Hellbound Streets [Kurai, Kaito, Hiroe]

The orange eyes darted around, turning from himself to the illusion of Hiroe. The pressure against his chest only seemed to grow stronger as he struggled, as the vision continued, until whispers concentrated to his ear. His head immediately turned to where the sound came from, but saw nothing but a pair of smirking red lips that disappeared as soon as he turned.

Before he could say anything, a light seemed to come from behind him, and he turned his head to look toward where he had seen Hiroe, wincing in response. Rather than slouched like a zombie, she stood tall and proud, the darkness threatening to encroach her shrinking backward to make way for the light she bore. The woman's words echoed around him constantly.

It's not like she would have wanted you in the first place.

She was right. If Hiroe had wanted his help, surely she would have just...talked to him. She didn't need him. Even in that darkness she suffered from, she managed to climb out and soar above it all. From the backlines, he had seen how fast she'd grown, and even an ordinary man like him could see how talented she was. He knew that this would eventually come -- the day where she left him behind.

A seed of envy had been growing in his heart for the several years. He had known better than any that fate played favorites, his own teacher was a shining example of that, yet, the crushing reminder only seemed to drive in that pain even more.

"Don't...Don't go...don't leave me behind..."

You're a weak man, pathetic...you couldn't protect her.

An arm slowly lifted, intending to reach out to her...but, upon seeing her disinterested face, then seeing the glass-like blade of the transformed weapon in her hand, it lowered to the ground. Instead, tears began to roll down the side of his face. His heart bled freely, though his expression remained unchanged. He was weak. He was pathetic. It had taken him everything to climb to where he was, and yet, it wouldn't be enough.

"I can't catch up...I won't ever be able to."

"Live my own life...?"

Hiroe heard that voice ringing through her ears as the vision of her prideful form dominated her mind. No, that wasn't right. She couldn't tell what was going on anymore. Between the visions and voices, her mind was a veritable whirlwind of chaos. At one moment, she was fighting alongside Kaito and now she was observing all of this... In response to the voice, the queen of the performance nodded her head along as she replied.

She's right you know. Look at you... and look at them. Kaito fell behind, Hana fell behind, and they continued to be inept. One cries about all these issues when she had every resource you weren't born with and more! And look how far you managed to get without any of that. And Kaito? Tch... do I even need to speak about this idiot? He talked a good game until the date started and looked so out of his element that I almost wanted to pity him. Guess ya can't expect much out of him, though, right? He'd probably drag you down, anyway. Much like he is now... puh.

Without any hesitation, the queen simply scoffed in Kaito's direction as she stepped on his back, representing a minor note on her path to her dreams. At another point, she continued to laugh at a crying woman with silver hair. It was all so unspeakably terrifying. Was this what she truly thought about both of them? She regretted turning a blind eye to their emotions. When Kaito called out to her and demanded an answer, she brushed him away without a second thought.

She hadn't even presented the man an opportunity to reach out and help... and yet she was all too willing to speak with Ajora and others. When Hana poured her heart out, she hadn't approached like a true friend should have. No, she was far too prideful to admit even a noble like Hana could bleed, could feel as worthless as she did sometimes. And therein lay the crux of her regret... all at once, it struck her like an avalanche as she buckled to her knees.

"...I've been a terrible friend... all because of my... foolish pride. What... type of woman am I?"

And yet, a voice was calling out. Persistent, attempting to draw the crestfallen woman away from her horrifying conclusions.

"Hiroe, now is not the time to fall prey to these illusions! Rise up and strike her where she stands!"

Sensing the male fall deeper and deeper into his regrets, the dead overwhelming his psyche as he gave into her visions, Kurai returned to his side. She lowered herself over him, straddling Kaito in an intentionally suggestive manner and caressing his cheek as she focused in on him and his despair. It was Hiroe’s own inner strength that allowed her to push through and hear the voice of her inner spirit.

A little too excited with Kaito, Kurai did not notice her vision on Hiroe faltering, her control weakening enough to even release the woman. Kurai instead leaned down onto the male, her whole body now pressing against him, encompassing… physically overwhelming him with herself. The fire around them suddenly increased. She intentionally made the air Kaito was breathing stronger, more potent.

Kurai coiled her arms around his neck and pulled him up into a sitting position. Kissing his cheek, she whispered into his ear, her voice a mixture of arousal and wrath. “Come with me then… I can help you get exactly where you want to go…”

He could hear whispers all around him, voices he didn't recognize all overlapping as they spoke. They called him a failure, said he wasn't good enough, repeated the words that woman said over and over again as the pathway to Hiroe began to crumble. Hiroe's nose turned up as she faced away from him, growing smaller as she walked further into the distance.

His attention soon was taken by the sudden shift in weight. It felt like someone was sitting on him, but, he couldn't see anything. He felt an even greater weight pressing against his entire body, forcing him to breathe faster, and, by extension, causing his irises to swirl with an even more intense orange-colored smoke. Visions of the countlessly more talented people he had met during his time in the academy, those who either quickly or already surpassed him, sneering.

As he felt something wrap around his neck and pull him up, now sitting upward, the scene seemed to change as he moved. Everything suddenly became far more quiet as he looked at the ruins of his home. Burned, broken, with bodies strewn across the streets and buried under seemingly endless rubble.

His home, his parents, his entire reason to continue, was gone. From what he saw, he was alone. What else was there to do? Where else could he go? Tears continued to roll down the dejected man's face as he felt lips press to his cheek and a whisper in his ear.

"...Where...? There's nowhere else to go...it's all gone. Everything I wanted to give back to and work toward..."

"As your eternal guide, do you remember what I told you? Wield me with conviction. Reserve any judgment you've envisioned for yourself once you handle your duty! If you wish to be a better companion, there is no time like the present! Rise, Hiroe!"

"Enough..."

What's the point in saving him now? He was too weak to face his issues and now he's suffering for it. Snow white's probably not faring any better. Who knows? You'll probably have to go out of your way to rescue her, too. Discard them. They're nothing but stepping stones—a mere blip on your path to greatness. You've gotten this far and you mean to tell me you want to care about them now? Don't make me laugh! You don't have the right!

"Enough..."

Trembling fingers gripped the hilt of her blade. A flash of the blade lined the air as the blade was returned to its sheath. The vision of this despicable woman continued to dominate her mind's eye, but she would persist no longer. Even if she is no longer worthy of calling herself Kaito's friend, she would not stand idly by and let this woman toy with their minds. What a selfish woman. Even now, when faced with the bitter realization, she wanted to rescue him. Didn't have the right? Perhaps she was right. After all, when it mattered most, she left him behind.

A man, who, at his core, had always admired and praised her even at the slightest failure. And what did she have to repay him for it? At her darkest hour, she cast him away. She shut him out when he begged her to let him help. Indeed, what was the point of rescuing someone she treated as an afterthought? Ah, Hiroe Miyashiro, was that all your precious friendship amounted to? In the end, had he truly been so inconsequential? Did he truly mean so little?

"Enough..."

Golden irises, glared with a sharpness akin to piercing daggers, turning to look past the slowly dissipating image of herself. There, she could see that crimson-haired woman atop Kaito. The catalyst behind it all. The symbol of her ire. Emblazoning the image of that crimson demon in her mind, she shifted her grip around the hilt of her zanpakuto---her eternal guide. No, she wouldn't let this go on any longer. Even if she didn't deserve his friendship in the end, even if it was all futile... she could make her final stand, here and now.

"Enough!! Vanish, Denkōsekka!"


A violent scream erupted from her throat, shattering the illusion that clouded her mind completely. The glass-like blade flashed with a blinding light. Bringing every fiber of strength to bear, heels planted against the ground, she felt the thunderous flow of power Denkōsekka flowing through her soul, her body. In the blink of an eye, her speed surpassed its natural limit. In the next instant, she had seemingly vanished and reappeared, at such a degree that it gave the impression she vanished at the speed with which she was attacking Kurai now. Draw and slash - the glass-like blade roared through the air with the intent to rend flesh.

“I will take you somewhere much better than here… you won’t be alone as long as you are mine…” Kurai whispered venom into Kaito’s ears, deciding in that moment that he belonged to her now. ‘This one will be fun to play with…’

It was not Hiroe’s scream that caught Kurai’s attention, but the sudden sharp pain that opened up the her own back. Kurai screamed, a strange primal and almost bestial shriek reverberating through the air as she turned around to face Hiroe. “And who the fuck do you think you are?!” Kurai yelled, enraged. She waved her arm toward Hiroe, sending a pressurized wave of fire larger than her body over the bitch.

“I’m taking him!” she hissed, her other claw ripping open a tear in the air, a garganta for her to walk through. Even though Kurai had already decided to take Kaito with her as her new play thing, until Hiroe cut her, she had no other plans… Dragging Kaito through the garganta, Kurai looked back, laughing. “If you wanted him, you should have asked nicely. When I’m done, he won’t remember who you are.” She waved letting the garganta close while Kurai kissing Kaito on the cheek. "Bye bye now."

"Give him back... I won't let you! Khk---!"

A wave of fire stilled her charge as she attempted to shift the orbit of her body and pursue Kurai. Alas, the damnable wall of flame proved too difficult an obstacle to overcome. The immense pain that assaulted her frame as she attempted to force her way through left her rolling roughly against the ground, her throat overwhelmed by smoke inhalation.

No. Rise. She had to rise from the ground and rescue him. She couldn't let her go through that fissure in space. Lifting her hand forward, she desperately reached out to grasp at her blade, but to no avail. All her effort amounted to nothing in the end. In her departure, the crimson demon mocked her as she disappeared into nothingness with her friend. And suddenly, there was nothing but a burning village overlaid by the screams of innocent civilians. And yet, among all of them...

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

Hiroe's proved the loudest as she roared toward the skies.