Continued From: Aftermath and New Determination
Tsukiro had no idea how long he was floating around in the darkness, but once he came out of it, he had no idea what was happening.
His body felt very light, almost as if he didn’t have one. He thought he was lying down, but he couldn’t be sure. He didn’t feel anything. He thought maybe he was floating around in the Dangai, or at least between whatever existence Soul Reapers considered themselves in and the afterlife where his mother and brother were. He had hoped he would end up there. At least while he was floating around wherever he could spend time with them until Kita found a way to bring him back.
That didn’t happen. At least yet. Instead, he opened his eyes to find himself standing in a dark corridor with gunmetal grey walls. He looked around. It only went two ways. Forward and backwards. He didn’t see a light at either side, so he concluded that he wasn’t at the river Styx or anything. He almost laughed at that.
Both ends of the hallway were dark. He shrugged, picked a direction, and started walking.
In a room Kita sat quietly waiting. For what she was not sure. Zeshin, Toshiro, whoever he claimed to be. Was headed her way. She hung her head, her thoughts drifting back to what happen with Tsukiro just second before Toshiro placed his hands on her and she switched places with what she came to the conclusion of, was another clone. A clone Toshiro conjured to get her away from Aizen. She sighed heavily her head still hung.
“I will come for you soon Tsukiro. I will not leave you there. I refuse to let you drift in the void of the afterlife. I refuse to suffer any longer because of Aizen’s wishes.”
A tear rolled down her cheek as she wiped it away.
After walking for a while, Tsukiro saw a light radiating from one side of the corridor. He ran over and found an open door. When he looked inside, he gasped. There Kita sat in a chair off to one side of the room. Tears streaked her face. It pained him to see tears on her face. He rushed in, calling out her name. She didn’t move, save for wiping her eyes. He reached out with one hand to touch her shoulder, only for his hand to phase through her. His eyes widened and he brought it up to look at it. He realized he was transparent. He scoffed, watching her.
Kita looked up her gaze directly into Tsukiro’s eyes. Without thinking, she reached out for him.
Tsukiro reached out to take her hand, but it passed right through. He grit his teeth and tried again. After two more times he huffed and closed his eyes.
Okay. I’m a ghost, obviously. But ghosts are made of the energy and the spirit of people who have died. They have no physical body. But if that’s true, then Soul Reapers wouldn’t be able to touch things in the human realm.
He opened his eyes.
If I’m made of energy, then I should be able to manipulate it.
Kita had no idea what Tsukiro was thinking, though she had a pretty good idea. She figured he was frustrated, angry, upset and a myriad of other things. Tears streaked down her face again.
“I’m sorry Tsukiro,” she sobbed, her chest panging in pain from her wounds.
Tsukiro shook his head and brought his finger to his lips. He then took a deep breath and reached out for her again, this time imagining his hand as solid energy that could touch, feel, and do physical things. This time, as he touched her cheek, it didn’t pass through. Very faintly, he could feel the warmth of her skin.
Kita reached up and took his hand, not believing that he had found some way to become solid enough to touch her. “Tsukiro?”
Tsukiro knelt down, wrapping his arms around her. Miraculously, he was able to hold onto her. He guessed that he subconsciously manipulated all of his energy into a solid form. He held her tightly as she began to sob again.
“Tsukiro, I’m so sorry. I had to. Aizen was going to--he was going to kill you. I had to seal you. It was the only way to keep you alive. I’ll bring you back. I promise. I won’t let you stay like this forever. Please forgive me.”
“It’s okay,” he tried to say, and to his surprise, the words came out. He pulled back to look in her eyes with a smile. “It’s okay. I’m not angry. You did what you had to do to keep me safe. And you’re right. There was no way I would have survived an actual fight against Aizen. Then I really would be dead.”
She nodded, wiping her eyes. “You don’t hate me?”
He shook his head. “No, Kita. I’m grateful. You saved my life, even though it doesn’t seem that way. Besides, maybe now I’ll be able to get the upper hand on Aizen and the Espada. I can listen in on them. Then I can tell Kisuke or someone in the Soul Society what he’s planning. I can finish what you started. Together we can bring him down.”
Kita thought over Tsukiro’s words. Part of her was afraid, panic stricken, that he would suggest that. It was dangerous and it wasn’t his place. It was supposed to be her. And if Aizen found out what was going on, he would force her to bring him back then kill him for real. Maybe even kill them both. But the truth was that he was right. There was no other way. And Tsukiro was in the best position at the moment to do this. She nodded.
“Promise me you will be careful in doing this.” She told him.
Tsukiro nodded lightly at her as he took her hands and cupped them. He closed his eyes in concentration. After a short while, two figurines made of ice formed in her hands. One was a snow leopard and the other was a tiger, their tails curled together, noses touching.
Kita smiled and giggled through her tears. “It’s beautiful.” She looked up at him. “Thank you.” She sat it aside so it would not be damaged.
Tsukiro smiled and took her face in his hands, placing their foreheads together. “Please don’t cry. I know you feel guilty, but it’s alright. I’m fine. I’ll tough this out on my own. If anyone can put being half dead to good use”--he chuckled--“it’s me.”
She nodded, hugging him again. “I know. You’re too smart for your own good. That’s why Aizen wanted you dead.”
Tsukiro grinned into her shoulder. “So he’s scared huh. Good. He should be. I may be unpolished, but I can still try and outwit him.”
She nodded again and pulled back. “He’s coming. You can’t be here.”
“Who, your Master? Aizen? Gin?” He didn’t give her time to answer as he asked, “Kita, are you happy here in Las Noches? When Aizen isn’t making your life a living hell that is. On a good day, are you happy being here?”
“We are not in Las Noches right now, “she told him looking the out the window. She looked back to him and replied. His look confused. "And it is not if I am happy or not, Tsukiro. It is what I must do. No one in the Soul Society will ever be able to come as close as I am right now to Aizen. And no one will be able to stop him if someone is not there to help you all."
“What do you mean we are not in Las Noches?” Tsukiro looked around the room realizing they were in a home in the human realm. “Where are we?” He asked her.
“The human Kita’s old home. Toshiro transported me here somehow and replaced me with a clone he had conjured up.” She shook her head quickly. “I don’t know how and right now I can’t explain any more. He is coming.” She stood placing her hands to Tsukiro’s arms. “Please go I don’t know how he will respond if he senses you here. Toshiro truly believes he is an Arrancar named Zeshin. He is not stable.”
Tsukiro nodded, "Then once this is over, I won't try and drag you out of Las Noches. After all, I know how much you care about Ulquiorra. I don't trust him, but he didn't let you die either, so I won't hassle you about it anymore."
Suddenly he heard footsteps and turned to her. "I don't know when I'll see you again, but I'll be back."
Kita nodded and they hugged one last time before he faded out and disappeared, leaving her alone again.
