As Jamie walked out into the cool night air, Marz filled her in on what had been going on in the city. Her eyes and mind wondering off to the places that no longer existed but where memory still kept them. She sighed too heavily and was caught. Marz's light teasing tone turned completely serious. "We can handle this; you don't need to be here. Why don't you...." She stopped him right there. "Thank you but like I tell all my children to overcome we must face what we fear the most. I can't just throw my rules out because this is me and not some abused or orphaned child in need of a protector." Marz snorted. "HA! Protector! Shauni most of them call you mother! If you'd just marry me I could help shoulder...." Jamie clicked him off and tossed the phone as hard as she could it was more than a block when she heard it hit the ground. Her cell phone company kept her in damn near indestructible cell phones. Had too in her line of work, shit tended to happen to her that just wasn't normal. Blowing up mostly on land it wasn't so bad, but the sea was always a little more of a problem. Sharks, killer whales, whatever liked bits of the bloody bad guy meat. Not that she was always immediately conscious after the blast but as always death refused to show her mercy and take her home. Home? Her eyes went to where she and her 2nd father lived. Tears sprang down her cheeks. The old man had cared for her when she had fallen through the portal, given her his armor that she had revised and shown herself that she yet had her smithing skills, at that time she'd momentarily forgotten the full curse. Her skin had welcomed the fires warmth, its calming effect, she hummed the lullaby her mother used to use to help her and her brother sleep through the wintery nights.... she slightly narrowed her eyes. How strange she hadn't thought of those very early years when she had been too young to go to the forge. Winter was not a Fire Smith's friend. In fact, when the wars came, they were usually in winter when facing a fire smith. Not every war had been with the reapers. Sometimes they were with the other smith clans or with the Archers, the last war had started with the elopement of an archer and her aunt who was a jewelry smith. The one claiming the other had been abducted by the other. Her father had been away at the High King's castle having completed a royal zenpakuto. Otherwise, it would have never come to bloodshed. It had taken father a full 5 months to first find the married couple and then find themselves a way into the valley. As when war came to the clans the borders were cut off from the rest of the dimensions. Not even the mountains to Mundo were open. A hand spooked her as it touched her shoulder. Ichigo Kurosaki, reaper, smith (as she caught his eyes changing color.) and whatever else as he smelled of a complex mixture. Yet her heart strings were pulled as tight as ones could get seeing the face of her very dead son looking down on her. She touched his hair. " I always knew his hair would go spiky if cut short enough. He was a good boy, talented, hardworking, quick study would have made a grand smith. Bya was an excellent cook, knew the forest like the back of her hand and every plant that could kill or heal...but life is not always as it should be is it." Ichigo saw her shoulders sag her eyes go down caste. He raised her chin so he could see her eyes, her tears turning into gems that held memories before shattering onto the cement and turning into regular tear drops. He hugged her close as she fell apart, the hurt in her coming to the forefront.
In the shadows of the next building, Orihime's heart burst with a mixture of surprise, confusion and hate before she turned away and went back home.