and, oh baby . }} WE'RE SO CLOSE [open]

[Kiore Urahara]

WE'RE BURNING DOWN THE HIGHWAY SKYLINE, ON THE BACK OF A HURRICANE.

Kiore, curled in her bed with the blankets covering drawn up over her head, faced the depressing fact that no, she couldn't stay their all day - even if it was deliciously warm where she was, and comfortable, and a sleep in was so very inviting. But nonetheless, even if she didn't have a team to train with, and she very much doubted that she'd get any missions; Kiore couldn't just stay there all day and do nothing. It would be an absolute waste of a good day, and besides, she needed to do some food shopping. Instant ramen and a can of corn didn't seem too appealing at all. At the thought of food, Kiore's stomach instantly grumbled and growled and demanded she feed it immediately.

With a muttered curse, Kiore grudgingly pushed the covers away and forced her body to move. It was probably all a bit over dramatic, but Kiore managed to get herself over to the closet and rummage around it to find her clothes - identical to the ones she had worn yesterday, and the thought had her grumbling again, because she remembered the pile of washing that was waiting for her. Tugging the loose white singlet off, and the gray sweatpants with it, Kiore went through the process of getting ready for the day. In which the first step, was to look presentable. And though she didn't put much effort into it - she'd only had the comb in her hand for a few seconds - she looked like she did every other day. With a dry laugh, Kiore scorned herself that, yeah, she was getting lazy.

One last look in the mirror on her dresser, Kiore left her room and was welcomed with the depressing sound of silence. Silence, because she was stubborn and decidedly independent so much so that she had moved out of her parents house months ago. It was great and all, but she hadn't thought she would get so lonely. Kajaal came over whenever he didn't have missions, he too having moved out of the parents house - though it was a matters of years before. Renji and Keigo often crashed there, whenever they could. And sometimes the Abarai's would come over for dinner. But, even though her parents didn't talk all too much, she was well aware of the fact that yeah, she missed the mornings when she would wake up to her mother cooking breakfast, and her father writing out mission reports. It hadn't been much, but it had been something.

And even though the apartment wasn't too large, or too small - it always felt empty. She hated it, but she liked it all at the same time. With a drawn out sigh, Kiore walked down the hallway and turned right, into the kitchen. Clean - her apartment was always so clean - and tidy. Everything was perfect, and nothing was out of place. And Kiore was slightly annoyed by the fact, but none the less she rummaged around in the cupboard - a few boxes of tea here, some cans there, instant ramen that she didn't even like - until she found a box of cereal. She really needed to shop, having been neglecting it for a while because she'd been busy with training or missions or simply because she always seemed to forget about the important things.

As she retrieved a bowl and a s.thingy, and just enough milk, Kiore sighed and thought about her old excuses. Yui, Jun and Ryuu. The Genin she had trained and watched become Chuunin. The three had, since then, split up - much to Kiore's disappointment, because their teamwork had been excellent - and gone their own ways. Suddenly more enthusiastic to start the day - and get out of the apartment - Kiore forced down the cereal, because though her stomach screamed that she was hungry, she really hadn't felt like food. After washing up and putting everything away, Kiore grabbed her keys on her way out the door, locking it behind her.

Her landlord was out the front, watering the plants. He was around his thirties, quiet and withdrawn, and didn't really talk much to anyone. He liked Kiore, because she didn't try to talk to him - and mostly because she always payed her bills and rent on time, and was quiet, too. She didn't have parties, or bring any trouble to the apartment complex; and because she kept her apartment clean. "Morning," he said, and Kiore smiled and greeted him simply, "Kiyoshi," she murmured with a nod - nothing too big, no questions or petty talk - and didn't stop. The morning was like any other, warm but not too warm, with a breeze that cools. And shops were starting to open, and the other shinobi were either coming back from missions or setting off on them - or, like her, looking for something to do.

It was too early to start shopping, and Kiore wasn't too eager to do that anyhow. She didn't eat much, and when she did she liked to keep it simple. But Renji and Keigo did, and she couldn't have them whining at her the next time they came around unexpectedly. And she had to make Kajaal eat, because the d-mn man always forgot to. And she had to make herself eat, too. Troublesome as it was, Kiore made a mental list of what she had to get as she twirled the key chain with her house keys on her finger - strolling down the main street of Kumo without a destination. She'd read basically everything in the library, and she felt more so towards fresh air. You could only train so much with yourself. And she doubted she'd be able to focus much on the idea of a new technique - Tsuki Hi Shiro had taken that much out of her creativity, Kiore's attention span would probably divert itself to anything that passed.

With a thoughtful expression, Kiore sat herself down on a bench - in a park that she hadn't even noticed she had entered until a moment ago. Takashi was most likely on a mission, and Renji and Keigo were probably, too - and Kajaal would definitely be on one. Kisuke would be busy with Kisuke-stuff. While she wasn't even going to approach the subject of Zaraki. Since he had gotten Rukia pregnant again, he hadn't been in much of a good mood. It absolutely hilarious, the way that women could order him around to get her things to satisfy her cravings - pickles and ice cream, Kiore shuddered to think about it - and Zaraki was frightened to a point where he would all but run to the store. Smiling to herself, Kiore leaned back on the bench and watched the atmosphere with little interest. It was just another one of those days, again, that probably could have been spent better if she had stayed in bed all day.

THAT STARTED TURNING, WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG.

[Allanha]

The male wandered through the gates of Kumo, his eyes looking about the area, wondering where to start exploring. He had changed his headband again, which gave him an easy ticket into the village. His hands stuffed deep into his pockets, unsure where to start. It was time to explore somewhere he hadn’t been before, he knew that, but where to go first was his problem.

Slowly he started to walk, his aims were usually to learn something new, whether it was just a random skill or a jutsu. Although recently, his attention diverted towards the females...actually, it was more like a few years he had been this way. Shoving his hands to the bottom of his pockets, he could feel his stomach starting to get hungry. Deciding it was best to go to the shops first, he tried to find his way to them.

After about half an hour of trying to find his way around, he was bored with no one offering to help him and with people trying to set up and take no notice of him, he was a bit annoyed. Being the attention seeker from the females that he was, he just wanted someone to hold more so at this moment. There were a few of them about, but nothing special, and he would usually go for the ones that were considered beautiful.

Slowly he started to give up, not bothering with eating and deciding to go hungry. Grumbling he changed direction and hoped to find a park somewhere nearby. After the days of travelling, a good hot shower sounded all too good for him right now and a clean set of clothes sounded like luxury. However, he had his ways of keeping himself smelling fresh for the ladies, he couldn’t afford not when a good one passed, they were always quite rare to come by.

After a while he seemed to come across one accidentally. Making his way into it, he didn’t expect anyone to be there at this time of the morning. His eyes scanned the area, no one seemed to be there and he started to walk in, wondering what to do during the day. Being in somewhat of a playful mood, he couldn’t help but wonder what there was that this village could offer him for entertainment, not really caring where it came from.

Slowly he made his way nearer to a bench while watching a bird walk along a branch of a tree. Slowly he took his seat and slouched back and his relaxed openly with his hand still in his pockets. His jacket hung openly downwards revealing his tight fitting top, showing of his muscles. His hair lifted up off his eyes every time there was a small gust of wind. As the bird flew off he looked down to see on the same bench, there was someone else.

A female. His day seemed to be starting off well, but he would want to take it easy, not frighten her off. She seemed somewhat special, different from other females. His eyes travelled over her while keeping his head looking straight in front of him so she would suspect anything. Slowly he turned his head after taking in her beautiful looks. “Hello beautiful, what are you doing out here at this time?” He asked, seeing that she was actually quite young.

Her age made him want to possibly just leave her alone. But instead, he thought of her nice as a friend. He never really had friends, just many girls longing and hoping he would come back for them. Occasionally he would go back. There had been one girl that he had started to settle with, but she had gone and he couldn’t find her anywhere, but that was a long time ago now.

His attention was completely on her now waiting for her answer. He wondered if she was just independent, or whether she was lonely. It would be good for him to have at least one friend, even if she wasn’t near his age.

[Reborn]

Akira was resting in his house after a long day and an even longer couple of months. He was finally home after a series of missions with his ANBU team, searching for the missing-nin that seem to be plaguing the world. They had killed the previous Raikage and the new one had sent them out in search for the group. But finally he was back and the man was exhausted still and thought of nothing better than staying in bed. True he had some things to do around the village, but wouldn't things be much simpler if he just stayed home and put the things off until the next day. The blaring sun had different ideas though and with the way it was shining into the small bedroom, the man couldn't help but grow irritated with it.

Finally, it took some coercing but he finally got his body moving and soon Akira was out of bed, or at least sitting up at the foot of the bed, glancing at his closet. Soft curses escaped his lips as he realized soon he would have to wash some clothes, especially his mission clothes. Today wasn't the day to do that however and he stretched a bit before pushing himself out of bed. Slowly and regretfully he grabbed all of his clothes pulling them on before stepping outside and stretching a bit. He had gotten a decent night of sleep the night before, but he was still tired and his eyes showed such. The sun didn't make things any better and the man pulled the collar of his jacket over his face, hoping to shield his eyes from the unforgiving sun.

Finally, after the eyes adjusted, the man glanced around and soon began to walk down the crowded sidewalks, keeping his hands in his pockets and his gaze low to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a park, a few of the beauties that he didn't get to see when on a mission, but now he could. His eyes scanned over the park and another beauty was there, but this one was a different one. It was a woman, but it also seemed that the woman had caught another's eye as there was another man talking to her. Shrugging it off, he entered into the park and walked towards a lake, looking out towards it thoughtfully.

Occasionally during his walk, he would look to the woman, to see how she would react to the man before he would decide what he was going to do. He then took a deep breath and sat down by the lake, staring out at his own reflection and also at the reflection of the woman and the man, waiting for an opportunity to move in and talk to her, hope to charm her more than the current suitor was.

[Kiore Urahara]

Watching the now rising sun, Kiore had to catch her breath at the sight she hadn't had the pleasure of seeing in so long. The mix of pinks and oranges, the hint of white and the ever present blue sky. From the park, on the bench that she sat on, Kiore didn't have the most amazing view, but of what she could see, she savored and stored it away in her mind to reflect upon. When was the last time she had been able to appreciate such a simple thing? Kiore remembered the times when her brother, Kajaal, would take her up on his shoulders to the Hokage faces - early in the mornings when nearly no one else was awake, to watch the sun rise. Those times were gone now, though, but she was grateful even for those few years, before she was thrust into the life of a shinobi. Of course, Kiore was proud to wear the villages hitai-ate, and was all too ready to put her life on the line for it... but there were those nerve wracking moments when she would worry about her own family and friends lives and health. How many times was it, now, that Zaraki had walked through the village gates, ashen faced with a devastating injury? Or when Renji would push himself too hard, and exhaust himself to his limits before there was nothing left? Or how Keigo would withdraw deeper into himself, at what he has to face and do and see? Even Kajaal, strong minded as he mind come off, had his demons that got to him every now and then, and it was all Kiore could do, to pick up the pieces.

The world that she lived in was a frightful array of different colours, some that were brilliant and some that were horrible. On one side there was death, war and injustice... on the other there was new beginnings and dreams of hope. But still manly death. As was the life of any ninja, but how long would that be for? Sure, there was always going to be something wrong with the world, someone that needed to be stopped, someone that would need to be helped. But were the future generations also doomed for the path that they were walking, now? Kiore thought of Rukia and Zaraki's young family, and sighed. What about Renji, and Keigo? Were they going to die before they had the chance to marry, and start a family? Even the smallest mistake, could lead to their downfall. She found that she didn't trust them much with looking after themselves, and was always so tempted to just say, "stop it." But she couldn't, because they had all made their pledges to the village; there was no turning back, now.

You need to stop thinking about these silly things, her mind would scorn her, it's making you depressed. And sure enough, there were the tell tale signs of a frown, and pout. I should invite someone over to dinner tonight! She thought, quite randomly, a grin spreading across her face before an expression that stated, 'I'm-thinking' replaced the brief smile. Zaraki and Rukia had family visiting, Renji and Keigo were on a two week 'top-secret' mission... it was either Kajaal, Kisuke, Takashi... Kiore figured that it would be best to ponder over that, later, when she could think properly; at the moment, there were too many things on her mind. With a sigh, and a, "tch," the ebony haired girl hugged her knees to her chest, arms wrapped around her legs tightly.

“Hello beautiful, what are you doing out here at this time?”

Someone spoke in an unfamiliar voice, and Kiore looked up and around her, to make sure he was actually talking to her. With a frown, and a rather cute pout, she finally focused her attention on him. Kajaal had always warned her about men, and basically told her never to stay around one if it wasn't needed; all men were bad, all men wanted one thing. Sighing, Kiore knew she couldn't be rude - like her brother would have wanted - and the frown disappeared, replaced with a rather perplexed expression.

She never was really quite sure how to handle foreign people, strangers; much less, men. Renji and Keigo were okay, and Zaraki was basically her father-figure... but she still wasn't exactly over the social awkwardness that she had had, when she was younger. One side of her wanted to retort with a smart, sarcastic comment on what he called her, the other wanted to shy away and run to something family; whilst she mostly just wanted to ignore him. Such a coward, her alter ego snickered, and Kiore reluctantly agreed as she bit her bottom lip and shrugged her shoulders. Thinking of a reply, she glanced around the park once more...

"Observing."

She finally answered in a tone that was silky, and smooth - honey coated, and soft. She had been observing the atmosphere, before, hadn't she? Smiling slightly, she looked back at the male - just in time to catch a figure in the distance, another male, glancing at her - but other then that, didn't move or say anything else.

__waking up too early xx
MAYBE WE COULD SLEEP IN?
__making banana pancakes xx
PRETEND LIKE IT'S THE WEEKEND

[Allanha]

The muscular male sat there, just watching her for the moment while there seemed to be a long and quite distant pause. One that made him think if she had heard him or not, whether she was ignoring him, or just thinking for an answer. But what kind of answer? Was the next question that came into his mind. Was it a smart one, a hard to think of one, or maybe she was just shy, or perhaps thoughts were triggered by his statement towards her.

His eyes, once fierce and hungry looking for any female calmed themselves gradually down. He had learnt from some females to take things step by step and slowly, that was what most of them liked. Some on the other hand liked to just get down with him, get straight into it. It was just trying to get the balance right and work out the nature of the female. He knew each one was very individual and have their very own style, which seemed to intrigue him.

Finally, he got his response. Fair enough it was just one word, but it was better than nothing and he was somewhat grateful for it. He was starting to learn to appreciate women. Maybe this was a good thing, maybe it was coming with his age, or he was just going through a phase. It was possibly a phase, but he was learning that this phase would possibly get him further in the future.

"Interesting" He stated simply, his voice calming down. He leaned his body forward and parted his legs further as he relaxed and rested his arms onto them, supporting his upper body. His eyes scanned the area, "Now that you mention it, there is quite a lot to observe, not just the natural beauty of the park" He grinned very slightly, almost so she wouldn't see. His eyes went to the corner to look up at her, but keeping his head very still to the front.

However the movement of another male drew his attention away from her. Males. He hated them! He just couldn't get along with them no matter how much he tried. Although, he had gotten along with his younger brother quite well and one other man as a good friend, but he had always struggled to get along with male strangers straight away. He decided not to let this male get to him and would keep his cool.

He leaned back onto the bench and shoved his hands back into his pockets and let the sides of his shirt fall down to the sides. His vest type shirt, held tightly around every muscle that belonged to his body, which were all obvious to the eye. He had much more than a six pack, possibly what someone could call slightly abnormal size. But he liked them and so had many of the women he had. Although he was starting to cut down on the amount of women he was visiting, or maybe it was just because he hadn't bothered to visit them.

His attention went back to her and he watched over her. Her voice had been soft with many textures to it that had attracted him to her even more, and the cute pout she gave made him want to soften it into a smile. He smiled slightly, his eyes resting on her face, ignoring the male close by. A soft breeze picked up around them, moving their hair gently together, making them as one.

[Reborn]

From the reflection in the pond, Akira could tell that both the woman and the male looked in his direction though there were no other actions. At least not in his direction, the male seemed to stuff his hands into his pockets, probably getting frustrated and thinking that there was someone here to encroach on his turf. However the ANBU had no intentions of doing so, he was going to wait until the man struck out to make his move, if he was going to make it at all. A sigh soon escaped his lips and he leaned back on his hands, staring at the sky but keeping in the corner of his eye, the reflection of the male and the female to see what else comes from their encounter.

Gently enough the man pulled the collar of his jacket higher, but not enough to obstruct his view as most of his attention was on the sky. The female looked to be in an uncomfortable situation and he wasn't sure if it was the other male or if it was just the fact that one had talked to her at all, but to be on the safe side, Akira decided it would be better to wait out the situation. Besides he was out to relax, not to get strung up in some lovers quarrel that would create even more stress into his life. Even briefly he closed his eyes, not caring about what was going on behind him but they opened once more and the first thing that was seen was the male and the female on the bench together.

They were sitting kind of close, perhaps they were a couple, but if they were who was he to say anything about it. It was only his ANBU side that was staying there, making sure that the woman was alright and that the male wasn't doing anything out of line. Maybe that was the whole reason why he was there in the first place, but then again, maybe he had something else on his mind, perhaps the company of a certain female.

[Kiore Urahara]

A cool breeze picked up and bit at Kiore's skin, though she didn't flinch or move, merely welcomed it... for now it was keeping her awake. I should get some coffee, later, she thought with an soft sigh. There was so much she could be doing, but couldn't think of anything to do. There was the food shopping, of course, but Kiore was sure she could put that off for another few hours. She doubted very much that the Hokage had put her on a team, yet, for good; nor would their be any solo missions, she had already checked a few days in advance. That left training and perhaps studying some scrolls - maybe she could finally work up the courage to ask Rukia to teach some medical jutsu - but she had worked herself dry with her latest technique, Tsuki Hi Shiro.

Which still needed tweaking and adjusting, Kiore deadpanned. Was this her future? Doomed for an eternity of chocolate cravings, books and thinking about thinking of the thought of doing something? Good Lord, she instantly felt like running home and hiding under the bed covers, depression starting to kick in. Rather pathetic, wouldn't you agree? her alter ego snickered, and Kiore had no arguements against it. She had turned into the very thing she feared; her parents - sure, she still had her emotions and a few friends here and there, but her life basically just revolved around her job.

Finally, he got his response. Fair enough it was just one word, but it was better than nothing and he was somewhat grateful for it. He was starting to learn to appreciate women. Maybe this was a good thing, maybe it was coming with his age, or he was just going through a phase. It was possibly a phase, but he was learning that this phase would possibly get him further in the future.

You can barely hold a conversation these days. Trying to make friends just makes you want to drown yourself. You've become the socially awkward and clueless being that you were when you were child, for the umpteenth time. Constantly are you procrastinating about lonliness, and the fear of growing old without having first achieved something very important in life, has put on directly on the path towards which you don't want. Lying has never been so hard, and you're costantly paranoid that someone is going to find out, that Renji or Keigo are going to notice the changes and thus become worried about you. You feel that you- the voice was cut short, as inwardly, Kiore gave a threatening growl with a, shut the hell up.

"Fury reigns over fear, and fear reigns over anger whilst anger is the undoing of joy and joy is the beginning of sadness; in the mind of one which seems to have lost all sense of direction, which emotion shall be your undoing?"

Kisuke was always rambling on about something or other, usually entertwined within a marvelous twist and turn of lies. The Urahara was indeed the type to question the aspect of everything known to him, and on more then one occasions has brought Kiore to tears with his words.

Darn that man, she sighed with relucatance.

"Interesting," the man sitting next to her unknowingly reminded Kiore of his presence when he spoke the one word, previously she had become rather detached and withdrawn into her mind to delve deeper for a look into 'her mind'.

"Now that you mention it, there is quite a lot to observe, not just the natural beauty of the park," was this man merely here to waste her time? Kiore wondered half heartedly, as she looked beneath his words for a multiple possible underlining meanings. She was not one for flattery, least of all from strangers.

Why are you being such a hard a-s, Kiore? her alter ego sighed, bored of the ever socially withdrawn kunoichi. At least someone is complementing you! Kiore narrowed her eyes, Renji compliments me all the time... she shot back. Inner Kiore thwrated her with a simple, while trying to feel you up.

Please, Kiore, just be normal for once and intterract with another human being like they aren't the enemy! Inner Kiore would continue to prod. I will if you be quiet and leave me alone.

There was no response, and Kiore took this as an agreement to her offer.

With a smile that lit up her features, and instantly changed her demeanor to light and warm, instead of dark and cold. The smile itself could be described as brilliant, sparking her crimson red eyes to life like a match catching fire. "I'm sorry, I did not catch your name," she murmured incredibly softly, though with heart. "I'm Kiore Urahara," she offered her hand out, for a formal greeting.

__we could end up broken hearted xx
IF WE DON'T REMEMBER WHY THIS ALL STARTED
__and if they try to tell you love fades with time xx
TELL THEM THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS TIME TIME

it's our time. <3[/center]




[ o c c ] please slap me for taking so long. =_=
And for Kiore's... depression kinda... ew. >.>[/color]

[Allanha]

The eyes of the male turned back to their corners to peer out to her. She was a female of thought by the looks of it and quite a deep one at that. He didn’t mind too much if they thought a lot, as long as he wasn’t ignored. Being ignored just wasn’t part of him. He often did get attention from females and normally won over the ones that he liked. He would then treat them kindly and look after them in the appropriate male way, just like he had done with his last. The only problem was with him when getting a girlfriend, was those little trips away that aren’t what he says he’s doing.

Although he’s one of those men that plays for the women, he’s starting to see his mistakes, but whether he changes what could happen in the future and not let those mistakes repeat is up to him. Unless he can see good in learning from his mistakes, it’s quite unlikely this would happen. However, he did try once, but that never did get him too far. Maybe he shouldn’t have given up so easily.

Eventually her face seemed to change, and there was now a smile there in place of what had been once, hiding what she truly held. The smile lit up her face; it was certainly eye catching to him and something a photo album wouldn’t be unhappy to hold. In fact, it would be better framed and put on a wall for all to see. Her smile soon caused a smile to spread lightly over his face, almost trying to reflect what she gave.

Not only did her smile then bring out the best of her features, including her crimson eyes that were now alive and pleasant, just making him stare into them by accident. But also, there was now a feeling of warmth. It felt welcoming and light seem to hit the area. He was amazed at her sudden change, but decided not to say anything. This was often like him, hiding the truth in case they thought he didn’t mean his words, and saying what they would possibly like to hear.

Then words came from her mouth again, more than one this time. He was a little surprised to find her introducing herself to him. He would normally have gotten a slap round the face by now, but maybe he was getting better at not moving in too fast. He smiled and took her hand, “Nice to meet you Kiore” He said with hint of gentleness in his voice, “I’m Ishikawa Haruki” He paused again, trying to think of his words carefully. “Do you come here often?” He asked, doing his best to make conversation, since she was really only answering his statements, apart from when she introduced herself.

Putting his hand back in his pocket, he sat back again to look at the nature around them, trying to see more beauty than what was obvious. Maybe he should give up on the beauty of nature and just go back to the beauty of women. He was pretty much hopeless at see what a yellow flower had to offer to him.