back?

The beach was beautiful this time of the day. The sun warmed her skin as she basked in the sand with her two friends whom she considered family. "Maku can you pass me a drink?" she asked, smiling brightly as she was handed a cold beverage to quench her thirst. Youka was out swimming in the ocean of course, screaming back for them to come join him. She considered taking her cover up off and diving in but it was just too beautiful laying there watching for her to even consider. Her hands dug deeply into the sand at her sides, the granules slowly flowing through her hand as she lifted it up. her hair was blown behind her and to the left by the soft wind that kissed her sun warmed skin, not enough to be uncomfortable, but just giving a light cool to the warm day. This was absolutely perfect, she thought to herself.

    Maku turned to kira and they began talking about the day, about their trip to the beach, and about how they had an entire month off thanks to echo in which to relax and just bond as a team and as friends. His eyes were calm and caring as they spoke back and forth, his words seeming to run together as her mind drifted off, her eyes slowly cluttering closed. She laid back, her arms under her head to allow sleep to come listening to the convorsation of her two friends as youka walked up from the water to join them. They were having steak grilled on a fire pit for dinner, and she could already taste the juicy meat and pan fries.

"GOD DAMN IT KIRA....WHY" her eyes shot open to look to her left as she heard youka's voice. He sounded distressed and a bit upset, with a light sob in his tone that suggested he'd been crying.

   "What Youka? Why what?" he looked at her funny and she realized they had been speaking of battle tactics. her eyes drifted to the sand in front of the two where they had been drawing formations and attack paterns between them.

   "What do you mean why Kira? We were just talking about battle strategies. Go back to sleep kid. you seem pretty out of it. " She nodded, slowly lowering herself back down to her spot on the sand, her body now turned on it's side. Sleep crept up on her as youka spoke of new jutsu and combinations between his threads and taijutsu and maku's genjutsu abilities, and the last thing she remembered hearing was something about his crab.

    “is this really how it has to be Youka?"
                                             

                                                     " Does she have to die for these sins?"


          " What of our feelings, "






                                                                         " can we carry out such an order to someone we have trusted so thoroughly"

     "GOD DAMNIT KIRA...wh...why...why.."




                       "So Kira, what did you do to bring Echo to my door step, and what do you have to say for yourself?"


"Please take care of some of these wounds."

The words began softly, like a whisper in her mind but quickly the statements began to fill her Mind. Youka, maku, Echo, over and over each sentence was spoken, each time a little bit louder. Youka's hatred. Echo's disappointment. Maku's cold uncaring eyes. The words were now screams in her ears, each thought breaking through the memories of the warm sun against her skin. She tried to force her eyes open calling out to her friends so close and as she did she heard the words grow louder, blocking out her cries. She could barelly hear her friends, still speaking of strategy and jutsu, friends and hopes as she laid there beside them. her throat began to lock up. Her breath pulled more heavily and she could feel the last bit of free air entering her lungs before it was cut off all together. She was suffocating and they sat there laughing about it.

  "What do I do Maku youka Please...I don't want..not here.... PLease just turn around. She could see them now through closed eye lids like a shadow of her memory burned into her retina. She could see them turn to look at her, see them watch as she was slowly strangled to death, and as her body finally let go they nodded to one another, standing up to leave.


It was quiet.


The world around her was dark and still until a voice slipped into her mind like the soft hum of an angel. "Kira....Wake up....it's time..."





Her eyes shot open. She sat up quickly looking frantically around for the sign of her two friends, fear and hatred filling her eyes. she gripped the sand at her side but it did not slip through her fingers as it once had. She looked down confused, and noticed it was not sand she held but the sheets of her bed. She took in her surroundings, her heart still pounding in her chest and her breath drawing heavy and shallow. The walls were plain brown wood, not decorated by anything but a fine layer of dust. There was a desk and chair to her left, and on the chair she noticed all of her gear. The door was closed and locked and the window was shut tightly with the curtains closed. The only light in the room came from a candle nearly burned down to the base on the table beside her bed. "Wha....What happened..." She felt weakened and confused. She couldn't remember coming home, or taking off her armor and side bag. Nothing seemed to make sense. Slowly she slid her legs over the edge of the bed and pushed off with her arms to stand. her legs nearly buckled but she caught onto the edge of the desk and the soft bed to catch herself on shakey arms. "Wha...What is going on. " Something bit at her fingers causing sharp pain against her skin as her arms pushed to keep her body upright.

   "Kira....You.." Her words were cut off by the sensation of another shaking her head. Selenes voice was there with her for merely a split second before even that comfort was taken away from her terrified and confused existence. What returned was not Selene, but the woman she knew to be Amber. "Kira, Child......Stand up on feet too powerful to be defeated. " As she spoke she felt power surge through her body. Her feet set back against the ground, her knees bending once more but this time with the ability to hold the weight easilly. Her arms raised up to test her balance, punching twice to ensure she was OK before she allowed her body to stray from the edge of the bed she had leaned some of her weight against. "Walk child. Your body need to relieve it's stiffness. " She wouldn't say that the issue was due to rigor mortis, that her only recently living muscles needed to remember how to move and shift. No. She would tell the girl simply to walk, and walk she did. her arm braced against the bed as she walked a slow circle around the room, her hand shifting to the wall as she left the comfort of the bed. Her muscles were stiff but with each stretch she felt the knots ease. It was like she was training her legs to move on their own once more.

   "Breathe child. Breathe deeply. Test your balance, work out the aches in your muscles, take a long bath, and then go relieve the stress of that aweful dream. " She nodded, throwing two kicks and a series of punches once more to ensure she would not lose her balance and her body would once again hold up. Amber was quite satisfied with her attempt at relieving the stiffness of a once dead body, and as it moved similarly to how it once did she headed into the bathroom to shower and wash away the memories of her horrible nightmare.  With her shower done she slid her gear back on, taking out one of the kunai and spinning it a few times before leting it loose to stick into the wall. She jumped up, her body going inverted, and caught onto the foot of the bed, stalling her momentum and holding her weight on her arm, and then headed out of the room after falling back solidly to her feet. She needed to train. That would fix this.

(TWC 1419 claiming 7 stats and 1419 wc towards cursed mark)

Approved