Breathe -- And Dream [Russia] [Open To Anyone]

Artist: Slowdive - Song: Dagger - Wordcount: 1901

Winter -- a brutal, frigid and harsh environment to endure. All that the eye can see is nothing but snow, ice and the visible coldness of the bone-chilling air. It is often referred to as the season of death in times where such luxuries as modern utilities like heating, electricity and gas were hard to come by. The trees die, the weather takes a turn for the worse and there is nothing but an endless sprawl of dead landscape to view for miles on end. This holds especially true for the barren forestland of Siberia's frozen tundra. Not many spirits dare to venture this far out into the outlands of this horrid land, yet here is where one Shinigami found herself being pulled towards.

As the winter winds and snow whipped like a hurricane in the barren white scenery around her, this purple haired Shinigami continued to trudge her way to the top of a hill-top peak that overlooked nearly all over the forestland below its depths. Despite the sub-zero temperatures, this woman wore nothing but a dress with purple trimmings on its top. On her arms, she adorned two black sleeves with four large rings that were indigo in color and had been attached to her wrist and upper arms on both sides. Upon her legs were thigh-high boots that were as black as the night itself; with the same purple trim being seen around the top edges of her boots as her top. Lastly, and most importantly, this woman seemed to wear a purple blind-fold around her face and had a bizarre red marking on her forehead.

Under normal conditions, such a lightly dressed person would have died hours ago in this rancid weather. However, this woman was already dead. Centuries old, in fact. The body in which she inhabited did not bend to the decrypt claws of old man winter. Therefore, despite her skin being as icy as the wintry air around her, the shinigami persisted and kept drudging on. Each step she took, the crunching of snow echoed in the distance and the closer she brought herself -- to her ultimate end.

Shivering not from the frigid atmosphere her, but from this finale arriving faster with each waking moment, chills were sent down the Shinigami's body and she gripped her shoulders. With tears running down and out of her facial mask, nostalgic memories of yesterday ran coursing through this woman's mind. At the start of her life, the carefree smile of a newborn baby burned into her head. The bond and warmth of a sibling, mother and father at the bed of their royal manor; this sight was perhaps one of the few moments this woman's life where happiness was had, even if she could not understand what it was as a mere infant.

For the Umeko Family were a once wealthy and influential family in the Soul Society whom bred assassins. Battle was a hot commodity in those days and they sought to profit as much as they could from the art of the blade. While others within this clan were chosen to live in the lap of luxury, others were bred since birth to become the steel-edge that forged the family's riches, power and comfort of living. Thus, the dawning of The Silent Killer known as Usagi Umeko had came to be.

Usagi was born into a family with a mother, a father and a following twin named Serenity Umeko. Not too long after her birth, it was decided by their clan that Usagi would be brought up to be a killer and Serenity would be their royal and carefree daughter. So, day in and day out Usagi knew nothing but the art of combat. Savage beatings to endure her fragile body to the burning pain of combat, forced teachings of the way of the weapon and being thrusted away from her parents and family to fend for herself in the wild; these were many of the bitter memories that the Shinigami remembered of her childhood.

It was all nothing but grim, dull and painful memories that never stopped. Pain that translated itself into The Umeko mastering the art of stealth, harnessing the power of her Zanpakutō from a young age and being bred to become the perfect Squad 2 Slave. Being whisked away in the middle of the night without a single goodbye from her family, the child spent decades upon decades of her life killing, killing and killing for the sake of keeping her parents and clan content, happy and wealthy through the fruits of her forced labor.

Many days went by where Usagi had little to no food to eat, yet they still wanted more and more from her. They were greedy, they were lazy and the demands never stopped. Not even her own sister seemed to be aware of what was occurring with her sibling, or perhaps she just didn't care. Yet, that smile of hers seemed to make it worth it, right? That is what Usagi thought to herself slaughtering target after target for years on end. The essence of their life fluid is what granted that happiness for her twin to live in the light and not endure the kind of hell The Silent Killer saw throughout her lifetime.

Yet, there came a point where Usagi needed to consider her own needs and wants. Years and years of this stress weighed down on her body, yes, but the mind went further astray long before that. The Umeko had no desire to butcher these unfortunate souls, nor did she have a yearning to put herself in harms way for this farce of a family. After an incident where an Espada almost claimed her life, The Silent Killer learned how much others had cared for her when no one but her squadmates checked on her recovery. And even then, that was but to ensure their tool was able to be resuscitated back to prime health to kill once more.

It was in those dark hours where she decided that enough was enough. On one dark eve, Usagi bid ado to the Soul Society, The Umeko Family and her fellow sibling. Where she would go? Usagi never cared. Anywhere was better than the life she led. It didn't matter if she was branded as a betrayer, a deserter or fugitive of the Thirteen Court Squads; all The Silent Killer yearned for -- was freedom from her prison.

And so, she'd wander the four corners of the Earth for centuries on end looking for the serenity, that peace and solitude from her isolation. Living from forest land to forest land, Usagi endured centuries of life as a hermit. Only chiming back into society when the very existence of the planet was at stake during times of war; akin to the battles waged for Ender, The Soul Kings War and World War Three itself. Yet, through the constant strife of the planet, The Silent Killer could not fathom a reason to exist in this brutal existence anymore.

Staring into the shining glare of the morning sun, the darkness of the skyline soon lifted, but the murky depths of her heart still felt the pangs of grief, loss and anguish for the shadows of yesteryear. The past few centuries -- had been rough. Time after time she tried to settle, war found her. Whether it be demons, hollows, bandits or those looking to take advantage of this chaotic state of the world; war was becoming constant in this world that was once peaceful. Day in day out, the blade of her Zanpakutō brought forth traumatizing memories of the life she once led whenever a soul was lost to her cold-steel.

Among these thoughts and others, she came to the conclusion that things would never go back to the way they were. For even in its prime peak, there was always strife. It is the very thing that gave essence to her life, after all. So why, why bother struggling in a world that will never bring forth a single motorcrom of enduring happiness? It was insanity -- and Usagi was anything but insane. Repeating the same results over and over would be deranged, so this sadness, this sorrow and this pain is what brought her to this icy forest-top.

It is in this spot -- where she'd claim her own life. Having made amends with all that she has done, the ultimate symbolism of release and atonement could be attained through self-murder. It is what she deserved for the countless lives she had taken, and it was the only exit she knew from this morbid world. There was fear of what was to come, as Usagi was not certain what would occur to her soul. Yet, that fear was nothing in comparison to the ache and suffering of living another day on this planet. Maybe she'd be reincarnated into a better person, perhaps sent into this Nirvana within Hell the demons preached on about or maybe -- she'd be nothing. It didn't matter. All that matter was taking away this deep-rooted pain and making things right for the lives whom she took.

Streaming like a never-ending flow of heartache, hushed tears dripped from behind that mask of The Silent Killer. Wearing a smile upon feeling the warmth of the sun against her skin, Usagi understood that this would be the perfect moment to lay claim to her life. Henceforth, in one blur thought of the mind, she materialized her Zanpakutō within her hands. It came across as a pair of long iron nails fastened to opposite ends a single chain; the likes of which Usagi gripped on to for dear life. Or in this case, dear death.

"Goodbye Master. I am sorry I could do nothing for you...."

The voice of a distressed child soon echoed in the area with a soft cry. Yet, Usagi would pay it no heed. Her Zanpakutō understood that her mind was made up and nothing could save her from this fate.




Thus, in one swift motion, Usagi teared the rigid steel into her tender flesh and severed her carotid. Blood spewed everywhere, as there was no turning back now. This crimson essence of life tattered the once clear snow and made it the burial grounds for The Shinigami's last moments. There was no pain, but The Silent Killer's body grew frozen and she soon began choking on her own fluids. Behind the mask that The Umeko wore, her eyes grew dimmer and she soon fell hard into the snowy cold floors of the earth beneath her feet.

Intermixed between the freezing depths of the ice and the infinite warmth of her blood, The Shinigami felt as she were sinking into deep, deep waters. An overwhelming sensation of peace flowed into her body, despite how gruesome the scene may appear to an outsider's eye. Gurgling on her last breaths, more tears came streaming down the fading woman's face as she reached her right hand out towards the sky.

"Sayōnara....may the next life...bring us both happiness....I am sorry, Serenity....."

Muttering in between spurts of blood, soon the eyes of Usagi grew dull and her head hit the pavement with a soft thud. If left untreated, these wounds would surely kill her within minutes. Bringing forth the end of The Silent Killer under the dawning of a serene sunrise into deaths warm arms.