From The Yore [Private]

TAKAE TACHIBANA

Night after night, the woman was greeted with much the same scenario; the smoky, dusty ghetto of Kusashiji and its tenants surrounding her, witnessing the scene from a safe distance half in interest, half in distaste. She was in the middle of the street herself, watching as if amongst the spectators, as a boy was being lead away from the place. Everything except the back of that boy was blurred and out of focus, and she would reach out her hand helplessly toward him even though she was not even close to reaching him. Even if she tried to give chase, she would never catch up before he completely faded away from her. It was impossible, she told herself, despite her constant attempts to make it to his side.

So she grew, developed, and persevered. The fact that these dreams kept recurring left a sturdy hope in Takae's mind, one which gave her the belief that eventually, one day, she would reach him. It was not a simple month, year, decade, nor century alone she spent on this goal... it was much, much more. Her entire life's efforts to present were in bettering herself. She would come so far in this time, that she would reach a point in which she could consider herself at the level necessary to stand beside him. She would dream—this most recent night—a version of that same dream in which she finally would catch up to the boy who walked away from her. She would place a hand on his shoulder, for him to turn around...

I had forgotten his face, she had determined within her own mind. That's why I couldn't see it then... That fact hurt her, but it had been so long since she last saw him, her brother; Tetsuya Tachibana. Today, she would alleviate that, and gaze upon his face once more. It was the dream that had decided this for her; it was time to go see him. She had everything in place, and had discovered both what he had become and where he would be. She laid down a plan to breach the Soul Society, reach his home, and finally find him. It was time for the family reunion she had longed for her whole life.

And Takae now was in the latter phase of this plan, adrenaline rushing through her body. Wind shrieked past her ears as she flew across the rooftops of the Seireitei, her legs already in agony from the velocity she was pushing herself to. She could hear the cracks of flash steps behind her, desperately attempting to keep up with her speed, but not quite capable. Takae was a swift one, and she was able to augment that speed at the cost of her own well-being. The exoskeletal furnishings on her body known as Zakagu were one of many things Takae had acquired for this mission of hers. They allowed her to propel herself out of the reach of the Soul Society's typical Shinigami but were harmful to her own body as a cost. These were the lengths she was willing to go to reach her brother.

She had a map in her mind of the city she was dashing through, and the way to her destination was clear to her. Yet, it was dangerously close to the center, where the Gotei resided. The further she progressed the harder it would become to avoid their agents. Hell, from the moment she clambered over the wall it seemed as though the Shinigami were on her tail. More than once their Zanpakutō had clipped an inch of her shirt or an offensive Kido had singed a part of her hair. She had heard several of her bones internally crack on the way here as she was forced to perform dangerous maneuvers while avoiding capture.

However... she came closer and closer to the place she was sprinting for. Her gaze turned upward to the great manor upon an even grander plateau. Higher than any other structure in the Seireitei stood the home of the Unabara, a royal family. Here, according to the information she had gathered, is where she would find him. All of her senses tunneled in on the location, her body seeming to fly toward it at the speed of light. On an instinctual level, she was able to evade her pursuers, but eventually she would stop. Takae Tachibana stood before the Unabara Manor and would finally cease running. Almost immediately after, she would be surrounded by dozens of Shinigami, from the lowest officers of the Gotei to the royal guard of the Unabara.

Takae raised her hands in surrender and relaxed her body, her amber eyes glaring up at the building. Even with swords pointed at her body in a threatening manor and the voices of several screaming at her for her transgressions, demanding answers from her... she heeded not to any of them. It was out loud she spoke, to anyone who could hear her; she called out, almost pleading, ''I am Takae Tachibana, sibling to Tetsuya Tachibana, and I wish to see him in person. I am willing to do whatever it takes to achieve this!''

And her voice was punctuated by the wind.

TAKAE TACHIBANA

She held her arms up in the air, palms open, facing forward; it was the unmistakable, universal gesture of surrender, and yet for such a conciliatory stance, a skilled combatant would be able to tell that the openings were very few and far between Takae's body. Perhaps that is why none seemed to draw close to neutralize her... A good thing, for there was nothing she would let stop her from seeing her brother. Nothing, no matter how powerful and daunting it may be. She had waited this long and come this far—too much to be stopped here. Her determination... it would be felt by the person behind her, whom she became aware of once their feet had touched the ground solidly. Her body tensed and her defenses arose to her back; when her shoulder was touched she responded with movements that were all but invisible.

She was Shinigami, and proof of that identity hung heavily on her waist. Attached to a loose gray belt that sat diagonally around her hips was the large, rectangular container for her weapon. It was not a typical sheathe, as its size suggested there was room for more than just the blade within. When Takae grasped the handle of her Zanpakutō and began to pull it out, the container responded by releasing steam out of the small opening her weapon was inserted into, as waves of heat marginally warped the immediate area around it. Takae slid her sword only a few inches out before stopping for some reason, but this was enough to reveal that the metal blade was glowing white hot with molten energy. The woman had froze like this, her head halfway turned so that one golden eye lie affixed to the person behind her. At first it was a piercing gaze of hostility, filled with the intent to kill on the spot, but...

It was impossible to mistake him for anyone else. One glance, and the visage of her brother inside her mind was completed with his proper face. It was him, her brother, in the flesh after centuries of time apart. Everything else in this world would disappear from her awareness as only he and him alone stood at the center of it all. She relinquished her grip of the Zanpakutō, allowing it to just slide back into place with a hiss, and would stare at him with trembling eyes. Foggy memories of their time together would flash before her eyes juxtaposed beside the actuality of her brother, Takae reliving the past she remembered so fondly. When he let go of her she would slowly turn around to face him fully, her lips moving with a whisper easier to read than it was to hear:

''Te... Tsu... Ya...''

For a woman appearing to lack openings at first, there were then suddenly an excessive amount of them, as her defenses fell by the wayside. Her body had seemed to become weakened in an instant as the shock of meeting her brother permeated the muscles of her body. With him before her, Takae withheld nothing. If it was his desire to kill her right now, on the spot, she would die without a single attempt at protecting her life. That was the degree of trust she put into the man before her as she took a few steps forward and embraced him. Her face disappeared over his shoulder, as the pressure of the metal Zakagu encasing her arms weighed against his arms and back. This was the Takae he would remember—the soft, sweet girl from back then; and not the ruthless monster she had become, and had displayed to him for a split second.

This was no normal hug... the duration for which the woman held her brother in her arms was excessive and perhaps awkward, to make up for all the time the two had been apart in their own lives. Even when he spoke to her, she would hear him out as they were, his voice so close to her ear that she could feel his lips move with every syllable. He could be assured that she would listen to and digest whatever he had to say, regardless of what it was. Nothing had to be said, honestly, for an understanding to be reached... Perhaps it was their bond as siblings, but when Takae had entwined herself with him, she had communicated that she was devoted to him—had been devoted this entire time. If he needed her for something, she was prepared to give it. This was the purpose for which Takae had committed her life.

''I need not ask, Tetsu... and you needn't explain it to me. I want to fight for you, to be your blade. That is why I came here. I arrived because... I am completely willing to devote my everything to you.'' She admitted this truth as she released him from her hold, a tinge of red coloring her face—a rare sight from her nowadays, but common back then. The Gotei were nothing to her compared to Tetsuya, and it didn't matter what she had to do to their society in order to gain the favor of her brother. She would cut down hundreds of them for him, as she already had in order to become stronger, strong enough to fight beside him. She looked at his face unblinkingly, trying to convince him of her seriousness in this. The corners of her lips would turn upwards as she gave him the first smile she had ever made since he left her.

''It's been so long, Tetsu. You have no idea what you put me through...''