Post by Kizen Haetora on Aug 4, 2014 21:50:25 GMT -5
It had been nearly a day since his new master had found him, broken and clinging to life by the shoreline. Ai - the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place where she might have been before she came wound up in this place. Taking the reverent route, he chose to stay in one of the abandoned houses within the town. Sliding open the rice paper door, he quietly searched the building for a mat and pillow; making a place for him to rest in between training sessions. Having slept the night peacefully for the first time in a long time, he woke up early that morning to watch the sunrise over the forests canopy.
His fingers rose slowly to his chest, running over the impression the small prismatic orb left in his pocket as he healed overnight. He wondered if enough time had passed for them to reconnect. If she'd been harmed in any permanent way, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. She had put herself at risk to protect him, knowing that she wasn't strong enough and would be shattered under the weight of a Bankai level attack. Kizen had straddled deaths door so many times in the past, yet she'd never put herself in that kind of danger. Kizen always made her suffer, he'd always let her endure the brunt of his decisions instead of facing them himself. The effects of the damage he'd dealt her over these years came full turn in this event, she'd been snapped in two.
He exited the building, ducking his head underneath the timeworn door frame that was held together by faith. Taking a slow stroll through the abandoned town, he found himself wondering where its residents had all vanished to. The winds raced through the desolate town, kicking up old newspapers and cans, blowing them down the road Kizen walked along. A stray breeze caught his indigo locks under its current as it moved over his shoulders, causing his gaze to shift away from it. He noticed a small flash in the corner of his eye -this piqued his interest - so, he stepped off the road to investigate the source of this glimmer.
Entering an empty shop, he found himself standing before a series of picture frames. In each frame was a picture of a group of friends or family, arm in arm; their smiles spread neatly across each of their faces. They had it easy, to enjoy life the way they seemed to; not everyone gets that luxury. Grimacing at the sight of happy faces, not out of malice but out of the mournful solace that comes with the realization that he'll never experience the joy that companionship brings. Even if he endures the trial that his life has become, he's lost so much of himself.
Today is the day where he takes his life back, the day where he faces the worst aspects of his inner self. It is time to grasp fate by her neck and shout no in her face. All her life she has been at work; Character and destiny are her paths. She given him love and hate, then reverence to keep him humble. The only power he was ever given in this was a choice in deciding which path he wanted to take in life. Being someone who made all the wrong decisions, it's time for him to own up to his misgivings and step off of the path he's been placed on. If Kizen ever wanted to become the true heir to his family, he would have to master the world around him with the grace and poise of a true noble.
He will never be able to do that until he became the master of his inner world. He exited the building, heading towards the place where his teacher would show him a new route in life. A path that would bring him face to face with his own darkness. "Are you sure you want to do this?" A faint voice echoes from the small orb, nearly tucked away in his pocket.
"I'm sure" he replied, making his way out of the town and deep into the forest where he was first attacked. Hopefully this time, he'd find Ai instead of his attacker. She is the first ally he's made that hasn't asked something of him in return, at least beyond the knowledge of a simple name. Perhaps in time, the true nature of this woman's intentions would be revealed if she ever arrived at their meeting place.
[WC 758/50]
[GP Earned 15/15]