//00 The Fifth Memory
As big as the Wilderness-mall was, not every store was packed with shoppers and mobile mannequins. Kazahana was glad for that as she slipped into the furniture section of a department store. It was quiet here, the bustling sounds muffled by curtains, bedcovers, and other such things. Kazahana sat on the end of one of the display beds and looked down at the crystal in her hand.
It was time. For a while, she'd been afraid to learn more about herself, as much as she wanted to be whole. What if she saw something worse than what the unexpected elevator trip had shown her? But she couldn't stay a coward forever. And if she did see something bad, she'd at least be away from Toushi and her other friends. She could deal with it on her own. Closing her eyes, she touched the crystal.
If she could have, Kazahana would have gasped out loud. Immediately, she knew that she had never had a memory that was so clear in every way; she could feel warmth on her face and a thin robe on her body, smell dry air and dirt, hear the sound of wind, see a man with a long white beard standing in front of a giant glaive that stood a hundred feet tall or more, and taste-well, her own spit. But it was there.
"All right," the old man intoned with great seriousness. "As requested, tomorrow morning the invaders will be sent home peacefully."
"Really?" It was her own voice, and she could feel the relieved smile. It felt strange on her face, as if she hadn't smiled in a long time. "I'm very grateful..."
The man barely seemed to have heard her. "Release the seal of the Sokyoku," he ordered. Almost as soon as he spike, the thick ropes wrapped around the deadly glaive unfurled and shot out to the ground. The people standing in a row before them didn't react; looking slowly along the line, Kazahana recognized her brother, and-was that Lin?-amidst strangers. None of them looked back at her.
"Thank you," she said softly to Hakuteiken. "Brother."
Just then, whatever bound her hands behind her back release, and they whipped up and straight out to the side. The motion wasn't voluntary, and she knew without her memory-self even trying that she could not move them if she tried. Three square stones rose out of the ground, hovering below each of her hands and both her feet, and they and she began to lift into the air together. There was no pain or sense of hanging; just weightlessness as she rose. Up and up and up, until the figures on the ground looked like tiny dolls. As she reached the top of her ascent, the glaive and its pole burst into searing flames.
Oh, she realized. This is my execution. I'm going to die. Strangely, it didn't bother her much. The pole tilted, aimed directly at her, and the wind whipped her hair in front of her face, but it didn't hurt. Not yet.
The flames coalesced into the form of a huge bird-a phoenix. From below, she heard the man speak once more. "Kikou. This is the true form of the spearhead of Sokyoku and and the executioner of the grand penalty. After it pierces through the criminal's body, the execution ends."
She watched it levelly, bowing her head only for a moment, as if to pay the great creature its proper respects. Unable to know her own thoughts when the memory had actually occurred, Kazahana wondered; was she recalling her friends, her family? Was she hoping that Toushi wouldn't be too hurt that he had failed to save her, or that Kiba wouldn't grieve for too long? There was nothing but fire and sky before her, but she could almost see the people she loved, flashing through her mind. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
"Thank you," she whispered, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Goodbye." She closed her eyes, and waited for the end. Would it hurt? Was this the last thing she had seen before waking up in Edensphere, undeserving of a second chance but getting it anyway?
But the strike didn't come. There was great rush of power and the sound of something huge moving, but nothing-but she knew this power, recognized it. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Toushi stood before her, on the air itself, wrapped in bandages and a billowing cape, carrying his giant sword. The giant firebird hovered behind him, as if held back by Toushi's blade. "Ichigo," she said disbelievingly, hearing his true name for the first time.
He grinned. "Yo," he said simply. And everything went black.
[Memory taken from Chapter 149, page 17 to Chapter 151, page 4 of Bleach. (Correct link added.) The animated version of the scene can be viewed in this video, which has appropriate mood music to boot.]
It was time. For a while, she'd been afraid to learn more about herself, as much as she wanted to be whole. What if she saw something worse than what the unexpected elevator trip had shown her? But she couldn't stay a coward forever. And if she did see something bad, she'd at least be away from Toushi and her other friends. She could deal with it on her own. Closing her eyes, she touched the crystal.
If she could have, Kazahana would have gasped out loud. Immediately, she knew that she had never had a memory that was so clear in every way; she could feel warmth on her face and a thin robe on her body, smell dry air and dirt, hear the sound of wind, see a man with a long white beard standing in front of a giant glaive that stood a hundred feet tall or more, and taste-well, her own spit. But it was there.
"All right," the old man intoned with great seriousness. "As requested, tomorrow morning the invaders will be sent home peacefully."
"Really?" It was her own voice, and she could feel the relieved smile. It felt strange on her face, as if she hadn't smiled in a long time. "I'm very grateful..."
The man barely seemed to have heard her. "Release the seal of the Sokyoku," he ordered. Almost as soon as he spike, the thick ropes wrapped around the deadly glaive unfurled and shot out to the ground. The people standing in a row before them didn't react; looking slowly along the line, Kazahana recognized her brother, and-was that Lin?-amidst strangers. None of them looked back at her.
"Thank you," she said softly to Hakuteiken. "Brother."
Just then, whatever bound her hands behind her back release, and they whipped up and straight out to the side. The motion wasn't voluntary, and she knew without her memory-self even trying that she could not move them if she tried. Three square stones rose out of the ground, hovering below each of her hands and both her feet, and they and she began to lift into the air together. There was no pain or sense of hanging; just weightlessness as she rose. Up and up and up, until the figures on the ground looked like tiny dolls. As she reached the top of her ascent, the glaive and its pole burst into searing flames.
Oh, she realized. This is my execution. I'm going to die. Strangely, it didn't bother her much. The pole tilted, aimed directly at her, and the wind whipped her hair in front of her face, but it didn't hurt. Not yet.
The flames coalesced into the form of a huge bird-a phoenix. From below, she heard the man speak once more. "Kikou. This is the true form of the spearhead of Sokyoku and and the executioner of the grand penalty. After it pierces through the criminal's body, the execution ends."
She watched it levelly, bowing her head only for a moment, as if to pay the great creature its proper respects. Unable to know her own thoughts when the memory had actually occurred, Kazahana wondered; was she recalling her friends, her family? Was she hoping that Toushi wouldn't be too hurt that he had failed to save her, or that Kiba wouldn't grieve for too long? There was nothing but fire and sky before her, but she could almost see the people she loved, flashing through her mind. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
"Thank you," she whispered, as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Goodbye." She closed her eyes, and waited for the end. Would it hurt? Was this the last thing she had seen before waking up in Edensphere, undeserving of a second chance but getting it anyway?
But the strike didn't come. There was great rush of power and the sound of something huge moving, but nothing-but she knew this power, recognized it. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Toushi stood before her, on the air itself, wrapped in bandages and a billowing cape, carrying his giant sword. The giant firebird hovered behind him, as if held back by Toushi's blade. "Ichigo," she said disbelievingly, hearing his true name for the first time.
He grinned. "Yo," he said simply. And everything went black.
[Memory taken from Chapter 149, page 17 to Chapter 151, page 4 of Bleach. (Correct link added.) The animated version of the scene can be viewed in this video, which has appropriate mood music to boot.]