Some time away (Solo)

On the way there....

The sun was high in the sky this day breathing down on earth's neck with it's hot breath, the heat rose in waves and caused a shimmering throughout the area. One would believe the whole place was a sea of shimmering waves it could even be called beautiful if one were to be so sentimental about things like this, the sand as always covered everything it was endless they said. The figure wondered if it were truly endless could anything truly be endless he asked himself he didn't think so but who knew, the world was full of surprises maybe that's what made it exciting. A gentle breeze blew by causing the sand to shift across he could hear it as it moved making it's odd noise it was almost silent but not quite. He leaned down and picked up a handful of the hot sand and opened his fingers slightly the sand began to seep out between the cracks slowly, he watched wondering how many little sand grains he had let pass through his fingers a thousand or maybe ten thousand who knew. The thoughts brought a smile to his lips as he began his slow walk once more he had to get away from everyone their energy was stifling the flow around him.

Arrival to the Nile.....

The Nile river not the most magnificent of places but it was pretty in this god forsaken desert to most who lived here a source of water and life as both were considered to be the same by many. A small dune was all that separated the river and the figure walking across the sands, instead of climbing the small dune which could have been a thirty or so foot climb the figure jumped. To anyone who might have looked up they would have seen nothing but a black dot in the blue sky if they could even see past the blinding rays of the sun, the figure came down in front of the dune with a slight noise. The sand around the figure lifted and was blasted away by the force of the fall on one knee the figure stood up slowly, it seemed the figure was headed straight for the river before stopping at the edge where the figure sat down suddenly.

It was Tsuna the Captain of the Kido Corps as you may have figured out already he seemed to stare at the mass of water as it rode by without so much as acknowledging his presence. He was aware that the water was flowing without so much as a conscious thought but he felt so small compared to this river that would be here long after he had faded away. The sand here to he thought would still be sand a thousand years from now would he still be Tsuna he asked himself would he be the same person or would he be different possibly even dead before this sand changed. Such thoughts were morbid and a bit depressing so he shook them away, although they lingered in the back of his mind secretly but who was he kidding he knew he still had questions that needed answers. He stood up and brushed himself off sand fell to the ground and became part of the great desert once again, would he be part of something great or fade into the background like so many others. He shook his head this time trying to forget the thoughts and became focused on what he had come here for the Nile river and it's glory he told himself.

As he stood up one could tell what he looked like now instead of just being a figure in the distance, his body was not shaped at all like a man's it was like an hourglass body for him. His body was slim and under the clothes seemed thin to most he would appear physically weak and compared to some this would be true, but compared to the average person it was far from true. Under his clothes he hid a body that held not a trace of fat just a mass of pure muscle but as I said before he was slim, his long dark brown hair fell in small waves covering his left eye as always. His right eye as was visible was a bright green like leaves in the spring his left eye hidden behind his dark brown hair was a dark blue almost purple color. The skin that was visible was a pale white not to the color of snow but it was about as close as one could get without becoming an albino though he was pale it suited him one would think if they saw him now. Instead of the usual attire of a shinigami Captain's robe he wore a dark green Chinese imperial robe laced with gold, his pants were merely black cotton usually meant to practice martial arts in but they were his everyday pants. His feet oddly enough were bare as he found shoes of any kind to be bothersome messing up one's balance and making them reliant on them.

His Zanpakuto was sheathed across his back in polished tan wood with the top wrapped in gold cloth as was the hilt of the blade. He stepped tentatively onto the river's surface as it flew by his feet did not fall into the water as he had commanded them not to he could feel the flow of the river below him and virtually hear the power as it rushed under him. While on the surface of the river he sat down in the middle after a bit cross legged he sat before closing his eyes and slowing the rate of his breathing to a slow and steady rhythm as he listened to the sound of the river. The water which made hardly a noise seemed to come alive in Tsuna's ears as he truly listened to the roar of the rushing water yet he felt the serenity as well. The river had no enemies it had no allies it was and always would be a flowing current that accepted everything and anything that came to it, it was truly a peaceful thing to listen to Tsuna thought to himself. As he listened Tsuna wrapped himself in a translucent sphere of white Reiatsu that swirled around his body it was only inches away from his skin and swirled so violently around him one might think he was ready for a fight maybe even two. But the feeling his Reiatsu gave off was the same as the river powerful yet peaceful, strong yet gentle he was becoming one with the river learning from it as he had been taught to in his previous life.

He let the translucent sphere fade into the air as he opened his eyes slowly his breathing had returned to normal and he felt better already. The flow of energy around him felt better already it felt like everything was clean and flowing freely around him he sighed with relief at the feeling he knew coming out here was a good idea. He walked off the surface of the river happily and sat on the bank of the river he lifted the legs of his pants to his knee's and dipped his bare feet into the water. It was cool and refreshing on such a hot day he thought as he kicked his feet in the water lightly sending a few droplets of water into the air the river of course still had not acknowledge anything he had done and he knew it never would.

As Tsuna sat there on the edge of the river his feet kicking slowly in the water still he looked around. It was foolish of course there was nothing to see it this spot he wondered how out of all the spots in this place he found the one spot that had no green and just sand around it. Luck must not be on my side he thought to himself as he pulled his feet from the water and shook them off as he stood up he could feel the grains of sand stick to his feet. He began walking up river in a slow but reasonable pace he was in no rush to get to the place he was looking for and if someone needed him they could send a hell butterfly. It didn't matter he thought the people under his command were nice and worked hard he was sure they could handle anything that came along suddenly after all he had trained them. He smiled remembering when he rose through the ranks at an astonishing rate people called him genius or prodigy yet he didn't see it like that he merely found something he really liked. His reiatsu control was probably his strongest attribute he could use almost any kido they taught him right away he received many praises that really meant nothing to him.

What he really wanted was someone to figure out who he truly was not because he was smart or good with kido or because he was is captain. He just wanted someone to truly understand who he was as a person instead of what they thought of him now his enemies would judge because he is a shinigami and his allies judge because of his rank. It was terrible he continued to think to himself unlike everyone else Tsuna held doubts about the war and their enemies could they truly be so evil that they all deserve to die. That is what they say at least but Tsuna could not bring himself to hate these people whom he knew nothing about were they kind were they smart were they scared he knew none of this how could he decide suddenly to kill them. The feeling never came he felt the same as he always had happy with questions Tsuna didn't feel the emotion hate anymore he didn't want to or else he would just become the monster he had been long ago in his past. Such dark thoughts he told himself or maybe they were just hopeful he shrugged them away they were just beginning to bore him as he walked but the thoughts as always stayed glued to the back of his mind hovering there waiting to be acknowledged.

While walking Tsuna had not noticed the change in scenery that slowly began to take place the sand became dirt and the ground was covered in lush grass. Tree's began to spring up and wouldn't you know it they were full of bright green leaves it was a strange thing to see nothing but barren desert but then a forest suddenly appears in front of you like a mirage. He smiled slightly at the thought as he wandered farther into the desert forest the tree's became so thick that they actually managed to block out the horrendous heat of the sun and lay down a cool blanket of shade for Tsuna. As a gentle breeze blew by instead of the sound of shifting sand Tsuna could here the leaves on the tree's rustle together, as he felt the breeze through the tree's. It was cool and refreshing under the tree's it gave an actual feeling of being a breeze and not a blast of hot air as it would have been out in the desert as he had been earlier. The river of course was a mere ten or so feet away as it supplied this forest with it's life energy without this river there would be no forest kind of amazing how one thing can give life to so many things he thought. In a way to the tree's the Nile river might actually be their god after all it gave them life and if it disappeared they would receive death it was an interesting thought one he would think on later he told himself.

As he walked through the tree's he could hear a multitude of animals running and hiding from his presence but he could feel their eyes on him as he walked. He sighed lightly he would have liked to see the animals up close maybe even pet them if they allowed him to get that close but there was only one way that was going to happen he knew Jigoku would have to come out. He unsheathed his Zanpakuto slowly the sound of the blade sliding out was distinct almost like the blade was grinding against something Tsuna knew this meant Jigoku was happy or excited to be coming out. He sat on the ground not caring about the dirt that may cover his clothes after all clothes could be washed and a little dirt never hurt anyone. He sat cross legged and laid the blade on his lap his hand went over the blade as he smiled and concentrated on drawing Jigoku's spirit out which was never hard to do. With a small flash of light she appeared A small person maybe only four feet tall with pale skin like that of Tsuna's, She had dark blue eyes like that of the sea and long black hair past even her hips. She wore a peach colored kimono with an assortment of flowers all over it and to hold said kimono together she had a dark blue sash around her mid section.

This was the spirit of Tsuna's blade Jigoku or as she liked Tsuna to refer to her his little sister this always made Tsuna smile. Almost immediately Jigoku jumped and tackled Tsuna to the ground smiling happily she sat on his stomach and poked his nose "Hi big brother how are you today?" she asked in a sweet tone that she always used when speaking to him. Tsuna of course was expecting this and made sure not to have any breath that could be knocked out of him and smiled at Jigoku calmly "I'm doing fine little sister how are you this fine day?" he asked with that soft melodic tone of his. Jigoku continued to smile happily as she got off of Tsuna and helped him back up into a sitting position "I'm doing great big brother and you brought us to a great place not like last time". She said in a playful tone Tsuna looked at her calmly as she moved around and sat behind him "last time wasn't that bad" he said calmly, it was about now that Jigoku began to play with Tsuna's long dark brown hair as she sat behind him. Jigoku loved playing with Tsuna's hair sometimes she put it into braids or just combed it softly with her fingers she had done this ever since Tsuna and her had been paired together and Tsuna didn't mind it felt nice to him. Jigoku hmphed at his comment "the last place was nothing but rocks big brother" she said in a mild pouty tone, Tsuna laughed "I wanted some company can you really blame me?" he asked playfully.

Jigoku smiled as she twisted some of Tsuna's hair gently into a braid as he laughed she always liked spending time with him. She let go of his hair as he asked if she could really blame him "well yes I can your the one who called me out big brother" she said in a matter of fact tone. Tsuna arched an eyebrow and looked back at her before laughing lightly again he couldn't help it she was absolutely right of course but he wouldn't admit that to her she would never let it go if he did. "Well i suppose but you could have refused to come out little sister" he said in a playful tone as she put on her angry face as she heard his words she looked like someone had told her good news and then really bad news. Jigoku wrapped her arms around his neck and started to put him into a headlock "there is no winning with you is there?!?" she asked half angry and half amused as she lazily tried to choke him. Tsuna played with her putting on a face of dismay as he acted like she was really choking him, Jigoku let out a laugh and let go of his neck and sat back down behind him before stroking her fingers through his hair gently once more. Tsuna smiled slightly as he felt her soft fingers glide through his long dark brown hair it felt nice and it always calmed him down he didn't know why maybe his human mother used to do it when he was little or maybe it was just something you couldn't explain.

Tsuna continued to smile as he spoke softly "Jigoku would you sing for me?" although he asked he already knew that Jigoku would sing for him she loved to sing. Jigoku nodded slightly with a soft smile on her lips she always loved to sing especially for Tsuna because he actually listened to her words and not just the sound of her voice in the air. Jigoku started to sing in a soft melodic tone but it was dark and slow sounding as she sung she played with his her softly combing her fingers through it or twisting his hair around itself and letting it untwist. "There is a secret side of me, I keep under lock and key, but you couldn't just leave me be, I never wanted you to see, the animal i inside of me, the beast is truly ugly". It was a dark song anyone could tell yet under the darkness it's emotion and power seemed to fill the forest as Tsuna listened he smiled softly the words were oh so true for both him and Jigoku they really were a perfect match he thought to himself. The song continued after Jigoku took a breath "it's hiding in the dark, it's teeth are razor sharp, there is no escape the beast wants my heart, I feel it right beneath my skin, hiding deep within". Tsuna listened intently to each and every word in Jigoku's song it sounded like him just like he used to be a mass of dark and terrible feelings that threatened to take over when he gave into them. Jigoku stopped singing now and pulled Tsuna back so his head lay in her lap she smiled down at him happily "how was my singing big brother?" she asked like a small child who wanted some sort of praise.

Tsuna fell back without a fight and reached his hand up to gently poke her nose as she had done to him earlier "your singing was great as always little sister" he said in a kind and gentle tone. Jigoku giggled when Tsuna poked her nose and practically beamed with joy when Tsuna complimented her singing if it were anyone else she would only be happy but with him she was overjoyed. Tsuna didn't know why but he felt the urge to start walking once more the forest seemed to be thinking the same thing the tree's seemed to point in one direction he looked and nodded to himself knowing he was going to leave now. Jigoku seeing Tsuna look and nod to himself knew they were going to be leaving soon he always got these 'feelings' to go somewhere like he was being told but she didn't mind she liked going to new places. Tsuna stood up lazily and held out his hand to Jigoku she reached up and as she grabbed his hand she turned back into the long bladed tachi sword that she was in her sealed form he sheathed her onto his back and let out a small breath. "Time to go now" he said softly he didn't know what was in that direction or why he felt this way but he didn't question it something was calling to him he thought to himself it would be rude not to answer. He knew walking was out of the question this was far away he took one step forward and in the blink of an eye and the rustle of the leaves from the wind Tsuna vanished into thin air.