The Darkness of the Earth [PRIVATE; Ichika, Henrex]

......

Warmth. Warmth in the body and soul. He could feel it. He felt the warmth of her body, whether it be from embarrassment or from a body's natural heat. He could feel his own heart warming as the embrace of the two friends continued. However, it would not last forever. The hug was soon broken, and Henrex's eyes were soon blank once again. Ichika seemed to be much more embarrassed than Henrex had been, as she was poking the ground with her hands, refusing to look at him.

She soon spoke, saying that he didn't need to apologize, and that it's what she did...help people. A small smile came to Henrex underneath the mask, and his eye closed for a moment, before opening. He could see the girl trying to be sneaky, and look at him, looking away and blushing whenever she was almost caught or was caught. It was...cute. He smiled again under the mask, but this time...it felt forced. Like it pained him to do so.

Seeing the girl lay down and slowly fall asleep, Henrex simply looked at her for a little, before he knew that he had to go again. He needed to get to where he set out to find. But, yet he still stayed for a while. Slowly moving over to Ichika's sleeping body, he slowly reached his arm out, before gently petting the girl's head, and his face would turn a light shade of pink, then the boy would rise from his position, then reaching towards his face. He still remembered when he first donned the mask. Before he had left Soul Society, possibly forever.

If the world wishes to see me as a monster, then I'll take the visage of what I am.

A sad look passed over the male's face, and his hand soon drifted to his sword, gently wrapping his hand around the cold metal and cloth that was the hilt of his Zanpakutō. He felt sad about leaving Ichika all alone. So, he would give her a few gifts. Nothing romantic, but something to be nice. Six black orbs materialized into the air, and five of which would stick together, combining the energy that the orbs held in them together, eventually squeezing, conforming, and bulging to finally form something as a result of Henrex's energy being used in this creative sense.

A small bed, which would be a perfect fit for little Ichika, would pop into existence. Then, Ichika would find herself being lifted from the ground by a strange force, which was just a barrier that had formed underneath her, and was vibrating faster than the normal eye could see. If anything, this barrier would only lull Ichika into a deeper sleep, as the vibration would not be doing anything to wake her. As the bed that had been formed ever so recently would slip underneath her, and the vibrating barrier would slowly descend to allow the small angel girl to lay down and rest thoroughly, the final orb that Henrex had created would begin to change, and eventually creating...

A small rose.

One single rose that was thrice as beautiful as the last one that he had made floated in the air, glowing with a beautiful purple and black aura. The item soon descended next to little Ichika's head, and would subtly give her the smell of a gentle breeze in a rain forest, before Henrex would then turn to go. He did find the little angel cute, but his mind could not deceive him. He knew that his mind and heart would only have a true passion for one person. So, silent steps lead him out of the forest. He hoped that Ichika would awaken, and appreciate the gifts he had given her.

And, with that, Henrex would leave the forest, aiming to find the one place that he needed to return to again.