Memories of Yesterday, Plans for Another Day -opn

[Becca]

Sona....
Higher, Sona...
Haha! Sona!!

The cherry blossom and jasmine scent flooded through the air as the soft evening breeze caressed her skin. Her left arm crossed over her ribcage and left hand wrapped around the curve of her elbow.

She inhaled, taking in the sweet scent of the night. She was alone, but it was here she didn't feel so alone. The memories of her brother displayed across her mind like a puppet show across a stage. This particular marionette was a kind sort, allowing the best memories forth, and keeping ugly ones at bay.

Orihime Inoue could see the playground as she passed through the park, settling her gaze upon the toys she once played on; the large seahorse, turtle, panda bear, and lion, their springs looking rusted with the tiredness of age, their lively paint now chipped and dull, though it was a happy dulling. How many of the town's inhabitants grew up playing at this park, she wondered. Too many to note, she was sure.

The breeze blew through the length of her strawberry blonde locks, allowing the full tendrils to slither behind her, as if a Methuselah of old mythos that she was presently learning about in History class.

"What is the difference between Myth and Fact? What can we assume of Myth? What can we assume of the creation thereof? And Why? Two pages due, Tuesday!"

This is where Sona would come in handy. He always did love the Myths of old legends, she remembered the stories he told her of Gods and Goddesses, of Mortal men and women entangling themselves within the threads of Destiny, only to be shunned by the Fate sisters three.

She bit her bottom lip as the breeze caused a ripple of a shiver to dance gooseflesh upon her skin. Large hazel hues looked behind her. A small movement in the shadows of trees and bushes that lined. She paused a moment, before a tiny squirrel family revealed themselves. The mother (or father, who could tell, anyways?) paused briefly to survey Orihime for a moment. When the parent of the three squirrel babies noted that she wasn't going to harm them, the quartet dashed across the sidewalk and into the hollow of a tree on the opposite side.

Orihime smiled lightly, before she turned back, venturing closer to the playground. She could see the jungle gym that she had fallen off of when she was five. In her mind's eye, she could see a five year old Orihime crying, with a twenty-three year old Sona there to console her. "No tears. You're a big girl now." His smile was so warm, so comforting that she almost forgot the pain in her scraped knee. The child's watery hazel eyes looked up at Sona and her lip quivered. Sona bowed forward and kissed the scrape, before plucking out of his pocket two bandaids with a Carebears on them, and a red lollipop. Her favorites.

Orihime felt tears well in her eyes and she looked down, lightly touching the teeny scar that rested on her knee from that fall. She moved closer still towards the jungle gym and pressed her lips together. She lifted her gaze to the top of the construction and wrapped her arms around herself.

Slender fingers reached out, pale against the dark, paint chipped bars. Each foot placed in a groove and she pulled herself up and up until she could reach the top. She sat down on the top, wrapping her legs around the bars to keep herself from falling.

Orihime still felt an eerie feeling, as if someone or something was watching her.

[The_Monarch]

It was a peacefull night, all was calm and the weather was just right everything seemed so in zen no disturbances or anything of the sort, of course that is what it looked like on the outside. But in reality at this very moment, as the lonely girl enjoyed her moment of self reflection in the playground mere feet from where she was a battle raged. Well one could say it was more of a hunt, two shinigami and four hollow locked in a battle each side stepping on the thin line of life and death.

One of these shinigami was the silver haired menace, Kenji Ondo member of the ninth division being a former memeber of the eleventh in his earlier years he loved the thrill of battle, it was almost like a drug for him. When Kenji drew his zanpaktou, it was for one purpose and that was to draw blood, though a kind and gentle individual one can go as far as saying goofy, on the inside he was a bloodthirsty beast that craved the rush from a good fight. Here he was with his fellow shinigami, a man named Gintoki the two of them long time friends, they where not on a mission to hunt hollows, no these two where both as battle crazed as the next guy. They regularly wandered out at night in search of hollows just for the thrill of battle, 'clang!' the sound of steel clashing with steel echoed in the silent air, a giant mantis like hollow pushed Kenji back his feet dragging across the ground as he used the friction to slow himself down and come to an eventual stop.

Standing next to Gintoki he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the new beastly hollow that had showed itself, "Hey you bastard! Wait your turn!" he would say as he swung his blood soaked zanpaktou, some of the blades blood splattering on the ground, staining the healthy green grass. His comrade in arms let out a chuckle himself as he rested his own zanpaktou on his shoulder, "Looks like we have a new contender, and this one is much stronger then the others"he would having already sensed the massive reiatsu that the hollow possesed. The two shinigami observed as the lone hollow did battle with the other four, it took little to no time at all for the massive mantis to slay and devour its fellow hollow, such a barbaric act but in reality one the two shinigami could relate to. They to where barbarians, willing to butcher anything and anyone as long as it meant they would become stronger or promise of a good fight worthy of challenging their skill.

The massive Manti turned now facing the two shinigami, allowing the empty shell of the hollow it had devoured fall from its mouth landing on the ground with a heavy thud. The Mantis snarled at the two saliva dripping from its open mouth, Gintoki and Kenji merely smirked as they prepared to do battle with their new foe. Kenji then charged in raising his zanpaktou coming in high, Gintoki followed holding his zanpaktou at his side in a horizontal manner, the Mantis let out a mighty roar as it prepared to meet them in battle. Kenji jumped up off the ground coming down with a downward swing, Gintoki approached from below swinging his zanpaktou side to side, neither attack landed both blocked by the Mantis massive blades. The hollow brought its arms in tight then pushed out releasing a burst of reiatsu, sending the two shinigami back Gintoki rolled on the ground wildly, while Kenji came down landing with a heavy thud breaking the ground under his feet slightly.

"Whoo! He's a strong bastard!" Kenji would say in a rather happy tone of voice, he had to admit he was suprised by the hollows monstrous strength truly a challenge worthy of his skill. Standing ready he looked back over his shoulder, to see Gintoki already on his feet giving each other a nod the two went in again. This time with a different approach, moving in with a blur of speed they where attacked the hollow struck down attempting to impale them with its blades, Kenji avoided the first blow the blades sharp tip piercing the ground with ease. He rolled in jumping up as he swung at the Mantis arm, his zanpaktou slashing through it severing the arm from its body, Gintoki was not so lucky while Kenji was busy finishing off the hollow with a reiatsu charged thrust to the face. Gintoki had been hit, as the hollow missed Kenji it used its other arm to intercept Gintoki's path then used the other arm swinging it at the momentarily confused shinigami.

The blade sliced Kenji's comrade in half, Kenji's zanpaktou hit its mark piercing the hollows face he placed his foot on its ugly face and pushed off pulling his sword from it. Landing on the ground with a light thud, he chuckled he had hit it first the last kill of the night meaning drinks where on Gintoki. "Hey comrade! You fell a little short there huh?" he would ask when he received no answer he instinctively looked back over his shoulder his hazel eyes once filled with happiness, widened and where filled with shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, his cormade lay dead before him split in half Kenji turned rushing over to his dead friend, "Gin...GINTOKI!" he yelled out stopping next to the body, dropping to one knee he looked down at his fallen friend he balled his hand into a closed fist letting out a sigh.

It was never easy to see a comrade die, but it was the harsh reality of being a shinigami all he could do is honor his comrade Kenji sheathed his zanpaktou not bothering to clean the blood off the blade. Raising to his feet he put his hands together, palms touching and prepared to bow, when all of a sudden something zoomed through the air and pierced his right shoulder. Kenji's arms fell to his side, he looked around frantically to try and spot what had hit him, only to see a long white tentacle attached to whatever pierced him. Kenji was then yanked off his feet and dragged on the ground, as he was pulled to wards the darkness he squinted one eye as he reached up gripping the tentacle with his bare hand"Fuck!....Tsuzuri...RAIDEN!" he would call out as he let his reiatsu flow, and a current of electricity ran through his hand and onto the tentacle. The hollow on the other end was hit by the surge of electricty it let out a piercing cry as its body was momentarily stunned, Kenji reached for his zanpaktou wtih his left hand drawing it out and swinging it at the tentacle slashing it off.

"Bastard!" he yelled out as he jumped into the shadows, reckless but always ready to face a foe head on that was Kenji Ondo's way, blood splattered out from the shadows, one last piercing cry left the hollows mouth, and then silence. Moment later a now wounder Kenji emerged, gripping his shoulder he walked slowly to wards the playground, in his left hand he held his zanpaktou in a reverse grip passing his comrades dead body he continued to walk ignoring although he stepped on the pool of his friends blood. Kenji would emerge in the distance and slowly walk to wards the jungle gym, he had not noticed the human girl that was there finally he let himself drop to his knees. His blood stained clothes and face, probably making him look to be in worse condition then he actually was. "God damn hollow..." he would whisper under his breath as he gripped his shoulder tightly, feeling a slight sting as he adjusted himself, sitting with his legs crossed.