The Truth: A Secret That Was Never Meant to be Secret [closed]

It was dark and cloudy throughout the area. The humidity in the air was thick, so thick that some would find it difficult to breathe. It was enough to give others a headache. Even though it was midday, when it should be brightest, there was little sunshine in the area. There was no break in the dark and foreboding clouds, so any light that made it was greatly dimmed. There was something of a heavy wind in the area. It wasn't so bad that a person couldn't go out in it, but it made any and all trees sway sharply back and forth. The sound of the wind through the leaves alone was quite loud.

There was a river that ran through the area. This river, though normally calm, was rushing at a quick pace, a sign that it was raining upstream. The rushing water of the river added to the loudness of the area. Around the river was forest. It was in every direction. This scene, though normally peaceful and serene, had become very unsettling. In the end, perhaps the mood the scene gave off was fitting given the circumstances.

At the rivers edge, two legs gently dipped into the rushing waters. The depth of the particular spot did not reach the knees, but it was getting there. The look in the eye of their owner was not of its usual sort. He radiated an upset mood, it was as if it had an aura around him. Even his eyes were pale in color. His left eye a dull pink, and his right a weary purple. Their usually positive and laid-back owner, had nothing but worry stamped on his face. He let out a long sigh as he lifted his sleeveless left arm up to brush the some of the hair from his face. His medium length blonde hair blew in the wind.

This man, Snopy Saika, was far from his usual self. Most of the time, he was a very happy and content man. He has little in the way of insecurities, as constant compliments and the situations he had made it through drove any he had away. He hated things being too serious or sad, and always had a laid-back and joking attitude. He preferred to keep the mood up. This, though, was unlike him. An almost depressed-like state. He didn't have much energy, as all of it was being spent on trying to figure something out. The fact he had to spend energy to think about anything in itself was unusual.

The reasoning was quite simple, he had fucked up with someone he cared about and he knew it. Even worse, he couldn't begin to try and make things right with her yet, as she was as of yet unaware. It was the thought of telling her that was driving him insane. The woman in question was Kanna Aikotsuki. Snopy himself, was desperately trying to work up a way to tell her. The "fuck up" was a fairly simple one. Ever since he joined the Gotei, he had become close to one person, her name was Kiyomi. She was like a sister to him, though if she had actually been a sister there wouldn't have been a problem.

Snopy had told Kanna he loved her, and after a short while she returned the feelings. Unfortunately the sequence of events that led to this wasn't simple, and he had little chance to tell Kanna about Kiyomi. Kanna was distrustful due to the things in her life. The fact that Snopy was so close to another female would not go over well. It wouldn't have been a problem if Snopy had said something much sooner, but there in lies the screw up. Snopy missed his chances, since it slipped his mind. Now when she found out, in this late juncture, it would be bad. The results of this, he feared. It was one of the few things he had feared in a long time. Anything he said would be nothing but the truth. He wouldn't make excuses. Snopy would never cheat on Kanna, the idea sickened him, as he hated such people. The problem was, no matter how much truth he put into his words, he would have to put everything he had into getting Kanna to believe them. Snopy had made no attempts to hide it, so he felt his condition was known about by many in Seireitei.

He was familiar with many of the various Squad members throughout Seireitei, and many were familiar with him. As he exited Seireitei earlier, there were quite a few people who saw him. At this point, he assumed it wasn't a secret. Perhaps he was overreacting to the whole thing. However, no matter how he went about it, this whole thing stung. Once the time came he knew he would be able to pull himself together. He knew how much determination it would require to go about this situation without losing anyone. He knew he had that determination, all he had to do was work up the nerve to tell Kanna. In truth, telling Kanna and how it would make her feel was the only part that upset him. He let out another long sigh as he stared out over the river.

Kanna's body did not wake her until mid-day had came. Once her eyes fluttered opened, the first thing she did was look to the clock. "How did I sleep this late?" she thought as she turned to lay on her back. She usually got up early in the morning, so this was rather rare for her. Oh well. She got some extra sleep. Nothing wrong with that at all. She could tell by glancing out the window that the weather wasn't the best today. "Oh... So that's why." She yawned and stretched out, her hair spreading out over almost the entirety of her bed and pillow. As she lay there, she stared up at the ceiling, thinking about something she had heard a couple of nights before. It worried her. She brought the pillow from under her head and placed it over her face, whining into it. "What is going on....?"

"Hey... Did you hear about Saika?" a young man said speaking to another young girl from the fifth division. Kanna over heard this little conversation and stopped to listen to them. She kept herself hidden on the other side of a corner and leaned her back against the wall. "Yeah, do you think he's going to be okay? He's been acting so weird." the girl replied. Kanna's attention was only raised by that statement. "I don't know. He's been acting extremely depressed, like somethings bugging him. I'd ask him about it, but I don't know..." Kanna looked towards the floor, wondering what could be going on with Snopy. "You think it's that student of his?" the girl asked. That's right. Snopy had just gotten a student to train separately. Kanna was actually on her way to congratulate him about it now. "I don't know... Hey. We better get back to work..." That was the last thing she heard and then the two ran off. It seemed her visit today was going to be more than just congratulating him. She was going to see exactly how he was acting different as well.

Kanna rolled over in the bed and sighed. It was time to go see him. Hopping up from bed, she was in a pretty good mood, despite her worry. She freshened up, got dressed, grabbed her Zanpakutō, and was on her way. She had to ask around and it actually took her a while to NOT get an "I'm sorry, but I don't know" from people. She was told he was heading towards the Rukongai through a certain gate. "Thank you." was all she said and then turned towards the direction they pointed. As she came to the gate, she looked up towards the sky and raised an eyebrow. She was secretly hoping it would start raining. That was something that always brought her mood up, unlike most people. She walked out of the gate, and from there she wasn't sure where to go. Once again, it took her a while, but finally she got a sense of Snopy's spiritual pressure and headed in that direction. Once she found him, she raised an eyebrow and shook her head, wondering what exactly he was doing. He was just sitting there by the river, his feet in the water, and doing nothing else. Not a sight she was used to.

"Hey..." she said walking towards him and stopping a foot to his right, "You've got people talking about your strange behavior all over the Seireitei... What's going on?" Kanna brought her Zanpakutō from her waist and set it down between them. She then sat down and folded up the bottom of her pants so she could also rest her legs withing the river water. It was shocking to see this particular river moving so quickly. It was raining somewhere, and it was raining hard. "Maybe the rain will move this way..." she mumbled under her breathe, barely loud enough for anyone to hear. She took in a deep breath and turned back towards Snopy with her usual, slightly emotionless looking face. She still wasn't one to show an immense amount of worry about anyone or anything, but she definitely felt it. "So... What's wrong Snopy? Is it the wild child?"

Snopy was thrown out of his thoughts when he heard Kanna's voice. He did not have much of a reaction though, deep down the pain in his chest just worsened a bit. However, he looked up to her though, and put on a forced smile. He looked back out over the river as she sat down next to him. He wasn't surprised people had mentioned his behavior. It was almost impossible to catch him in a mood like that, and whenever the situation that upset him is resolved, it would be basically impossible to see him like that. Normally he had enough mental power to hide these kind of things, but this was too big to hide. So, they were talking about me. For some reason I'm not surprised. His voice didn't sound too far off from its usual tone, but anyone who knew him would be able to tell the difference. It was a bit sadder than usual.

He heard Kanna mumble something, but he did not make out what. It may have been possible but in his current state he didn't exert the effort. He heard Kanna mention Kanami and managed to laugh a little. No, it isn't that. There is nothing she could do that could make me act like this. Normally he would have elaborated, but he just left it at that. He just looked out blankly across the river. Normally Kanna's presence alone would be enough to lift his mood, but when what made him this way had to do with her, it didn't help. It's...something else.

Kanna wasn't stupid. She could see immediately that his smile was not really a willing one. It was forced onto his face. This only caused her more worry. For something to be bothering him so much that he would force a smile, she assumed it was big. "You shouldn't be surprised. From what I understand, you're a likable guy by others and a lot of people look up to you, except for those within Squad Eleven, of course... But who cares about them?" Kanna was sounding different herself. She didn't like seeing Snopy so down, so she was using a slightly more happy sounding tone. Hearing his laugh when he spoke of Kanami made her feel a bit better, although he was still worrying her. She didn't actually think Kanami had any ability to truly effect Snopy in really any way, especially the way he was acting now. She turned away from him as he spoke and then stayed silent for a while. When he said that it was something else, she looked to him. Something about this made her even more nervous. The way he said it... It was like she had something to do with it. She almost didn't want to ask, but knew she had to. "Well... What is it?" she kept her eyes forward, her voice was back to it's normal and she just watched the river move forward. Off in the distance, she could hear thunder crash, assuming that it soon might end up moving their way. "Good... I need that about now..." she closed her eyes and waited for Snopy to speak, horror at the put of her stomach. What was he going to tell her?

Snopy listened but nothing she said made him feel any better. He could tell she was trying to cheer him up, but it didn't make him feel any better. He knew she shouldn't be cheering him up. At the moment, he knew he didn't deserve it. He stood up onto his feet, which were still in the water. He took a deep breath as to gather his nerves. He had to do it now. The more he waited, the more guilty he would be, and the more guilty he would feel. It all could have averted if he had said something a month ago. Yet, as stated, he screwed up. I did something, and it is something I'm not proud of. Well, it is more like I didn't do something. It was something that wasn't too big a deal, but not doing it was a huge deal. Something I know I should have done. Because I screwed up, someone is going to get hurt. As he spoke he choked up a little before continuing.

It is something I have to do, because it is the right thing to do, and not doing so is wrong in itself. I am...so upset because my own stupidity is going to hurt someone. He looked into Kanna's eyes, his determination finally forced through and the color had returned to his eyes. He wasn't necessarily feeling better, just resolute. Kanna, I'd like to say I'm sorry before hand, and I will understand if you're angry, as you have every right. You see, there is this girl. Her name is Kiyomi. She has sorta been my best friend for as long as I have been in Seireitei. I look at her more like a sister, but that doesn't really change anything. Before her inevitable rage ensued, he made one last remark. It was wrong not to say something sooner, you deserve to know everything about my life at this point. So go on, give me what I deserve. He cringed a bit, obviously expecting to be punched or something to that effect. Either way, he felt rage was about to ensue.

Kanna felt like he was putting something off. Instead of just coming out and saying what he needed to say, he kept talking about this 'something'. By this time, Kanna was back to her normal self, an emotionless face and serious attitude. She kept staring off and just listening to him continue speaking. He looked towards her with his determined face, but she did not look back. She stared over the river, forward and not moving an inch. She wasn't sure what was about to come out of his mouth, but she knew it was big. Then he finally said it. Everything he said was broken down into levels within her mind. First, 'There is this girl'. This completely mindf*cked Kanna. She was stuck and only felt her body tense up. Then, 'her name is Kiyomi'. Probably a bad thing to tell Kanna her name, because the first thing that came into Kanna's mind was to kill the both of them and end the pain she was already feeling. After that, 'She has sorta been my best friend for as long as I have been in the Seireitei'. Kanna was done by that point. The utter rage that she felt was powerful enough to cripple her ability to show any emotion she had felt. Even as he continued on, apologized, and explained things, her mind was stuck on the words he first used.

Kanna saw him cringe, but still she did not move. She wanted to hit him, yes. She wanted to scream and yell, stomp around, and throw things like most women did. She did not. Those actions would be pointless. Her mind had snapped. Suddenly she chuckled a single time, her shoulders jumping slightly. She stopped... two seconds later she chuckled more. This chuckle moved into quiet laugh. She set her hands on her face and her quiet laugh got louder, then it got even louder, but now was sounding slightly insane. After a few seconds of laughing, tears began falling down the sides of her face and through her fingers. At this moment, lightning and thunder both crashed, echoing through the entire area. Rain came falling down rapidly, allowing the tears she was crying to be hidden behind the water. Suddenly she stopped. She grabbed her Zanpakutō and stood up. She slid her Zanpakutō into the sash around her waist and didn't even look to him. "And this is why I kept myself closed off from everything and everyone... I can't believe I was stupid enough to fall for the same act again. I should have learned this damn lesson a long time ago..." With nothing else to say and not even a glance towards him, she began slowly walking back towards the Seireitei, seeming almost like a zombie.

Snopy felt worse and worse the louder her laughing got. However it was worse than he feared. She didn't even give him an ultimatum or ask anything, she just gave up on him. The fact that at that moment Kanna saw it as over, and a painful betrayal, both those facts were like a bullet to the heart. Yet as she began to walk away, he knew what had to be done. I may have fucked up, but I refuse to let it end this way. It won't end this way. He ran in Kanna's direction as she slowly walked away. No!!! Kanna!!! He ran in front of her and looked at her. I know I screwed up, but...nothing I ever said to you was a lie! Nothing! Please!!! It can't end this way! Please!!! Don't just give up on me!

This was the most upset either of them had probably been in a long time. However, Snopy had fallen in love with her. He just hated hurting her like that. Yet, he wasn't going to give up and go home. He wasn't going to just leave and forget about her. He couldn't. Nothing he had ever said to her was a lie. He cared about her and would prove that, no matter what it took. I...I can't just let you leave. I can't just walk home and forget about this. You are the best thing that has happened to me, so...so...so I refuse to give up on the woman I love! His voice had started out quiet, but with each so it got louder, until he screamed the end of his sentence. He was sure she was unconvinced. So he would just have to keep at it, no matter what happened.

Kanna was stopped in her tracks as Snopy moved in front of her. She couldn't even look at him. She didn't want to. She turned her head away and stared off into the distance. Her face was still just as emotionless as usual, if not more. Her eyes were dulled, looking lifeless. In her mind, she had once again been betrayed by someone she had fallen for. It had been so long since she dared open herself up to another. She kept herself locked away, distant from everyone to protect her heart from the pain she felt from betrayal. And now... when she finally opened up, when she finally decided to give a relationship a chance, this happens. Hearing him get louder and louder as he spoke, she couldn't help it. She looked back to him and a bit of emotion returned to her eyes. Rage, pure rage. It was actually shocking that a blood vessel in her eye didn't break or something. She raised her hand and swung it around, slapping him across the face as hard as she possibly could. With how hard she hit him, it even caused her to stumble to the side.

Kanna fell to her knees and stared at the ground, her fists curled tightly, to the point where her nails were cutting her hands and causing her to bleed. She pushed herself back up and once again said nothing. She continued walking around him and then away from him, refusing to acknowledge anything he had said at that moment. Suddenly she stopped about ten feet away. She stood there and thought for a moment. She was about to say something, but shook her head and continued. She no longer felt like she could trust him, not after that. She could only continue to curse herself for being stupid enough to allow him into her heart. "I told him I loved him... I... WHY!?"

Snopy stood firm as she stopped. As her hand came across his face it made direct contact at full force. His head twisted to the side, so now he was looking to the side. Yet, he used all his willpower to stay motionless. No other part of his body moved. In fact, as her hand came across his face, he was completely stoic. He slowly turned his head back as he saw her on her knees. Blood was dripping from her palms, obviously she was clenching her fist a bit too hard. He said nothing as she ignored everything he had said. She walked past him once more, Snopy slowly shook his head. He had no choice, he had to be much much more aggressive to get her to even listen to what he had to say. Snopy ran at max speed, which was becoming quite fast these days, in front of her again. However, instead of just blocking her he did something else.

Snopy rushed up to Kanna and grabbed onto her shirt. At this point, his determination alone was causing a large burst in spiritual pressure around him. As he held onto the neck of her shirt. Kanna, I told you. I REFUSE to just give up. There is no way I am allowing one of the best things to happen to me just walk out of my life. At this point there was slight upset in the ground around him from his energy. It wasn't much, as he wasn't that strong, but it was there. There is no way I'm letting you leave without talking to me! I will prove I love you even if it kills me. He looked dead into her eyes, the most serious and determined look he had ever had on his face. At this point, there was nothing in his life he loved more than her. Thus, the sleeping dragon within him had awoken. He would prove himself no matter what it took. He let go of her shirt and looked dead at her. The sheer aura of determination, he hoped, would be enough to get her to listen to him. If she would listen, he knew he would be able to fix things.

Kanna was startled by him suddenly grabbing her shirt. A short gasp left her lips as he held her there and spoke to her in a determined way, almost seeming like he was demanding her attention. She stared at him for a moment and soon he let her shirt go. By this time, the two of them were absolutely soaked from the rain. Her bangs came down over her eyes. She was looking through them with nothing but anger in her eyes. Fine. He wanted her to talk. She was going to talk, but probably not the way he wanted her to. "If I am so damn important to you, explain to me why exactly you lied to me? What the hell kept you from telling me the truth? Who the hell is this female? Is she in your Squad? I take it she doesn't know about me?" Kanna rushed him with these questions, each of them being asked for one reason or another, some obvious, others not so obvious. Nothing could compare to the betrayal she felt now. She only stood there, waiting for his answer. She did not move. The rain poured down rather harshly on the both of them. Thunder roared, lightning crashed. The sky had darkened even more, and the river that they had been sitting by was rushing even more than it was before.