Behind the Sun [Coliseum/Open]

[fullmetal_smile]

The Coliseum seemed like the exact opposite of Traverse Town, bright hot sun instead of cool twilight. That warmth was good to feel, especially after so long in Traverse. He'd begun to think that the sun only existed in his imagination. It was good to feel it on his skin, warming the automail which leached so much heat from his body

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[fifteen_lost]

"...what I wouldn't give for a home-cooked meal right about now..."

With a soft and lulling sigh, a slender young man draped in flowing black garb stepped out into the open air just outside the Colliseum's main floor entrance, his straw-thatched sandals coated with the dust of combat and his autumn-topped head hanging solemnly low between his shoulders. He was tired, but no worse for the wear after stepping out relatively unscathed from the last match, with the crowd still raucously cheering behind him. No matter how welcome the applause was for someone normally known to be a bit of a show-off, it fell on a dulled and lonely heart. There was no way to describe just how he felt, but 'homesick' was the closest word possible.

How many days had it been since he arrived here? How had he arrived here at all? He had woken up perfectly clueless near this very spot while hidden away in the evening shadows one night, his body blackened with bruises and his head feeling like someone had left his brain in a blender. With his back propped up against one of the towering stone columns and the rest of him numb and aching, he had remained there for another half a day before enough strength to stand returned.

It was piercing to even try to remember what had happened before he found himself alone. A battle. Shadows. Foul creatures everywhere, with despicable, ruthless, heartless eyes staring down on him from every angle. The last vivid image he could recall was clutching tightly to his sword as he made one last charge towards a massive creature with black, empty skin, only to be struck down.

With no other means to keep himself sustained, he had turned to his only real forte, combat, to provide a little 'munny', as they called it here', to eat. So, having finished another round and earned his next meal, Ichigo Kurosaki left the arena, standing tall and proud as he looked out over the center courtyard with his lean, lithely muscled arms crossed neatly over his chest. A crisp breeze drew across his vivid orange hair, and with every deep breath he took of the fresh air, the strange, tightly-woven straps wound over the large, sharp-edged weapon across his back shifted slightly.

Above him, the light of the sky seemed to be changing, strangely. Ichigo raised his head to take in the blue expanse, squinting his melancholy eyes only to find a shower of stars, shimmering even in the daytime, blazing across the endless horizon. Ichigo, puzzled, scruntched up his face in confusion over the display. In the back of his mind, something began to gnaw at him, as if whatever was happening was somehow...truly tragic.

[cafe_paradise]

Just like the others, the sight of the stars streaking down the skies had its effect on Claudia. But instead of driving her into terror, it filled with her something akin to joy. For she interpreted the lights slashing through the sky as God's Judgement, perhaps Her divine blessing upon the worlds by rendering them asunder. Yes, that was how her world was to be reborn as well; first there must be suffering, but then there was only bliss.

Was her world one of the many that were streaking down from the heavens? Claudia could only hope so.

"The time for Judgement is coming," She said, a pleased smile on her face. "Why are you both trembling?"

It was a rhetorical question. God always brought fear to those who knew they had angered Her. Perhaps they simply didn't understand.

[fullmetal_smile]

Ed gasped, fighting for breath for a moment before the band that seemed to have wrapped around his chest faded a little. He swallowed thickly and then concentrated on forcing his breathing back to normal. There was blood on his lip from where he'd bitten it, and crescent patterns cut into the skin of his palm.

What had happened?! He looked around himself wildly, barely noticing his companions or the tall man nearby for the moment. He just needed to know what had happened. Why did he feel like he'd died?

Finally, Claudia's words filtered through to him and he gave her an odd look, a wild, scared expression in his eyes. "Didn't you feel it?" he asked sharply, wondering how she could be smiling at a time like this. "People... I think I felt them die." That was the only way he could describe it. Suddenly, the entire universe seemed a little darker, hope a little further away.

He wrenched his gaze away from her, turning towards K and moving over to him. He squeezed the older man's hand gently, not sure what he could do in a situation like this.

[shining_gonne]

"Judgement?" asked K, smirking, his eyes darker than normal. "Those without Hearts don't get judged."

K could not explain it, but the falling of the stars didn't just make him scared or just in pain. He was angry, and he felt as if he were detached from his body. Any second, he felt as if he was going to snap into half, or maybe it was to become whole?

Yes, he was angry...angry at what had happened beforehand, and the fact that he had been dumped in Traverse Town, that he could not find his friends, and what had happened...

Yet seconds later, his eyes snapped away from the other two, turning instead in the direction of the unknown man. He took a step away from Ed, disconnecting himself from the other two.

"Who's there?"

[fifteen_lost]

Perfectly oblivious to the real situation, Ichigo found himself at opposite emotional ends from the others. The nagging sensation he felt, something tugging at the strings of his conscience, was not yet so strong nor so attached to the plight of these cascading stars. Instead, with nothing else to do until his next scheduled match, he had found himself a stoney seat on the Coliseum steps, his blackened robes folding around his arched legs.

There, he silently watched as trails of light shot from one end of the sky to the other, his chin tilted up towards the open air. "This place is so strange..." he muttered quietly to himself. Ichigo had never been much of a traveler, despite a trip to the afterlife, so all of this, these new surroundings, new faces, new ideas, was all incredibly overwhelming.

A voice chimed in from nearby. Raising his head, as well as a questioning eyebrow, Ichigo's head bobbed up and looked towards the source, with a look that seemed to say 'Are you talking to me?'.

[cafe_paradise]

She knew they would not understand. Of course, the deaths of the people on the worlds saddened her, but they would return. God's plan was merely not destruction, but the rebirth of the world. All would return, in due time.

"Do you think death is an absolute? Their deaths are not in vain," She said cryptically, ending the subject.

For now, they had a new visitor. Claudia turned to look at the man, but said nothing. K had already pointed him out, after all. He merely had to introduce himself.

[fullmetal_smile]

"Death is death!" Ed snarled at the woman, anger in his eyes. "People die. They don't come back!" He knew that better than anyone. Death was an end. You were just gone.

He turned his attention back to K, more than a little worried by the man's bahviour. He reached up and grabbed the man's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "K... if that's the case then you still have to worry about being judged," he said firmly. He didn't believe in all this judgement crap. It was remnants of a dead religion, but he could at least try and persuade K to start acting normally.

He turned to face the newcomer. "It's nothing," he said firmly, not wanting to get anyone else involved in this.

[shining_gonne]

K's eyes flashed dangerously as he looked at Ed, before he relaxed just a little bit. He had no more to say about the subject of death. Either way it did not matter. Those who were lost, whether the were gone for good, or to be brought back later, were dead now.

"Who are you?" the blonde asked the stranger, his eyes narrowing. Was this some other person who would backstab them?

[fifteen_lost]

Immediately gone was Ichigo's look of curiosity, and in its place, a sharpened look in his eyes brimming with coarse irritation. Wherever he was, and however he had arrived, apparently had no place for manners. Even worse was the look this person gave him, a stare of distrust and anger, unprovoked. Che, doesn't he know? If you want to know somebody's name, you introduce yourself first. he thought, scowling deeply.

Exhaling sharply, Ichigo pushed himself up to his feet, then promptly brushed the dust of the stairs from his hands. He wasn't going to let just anybody talk to him like that. Just as he was about to open his mouth and bite back with an equally heated tone, though, Ichigo stopped, then let out a gentle sigh. He just didn't have the heart. Not after what he'd been through.

"Kurosaki Ichigo." he finally stated. He may have chosen not to speak bitterly, but his sour expressions didn't change. "And maybe you shouldn't act like that to a total stranger. Can't say I'm really in the mood today."

[cafe_paradise]

Claudia found herself getting increasingly irritated with the unfaithful. It was not their fault; surely God could not have converted all of her creations. Even her own world was teeming with the unfaithful. Until she could find Alessa, there was little Claudia could do or say to sway her companions.

"Forgive him. We are new to this world and we arrived at a time of distress, it seems," She sharply spoke, before K could do anything else foolish. "I am Claudia, the man who addressed you is K and he is Ed."

Kurosaki Ichigo. The name was exceedingly foreign.

[fullmetal_smile]

Ed returned K's look squarely, refusing to back down to the older man. He could be as stubborn as he had to be when it was needed. Part of him wanted to shake K until he came to his senses. The other half just wanted to hug the older man until this darkness went away.

He nodded at the newcomer, making sure to stay by K's side in case he did something stupid. "Edward Elric," he elaborated, looking this Ichigo person over, noting the sword on his back.

[shining_gonne]

K clenched his fists, thoughts running around in his head, not all bad, but not all good either.

Once more, the darkness was wrapping around him like a cloak, reminding him of what had happened. It made him want to hurt and to kill.

Taking a step back from the man, he closed his eyes. He forced his mind to go through several relaxation techniques that he had learned beforehand, and focused on those he cared for. Yet it was hard to think of those he loved when he had just recently witnessed the stars falling.

'But,' the tiny voice in his head said, 'there are still your friends here, who can be protected, who can fight with you...'

"I apologize for my rudeness," said K finally, opening his eyes. "I was a bit...caught off-guard, and didn't censor my language..."

Yet still, he did not feel that he could approach this person without feeling the need to act violently.

[fifteen_lost]

"Eh...don't worry about it. No harm done." What wonders being lost and alone had done for his attitude. Any other time, he would have been quick to clentch his fists up tight and dig in his heels. Ichigo instead gently shrugged his shoulders and nodded stubbornly, rather than strike while the iron was hot. "...wait, what did you say?"

This world. Ichigo paused, suddenly looking particularly confused over the woman's choice of words. That implied more than one world. He was in a different 'world' now? Did it also mean he'd been booted out of his own, and into another? And if these people were new here, they could obviously go from one world to another! They must've known something! Several times then, his mouth parted open, but no words came out; he just couldn't find the right ones to use to pull himself out of his confusion. It explained why no one he had spoken to knew about his home, but it still didn't give any reason why he came here, or how! His hands flailed around in front of him, as if grasping the air for the words he sought. It was so horribly frustrating, Ichigo could feel his stomach twisting itself in knots as he struggled to express himself. The intensity was visible on his face as well; he didn't look as crazy as he felt, he simply looked angry beyond words.

Finally unable to hold it in any longer, he spoke up, furiously blurting, "Alright, you've got to tell me...where am I? What's going on? I've been stuck here for days, and I've got to get home!"

That felt a little better. The outburst had relieved a little of the pressure. Pacing quickly down the steps, Ichigo approached the group with a longing look in his eyes. "You guys obviously know something about this. My home got attacked by these...things. Monsters. Some kind of army. I tried to fight them, but before I knew it, every last place in the world was overrun by them. I gave it one last go, but there were just...too many."

Sadly, the idea of his own failure just dawned on him, letting a weighted frown spread across his lips. An enemy had stepped up; sure, it boasted vast numbers and plenty of muscle, but that never should have been an obstacle. He simply hadn't been strong enough to stop them.

"I woke up here. I've been wandering around this place, trying to find a way out, but I just can't." he continued, staring solemnly down at the ground. "I need to get home. Really. Those things were already swallowing up everything before, and by now..."

[cafe_paradise]

Ah. This man was a recent victim of the Heartless as well. Claudia nodded, trying to find a way to explain this man's situation as painlessly as possible.

"The monsters are called Heartless. They seem to be able to bring worlds to ruin. I do not know how. Very few survive such an event," Claudia explained. "You cannot leave worlds unless you have a ... a ship."

She couldn't say Gummi Ship without sounding like a complete fool. She just couldn't.

[fullmetal_smile]

Ed practically heaved a sigh of relief when K relaxed, backing away from the man and losing the dark look in his eyes. He kept his eyes on the older man though, watching him warily in case he tried to do something foolish.

"They steal people's hearts," Ed added to the end of Claudia's explanation, turning his attention to the orange haired man. "And worlds too, from what I've heard." At least some people from his world had survived, although it was of little comfort. He didn't know if Al was even alive.

[shining_gonne]

K remained quiet, looking around the Coliseum. What else could he say? It basically had been covered by what the other two had explained, and he really had no urge to add anything.

Instead, he worked on relaxing his muscles in hopes that it would relax his mind.