Off to the Market

Amidst the defeated foes and flickering fires, plumes of smoke billowing grandly in the air, Magnolia stood upon a pile of dented and broken machinery. Her golden eyes gazed out across a horizon that was obscured in smoke. Those eyes seemed to have an emotion within them that was impossible to describe. Those eyes held within them an incalculable depth, it made them haunting, as well as mesmerizing.

Magnolia kicked a body of an injured soldier over that had been playing dead, allowing for the eyes of shinigami and demon to meet. The demon raised it's gun, firing past Magnolia's cheek. Magnolia's naginata swung down in a flash of steel, destroying the demon in a splash of crimson gore. The golden-haired shinigami stared at the demon for a moment more after it's demise, a deep-seated coldness lingering in her gaze.

"Why must you torture yourself Magnolia, why must you look at them as people, rather than looking at them as animals." Raijin asked, his tone searching. It was obvious he didn't understand the complexities within the emotions that were going through Magnolia's mind.

"Because, if you lose sight of their sentience, you become no better than a killer. They have lives, loved ones, and purpose to their existence. I will not stop, but I will not discredit them." Magnolia's mental response was soft, tired, but firm.

Eventually, the sound of another being landing upon the ground echoed. Magnolia's eyes raised to look at Ulv, Listened to what she had to say, and couldn't help but be infuriated.

"It's not that simple Ulv. It's never that simple." Magnolia's voice bridged the void, the tiredness, the grit, the pain and resolve added flavor to her frank tone.

Magnolia turned her back to Ulv as she thought of Shutens smile, as she thought of the gotei that had given her a home. Of the towns, and people she had met since coming to this world. Flicking her eastern blade to the side, she let the blood of a brackish purple hue spatter the ground. Picking up a new visor which she let rest in her other hand before speaking.

"I am here, in this world now. I have obligations. Do you truly care about me Ulv? " Magnolia's voice was indifferent, so indifferent it was like looking at a thousand-year-old block of ice.

Magnolia began to walk, not towards ulv, but rather away from her. Each step she took made her back look oddly lonely, yet powerful. It was as if that back could weather the winds and the rain as if it could hold up the skies if they came crashing down; It was a back that was garbed in the clothes of its enemy.

"Because if you cared about me, you wouldn't have risked my position being blown as much as you have. " The indifference was better than the fury that roiled, barely contained beneath the surface as Magnolia spoke.

Magnolia stopped, a sigh escaping her lips as her shoulders slouched. Turning, taking half a step to face towards ulv, the woman gazed at Ulv from across the expanse with her haunting golden eyes. The emotions behind her gaze was tired but determined.

" I don't have the luxury of fixing the problems of my world yet. For better or for worse, I am in this world now. I did not ask you to find me. I did not ask you to fight alongside me. The fact that you came here, despite that, speaks volumes about your character." Magnolia said as she sighed.

Magnolia lifted her blade and pointed it at Ulv, her eyes glinting, her posture rigid like an unsheathed blade. The full brunt of her will, her intent, her determination, her fighting spirit all raged forth like a force of nature.

"The fact that you wish to rush off to a world that is not your own, a world that you have no obligations for, a world that could kill you, rather than fighting for the world that you have people you must protect is something I cannot fathom. " Magnolia spoke, and directed her gaze elsewhere as she let her blade sweep across the expanse of wreckage that lay around them.

" I will protect my world, but only after I have fulfilled the obligations, the duties that I have for this one. If you knew me, you would know that. " Magnolia's voice became hoarse before she turned back around and kept walking.

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