Kokoro and Momeej probably not sitting in a tree

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Exactly what these two were not doing presently, Kokoro and Momeej were instead enraptured with the work of the day. Kokoro trusted exactly two people to his private lab space, and one of them was basically his own invention so to call the list exclusive was, frankly, an understatement. There was an area, a forest in Japan called Aokigahara which had an oddly unique ambient Reiatsu signature to it, the signature seemed to be negatively impacting both Hollows and Shinigami that entered the area and was actively attracting the former. Such an odd case was something that would've come to Kokoro's attention eventually, but this had been expedited by the recent disappearances in that forest as well as with the alarming frequency of Arrancar which seemed to be spawning from it.

And that was why Kokoro was currently contrasting several dozen samples of ambient Reiatsu, his eye pressed to various microscopes and doo-dads that could sense this type of shit far better than he could. He frowned slightly as the results were obvious, yet provided little clarity. "The Hollows which spawn in that area have a unique signature to them, it's absolutely distinctive and yet I have no clue as to why or how that effects them. Furthermore, it appears that the signature is expediting their growth, and is even actively at odds with the Shinigami spirit. I need these details accounted for in my notes Momiji, hop to it."

Momiji, as ever, was ready to assist her captain in whatever he happened to be enraptured with here. "Of course sir, already on it" She nodded, speaking through the mask she tended to wear when out on mission. With the field notebook held in one hand the woman would go about jotting down everything Kokoro was finding here. It wasn't a pleasant place to be sure, in fact Momiji could recall the local legends from when she was alive. Perhaps Kokoro was unaware of this, though she decided that for now she would let him take charge of their research.

"Are there any structures of interest around here? Perhaps an old shrine or something" She shrugged, perhaps nudging him toward a new angle to attack the question from. After all, the scanning that had been done on the live samples had done little more than raise more questions as to what exactly they were looking at here.

Momeej was also willing to assist Kokoro in whatever pursuits had recently wrestled his attention away at any given time. His pursuits were varied and often a bit clustered, he rarely if ever had any true order to the things he was doing and instead opted to pursue whatever motivated him within the context of a given day. She had already left to retrieve whatever odds and ins he had required for the job at hand, her response radiated with an affirmative tone that Kokoro had grown accustomed to by this stage. This likely wasn't a pleasant place to be, but this was the situation they were facing.

"No structures of interest, though it does seem as though the places with the majority of troubled souls has a bit more of a dark, radiating energy to it. More Hollow energy seems to be there.. Perhaps we could investigate for a shrine or.. Hm. Field work for later."

Kokoro continued to ponder it. "I suppose a place such as this with a multitude of people who had troubled souls and thus troubled ends.. It makes sense that Hollows would frequent the area and that it would be a birthplace for them, but that doesn't explain why we can't parse through the ambient energy there.."

Kokoro began to stroke his chin, still analyzing samples as his mind churned. "I wonder if instead of an old shrine, the issue may be more derivative of an old artifact left behind.."

Momiji was happy to just follow along with whatever it was that Kokoro had planned it seemed. Jotting down what he was noting as they wandered along through to see what they could find about this mysterious forest. While she knew this place had a history, the Shinigami had never really witnessed anything strange first hand while alive, at least not that she could remember. Of course now it was hard not to notice the foreboding energy that came with death through a means such as this.

"Well I don't recall anything being reported by the scouting teams" She flipped through the book she carried with her, noting that the last scouting trip through the area had been as routine as they came. Nothing out of the ordinary and certainly no great mystery to follow up on. Though that team hadn't been here on the scientific journey that Momiji and Kokoro found themselves on. "Perhaps we should head further in, closer to the mountain?" They had only really journeyed through the outer edges so far at this stage, and the malignant energy that radiated through the area only seemed to grow more concentrated further inside.

Slotting the book away, she looked back out into the surroundings. "It isn't as though we're going to find much just standing around here"

Momeejer was seemingly happy to go along with whatever Kokoro had set out to do in the day, jotting down lots of notes that Kokoro may or may not glance at later on was basically her job description since becoming Vice-Captain, and it probably wasn't the most difficult position to occupy. She noted that there had been preliminary scouting teams sent to the forest whom had uncovered very little, nothing of note seemed to be the description used in all reports on the forest. They all noted the energy, it was tangible and noteworthy but as for a direct source? Nothing could seem to be figured out, no findings were ever recorded and this on it's own was enough to compel Kokoro towards action.

He stood up from his desk, slowly sliding his arms through the sleeves in his Haori, gently allowing it to cover his form. "I think you may be on to something Momiji. Come with me, and don't bother leaving a note or informing anyone of our departure. Better to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission."

As Kokoro headed towards the door, he grabbed a few tools and set out for the Senkaimon. "Follow close behind me."

The girl went along and continued jotting down the rest of her initial notes. Nothing concrete yet of course, but there were plenty of theories that she had been building while they worked. Unfortunately this wasn't enough, so they'd be heading out personally it seemed.

Momiji nodded, it seemed that the pair were off for a little bit of field work after all. It wasn't all too often that either of them would go out themselves but that could only mean that Kokoro had to think there might be something better kept from the rest of the Gotei, or at least that's how Momiji figured it. Either way, she went ahead to pack a few extra notebooks within her robes while retrieving her zanpakuto with a small flourish, twirling the blade to the holster over her back.

"Well, no time to waste then, hrm?" The younger shinigami, double checked she had everything to ensure this whole trip went smoothly while following along to the Senkaimon.

As the girl finished her note taking, Kokoro finished his preparations for the field work they were about to do. He brought his supplies in a handy container that he stashed in his Haori, the box contained things for sample collection and plenty of other thingymuhjiggers that would reveal themselves as the plot required. As the two entered the Senkaimon Kokoro quickly walked onwards, not bothering to pace himself since his Reiatsu was more than sufficient to make a trip such as this a breeze.

Upon arrival, Kokoro would take a moment to get his bearings and inventory his position. Seemingly on cue, an Arrancar appeared behind Momiji, and while she could almost certainly handle it he opted to do so instead, chucking his scythe right over her skull and through the head of the Gillian level Hollow at her back. As it faded, he Shunpo'd over and removed it's scythe from it's skull. Upon further investigation it appeared the forest itself was rife with Hollow activity, if Kokoro threw his zanpakuto in any given direction he'd have a 50-50 shot of hitting a Hollow by accident. "This is certainly.. interesting. Unexpected to say the least, I wonder if they get thicker in a certain direction.."

Kokoro stroked his chin for a moment before glancing over at Momiji. "Alright, see if there are any reports indicating heightened activity in certain regions of the forest. Any directional information at all could help us."

The trip between the Soul Society and Earth was thankfully a short one, finding themselves in the strange otherwordly quietness that filled the area. Were it not for the hollow being so quickly dispatched behind her with a single skilled attack from her Captain. Momiji casually brushed a stray hair back into place and took out the notes she had so far on the area. "Well, it seems hollow activity is surprisingly high in this area. Though the scouts suppressed their spiritual pressure to better navigate, I'm afraid they'll be drawn to you like moths to a flame"

She flipped the page, skimming through until she found their next lead. "As we move further up the mountain the numbers should thin, if only because the more powerful hollow have begun to infest the upper peaks. It sounds like that's where we could start?" Her thinking being that the scouts had no ventured too far into the forest, perhaps the answers that they were looking for would be there.

"I will consider this an exercise in cleansing then, any Hollow dumb enough to wander towards my flame will perish. Follow behind me closely, and be sure not to die. It seems as though moving up the mountain is our best course of action then doesn't it.. very well." Kokoro slowly but surely walked forwards, carefully dispatching any Hollows who went near him with little more than a lazy sideways slash with his scythe. Occasionally to mix it up he'd mix in a diagonal strike, but really nothing he was running into on the lower part of the mountain was enough for him to raise an eye at. "If these Hollows are what scared our scout teams off, they should all be sent back to the academy. Cowards."

Kokoro's disregard was apparent, and the occasional corpses of half-eaten humans in the forest were positioned like warning signs throughout the area, behind the tree where one such body had met it's end, Kokoro noticed a Shinigami's outfit and immediately pointed. "Come with me, stay close."

The body was marred, dangerously unkempt and the mans face hung ragged, like a devil's sick of sin. His stomach had grown swollen, and his eyes were yellowish in tint, the Reiatsu around his body was almost foreign and his face had marks as though he had tried to claw his own face off, his fingernails were caked with flesh from this particular ordeal. Even Kokoro was put off by this, his mind trying to conjure up whatever possibilities it could. Kokoro looked for words, but found himself patently at a loss as he quickly went to retrieve samples from the mans flesh. "What a mess.."

"Very well" Momiji promptly took her own weapon in hand, folding her notebook away for now as they journey off deeper into the forest. It was certainly a mess, with human remains littered throughout the area. Some clearly having been gnawed on by the resident hollow population, or perhaps local scavengers if they could manage it. Her own contribution to combat was about as casual as her captain, swift strikes dispatching most in moments as their masks were cleaved or pierced. "They probably weren't too far out of the Academy, Sir"

Their search continued regardless of the hollow forces involved, when they came across what looked to be one of their own. "This isn't the work of these hollows though, is it" She crouched down, placing her weapon to the side as she quickly draws a fresh notebook out to begin this new line of research. Starting with a description of the scene and a hastily drawn sketch on the opposite page.

"This energy isn't normal, even for this place" She finished up, standing again as she shook her head, peeling her gaze away from the spectacle before them.

Kokoro was too preoccupied to respond to the woman's first comment but the second struck home with him as he quickly analyzed the body for markings. "Well.. he's not eaten, the only struggles evident are with himself.. It's as though he were driven mad and succame to a virus of some sort, but I've never seen any thing tear up a Shinigami like this and to make matters worse.."

Kokoro rolled the man over, his body peeling loose from the dry blood and murky forestry it had become accustomed to. "It appears that this man was a 4th seat, from what I recall he was actually being considered for promotion to Vice Captain not too long ago so he's fairly powerful to say the very least. No virus should've been enough to accomplish this, and certainly not in this small amount of time, at least nothing I've ever been familiar with except for.."

In an instant, Kokoro's mind reflected back to some files he had uncovered in his research when he was younger. A secret mission that had been expunged from the Gotei's records, his former captain revealed sparse details to sate Kokoro's curiosity but nothing that was ever truly satisfactory. Kokoro's face contorted into a frown as he gathered samples from the prone corpse. "I want this body retrieved and brought to my lab at the end of this expedition of ours. For now, let's continue on."

Kokoro would cast one more passing glance to the body before looking up towards the trail yet again, his mind adrift with various possibilities. "It's true, the energy in this area feels.. off. I will once again advise you to stay close, last thing we need is you ending up like that cadaver to your left." As Kokoro finished speaking, he continued his trek up the mountain, hoping he'd be able to uncover at least a few more bits of information.

It was quite the horrific little scene they had stumble upon, particularly upon closer inspection. What could have caused such torment before death? The idea of a plague that could cause horrible self-inflicted wounds like that was possibly the most chilling aspect. Diligent as ever though, Momiji went on to continue noting down everything of worth. Adding an entire page on the idea of a virus causing this.

"Could a hollow cause this? Perhaps a unique ability among their numbers?" Certainly a possibility here, it was always surprising to see just how varied the hollow could be. Maybe one particularly powerful creature had taken up residence. However, Kokoro had sated his curiosity for now it seemed. So to preserve the area, Momiji promptly conjured up what seemed to be a kidou spell. A quiet incantation followed by some gentle hand movements would conjure up binding cloth from the ether, winding and sealing the corpse before them. "That will keep it from deteriorating further" She explained as they moved onward.

The girl nodded, making sure to keep an eye on their surroundings. Whatever it was that lingered over the area they were not going to figure out it's secrets without first venturing forth, no matter the danger that faced them.

It was impressive, almost admirable how diligent Momiji was in the face of what could otherwise be described as pure terror and carnage. Staring at the lifeless body of a former comrade who’d all but clawed his own face off in death, she was tirelessly recording notes about the event and had her wits about her enough to pack his carcass around through means of Kidou. Kokoro wasn’t exactly going to admit it openly, but he was more than satisfied with his choice for Vice-Captain at times like these. He wasn’t exactly easy to deal with, and she suited his sensibilities almost perfectly.

“I don’t think another Hollow would have abilities that could cause this, though I don’t suppose it’s something I could blatantly rule out. Frankly, that’s the best case scenario. Worst case scenario there is a virus threatening our ranks and we know next to nothing about it, except that it appears to induce a rather agonizing end to whoever contracts it.”

Kokoro sighed, continuing up the trail while nodding at the girls resourcefulness in dealing with the body. As they continued walking forward Kokoro immediately through up a hand to stop Momiji from going forward any further. “I sense.. something, coming our way. Feels like.. a Shinigami, yet with Hollow energy inside of it.. Similar to that deceased Shinigami back by the tree.. be on guard.”

"I suppose so.. I just hope we can find whatever if it causing this before it gets out of hand. The last thing we need is an outbreak" As a healer, Momiji was more than aware of the ravages that disease could bring to a community. Though it was hard to think of such a thing striking down the people of Soul Society. All it did was keep her razor sharp to ensure that didn't happen.

Instead she kept her guard up, naginata held ready to strike the moment something appeared. And that grip only tightened when her Captain stated that there was something approaching. "Another one? This one is moving?!" That wasn't good, it gave credence to Kokoro's guess at a potential source. While her own sensing abilities were not so highly tuned, it seemed that she could sense whatever it was that was rapidly moving toward them.

She waved a hand over Kokoro, allowing a pale gold glow to illuminate the forest for the moment as her ability went to work. Even with his own personally engineered biology would find itself improving further in ways the mad scientist might not have thought. Regardless, whatever ability she had just used, Kokoro was feeling particularly agile somehow, earning more speed out of his movements than normal. "Ready sir"

Techniques Used:

Momiji's statement didn't fall on deaf ears, but there wasn't really a response with any merit that Kokoro could muster for now and so he didn't make much of an attempt to. He simply nodded his head, allowing for his mind to drift back to his work wondering what exactly this could be, and what exactly, if anything, he could do about it. Typically, these kinds of perplexing questions had answers he could come to within a short amount of time but this simply wasn't one of those. He was at a loss. As they approached the now moving subject, it didn't take long for it to make itself apparent. It was draped in a Haori, a recently replaced Vice Captain had apparently been apart of the scout team after-all. It had been suggested that he had died in combat, and yet, here he was.

For a moment, there was relief, but that was quickly replaced with concern when the man came into clearer view. His face was obstructed with a mask, his voice and breathing sounded deeper, as though he were both two people at once and yet not a person at all. He resembled more monster than man with malignant Hollowfied pillars sprouted from his back, and his tongue hung loose from a mask that covered his features from view. "Stand back Momiji. Vice-Captain, I am giving you once chance to drop your Zanpakuto and let yourself be taken in. I'm afraid this situation doesn't allow for much patience."

The man in front of him responded with a blood curdling scream, launching a cero in Kokoro's general direction which was avoided by Shunpoing out to the left. In an instant the Hollow appeared, much faster than any Vice Captain had a right to be and made a slash towards Kokoro's head. Kokoro parried it narrowly with his scythe, pushing the beast into the ground with a twist of his blade. He constricted the man with tentacles, a restraint that typically worked on Captain level fighters was ripped off like it was nothing at all much to Kokoro's befuddlement. "What in the hell are you.."

It was in this moment that the man would use Sonido to get to Momiji's position, and by this point Kokoro had taken enough chances to justify ending this. He followed with a Shunpo of his own and immediately propelled his scythe up through the former Lieutenants, spine, leaving him murmuring and stammering at the end of his Zanpakuto. As the mans soul chain was cut along with his spine, it appeared that the Hollowfied portions of his body slowly began to degrade and slide off of him with a gross almost slimy noise. The Shinigami himself seemed almost at peace with being put to rest, a smile contorting his features was his last act before passing away. Kokoro would by this point turn his attention to Momiji, who was covered in blood from the previous affair and it appeared to be burning through her garbs. "Take those off before it gets to your skin. I apologize."

The Vice-Captain watched out as they made their way onward, if only a little before the sickening aura of this creature that had been stalking them finally revealed itself before them. She steps back swiftly, dropping her stance slightly while pointing the blade of her weapon forward. She dare not move just yet, it almost looked like the strange amalgamation of monstrosity before them could have been an ally. In fact, were it not for the grotesque mask across it's face she could swear she could recognize the man standing before them. Though that idea was swiftly knocked aside, as Kokoro's words would quickly reveal to her who it was before them.

The woman tensed up at the scream, only to fire off a devastating beam of energy. One that she only narrowly avoided due to the sheer surprise of the thing. It was here that she mostly lost pace, with a flurry of motion before her that took too long to decode. At least until her captain had managed to pin the beast, capturing it with the tendrils he could conjure up. During all her time working with the man, she could never recall anything escaping those bindings without significant struggle.

The thought lingered, perhaps too sure of the scientists' abilities in this case, as the familiar figure proceeded to close the distance between the two of them in an instant. Were it not for the equally swift intervention from Kokoro it was likely she wouldn't have been coming home. For just a moment she could only watch on as the man struggle out some final words, only to smile as he finally expired. This image had managed to burn into her mind as the blood began to wear away at her clothes. In a rush she tore the top layer of clothing, further removing a sash she wore around her waist to try and clear the tainted blood from her face and eyes, coughing as she stepped away from the corpse.

"Is this who I think it is?" She managed to finally follow up, clean enough now, if perhaps missing the layers of clothes needed for a mountain like this. "What could possibly do that to a shinigami?" She seemed a little razzled, needing a moment to gather herself after this whole thing finally slowed down, giving her a moment to gather her thoughts.

As the body slumped forth to the ground below a small frown would work it's way across Kokoro's face, and he quickly stored away the removed clothes in a package for safe-keeping. "I'm not sure what could do that to a Shinigami, this is all very.. new to me to say the very least. Regardless, I don't think we should go forward any further."

Kokoro glanced forward, noting the screams and howls of Hollows and abominations further up the mountain. "You've come close to death one too many times today I think. We're going to head back to the Gotei and report our findings, but not before a bit more discussion as to what exactly it is we've seen here today. I'd rather be careful with what we do and do not report if it's all the same to you."

Kokoro would in that moment open the Senkaimon, casting a glance towards Momiji who was still visibly shaken up. "Come along."

Momiji took a moment to really consider what had just happened here, and what they might be really dealing with. Taking a deep breath, she collects her thoughts and calms. Taking the time to quickly bind the remains of their lost vice captain. "It has to be something nearby, what if this creature was just guarding... whatever it is" she seemed keen to continue, despite the danger they had seen so far. There wasn't really much point to convincing him now though, Kokoro did tend to be a little stubborn at times. "Very well, Sir" she nods, following through the Senkaimon shortly after to return back to base.

When they arrived, Momiji would move off to get decontaminated. Avoiding any others on her way to destroy what clothes remained. Returning shortly after with fresh garments and a much more relaxed expression. However, it was clear that in the scuffle she had been scratched across the cheek. Despite being a light wound, it was already bleeding through the bandages. "So.. I suppose we should discuss what we've seen?" She retrieved her notes, ready to chronicle this discussion.

Kokoro pondered what she had said, stopping for a moment to consider it. "I don't think he was guarding anything, I think we were simply at the epicenter for whatever caused what happened to him. We should both quarantine and remove ourselves from this situation for at least the next few days."

As she affirmed that they should leave he began pacing through the Senkaimon and quickly arrived back at the Seireitei, his mind was still wrapped up with possibilities and confusion, a new state of being that had eluded him for quite some time in recent years. He paid haphazard attention as his young Vice Captain arranged everything, as he noticed her bleeding a tendril would slowly work it's way into her cheek, attempting to clean the wound in an instant before stiching the wound shut and leaving it with some stem cells for regenerative purposes. "You will be staying in the lab with me over the course of the next several days. As for the rest.. Give me your account first, your speculations, then I'll give you my opinion and any extra details."

Kokoro cracked his neck and closed his eyes. "Start whenever you are ready Momiji."

She touched the freshly healed wound tenderly after the wound was healed. It seemed to have done the trick, for now at least. Even with Kokoro's ability it seemed to be inflamed at the very least. Though with Momiji herself being one of the leading experts in the field, it wasn't likely she would let something so small get out of control.

Following this, she went ahead and took a seat, agreeing with the idea of quarantine fairly swiftly as it only made sense to do so. It was then that she was called to go back over what she had seen so far.

"Very well." She flipped to the first page, giving the book a swift once over before finally speaking. "It seems as though there is something distinctly hollow in nature around the Aokigahara forest. I'd say unlikely to be a once off event, or if it was something that happened in the past then this would be fallout. Judging by the lingering energy and elevated hollow population in the area" she paused, flicking through further.

"The former shinigami we encountered seemed to be infected... It would be unlike any disease I have ever seen though. The hollow-like structures growing on the body and formation of a mask says that much. As to how it happened, I have no idea." She turned to a new page, ready to continue writing for Kokoro's conclusion. "I think it would be wise to warn the others of the danger however, perhaps in vague terms.. Until we know more about this thing"

Kokoro took note of the inflammation of the wound, jotting down a note lightly in his notepad as he kept a close eye on, well, her eyes. As Momiji took a seat, he felt inclined to do the same, listening as she recounted the experience they had both just lived out some short few minutes ago. Her details were on point, this much was the usual and it's why he had chosen her specifically for the position she was currently occupying. Her note taking was calculated, meticulous in nature and she as a person was very observant, intelligent to a degree that most Shinigami simply couldn't claim to be. This whole trip was seemingly a reminder as to why he had picked her for this position, the very idea was enough to bring a light smile to his face.

"I agree, this isn't a one off event, this is a recurring theme spurred on by something or someone, but I'll be damned if I can put a finger on what it is.." Kokoro's fingers tapped against his chin, his silence seemingly welcoming Momiji to continue on. "So.. you sensed the hollow nature of the malignant growths on the Shinigami as well hm.. the masks, the white fleshy growths, the black bile the spewed forth from them, the acidic blood.. all bad signs, all things I have only seen in Hollows yet.. this.. shouldn't be."

Kokoro leaned back, internally reviewing what he had seen one more time as his brain worked overtime trying to figure the situation out. "Put in a request for expeditions to the Suicide Forest to be stopped, any rescue missions for remaining members there are to be canceled, Shinigami who were sent are to be declared dead. Anyone who went and made it out needs to be placed on a 2 week quarantine, you and I will stay within the squad 3 barracks for a similar length of time.

Kokoro was still keeping a close eye on his vice-captain, but given she appeared healthy he opted to finish up. "Relay that there is an unknown virus, and loads of Hollows in the area and it can no longer be deemed safe. The forest is overrun, all souls who enter do so with the knowledge that their lives are now forfeit. Tell the Captain Commander that he may correspond with me directly if he needs more information, thank you Momiji. You've been a lot of help in this investigation, I'm sorry you were harmed in the process."

Momiji would follow up by simply listening to the man as he agreed with the general gist of her statements, adding hastily written final thoughts for later review in her notebook. It seemed that they were looking at the potential for hybrid creatures, perhaps overtaken by the power of whatever it was that set off this 'event' as they had come to call it. It was a terrifying thought that such a thing could be possible but here they were, faced with their discovery. One that Kokoro decided to keep a secret for now.

Even as Kokoro went about giving his orders, Momiji had quickly written them out on a separate book. This one looked as though it had less use, however it was what she used for such official rulings. "Right away! I'll ensure these are passed along before quarantine" She tore the page cleanly and placed it in front of him, looking for his signature before she would pass it along. While she tended to be respected well enough among the higher levels of command, such an order coming from the vice-captain would certainly have her answering questions.

Once that was done, she turned to leave, knowing that she would need to be swift and discrete in avoiding any of the soul society's residents. Before she stepped away however she would look around and nod at the acknowledgement. Not something she often saw from Kokoro of course, but it seemed to be appreciated judging by the smile. "Of course sir" The girl would then head away. Though for Kokoro, that last little glance might have a cause for concern for his vice captain. Perhaps a trick of the light, but for just a moment the man could have sworn that he saw an almost piecing yellow gaze in the place of her usual gentle green, with a brief minute feeling of virulent energy in the air.. but as quickly as he noticed, it was gone. Whatever it was, Momiji would head out as if nothing had happened to finish her work, as she always had done.

As Akane continued to scribble her notes down in her book Kokoro kept a close eye on her, analyzing her for symptoms as she began to write and jot away at her notebook. Her demeanor wasn't perfect, she was still a bit shaky but there wasn't much in the way of unique symptoms that could be directly parsed from anxiety. She nodded along, informing him that she'd have his rulings passed along before she began a quarantine and by now, he figured she'd had plenty of excitement that day and so he wasn't in any rush to stop her. He used a tendril with a pen to sign the form she had handed him, displaying a level of precision that was more than a little alarming to the unknowing observer. "I appreciate your assistance on this level Momiji. Once done, please get a bit of rest. You've earned it."

Kokoro would turn to open the door for the lady, allowing her to leave. As she walked by, Kokoro almost stopped her, her eyes seemed to tinge yellow as he immediately did a double take but on a second look the tinge was gone. Maybe he was just seeing things..

-Thread end-