17Disclaimer: I don't own bleach except my two OC i.e Lara Rhodes and Verchiel
Lara Rhodes thoughts
Verchiels thoughts
Two souls, one body.
The rain fell even heavier now than it had a few minutes before, it soaked my t–shirt thoroughly till it was plastered to my form while angry full drops of water continued to hit my body like needles until my skin felt raw. The harsh cold breeze didn't help but instead it stung my bare arms unpleasantly.
I couldn't repress the shivers that wracked through my body, it felt like the cold rain was slowly freezing into my bones and blood. I wanted to fall to the ground and give up. Curl up on the wet pavement and let the numb cold take me where ever it wanted, anywhere from this pain.
Pain is reality.
I subconsciously pressed my hand tighter to the wound in my left shoulder that spread across my chest. blood trickled along my pale fingers and ran down my arm joining the tracks of water the rain had already mapped out.
I didn't need to be a doctor to know that the wound was fatal. I was losing allot of blood and fast. The left side of my body was completely stained crimson. The rain couldn't was the blood away fast enough before more replaced it. I was a mess of blood, sweat and rain, but not tears.
I refused to cry and instead clutched on to the agony of my shoulder to keep me within reality.
Just a little farther
The all too familiar smell of metallic and rust burnt my nose. I wanted to gag but I didn't have the energy to waste. My pride bitterly rebuked me for allowing myself to die here.
not here, not alone.
I was sure that no one ever wanted to die alone, and I was no exception but the reality was straightforward - I was alone.
I'm still here,...The voice retorted angryly,
You don't count, we share the same body,... it would be nice to have another person here that's all.
How disturbingly human.
I pushed my legs harder, forcing them now to begrudgingly walk, they had long given up on running. My limbs felt heavy, like I was walking through water or even sand. Each step that harder to attain.
Panicked spiked through me, I refused to die here on the streets for everyone to find and be made a spectacle of, but who was I kidding there was no one around.
It was a pitch black night, the moon nonexistent behind clouds, but I could still see the faint stars which twinkled like uncut diamonds.
so beautiful.
I hadn't realised that I had stumbled down a desolate street, it's small houses seemed unoccupied and devoid of any life. The thought occurred to me that perhaps I could sneak into one of them if it was empty, which seemed most likely. I could hide there and it would be safe, better than out here.
Is this street familiar to you?
Don't be absurd why would it?I have never been here before,...Why do you ask, is something wrong?
It just felt for a moment as if my reiatsu was guiding me, pulling me along this street towards something.
My mind was too fuzzy to try and decipher this sensation or what was drawing me in, I just followed my gut instinct.
It could be dangerous,
We're already fucked,
My head was feeling light and strange dizziness was taking over. I knew for sure that it was not a good sign, despite the weightless feeling I was experiencing my shoulder still hurt like hell.
I felt each twinge of my shoulder being moved from every step, who ever said that when you were dying that the pain eventually floated away had lied.
I pushed on walking.
More like staggering.
Damn that Arrancar, I was naive thinking I could win in a fight against it without getting hurt even if I had a high level reiatsu, particularly for a human.
A human? Don't forget it's my body too.
Even so I still had managed to destroy it and at least there was one less miserable, evil spirit to exist and torture human souls. It might not have been much comfort to anyone else but in my opinion it was something worth dying for.
you don't want to die, but you don't want to live either. What a paradox!
It was true I didn't want to die, I wasn't ignorant enough to believe in heaven.
Unfortunately I knew all too well of the shinigami and there sanctimonious and arrogant ideals. They thought they were so much more important than other souls, getting a high from the power they controlled over others.
The after life shouldn't be managed like that, souls are souls. Everyone is capable of forgiveness, love, pain, friendship.
life is life.
All that exists is control, we are fueled by hunger for power every minute of everyday in our lives.
But no person should ever have the right to put a value on a soul.
They were bold enough to segregate these spirits into higher and lower classes, which is something humans have already endured in their life.
We are always restricted by the conventions of society, divided into the rich and the poor, for the shinigami to continue a society that forces souls to once again endure an existence like that even after death was simply cruel. The soul society, what a joke!
Ignorance is bliss.
I fell against a wooden fence and leaned on it and allowed myself to enjoy the support it offered my weak body. I didn't have much longer left before the sleepy darkness would come and claim me.
A dark sleep I wouldn't wake from.
You've finally done it! you had to push that little too far in the fight, are you proud?
Immensely.
I began to pull my body along the fence towards the building nearest to me.
It looks rundown and filthy, I don't like it.
We don't have the luxury to be picky, besides it doesn't matter.
It appeared empty which was most important, it was of course unkept but I didn't really care.
I pulled myself closer to the door of the house with slow unsteady steps, one foot at a time. I soon realised that it wasn't a house but a shop, the goods it sold evaded me, it didn't look like any normal shop and something didn't feel right about it.
Does it matter?
I sighed, I was far too tired to retort back to her sarcastic attitude.
My knees shook and I sank to the ground. The thought I don't want to die flickered across my mind yet again,
but what do we have to live for?
Her voice was gentle, almost sad.
The answer was clear - I Lara Rhodes was alone, simple as that.
We are alone, so very alone and hunted by both sides.
I recoiled from the track my thoughts had taken, if anything I refused to be forced to see 'my life flash before me' I didn't want to relieve the nightmare twice through my memories.
I could tell she had once again retreated into the back of my mind, perhaps also fearful of her own memories.
I was so close to the door now just a few feet away, I had been reduced to crawling on my hands and knees I couldn't comprehend how pathetic I must have looked, a sixteen year old girl matted with dirt and blood. I could no longer cradle my shoulder or chest and help repress the blood as I was forced to use both of my hands to crawl. Hands which had become sticky with my blood.
It's so dirty, blood, sweat, rain,...what happened to us?
Finally I reached the entrance and collapsed onto the porch.I still didn't cry, no tears fell not from the pain, not from anything.
so close but yet so far.
My breathing had become ragged and my chest ached it hurt to simply breathe. The stinging pain of the cut didn't relent.
It will be over soon,...not much longer now,
I had my hands outstretched hopelessly towards the door and all I could do was watch with hooded eyes as the grey stone floor become painted with red.
How much blood could a person lose before they lost consciousness?
In the far distance I could hear voices, perhaps the shinigami finally coming to kill me or take me away to be experimented on.
Are you scared?
A small laugh escape my lips, No,... I'm not scared are you?
Of course not, we have endured far worse than death.
True,.. It's been an honour to have you with me, now you can finally rest.
Don't sound so sorrowful, it's irritating.
The voices are getting closer, I'm too weak to care who they belong to because the numb darkness is calling to me pleasantly, come and play.
Goodbye verchiel
Sleep well Lara,
I wanted to sleep to let go of this life, but yet something deep within me told me to hang on a little longer, maybe it was just a survival instinct but it felt far deeper and stronger than merely that.
Do you feel that...that power?
Guess I wasn't the only one to sense something too.
Maybe slow to start just bear with it. ichigo/hollow are in next chap.