Burn it All [Rin]

The evidence... the people. They all had to go. The shattered mind of Aoi knew this. She had to kill them all, they had to go. Orders, she could no longer follow orders... She hated them. She had heard them, they planned on eliminating her. She was no longer a useful tool...

Shinigami on her trail, vicious assassinations that went above and beyond what had been ordered. She had failed in information retrieval more than a few times, ending up with pains that botched her ability to be quiet or sneak...

Even guard duty was beyond her now.

They had tried rehabilitating her, the barely healing scabs on her back proof of that failure...

Get rid of them. They are a danger. Protect yourself.

The voice in her head chanted, repeating this over and over to her. She just...had to... trap them all. As many of them as she could... This stakeout had lasted a bit, hiding out in a house nearby as she waited for as many of them to gather as she could... The only source of warmth in the fall chill was a torn up and threadbare blanket.

She curled up under it for now, the pain from her back and gnawing hunger having to wait. Rest, she needed rest... But sleep was beyond her right now.

This was...Rukon!? How had he gotten here? He'd just been...going out back for solitary training so he could...he could get stronger but then suddenly he was...here?

He hadn't gone through a portal with Aoi or anything, or any other shinigami for that matter! So how...

Hearing voices ahead, Rin had to debate whether or not he should venture near them...that wasn't...wasn't safe to do.

Moving to stand, he lost his balance, and he thought he'd find himself planting face first into a building but...

A panicked expression appeared on his face; he'd...he'd just...phased...through it....

What...?

Now he was halfway in and halfway out of some building like he was a ghost...wait...was he!? That didn't make sense though! If he were dead then he'd be in Rukon properly! This was not properly!

"Ah, what is going on..." He said aloud, unaware of the woman sitting across the little house as he was too caught up in his confusion, and also having forgotten the voices he'd been debating nearing as well.

Aoi's eyes immediately opened as she heard someone speaking. She was across the room in an instant, knife out and aimed for their neck as she took in the person height and position in that brief split second. The blanket had barely fallen to the ground as she reached the man... only to stop cold.

Wh-what?! Not one to be startled easily at all, the assassin stumbled back with wide blue eyes. What? How?! What was this!?

The voice in her head that had been bringing warmth had faded, almost as if it too was shocked. This man was...stuck...inside of a wall and still alive?

Unable to help it, a shocked yelp of sorts as he noticed the woman along with...the knife in her hand at first glance; could...if he were phasing through things could he literally die here!? Shit, shit, shit...

Before he had much time to panic though his attention went back to the woman as she fell, shocked at his... Rin looked behind him to see he was still phased into the wall halfway.

Quickly he moved to straighten himself into a sitting position; "Aaaah, it's fine, it's fine! Something's weir-...." Now he finally noticed the woman's appearance full on, A...Aoi!? At least...she looked very, very much like Aoi!

"H...Huh..."

The man had yelped like a child, but that was to be expected... What was with his weird clothes? Aoi was just perplexed, the voice in her head having faded in shock apparently as the man moved himself from the wall and..sat in air?

Her confused brain was not equipped to deal with such things... she looked at the nice knife contemplatively, looked at the source of her confusion... Stabbing...stabbing it would be good. She ignored his startled words and comments, regaining her composure and balance as a cold look came over her and she dove ahead quickly again to end this witnesses life.

Or...she attempted that. Instead she went right through him, knife and all. She stumbled to a halt as she ran up against the wall with a pained yelp, her knife gouging a hole in it as she bounced off and landed on her back.

As Rin was trying to bite through his confusion on this, much like the Aoi-like woman, he hardly noticed as she took the stance to attack him, only noticing at the last second as another yelp escaped him just as he shut his eyes as if to brace for impact.

He...didn't hurt....

Opening his eyes, he saw the woman fall back after her knife had gouged a hole in the wall.

"Aaa, are you alright? That...um..." Why had he asked that!? She'd clearly attempted to kill him just now! Why was he asking that!? He was crazy, he had to be...

Aoi laid on the ground, expecting a counter attack and death from her failure, her body weak at the moment from lack of sleep and lack of good food. Maybe death would be better than slow insanity and utter burning warmth.

It would be cold again, she had no doubt... Her eyes closed as she waited for him to end her...only to get that question. Blue eyes popping open, she rolled with a wince off of the injured back and sat up. Wh-Who asked that of their their attempted murderer!? She had clearly just tried to kill this weird ghost man and he just...wondered if she was okay?!

Spluttering, she finally spoke coherently as she slowly blinked. "...Am I hallucinating? What is going...going on?"

She was normally quiet but this...this was too odd.

She...She even sounded like Aoi some too! This woman was almost like a twin... As far as he knew, and Aoi knew though she didn't...have siblings, much less a twin... What was going on...

Just as that thought crossed his mind it crossed the woman's as well.

"I....I'm unsure as to what is going on exactly....I don't think you're hallucinating?" Rin answered; he was unable to really help her much...as he was quite confused himself...

"...A hallucination would say that." The voice was frigid, unbelieving. She had had them before when starving, they had all assured her of their reality. Besides, it just sat there after she had tried to kill it... Though it had yelped and squeaked like a real person did when scared of dying. She'd heard those noises enough to know.

A sharp pain in her jumbled head caused her to yelp herself, the voice returning and pushing her to climb to her feet and stumble back over to her blanket. Her wounds had reopened and blood squished under her steps. Pretty blood but her own... Rest... she needed rest... "Go away. I need rest...What kind of person worries over their...murderer..."

"Ah..."

Well...he couldn't exactly retort her statement...

His eyes widened slightly as the woman yelped in pain before he finally noticed...blood. That...that was good! She could seriously die if she didn't get those treated!

Go away?

"You need bandages though, you can't just allow those wounds to bleed out! Um...if you had something else to use..." She seemed to need that blanket for warmth; wasn't there anything else she could use!?

At the murderer comment, he gave a sheepish smile; "I suppose I'm not...the sanest, I had thought the same but...I couldn't help but ask, you'd seemed pained..."

"...On my back. Too large to bandage." Well it was a hallucination, it didn't hurt to tell it things. Aoi winced as she sat down and pulled the blanket back around her body. Sleep would help, she healed fast in her sleep. The scabs had been good ones, healing ones before she over did things and tore one or more open.

They would close up soon... It wasn't as if she had bandages or any way to really put them on. Her eyes closed as she breathed a bit harshly from the pain, before one popped open again at his words. "A not sane hallucination...how weird."

The voice in her head spoke softly, pushing against things and causing her to hurt more and cause her to grumble at him. "Why do you care if I am hurt?"

She couldn't maintain her coldness, or her warmness. She was flashing between either of them, the pain keeping her out of sorts and talking since it was a distraction at the least...

Her back...

Why hadn't he ended up being a fullbringer with healing abilities!? It seemed...like it'd be helpful right about now, but instead he'd gotten...

No, now wasn't the time to get frustrated over his abilities!

If she just...had an extra blanket or something... This damn building was basically empty though...

Why did he care if she was hurt?

"You...you really remind me of someone I really care about...so maybe that's why, and...you're in a lot of pain, so...it's painful to see you in pain and not being able to do anything..."

Apparently his hand just went through whatever he attempted to touch, so even if he found another blanket he'd be unable to grab it it seemed...

What was he supposed to do...?

That made a lot more sense. Aoi could accept that. Other people had those who cared for them, she'd exploited that many times. Compassion was very simple to understand in this situation... very very selfish compassion. He wouldn't care if she didn't remind him of that person...

"...Aoi. Aoi Murahana." She spoke her name, quietly maybe she could use this compassion. Help...help would be appreciated, especially if he could phase through walls and wasn't a hallucination, which was becoming less and less likely. A name to a person, much like one to a thing or animal attached someone...

She didn't need his name, but... yes this could work.

Ao...i....

Rin was obviously shocked by the name given, that was... What? This...That was impossible though, how could she...

What...? "A-Aoi..." The name escaped him before he could stop himself from repeating it in...a tone that held a mixture of emotions. Confusion, worry, and maybe a bit of fear.

What was going on? He...

He recalled what he knew about Aoi's past and...an image like this connected...but... how could...

"R-Rin...Aoyama..."

The man's shocked state didn't go unnoticed. Aoi's other eye opened weakly, the way he spoke her name seemed odd... She had no energy left though and laid there, resting and conserving it for now. He was...what was that? Confusion and worry and fear? Why had her name done that...

His name barely affected her, storing it away for using when she needed. Her voice was tired and she sighed, wondering what he was so weirded out about. "What?"

"A-Ah...I don't know how to explain it...I'm...I think I'm even more confused but...but...blankets, you need more blankets..."

Well, he had a slight feeling he knew what he was seeing, but...how was he able to interact with her!?

This was...this was Aoi...her name, and appearance, and voice...There was no way it could be a coincidence.

He looked down at his coat; would...

She'd gone right through him earlier though... What was he supposed to do? He had to help...had to...

"...I do." Aoi wouldn't say she didn't need more... she did. She needed more of everything... Looking up at him, it was obvious her condition wasn't the best but it wasn't deadly. She sat up a bit in a careful manner of her wounds, holding the blanket to her.

"...Come here..." Maybe she could...use him for warmth? But he was somehow not solid... Maybe he gave off heat somehow though? She would try anything at this point, needing something...

"A-Alright..." She wanted him to come over; maybe...maybe he gave off some heat, he couldn't work as a bandage though, but...maybe heat?

He did as asked, and moved closer to her; no matter how he looked at it, this was Aoi...one from before he'd met her, but it was Aoi all the same...

He'd promised he'd keep her warm, even if this was...the literal way this time. He could sit by her and hopefully give her some warmth. Hopefully...

Aoi reached out as he moved closer...touching his leg. It was...warm and she gave a sigh of relief, her body moving as she laid her head on the man's lap. It was reassuringly solid and warm, much comfier than the floor... She was glad she reminded him of someone he cared for, she would be safe with this man. He would protect her... she could rest. Rest and heal...

Tomorrow night she could enact her plan then...

Rin gave no objections as Aoi moved to rest her head on his lap when it seemed she could; apparently he was warm, as she seemed to relax some. He wasn't tired at all, and it wasn't uncomfortable sitting like this, so...he'd stay this way so she could get some sleep.

Those wounds still worried him though...

Aoi's breathing turned soft though it was still a bit stilted, pained even in her sleep. It wasn't bleeding anymore, the wounds having clotted enough, so the blanket was barely spotted with blood. It was evening so there was still some light though not much...

She would sleep for a while unless woken by something, needing the rest to heal up before she had to get food and prepare herself.

Rin wasn't sure how much time passed, but he never felt the need to sleep himself, though his mind wasn't on his usual needs. He was...trying to figure things out.

He was seeing and...able to interact some with Aoi's past. That was what he'd come to realize, but how had this happened? He'd been going out to train, and...then he was here...

How though? What had caused it?

No matter how hard he thought about it he couldn't come up with anything...

Aoi woke up after a few hours in the dead of night, her mind working swiftly as she realized she was warm and on someone's lap. She had no drowsy inbetween state, instead went from sleep to wake in moments. Sitting up, she blinked and looked around. There was less pain, so the wounds would be more healed than before... she was an oddly fast healer so it wouldn't bother her too much.

"You stayed...you must really like that person." Her voice was cold and flat, her blue eyes staring up at the odd man through the tiny bit of moonlight that lit the room slightly. "I need food. Are you coming too?"

Having a weird specter could help, though it depended on what he could do... Maybe they should test it?

Rin looked to Aoi as she woke up, remaining quiet until she noticed and spoke to him to which he gave a small smile to, "I do, but I'm also worried about you too, injuries like that...seem really painful."

Her voice had been cold, and rather flat, but he answered honestly. He wouldn't...couldn't expect much kindness from the Aoi of this time, she'd...been through too much...

When she mentioned going to get food, he gave a nod, "I'll accompany you, of course."

He still didn't know what he was capable of like this, he'd gone through a wall...that much he knew he could do but...was he even able to do more?

"If I see any blankets or anything as well I'll point them out to you." She'd need those as well.

"...You are confusing us..." Aoi murmured but accepted this kindness, it was a nice easy to exploit weakness she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. The wounds were painful but pain wasn't a problem for her.

Moving to stand, she carefully moved before testing out the limits of her bending and movements. It was a bit hampered, but she could manage. Some food would do wonders... as would some sort of bandages...

Glancing down at him, she shook her head. "No need. I'll be gone soon. Unless...bandages? Clothes. I need cleaner clothes, the blood is dried."

She could use a blanket to make the much needed bandages. If he could touch them he could help bind the wounds as well... and her current clothes were ruined. So at the very least he could find those for her. Aoi was double checking her weapons, going through the many daggers and knives she kept on her body...