00 ⁂ OOC: Movie Theatre Memory #1: Sound/Sight
[Kagerou viewed this memory with Simon on 17 Sept here.]
The memory unfurled onto a somewhat bizarre tableau: there was a cluster of people in a small, sparsely furnished living room, a whole wall of which gaped open into night, lit here and there by gleaming street lamps. The wall looked as if something massive had crashed through it, leaving a considerable hole in the structure. Against the opening, Toushi stood in his black shinigami uniform, an oversized sword ready in his hand.
Two unconscious forms were sprawled on the floor; Kagerou, her bright hair fanning out, and a lean girl with a shock of messy black hair--Tatsuki. From Kagerou's chest ran a linked chain, coiling along the floor--and at the other end, sitting up, was Kagerou again. This one seemed soft and shimmery, as if she were not as solid as the one splayed senseless on her back.
However, the shape that dominated the scene was neither the grim boy holding the sword nor the shocked girl on the floor. A huge, bony white creature squatted between them, its body a blend of serpentine and humanoid, jagged black markings breaking the pallid hue of its skin. Its face was sunken like a skull, all sharp angles and black-glowing, hollow eyes.
It was speaking, in a gravelly rattle that barely resembled a human voice.
"My sister was born when I was fifteen. She was closer to a daughter to me." It glanced at Toushi, who had, strangely enough, stopped in his tracks, glowering at it. "Our mother was a whore, our father a devil. When the child cried, they hit her until she stopped.
"I took care of my sister to keep her from our parents. And then, in the March I turned eighteen... I took my three-year-old sister and ran away from the house." The words were becoming clearer, for all that they rasped like dry bones ground together.
"We've always lived together since then! Always!" The creature whipped to face Toushi. "Just the two of us! I raised Orihime! I protected her! She's mine! I won't give her to anyone, and especially not you, Kurosaki Ichigo!" It leapt blindly forward, jaws open to rip at the boy. "I won't give her to you!"
From the side, Kagerou gave a shuddering gasp. "Brother!"
Toushi, for his part, rammed his sword right into the monster's path, face twisted in fury.
"Don't be an idiot!" he snapped. "Inoue is Inoue! She doesn't belong to anyone!"
"She's mine!" The creature's words were slurring again. "I lived my life for Orihime, yet she won't live her life for me! Then at least she must died for me!"
The creature reared. It snaked past Toushi, shoving him aside with the sheer mass of its bulk.
"Stop!" Toushi's shout was almost lost in the din of the monster twisting in the small space, intent on Kagerou.
And the girl crouched on the floor moved. She threw herself against the open jaws that threatened to close around her. The creature's teeth dug into her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around its grotesque head.
"Inoue..." Toushi's voice had gone thin.
"Ori... hime?" The creature--the Hollow, the Hollow her brother had become--rasped, as close to a whisper as it could work out.
"I'm sorry, brother." Tears stood out in her eyes as she clung to him, heedless of the blood seeping through her shirt from the bite. "I wanted you to hear all the fun things that happened at school. About the things I like, and the people I like.
"At first, all I did was pray every day, but I thought I shouldn't just show you me being sad." Her voice caught, but she spoke on. "That you'd worry if that was all you saw. I wanted to show you that I was happy! That you wouldn't have to worry about me!"
Her hands trembled, clutching at the sides of the Hollow's great, misshapen head. "I didn't realise that was making you sad, brother. I'm sorry. I love you..."
With a shudder, she collapsed gently, mirroring her body lying still nearby.
"Ori..." The Hollow's voice was a thready whisper.
"Inoue!" Toushi gasped.
Before neither could say anything more, there was the light patter of feet, and Kazahana's voice as she burst into the room, a flash of colour and motion. "Don't panic! She can still be saved!"
Then, the memory blinked away.
[Memory taken from Bleach 6 "Microcrack", pp. 2-10.]
The memory unfurled onto a somewhat bizarre tableau: there was a cluster of people in a small, sparsely furnished living room, a whole wall of which gaped open into night, lit here and there by gleaming street lamps. The wall looked as if something massive had crashed through it, leaving a considerable hole in the structure. Against the opening, Toushi stood in his black shinigami uniform, an oversized sword ready in his hand.
Two unconscious forms were sprawled on the floor; Kagerou, her bright hair fanning out, and a lean girl with a shock of messy black hair--Tatsuki. From Kagerou's chest ran a linked chain, coiling along the floor--and at the other end, sitting up, was Kagerou again. This one seemed soft and shimmery, as if she were not as solid as the one splayed senseless on her back.
However, the shape that dominated the scene was neither the grim boy holding the sword nor the shocked girl on the floor. A huge, bony white creature squatted between them, its body a blend of serpentine and humanoid, jagged black markings breaking the pallid hue of its skin. Its face was sunken like a skull, all sharp angles and black-glowing, hollow eyes.
It was speaking, in a gravelly rattle that barely resembled a human voice.
"My sister was born when I was fifteen. She was closer to a daughter to me." It glanced at Toushi, who had, strangely enough, stopped in his tracks, glowering at it. "Our mother was a whore, our father a devil. When the child cried, they hit her until she stopped.
"I took care of my sister to keep her from our parents. And then, in the March I turned eighteen... I took my three-year-old sister and ran away from the house." The words were becoming clearer, for all that they rasped like dry bones ground together.
"We've always lived together since then! Always!" The creature whipped to face Toushi. "Just the two of us! I raised Orihime! I protected her! She's mine! I won't give her to anyone, and especially not you, Kurosaki Ichigo!" It leapt blindly forward, jaws open to rip at the boy. "I won't give her to you!"
From the side, Kagerou gave a shuddering gasp. "Brother!"
Toushi, for his part, rammed his sword right into the monster's path, face twisted in fury.
"Don't be an idiot!" he snapped. "Inoue is Inoue! She doesn't belong to anyone!"
"She's mine!" The creature's words were slurring again. "I lived my life for Orihime, yet she won't live her life for me! Then at least she must died for me!"
The creature reared. It snaked past Toushi, shoving him aside with the sheer mass of its bulk.
"Stop!" Toushi's shout was almost lost in the din of the monster twisting in the small space, intent on Kagerou.
And the girl crouched on the floor moved. She threw herself against the open jaws that threatened to close around her. The creature's teeth dug into her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around its grotesque head.
"Inoue..." Toushi's voice had gone thin.
"Ori... hime?" The creature--the Hollow, the Hollow her brother had become--rasped, as close to a whisper as it could work out.
"I'm sorry, brother." Tears stood out in her eyes as she clung to him, heedless of the blood seeping through her shirt from the bite. "I wanted you to hear all the fun things that happened at school. About the things I like, and the people I like.
"At first, all I did was pray every day, but I thought I shouldn't just show you me being sad." Her voice caught, but she spoke on. "That you'd worry if that was all you saw. I wanted to show you that I was happy! That you wouldn't have to worry about me!"
Her hands trembled, clutching at the sides of the Hollow's great, misshapen head. "I didn't realise that was making you sad, brother. I'm sorry. I love you..."
With a shudder, she collapsed gently, mirroring her body lying still nearby.
"Ori..." The Hollow's voice was a thready whisper.
"Inoue!" Toushi gasped.
Before neither could say anything more, there was the light patter of feet, and Kazahana's voice as she burst into the room, a flash of colour and motion. "Don't panic! She can still be saved!"
Then, the memory blinked away.
[Memory taken from Bleach 6 "Microcrack", pp. 2-10.]