Haunted [Closed]

Lilith's crimson colored hair was weighed down by the rain, sticking to her bare shoulders and back. She walked quietly in thought, knowing that Kaito awaited her on the battlefield. With him there, everything would be okay, but this shift in their world needed all hands on deck. It also needed her as a Captain, not the usual brutish, fight-loving, punch machine she normally was. For the first time in a while, she planned on pulling it out: her Captain's Haori.

Lilith stepped up to her house, having sensed the two strange energies a couple hundred yards back. Apparently, she had a couple guests. She recognized one, but not the other. She stepped through the mud and up the porch, stomping her foot down on the wood so she wouldn't track it all inside. When she opened the door, there were the unfamiliar person was the one she laid her eyes on first. Pretty. Feminine. Depressed. She looked to Tsubine. Drunk. Dumb. Pushing his luck. With a sigh, she closed the door behind her and walked over to the couch.

"It's about to be haunted, but not by liquor. I'm gonna kill you, Tsu. What the hell are you doing messing up my house? You know better." Lilith crossed her arms and stared in annoyance at him before pointing her thumb back over to Eira. "Who's the woman? I already told you that I am not into that freaky shit. I don't share."

The level of intoxication Tsubine had reached was impressive. Had he emptied out her entire inventory? Lilith recoiled when the smell of his breath reached her nose too. The 'poofing' bottle only made her glance to the other woman. Obviously, Eira had been the one picking things up. Eira's disgust at laying with Tsubine was only surprising for a few seconds, up until she found out they were related. In fact, they were twins. A glance up Eira's figure made that easy to believe. Good genes.

Tsubine forgot pretty quickly that Lilith was here. Or he thought Eira was the one talking to him before, which would explain the dying comment... "You were in love?" Lilith questioned, her mind going back to the last time Tsubine was here. "Idiot." Lilith walked to him and grabbed his collar, pushing him face down onto the couch and then sat on his back. "Shut up. Sit there and wallow while she decides to be honest with me. I don't have time for this. I'm sure you know the Edge broke."

"Now..." Lilith turned to speak directly to Eira and would shut Tsubine up if he tried fighting her. "Don't say her name, but what happened?"

Lilith looked over. She eyed that sword strongly. Instant recognition. Her gaze did not shift from it until Eira mentioned the mess. "That's enough." Lilith said softly. She stood up and put a hand on Eira's shoulder. "You are safe here. My bedroom is the only one up stairs. Go rest. You've had a hard time." While the words were calm and kind, motherly even, it was more of a demand than a suggestion. Once Eira went up stairs, Lilith glanced to that sword once more and then looked down to Tsubine. If he had not sat up already, she'd make him and then sit down next to him. She stared at him, uncaring whether he looked back. "You loved her."

"Come here." Lilith whispered and reached out, putting her arms around him and pulling him into a tight embrace. She rested her cheek on his head and ran her hand along his back. "I am so sorry." Lilith's words came out choppy and whispered. She sniffled and just held onto him firmly and kissed his forehead, a single tear falling on Tsubine's hair. "It will take time. You'll be okay. Stay here until you're ready."

Lilith held onto him until he pulled away and then let him go. There it was. That name. It was her. Kanna Hanashiro. She really did recognize the second sword. So, she was gone. Lilith took in a quiet and deep breath, slowly letting it out, as if letting free something deeper than their air in her lungs. Tsubine was hurting. Every word he said was filled with pain, fear. Lilith understood that pain more than he realized. She used her hands to brush her drying hair behind her shoulders. Then, she placed her hand in his as he looked down to his palms, ignoring the tears.

"I have only truly loved twice in my life. The first ended with time. The second ended with pain. Kenshin, I've told you of him, but I have not told you everything. He and I were going to marry, but I got hurt and..." Lilith froze, her visibly eye showing the fearful hesitation before she forced it out. "I lost the ability to have children." She had said in the past, but always has a joke, nothing serious. This was serious. "He left me because he wanted a family. A few years later, when he was to marry another, he was murdered and I had to bring his body to his fiance."

Lilith stared passed him, lightly shaking her head. "I could do nothing. I had no chance of saving him. He was just gone." she said softly, pained with each word. "To this day, I am angry about it, but... I learned how to be happy again." She turned to him. "I learned to protect who I can, accept what I can't, and not to blame myself. We're not time travelers and we can't see the future. We can only deal with what's ahead of us. We can only honor the past..." Lilith stood up and went over to grab Kanna's zanpakuto. She went back to Tsubine and stopped.

She looked at the sword for a few seconds and then to him. "Kanna Hanashiro was always a passionate woman, strong-willed, kind of the big-sister type. She was missed when she left us. She loved fiercely, fought with conviction, and never let the past hold her back. She used it as fuel to continue her journey." Lilith held the sword out to him and smiled. "How would you say you honor a woman like that?"

"Yes, she can stay here." Lilith nodded, a reassuring hand placed on his shoulder. "The Gotei has already been mobilized. Guards are up all around the Seireitei and Kaito is out at the Edge. I am supposed to be heading out there now, but I need something first..." Lilith looked up toward the second floor, realizing she just sent Eira to bed. "I think I'll avoid that, though, and let your sister sleep. We have a few more things to talk about, like why I never knew you had a sister, and how you're going to pay me back for all the booze you've taken, but that can also be done later."

Lilith stood up and stretched her back. As she went to speak, she stopped and looked over her shoulder, toawrd the front door. She walked over and opened it right at one of her squad members was about to knock. "What is it?" Lilith asked when she noticed the terrified look on his face. "Cap-... It's Captain Saionji." The man spoke, utterly terrified. Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Just... You need to come. Now." Something about the tone the guy used sent Lilith's heart into a race. She glanced back to Tsubine and nodded before running off, following the messenger.

A short trip brought Lilith to a scene she never thought she'd witness. Her squad had completely blocked off the area, not allowing ANYONE through until she arrived. "What the hell is goin o-..." Lilith gasped. She stopped and she felt a piece of her heart die. Eye wide, mouth agape, breath held. Lilith froze in horror, her eyes locked with the lifeless eyes of a young man she watched grow from the moment he was born. Kazuo Saionji lay bloodied on the ground. Panic. Lilith's mind deafened herself. Squad member's lips were moving, but she heard nothing from them.

How did no one sense this? Who did this? How the hell did this even happen?! Where was J? She looked over. Isamu Gogatsu, also blooded and dead. Lilith's shoulder was grabbed roughtly. "CAPTAIN." The voice of a young man pulled her out of her thoughts. It belonged to her fourth seat, Shinpachi. "No one has the courage to call the Captain Commander. Captain Asami is busy with him as well and it gets worse. Not only are two Captain's dead, but I've been told that the last person Captain Gogatsu was with is Captain Arishima. WE CAN'T FIND HIM."