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leadpencils2012-05-19 08:28 pm
notbantamweight) wrote in leadpencils2012-05-19 08:28 pm
fic; ==> Nanao: Jump
Title: ==> Nanao: Jump
Fandom: Bleachstuck AU
Words: 1,306
Characters: Ise Nanao, Kyouraku Shunsui
Summary: LOFAC was a dangerous place to be at the best of times. Now was most definitely not the best of times.
The light shone down, and Nanao ran like she’d never had to run before. Feet barely touching the ground, she sprinted through the undergrowth, wind whipping her hair out behind her. A flash of copper glinted beside her, just glimpsed through the undergrowth, and she skidded, changing direction yet again as the basilisk charged at her, hissing out embers and setting the forest floor alight.
She had been looking for Kuchiki-taichou when she’d stumbled upon a nest of the damn things, but they were surprisingly quick, easily able to keep up with her as she ran through the forest. Shunpou was too unpredictable inside the Medium, especially when everywhere seemed to be crawling with hostile creatures. Hurdling a series of fallen logs, she nearly tripped when a message notification blinked into existence on the inside of her glasses.
“Not a good time, Kyouraku-taichou!” She growled out, eyes flicking back to the path ahead. A series of sheer cliffs were up ahead, which were an area she really wanted to avoid, since they were the roosting area of the Angels and disturbing them while she was still so low on her echeladder was an extraordinarily bad idea.
The message notification blinked at her again, pestering her to open it and respond. Another burst of fire came uncomfortably close to her heels, and she loosed a retaliatory Byakurai in response. When in doubt, kidou. It was her mantra, and it had served her well for many years. The hissing died away, and she opened the message.
-- casualAesthetic [CA] began pestering glacialArmistice [GA] at 14:57 –
CA: keep running straight ahead
CA: I know that the cliffs are that way, but trust me
CA: there is no other way out
GA: You have got to be joking me.
GA: That’s where the Angels are!
CA: I know, but trust me.
CA: and look out behind you!
She had slowed to a jog to answer the message - the Basilisk had managed to recover from the admittedly weak kidou, and it was closing fast. Tapping out a message as she sped up again, she changed her course back towards the cliffs. Her gut said it was a trap, it was going to get her killed, but he’d asked her to trust him. And by God, she did trust him.
GA: How did you know it was behind me?!
CA: Time shenanigans.
GA: Great.
She leapt off the top of a boulder, breath coming rough. The cliff’s edge was visible now, and she was getting closer all the time. Sparing a glance over her shoulder, it was clear that the small horde of copper basilisks chasing her weren’t slowing down either.
CA: you’re going to have to jump
GA: No
GA: I cant do that
CA: you have to.
CA: Nanao, trust me.
GA: I do.
She could practically measure the distance now – ten steps, eight – she was going to have to do it, dear God in heaven, she was going to have to jump – five, four – she closed her eyes, and hoped – one, JUMP! – and then she was falling, wind howling in her ears, tearing at her clothes. She might have screamed as she tumbled end over end, screamed a name, perhaps. The terminal velocity of a human being was 117-124 miles per hour (I’m going to die), and was reached after roughly five storeys of freefall (I’m going to die again). The cliffs were very tall (I don’t want to die again!), perhaps the equivalent of an eighty storey building, (I’m sorry, Shunsui) and if a single storey of a building is roughly 3.5 meters in height, then she had...
The impact drove all air out of her lungs as she slammed suddenly and painfully to a halt from 120 miles per hour. This she had expected. What she hadn’t expected was to still be thinking after colliding with the ground at 120 miles per hour. This must mean that she hadn’t collided with the ground, and had collided with something else. Everything hurt, yes, but not in the way that meant she’d collided with a solid unyielding surface at great speed.
...it really was a testament to the strange state of her life that she even knew what that felt like, but that was a digression. Whatever she’d hit, it was warm and soft and moving rhythmically – an Angel. She’d hit an Angel. This was possibly worse than actually hitting the ground. Whole body tense, she cracked open an eye to see... red? That wasn’t right, Angels were a sort of pale yellow/creamish colour, not such a ridiculously bright red. Opening both her eyes, it was clear that a) she had most definitely not landed on an Angel, b) she was still somehow in mid-air, and c) Kyouraku’s face was looking back at her.
What.
“Maa, I didn’t expect for you to scream my name in such a fashion, Nanao-chan.” She’d collided with her Captain?! Many questions raced through her mind, such as how he was managing to freaking levitate when even Byakuya found that nigh-on impossible here, how he knew where she would be, how he’d managed to catch her without breaking all of the bones in both their bodies, but the one that she blurted out was quite possibly not the most pressing.
“What in the name of God are you wearing?” She pushed herself up a little, and looked him over. Every inch of clothing on him was red: red shirt, red pants, red cape, red cowl, and a strange device shaped like a piece of clockwork on his chest. He raised an eyebrow at her curiously, and shifted her carefully, so she was cradled against his chest. Confused but exhausted, she went with it, leaning her head against him.
“It’s amusing that you choose to pick on my wardrobe, out of all the possible questions to ask.” His shirt was ridiculously comfortable, she thought muzzily. She then shook her head, dispelling the thought. Adrenalin come-downs were always so vicious, making her think such ridiculous thoughts.
“Well, it is really quite red, sir.” She felt more than heard his laugh, as it rumbled through his chest.
“It’s meant to be.” She looked up at him, and pushed the ridiculous-looking cowl off his head, freeing a few rogue strands of brunette hair. “You’re looking at the Knight of Time.” Suddenly, that cog insignia made a hell of a lot more sense, and the fog that had been surrounding her mind vanished.
“God Tier – you achieved it.” She was stating the obvious, that she knew, but if he’d reached that status, then he’d...
“Yes.”
“Why?” His eyes were full of a terrible knowledge, and she wished she didn’t have to ask, didn’t have the burning desire to know why. Her second-worst trait, right after terminal worrying.
“Because I couldn’t save you without it.” She just stared at him. He’d traded his life for hers – yes, he now had the powers of a god when it came to time, but he had to die to do so. “This - you falling - is a tipping point. According to Izuru-kun, if you die, then this becomes a doomed timeline. Karin-chan and Sasakibe-san confirmed it.” His gaze intensified, hand coming to cup her chin so she couldn’t look away. Clever man. “You needed to live, and this was the fastest way to make sure that you did.”
Fainting was a cheap move, and a cowardly one, but she had just been through a rather traumatic experience and had been told that she was literally a game-changing piece. Or at least, that was what her subconscious decreed, and her body decided to just roll with it, slumping bonelessly against Kyouraku as her eyes slid shut.
He chuckled tiredly, and descended to the ground, starting the long journey back to the closest of the four houses on this planet. Hopefully Sado-kun wouldn’t mind their presence too much.
Fandom: Bleachstuck AU
Words: 1,306
Characters: Ise Nanao, Kyouraku Shunsui
Summary: LOFAC was a dangerous place to be at the best of times. Now was most definitely not the best of times.
The light shone down, and Nanao ran like she’d never had to run before. Feet barely touching the ground, she sprinted through the undergrowth, wind whipping her hair out behind her. A flash of copper glinted beside her, just glimpsed through the undergrowth, and she skidded, changing direction yet again as the basilisk charged at her, hissing out embers and setting the forest floor alight.
She had been looking for Kuchiki-taichou when she’d stumbled upon a nest of the damn things, but they were surprisingly quick, easily able to keep up with her as she ran through the forest. Shunpou was too unpredictable inside the Medium, especially when everywhere seemed to be crawling with hostile creatures. Hurdling a series of fallen logs, she nearly tripped when a message notification blinked into existence on the inside of her glasses.
“Not a good time, Kyouraku-taichou!” She growled out, eyes flicking back to the path ahead. A series of sheer cliffs were up ahead, which were an area she really wanted to avoid, since they were the roosting area of the Angels and disturbing them while she was still so low on her echeladder was an extraordinarily bad idea.
The message notification blinked at her again, pestering her to open it and respond. Another burst of fire came uncomfortably close to her heels, and she loosed a retaliatory Byakurai in response. When in doubt, kidou. It was her mantra, and it had served her well for many years. The hissing died away, and she opened the message.
-- casualAesthetic [CA] began pestering glacialArmistice [GA] at 14:57 –
CA: keep running straight ahead
CA: I know that the cliffs are that way, but trust me
CA: there is no other way out
GA: You have got to be joking me.
GA: That’s where the Angels are!
CA: I know, but trust me.
CA: and look out behind you!
She had slowed to a jog to answer the message - the Basilisk had managed to recover from the admittedly weak kidou, and it was closing fast. Tapping out a message as she sped up again, she changed her course back towards the cliffs. Her gut said it was a trap, it was going to get her killed, but he’d asked her to trust him. And by God, she did trust him.
GA: How did you know it was behind me?!
CA: Time shenanigans.
GA: Great.
She leapt off the top of a boulder, breath coming rough. The cliff’s edge was visible now, and she was getting closer all the time. Sparing a glance over her shoulder, it was clear that the small horde of copper basilisks chasing her weren’t slowing down either.
CA: you’re going to have to jump
GA: No
GA: I cant do that
CA: you have to.
CA: Nanao, trust me.
GA: I do.
She could practically measure the distance now – ten steps, eight – she was going to have to do it, dear God in heaven, she was going to have to jump – five, four – she closed her eyes, and hoped – one, JUMP! – and then she was falling, wind howling in her ears, tearing at her clothes. She might have screamed as she tumbled end over end, screamed a name, perhaps. The terminal velocity of a human being was 117-124 miles per hour (I’m going to die), and was reached after roughly five storeys of freefall (I’m going to die again). The cliffs were very tall (I don’t want to die again!), perhaps the equivalent of an eighty storey building, (I’m sorry, Shunsui) and if a single storey of a building is roughly 3.5 meters in height, then she had...
The impact drove all air out of her lungs as she slammed suddenly and painfully to a halt from 120 miles per hour. This she had expected. What she hadn’t expected was to still be thinking after colliding with the ground at 120 miles per hour. This must mean that she hadn’t collided with the ground, and had collided with something else. Everything hurt, yes, but not in the way that meant she’d collided with a solid unyielding surface at great speed.
...it really was a testament to the strange state of her life that she even knew what that felt like, but that was a digression. Whatever she’d hit, it was warm and soft and moving rhythmically – an Angel. She’d hit an Angel. This was possibly worse than actually hitting the ground. Whole body tense, she cracked open an eye to see... red? That wasn’t right, Angels were a sort of pale yellow/creamish colour, not such a ridiculously bright red. Opening both her eyes, it was clear that a) she had most definitely not landed on an Angel, b) she was still somehow in mid-air, and c) Kyouraku’s face was looking back at her.
What.
“Maa, I didn’t expect for you to scream my name in such a fashion, Nanao-chan.” She’d collided with her Captain?! Many questions raced through her mind, such as how he was managing to freaking levitate when even Byakuya found that nigh-on impossible here, how he knew where she would be, how he’d managed to catch her without breaking all of the bones in both their bodies, but the one that she blurted out was quite possibly not the most pressing.
“What in the name of God are you wearing?” She pushed herself up a little, and looked him over. Every inch of clothing on him was red: red shirt, red pants, red cape, red cowl, and a strange device shaped like a piece of clockwork on his chest. He raised an eyebrow at her curiously, and shifted her carefully, so she was cradled against his chest. Confused but exhausted, she went with it, leaning her head against him.
“It’s amusing that you choose to pick on my wardrobe, out of all the possible questions to ask.” His shirt was ridiculously comfortable, she thought muzzily. She then shook her head, dispelling the thought. Adrenalin come-downs were always so vicious, making her think such ridiculous thoughts.
“Well, it is really quite red, sir.” She felt more than heard his laugh, as it rumbled through his chest.
“It’s meant to be.” She looked up at him, and pushed the ridiculous-looking cowl off his head, freeing a few rogue strands of brunette hair. “You’re looking at the Knight of Time.” Suddenly, that cog insignia made a hell of a lot more sense, and the fog that had been surrounding her mind vanished.
“God Tier – you achieved it.” She was stating the obvious, that she knew, but if he’d reached that status, then he’d...
“Yes.”
“Why?” His eyes were full of a terrible knowledge, and she wished she didn’t have to ask, didn’t have the burning desire to know why. Her second-worst trait, right after terminal worrying.
“Because I couldn’t save you without it.” She just stared at him. He’d traded his life for hers – yes, he now had the powers of a god when it came to time, but he had to die to do so. “This - you falling - is a tipping point. According to Izuru-kun, if you die, then this becomes a doomed timeline. Karin-chan and Sasakibe-san confirmed it.” His gaze intensified, hand coming to cup her chin so she couldn’t look away. Clever man. “You needed to live, and this was the fastest way to make sure that you did.”
Fainting was a cheap move, and a cowardly one, but she had just been through a rather traumatic experience and had been told that she was literally a game-changing piece. Or at least, that was what her subconscious decreed, and her body decided to just roll with it, slumping bonelessly against Kyouraku as her eyes slid shut.
He chuckled tiredly, and descended to the ground, starting the long journey back to the closest of the four houses on this planet. Hopefully Sado-kun wouldn’t mind their presence too much.