THIS S#IT'S WHY I STOPPED COMING TO SCHOOL (Private)

"Tired... so tired," words uttered lazily out of the petite pair of lips, dull and quiet as they were to herself. Though even if they were mere thoughts escaping her slack lips, one didn't even need to hear them to see the exhaustion written across Fantasia's features. Her gray eyes usually so vibrant were now hazy and looking down her celestial nose towards the ground to watch her feet. Her strides were short and it looked like she was dragging her shoes along the pavement. Her usually powerful prostrate form was now wavering back and forth as her legs struggled to bear the weight of her body. And her hair, oh god her hair, disheveled all the way from the tip of her head to the bottom of her locks. She was thankful for the light clothing that the school uniform was made of, because she felt as if trying to don her armor and cloak would bring her to her knees. Every detail about her at this moment was a testament to the fatigue pervading every muscle in her body. Oh, she was so going to get Yoruichi-sensei for this... making her participate in overly difficult training so early in the morning, and transitioning straight into school without a break. There were hardly be a break awaiting her at home if she knew Yoruichi by now... it would be more rough training as soon as Yoruichi found out that she was home.

School had finally gotten out at least, and she was being filtered outside of the building with the rest of the students, almost as though she were being carried. Fantasia's thought were murky at best, not entirely focused on the world around her as she moved monotonously down the main steps of the school's entrance. Thus, it wasn't so much a surprise when her body began to waver a little too far and her pace began to fluctuate. Before she knew it, she felt a sudden impact into her back, causing her fall forward with a gasp. Her wheat-colored hair trailed wildly behind her as her body game crashing graceless to the ground, forearms barred in front of her chest. Several other students around her stumbled because of this, but for the most part everybody else was okay. Strange... it didn't really hurt, and she couldn't tell whether or not it was from numbness. What was stranger was the lack of scrapes or bruises that she should have received from falling so roughly upon cement with just bare arms. Nonetheless, she pushed herself up onto her knees with her hands, as she heard the light male voice behind her. Her eyes swerved to the foreign hand appearing in her peripheral, offered graciously to help her to her feet, and Fantasia would gladly take it to get her back up on her toes.

A fellow student with a sheepish expression had been the one to offer his assistance, and probably was also the one who had collided with her. Sharp beryl eyes met her blurry grays, and upon his head was golden hair with a shine, displaying a luster that was so much more electrifying than Fantasia's. The difference between them was the difference between fresh and rotten—each detail of the young man was prettier than Fantasia's counterpart, and she was the female in this situation. Whatever the case, Fantasia would bow her head in thanks, responding to him in a soft voice. "We're fine, just a little tired. Thanks for the help, though, it's most appreciated." She finished it off with a weak smile, but couldn't tell what it actually came out as. After that point, she realized that they were holding up in the middle of an outgoing mass, and some people kept bumping into her. If everything was said and done, she would begin to turn away and go back to following the rest out...

For a second she thought the encounter had concluded, all too eager to waste the least amount of time here and spend the most amount of time at home resting her half-dead body. However, the boy persisted, asking the question she got so commonly no matter where she went. Everyone caught it; the speech pattern was something a little strange no matter who she ran into. It would seem there wasn't a person out there who had the same mentality as her... regardless the question about her speaking in multitude was posed, and Fantasia turned her head back his way to respond. "Um. We... are we..." she answered lamely, bringing her hand up to point to her chest, considering the lack of an explanation in her words. She was too lazy to write it all down for the fellow student at this moment, so she left it at that. Another kid's shoulder hit her back as he passed by, causing her to stumble a step forward and almost come back down to the ground. Surprisingly, the blonde teen was there beside her when she came back to her senses. She was about to inquire what more he wanted, until...

"HEY, CAN'T YOU SEE SHE'S TIRED?! MAKE SOME ROOM!"

Fantasia's eyes widened as the bellow sounded right next to her ear, shocking her senses and causing her body to jump in surprise. It disoriented her, and felt like some knife of sorts was stabbed right through her mind. The pang of pain dulled quite slowly, as a chorus of voices assaulted her.

Hit him!

Shut him up.

Make it go away!

Run!

It hurts!

Her hands went to her head and her eyes clenched shut as she tried to withdraw into herself. The screaming of her internal voices came from all directions, blocking out all her other senses. The clamor wouldn't stop, and Fantasia struggled with her dull brain to contain the chaos occurring. The heart that held all these dualities together was weak, and they were free to beat on the cage that contained them. Meanwhile, on the outside of her body, she was tremoring violently and close to buckling down. Her teeth clenched as she seethed out barely audible cries of pain. And then in the spare time of a second, it stopped with a gasp. Fantasia had acquired a grip on herself, and the trauma was over. It had not lasted very long at all, even though it felt like minutes. The young woman was able to stand up straight again, and open her eyes to see the spry sight of the blonde student even closer than before. He was saying words she could quite comprehend in her state right now, and Fantasia could only feel the stinging in her cheeks. She felt like she had to take a step away just to breathe comfortably, and she did.

Apparently, the kid's words had been heeded, because now the others were making an effort to keep at least a foot's distance from either of them. She looked around, confused for a second, but somewhat glad for it. After running a hand through her tousled honey locks, she would grip tightly onto the straps of her backpack for a strengthened sense of security. She was a little bit more animate before, for the most part able to make her eyes look like normal, but for every other feature about her there was no fooling anybody—it had been a rough day. "Thanks," she muttered, as she began to follow him as he delved back into the throng. People split where he stepped, and there were not any more issues with getting past now. The girl was wordless for the small trip, up to the point where he stopped at his bike-like vehicle. She remembered seeing certain things like this on her travels to Karakura, and always wondered about the safety for the riders. It had always seemed so... frail.

She was asked if she would be all right getting home, and she already knew the answer to the question immediately after he finished speaking it. However, she would look wistfully at the cycle for a moment, thinking. Her house was all the way out towards the outskirts of the metropolis, which in a place as massive as this, was a long long ways out. She also felt like she didn't have it in her to fly the way like she usually did, meaning that her alternative would be to travel by foot. And by that time... Yoruichi would be sitting on her roof asking what took her so long to get home. Finally, never having been on one of these rides, her curiosity prodded at her mind to go try it. These were her thoughts, and yet the girl looked down sheepishly before she gave her response. "Yeah, we'll get home fine. Thanks for the help, we suppose." And she turned away once more to head out of the parking lot.

She felt a breeze whirl around her, sweeping her blonde hair around the front of her face for a short time, obstructing her vision so that she didn't see just how fast the boy appeared in front of her. By the time the locks of hair subsided, he was standing in her way with an impassive expression over his face, hand hovering behind his head. Had she the energy, she'd raise her eyebrow at this point, but instead only fared with as neutral a face as was presented to her. Again, he inquired whether she was sure she would be able to make it, and then explained his reasoning. Apparently, the ways around Karakura haven't always been the safest lately, which was very much in contrast to what Fantasia believed. Karakura was supposed to be a haven for humans such as herself, and so far she hadn't run into any issues. It was true that the outskirts of the city were a little more risky, given as they were outside of the Reaitsu barrier, but then she had always been able to defend herself. That, and with Yoruichi hanging around... it was the monsters that had to worry. Yet, this kid was being so thoughtful for her well-being, that it was almost rude to refuse. He was even playing up his motorcycle for her.

"A flying motorcycle?" she asked after a long pause, taking her time to digest his words. As if they didn't seem dangerous enough, she was being told there were variants of the two-wheeler that shot through the sky. She just stared at him in silence, her mouth hanging slightly incredulous at the thought of it. Until, finally, she brought her hand over her face and began shaking it, chuckling under her breathe. "We're probably mad for even considering this but... what the hell. We'll bite. Now, just how do we get on?" She crossed her arms and looked at him taking the singular seat on the motorcycle, and it did not appear as if some secondary seat was about to slide out. And then it hit her, as her eyes shifted towards the minuscule remaining space on the back of the seat, just enough for one to squeeze in. Again, the burning sensation in her cheeks as she realized it, which she tried to stifle with sheer willpower. "Nevermind," she breathed through her tightened lips.

Before she knew it, she was the one squishing into the seat right behind the kid she did not even know the identity of. There was not an inch of breathing space between his back and her chest, and she had to turn her head to the side to avoid getting a mouthful of hair. Her arms wrapped around the boy, even without her having to be told—it was the only way that felt safe to Fantasia. And for her tired body, being able to sit down and lean her body on something else, even if another person, was a refreshing feeling. She allowed herself to relax, as a question of curiosity flowed from her lips. "Why are you being so helpful to us?"

"Because I can't let someone go in good conscious who doesn't look like they will be safe. And… I still feel bad about before."

Fantasia hummed in response to the young man's words, for it was a very satisfying answer for her. "Well, that's very nice of you. We appreciate it." And that was that. Following, she felt the bike beneath her bottom rev up and the thrumming of the motor vibrating through her. That was normal, but what came next was not in the least; white wings shot out from either side of the ride, and Fantasia simply could not predict that happening. Modern cars did not sprout wings to keep off the ground, but seemed just to float off of some strange technology. This very different approach was apparently imitating a bird's method of flight, and the blonde-haired girl wondered once again about the safeness of this vehicle. There was no time to argue it, as it shot forward on the boy's command. Just before they passed through the school parking lot's gates, the bike was lifted in one powerful effort from the attached wings, and they were off into the air. Fantasia couldn't even hear what he said next as a powerful torrent of wind overrode him. She had to squeeze tightly on his body lest it blow her right off; as it was, the wind threw her long hair around and made her squint her eyes. Her bare skin was chilled by the gusts while her clothing flapped loosely within it.

Eventually the vehicle would stabilize in flight, and the strength of the winds would calm down enough for her to open her eyes wide. They were among the massive buildings of the great city now, among the many other flying vehicles that went about their business. Yet this winged one stood out like a thorn. Fantasia felt a tinge of embarrassment, knowing she would be watched with her arms around a stranger of whom she still did not know by name yet. Turns out it was the wrong time as well, because that stranger would turn his head at precisely the same moment to ask a question. "Uh... T-To the outskirts of the city, outside the shield. You w-would head in that direction." She pointed from underneath his arm towards the East as she finished speaking. Her stutters were blatantly obvious, and it caused her to shut up fast to avoid embarrassing herself any further. She would bury her face somewhere to hide the shame, but the only place she could possibly do that was into the young man, which she realized from this proximity smelled strongly of bananas. Instead, she would look away to the side, watching the people walk the streets below—they were so minuscule from these heights.

She would keep her silence for most of the ride, mostly speaking only to answer the questions he sent her way. But eventually the curiosity would begin to scratch at her brain, causing her to pipe up. "Our name is Fantasia Nevermore, in case you were wondering," she began shyly, but continued before he had time to formulate a response. "Because we were wondering about your name, too. All this time and we never really exchanged something simple like that. It would only be right to... And also, what is an Arrancar? I've never heard of something like that." She still looked away, not able to make eye contact with him if he would turn her way. The situation was already uncomfortable enough.

Fantasia returned to her silence as the young man began to speak. As she had given him her name, he returned the favor by sharing Moryukuna Len, followed up by stating that he had no last name. She scrunched her brows at that, as apparently she was expecting to believe that that mouthful was supposed to be entirely a first name. Since he continued speaking, she resolved internally to simply call him Len, for the sake of ease and flow. Then onto the more significant question about Arrancar: They were supposedly common on the other side of the barrier, and Fantasia should count herself among the lucky to have never come across one. As she listened further into his explanation a warning chime went off inside her head with piercingly loud volume, for he had said the word hollow. A bitter taste came across her mouth and her furrowed brow deepened into a grimace. Fantasia was glad that Len was not looking then, for she did not need him to bring up any questions about it and test the unsafe waters of her mind. The tragic depths were already roiling, losing a grip on the pretense of control. Her eyes would be seen to darken to something black just then, while her own mind was sent spiraling into the past...

When the Hollow appeared before Fantasia's very eyes, she was only six. She screamed at the top of her lungs, and her parents jumped away in surprise with shocked expressions written over their faces. The beast looked humanoid, wearing a deathly black cloak of some kind, and a bleach white mask depicting a sort of monster you would only see in a nightmare. She pointed at the demonic entity and kept on screaming and screaming. Her parents tried as they might to console her, but Fantasia just kept screeching in terror. Why weren't her parents noticing the beast? Why wasn't anybody? Everyone was staring rather at her, including the expressionless dark holes of the masked one that made for eyes. For a second the beast seemed to contemplate Fantasia's reaction, but that second quickly passed as the chaos began...

Fire. So much fire. The buildings spat flame out of their windows as the heat overfilled the insides; the tar of the streets melted into a sticky black liquid as the fire streaked violently across it. They did not see it coming, the poor citizens of Irokisa, even though Fantasia had. What they did see was the fire, but it was too late by then. Too many had burned... in fact, Fantasia was forced to witness as her father became the first victim of the Hollow's torment. Her mother tried to cover Fantasia's eyes but it was for naught. They fled the open streets to get away from the spitfire created by this Hollow, with the burning image of the man they both loved in their own way, scarred into their minds. Fantasia screamed and screamed her lungs out, until there was simply no air left in them. She screamed herself out until her sight faded and she fell into darkness...

She realized she was clawing into her own skin hard enough to draw a bead of blood, and the slight pain was enough to shock her out of her horrid recollection before it got out of control. She was able to stifle the nightmares away, and loosen the grip of her own nails into the flesh of her other hand. Her eyes became gray once more, while her expression lightened in step. Fantasia had been oblivious to Len's own dark flashback, but they more or less had theirs at the same time, ending at the same time. Len would continue with his detailing of the Arrancar while Fantasia would act as normal as if the event had never occurred. The kid seemed quite familiar with these beings, havign run into several of them in his lifetime, yet still managing to keep himself alive. She again caught off guard when he said that he had allowed that same very person to ride in the same seat as she was this moment. "We find it odd that you would be so forgiving to something born of a Hollow. Just because... she... failed to murder a human being, does not make things fine and dandy. So why would you do something like that?" She put emphasis on the end of the question, making 'something like that' sound as deplorable as possible. Whatever the answer, they were just about through the barrier. Fantasia would be oblivious to whatever energy signatures Len was detecting right now, never having any skill in Soul Detection whatsoever.