Lost In The Rain [Saiko/Cala]

Location: London's countryside

On the outskirts of London, there were reports of hordes of different malicious hollows seeking to harm innocents nearby. And since Saiko was free on duty, the woman recently accepted the task as she emerged into the countryside to observe various large hollows. They weren't powerful and would be easy work for someone of her caliber, but it still brought a sense of uneasiness as she felt pain, regret, and anxiety being in the city that ultimately changed her life.

As she stormed in, the woman sliced her way through all of the hollow, ensuring that they were purified with her zanpukto so that they could be reborn in a new and better life than this. Yet, every strike brought memories of her former life with Shadow Fall. This used to be The Demon Queen's city as far as she was concerned, and it only made terrible thoughts come to mind as the woman lost everything to that demon. Her freedom, her family, and even the security of her body; it was all drowned in her manic desires.

So, when the carnage stopped, a clap of thunder roared out as embers of plum and aqua-hued energies blew in the wake of her power being released. Staring aimlessly at the raining sky, the pale-skinned woman felt lost. Saiko knew she had to keep moving ahead to make amends for the wrongdoings of her past actions, but she had to admit parts of herself felt alone in this. She did not want the investment Murasaki placed in her to go to waste.

Ergo, Saiko breathed in and out for a few moments and just existed to ease her worries. It was up to her to deal with the task of finding footing in this new life. She'd have to make the connection, find things to do to redeem herself, put the effort to engage, and continue to -- step ahead.

For now, though, her head tilted backward and just called out:

"...is anyone still there?"

There was no ill intent in her voice; if it weren't amplified by her energy to be heard throughout the area, it would be nothing more than a whisper. She knew that whatever was lurking wasn't a threat to her, and at her level of perception, she could discern hostile figures.

So -- Saiko just waited, moving her head back upwards as if she were lost in thought.

Location: London's countryside

Saiko stood there with a blank expression on her face for a few moments as she observed Cala step into her sight. A cute face, soft-spoken words, and the aura of hollow blood lingered all around this person. These were features that almost remained the woman of her ex-boyfriend in a way, though she'd keep that thought to herself. For now, at least, there wasn't any malicious intent from this hollow. Hence, her blade faded into firey ash, retreating inward into her soul as she turned her expression into a small smile.

"Well, I guess that means my job is done."

Looking back upwards at the rain falling from the heavens, Saiko was lost in her thoughts for a moment. If there weren't any urgent matters to attend to, all she needed to do was create a report and send it back to the Gotei whenever she was ready to ensure the hollow numbers were being kept in check in this region. So, it wasn't like she didn't have the evening to herself to do as she pleased.

But -- she still had a question.

"Huh, you don't even know my name, yet I feel familiar and you want to walk and dine with me? You are a curious hollow."

Saiko decided to sit on a bench nearby to rest her feet and keep her eye on this Cala person. She had no clue what they might do, but she needed to work on her social skills more. As a former version of herself would have folded under a random encounter like this, but she kept telling herself if she were to be valuable to the Gotei, she'd need to get over that uncomfortableness. So, after coughing and making a flush aqua blush go away, she'd continue.

"But yeah, my name is Saiko Mori. I'm not insulted, and don't take this the wrong way, but why...me? Was it because I looked....cool...or something?"

Ok. Maybe that was cringe. Bleh.

Location: London's countryside

Hmmmmm. Saiko observed the male ahead of her, and she focused on him to catch him blushing. While she wasn't a social butterfly, she at least had sense enough to know when someone felt shy or attracted around her. However, that thought would be kept to herself as she watched Cala struggle to spit whatever it was on his mind out to her. Though, the notion of her soul giving off a sad song was interesting; since, if nothing else, perhaps he is aware of what type of aura her powers gave off.

"That's insightful for someone you just met."

...

Even though she spoke those words out of interest, something else caught her attention. After looking upward again, they both became soaking wet in this rain. So, with a roll of her wrist, a faint blue aura surrounded them for half a city block to form a weak shield that would repel the raindrops for now.

Now able to see his features a lot better, the hollow guy ahead of her seemed nervous. Opening yourself up to someone you don't know is an ungodly task. So, she was hesitant to spill her guts out to a guy she had just met. Even if some part of him seemed cute from first appearances, Saiko wasn't the type to vomit what made her soul the way she was. That's way too much trauma and depressive nonsense to dump on someone. So, she stayed quiet for a moment, pondering how to best deal with the circumstance until a suitable response was formed.

"The world is beautiful and filled with abundant potential and interesting people. I can't say I've had the best life, and I can't say I've always made the best decisions, but I'm trying to change and make my life mean something to make up for the sins of my past."

That was good enough for now, eh? The gory details of it didn't need to be spoken of at the moment. So, Saiko just continued to hold her soft gaze at him before she went on her instincts:

"And if you are a hollow, just like them, you may be attracted to the negative aspects of a person. Are you hungry for that aspect of myself?"

Geez, this guy was stuck in a cycle of nervousness and restricted inhibition. Like a moth to the flame, Cala couldn't help himself when it came to the chance to take a nibble at her energy and the sensation of Saiko's soul. Luckily for him, she understood what it was like to constrain a deep-rooted hunger. Looking at her right hand, Saiko knew pretty well how venomous demons were when it came to feasting on their elements. It is why she did her best never to force herself on people, mentally train and keep that aspect of herself in check. If anything, it has gotten easier after being disconnected from Demon World and Shadow Fall, but it still exists within herself.

Nevertheless, she'd let him know it was fine to feast on the aura for now. There was no sense in him being tormented against something he desired if he wasn't out destroying souls or harming people to get what he wanted. It was the humane thing to do as far as Saiko was concerned.

"As long as you aren't hurting people, I don't care if you want to feed on that energy. I'm half-demon; I know what it's like to be starving for something abstract."

With her right arm glowing a dim shade of purple and her left arm emitting an aqua-blue light, she raised both of them up as more of her power started to ooze out into the air with a glum, yet the core of it was mixed with hope as Saiko's mind was in a positive enough place to wield it.

"I can feed on misery, woe, dread, anxieties, and other mental elements like that. I don't force it on people or take it from them. You must learn to control it and not let it devour your mind. I've let it enslave me before, and it took so much to be able to be who I am now."

Now letting the power fade away, she sighed and leaned back in her seat as she looked up at the sky for a moment to ponder how far she had come and how much road there still was to cover in this life. However, Cala's fumbling and shyness took her head out of that space as she raised an eyebrow at all his fidgeting.

"Good grief, I thought I had my moments of socially awkward, but it looks like you are about to cry."

A playful giggle escaped from Saiko as she continued.

"But don't worry, I can tell you aren't like other hollows. Otherwise, you would have mindlessly attacked me to get whatever you wanted to feed on from me."

With a content sigh, Saiko let her energy bleed out around Cala so that he could at least dry off, heat up, and not look like a cold, wet kitten from the street. Then, when he was all cleaned up, she looked at him, knew what he wanted, and cut to the chase.

"No need to be indirect. I think you want to get to me better because you see something interesting in me. So you can get closer if you want; I'm not going to bite."

Cala simply curled up more tightly as Saiko mentioned they looked like they were about to cry. Their playful giggle and likely teasing comment only making Cala feel more self-conscious about not being able to help in the way they wanted. Cala blinked as Saiko began to emit heat towards them, making an impromptu blow-dry out of their clothing and hair, and Cala closed their eyes as they clutched their kimono to themselves. The loose fabric nearly being blown apart and even despite their gripping hung loosely off of their shoulders for a moment before they bashfully readjusted their clothing.

As Saiko simply told Cala to study them Cala blinked, uncertain for a long moment, as they vaguely remembered what their other self had done to Aina when feeding upon her energy and studying it. Even so Saiko was much stronger and Cala doubted that their own abilities would be much issue for her. At her promise of not biting Cala nodded, albeit hesitantly, and scooted off the bench to stand in front of Saiko, facing her. Pensively looking Saiko over Cala knelt down just a bit, their lavender eyes meeting deep blue as they stared into Saiko's eyes in a somewhat doctor-like manner, as if searching them for some physical sign of something for a moment before Cala hummed a low, almost musical sound.

Moving on from this Cala would lower themselves to their knees, hands upraised, and gently poke Saiko's thighs with slow, studious motions. A faint bit of Fade upon their fingertips that made the soft poke to her porcelain skin tingle ever so softly. Like the tiniest bite of a harmless fish nipping at one's skin before Cala closed their eyes and tilted their head this way and that. As if tilting their head and following the sound of a musical tune only they could hear, before they withdrew their hands, opened their eyes, and moved their hands down to one of Saiko's calves. Withdrawing their Fade from their fingers for now they gently squeezed the muscle of her leg, rolling their thumbs into it briefly before pursing their lips. Murmuring in a soft voice almost to themselves.

"...how strange...."

Gently extending their arms Cala would take Saiko's left hand and extend her arm, provided she went along with whatever it was Cala was doing, and splayed out Saiko's fingers in front of their face. Staring directly at her palm for a moment before fiddling softly with her fingers in an almost ticklish manner. Then Cala would lift her arm, poking at her inner forearm, before Fade would gently coil around Saiko's arm. That tingling, biting, nibbling feelin a bit more intense now that she was exposed to more of it, making it more or less akin to a vaguely tingling, static-like feeling, like a less painful version of what one's limbs go through when waking up from being asleep.

Releasing Saiko's arm Cala would simply poke her stomach, head tilting as they look at Saiko's stomach and chest, mumbling to themselves.

"That doesn't look very protective...."

Extending a hand Cala would place their flat palm gently on Saiko's left shoulder, close their eyes, and gently lower their head. Saiko's heartbeat able to be felt through the heel of their palm and Cala would simply listen, feel, their own Pesquisa and energy gently extending out to mix and intermingle with Saiko's own. Letting her feel Cala in turn. The soft Lavender field of energy mixing with the deep blue in a beautiful swirl of colors, combining and mixing, forming patterns and designs between them, slowly syncing their energies together as best Cala could as they listened to the Loss of Saiko's heart. How deep and how successful it was was, ultimately, up to Saiko on a subconscious level. Cala did not pry, did not force, they simply fell into whatever rhtyhm Saiko set and joined her. A soft, melodic humming leaving Cala's lips in a hauntingly beautiful tone that was guided not by any sort of musical understanding on Cala's part, but by whatever internal rhythm Saiko's heart and soul set for it, as if whatever trauma and Loss Saiko showed to Cala was given form as pure, enchanting song.

A soft giggle escaped the mouth of Saiko as she watched the heating effect of her little dome blow the clothing of Cala against the breeze. He gripped for life, seemly, to keep it on. After he cleaned himself up, if nothing else, he seemed to be coming around more. There was a shift in the aura of the hollow to the perception of the hybrid shinigami. Getting up to walk over, gaze at, and analyze the woman's body caused a shift in his demeanor. So, Saiko started blinking a lot as her almost innocent aqua gaze held his for a moment. She wondered what he was even looking at.

When more time passed, Cala then began to poke Saiko's thighs, and she could feel a chill run down her spine when the element of fade fed on her body. Shivering for a few moments, the woman had a blueberry-like blush come across her face as she wasn't even sure if Cala was feeding or just trying to cop a feel on her.

"Uhm......you seem to be enjoying yourself."

Usually, Saiko would be a bit more direct, but it had been quite awhile since she was put into this intimate of a situation when it came to touch and feel; so the hollow's curiosity threw her off as she kept hearing him hum and inspecting her. Smooth, soft and warm to the touch; the sensation this guy gave was rather nice. So, it wasn't as if she disliked it, but the woman wasn't sure how to proceed forward from him here as she let out a soft, content sigh.

"...eeeeep"

A quiet murmur exited out of the woman as she was definitely lost in her own haze at this point, as the feeling of him squeezing her thigh was intense. That caused her face to become as blue as the sea itself and for her to look down with a flushed expression at whatever the hell this guy was doing.

"You don't think it's rude to feel up a girl you just met? I mean, whatever you are doing feels good, but geez...."

Saiko bit her lip for a moment as she let out a few relaxed sighs after she got used to the feeling. I mean, if she wanted, the woman could flick him away with ease. The fact she didn't mean the half-breed was still assessing the situation.

Well, at least for now, he stopped with the thigh grabs. Instead, Cala seemed interested in fiddling with her left hand. Without much care for that action, Saiko let that take place as her face transitioned back to normal. Though, more potent feelings of feasting started to become apparent. The hollow was toying around with her arm now, and whatever power he possessed started to gnawing around her arm. At that point, the woman exhaled a ginger breath as she could feel that nibbling, biting, and static mulling around her body as if he was trying to eat away her own sense of loss in a way.

"That doesn't feel too bad...."

Closing her eyes, Saiko bit her lip once more as it had been a while since someone tried to take away her stress. So, even if this was extremely awkward and fast, she let it continue as her toes curled inside her shoes.

"...but are you trying to feed yourself or do something more sinister?"

Although she was somewhat serious, a semi-giggle left the woman's mouth as her stomach was poked. That was definitely a sensitive spot, so she quickly responded before he did more there.

"I don't need armor, my body is strong enough without it."

Snorting now, she added:

"You are free to test it's durability."

And like that, her focus was then taken back for the last time as his hand rested on her shoulder, moving in to lean his head forward on her chest to her heart. At this point, that heart of hers thumping faster than normal, so she looked down in disbelief and asked one more.

"You really can't help yourself, huh? You are lucky I'm nice or else someone else would have whacked you by now. I almost think you are a pervert."

Cala merely shrugged as Saiko pointed out that they were enjoying themselves. The Arrancar did not answer, precisely, because they found the comment to be all sorts of odd. They had already told Saiko they could not truly feed off of her in any meaningful capacity, she was too powerful, and Cala trying to consume her would be like a garden snake trying to eat a giraffe. Even so Cala did respond with a single shrug as they went about their studying of Saiko, not finding touching her to be bad, and enjoying it in more tactile fashions. She was soft, felt nice, and was symmetrical. Her skin was healthy and well taken care of, though Cala was no doctor to comment too professionally on these things, and Cala looked rather puzzled as Saiko made an 'eep' noise and turned.... blue? That didn't seem healthy at all.

Cala's head tilted curiously, their lavender eyes meeting Saiko's ocean-blue ones in a look of oblivious, innocent confusion as they muttered.

"Feel.... up? I don't really... need to look at your head I-I suppose, but I can look at it at the end if you want....."

Not thinking anything further of the comment Cala continued their poking, feeling and sensing of Saiko it wasn't until they chided Cala, only to giggle, that Cala smiled a little. They were happy Saiko was laughing, but they did not at all know how to react to the assertion Cala was being sinister. It wasn't like they were a threat to her so Cala took it as the same kind of friendly.... things.... Igen or Ari would say at times and, admittedly only not being embarrassed themselves because of their focus on their task, went to listen to Saiko's heart.

Once again Cala found themselves confused, eyes closed and lips frowning into either a masterful lie of a pout, or one so genuine it would break hearts, as they hummed and furled their brow softly.

"Ehhh.... your heart is.. strong... and nice. It umm... it's beating fast though.... I dunno what it is but is that something a pe-.... uhh... per-... pervert could tell?"

The raw, unfiltered innocence in the question was more convincing than any argument Cala could make to the contrary and after pulling back to sit on their knees before Saiko again, Cala's hands would lightly place themselves on both of Saiko's shoulders. No longer confused by the words Saiko was using Cala, instead, pouted out of confusion due to worry about her heartrate and a... feeling.... their other self murmured to them or... or was it their other self? Cala seemed almost in pain for a moment, their grip on Saiko tightening just a tiny bit, before they drew in a slow, deep breathe and nodded to her.

"Y-Your heart is very fast.... I hope you're okay. I-I know Hollows.... are scary but.... I-I mean... I can't hurt you anyways a-and uhh... ahh... uhh....."

Cala's voice slowed as they spoke, as if they were... distracted? Their eyes, however, stayed focused distinctly and wholly on Saiko's own. Generally, in fact almost always, Cala was too shy to look anyone in the eye for long except out of respect but now? Now Cala stared into Saiko's eyes as if what was distracting them was her eyes themselves. Their head, tilting ever so gently for a moment, would cause Cala to look up briefly before returning their gaze to Saiko's eyes and ask in a quiet mumble.

"D-Do..... I... Ahhh....I hear...... I-I mean you uhmm....."

Through the palms of Cala's hands their own heartbeat could be felt, growing faster and faster to begin to match Saiko's own, and an answering salmon blush erupted on Cala's face to mirror Saiko's earlier ocean-blue show of shyness. Perhaps most oddly, however, was that while Cala had spoken their Fade had slowly slithered and coalesced around the two, not engulfing them but instead forming an odd sort of..... lattice around them. Drinking in what excess energy Saiko exerted but also angling the energy that it could not like some sort of odd insulation. Cala's own energy, drifting closer and more into Saiko's, their acute Pesquisa attuned to Saiko like a finely-wrought radar, all of this, made Cala open their mouth as if beginning to speak again.... only for a full-body jolt like lightning to cause every hair on Cala's arms to stand on end, their skin erupting into goosebumps and yet Cala did not seem... shocked.

Indeed instead of shocked Cala seemed, now, unfocused, as if staring through Saiko. Their synchronicity escalating further as Cala pulled more of her Loss away. What tiny, infinitely small amount they could, only to then... reflect it. Unable to consume or drink it in it was displayed back to Saiko, echoed off of Cala's own soul, and Cala's lavender eyes would begin to glow. Piercing, deep pink light flooding from them as Cala became a vessel of reflection instead of hunger, a true embodiment of Loss as a mirror, their head tilted back, their left eye flickered and for a moment seemed like it was bleeding but, in fact, the pink color of their eyes drained away into a deep, beautiful blue the same hue as Saiko's as a haunting, lovely song flooded from Cala's lips in a harmonious intermingling of both of their voices.

(Just to the cadence of the first vocal section of the linked posting music)

"Born a shining star of ble-ssing
Love, unto a dying world
From grief, a tiny heart to sing
A tragedy, to be unfurled"

"To love and wonder one complies
Under guarded roof and climbing age
Swathed in armor of gentle lies
Kept o'er a cruel world in loving cage"

"Then, on to hope and joy and Dream
A life of lear~ning.... of hollow care
'fore in cruelty, left in suff-ring, a hope to die in flame
A dream, false and cruel and hooollow, naught but a sinister niiiiight-mare"

"Yet from flame doth ash rain,
Lay the strife of world to rest
To cleanse the world o' strife and,
Sorrow, suffering, stagnation and... death"

"In death, rebirth, in death, remade
Arm o' grief, Will o' fire, left to suffer between
For even in death's reforging fii-iiire
An angel, a blessing, a star was left.... to the Queen"

"There.... in darkness.... of demons and deceeep-tion....
Did Will and promise clash.....
Dreams of purpose, duty and love.....
Were swept away, reduced.... to Ash....."

"Now.... in world of quiiiiiet.......
Awaaaay for oh so long
Naught can be given, shown or sung
Save for this simple song......"

Cala's voice died a slow, whimpering death, the light fading from their eyes as the last syllable met it's end. Then, all at once, Cala's arms fell from Saiko's shoulders, their head went limp and dropped down to their chin, and the lattice of Fade that had formed around the two simply... collapsed. Crashing down as naught but a weight of ash and Loss as Cala simply went.... inert. Their body still rising and falling with soft, shallow brathes for a moment or two before they grumbled, rubbed their eyes, and looked around with no small amount of confusion until they consciously noticed Saiko again.

"Mmm... ehh....ah!"

A profuse blush would erupt on Cala's features as they bowed their head to Saiko, folding their hands in their lap as they did so, they would hurriedly apologize.

"S-Sorry! Ahh oh.... I really did just mean to help b-but... I-I guess your heartbeat sounded so nice I f-fell asleep...."