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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on May 6, 2015 17:31:18 GMT -6
Yumiko looked to the side, feeling somewhat…. relieved at his candor, of his admittance about Aizen’s role in what had happened and his own impatience. It stung somewhere too. But then again, so had Aizen’s betrayal. Closure wasn’t always kind. Usually in her case, it wasn’t. But it was what she needed. She looked back towards Vale and sensing his melancholy behind the bitter hint in his last words, she set a hand to Mizue no Kagami.
A few moments later, a golden butterfly alighted one of the empty pots. “Thank you for being honest with me, Vale. Even if it hurt. I do care for you... But I don’t know if I feel the same as you do - or if I will - and I am sorry. Perhaps.... ” She shook her head. He didn't want to hear about friendship, and she already felt cruel enough. She let the kido butterfly fade.
"Can I take one of those potted roses off your hands? I earned some money from scribing for Kisuke."
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on May 6, 2015 17:43:28 GMT -6
Vale sighed and set the pots to the table. He looked around until he came across a light blue hand painted pot. On it was a beautiful hand painted lake and lotus flowers. "A white rose. This is my favorite one. Quite beautiful." He handed her the pot and shook his head at her attempt to exchange money for it. "It is yours, Miss Ryouma. A gift for the treats."
He leaned forward and softly kissed her forehead. "Two attempts to find peace...And, it still eludes me." Vale forced a smile as he turned away from her. "A wise man would stop trying." he said, picking up the pots he set to the table. "Do...Do you need anything else, Miss Ryouma?"
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on May 7, 2015 9:14:42 GMT -6
Yumiko shook her head and turned away, just as tears started falling from her eyes, holding the rose close as they continued. “I’m sorry, Vale,” she whispered. “I - you didn’t deserve this.” Why couldn’t she answer his feelings? Why had he chosen her? She shook her head again and pushed the door open, trying to keep her head down. She didn’t want him to know. And she couldn’t stop now that she'd started.
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on May 7, 2015 12:24:05 GMT -6
Vale shunpo'd over and slammed the door shut. "Yumiko...Why? Why are you running from me?" Vale sighed, walking away from her. "I'll give you what you want. I will leave you alone. Just give me that answer. Why are you running from me?"
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on May 7, 2015 15:47:20 GMT -6
Yumiko shook her head, trying to stop the tears. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t do this now,” she replied quietly. “I’m not ready for anything but being friends now, not after Las Noches. Anything more…” She paused and lowered her voice, deciding to be honest. “It scares me,” she admitted just above a whisper. Her vision burred as more tears chased their way down her cheeks. “I can’t be swallowed up by that again, not yet.”
“Damn it….” she hissed, turning away and laying her forehead against the cold window, trying to calm down. She didn’t want to lose control like this. It was another thing that scared her. Her breath hitched as she tried to calm down. “It’s not fair….”
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on May 7, 2015 16:00:22 GMT -6
Vale shook his head as he pulled a seat from a nearby table. "Fine. But.." Vale looked to Yumiko as she remained turned away from him. "This is it. I won't bother you about it again. I will let it stay a forgotten memory." He tapped on the table, trying to provide a distraction for himself. Finally, he stood and walked over to the door. Gliding past Yumiko, Vale left the shop and headed up to his apartment.
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Post by Yumiko Ryouma on May 7, 2015 16:36:26 GMT -6
Yumiko barely managed to set the rose down carefully as she fell to her knees, holding a hand to her mouth as she continued to cry. She'd been left behind again. She couldn't control her zanpakuto fast enough, so her family had left her. Then, her decision to learn the truth had broken her ties to Aizen. And the gaps he'd ripped into her memories had never fully returned, leaving large voids, empty darkness, with the flashes of support. Deepening the wounds she'd carried and buried from her confinement. And now.... because of her fear, Vale had walked away. She got to her feet, looking at her pale face in the mirror. In the end, she was still weak. It didn't matter if she had Mizue by her side. Sighing, she reached into her pocket for the letter she'd hid there. Breaking the Ryouma seal, she read it, her mind going through the motions like sludge. The fog persisted even when the usual greetings changed into a formal invitation for an extended stay at the estate for her brother's birthday. She smiled, humorlessly, and folded the letter again. Forgetting the rose, she left the shop, eyes strangely calm. Her hand wrapped around Mizue no Kagami. "This is not fair....." She disappeared in a rush of shunpo. |
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on May 13, 2015 19:12:49 GMT -6
"Facing the Facts":Vale sat behind the counter of the shop, trimming the ends of long stemmed roses. He placed the delicate flowers in a plain, glossy white square vase. He mixed a pitcher of feed and water and slowly poured it in the vase until it was half full. Choosing a gold and white ribbon, Vale careful cut and tied the ribbon around the vase. Vale smiled as he turned the vase, looking it over. "I think she'll like this." Vale whispered as he continued to look over the vase. The bell on the door jingled, as Vale turned to place the vase on a shelf behind him. He turned slowly, recognizing the reaitsu of the man standing behind the counter. He smiled wide as he faced his customer. "Mister Urahara. What brings you in today? Some flowers for Miss Yoruichi and Kita?"
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Post by Urahara Kisuke on May 13, 2015 19:18:57 GMT -6
Kisuke smiled adjusting his hat as he leaned over propping himself up with one arm as he looked to Vale. "Not today, Vale. I came to have a chat with you. You have some time to spare." He looked to the roses Vale had just place to the shelf behind him.
"Those are very beautiful by the way. The lady that gets though will be very happy."
He looked back to Vale still smiling. "So ready to take a break?"
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on May 13, 2015 19:22:35 GMT -6
"Thanks. I do hope Miss Ryouma likes them." Vale pulled his apron over his head and hung it from a shelf behind him. "Sure. I could use a break." He gestured to the stool beside Urahara, as he walked around the counter. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked, taking a seat next to Urahara. "Everyone is alright, yes?"
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Post by Urahara Kisuke on May 13, 2015 19:32:12 GMT -6
Kisuke sat nodding his head a few times, "oh yeah. Everyone at the shop is good." He paused clenching his fist as he looked from Vale, sitting on the stool next to him, to a pot of tulips across the flower shop. "I need to know something Vale." He looked back at him a serious look in his eyes and on his face.
"About a month ago, give or take a week. Where were you?"
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on May 13, 2015 19:38:04 GMT -6
Vale chuckled. "I can barely remember what I did yesterday. And, you want me to remember what I did about a month ago?" Vale rolled up his sleeves as he looked to Urahara, puzzled. "I was probably here working or upstairs, drowning in a sea of books and dirty tea cups." He gave another chuckle, brushing his hair from his face. "What's up?"
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Post by Urahara Kisuke on May 13, 2015 19:40:54 GMT -6
Kisuke took a deep breath shifting his cane at his side. "Are you sure you were here and not some place--" Kisuke paused and looked into Vale's eyes, "sandy?"
Vale raised a brow. "A sand filling for the vases are as close as I get to sandy. Mister Urahara, what's on your mind?"
"You're lying." Kisuke rose to his feet with narrowed eyes. "You know as well as I where you were." He turned his back on Vale and stepped away from him. "I am no fool and you know from the talk around the shop I have been keeping an eye on Las Noches." He looked over his shoulder at Vale. "Now tell me. Why were you there?"
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on May 13, 2015 20:04:48 GMT -6
Vale sighed, hanging his head not daring to look Urahara's way. "You're accusing me of being some place I can not get to, Mister Urahara. A place I don't want to be." He turned, facing Urahara. "Say what you need to, Mister Urahara. But, I won't admit to something I haven't done."
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Post by Urahara Kisuke on May 13, 2015 20:09:18 GMT -6
Kisuke stormed toward Vale and grabbed him by his shirt front and jerked him up from his sitting position bring them face to face. "You're a lying bastard!" Kisuke growled looking into his eyes.
"Your reiatsu was there. It was weak. But it was there. Now. You either tell me what the hell is going on or your ass goes back into the cell you love some much."
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