A Night Stroll {~Private for Lightning}

((OOC: lol it's fine, but i do agree with you that i am infected with the virus >.> ))

Lightning scanned the mist carefully as it wafted through the air, her senses focusing on detecting something….anything. But no matter how much she focused she could not see, hear or sense anything that gave her an indication of the creature’s whereabouts. If she was going to find it and defeat it she needed Cloud’s ability to sense the creature’s aura. Yelling out once more in order to attempt to taunt the creature from it’s cowardly hiding place Lightning was growing impatient, if it was simply her involved in this she would wait as long as it wanted to hide. But the reality was that she had Cloud’s well being to worry about and worrying she was.

Upon hearing Cloud’s voice Lightning’s attention was returned to him, a pit formed in her stomach as she heard the pain in his voice and saw it upon his face. Lightning couldn’t understand what was wrong with her, she had been in many battles before and she had seen her allies injured in much more horrific ways and yet she never felt anything similar to what she was as she looked at Cloud on his knee in pain struggling to maintain control over himself. Listening to him plead with her to kill him Lightning lost her normally permanently cool composure, snapping back at Cloud was the only way she knew how to react to the request she faced. Lightning used anger to hide her pain, to mask her hurt. “What are you saying?! Do not be ridiculous!” Lightning saw the request as nothing more than utterly stupid, she would not even give it a thought of consideration as she looked into the eyes that had returned to their entrancing shade of blue. Unable to look at Cloud any longer without doing something Lightning approached him and outstretched her hand to him in order to offer him aid to stand. Was it a stupid thing to do? More than likely.

Posts : 47 Join date : 2011-01-27

"Idiot" Cloud thought to himself as he watched her hold back even by calling out for her to do so. He could barely keep hold of himself and he was about to be taken over any minute now. It was now or never. Cloud thought now of doing the job himself and cutting off his own throat. He looked at Lightning unable to see her clear which meant he would soon by out of order. He noticed that she was reaching with her hand to try and help him up. Cloud jumped away from her. "Ple..ase, Lig..htning..Do it!!!". It was over he felt himself getting sucked back. He quickly lifted his Zanpaktou to his throat and was about to slice himself up when he found himself suddenly stop and fall once again into his inner world. He stood up there cursing this situation, he had the chance to gain control for a couple of minutes and they were all in vain now. He knew this was going to take forever. Lightning seemed determined not to harm him and the creature was having the advantage in all this. The outcome of a battle like this would end up in Lightning starting to wear off in spiritual pressure and end up getting hurt herself. Cloud focused once again to try and regain trace of any dark Aura to once again emerge up there.

Meanwhile, Cloud's eyes were now black dark as he started laughing in an evil way "Thattt boyyy, He wassss able to break freeee". Then he pointed with his Zanpaktou towards Lightning "But youuuu. You couldn't approve of his requestttt" He paused for a minute and looked around him as he then turned his dark eyes to look at Lightning in a frightening way as a very wide smile crossed his lips." I knowww nowww how to deafeeet you SHINIGAMIIII" without any hesitation Cloud lifted up his zanpaktou and penetrated his own leg with it. The screams that could be heard wasn't coming from Cloud but from inside him. The real Cloud was the one facing all the pain and suffering. The overtaken Cloud looked still with a smile that had some blood covered. "If you want to save himmm..You must slash yourself up like this. I woulddn'ttt want you to kill yourselff..I want to have the pleasuree of giving the final blow.What will it beee?". He asked in a way while his leg was still bleeding

As Lightning’s hand reached out to help Cloud to stand once more she was surprised as he pushed himself away from her and once again asked her to kill him. It truly didn’t matter how many times he asked her to do so, she would never even consider doing so. It wasn’t only due to her obligations as his ally, or her duties as a captain. There was something else was holding her back from completing the request being asked of her so sincerely. Lightning’s eye widened in shock and fear as she saw Cloud raise his zanpaktou to his throat, moving to stop him from doing what she knew would take his life Lightning moved only a couple of steps before his blade dropped from his throat once more. Relief washed over her as she thought that Cloud had come to him senses and decided that taking his life was not necessary. That thought soon changed as the dark eyes looked at her yet again, it was no longer the true Cloud.

As the creature spoke through Cloud once again Lightning was losing her temper more and more, it did however explain to her what was happening. Cloud was not suffering under and illusion, he was being held prisoner within his own body. There was hope, Cloud had found a way to break free once even if only for such short a time….he could do it again. She did not know what was happening to him as he fought to be freed from the creature’s grasp, she could only hope that he was alright and that he had not truly given up on his life the way he already seemed to have. As the creature spoke of knowing how to defeat her Lightning questioned the statement, if he referring to having her kill Cloud or letting Cloud kill her then he was sorely mistaken. “Is that so?” She had no intention of killing Cloud nor of letting himself throw his life away by his own blade, neither would she just bow down and allow herself to be killed. If she was killed the creature would only kill Cloud anyway.

Lightning was taken aback as Cloud plunged his zanpaktou into his upper thigh, with her eyes wide and her mouth gaping in surprise Lightning couldn’t believe the site before her. What on earth was the creature doing?! Why would it have Cloud harm himself? Wasn’t it supposed to use Cloud to defeat her? So why…….why did it do that? Lightning’s eyes were focused on the blood that ran from the wound in Cloud’s leg as the creature spoke, a pain began to well within her as the crimson liquid spilled from the wound. But the sadness once again returned to anger as the creature revealed it’s plan, Cloud was being harmed because the creature wanted her dead….. It shouldn’t have been like that. Lightning did little but stare at Cloud as he stood seemingly oblivious to the pain, but she knew better. She knew that the real Cloud would be feeling the wound, that the real Cloud would be pain. Defeated Lightning closed her eyes and sighed before speaking to the creature. “Very Well, but know that I shall kill you regardless of the condition my body may be in.” Lightning opened her eyes once more and a look of pure determination sat upon her delicate facial features, if all she had to do was put her body through pain then she would she do it. “I assure you that.”

Lightning moved the edge of her zanpaktou to touch her thigh just below her skirt, without any signs of hesitation Lightning moved the blade’s razor sharp edge along her skin applying pressure as she did so. As the blade’s edge sliced through skin and flesh Cloud’s blood was no longer the only spilled. Lightning refused to show pain as she stood tall and unwavering as the blood began to flow from the wound, her face cold and calm. She had been through much worse before in her years.

Posts : 47 Join date : 2011-01-27

The creature observed happily as Lightning's face expressions changed to show how worried she was but soon that feeling changed into anger to how she couldn't do anything but accept what he wanted. The creature was indeed a smart one he knew how to reach Lightning without the need to even deliver a single blow. He observed in joy as she stated that she would kill him sooner or later. He laughed to the statement and waited to see if she would go with what he said and hurt herself. Cloud's dark eyes became surprised at the sight of watching her slice through her skin. He couldn't believe his eyes. She actually did what he wanted without hesitation. "You Shinigamis are indeed pathetic creatures. You would actually hurt yourself for him. I find that somehow ironic" The creature seemed to be feeding on the pain each of them was suffering and that was why Cloud found it extremely tough to gain control once again. The creature lifted the Zanpaktou once again towards Cloud's left should and penetrated the sharp blade through it. As he did it he could see how Lightning's eyes were feeling the exact same pain that this Cloud guy was suffering.

On the other hand back at Cloud's inner world, he never believed that she would submit to what this creature wanted. He knew she would without second thoughts smile her way and tell him that Shinigami's were trained to these kinds of situations. Back in the Academy they were taught that under any kind of enemy control you should take your allies life with complete peace with it since by doing so your saving what is left of his pride. Yet, she was a captain level and didn't go on with it and to make matters worse Cloud's eyes were about to burn on fire as he watched how she cut herself to fill the creature’s desires. As Cloud watched her blood flow down he felt complete guilt and anger at the same time. He was the reason behind all of this. His anger wasn't because just how helpless he was, it was far beyond that now. He felt tempered and heated up from the inside to observe Lightning bleeding like this. He wasn't going to allow this to keep going on even if it meant for himself to tear down himself from the inside. His emotions weren’t the only thing triggered from watching Lightning but along it was his anger. It had been a very long time since Cloud was last angry like this. He started to increase his spiritual pressure to its maximum observing as he heard a growl once again and a shiny golden looking wolf that was his spirit land in front of him. I It's eyes were pleased to see Cloud like this. "Now you have gained faith in yourself once again and as such i will lend you my power" Le Loup Solitaire started to increase its hidden spiritual pressure supplying it to Cloud as everything went white.

It didn't pass mere seconds when Cloud opened his eyes to find himself on his knees covered in blood and not so far away Lightning stood bleeding as well. He was finally back to normal. He was able to break the mind control but it wasn't time to celebrate. Cloud felt that his body was starting to grow heavy and he could hardly move. Not to mention that he had lost a lot of blood and would probably lose conscious any minute now. He looked around him with his light blue eyes it was time to get this creature out from its hiding spot. If it was playing around with Aura it had defiantly choose the wrong person. Cloud reached with his hand towards a dark aura he spotted close by and a sphere started to generate at the palm of his hand it was sucking up the dark Aura of the creature in it. As he did so the mist started to clear. This was one shot. He felt his whole body was growing weak. He enhanced the sphere with his spiritual pressure as it started to have shape and blasted it towards the creature "Funaikai (Negative Sphere)". He then looked at lightning with a short defeated smile "Sorry, It took me so long" He said in a sarcastic way. It was now up to Lightning to kill him as Cloud fell on his knee again feeling about to get knocked out.

If looks could kill then the one the creature received from Lightning as it spoke once more about irony would have given him a most gruesome death. “Cease talking” To say that Lightning was frustrated by the situation of being at it’s mercy would have been the understatement of the year. Paying along with the creatures charade Lightning continued to do as it had instructed her with an empty expression upon her face and within her eyes. She knew what she had to do in order to prevent Cloud from being hurt further, if it only meant sacrificing her body then she was prepared to do so. Lightning also knew that if she tried to cheat the creature by only superficial wounds that it would not be unnoticed, the creature seemed to be able to sense the pain inflicted and rather enjoy it. Raising her blade to the height of her abdomen Lightning moved the sharp edge of her zanpaktou along her skin, as the wound opened along the side of her waist her eyebrows furrowed slightly despite her attempt to hide the pain. Blood flowed from her wound staining her clothing a shade of deep crimson as it made it’s way to the ground below. Lightning touched the tip of her blade to her shoulder in preparation of the next wound she would inflict upon herself. But just as the blood began to trickle from where blade met flesh she paused in horror at the scene that unfolded before her.

Exploding with anger as she watched Cloud’s blade pierce his flesh once more Lighting seemingly exclaimed to the heavens. “STOP IT!! You cowardly bastard, I am doing what you wanted!!” In her rage Lightning continued inflicting the wound upon her shoulder, in her emotional state she used more force then she probably should of as has blade met bone. “See!!” Lightning wasn’t proud of her emotional outburst, nor did she understand why she felt such emotions to begin with but what was done was done. Noticing an orb forming in the corner of her eye Lightning swiftly turned her attention to it, her eyes widened as she saw it forming upon the palm of Cloud’s hand. Her body wanted to move to stop the possible threat from forming but her instincts….. No her heart told her that it was alright. As she looked into the blue eyes of the Cloud she knew Lightning somehow knew that she could trust him, that it was not an attack aimed towards her. As the mist began to clear Lightning felt the battle was being turned around.

The smile that graced Cloud’s face as he spoke once more was contagious, Lightning found herself smiling too. It was an odd smile, a mixture of pain, happiness and relief. Lightning found herself approaching the injured Cloud with the smile plastered upon her usually cold facial features. It wasn’t a fast movement as her leg struggled to take her full weight upon it and her side was begging for her to cripple over and curl into a foetal position. Lightning paused in her advance as a scream interrupted the moment of reunion. The sphere that Cloud fired hit the creature and it’s form became visible once again, with a hiss of pain evident upon it’s voice it spoke to the pair once again. “How?! Noooo one has everrr broken my hold!” Lightning’s smile turned to a smirk as she faced the creature. “Looks like you took on the wrong Lieutenant” When all was said and done Cloud had a remarkable job to break the hold of the creature so quickly, Lightning doubted whether many other lieutenants would have been able to even do so at all.

Lightning knew that she did not have access to the flexibility or movement she would need to attack the fast creature with her blade. She needed some way to defeat this beast without having to move from her current position, knowing full well that it meant relying upon Zetsu-maru she spoke the words necessary to enter her shikai. "Heel Zetsu-maru" With those words Lightning's zanpaktou slowly turned black. Lightning did not want to take any chances with her next few moves, and therefore would pretty much aim to overkill the creature. Lightning's eyes narrowed upon the glowing red eyes of her enemy as she spoke. "It's over, enjoy your last moments" Lightning had no intention of allowing the creature to dodge her upcoming attack, reciting the command word for an ability she knew would render it unable to move Lightning could not help but smirk. "Kneel" With that command word spoken the gravity around Lightning began to increase immensely, ensuring that she kept Cloud from the effect of it Lightning focused it all upon the creature. As the creature felt the immense pressure of the gravity bearing down upon it a scream was all it could make as it was forced to the ground with force despite it's best attempts to fight it.

This was it, this was the time for Lightning to finish the creature and end this hellish night.... no it wasn't right to describe it that way. It might have been bad at the time but earlier in the night Lightning had met Cloud, it truly couldnt be called a bad night. Zetsu-maru began to howl and whimper in Lightning's ear as the excitement of the upcoming attack overhwhelmed him, he truly was acting like a dog that saw a bone. Then again the skeleton was just that, perhaps just the sight if such a creature drove the canine crazy. "Shred Zetsu-maru" A loud howl could be heard as Zetsu-maru leapt from the air next to Lightning and growled at the creature with hunger in his eyes. One thing that was noticeable about Zetsu-maru in this ability was that he was not in a solid form, he was in fact a manifestation of a pure electrical charge. Charging towards the creature as soon as his paws met ground Zetsu-maru reached incredible speeds in a short distance not slowly down as he approached his prey. Passing straight through the creature Zetsu-maru appeared once again on the other side, turning on his heels he once again passed through the creature. Repeating this two more times Zetsu-maru ended up back on the side of Lightning and Cloud, bounding towards her like a puppy that had just learnt a new trick Zetsu-maru was proud of himself.

As he ran past Lightning once more he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, the ability had taken it's toll upon the already wounded and weakened Lightning. If she hadn't known better she would have thought that the mist that had surrounded them had been sucking the reiatsu from both of them. The creature groaned in agony as it slowly turned to dust and blew away a slight breeze that blew through. It was done, it was over.... the creature was dead. Snapping her attention back to Cloud Lightning felt her sink once more as she saw the bloody and weak body kneeling upon the ground fighting for consciousness. Speaking softly Lightning slowly began to approach Cloud once more. "Cloud.........Cloud are you alright?"

Posts : 47 Join date : 2011-01-27

(OOC: Sorry this time mine is too short Dx)

The situation had turned from bad to good. This was the light at the end of the dark tunnel. They both had finally found a way to beat him even though Cloud wasn't much of assistance. He kept laying down breathing heavily as he watched Lightning talk with the creature. It appeared the creature couldn't believe that Cloud was able to break free from his control. But it's as they say reality was always the ugly truth. There was nothing more up the creature's sleeves he was completely exposed to the Captain level to wipe him out once and for all. Yet, Cloud wasn't the only one with sever wounds Lightning as well had injured herself quite rough there. He felt complete guilt for ever drop of blood which fell. It was his fault to begin with. He could feel that she wasn't able any longer to fight this creature head on. Instead she used Zetsu-maru to launch an impressive attack at the creature. It didn't take Zetsu-maru long until the creature was nothing more than ashes. At the sight of seeing the creature gone for good, Cloud sighed in relief. But all the worry was now taken over by pain from the wounds.

Cloud now noticed as Lightning approached him. He was just able to get up and examine her wounds. They weren't fatal and that was a huge relief to him but she was still bleeding. He cut off a piece of his own black robe and started to wrap it around her knee and another at her shoulder. He found himself doing so without even giving the idea a thought. He was too concerned about her safety that he didn't ask her first if doing something like that would bother her or not. He smiled up to her a calm smile. "I am alright, What about you??. I am sorry to have put you through all this" He said calmly with a sense of guilt in his voice as he felt his arms were starting to grow cold.

((OOC: it was fine ^^))

Lightning got no answer from Cloud, instead he started to inspect her wounds. His gaze ventured from her shoulder to her leg to her stomach, Lightning knew he would feel bad for what had happened but she did not want him to do so. Lightning’s eyes widened as Cloud tore a piece of his clothing away and began to wrap it around the wound on her knee, she flinched under his touch as his hands worked away at ceasing the blood flow from the wound. Lightning was not one to be touched, not even if it was simply for bandaging a wound. But for some reason she found herself not moving away from the touch this time, there was something that told her to allow it. What this something was….she did not know. Truly she found herself perplexed by the reactions she was having to the man before her, she had done so many things out of character. She had made small talk, injured herself for him and now she found herself allowing him to tend to her wounds… truly she was confused within herself.

As Cloud wrapped the bandage around her shoulder wound Lightning realised she had been staring at him the whole time like a stunned fish, she hoped that he had noticed and had been too busy bandaging the wounds. Lightning had one of her hands clutching her side as she reached out to touch Cloud’s bleeding shoulder, he was in just as bad shape as she was and yet he was tending to his own wounds…… truly selfless. As her eyes ventured down to his bleeding leg the scene of him piercing it with his own blade flashed through her mind along with the cold dark eyes that had taken over the entrancing blue ones she felt she could lost in. Accompanying her words with a soft smile Lightning retracted her hand from Cloud‘s shoulder. “Don’t talk nonsense. You have nothing to be sorry for” Taking her hand from her side Lightning undid the belt that she wore around her waist, it might not have occurred to everyone but belts can make for pretty good tourniquets if necessary. Crouching down Lightning fought the pain in her side and leg to maintain balance as she wrapped the belt around his leg just above his wound, as she tightened it she knew it would cause him pain but it was necessary. She could not allow him to bleed much more than he already had before getting him to medical attention. Watching the blood flow slowly cease as she tightened it she felt relief at the fact the belt was working well as a tourniquet, doing it up and ensuring it would not come undone Lightning stood once more.

“Can you move? We need to get you help” Lightning was not worried about her own wounds, perhaps she should have been but her mind was focused firmly upon getting Cloud to safety and medical attention.

Posts : 47 Join date : 2011-01-27

He finished tending her wounds in mere seconds. The blood had finally stopped flowing from each of her shoulder and knee. He was finally able to relax even a bit. Yet he got quickly surprised to her noble move of taking off her belt and as she wrapped it around his leg. He bit his lower lip in pain. He knew this was a way to keep him conscious. Cloud wasn't fit at all to walk; both his feet couldn't hold his weight but he didn't want to bother Lightning with his condition any longer. He forced himself to stand up as he looked at her in a gentle way. "I am fine, I just feel helpless to the case that i can't flash step. Sorry about that" he said as he felt sever pain in his wounded leg and the other one as well. He was going to have to bear with it until they both reached Soul Society once again.

But his mind was concentrated on another fact and it was Lightning's condition. She wasn't that fit to move as well. He placed her arm around his shoulder as he started to help lift her up as well. This was the least he could do to her. She had gone through a lot because of him; he would somehow try to make it up for her. After all she was a captain but that wasn't the real reason. He found himself growing attached to Lightning. "Was this even acceptable?!" he thought to himself as he started to walk away from Rukongai still holding her arm and helping her move. He was a Lieutenant. She was out of his league, even if he started to feel something for her. It wouldn't be possible. She wasn't just beautiful; she was also the head of the 6th division, skilled, talented. Not to mention that he had seen her soft side. He believed that he might be the only shinigami who seen that side of Lightning. It indeed touched his heart.

He turned to glance at her now with a gentle smile across his lips. Despite the fact that she was weakened and in a total mess but she still had her pretty feature. "How are you doing now?" he asked in a calm tone. This night had a lot of twisted emotions of fear, care, danger, threat, and worry but there was this one emotion that somehow had a greater effect than all the other. Cloud was happy and glade to be walking aside with Lightning now.

As Cloud apologised for not being able to flash step due to his injuries Lightning smiled gently at him before once again reassuring him that he should not worry. “It’s alright. We can walk” Truly Cloud and Lightning were more alike then they knew, they both tended to forget their own situations and concerns replacing them with those of others. Lightning stepped to Cloud’s side as she prepared to help him walk the distance back to the Seireitei and to medical assistance, but just before she could put his arm on her shoulder to hold him up she found her own arm being lifted. Surprised by the action Lightning once again found herself allowing an action that she could not have seen herself doing before the current night. An awkwardness took over Lightning as she realised just how close they were, hesitating for a moment to say anything Lightning fought the urge to push him away. After all he was injured and needed her help to get to medical assistance, she couldn’t help him I she wasn’t close to him right? Refusing to believe that her feelings were for any other reason Lightning finally broke through the awkward feeling and wrapped her arm around Cloud’s waist to support him.

Lightning clutched her side with her other hand to stem bleeding and to help the pain, for some reason she found that pressure on the wound eased the pain that stemmed from it. A few moments passed as the pair walked in the direction of the Seireitei once more, and one hundred percent of the time Lightning struggled against an feeling of awkwardness. She did not dislike being close to Cloud but the many many years of not allowing anyone close had taken there toll upon her, she was awkward with physical proximity outside of combat….and as long as she could remember she always had been. Just as she thought she might be for as long she lived this night had occurred, for some reason Cloud had her fighting the awkwardness. She found herself catching glances of Cloud from the corner of her eye as they walked, for some reason she found her cheeks beginning to burn every time she did so. He truly was a most attractive man, Lightning wondered how many women he must have had chasing after him back at the Seireitei.

As Lightning returned Cloud’s eye contact she fought against the fire that wanted to burn upon her cheeks as his smile was burned into her memory. Returning his smile with her own Lightning spoke softly. “I am fine. You should not worry about me, I will be fine. I have had much worse believe it or not. It is you I am concerned about” As those last words slipped from her lips Lightning’s stomach knotted, it was not like her to be so forthcoming. Lightning stopped walking for a moment and looked Cloud in the eyes, her next words might have sounded odd but she was dead serious. “I can carry you, I am positive I can manage to flash-step far enough” Lightning was truly concerned for Cloud’s well-being, she had felt his body becoming colder as they walked through the hand she had on his side. She knew that in doing what she proposed she would only worsen her injuries, but her heart wanted nothing more than to get Cloud to medical assistance as soon as possible.

Posts : 47 Join date : 2011-01-27

Cloud felt a little hot to find her wrap her arm around his waist. In normal cases he would feel uncomfortable to an action and maybe if it was some stranger he would feel offended by an act but in Lightning's case it was completely different, he on the contrary felt really relaxed and comfortable to find her this close to him. He was feeling really cold but as soon as her hand touched him, he felt heated up. He never knew he would fall for a captain and not just any captain the most beautiful he had ever seen. He felt awkward to the silence that spread for a moment and to also find Lightning deal with him so easily like this. When she told him that she was fine and that his condition she was worried about, he gave her a warm smile to try and show her that he was fine "I am really okay. Don't worry I won’t die yet " he said in a joking matter. 'Joke' it had been decades since Cloud last pulled one of those. This night was indeed a weird one. He had done a lot of things he had never done before.

As he heard her mention something about carrying him his face grew red slightly. "No need for that" He said calmly as he pointed with his other free hand at something that was flashing which was one of Soul Society's gates. They were near anyway. Cloud would have accepted the request without argues if it was from maybe someone of the 4th Squad but for Lightning he didn't want to trouble her with a flash step in this state. She was tough and everything, but she had slashed herself badly. Her leg would start bleeding once again if she flash stepped and that would hurt Cloud's feelings to see so.

Cloud now found himself speaking out words that weren't coming from his mind but from his heart. "I am just glad i got to meet you tonight" he said in a calm tone. He then noticed that her eyes were extremely adorable and beautiful from this close range. He found himself staring at her for somehow a long interval of time which made him grow hotter. Anyway, they were closing up on Soul Society and they both would soon be fixed up to normal by the 4th division

Looking in the direction his hand pointed relief washed over her like a wave as a familiar flashing beacon shone out through the darkness. They were not far from the Seireitei and the medical assistance located within, filled with a new found energy Lightning turned to look at Cloud once more. A truly noticeable smile plastered itself upon her face as she knew that Cloud would be alright after all, looking into his eyes she could see the hidden pain lurking deep within the entrancing blue orbs that shone back at her. Even in the moonlight his eyes were beautiful, Lightning couldn’t help but wonder just what power they held in the daylight. It was odd to think that they had only seen each other in the moon’s glare, even stranger to think that they had seen each other before that night. Cloud’s words confused Lightning, he spoke as if he was not intending to see her again after the night had ended. For a reason not yet realised by the woman with a heart more guarded than Fort Knox her heart ached at the thought, would he simply return to being the division hermit he claimed he was? Would she really not see him again after the night had ended? Her stomach began to knot as the thoughts wafted through her mind, the smile was quickly dropped from her face as she tried to hide the hurt that was welling up deep inside.

“And I you Cloud” Despite the ache held deep inside at his words Lightning spoke the truth as they continued on towards the gates. It seemed that they were being welcomed to the Seireitei as Lightning began to sense a small group of low level shinigami rushing towards them, she figured the cause was the spiritual pressure she had released. No doubt it would have been sensed and shinigami sent to assist, as for why they were all low level….well she had no doubt it was because most others were too drunk to be of much assistance. There was no more than 4 of them and they seemed to be travelling extremely fast for such low level shinigami, perhaps the fear of not helping a captain quick enough had given them speed they never knew they had.

As friendly faces appeared through the darkness voices could be heard shouting out to the pair. “Lightning-taicho, Cloud fuku-taicho are you alright?!”

Posts : 47 Join date : 2011-01-27

It didn't take them long now until they finally reached Soul Society. Cloud had felt that Lightning increased the remaining of her spiritual pressure to grow the attention of other Shinigami around to come for their help. Cloud tightened his grip around her arm as he knew that would make her feel much relaxed now since her body was starting to get heavier. He observed as 4 shinigami rushed fast to help them. One of them offered to hold Lightning towards the 4th division. "Allow me Cloud Fuku-taichou" he said in a respectful way. Cloud didn't want to let go of Lightning. He felt she wouldn't feel comfortable to be held by some other Shinigami. It wouldn't just affect her emotions but as well her pride as a captain. He shacked his head to the shinigami in disagreement "No I will escort Lightning-taichou to the 4th division. Just work on your basic healing steps while we are moving". He found the 4 shinigamis nod and they formed something like a small circle around them each of them opening both hands faced to them while green spiritual pressure started to flow from their hands healing there minor wounds.

He turned to look at Lightning now, her face looked much full of life now. He didn't know if that was because of the healing or because of knowing that they were finally safe. Whatever the reason was, Cloud was happy for that. He reached the 4th division as he looked around there was hardly anyone there in the ground of Soul Society many of them were probably either wasted or asleep. He went inside the treatment building and entered a room which one of the Shinigami pointed at and placed Lightning on the bed found there where he rest on another one beside it. He now left himself loose for the 4th squad to do their work they were professionals when it came to healing, they would have him good as new in no time. While he was being treated he kept his eyes concentrated on Lightning who was also receiving treatment. He wondered how things would change now. Was this going to be the last time for him to see her? He defiantly didn't want that to happen. This was the first time from ages that he felt attached and relaxed to be around someone. Maybe that was the reason why he didn't want his eyes to fall away from her. Maybe he was afraid to look away and turn to look back to find her gone.

Lightning tensed at the thought of the 4th division officer escorting her, there was no way she was letting him hold her the way Cloud was……she knew that made no sense but it was just the way she felt. As she opened her mouth to speak it seemed that Cloud had sensed how she felt regarding the officer as he denied the request and said he would escort her. Her mouth moved as if to speak but no words emerged from her lips. As they continued the walk back to the 4th division Lightning couldn’t hide the happiness from her face, Cloud would be alright. It had been a strange night, a fateful meeting followed by an eventful encounter. As the 4th division officers used their basic healing upon the pair as they walked Lightning could feel the edges of her wounds begin to tingle and burn slightly as the blood began to slow and slowly cease. Ever since Lightning could remember she had been the unfortunate victim of a sort of allergy…well that was the closest explanation for it anyway. Healing kido would heal her wounds however she experienced rather severe pain during the healing itself, it was as if her body rejected the healing upon a cellular level. Often not many low level officers could do much to treat her wounds and the higher levels were called in, that was when she had been in the Gotei 13 many years ago. Her time in the Royal Guard had meant she had only the highest levels of healers available so calling in others was not often needed. As the wounds were beginning to heal through the use of the 4th division kido the officers were using the edges began to burn painfully, it seemed that this time would be no different to the many others she had been healed.

Lightning felt bad for the 4th division as both she and Cloud left a blood trail on the clean floors of their division. As Cloud lowered her down to the bed Lighting began to feel badly, he had been helping her more than she had been helping him….. Or at least she believed that to be the case. Watching Cloud continuously from the corner of her eye as a 4th division officer began treating her shoulder wound she could see that he was watching her. She began to wonder what was wrong, why was he watching her? Figuring it was probably nothing Lightning ignored it and focused on hiding the pain that the healing kido was causing her, if these officers did not hurry up and get the wounds healed she the pain would upon her nerves. Speaking to the officer healing her shoulder wound Lightning instructed him to heal only what was necessary. “Just close the wounds, time will heal the rest” Lightning knew that to anyone hearing such a request it was an odd request, but Lightning knew that a low ranked officer would take too long to heal the wounds she suffered and would prefer not to suffer the extended pain. Her body naturally healed quickly, it would only be a few days before the wounds would be unnoticeable once again.

As the officer moved on to her stomach wound Lightning had a clear view of Cloud’s face, he was indeed still looking at her. “Cloud, are you feeling alright?” Lightning asked him with a worried expression on her face and concern in her voice.

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The healing process had taken place, Cloud could feel slight burns from closing the wounds but it certainly made him feel better afterwards. Although both of his knee and shoulder took a very long time to heal since they were minor wounds. His mind flashbacked to when he penetrated his own blade through his knee and shoulder and also remembered how worried Lightning was to watch the scene. However, it was all over now finally. They were both laying down in the 4th division being treated to every minor and major wound but there was something weird that caught Cloud's attention. He could feel that Lightning's deep wounds weren't accepting the healing in other words weren't reacting to the healing effect. The wounds wouldn't close. This was an odd sight to see. Not to mention how painful it seemed to be on Lightning as he watched her face expression scream from the inside in pain. Even the shinigami themselves healing her began to sweat as they seemed to be putting in all their spiritual pressure to close the wounds but still it was in vain.

Cloud then heard her tell the shinigami healing here that it was better off to try and just close the wounds from bleeding referring that time would actually heal the rest. "Was this even possible..Could wounds this deep close in just a matter of time?!" Cloud whispered himself as he screamed slightly as one of the shinigamis untied the belt around his leg. He felt how the blood was starting to flow once again into his leg. The belt indeed helped him not lose anymore blood. He noticed that Lightning was looking towards him now. He thought she may have looked in result to his scream as she asked if he was feeling alright.

Cloud smiled gently to her "The wounds are just taking the healing process that's all..What about you? I noticed your wounds won’t heal normally like any other shinigami?" He asked in curious way.

Lightning was surprised as Cloud stated that he had noticed her wounds were healing normally, only a few had really ever noticed and they were people doing the healing. He was correct in his assumption, Lightning’s wounds never healed as quickly or as thoroughly as they should have under healing kido, at first it was thought that she merely had some kind of resistance to the kido. However that was soon discovered not to be so simple as she had side effects as well to the healing, what she indeed had was never really decided upon. It did not mean however that she could not be healed through kido, her wounds would heal but at a much slower rate compared to most. It was the pain caused during the kido that had her opt to allow time to heal the injuries rather than rely on the art of healing kido, many in the shinigami race were reliant upon the art for even the smallest of things. In times of war or times that called for her to be fit for battle immediately Lightning would of course simply sit through the pain, it was not that she couldn’t handle it….. But why choose to go through pain unnecessarily?

In the current situation Lightning was sure she would have a few days to rest and allow her body to heal the wounds itself, she was a rather fast healer compared to others. The ability was of no use in combat as even with the rapid healing she possessed it was no where near fast enough to heal wounds in a battle situation, unless she was given a small cut that did no more than break the skin. “You are indeed observant” Lightning gave him a small smile to ensure he knew she meant it as nothing other than a compliment. “It has always been this way, healing kido has a greatly reduced effect upon my body compared to others, along with other side effects.” Lightning definitely wasn’t going to tell him that it caused it her pain, she knew that he felt bad enough about the nights events without knowing that even the healing process was inflicting pain upon her. Cloud was a gentle soul, she knew that much even from just knowing him as briefly as she had. She also knew that despite this gentle mature he held strength in both mind and body, he had proved that that night by breaking the creatures hold upon him.

The 4th division officer treating Cloud handed Lightning back her belt as he started to treat the wound on his leg, Lightning looked at the blood covered belt in her hand for a moment as her stomach knotted. It wasn’t the fact that the belt was covered in blood, it could be cleaned good as new. It was the fact that it was his blood…..Cloud’s blood. It was the fact that he had been hurt, the fact that he had been made to bleed. Clutching her hand around the belt tightly Lightning returned her gaze to Cloud as she spoke. “But it is no big deal, I tend to heal rather quickly. I should be back to normal in a few days if I take it easy.” Lightning smiled to reassure Cloud that she would fine, she knew he was still blaming himself for the nights event even despite the numerous times she had told him not to. Lightning’s attention flickered to the exhausted look upon the 4th division officer treating her, it seemed that he was reaching his limit. Raising her hand to motion that he cease Lightning spoke to him. “That will do, the wounds are closed and I am no longer bleeding. The rest time will take care of”

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Cloud was really amazed by Lightning's power; he was amazed to know that healing kido had no effect on her. What kind of power is that?!, he was sure she must be of such high power to have reached a degree that basic kido healing doesn’t effect and heal her wounds. Yet, he felt really upset at the idea that she wasn't going to have her wounds completely closed. It was killing him from the inside now, his regret wasn't able to wash away. No matter how hard he tried that guilt still haunted him and it was going to take time before he could forget about what happened that night and all the pain he caused for Lightning. He just hoped she would forgive him for all the trouble. Even if she said it with her tongue, Cloud didn't believe she did from her heart. He had not just hurt her from the outside but he felt miserable to how he had scratched her pride, this was something indeed bothering Cloud.

He looked at the shinigami who was healing him; about 70% of Cloud's wounds were healed. He didn't have that much of energy so it didn't take long for him for his wounds to close up. He turned his eyes to look at Lightning who still looked to be suffering; his smile was taken away with a slight sad look as he replied to her words in a low tone. “I hope you are" the shingami had finished the healing process and was now wrapping bandages around his knee and shoulder. It certainly had an uncomfortable feeling but it was important to make the movement as lest as possible. The shinigami now looked at him in an honorable way "Excuse me Cloud Fuku-taichou, You will have to stay the day for your wounds to accept the healing. Tomorrow you are free to go" He said and bowed down in respect before leaving him and going over to Lightning to examine her case as well.

Cloud hated hospitals and being useless sitting in it, there was nothing to do and all they gave you was medicine. It was really annoying but there was nothing he could do, he had to follow what he said. Since it was for his own well being anyway. He shifted his blue eyes to look at Lightning once again. He was waiting to see how the 4th division would decide on her matter as well. He felt contradicted part of his wanted her to stay for the day like him but at the same time the other part didn't want so as it meant she was hurt badly like him. Anyway, he was going to find out sooner or later

Lightning was beginning to blush at Cloud’s worry for her, she found it almost embarrassing to have someone seem to care so much. But despite the feeling that she felt she wouldn’t have changed it even if she could, part of her liked having him care…… she just didn’t like that he blamed himself for her injuries. As the 4th division officer told cloud that he had to stay in the division for treatment to ensure that his wounds healed correctly her heart sunk, it made her realise how badly he had been injured. The sight of his blade piercing his leg flashed before her once again as it appeared it had been etched into her memory for good. Lightning could tell that cloud was not happy to hear that he had to stay in the division for treatment, it seemed she was not the only one that disliked the feeling of uselessness it gave you as you lay there unable to do anything for the risk of being scolded by the division members. The officer soon turned to Lightning to access her situation, a look crossed his face as he read the clipboard in his hand. Lightning knew the look all to well, it meant only one thing. Beating the officer to his words Lightning spoke while sighing. “I know I know, I’m staying here too.” Lightning knew that the officer would want her to stay where they could make sure she rested and stayed off of her feet for at least a day, otherwise they knew that she would simply push herself too hard and prevent her body from healing itself.

Smiling at her statement the male officer stated his relief, “I’m glad you are going to stay Lightning taicho, even a Royal Guard needs to rest in order to heal” Lightning’s eyes focused on the officer with almost murderous intent deep within them, he had just blurted out her true rank. First of all there was the fact that an officer of his rank should not have known to begin with, it seemed that information was not as safe as it once was. That was probably due to the new recruits of the 3rd division, their lips were far too loose due to inexperience and youth. But what really bothered Lightning was that cloud would have what he had just said, she wasn’t sure why that bothered her though. She had met people that knew of her true rank before that perhaps would not have been privy to the information if it had not been spread around like schoolyard gossip, and she had not been all that bothered by it. It was the fact that she had not told him, she felt dishonest, like she had been caught in a lie. Of course it wasn’t truly a lie, she had not told him she was not of the Royal Guard but on the other hand she had not divulged the information either. Sure there was the fact she was not supposed to divulge it like common knowledge but still she felt guilty, guilty for not telling Cloud the truth. She did not want to offend or hurt him in anyway, and now this loud mouthed officer had just blurted it out like a public domain Christmas carol on Christmas eve.

Seeing the glare he was getting from Lightning the officer realised his mistake immediately and began to back away leaving the room. “Oh, I’m so sorry Lightning taicho, I know I shouldn’t know let esay anything. I promise my lips are sealed. I…..am just going to go record everything in your charts.” And with those words the officer was gone like the wind, leaving the room quicker then the speed of light. The guilt was evident upon Lightning’s face as she sat silent with her head hung low and her gaze at the floor. She was trying to think of the words to say to Cloud to make it alright but so far all she had come up with was….. Well nothing at all.

Posts : 47 Join date : 2011-01-27

Cloud was surprised to know that she was also going to be staying the night with him in the 4th division. He was happy and sad at the same time, how was that possible he didn't know. Being the cause of harm to others was way worse than getting hurt yourself. Cloud sighed as he heard her tell the shinigami of the 4th division the news herself. She seemed to know more of her injuries than the healing shinigamis themselves. But there was something odd, she didn't look sad, upset or annoyed to be staying the rest of the day as he was. He started to think what was the reason behind that was he the reason?. He shacked his head quickly there was no way she was having the same touched feeling as he was, she may be just feeling sorry and pity on his condition there was nothing more to it. Cloud's was starting to get a headache from all this thinking in something that really seemed impossible.

His thoughts were interrupted by yet another shocking news to him. He at first thought that it was just a wrong word said but Lightning's eye explained it all. The shinigami had just said that she was a Royal Guard. Takashi never saw or read about those. He thought they were only legends along with the part regarding the soul king. But to know that Lightning wasn't only a captain but also a Royal guard meant she was on an entire different level than anyone else in Soul Society. His hopes and feeling started to fade away not because she didn't tell him such a thing but because he knew now that for him to grow attached to her was a completely impossible thing.

He noticed that she was looking to him with a warm smile. He couldn't him but smile back to her but from the inside he was depressed. He had the feeling from her eyes that she was somehow trying to say sorry or something of that kind to not have mentioned that earlier at the bridge. But for Cloud, the rank itself hadn't anything to bother him with in person. His heart was the one that felt the sadness from the news. Emotions were always the downfall of Shinigami unlike arrancars who found that always an advantage for them. They were cold hearted creatures who had no feeling of trust, love, caring even loyalty. A fraccion would kill his master at the sight of finding out that his more powerful. They lived in somehow a jungle where it was survival for the fittest and each hollow would struggle for existence.

He turned his blue each to meet with Lightning once again, he wanted to like get a brief idea about her feeling towards him. But he couldn't ask her out directly "So do Royal guards posses emotions like normal shinigami or they are trained there to be cold hearted" he asked in a curious way where he was sure this would give him somehow an idea.

Lightning sensed that Cloud’s smile was only skin deep, his eyes gave away his true emotions upon hearing of her rank… he was depressed. Lightning didn’t know the true reason for him feeling that though, she thought it must have been because of her deception on the matter. A silence passed as she struggled to think of what to say the blonde haired man before her, in the end Cloud was the one to shatter the silence like glass. Raising her gaze from the floor as she thought about the question asked of her Lightning truly wondered just what was the hidden motive behind such an odd question. Figuring it to have been no more than curiosity about the mysterious Royal Guards Lightning pushed the thought form her mind as she spoke. “We are like any other shinigami, we are born with the same emotions as anyone else would be. We are trained to be able to conquer our emotions in battle however it does mean we do not face them.” Lightning knew that there was misconceptions about the Royal Guards, some thought they were monstrous creatures while others thought they were brainwashed and cold-hearted. If they had met Kirio Hikifune they would know that Royal Guards could be just as motherly and emotional as any other shinigami. Lightning herself had closed herself off to others and sealed herself in a large wall, but that was not because of the Royal Guard…. That she had done long before joining them.

As she thought about it, she realised that the events of that night were the first time since her parents death that she had not been able to suppress and defeat her emotions. As she looked into Cloud’s entrancing blue eyes once more she began to wonder just what power he held over her, how was he able to make her feel so….happy. How was it that he had her opening the gates that had been sealed around herself for so long? How did he stir such powerful emotions that she could not defeat? How was it possible that she had known him a mere matter a night and yet she felt as though she had known him for so much longer? Even the fact that she was talking to him about the Royal Guard had her wondering, just how was it that he made her want to talk about things? He was indeed someone she did not understand, and yet she longed to do just that.

You might wonder why Lightning had not clued on to the answer to her questions, why she had not figured out that she was falling for the dreamy blonde haired lieutenant before her. The truth was that Lightning had never allowed herself to ever even think of a relationship before, no one had stirred such an interest within her. Sure she had once had a small crush on Byakuya Kuchiki upon entering the academy, but there was nothing deep behind that feeling. It might have seemed odd or near impossible that someone such as her had never been in a relationship before, but it was the absolute truth. Lightning had never had a boyfriend, never been kissed, and never truly loved another that did not share her blood. These feelings were foreign to her, almost as if her heart and soul were speaking in a different tongue to her mind. To her the fact that she was happy to be spending further time with someone was odd, it felt as though she didn’t want to lose sight of the lieutenant for the fear that he would never return.

Posts : 47 Join date : 2011-01-27

Her reply was somehow mysterious she tried to show that they are like any other normal shinigami who may hold emotions yet still she also mentioned that they are trained to try and suppress these kind of emotions but was that even possible, Could this gorgeous royal guard be faking her smile. Cloud couldn't believe that that was possible. He had seen it with his own two eyes how she was willing to die for him if it came to that back at the battle in Rukongai. He was also sure if he spent more time with her he would get to know a lot of other interesting information about herself and maybe her past as well. He had tons of questions he wanted to ask her but maybe he still didn't have the courage to ask her or maybe it was because he was starting to hold emotions towards her that he started to think that any question he asks could make her think awkwardly about him or something. "It's just a matter of time" Cloud thought to himself as he pulled himself to sit up and lean against the bed he was placed on.

The shinigami who were healing them were now completely warn out and tired and after the one who told them his report on both their cases finished, he bowed down in respect along with the other 4 shinigami's and excused them since it was certainly a late hour and even for them it was time to head back to their division rooms and rest. Cloud observed as they left the room having only a patrol guard standing outside the room for so called safety although Cloud didn't believe that a patrol like that could save them even from a weak hollow but yet it had something to do with honor and rank.

Cloud finally now turned to look at the royal guard's adorable eyes. He somehow couldn't help but stare at them as they shined in an aqua blue color in the moon light. He found himself want to talk more with Lightning but he also thought that she must be tired and needs her rest "Tough day huh?!.. I guess you need to rest for those wounds to close up" He said as he pointed with his finger towards her shoulder. He began to think also about his day tomorrow it was a day off to all the shinigami, he would really like to spend it with Lightning but he wouldn't bring himself into asking her for that. Cloud wasn't good when it came to something like other shinigami called dating. He felt awkward about it, although he had been asked several times by other female shinigami's back at the academy days. But to all of them his answer was direct and clear that he had much more important matters that dating. Yet now, the idea had changed completely he forget everything related to his goal of rank and power. It was somehow as if he stopped his mind from working and started to walk after his heart

Lightning watched as the 4 officers of the 4th division were dismissed and the one in charge followed after them, they had truly had a tiring night that they would no doubt forget in a hurry. For such low ranked officers they had remarkably well, it seemed that the new recruits of the 4th division were talented. That was a fact that put Lightning’s mind at ease, she had been concerned that the healing power the 4th division had been compromised with the loss of many of it’s members. The one lonely patrol guard that would be stationed outside their room as per protocol would be able to do little in the event of danger, even Lightning knew that fact. But it was for the sake of pride and to give the patients a feeling of security, many would not feel right being injured and vulnerable. Someone like herself, Lightning was one to be constantly in a state of battle readiness. It came with the fact that in the Royal Guard you had no time to be off duty, you were to be prepared at all times to protect the Spirit realm and the Spirit King. But for some reason Lightning felt safe with Cloud in the same room, she felt as though she could sleep and not worry. But on the other hand she wanted to be the one that stayed awake and made him feel safe and secure, truly her mind and heart were messing with her on this fateful night.

Lightning wondered if her answer had been insufficient in some way as Cloud did not answer nor speak after she had said it. As he turned to face her once more she found herself looking into the entrancing blue eyes for what felt like the hundredth time that night, and yet she could never get sick of doing so. They drew her in, they held her tight and they made her feel…..safe and secure, happy yet confused. Why she found herself sucked into them like a small boat into a whirlpool Lightning did not know, but it was a fact that she struggled to pull herself from their hold. Clouds words were true, and yet she felt the need to dispute them. It had been a tough night, not only physically but emotionally. And yet she did not want to call it as such, after all she had met him on this ‘tough’ night. Yes, she needed to rest in order for her wounds to heal quickly and properly, but at the present moment in time she did not care in the slightest. If prolonging the pain would mean spending more time with the heart melting lieutenant before her then she would gladly prolong as long as possible. Was it the fear that if she went to sleep that he would not be there when she woke? Or was it the fear that she would find it all a dream?

Once again she found his concern for her touching and yet still slightly embarrassing, she was not used to having another care so much… let alone someone she cared for equally in return. Smiling in a reassuring manner Lightning replied to Cloud’s words. “The night could have been a lot worse if you had not been as strong as you are Cloud. You should be proud of yourself for being able to break that creature’s hold upon you, I severely doubt many lieutenants would have done so as quickly or even at all.” Trying to comfort people and cheer them up was not Lightning’s strong point, and usually she failed miserably at it only managing to make the situation worse. But for some reason she found it was easier with Cloud, perhaps it was because she generally wanted to do so…..because she generally cared about the fact that he felt better.

“I will be alright Cloud, it is you that should rest. Know that you can sleep without concern, I will ensure nothing happens while you do so. Lightning’s word were reminiscent of a guard change, one would sleep while the other guarded them. She would ensure that nothing happened while he slept, she would essentially take over the protection of the pair from the patrol guard outside the room. She wanted Cloud to feel safe and secure so that he could rest, yes there was the fact that she should do so as well but that was the furthest thing from her mind. She could rest later when he was healed, she would be fine. She had been through times much worse then this, the bleeding had been ceased and her body would not get worse as long as she did not push it to do too much physical movement. But although she just swore to Cloud that she would protect him from danger while he slept she doubted that anything would occur that would have her need to do so. But she meant what she said, should an event happen she would without hesitation do as she promised. Her safety was second to her now, Cloud’s was her first priority.

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It was getting really late indeed now. There was hardly any sound to be heard outside in Soul Society. It was too quite to the degree that Cloud could hear the sound of the wind blowing through the only open window in the room. They both really needed to get some rest but Cloud was enjoying his time talking with her. He heard as she praised him for how he was able to break free of the creatures control earlier in Rukongai, Cloud's memory flashbacked to how he was able to do it. He found himself smirking to her as he hadn't told her that she was the reason behind him gaining control. He remembered how he felt really angry and frustrated to being helpless and not able to help her and how watching her hurt herself made him boil up from the inside and by such breaking free. Cloud wasn't a hero or anything of that kind. It was all thanks to Lightning, if it wasn't for her he would have been dead by now. "Actually it's all thanks to your help" he said in an honest way as he gave her warm smile.

Regarding now the matter of rest, he was sure that Lightning would need all the rest she could get for her wounds to heal and also he himself felt that all the outcome of the past few hours were kicking in now. He felt that his body was completely exhausted and that he was just able to speak. There was only one way for him to assure that Lightning would rest and it became obvious that she would sleep if he did but there was one thing that was holding him back from doing so and it was the fear of waking up and knowing that each of them is back to their ordinary life. Although he had just met her for a few hours but he felt that it was certainly impossible for him now to return to how things were. There was no going back now, Cloud was determined to follow the path that his heart has chosen but without rushing into things. "Well I think we should both rest then" he said with a smile as he started to lie down once again on the bed feeling how the relaxing feeling of the bed was absorbing away all his tension and exhaustion. His eyes were starting to close slowly but he kept awake, he wanted to watch Lightning head off to sleep first. Some could think that what he was doing right now was somehow childish, but he thought of it from an entirely different way. He was going to feel peace and at ease in his sleep to know that she went to sleep first.

The sound of the wind entering the window was all that could be heard from outside the room, it alone broke the complete silence that would have taken over. As Cloud told her that she had helped him break the hold that the creature held over him she began to wonder what he meant, he seemed sincere when he spoke those words…. But how was it that she had helped him? She had done nothing but stalled for time and tried in vain to prevent the creature from butchering his body with his own blade, she had not done anything that she knew of the aid him break free from the actual mind control. “I believe you are too modest Cloud, you did an amazing thing back there. You should be proud of yourself” Lightning smiled to show the sincerity of her words, she truly believed that he was special. After all who else could make her feel the way she was feeling that night?

Lightning was expecting Cloud to refuse her offer to remain awake and guard him, she knew that his pride would not allow such a thing. But still she had hoped that he might agree to it and allow her to watch over him as he rested. He was delicate in the way that he refused her offer, instead of flat out refusing he simply suggested that she rest as well. Lightning knew that she had no way of convincing him to accept her offer without pulling rank which she would not do, she didn’t want him to think of her as his superior. For some reason she felt as though she wanted him to think of her as an equal, that was how she looked at him. She did not see a lieutenant before her, she saw a fellow shinigami. Lightning accepted her defeat on the matter as she began to lean back on the bed she sat upon. “I know I will win the debate Cloud so I shall rest as you do.” To be completely honest, Lightning was afraid to go to sleep. She was afraid that when she woke she would be alone, that when she would not see him again. But fighting fear was something that everyone had to do from time to time and therefore suppressing the fear she felt she allowed herself to relax as the bed beneath her took her weight.

As her muscles began to relax Lightning started to feel the fatigue from the nights events and the tiring day before that start to take over both her mind and body. Sleeping on her back was something that Lightning did often but with her left shoulder injured, her right side and left leg injured she had little choice but to do so for at least that night. Lightning closed her eyes slowly as she struggled to fight the overwhelming need her body felt to sleep, as her limbs began to feel numb and heavy she knew that she would not be able to fight the sleep for much longer now that she had laid back. Softly she spoke to Cloud as she began to fall into the state that was sleep. “Sleep well Cloud” She had wanted to stay awake, she had wanted to ensure he rested well. But her mind and body were fighting a raging battle against each other, and her body was winning. Her last thoughts were of the fact she hoped that that night was not the last time she would see him, that he would be there when she woke. Almost immediately as she spoke those words she had drifted off to sleep, her face and body completely relaxed.

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