Ivy's eyes sparkled in glee. She had figured it out! Pushing herself off the grass and onto the feet, she smiled at the thick air before spinning on her toes. This place, the reason she was here; she knew what it was at last!

"I know this place," she gasped. "This is…"

-O-

"Rukia, hurry up!"

The ten year old looked up at her best friend, a deep scowl on her face.

"Gosh, what the hell does it look like I'm doing?" she growled threateningly.

The red haired boy stopped running through the long, yellow grass and waited for the girl to catch up.

He looked up at the sky and frowned.

"Hisana said she wouldn't be able to do it if we don't get out of here by Linith…" Renji said. Rukia looked up at the sky in worry. Red was quickly covering the light grey of the sky; a sign that Linith was quickly approaching.

"Then, how about you help me carry this, Renji?" Rukia suggested as she continued to pull the large chest up the hill.

"I can't, Rukia. Hisana warned me not to touch it."

Rukia groaned at the mention of her sister's name. When Hisana's name was called, she knew she had no say.

"Rukia, we made it!"

She looked up at the door in relief. It stood in the middle of the field without any support. It wasn't any normal kind of door; it was a door that connected any two places with its permission. Since it was Hisana's door, she had already gained the permission to use it.

"Hurry!" Renji pleaded as he held the door open for her. "I could feel them coming!"

The sky had gone completely red.

Rukia didn't dare argue. She immediately pushed the chest through the doorway and pulled Renji in with her.

Looking over his shoulder, Renji saw a creature the size of a human silently emerge from the ground. It was brown like dirt and its back was covered in the long, yellow grass. Its red eyes flashed dangerously as it raised a bow. It quickly placed an arrow in it then SLAM!

Renji heard the arrow hit the wood of the door just as it slammed shut.

They were almost caught in Linith.

He let out a breath of relief and looked over at Rukia. She was kneeling on the ground and letting out loud pants. Her hands were gripping the chest for support. Pushing the chest up that hill by herself had her feeling tired.

"You're back." a soft voice from the corner of the small, dark room said.

Some books were heard crashing to the ground as a petite figure made its way towards them. A few more things fell to the ground before the person stood before them.

"Welcome back Renji, Rukia." The teen greeted warmly. She was about fifteen years old and looked almost exactly like Rukia. There were a few differences such as her sickliness and her volume of hair was more than Rukia's.

"We're back, Hisana-nee."

The girl looked down at the chest Rukia was clutching.

"Renji, did you touch it?"

"No Hisana."

She smiled in approval. "Good."

"What do you need those things for, sis?" Rukia asked.

Hisana smiled at her sister before dragging the chest away from her.

"I warned Renji not to touch it because with his abilities, he would have nullified the magic of the items in the chest. These are items for future telling."

"Future telling?" Renji asked as he followed her across the room. "Do you mean you're going to see how we are going to win against the Inastinaminans?"

Hisana sighed. "If we are to win."

Renji could only nod.

He wanted to say it, to scream it even; "We are going to win! We have to!"

The only thing stopping him was the fact that he didn't know. They didn't know if they were going to win. The other side had the upper hand when it came to the war. The humans didn't have much mages or spirits to help them.

Everyone was afraid to open their mouths and speak. Living as a legal human was already difficult enough with the discrimination and watching your kind being brutalized and murdered on the streets. With one mistake, questionable act or slip-up, you knew that was going to be you.

Rukia and Renji watched in silence as Hisana stalked up and down the room, grabbing a few things from drawers and shelved. She grabbed a mixing bowl from the counter before walking into the next room and slamming the door shut.

Renji sat quietly onto the floor and Rukia followed. They could both hear younger children giggling and playing in the room next to Hisana's. Renji turned to watch Rukia write a spell in light purple onto the air.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked barely above a whisper. She turned to him and grinned. Her hand reached out and grabbed a fistful of her spell.

She opened her hand to reveal five plump, dazzling, light blue berries.

"Mishas." she said. "You want one?"

He reached out to take one. It immediately lost its dazzle then turned into nothing. He groaned and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Stupid nullification abilities…"

Rukia stared at his grumpy figure for a moment before an idea came to her. She placed two of the berries on the floor and they lost their dazzle. She motioned for him to take them and he did. Nothing happened to them.

"How?" he asked.

She bit into the fruit and moaned as an icy fresh taste filled her mouth. She closed her eyes and motioned for him to wait.

"I stopped the floor of my magic in it. It was already safely in here so your nullification abilities had no effect." she explained as soon as the taste died down. Her ability to bypass his magic was proven to be the biggest flaw in his abilities soon later. Many people including him died because of it.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumble and the room shook violently. Blue smoke flowed from under the door of Hisana's room.

"Nee-chan!" Rukia shouted as she burst into the room, her face dripping with sweat and her eyes wide with panic. Thick, dark blue smoke clouded the floor and on the walls and ceiling were strange symbols. Strange items and books were strewn all over the room. Hisana was nowhere in sight.

"Nee-chan?" Rukia called as she stepped near a blue candle with a grey flame.

"Where are you? Are you in here?"

Renji stepped into the room and looked around. He scanned through the items strew around the room and eyed some scorch marks in the middle of the room suspiciously.

"Rukia," he spoke up. "I think she went to 'The Net'."

She spun around and looked at him angrily.

"That's impossible." she shouted. "She left her 'Oca' here! How is she to return? Hisana is not the type to forget something like that!"

During her exclamation, Renji went ahead and scanned the room some more. He spotted three cards lying facedown on the floor.

"I don't think she's coming back…"

Rukia's head snapped towards the boy.

"What do you mean?" she asked softly in an attempt to hide the fear in her voice.

He turned and silently handed her the cards. The first on showed two large, brightly coloured spheres with a light blue path between them. The second showed a small creature standing above and holding a sword over a larger, swooned beast. The last was blank except for its blue lining.

"Dimensions…victory… I can't figure out what the last one says though." Renji said. Rukia only stared at the cards with wide-eyes. Renji gave a large smile.

"See? Right I told you we were going to win? We just had to have-"

"Renji, this is my card." she blurted finally. His mouth shut and it was his time to stare.

"What?"

As soon as he said that, there was a high-pitched wail and the room next to them exploded, engulfing everything in flames.

-O-

"You're not like us." she said in a clear, strong voice. The man looked over at the eleven-year old standing at the other side of the fire. Her eyes were sharp and cold. The worn, brown dress she wore barely reached her knees.

"Tell me what you are." she demanded.

The man laughed, his hair falling into his face and his shoulders shaking violently.

"That's not how a young lady should ask." he said as soon as he calmed down.

"I'm no lady." she snapped almost immediately. "I'm a woman of the battlefield; a warrior. I am here to train so I could fight for my people. Now, what are you?"

"I'm a human." he replied.

"Lies!" she shouted. "I'm a mage. I know a human when I see one! If you are here to hurt my friends, I would end you this instant!"

The seriousness and the confidence empty of vanity she said those words with caused the man's silver eyes to widen in awe.

"Warrior," he said as he motioned to the space next to him. "Please, come and sit with me."

She silently walked around the fire and sat next to him.

"Try anything and you would instantly loose a limb." she warned coldly.

He nodded and picked up the flask next to his knee. He took a few gulps of the steaming liquid it contained.

"What is your name, warrior mage?"

"Rukia." she answered. "What are you, strange being?"

He laughed at the way she referred to him.

"I'm a spirit." he answered.

"A spirit?" she queried.

"Yes, I'm a being able to posses other existences as to support and transfer magical energy."

Rukia looked thoughtful for a moment.

"So," she started softly. "What would happen if you fuse with a being who already posses magical power, such as a mage?"

"Well," he said. "Both beings would become infusible and their magic would become one."

"Oh…" she said softly. "Now what is your name, spirit?"

He laughed and his tanned skin around his eyes crinkled up.

"I am called Tazen."

Rukia stood and pointed to a large tree in the centre of the camp.

"Tazen, do you see that tree?" she asked.

"Yes, I do."

"It is said to be filled with our ancestors' power." she said. "Is that the same concept as you?"

He shook his head. "It is not the same." he explained. "It is only a mass of magical energy."

"Oh," she said in understanding. "Can you fuse with me?"

"Yes I can."

"Okay. Then don't."

He looked at her in amusement.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because if you do fuse with it, you'd merge with it and I'd be unable to keep tabs on you." she said in a solid voice.

He blinked.

"Warrior mage, do you actually mean you won't have anyone to talk to?"

"I mean no such thing!" she barked angrily, her cheeks stained pink. She stomped her foot before marching away from him.

"Wait!" he called. "What is that on your wrist?"

She stopped and looked down at her wrist.

"Oh, you mean this?" she pointed to the strange symbol there. "Everyone here has it. My sister told me once that it was a curse. She also said I'm lucky to not have inherited them all."

"A curse?" Tazen asked. "What type of curse is it?"

Rukia looked back down at her wrist before looking up at the soupy looking sky.

"Young death."

-O-

"I heard you're the new mage here."

She turned to watch the tall man with spiky black hair and green eyes. He grinned and placed his hands on his waist.

"I hope your strong." he smirked.

The seventeen year old glared coldly up at him before looking back at the book in her lap.

"Ouch…that was…cold. I was just trying to welcome you."

She slammed her book shut and glared icily up at the man.

"I wouldn't be her if I wasn't strong!" she snapped. "I hope you are because I wouldn't tolerate anyone holding me back."

He gave her a wide grin.

"Wow…" he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "I like that confident attitude of yours. It's just too bad that you just snapped at your commander."

In no time flat, she was on her feet bowing.

"My deepest apologize, sir." she said quickly, her head low to hide the look of embarrassment on her face. "I-"

"Don't bother." he cut her off. "I like that snappy attitude of yours. Just don't be too much of a pain with it."

She raised her head to look at him, shock written all over face. Her mouth opened to disagree but she was cut of as he laughed.

She looked at him questioningly. He ruffled her pale hair and she tried to swat his hand away. He smirked.

"Listen up everyone!" he shouted at the rest of the lunchroom. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gave him full their full attention. "From now on, we're going to call…" He turned to her. "What's your name?"

"R-Rukia." she answered a bit hesitantly.

"Rukia's new name is Snappy. You guys got that? I'd punish anyone who calls her by any other name. You guys understand?" The grin on his face was the proof that he was only playing.

There was a playful chorus of "Yes sir!"

He turned back to Rukia with that grin still on his face.

"I'm the leader of this group of mages. Name is Kaien. We have quite a few beginner mages here so don't be too mean," he gave her a playful wink. "With that you should be alright."

She stared at him in surprise for a moment. He frowned.

"What are you supposed to say when someone gives you some advice?" he asked.

She looked at him stupidly before mumbling a barely audible "Thank you."

"Huh?" he asked loudly.

"I said thank you!" she shouted over him.

She blushed and covered her mouth. Everyone else in the lunchroom burst out laughing. Kaien turned to her and grinned. She soon found herself doing the same.

Barely six months late, she would be kneeling next to this man. Steam would be coming at them from all directions. He would beg her to leave as he was just dead weight. She would refuse.

"Don't be ridiculous, Rukia! We can't allow them to catch us both."

The look on her face caused his voice to soften.

"Everyone is counting on us so don't give me that look and just go."

Tears pooled in her eyes as she felt the tall earthen spire sticking from his leg. She placed her head against it and sighed, her heart feeling too heavy for her chest. She reached for his shredded hand and played with his bloody fingers. She pressed his blood caked palm to her lips.

"I won't be able to forgive myself if you die alone, Kaien."

His eyes widened and ironically, he found himself laughing. He stopped and used his good hand to wipe the water out of his eyes.

"Snappy, if you don't go a load of other people would be dying alone."

She still refused to go. He sighed.

"Rukia, if you don't go, I would be dying for nothing at all."

She looked down at the ground as to not see his pleading face. A few tears fell from her eyes and turned to steam before they hit the floor.

"Rukia…"

She ignored him.

"Rukia…c'mon…look at me. I have to tell you something."

Her eyes left the ground and she allowed him to see her tear stained face.

He took a deep breath.

"You see, if I die here it's not really the end. When we die, we only go away for a while. Someday, we'd come back into existence. Probably not in this word or looking the same but we definitely would. It's a never-ending cycle." He paused here and smiled. "If people care about each other deeply, they'd definitely see each other again. So you see, I'm positive that we'd see each other again, Snappy."

The cave shook violently and a growl bounced against the walls.

"Okay, you need to leave now." he said quickly as his eyes darted.

"But Kaien…"

"Didn't you hear me, Rukia? I'd see you again. I'm sure of it." he smiled. "So hurry and get out of here, Snappy."

-O-

All of these memories came rushing back to her and she found herself smiling. Of course, she was going to see him again. She believed that; she knew that. Oh heck, she was sure of it.

She stared into the moist eyes of the man before her. Her whole body ached and her heartbeat was getting fainter by the second but still, all of her attention was absorbed by him. While others would be absorbed with the fact that they were dying, he was more important than that.

Leaning up, she whispered the blessed words in his ear.

"Ichigo, I'll see you late. It's a promise, 'kay?"

His eyes widened and she smiled.

"I loved you, Ichigo."

-O-

Ivy's indigo eyes sparkled in glee. The air before her rippled and caused her dirty blonde hair to float. Soon, the rest of her followed the example of her hair. She reached out to touch the moon as she passed it. Her fingers just barely missed it.

"I've figured it out!" she gasped as she stood suspended in the air. "This place…I know this place! This is 'The Net', isn't it?"

A gasp of surprise made its way to her ears. She looked up to see something very much like a boy lying on the stars. He certainly wasn't human. His eyes were a sharp yellow and his shin was pale green. His black hair crowded his face messily and some was pulled into an untidy ponytail at the top of his head. He had a pair of full lips, a straight nose, a strange tattoo on his left cheek and long, pointed ears. A pair of dirty, scaly wings grew from his back. He wore a pair of trousers and had a long, sleek tail. He looked about her age.

"Hey, you!" Ivy called. He ignored her. "I'm talking to you!"

His head snapped in her direction.

"You can see me?" he asked.

"Why shouldn't I be able to?" she shot back. He sighed and sat on the air.

"Well, none of the other creatures here ever seemed to be able to." he admitted.

"Oh…well…I am!" Ivy grinned.

He jumped from his seat and landed on the air near her. Seemingly, he was gaining interest in her.

"What sort of being are you?" he asked as he walked towards her. The air rippled with each of his steps.

"I'm a human." Ivy answered as he stopped an arm's length away. "What about you?"

"Foize." he answered. He reached out to touch her hair but changed his mind at the last moment.

"Are all humans as beautiful creatures such as you?" his voice held something that made her heart flutter. A blush burst out on her face.

"Well…I guess so." she whispered softly.

He took a step away from her.

"I'm called Davsho. You?" His voice was light and he said each word quickly but as if parts of different sentences.

"My name is Ivy." she breathed. His voice was making her feel funny.

"Human Ivy," he said, still stepping away from her. "Would you come and play with me? My servants are out and there is no one here."

She tilted her head and blinked. "Of course I would play with you."

Davsho stopped walking and stood six feet away from her.

"Then would you come over here?" he asked. His voice was so innocent, sincere even. She couldn't stop herself as she slowly took the first few steps towards with, each step making ripples of their own. She felt as if she was meant to be there. His presence dragged her to him.

Soon, she found herself running full speed towards him. Everything around her seemed to blur and change. The air wasn't dark blue anymore; it was clear. White walls erected from nowhere. There was gold and priceless pottery everywhere.

Then, she crashed into his chest. He held her close and stroked her hair fondly. His eyes held something new to Ivy.

"You really are beautiful…" he gasped.

She blushed and snuggled deeper into his chest. He smelled so familiar but yet alien.

Looking up at the Foize, he seemed to have aged four years. All of his features had matured and he was taller. He sighed and caressed her cheek with his thumb. She looked down at her feet and saw that they looked further away than they had been a moment ago. Her skin was clean and her hair longer. She no longer wore the rags she wore before. Her body had matured and was clothed with rich white cloth. She even wore shoes. Her lips were fuller than before, her cheeks rosier and her face was no longer rounded.

She had aged.

"Where am I?" she asked breathlessly.

"At my home." he answered. "Would you stay with me?"

She found herself nodding.

The next moment, his lips were on hers. She couldn't think nor reason. She felt as if she was floating. Her heart felt big and light. Her knees felt weak and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. This feeling was so familiar yet new to her. She felt as if something that had been missing was finally returned to her. Her eyes started to close and she began to loose herself.

Her eyes snapped open and she pulled sharply away. He stood as a shocked and somewhat hurt beauty before her.

"What's wrong?" he asked in his light, addicting, non-human voice.

"My sister…" she gasped, tears pooling in her eyes. " She's done so much for me for so long! I just can't-"

He pressed a finger to her lips.

"Do you really care for her?" he asked gently.

She nodded, the tears in her eyes spilling over. He turned and picked up an object from a golden pillar behind them. He pressed the object into her palms and smiled. Looking down, she saw it was something like a golden wing.

"Then call her here." he suggested, his yellow eyes softening. "For people who truly care for one another can always see each other. That's how far love goes."

At that moment, she knew the words of Kaien were proven. In these worlds of recycled souls, people who truly loved each other were sure to see each other again. It was true, wasn't it? Right now, wasn't she standing before the same man she vowed to see again on that day?

Wasn't she?

_0_

Okaii, that's the end. I've been up for a while now so I'm pretty tired. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, subscribed to and added this story to their favorites. (Feel free to leave a review :))

Ummm...yeah. I'm really glad with how this turned out. I'm hoping to start another story soon but I don't know yet.

Anyway, thank you for reading to the end.