Into the Sweet Darkness - Aizen Sousuke Love Story

Chapter 9 - My abilities

Sana pov:

We made our way to the Chushutsu-Ki. Five days had passed and the machine or whatever it is was ready to extract my abilities.

My confidence wasn't as good as it was yesterday and I fidgeted with my hands as we walked to the research building. When we entered the room, I saw several people adjusting wires and liquids and lights on a huge table. In front of them was a huge inverted glass jar and I swallowed thickly. All the captains were there and the captain commander was there too. There were several assistants as well and when I entered with Ichigo, they all looked at me.

We made it to the observation table and I clenched and unclenched my hands. "Sana san, good to see you. Are you ready?" Jushiro san asked with a smile and I smiled back weakly. "Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be, I guess...." I sounded unsure and he gave me a knowing smile. "There's no reason for you to be nervous. We're just going to help you release and control whatever ability you have." I nodded. "Yeah, I know. But I can't help but be slightly nervous."

He laughed softly and then coughed. "We should go ahead with the extraction. Please take off your necklace and step inside the jar." I looked at the others hesitantly as I slowly took off the necklace. I handed it to Orihime and she smiled. "Don't worry Sana chan. We're all right here. You'll be fine." I nodded, took a deep breath and walked to the jar.

I stood in the middle and the jar closed around me. It felt really odd standing like this. I felt like a specimen in a biology lab as everyone looked at me. But I knew this had to be done so I stayed as brave as I could. Even though my heart was beating a mile a minute and I was trembling a little, I kept both hands clenched and my jaw clenched to make sure I didn't give up my resolve to go through with this. It had to be done.

A few seconds passed and they gave the green signal. Jushiro san who had been giving me words of courage all morning, looked at me. I took a deep breath and nodded, showing that I was ready. I closed my eyes just so that I wouldn't get scared if I couldn't see what was happening. Just about a moment later, I felt an electric shock go through me. I screamed and blacked out.

No....I don't think I blacked out. I felt like I blacked out, but I was still aware and awake. But I had my eyes closed tightly, afraid to see what was going on. "Sana..." I twitched when I heard an unfamiliar voice call my name. Buy I didn't move or open my eyes. "Sana...." The voice sounded very close and I swallowed thickly as I peeled open my eyes very slowly. But when I did open my eyes, I gasped.

I was standing on a beach, a beautiful beach with sparkling blue water, and a gentle yellow sky. I could feel the sand at my feet and the cool water that occasionally caressed my feet. But the odd thing was that instead of any other surroundings, the water continued endlessly on one side and the the sand on the other. "Where....am I?" I mumbled put and heard my voice almost echo.

"You are in your subconscious mind, Sana." I heard the voice again. This time I was clearer and closer. I turned around and yelped as I fell backwards. In front of me stood a strange creature. I blinked utterly flabbergasted by what I was seeing. There was a wolf standing in front of me....or rather, towering over me. Well, it looked more like a combination of a wolf and a phoenix because of the long mauve colored feathers sticking out of its back. It was gazing at me steadily through steel gray eyes and I couldn't even blink.

"Sana." I flinched as it spoke in a deep velvety voice. "W-what...?" Its lips curled up into a small smile and I lifted up my hands to rub my eyes. A creature that was a cross between a wolf and a phoenix had just called out my name and smiled. Okay, I just had to be dreaming!

"It seems you are finding it hard to believe what you are seeing." It said again and I scooted back a little. "Y-you....you just spoke!!" I pointed at it and this time it chuckled and sat down on its hind legs. Its feathers fell smoothly and gracefully behind it and it wrapped its tail in front of it from the left side. "Of course I can talk. I am the essence of your power." I furrowed my brows and sat up on my knees. This creature was obviously a male because of the tone of its voice....okay, his voice. But what did he mean by essence of my power?