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Post by Tsukiyo Kyohaku on Jul 27, 2008 21:13:58 GMT
Zuki nodded and looked around. "Yeah...I bet...Feel free to ask questions. I don't care. The more you know your friends the better you can know your enemies, right? Doesn't make that much sense, but it means something. It doesn't matter what you love, as long as you love something. You must have at least loved your mother."
She picked a rose, carefully avoiding the thorns. "When I was first adopted they were all different colors, it was really pretty. Yellows and reds, pinks and whites. No...now they resemble my ice. I don't mind it, I just wish they were more vibrant. Yeah, he and I were married. But we didn't tell anyone, for obvious reasons. Who's going to think highly of a captain marrying her lieutenant? It was bad enough when after I killed Mayuri we hugged and kissed in front of multiple persons." She laughed. "That was a good day."
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Post by Rangis Mukondo on Jul 27, 2008 21:43:00 GMT
Raul sighed. "It must have pained you to kill Mayuri, as much as he seemed quite...insane...he was still your Captain..." He smiled. "I did love my mother, of course. Actually, I think she's really the only person I've been able to love. The rest of the Shihouin Clan treated me like an object that they could worship. She treated me like a person, taught me everything I know."
He laughed. "I suppose having loved and lost is better than never to have loved at all. Of course, that's quite cliche, but you take my meaning. Though I'm sure love for a mother and love for a partner are two completely different things. I'm sure your life was made altogether better by your pairing...though I'm sure it must be that much harder on you..."
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Post by Tsukiyo Kyohaku on Jul 27, 2008 21:58:22 GMT
Zuki scoffed. "It wasn't that hard. He treated us like trash, granted he treated Nemu worse but it wasn't hard. He looked better without his 'clown suit' though. That thing scared me big time." She sighed. "That saying...stupidest saying ever. Whoever made that up had no idea what they were talking about. Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all? Honestly, I don't think that's even remotely true."
She dropped the rose. Letting the white flower fall to the ground. "It is hard, butthe longer you wait for someone to return the easier it is to tell yourself they're gone. Of course, a broken heart can never truely be mended. You know...like that movie Titanic. Oh wait, you were born in the Soul Society," She teased. She was seeing a different side of Raul than she had ever seen. A compassionate side, with caring and honor.
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Post by Rangis Mukondo on Jul 27, 2008 22:04:09 GMT
Raul shook his head. "My apologies, Zuki, but I must disagree. I saw my mother murdered right in front of me, by an Arrancar previously serving under Aizen. We had thought the conflict over, and in raising me, her skills dwindled. I didn't move, didn't even try to help. I was a coward, and perhaps I could have prevented her death, had I tried."
He laughed. "But when I think of all the good times I had with her, I can't say I'd have rather not known her. She made me laugh, showed me good times. And, as much as I'd love to forget, forget that it was my fault, those memories mean far too much to me."
He turned. "You ask who could say that, while knowing the true effects of a broken heart? I say I could, because only I know what it's like, to gain a position of power, only because you were too weak, too idiotic to help. Through her death, Yoruichi gave me time to hide, and made me Head of the Shihouin Clan. Along with that, through her life, she gave me joy, and the skills I use. I can't ever say I would have rather not known her..."
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Post by Tsukiyo Kyohaku on Jul 27, 2008 22:16:24 GMT
"Though I contract myself I agree with you. I would do anything to have the life I had over again. When you think of that one person, how much joy they brought into your life. There is no way you could not want them. But if you look at the big picture...would you choose love and heartbreak over no love? I would. For people who do not know the feeling they can;t understand how hard it is. Had we never lov'd sae kindly, Had we never lov'd sae blindly, Never met -- or never parted -- we had never been broken-hearted. -Robert Burns." She smiled to herself.
"I'm sorry for your mother, it must have been hard. But those that die for one another always leave a path for the victim to follow in and live by. That is the ending move of all love."
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Post by Rangis Mukondo on Jul 27, 2008 22:21:19 GMT
Raul waved a hand. "This is all so dull and drab." He said, laughing. "Too intellectual, too spiritual for my tastes. I need some more Sake. But where can I get it?" He was talking to himself moreso than to Zuki. "Tatsuo knows I already drank some, and that would just be rude. And I finished off the bottle I had with me..."
He turned to her. "Any chance you've got some?" He smiled. This is his way of coping. As much as he enjoyed Sake, the taste, the texture, it was more of a way to make himself numb. If he drank enough, his body and his mind went into a stupor, of course. All the bad memories, all the pain he was in, all of it. Simply vanished...
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Post by Tsukiyo Kyohaku on Jul 27, 2008 22:34:21 GMT
Zuki sighed and leaned back. "Nope. Sorry Raul, I don't drink as often as you do." She kicked a rock across the ground. "It's not good for you." Zuki looked up at him. This man, he could go from one emotion to another in a split second, or so it seemed. She knew much about him and his mother but not about their relationship, only what he had told her. She pitied him, though if she told him that she was sure he wouldn't be happy.
"You hide your feelings. Captains are supposed to be fearless and lawful. Don't expect yourself to be perfect. Besides, people are better when they have flaws. Known fact." She giggled.
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Post by Rangis Mukondo on Jul 27, 2008 22:37:43 GMT
Raul laughed. "Flaws? What flaws could I possibly have, Zuki? I mean, other than my amazing ability to humble myself in any situation." He felt in his pockets. "Yes!" He exclaimed, taking out a small bottle. "In my back pocket, I knew I had a spare!"
He drained the bottle in a matter of seconds. "As much as I appreciate your concern, Zuki, don't waste your time. I'm quite the unfeeling bastard, actually. I haven't felt emotion in quite a long time." He laughed. "Well, other than the joy of Sake." He tossed the bottle away. "You should try drinking, really. You look like you could hold your own..."
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Post by Tsukiyo Kyohaku on Jul 28, 2008 12:12:42 GMT
She laughed. "Flawless? Oh honestly Raul, no one is flawless or emotionless. Don't fool yourself with talk of nonsense." She stood up. "People who are flawless are also modest. We could go over this time after time but I've got a better argument." She stated this matter-of-factly, as if even the most idiotic person in the world would agree with it.
She looked around her. "Though it may not seem like it there are many people who live outside the walls of these gardens. Children, adults, seniors. Family members all size and all amounts of insanity." She chuckled to herself. "I would introduce you but they're a, bit, um...unusual. Only if you wanted to meet them, butI'm not forcing you into anything...Look now I've gone and made myself a mumbling idiot, I blame you."
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Post by Rangis Mukondo on Jul 28, 2008 19:18:51 GMT
Raul laughed. "I highly doubt anyone you know could be more eccentric than I am, but there's always the possibility." He tapped himself on the head. "Something wrong up here, I think, but I can form basic thoughts. Plus, I've got other talents."
He sighed. "Sometimes I envy you. After all, when you grow old, your smarts aren't going to go for a long time. Me? My speed and strength will dwindle, easily. Plus, what with recent...events...it's gotten much more useful to be intelligent than to be powerful..."
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Post by Tsukiyo Kyohaku on Jul 28, 2008 20:46:02 GMT
Zuki raised her eyebrows. "You envy me? I suppose your excuses are just, but you've got no need to envy me." She scratched th back ofher head. "But if you must I don't mind." She smiled to herself. "As for my family I wouldn't assume anything before you meet them."
"Freeze shinigami!" Came a small voice from the bushes.
"Speaking of family," She rolled her eyes.
A young boy walked out of the bushes, a wooden sword by his side. "Mother was SO worried about you and your shinigami business, I haven't seen her so flustered since...since...since Orika broke her ankle." He looked up at Raul. "Aunt Zuki, whose he?"
Zuki rubbed her temples. "Amon, this is Captain Raul Shihouin of the Second Division. Raul this is my cousin's son, Amon." He was a pest, probably one of the biggest ones in the Kyohaku clan but she had to admit the kid had heart.
"Oh I almost forgot! Guess who's going to shinigami school!" He wiggled his nose as he always did when he was proud.
"The family hedgehog? That's great news Amon!" She ruffled his hair, making it messier than it was already.
He scowled. "Yeah. I had to push mom into it but when I said you'd be there with me she agreed. She made me swear not to bug you, pester you or distact you 'cause you're a captain and you've got work to do almost all the time and I can only hang out with you when your not busy, but besides that I get to be a shinigami!" He jumped up and down in a childish manor, immediatly stopping when he realized what he was doing. "A mature and powerful shinigami."
"I'll have to thank her. Where is your mom?"
"Inside," He sighed. "Hmph, now that you're captain you don't have anytime for family."
"That's so not true and you know it."
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Post by Rangis Mukondo on Jul 29, 2008 11:32:57 GMT
Raul snickered. "Aunt Zuki?" He questioned silently. Though this boy was quite...obnoxious...it was actually refreshing. He was always around the prim and proper, the best of the best. He was always the one starting trouble, the oddball. Zuki's family actually seemed quite nice to him. He waved at the boy.
"Congratulations on becoming a student, but remember, you've gotta work pretty hard. Just because you got into the academy, doesn't mean you'll automatically be successful. I'm looking forward to working with ya."
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Post by Tsukiyo Kyohaku on Jul 29, 2008 22:22:06 GMT
He bobbed his head excitedly. "Of course, of course! I'll be the best shinigami! I'm going to bring honor and title to my clan! I'll be better than Aunt Zuki, even!"
She shook her head happily. "Okay, we get it. Run along and tell your mum I'm here." She patted him on the head and stuck her tongue out at Raul slightly. "It's a nickname!" She hissed under her breath.
The boy snorted a laugh. "As if she doesn't already know! The lady tails you like a hawk!" He squinted his eyes and looked around. "Like a hawk I say! A hawk!" He yelled before running off through the bushes, carful to not be pricked by thorns.
Zuki walked towards a wall of pine trees lining the garden. "Don't run into it, the trees are my mother's way of diguising the wall that seperates the main house from the others." She leapt over the wall in a single leap. "Come on."
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Post by Rangis Mukondo on Jul 29, 2008 22:30:33 GMT
Raul jumped the wall, after her. "Well, I suppose this means I'm meeting your entire family. Isn't this great?" He laughed. "I'm sure I'm just the person you wanted them to meet. The only question is, do you want them to meet the real Raul, or Raul the Noble?" He stuck his tongue out at her, chuckling happily.
He sighed. The boy was cheerful enough. A certain disregard for his mother, but Raul used to play around with Yoruichi, as well. Looking at Zuki, he wondered about her. Even if she wasn't exactly related by blood to them, she was completely different from everyone else in her family. Unique. Even Raul had played as if he was one of them, when he was younger. But she seemed like she had always opposed them. Personally, Raul envied her, though he'd never let her know that, of course...
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Post by Tsukiyo Kyohaku on Jul 29, 2008 22:52:32 GMT
Zuki grunted. "I'm afraid that if you want to be Raul the Noble you might get a pie in the face. Be yourself, they don't bite...well, not all of them bite. I'm not making any promises though, and not the whole family," She gestured out to many houses in the vast lands around them. "The family that is related closest to the Head of the Clan lives the closest and out in the very back are some people who work for us, mostly just homeless souls with families that need a place to stay. They take care of the gardening and stuff. The rest of the family lives in the middle."
She looked around. "This way," She walked over to one of the closer, larger houses. "It's an aweful fuedal system here." She knocked on the door and before waiting for a response she walked in.
"You were supposed to visit ages ago, Zuki," All you could see of the figure was long, boney fingers tapping on the edge of a chair. "I never thought you becoming a shinigami was a good idea. I mean your mum was a captain and that's all good and fine but she got injured and I'd bet my right hand that you'll get hurt to." The figure sighed. "I mean, what the appeal of being a shinigami anyways!"
"Azuna. Can't say I suspected anything less from you."
The figure spun around in her chair. She was absolutely gorgeous. She had long, red, wavy hair down to her mid back and deep green eyes. "Hmph." She turned her attention to Raul. "I don't want to know." Standing up she walked over to him and held out a slender hand. "Azuna Kyohaku."
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