00 ⁂ OOC: Memory Recovery: All Senses
[This memory is backdated to 22 June, noon.]
The memory began, literally, in midair.
Kagerou had braced her hands on a spherical object, into which she was funnelling her reiatsu. It soaked up her power like a sponge, and other energies were mingling into hers inside it.
She glimpsed Toushi on his left, in the black, loose-sleeved uniform, his sword strapped across his back. Curiously, a sleek, sable cat perched on top of the sphere. Before she could wonder at that, she spotted Sado on the other side. Beside him stood a broad-shouldered boy in a vest painted with bold, swirling designs, a scarf bound on his head, reciting something quite vigorously.
"Fate of three birds, fate of four dragons, no road in five directions, no return for six miles..."
The power in the sphere flared into her like a jolt of static electricity.
"Kurosaki-kun--" She furrowed her brows. "You're just a little strong--"
"Oh--okay," Toushi muttered.
"Kurosaki!" The new, articulate voice from her right was sheened with impatience. "Lower!"
"I--I know! I'm lowering!" The energy surged more wildly, like live sparks under her fingertips.
"I--." That was Sado.
"I know!" The small space--they were inside a second, larger sphere, she realised, soaring forward through blue sky!--exploded with bickering, Toushi snapping at the others' more or less gentle demands to control his energy. Then the boy who had been reading the incantation froze, paused and burst into some more yelling.
"Damn you! I read the same line twice!"
"Why are you yelling at me?!"
"You kept yapping and I lost my concentration!"
"Calm down, Kurosaki-kun, Ganjuu-kun!" Kagerou cut in in tones of bold peacemaking. "This isn't the time to fight!"
"Yes! Stop that!" Now, she had a better view of the person on her right: a rake-thin, bespectacled boy with neat black hair and a white half-cape worn over a white-and-blue uniform.
Something began to make a glassy, chiming noise.
"Hey, look outside," came Sado's voice.
She looked.
The larger sphere, shimmering with energy that blazed a trail behind them across the sky, was hurtling in an arc towards a city, stupendously immense, brilliant white in the sun. A great circular wall ran around it, and a shining dome seemed to encase the entire sprawl of streets and buildings.
"It's Seireitei!"
"We're going to crash!" A deep, husky male voice--was that the cat in the middle? "We can't avoid it! Everyone, push out as much energy as you can! Make the cannonball as hard as possible!"
"Let's do it!" Something in Toushi's terse cry was bolstering, heartening. Kagerou dug her palms against the small sphere and let every last shred of her power flood straight into it.
A noise like great glass surfaces grinding together rang out around them. The energy field encasing them collided with the dome and plumes of reiatsu shot in every direction. All six of them--her, Toushi, Sado, Ganjuu, the boy in the cape, and the cat hung suspended inside the sphere, stuck in place. Its thinning surface was the only thing separating them from a thousands-of-feet drop into the city.
"The high concentration of power broke the shield!" said the cat. "This will only hold us for a moment. Soon there'll be a whirlwind. If we separate, we'll go flying in different directions!"
As if on cue, the gathered power began to swirl slowly, gaining speed all the while, tar to quicksilver. They all spun into the whirling stream of reiatsu. Ganjuu seemed to swim towards Toushi, latching onto him and launching another bout of verbal abuse and flailing limbs.
"What are you doing?" the boy in the cape snapped.
"Everyone, hold on to the person closest to you and don't let go!" the cat cut in, leaping nimbly onto Toushi's shoulder. "Lend me your shoulder!"
"Yoruichi-san!" Toushi, clinging to Ganjuu, swung his head around look at the cat.
"Waah!" Kagerou found herself grabbed around the waist by a strong arm. Sado hauled her close to his side, then reached past her towards the bespectacled boy.
"Ishida!"
The next thing she knew, Sado careened away from her, tossing her back to gain momentum. He swam through the wall of the reiatsu whirlwind--Ishida had fallen through the vanishing shield of it--grabbed Ishida, and hurled the other boy back towards her.
"Aaaah!" Crack Ishida's head jabbed into her chin and clapped her teeth together. Clutching onto him for dear life, she tried frantically to see where Sado had vanished.
"Sado-kun!"
"Chad!" Toushi's voice, from close by.
"Don't worry! He'll find a way to survive!" Yoruichi's voice lashed sharp and sobering. "If you want to find him, you have to worry about yourselves first!"
"Inoue!" Toushi was hanging on to Ganjuu, his hand, the promise of a clasp, spread out towards her.
"Kurosaki-kun!"
She reached. They hung in the air, fingertips inches from each other.
The tornado of energy dispersed.
Kagerou clung to Ishida for a juddering instant of oh no-oh no-oh no as they were whisked into a downward arc by the last scattering energy breaking free.
"Hold on tight, Ishida-kun!" She felt his arms wrap around her. Twisting in his grip, she pushed her arms wide to the sides, fingers pressed together. The city below closed in on them at stomach-turning speed. Kagerou thought she might be sick as soon as the memory ended.
"Hinagiku!" He hairpins glowed, a golden flicker of hope."Baigon! Lily!"
There was nothing but the fall, and the clean rush of her own power into a shield that would save their lives.
"Santen Kesshun! I reject!"
[Memory taken from Bleach 84 "The Shooting Star Project 2: Tattoo On the Sky" and 85 "INTRUDERZ 2", starting from ch. 84, p. 15.]
The memory began, literally, in midair.
Kagerou had braced her hands on a spherical object, into which she was funnelling her reiatsu. It soaked up her power like a sponge, and other energies were mingling into hers inside it.
She glimpsed Toushi on his left, in the black, loose-sleeved uniform, his sword strapped across his back. Curiously, a sleek, sable cat perched on top of the sphere. Before she could wonder at that, she spotted Sado on the other side. Beside him stood a broad-shouldered boy in a vest painted with bold, swirling designs, a scarf bound on his head, reciting something quite vigorously.
"Fate of three birds, fate of four dragons, no road in five directions, no return for six miles..."
The power in the sphere flared into her like a jolt of static electricity.
"Kurosaki-kun--" She furrowed her brows. "You're just a little strong--"
"Oh--okay," Toushi muttered.
"Kurosaki!" The new, articulate voice from her right was sheened with impatience. "Lower!"
"I--I know! I'm lowering!" The energy surged more wildly, like live sparks under her fingertips.
"I--." That was Sado.
"I know!" The small space--they were inside a second, larger sphere, she realised, soaring forward through blue sky!--exploded with bickering, Toushi snapping at the others' more or less gentle demands to control his energy. Then the boy who had been reading the incantation froze, paused and burst into some more yelling.
"Damn you! I read the same line twice!"
"Why are you yelling at me?!"
"You kept yapping and I lost my concentration!"
"Calm down, Kurosaki-kun, Ganjuu-kun!" Kagerou cut in in tones of bold peacemaking. "This isn't the time to fight!"
"Yes! Stop that!" Now, she had a better view of the person on her right: a rake-thin, bespectacled boy with neat black hair and a white half-cape worn over a white-and-blue uniform.
Something began to make a glassy, chiming noise.
"Hey, look outside," came Sado's voice.
She looked.
The larger sphere, shimmering with energy that blazed a trail behind them across the sky, was hurtling in an arc towards a city, stupendously immense, brilliant white in the sun. A great circular wall ran around it, and a shining dome seemed to encase the entire sprawl of streets and buildings.
"It's Seireitei!"
"We're going to crash!" A deep, husky male voice--was that the cat in the middle? "We can't avoid it! Everyone, push out as much energy as you can! Make the cannonball as hard as possible!"
"Let's do it!" Something in Toushi's terse cry was bolstering, heartening. Kagerou dug her palms against the small sphere and let every last shred of her power flood straight into it.
A noise like great glass surfaces grinding together rang out around them. The energy field encasing them collided with the dome and plumes of reiatsu shot in every direction. All six of them--her, Toushi, Sado, Ganjuu, the boy in the cape, and the cat hung suspended inside the sphere, stuck in place. Its thinning surface was the only thing separating them from a thousands-of-feet drop into the city.
"The high concentration of power broke the shield!" said the cat. "This will only hold us for a moment. Soon there'll be a whirlwind. If we separate, we'll go flying in different directions!"
As if on cue, the gathered power began to swirl slowly, gaining speed all the while, tar to quicksilver. They all spun into the whirling stream of reiatsu. Ganjuu seemed to swim towards Toushi, latching onto him and launching another bout of verbal abuse and flailing limbs.
"What are you doing?" the boy in the cape snapped.
"Everyone, hold on to the person closest to you and don't let go!" the cat cut in, leaping nimbly onto Toushi's shoulder. "Lend me your shoulder!"
"Yoruichi-san!" Toushi, clinging to Ganjuu, swung his head around look at the cat.
"Waah!" Kagerou found herself grabbed around the waist by a strong arm. Sado hauled her close to his side, then reached past her towards the bespectacled boy.
"Ishida!"
The next thing she knew, Sado careened away from her, tossing her back to gain momentum. He swam through the wall of the reiatsu whirlwind--Ishida had fallen through the vanishing shield of it--grabbed Ishida, and hurled the other boy back towards her.
"Aaaah!" Crack Ishida's head jabbed into her chin and clapped her teeth together. Clutching onto him for dear life, she tried frantically to see where Sado had vanished.
"Sado-kun!"
"Chad!" Toushi's voice, from close by.
"Don't worry! He'll find a way to survive!" Yoruichi's voice lashed sharp and sobering. "If you want to find him, you have to worry about yourselves first!"
"Inoue!" Toushi was hanging on to Ganjuu, his hand, the promise of a clasp, spread out towards her.
"Kurosaki-kun!"
She reached. They hung in the air, fingertips inches from each other.
The tornado of energy dispersed.
Kagerou clung to Ishida for a juddering instant of oh no-oh no-oh no as they were whisked into a downward arc by the last scattering energy breaking free.
"Hold on tight, Ishida-kun!" She felt his arms wrap around her. Twisting in his grip, she pushed her arms wide to the sides, fingers pressed together. The city below closed in on them at stomach-turning speed. Kagerou thought she might be sick as soon as the memory ended.
"Hinagiku!" He hairpins glowed, a golden flicker of hope."Baigon! Lily!"
There was nothing but the fall, and the clean rush of her own power into a shield that would save their lives.
"Santen Kesshun! I reject!"
[Memory taken from Bleach 84 "The Shooting Star Project 2: Tattoo On the Sky" and 85 "INTRUDERZ 2", starting from ch. 84, p. 15.]