Into the garden of light and shadow(Kasumi, Moriya, Tsubaki)

The silence was a bliss after the packed dining area that bruised your ears with its noise. Sitting beneath the darkening sky, Kasumi left her feet dangling from the side of the wall while enjoying the evening with a full tummy when her eyes fell upon a single figure. The raven head was making her way over across the grounds and towards the Gate, leaving Kasumi wondering whether she was going on a mission or simply taking a stroll. With nothing else to do, and more than enough pent up energy to spend, the young Shinigami was quickly to jump onto her feet and pursue her fellow squad member. The hunt started out over the fences and walls, rooftops of dark orange and streets filled with other Shinigami just to end somewhere deep in the Rukongai. By then, Kasumi had hid as much of her reiatsu as was possible, sneaking across the dusty streets and wooden alleys in order to keep up with the mysterious woman.

Keeping up wasn't hard, but after a while, it took Kasumi quite some effort to remain quiet. The further away from the Seireitei they went, the more curious she became. Her thoughts rapidly flew from a special mission to the Shinigami abandoning her position in the Nibantai. Unable to stop the pursuit and head back, she decided to make sure that the woman would return to the Seireitei in case of fleeing.

'Since when do you care?'
That was a good question, and one that she couldn't provide a clear answer to. The closest she could get to answering it was by assuming that she wanted to help this stranger out, in case that she was in trouble. People deserved to be given a hand to hold onto if they required it, right? Theoretically, yes. But the Shinigami were a difficult matter. Some did their best to better the world they were living in, others blindly followed the orders given to them without thinking. Of course, it was easy to shove the responsibility for your actions to someone else, someone higher up the chain of command. That was you were not the one who made the choice, you simply obeyed – did whatever was expected of you.

While her feet carried her across the softness of the Rukongai forest, her mind sunk deeper into the complex structure that was the Seireitei.

Unlike the Shinigami ahead, Kasumi wasn't all that careful in paving a path for herself through the vegetation. After a while she realized that it was easier to move from one branch to the other instead of getting stuck in bushes and the likes, and so she did just that.

Amazing, she thought after breaking through the last layers of trees and into the meadow.

A part of her wanted to dash through the rows of blooming flowers and check out the pond, but she knew that the time for blowing her cover wasn't quite there yet. For now, Kasumi would take her time to study whatever this Shinigami was planning to do. And from the looks of it, the woman was simply getting ready for some gardening. Of all the things the white haired teenager had expected, this wasn't one of them.

Quietly shifting behind the first pair of trees, she leapt from one patch of ground to the other while being careful to stay away from the open area. It took her a couple of minutes to get to the back of the house – the one her target had gone inside before returning to the field of flowers.

'Don't you think that you're taking this a bit too far? It's.. quite obvious that this isn't a mission, and even if it is, it's not one of any importance.' Vör's comment was a lazy one, a purr of disbelief and disapproval. Still, Kasumi moved towards one of the smaller windows, curious about whatever might be stored inside of this modestly looking house.

With a bit of fumbling she managed to open up the window and get inside. Unfortunately, something fell the moment she landed on her feet inside of what seemed to be a little kitchen. A pan? A cup? Wide-eyed she tried to find the rolling item in order to stop the noise. Damn it, the bits of moonlight that seeped through the open window didn't quite help her in this unfamiliar surrounding.

Oh damn, the reiatsu signature had shifted, it was moving now – rapidly approaching the house. Kasumi bit her lip. Should she run? Or should she stay to try to figure out whether the woman was planning on living her instead of sticking with the Second? .. Time was slipping, running between her fingers like water, and Kasumi couldn't decide.

If she hadn't been around during Kasumi's brawl with the Captain of the 4th, then she might not know her face – might think that the young Shinigami was from another division, or a thief. Then, things wouldn't be as awkward – oh no, they would still see each other in t-.

The time was up. 'You panic too easily.' Slowly the words slithered into her mind.

“Hi..” Was the only thing Kasumi could say. A sheepish smile was clinging to her lips. Hiding her reiatsu together with the nerves, she hoped that this one wasn't specialized in reiatsu perception. “I was.. just wondering what was inside.” Gesturing at the walls and the furniture around her, Kasumi allowed her smile to widen. “Do you come here frequently?”

Keep her occupied.. Keep her mind busy.


Words: 922 - GP18

    Tsubaki was kneeling in the dirt around one of her bushes as she carefully went about removing the weeds that had begun to sprout up around it. As she did so she started to plan how her night was going to go. As it was she would likely have to spend around three hours weeding, it would be more but since she had been so diligent for so long about removing weeds the amount that did manage to find their way into her garden was small enough that she could take care of them relatively quickly, then she would need to look around and try to find any new saplings or offshoots of her plants and decide if they could stay or not. Tsubaki was adamant to herself that she wanted the glade to look as natural as possible, so she avoided rows, plots, or any kind of symmetry in her garden so that it would appear as if its existence was a very beautiful coincidence. The only concessions that she allowed in this were the small gravel paths that she had laid that would allow her to reach any part of the garden without risking treading on any of her precious charges.

    Tsubaki was jarred out of her somewhat meditative state by the sound of something clattering inside of her house. She instantly shot up and turned towards her house. The sudden break in the tranquility of the garden was reflected in her mood, and consequently her reiatsu. Without bothering to try and sense what might be in her home Tsubaki immediately used Shunpo to arrive at her door before the intruder could try and escape, and opened the door.

    The sight that greeted Tsubaki was not at all what she had expected, instead of some curious animal or raving madman the thing that was laying on her floor, arm out and grasping, was a teenage girl in a Shinigami uniform. It took Tsubaki no time at all to identify this blue eyed, white haired girl as Kasumi Shinoda, the sixth seat of second squad and head of human world intelligence, in other words she was one of Tsubaki's direct surperiors. However, that didn't particularly matter to Tsubaki, as this girl had intruded on her most personal place, in her home, in her forest, when there was no reason whatsoever for her to be there.

Tsubaki's composure almost broke when the girl spoke, Hi? She says hi? What kind of intelligence agent just says high when their caught, or for that matter why the hell did she make such a stupid mistake as to get caught like that in the first place?!

Kasumi Shinoda, just what are you doing in my home, and don't repeat yourself, your curiosity as to what was 'in here' could only have developed after you intruded on my home.

Tsubaki glared down at Kasumi, essentially ignoring the massive difference in ability that the two had as her eyes bored into this intruder with cold intensity.

Word Count: 501
GP gain: 10
Total GP for Thread:24
    

Oh, her gaze said it all. Coldly, the dark haired Shinigami studied her intruder. Kasumi could vaguely perceive a certain amount of annoyance, though one didn't have to be all that proficient in the art of reiatsu perception to get an idea about the woman's current mood. Briefly the girl wondered about what her own reaction would have been should someone have invaded her room, or home – if she had had one. It didn't take her long to realize that she might have gotten quite upset, if not furious.

As the silence grew deeper, Kasumi smile twitched and faded. The taller Shinigami kept her eyes directed at her, causing her to feel rather uncomfortable. At least there would be no violence, or that's what she assumed given the fact that the woman hadn't attacked her already. Awkwardly straightening up, she tried her best to keep up a blank expression. Not an easy thing to do when you were nervous.

Keep calm, she might not know you, if yo-. Oh damn.
Wide-eyed she swallowed, realizing that this squad member knew exactly who she was. Hearing her own name forced her to shift a little. Fingers dug into the fabric at her sides, looking for pockets to hide in. She tried to refrain from turning red, hoping to appear calm and collected.

Why was this one so tall? Being forced to look up, Kasumi noticed how she only reached to her chin. At least she isn't Tomie-tall, she told herself while finding a new job for her hands and starting dusting off her clothes. All that was left to do now was.. think. She had to think. Setting her teeth, she breathed hard through her nose before returning her attention to the owner of the house.

“I'll be honest, I was curious were you were heading in the middle of the night.”

'Don't be nervous, there is no reason for any panic.' The Spirit firmly encouraged her from the back of her mind. It helped, it really did. The young officer straightened her back a bit more, trying to look slightly taller than the meager five feet that she actually was.

“The garden is nice.” She proceeded, tilting her head to the side in an attempt to see past the woman. “I didn't feel like treading upon the flowers.. and decided to take a look inside while you were out.” Seeing no reason to lie, or try to talk her way out of this, Kasumi lightly clasped her hands in front of her before falling back into silence. There really wasn't much more that she could say.

A light frown marked her face; Kasumi wondered if this would be the right time to ask the woman about her name. Blue eyes tried to estimate what this situation would lead to, what it would bleed into if she would just stand here. More awkwardness and stiffness followed by her departure? Hostility in case that she would try to leave? Various options bloomed in front of the girl's eyes as the seconds ticked away. When.. “Shinoda Kasumi, but you already know that. What's your name?”

Being busted, curious and authoritative at the same time simply didn't work. That's why she left the last of those three behind, and hoped that things could be solved in a civilized manner.


Words: 554 – GP11|| 29

Tsubaki's deadpan gaze didn't falter. Kasumi's reason for following her, though likely true, was extremely flimsy and utterly pointless. However, at the same time, Tsubaki couldn't help but feel some pride when Kasumi commented on her garden, though her comment about treading on her flowers, even if Kasumi wouldn't have done that, hit a nerve.

First,  I want to ask why you found it suspicious that a member of the second squad would be out and about at night. Second, thank you for the complement, and third, I would highly recommend against harming my flowers as I have been tending this garden for over three centuries, and this is where I get most of my ingredients for my poisons.

Tsubaki continued to glare at Kasumi for a few more moments, but in the end she simply sighed and walked towards her fire pit. She remained silent as she grabbed her flint and steel from it's storage spot and began to strike it, quickly producing sparks that she coaxed into becoming decent sized flames. She then grabbed the teapot and walked out the back to fill it from a stream that ran close by her house.

Don't leave, I'll make you some tea.

It only took a moment for Tsubaki to get the water and return, and when she did she set the kettle over the flames to heat. She then walked over to a nearby cupboard and started rummaging through the different stores of tea leaves. As she did so she would periodically take out a jar and sniff it, or sometimes dip her finger in and taste the leaves, mostly she would simply return the jars, but occasionally she placed the jar aside to be cleaned out at a later time. Finally she spoke again.

As I said, I've been here for a very long time, and while you could likely take on anyone or anything that decided to attack you, it would be pointless for you to return now and risk being forced to shed blood. So I suppose I can entertain you here for a bit, what type of tea do you prefer?

Word Count:356
GP gain: 7
Total GP: 31

“Suspicious is a strong word, like I've said before, I just wanted to know where you were going.”

Trying to appear strong when faced with the hard look that the Shinigami was giving her, she managed to shrug as if there was nothing more to it. In fact, there barely was. There were a lot of people that did odd things when bored, and Kasumi was one of those that didn't like to be confined to one place.

“I wasn't doing anything important when I saw you leaving, and figured that I could use a walk.”

Of course, I hadn't expected to wander into a garden full of poisonous plants..?

A silent nod confirmed that she didn't plan on ruining the woman's garden any time soon. According to the Shinigami centuries of work had gone into the various plants outside. This in itself sounded rather insane to the girl who hadn't even reached two decades yet.

“That's.. quite a while.”

Deeply impressed by the idea of someone having put so much time into a garden, the young Shinigami shifted a little while trying to look out of the window. The garden wasn't quite visible from where she was standing. That's why she moved closer to the small opening in the wall, hoping to get a closer look at the plants. Once, two – her steps didn't bring her far. Stopped in her tracks by the woman's voice, Kasumi couldn't help but to feel a bit surprised at the invitation for some tea.

“eh.. sure. That would be nice, thank you.”

Moving away from the window, Kasumi studied the woman, wondering why she hadn't introduced herself. A part of Kas didn't feel all that comfortable around the stranger, especially now that she knew about the poisonous plants. What if this fellow Shinigami was planning to poison her?

'And spend the rest of her life in the Maggot's Nest?'

Vör had a good point. Besides, Kasumi doubted that Kohara would be too happy if one of his subordinates decided to kill the others. The thought brought a pained grin on the girl's face, that soon got replaced by a look of confusion – why was this one worried about Kasumi going back alone?

“Green, please.”

She spoke carefully, and then fell back into silence. Gently the fire cracked, the pots and cups were moved, scratching the counter in the process, and Kasumi didn't know how to put a stop on the awkwardness that was overtaking her.

“Er- what should I call you?”

If they were about to have some tea, they could at least use each other's names, right?

“You've said that you make poisons.. what do you use them for?”

Beating down the awkwardness with some curiosity was the way Kasumi functioned. By the time that she had gotten a cup of steaming tea to enjoy, the girl was drowning in questions that she wanted to pose. They ranged from inquiring about whether or not the poisons were dangerous for Hollow to the ability of making an antidote with the same plants.

But first.

“Mmm, this is good. Do you grow the leaves yourself?”


Words: 521 – GP10 || 39

Green tea. How vauge, what type of green tea does she want? Does she mean Kabusecha, Sencha, Tencha, the list goes on...though I suppose I shouldn't just expect everyone to know exactly what their talking about. I haven't indulged in Gyokuro for a while...Gyokuro it is.

Tsubaki got to work preparing the tea while Kasumi continued to talk, and after she had finished setting things up she sat down at the small table while she waited for the water to reach an appropriate temperature. She remained silent until the water was ready, and then proceeded to make the tea, filling two cups once it was ready, and placing one before Kasumi before she sat down again to drink her own tea.

I suppose it would be quite a while in some respects.

Though considering that we're both essentially ageless spirit beings it really isn't.

Tsubaki continued to sip her tea, seemingly ignoring Kasumi's questions as she quietly indulged in her favorite green, however all to soon she found herself looking at the bottom of an empty cup. While normally she wouldn't have any problem with just brewing more tea, tonight she had work she wanted to do, and she'd be damned if she was going to let an interruption like this keep her from it, so with a sigh she stood up and reached walked to the wall where she kept some of her tools. She took down two weeding implements, wood handled metal rods with forked ends that had their inner edges sharpened, and placed one down in front of Kasumi. 

I have work that I planned on doing, and I don't plan on letting that work go undone. If you want to continue this conversation I suggest that you come and help me, and my name is Tsubaki Tasori.

With that Tsubaki walked outside and into her garden, and even if she couldn't be sure that Kasumi would actually help since she was Tsubaki's superior, she still assumed that Kasumi would follow outside, so she decided to answer her other questions. 

In answer to your question about my poison, I use them for exactly what you would expect. And don't worry about being exposed in this garden, the more poisonous plants are kept a in a separate section. If you would like details as to how my poisons work, you will have to be more specific. I have poisons to do anything from cause heart attack, create anxiety induced hallucinations, to mimic necrotizing fasciitis. 

Even if that one doesn't work just yet.

As to your other question, yes I grow the leaves myself, I keep several plots of tea nearby, the one I gave you in particular was Gyokuro green tea.

Word count: 455
GP gain:9
Total gain:40

This woman

Kasumi inwardly sighed at the silence that was heavily hanging between them once again. If people from the other divisions kept on meeting with Nibantai members as distant as this woman.. well, Kasumi had a good picture on why most of the other Shinigami had the idea that those from the Nibantai were stiff and aloof in general.

Carefully taking another sip from the scalding liquid, she wondered why the Shinigami had invited her for tea if she didn't plan on having a conversation. With every sip the silence turned deeper and deeper. Soon Kasumi found herself questioning if the older female expected for her to speak up. Could this perhaps be some sort of technique in getting information from strangers?

One, two. Kasumi tapped her foot against the wooden floor a third time when the woman got back onto her feet. Silently putting away the cup, Kasumi followed her example but not before draining the remains of her green tea.

“Sure.” she replied somewhat awkwardly, then took the implement in her hand.

The thing looked like an odd, overgrown fork. One Kasumi didn't really know what to do with. Unfortunately, before she could ask what exactly they were about to do, Tsubaki was already out of the room. There was nothing else to do but to follow the woman outside, at least not if she chose to stay here.

So much for communication..

With a grim set mouth and a heavy sigh the girl followed the raven haired woman outside and into the garden. Something about the many flowers and the perfectly arranged paths quickly wiped the frown from the girl's face. Perhaps gardening wouldn't be as bad, and more importantly, as boring as Kasumi had always imagined it to be. From the looks of it, Tsubaki really enjoyed it, and her efforts were paying off.

“Hmmm?”

Tilting her head to the side, Kasumi curiously listened to the information that Tsubaki decided to share with her. While it wasn't much, she now knew that posing questions was not forbidden and would probably provide her with some sort of answers.

“That's awesome.” She paused, took a look around and couldn't shake of the feeling of being impressed.

“I've never seen a garden like this before.”

And neither had she seen flowers that were blooming during the night. Zigzagging over the paths, she made sure not to step on anything else but the ground made for walking. There was no need in agitating Tsubaki by treading on her work.

“Do you have something to allow one to sleep a bit better? You know, sleeping without nightmares and such.”

Walking around the area she picked her paths well and soon arrived at the spot she had started from. A couple of steps brought her closer to Tsubaki. The latter one was already working on something, and Kas had to bend toward the ground to get a better view on whatever she was doing.

“So.. I just put this in the ground and tear out the weeds?”

There was some hesitation in the girl's voice; aside from the obvious plants with the flowers, Kasumi had no idea which others should be left alone. To her, everything that didn't look nice could be a weed. Imagining pulling out the wrong roots caused her to nervously hum to herself. She really hoped that Tsubaki would be clear with her instructions.


Words: 567 – GP11|| 50

Tsubaki sighed inwardly as she shot a glance at the woman beside her.

Honestly, it's not that hard to figure out. Though I suppose if I want to make up for lost time I should just explain it to her.

Tsubaki placed her tool down and turned to Kasumi. As she spoke she pointed to different plants.

First off, those, those, and those are not weeds, so don't harm them. These, she gestured to a clump of grass-like plants, are weeds. You take the tool I gave you, and you push it into the earth, then use it to cut the root of the weed. After that, you pull the weed out of the ground.

With that said Tsubaki turned back to her work and was silent for a few moments. In that time she continued to weed, deftly removing the offending plants from her garden with barely any effort. After a few moments she spoke up again.

I might have something to help you sleep, though I'll need you to answer a few questions first. I need to know how lightly you sleep, the frequency of these nightmares, how recently they started, if they are based off of something that actually happened to you, how recent that event might have been, your weight, and if you take any kind of medication already.

While some of those questions might have seemed odd or useless, Tsubaki needed to know what kind of dosage she should give, and how long Kasumi might need the medicine. It was possible to provide a drug that ensured a dreamless sleep, but it wasn't entirely healthy. Tsubaki was well aware of the fact that dreams were a necessary coping mechanism for the mind, and when that mechanism was denied to it, the mind could easily break. 

Word Count: 300
GP gain:6
Total gain:46

The last thing she had imagined herself doing tonight was digging in dirt. And yet, here she was, rooting in the ground with her fingers in an attempt to tear out the weed. Using the device that she's been given by Tsubaki, Kasumi managed to rip out the little plant with roots and everything. Earth and bits of leaves flew all around. That's when she realized that she shouldn't use so much force – she just had to get the sharp side of the device right beneath the knot of roots.

“I don't take any type of medication.”

Kasumi started out with the easiest answer while tugging at a particularly stubborn root. She didn't want to use too much power – not feeling like damaging the plants nearby. The weed came loose with a bunch of ground still clinging to its bottom. Shaking it off a little she placed it next to her feet.

“I think that I weight a bit more than 100 lbs.. probably 105 or something.” She hadn't been paying much attention to her weight, ever. As long as she felt good and kept her condition in check everything was alright. If Tsubaki had asked her about her height, that would have been a completely different story. The young Shinigami still hoped to grow quite a bit, and made sure to note down how tall she was every week or two.

“They've started a couple of weeks ago, I think that I'm just a bit stressed about this position and the fact that our former Captain is here no longer.”

While she wasn't telling the woman lies, she wasn't revealing the full reason to why she was having the nightmares. Being stressed by the seated position and missing Kiriko were a couple of pieces of this puzzle that was her growing insomnia.

“Sometimes I have two or three nightmares during the night. If it's only one and I get to sleep the rest of the night without waking up then it's a miracle.”

Getting the hang of it Kasumi was starting to work quicker, tearing the weeds out one after the other. It was an easy procedure once you got used to it. She pushed, twisted and pulled. Dropped the weed on the ground and moved on to the next one. All together it took her a couple of seconds per plant, and she had to admit that it wasn't as terrible as she had imagined it to be.

“I assume that it will pass in time, but it would be nice to have a good night of sleep now and then.”

A good night would be one where she didn't get haunted by those golden eyes, didn't lose control of her body and didn't have to obey the Arrancar's orders and hurt screaming souls that begged her for mercy.

Stabbing too hard into the ground, she almost ended up tearing out a bush of flowers, but managed to contain the damage by pulling out the tool back out and only scratching the surface in her next go.



Words: 509 – GP10|| 60

Tsubaki kept her ears trained on Kasumi as she methodically continued the job in front of her, the pile of weeds beside her rapidly growing as she brushed the pile to her side every time she moved, simply so that it would be easier for her to clean all of it up in one pile rather than have to go through the whole garden gathering the weeds again. She mentally sighed when she heard Kasumi mention how unsure she was of her weight, though luckily she had given a close enough approximation that Tsubaki could easily get her a safe dose of what she needed. Probably. She did frown when Kasumi mentioned the cause of her nightmares however, as what she said didn't sit quite right with her position. After a couple of minutes of relative silence Tsubaki spoke up.

I would prefer it if you could give me a more accurate number for your weight. With medicines, especially medicines designed to put you to sleep, the dosage is heavily determined by mass, and the wrong dosage could almost certainly be lethal, however, you do appear to be within that weight range, and the dosage for what you gave me is actually the lowest dosage that could have an effect for most of my medicine, so you should be fine. What isn't fine however, is that you're lying to me, or at least not telling the whole truth.

Tsubaki took a breath and continued before Kasumi could interrupt, even if the girl was her superior, she had asked for help, and Tsubaki couldn't give that help without more facts.

Stress based insomnia rarely manifests as nightmares, and when it does they don't happen so many times in one night. More often however, stress induced insomnia manifests as a complete inability to sleep. Not only that, but we are second division. Death is no foreign concept to us, be it the death of a comrade or a target, and compared to most of what we do, the stress brought by your seat should be negligible. So before I can give you anything, and I do believe I have something that can work, I need to know the real reason behind this.


Word count:370
GP gain: 7
Total GP:55

Death of a target, that's how most of the Second viewed a life they took. To some – and apparently this woman was one of them – the death of a comrade meant as little as of those they had no connection to. Perhaps that was the right road to go down when a comrade could quickly turn into an obstacle for the Gotei, one you would be forced to take care of. It was an idea Kasumi had been ignoring from the very start, and luckily things hadn't come anywhere near that.

Putting the tool on the ground with a heavy sigh, she walked towards her fellow squad member while wondering if there was really nobody who meant something more to Tsubaki than a blank face and unknown name. There was always the possibility that she was simply acting tough, not that Kasumi would understand why – especially not when the younger Shinigami's already told her about her nightmares. Slightly annoyed by the woman's attitude, she couldn't help but to lash out.

“I don't like it when people accuse me of telling lies.”

She left a couple of feet between them, not feeling like getting into an unnecessary fight in the middle of a forest. Should she hurt her she would have to heal her, too. Perhaps even drag her back to the Second, and that would be a real pain.

“Alright, perhaps the seat isn't the main reason. I mean, all in all I've been here for almost a year, right? Over six months of being a part of the squad, too. The human realm isn't a foreign concept to me either, I guess I'll manage.”

The words came out too fast, she felt like they were slipping past her lips like water. A part of her knew it was because of the lingering anger concerning the fact that Tsubaki didn't seem to care for Kiriko's departure. Of course, people weren't obliged to care, but Kasumi thought that they at least looked up to the former Captain.

“For one, she's not dead. Not really.”

She wanted to explain that the dark-haired woman had become someone else, someone otherworldly, an entity so high above them the distance between her and the Shinigami was even larger than the leap between them and the mortals. From Broken she had healed into perfection.

“Unfortunately, this world is too.. small for her presence.”

With a frown and a saddened gaze Kasumi motioned at nothing in particular around them. The memories of their last meeting in the Rukongai were still fresh; she shook them off.

“You might have seen her as a mere superior officer, but I did not. The reason that I'm here,” Both figuratively and literally, Kasumi realized in silence. “is because of her.”

Knowing that she had said too much already, the young Shinigami gently shook her head as if to close the topic. While she wasn't certain if that would work, she knew that Tsubaki had no way of forcing her to speak up – the sleeping issue could be brought up with Miyuki, in the worst case. Aside from that, well, questioning her she could try, but threatening Kasumi wouldn't end well.

'Calm down, there is a reason she's from the Second, too.'

And that was the dangerous part – at least if Kasumi would tell her the uglier side of her story, which she would not because doing so would be foolish. None could guarantee her safety now that the world around her had been torn to pieces, at least from her perspective.

“Don't you have anyone that you care bout, Tsubaki-san?” A pair of curious, blue orbs directed itself at the taller Shinigami.


Words: 611 – 12|| 72

    Physically, the only indications of Tsubaki's emotional response to Kasumi's words was a slight creaking from the wooden handle of her tool as her grip tightened to the point of nearly splintering it. Her reiatsu was another story however. If Kasumi was paying attention to it, she would certainly notice a drastic change in her spiritual presence, while it by no means became stronger, it seemed to somehow become sharper, as if it had become whipping tendrils of barbed vines seeking something to lash out at. When she spoke her voice was icy, and filled with enough venom to bring to mind just what Tsubaki was known for among the second.

One. You asked me for help, and I didn't outright say you lied. I said I couldn't tell if you had lied or if you were holding information back, and it seems that I was correct, now doesn't it? You also forget, that despite your position I have been here longer than you. No I didn't know her well, or really at all, but do not assume that I was unaffected by her loss.

As she continued to speak the plants around Tsubaki began to rustle slightly, the hushed whisper of their leaves becoming a background noise of whispering rage that accented the icy rage in Tsubaki's own voice.

And don't you dare assume that I never cared for anyone. I may try to see things as gains and loss, but that doesn't mean I am emotionless. I told you that I had been tending this garden for over three hundred years. Did you stop to wonder why I would have lived here, away from civilization? Or did you assume I was just a hermit? I have lost everything before. More than just the man, who I can barely remember flashes of, who was my father. More than just a single friend. I lost my home. My job. My life. At the whim of one man I was all but exiled to the forest that welcomed me. I have lost more than you can know child, and yet you stand here and imply that I don't care?

At this point the rustling of the leaves had risen to a cresendo, almost drowning out Tsubaki's voice, but not quite managing it.

Yes I have cared. I even sometimes care now. However, I have learned that if you can't let things go, it will consume you. Caring will hurt you. So maybe I might me more distant than you expect, but don't you ever assume to know my mind, or my heart.

As she finished the leaves began to quiet, and her reiatsu began to return to normal, her rage somewhat sated, though if Kasumi didn't say something to at least placate her she would likely tell the girl to leave, superior officer or not.

Word count :477
GP gain: 9
Total GP:64
OOC: Sorry for the delay.