful of days before. Tsukimiya-taichou. Umi claiming Captaincy. Kenshou ending up Captain Commander despite all of her attempts otherwise and then strangest of all he had appointed her his successor. She was thankful Tsukimiya-taichou had made her excuses to that room, after Kiriko's lengthy foreay into her own mind she had been too exhausted to stand in that court and maintain her composure.

It had taken a few days to digest the news, longer still Tsukimiya-taichou's absence. He had explained things to her, but she still ached. It was offset by the new presence in her head, Hahaue had a soothing sort of aura even when she was not speaking directly to Kiriko. It reminded her of her own composure, not the fake act that she put on but the true peace of mind that she was supposed to emulate. That was something she had gained, no longer a tightrope of emotional turmoil.

Thought it took her a moment to realize who was sending out such a message, the context and wording was all the more shocking. Sakamoto declared a traitor. Kiriko didn't believe it. Somehow Umi had to be trying to frame her, or destroy her. For what reason? She couldn't grasp it. Everyone else had already raced off to the human world to deal with the invasion, while Kiriko had been left behind to give last minute orders to the garrison that would protect this place while their best and brightest were off to war. There was no one to defend Sakamoto, and no one to condemn her either. Kiriko had to see this for herself, the apparent betrayal.

There were still enough men available to create a Senkaimon, and they were eager to tell Kiriko that they had just sent through a battalion to capture the criminal. Kiriko nodded, unwilling to correct them and countermand another Captain's words until she could see things for herself. Sakamoto was a good person though. Kiriko knew it, and more then that, she lived for the betterment of Soul Society! It was a proven fact! Her whole track record, her whole life, she had done that. There hadn't been an ounce of discontent in her when Kiriko had last seen her. It was simply impossible for her to have fallen to such depraved levels without any indicators, without any reason!

She stepped through the doors into the human world, allowing her senses to spread out across the area to pinpoint where she was. The utter devastation was shocking, for the last time Kiriko had been in this place it was a booming metropolis of technology and buildings and teeming with humans. With life. Now? This was worse then the damage Seireitei had sustained in the Massacre, for as far as she could see it was just rubble from some sort of explosion. Dropping to the ground, she angled herself away from pieces of thrown up concrete and fallen support beams. In her search she had spotted the brilliant lights of green, a flashing color-point that she could never forget. Shunko was her creation, and in any iteration she would always be able to recognize its call.
Sakamoto.

Kiriko raced forward, putting her entire body into her gait so that she could reach the woman before she disappeared. “Sakamoto-san! Stop, please! There are Shinigami after you, they just came from Seireitei. We must hide you away so that this can all be fixed when people revert to their levelheadedness.” Kiriko had felt Sakamoto's power, and she wasn't afraid the group would actually hurt her – not really. But if her friend was confronted by a battalion of Shinigami she would be captured, and then who knew what Umi wanted to do with her. He was the law now, and Kiriko refused to allow such a being to judge Sakamoto when it was his word that condemned her. This was a plot that she would get to the bottom of, but before that she had to get Sakamoto somewhere safe.

WC: 756 | GP: 15 | Total GP: 15

The shinigami had been disappointingly stupid so far, disappointingly weak, and disappointingly .. Shinigami. It had always been something she hated when she herself was a part of the Shinigami. Their strict military hierarchy lead itself to rules and those who followed them but imagination and bending of those rules wasn’t encouraged in the least bit. With a second division that was forever spying on it’s people and a sixth that got their joys by imprisoning their fellow Shinigami it was to be expected. It had been a big reason that she had enjoyed her time in the Kido Corps so much when Lancelot was in charge of it. You could call Lancelot a fool for becoming Gilgamesh all you wanted but he had been a great leader. He encouraged his men, loved them, and let them do what they needed to. That had been the Soul Society she strived for, that she wanted, that she hoped for. Unfortunately, it seemed that it was doomed to be stagnant forever under the likes of men like Kyousuke Tsukimiya, Kenshou Ine, and Aizawa Junko. Not a one of them had any clue how to lead a society into the future.

It was evident as these young men and women charged at her. The hour hadn’t even been up and yet they attacked her for being called a traitor. Not a hint of evidence or proof, regardless of the fact she had done what Umi had said, and they charged into what they should have known was their death. Did they hate her that much for doing what had to be done? For teaching them what the world really was? She had to guess that they did and they all paid for it. There had to be the bodies of a three dozen Shinigami laying unconscious around her. They had all come here under Kenshou Ine’s lead to take on Tova Diabló in a battle to the death. They had expected an entire city to be teleported away and instead it had been decimated but rather than retreating like one would expect them to do they pressed forward against all odds. Outgunned, outnumbered, and outmaneuvered and they still rushed to their deaths. This is what she hated about Shinigami.

Stepping over the body of a low ranking member of the sixth division she continued her stroll through the town she had destroyed only a short time before. She had to see it with her own eyes and experience the destruction she had wrought with her own eyes and not those of another. A second hand account of this wouldn’t be enough for her to really take it in and know what she had done. She had heard a report once about the population of Karakura town. It had been over half a million souls at their last estimate and she had torn a third of them away from this world directly and even more would follow from the destruction she had caused. Hundreds of thousands of souls would be affected because of what she had done and despite the fact that she should have felt something about that she felt so hollow and empty inside. It hadn’t been as nearly as satisfying as she had thought it would be. No moment of triumph, no ultimate feeling of joy, and nothing was truly going to change was it? Sure, time would be the real way to tell but she didn’t have faith in humanity at this point. If they couldn’t learn a lesson from this then they were hopeless sheep. No, they were worse than sheep. They were human.

Someone special’s coming this way!

Hmm?

Taking note of Lasciel’s words she turned her attention towards the periphery. The feeling of a Senkaimon tearing reality to open a door was something she was intimately familiar with and it hadn’t been a surprise. No doubt Umi had made a similar announcement to Soul Society before he had them make one to Karakura and they had sent a group out to take her into custody. There was hardly anything special about that though and she was beginning to doubt whether Lasciel had any idea what she was talking about. Notably, behind the battalion, had been a familiar energy. One she had been familiar with for many a reason. A friend, a comrade in arms, the woman whom had taught her a beautiful technique that she had been making good use of. Chinda Kiriko was coming to say hello to her as well? Her speed had been enough to overtake the battalion and she arrived in a burst of speed. She cried out for Sakamoto to hide, to run, to wait them out! Surely they would come to their senses and she would be safe soon.

Did she not see the group of Shinigami on the ground behind Sakamoto, the blood stains on her clothing, the sickening green aura of her Shunkō that covered her and lashed out at the air around her? Was Kiriko that oblivious of the obvious fact before her? The pink-haired woman could only smile in the direction of her ‘friend’ as she worried for her safety. ”Something’s different about you today Chinda-Taicho, you look.. good.” She had changed so much since the day she had first met the woman as a lieutenant of a division she was now a Captain of. She was Captain, wasn’t she? Sakamoto had gotten a bit out of the loop while she was busy forming her plans and plotting a betrayal. It was so hard to keep track of politics and she hadn’t even bothered to go to the challenge Umi placed for Kohara having known the latter would lose regardless of what happened. Was there any point going to something when you knew the outcome? Worse, when you didn’t care what the outcome was?

Turning away from her inner ramblings her attention focused on the woman before her. She had never truly looked at Kiriko as a woman rather than a loyal officer of the Gotei. She had an eerie beauty about her that was hidden behind the fierceness of the woman’s conviction and dutiful personality. She had to admit it now as she looked at her Kiriko was beautiful. No wonder Tova and Kyousuke had sought her out so. ”You said there were Shinigami after me? I see, I suppose I should do something about that.” For a moment the Traitor within her contemplated simply turning them to ash but she had yet to cause a single death to those that had attacked her. There wasn’t any reason to do so now. No, there was reason not to now that Kiriko stood before her.

”Care to take a little trip with me Kiriko? One last time for the old times’ sake?” She smiled and offered a hand towards Kiriko and let the power wash over them both. It wrapped around each woman as it twisted and distorted the world around them. In the blink of an eye they had disappeared only to reappear kilometers away on one of the few remaining hills overlooking Karakura. The city burned below them as buildings crumbled and burned away. Somewhere down there had been that battalion that she had been so concerned about. Practically a world away now as she stared down at the city before her and felt nothing. Something was missing, she wasn’t sure what, but something wasn’t there. Something she had expected to feel after she had done this. There had been no joy for the act or the aftermath but now she felt elation because Kiriko had been there beside her. She could wrap one last thing up before she left the Shinigami behind.

She could have one last goodbye.

”So, Kiriko, why did you come find me? Were you really so concerned for a traitor like me?” There had been an implication behind her words and she had chosen them carefully.

She was admitting what she had done to Kiriko.

Words: 1362
GP: 27 (42)

She shifted uneasily at Sakamoto's words, her siddling legs allowing her a momentary glance behind her friend. In the moment, all she had taken in was Sakamoto's presence, so proud of herself for finding her friend in time. But that shift to the left gave her a full view of what was behind the crackling, glittering aura of Shunko. And it wasn't pretty. Dozens of bodies were laid out, though none rent with blood as far as she could see. Had Sakamoto disabled her pursuers? She should have known better! That would make her look guilty as far as many people were concerned! It was better to stay away, to make them chase her, until her friends could prove her innocence. This display of power would only remind the judges that Sakamoto was a dangerous opponent to have accused of treason. Not the kind of person you want to smear and then have come out clean.

Kiriko didn't have the time to scold her though, because Sakamoto was already stepping towards her. Something about that expression, the smile gilded with a bit too much elation... She tried to ignore it, and the unhealthy feeling churning in her gut. Whatever was going on here, all Kiriko had to do was get Sakamoto away to safety and then figure things out. She could protect her friend, and she would. Aneue might have been angry about Sakamoto beating her before, but Hahaue had taught Kiriko a lot about what was important to her. Even now the two minds were silent allowing Kiriko her own chance to decide. To decide if she would be the kind of person to support her friends when they needed her, or the kind of person to chose duty over relationships.

For now, the answer was obvious. Kiriko didn't trust Umi as far as she could throw him. Once an Arrancar always an Arrancar. His rise to power was suspicious too, and she disliked him for misplacing her ally in the Sixth. It was too early to talk to Kohara about Umi's leadership skills, but that was a conversation that had to occur. Trust between Captains was of some importance, mainly for her own job. If that man was trying to sow discord by framing Sakamoto, she would repay him in blood. Captaincy or no Captaincy.
Taking her friend's hand the two were transported a distance away, and Kiriko felt her shoulders relax marginally as she turned on her companion. “Sakamoto-san, you should not be so flippant! Your situation is dire, they are saying you are in league with Tova and every Shinigami has orders to attack you on sight.” Her words died on her lips as Sakamoto smiled and spread her hands, giving voice to the darkest fear that had been lurking in the back of her mind. Admission.

What if Sakamoto had actually done this crime?

What if Umi wasn't wrong?

Kiriko's eyes narrowed, and she clenched her hands tightly into fists as she stared at Sakamoto. Really staring, deeper then the flesh alone. There was an ugly pause, rife with many emotions, before Kiriko spoke again. “Did you, then? Did you betray your people and join the other side?” Her tone was cold, formal, frozen as the features on her face. Kiriko couldn't believe it until Sakamoto came out and said it, she wouldn't. But she also respected her friend enough to give her her full attention if she wanted to bandy about that implication. Somehow, desperately, she wished this was a joke of some sort. Sakamoto was strange like that sometimes. Maybe she was just trying to test Kiriko's resolve. Her hand dropped to the hilt of her sword, in what might be called a threatening manner, but in reality she just wanted the physical contact with Aneue to sooth her nerves. Her fears. Her new found worries for her friend. Sakamoto had promised her, she wouldn't let the Hollow win. So what had happened here?
 
WC: 661 | GP: 13 | Total GP: 28

She wasn’t sure what to think of Kiriko in this moment. The hope laced in every word she said to Miki. The hope that she could save her friend, the hope that she would be able to turn this against Umi, the hope of so many things. Hopes that needed to be crushed. This was no longer a world for those filled with hope and dreams that it would all end well. There was no happy ever after or a fairy tale ending with a prince in a castle. No triumphant defeat of a villain on a heroic journey. There was always evil in the world and their always would be. From the very moment humanity crawled out of the mud they were a violent species and those traits had been passed onto Shinigami. What had the Shinigami done with it? With their hundreds of years for introspection. Nothing.

Even after everything Kiriko had been through how could she have so much hope for Miki and the world? What had happened to the cynical woman who she had crossed blades with only a short time ago? Who she had nearly killed and in return threatened to kill Miki if she was a threat. That had been a woman who had learned the hard lessons of the world and taken them to heart. The kind of woman, the kind of Shinigami, that Miki had wanted to see and help create. Alas, she was gone it seemed. Here, beside Miki, she was relaxing and focusing on a trivial thing like saving a friend when a city burned before her.

It hadn’t been until Miki hinted at it all being true that Kiriko finally stopped in her tracks and thought about it.

Ooooo, I think you broke her. She wasn’t expecting that.

As crude as Lasciel’s words had been they appeared to have some semblance of truth behind them. She could practically see the spinning wheel inside the Captain’s head as she put the pieces together. Yes, her friend had justed all but admitted to what she was accused of. It had shocked and disturbed Kiriko down to her core. The pause between Kiriko’s words hung in the air and the world around them seemed to pause in kind. Everything stopped as silence filled the air and Kiriko decided her words carefully. When she finally spoke Miki hadn’t been disappointed. For the first moment since she arrived she caught a glimpse of the old Kiriko once again.

”Ah, I can practically see the hamster spinning that wheel in your head Kiriko. Betrayal, did she really kill all those Shinigami? No, there’s no way the Sakamoto I knew could do that. This has to be a joke, some sick joke, right? There’s no way, she promised the Hollow wouldn’t take over. She said she’d die before that happened, right?”

”What does your famed insight into the human condition tell you Kiriko? Was I lying back then? Am I lying now as I tell you that I am Sakamoto Miki and not a Hollow?” Of course she wasn’t lying. She never had lied to Kiriko. She had only chosen to leave out certain facts. Facts that she had always leave out and not tell anyone.

”To answer your question, finally: No, I didn’t betray anyone.” Words that should have given Kiriko comfort wouldn’t. Miki hadn’t been done speaking but she took a pause to let the words sink in for a moment. She wanted her friend to understand what she had done completely before she left.

”What I did, was serve my King. Ah, I should tell you something. Tova Diabló says ‘hello’. You and he are acquainted, right?”

Once again silence filled the air.

Words: 636
GP: 12 (54)

Her idyllic picture shattered like so many had before her. Hahaue had taught Kiriko how to hope, how to dream. But it seemed even the new denizen in her mind had nothing to say when Sakamoto broke apart that taped together window and send it cascading towards the ground. Her words were laced with laconic enjoyment, as if she was just playing around. And why not? Why not, since she knew Kiriko was no threat to her. Not when their last battle had ended so one-handedly. She tried not to focus on that, on the prick of pain that a comrade, someone she would call a friend, could slight her so. Aneue was already muttering, but she had hated Sakamoto from day one.

No, there was a bigger picture here. An entire world to keep in perspective. If Sakamoto was being honest, and it was rather starkly obvious by her face that she did not fabricate any of what she had just said, then she had committed a worse taboo then before. She had... what? What did Umi claim she was responsible for? The entire explosion that had rocked this area, that had decimated hundreds if not millions of lives and shelters and souls? It seemed impossible, and yet Kiriko had grown up a jaded little girl, and she was quick to grasp that another person had betrayed her trust. Just another in a long list, just when she had been so ready to finally realize the merits of friendship. When she had been so eager to put aside her fears for the potential gains of camaraderie.

Kiriko shifted her weight imperceptibly. They were standing so close that she could smell the scent of smoke on Sakamoto's clothes. It was close enough to launch an attack. Close enough to strike for the heart. And that was her duty wasn't it? The Kiriko from before, from yesterday, she would have laughed and struck a deal with Sakamoto. Hiding her secret, protecting her, doing whatever it took to keep the bond alive on her terms. After all, she had had blackmail on the woman, and a position of power was always endearing. Today she was another woman. A whole soul, no longer fractured and led by false impulse or fear. Tsukimiya-taichou had shown her the refracted image of herself, and with his help she had corrected those breaks.

Today what kind of person was she? What kind of choices would she make? To redeem herself for her past, for her crimes, for her omissions of pride?

She looked down, just an inch, as Sakamoto kept speaking. Such incendiary words. But worst of all the conclusion. That name. Tova. Didn't she realize this wasn't the real Tova? The man who attacked today was a demon, an usurper from another reality. What loyalty did Sakamoto owe such a creature? What put him above her own people? Kiriko let her hand slide down the side of Aneue's lacquered sheath, fingers ghosting across the blackened metal before falling free at her sides.

“I do know that man, and I am afraid you might not. But that matters little, Sakamoto-san. If you will pit your fate against that of the Shinigami, against Soul Society, then I am duty bound to oppose you. I will not let my friend cause such wanton destruction. For the sake of our relationship, I will destroy you before you can disgrace yourself further. You might have changed, but I have not. And my image of you has not. If I must kill you to keep you as my comrade, then I will do so.”

She did not mince words, nor did she look away. This was true cold hard fact and she refused to compromise her remarks with the bruised heart she received from saying them. Kiriko could have said so much more. Could have begged Sakamoto to turn back, to turn herself in and plead for forgiveness. She could have asked in the name of their bond. But it would all have been just wasted air. Even if Sakamoto walked up to Umi and let herself be jailed she would never be released as a free woman. Even if Kiriko asked for her to remember their friendship, Sakamoto as she stood there today, had bigger things concerning her. Something rode her, something deep and dark and powerful. Kiriko had no idea this had lurked beneath such happy eyes, but apparently that was her failure as a friend. To notice what had been going on. And she could not blame Sakamoto for Kiriko's own mistakes.

No, as much as it caused her heart to palpitate and her hands to clench, she had to do this thing. To save Sakamoto from herself. Kiriko had killed before. Friends, allies, enemies, opponents. They were all the same in battle, when it was life or death. You just had to close your eyes – and move. Instinct didn't care who the target was. Desperation didn't take into consideration your relationships. Professionalism ignored all obstacles. She had already sinned so much, her hands were coated with the blood of innocents. This one last time, she was only transgressing against herself instead of humanity. This one last time, the blood would be that of a guilty person. Friend, or no friend. It was what was right. More then that, it was what she had to do. To fix her mistakes, to clear Sakamoto's name in her heart. It could be no one else.

“Just tell me, please. Why? Why did you give up so much, for what? For Tova? For Hueco Mundo? For what?”

WC: 935 | GP: 18 | Total GP: 46

There had been a field of emotions in Kiriko’s eyes in the seconds following Miki’s words. It was as if her entire world had been shattered by a simple declaration that Miki had made and now what was she to do? The answer had come quickly to Kiriko as her hand settled on her Zanpakutou. She had followed suit with a speech targeting the woman across her laced with duties and everything else she could think of that might have brought Sakamoto back to her senses. Was this really Kiriko that stood beside her? A woman now who held a friendship in such high regards when before Sakamoto might have just been another tool to her?

Sakamoto Laughed in her face.

”I’m quite sure I know who I serve. If you’re concerned that he isn’t from our reality then I am aware. I was aware far before you or any other Shinigami was. You speak of killing me? Have you grown so arrogant Kiriko? I liked you because you weren’t arrogant. Sure, you were a little jaded, but that was something I liked about you. You saw the world as it truly was. So full of pain, betrayal, and evil. More of those things exist then you will ever find hope, or love, but now you cling to me as a comrade and threaten to kill me? You’ve changed Kiriko and not for the best.”

Sakamoto’s eyes drifted to the sky above them, the darkened clouds, slowly drawing Kiriko’s attention to them. Had she forgotten just how powerful Sakamoto was? Had she forgotten that even now she was fighting a woman that controlled a force of nature? Rain came crashing down hard on the ground around them. It drenched into their clothing and matted hair together into clumps as the Vaizard focused her eyes on Kiriko again. Shunkō crackled against the air and sparked between the two of them. The technique that she had helped Kiriko create threatening it’s very own co-creator.

”Arrogance doesn’t become you Kiriko. I beat you last time while I was holding back. Even the Hollow had been holding back. She was testing me, not you, do you truly want to die this day? I wish no harm to you my friend. That is what you are, a friend, I still have Shinigami I’ll consider friends, whom I’ll love, even as I change where I call home. I Don’t wish to harm you or them so don’t attack me Kiriko. You should know full well just what will happen if you do. Death doesn’t become a pretty face like yours.”

Blood, the blood of so many Shinigami, flowed out of her dress as the rain peppered it. The sick red color mixing into the forming mud below the traitor as she stared across at Kiriko. Like so many before she asked Why. Tokiyo, Junko, Mitsutaka, That Damned Child, all of them were asking her why! What the hell was so important about why she did this? Wasn’t the important part that she had done it?

Pathetic Hopeful little brats!
Pathetic Hopeful little brats!

”So.. much? What did I have? A false dream, a false home, a false hope? I wasn’t welcome in Soul Society. Not as I am, I’d never be, not like the others. Not like those before me. Isn’t it so funny now how many of your Captains are like me? I wonder what makes them so fucking special?

You want to know why I did this?

Because I did.”

She had no better answer for Kiriko and so that was what her comrade got.


Words: 621
GP: 12 (66)

Kiriko felt the prick of pride. So many times she had felt that prick. But never before has it been so powerful, so overwhelming. So destroying. She had changed? She had changed? How could Sakamoto say that? Kiriko was the same. The very same. She had to be, to stay strong. And yet, it was true wasn't it. That there were things that were different now. Hahaue... Aneue.... Kyousuke... Sakamoto... All of these things, her cherished things. Before, would she really have just wiped them away? Thrown them away like trash?

The answer, as painful as it was, was readily available. Yes. Yes she would have. Gladly. To keep herself pure, to save her own skin. Why? Because the Kiriko from before cared more about her own safety then anything else. More about her own life then anything else. And the Kiriko of today? What was so very different? Tsukimiya-taichou had shown her, not directly, but through his messages as Captain Commander. He had shown her the right path. To protect Soul Society, to make the world a better place. A place where children like herself wouldn't have to grow up into the woman she had been before. Where they would have a choice. Where her own work, dirty and bloody as it was, was necessary but forgotten. Wholly forgotten, because the sum of the world would be too good of a place to remember what it was the Nibantai did for them. That was what she wanted, a world full of Takasugi's. Full of innocence and purity. To protect that dream, yes, she had changed.
 
It still stung, because Kiriko's entire persona was built upon callous calculation. How could she balance this new part of her? This mercy that would never see the light of day? These emotions that had to be suppressed and only glimmeringly sighted in the night? The first step, the very first step, was to cut out the decaying parts of her heart. Sakamoto was her friend. Yes, yes, forever and for always. And yet, she had erred. She had committed a crime so great that the sin coated her body like a second pair of clothes. Sakamoto was no longer pure, no longer fit for the world that Kiriko needed to create. She was a relic of the past. Something that should be preserved, carefully, lovingly, preserved in eternal memory.
 
Kiriko's own Shunko unleashed automatically, without her even thinking about it as Sakamoto threatened in the most physical manner. Rain and lightning. How fitting. “You are right, you did win before. But I am not being arrogant, Sakamoto-san. I am telling you the truth. Determination is after all something that hasn't changed. I might not succeed today, nor the next time that we meet, but I will remove you from this world if that is the only way to protect you. I know that I will, because this is a promise based on our friendship. It is true, I did change. And because of that, I cannot die before I complete that promise to my friend.”
 
“I am sorry, Sakamoto-san. I am sorry that I did not see what was happening sooner and help you, and I am sorry that you felt you wanted to take this path. From now on, we are enemies and I will do my best to take you down.” Shunko sputtered around her, the lashing rain eating away at her fire, but Kiriko pushed her focus into it, and soon purple light cast shadows all around them. Enveloping the area with her presence. The little double entendre was strange. But there was only one thing Sakamoto could be speaking of. Vaizards. Kiriko knew now, after experiencing Tsukimiya-taichou's memories, all of the Vaizards that he had found out. And what a lengthy list that was! In the end, she hadn't needed Sakamoto to ferret them out, because it was as she had just said, nearly all the Captains in existence.
 
Still, it stung to know that all of this was because of that damned Hollow in Sakamoto's head. Why? Why when Kiriko's own Inner Hollow was so kind, so helpful? Why did everyone else have something bad? Tsukimiya-taichou said it was the personification of your repressed self. What did that mean? That Kiriko was really the bad person here? That her true self was so black that the only form her Inner Hollow could take was to be better? She couldn't think about that, not now. Not for a long time perhaps.
 
“Sakamoto-san, you may not wish to fight, but it is inevitable. Your answer is simply enough to place us at opposite sides of the divide. Whether we clash today, or tomorrow, our fate will be the same. Come, let us get this over with now,” Kiriko let her hand slide off of Aneue, dropping her weight into a solid stance and folding her fingers in with a come-hither gesture. She felt tense, electricity ranging throughout her body. This fight, would have to be different then the last. But was she ready? Could she really pull it off? Her promise was the only tenuous link that might preserve her.

WC: 860 | GP: 17 | Total GP: 63

”You people all… you all ignore it don’t you?” The that the Vaizard was experience seeped out into her words. She loathed that Kiriko couldn’t see it! Of all the people she thought would understand her and why she was doing this it was Kiriko! Why did this woman’s damn arrogance have to get in the way? What had changed her so much? The Kiriko she had crossed blades with would have done anything to survive. That Kiriko had been ready to kill her because she had gotten a little out of control. This Kiriko was intent to save her. It was as if someone had taken and turned the woman’s world upside down on her.

Why couldn’t she see the truth of the world before her? Why was it coming to this now? Each of them now had released their hidden potential away. Shunkō aura’s crackled and lashed out at the air around each woman. Purple and green illuminating the air around them and reaching out to threaten even the heavens above. Kiriko spoke of her determination to rescue Sakamoto. Her determination based on a friendship that somehow meant more to her than the deaths of thousands.

In the past she might have liked that. However now it just brought pain to her heart.

Finally, the Vaizard spoke. ”Mitsutaka asked me something before I came here today. He asked me why I had done what I had. Why so many in the Corps had to die today. Why I was going to do this. I don’t think I had an answer for him, or anyone, until now Kiriko. I have to thank you for giving me that answer.” She let her pressure crash down around them. The rain hardened further and the storm above crackled in the night sky. The air around them seemed to thicken and turn into an Ocean all it’s own as she let her Bankai fully release for the first time in so very long. Damascus etched golden bracelets forming around each of her wrists as she raised a single hand towards Kiriko and beckoned her forward. Even now as she held back from fully releasing the powers of the Hollow within her that Kiriko hated so much the difference between them was clear.

It was like comparing a rock to a mountain.

”I may finally have answers because of you my dear friend but don’t think for a second that means I won’t put an end to your feelings today. Will I have to do that Kiriko? As a friend I would hope that you wouldn’t force that on me.”

“I simply want to go away from this place Kiriko why won’t you let me? Shouldn’t you want to avoid a fight in this place after all this death and fighting? The balance has been upset enough as it is.”

“Let it go Kiriko. Today isn’t the day you’ll die.”

Maybe she was just tired after all the bloodshed she had wrought that day but Miki really didn’t want to have to kill Kiriko. After all the woman was a friend of hers and she had given the Vaizard the answers to questions she had needed answers to. She owed the woman her life for that much at least. The rest was up to Kiriko.

Words: 560
GP: 11 ( 77)

She watched the hesitation in her friends eyes, in her actions, as she held back from attacking her. She had wanted a fight so bad moments ago and yet now she held back. Was it something that Miki had said to her to convince her not to act? It was hard to tell what was going on inside of the woman’s head. Miki would have killed to have Maki’s art in reading one’s heart and mind right about now. Was Kiriko going to attack or fall back? Was she finally beginning to realize what Miki had wanted her to realize all along?

Her friend wiped the rain from her eyes and straightened back up as the fight left her. The woman had some kind of revelation that had stopped her from attacking her friend this day. Miki smiled at it, doubting it was what she wanted, and nodded towards Kiriko. The aura of Shunkō died out around the Vaizard and she let the rain slowly die down to barely a drizzle around them. ”The same goes to you Kiriko. I don’t want to have to hold back next time. Next time, when we fight, I’ll show you the power of Lasciel and Sakanako together and you’ll finally realize the difference between our power. You nearly caught up to me once but that won’t happen again.”

She turned away from Kiriko and left her back entirely open to the woman as she prepared one last jump away from this plane. She was done in Karakura, the mortal world, at least for a little while. ”Mmm, Kiriko, take care of yourself. Not every Vaizard will be like me and let you go when you know our secret. Some of us take it more seriously than I do. Don’t go looking into matters that might get you killed. I would like to see that pretty face one more time.”

With that one last note Sakamoto Miki, Espada, vanished from Karakura.

Words: 333
GP: 6 (83)