[BitP:R]Episode Six: Another Night Out.

[Terry576]

Sora shrugs.

"I don't know," he says rather coyly, "Perhaps you do Yui? After all, you seem to know quite a bit more than Silva and I."

[Frozen_Feet]

Yui frowns, staring accusingly at Sora. "Don't try being smary with me, boy. I asked you an honest question. I expect an honest answer. Why do you have it?"

[Terry576]

Sora looks at Yui, rather confused.

"Well, until you decided to touch it, it was just a shadow. I still have no idea what it is, or why I have it."

He grins.

"Maybe it's fate?"

[Frozen_Feet]

Yui's eye narrows. "You are a terrible liar, Sora-kun", she says. "I thought you had a strange aura around you, but now I'm certain. He feels just like a Hollow, doesn't he?" She glances at Silva for confirmation.

"Give me that", she commands, nodding at the sword and holding her hand out. "So... how many have you eaten yet?"

[KerfuffleMach2]

Silva shakes her head a little. Kinda, I guess. Never was that good at picking them out from a crowd.

[Terry576]

Spoiler

Show

Yui's eye narrows. "You are a terrible liar, Sora-kun", she says. "I thought you had a strange aura around you, but now I'm certain. He feels just like a Hollow, doesn't he?" She glances at Silva for confirmation.

"Give me that", she commands, nodding at the sword and holding her hand out. "So... how many have you eat yet?"

Sora looks at the sword, unwilling to give it up. In the back of his mind, he's wondering. Why? It's just a sword, he's never used it before. His hand shakes slightly as he slowly unclenches his fist, and hands Yui the sword.

"Err... Quite a few, I think. It's why I rarely eat actual food. I prefer coffee, it's easier to hunt at night."

It's clear he's been 'feeding' for a while. He acts as if this is something natural, something everyone does.

[Frozen_Feet]

Yui holds the sword in her hands, then pokes Sora above the heart with the sheath. She looks quite furious. And hungry. "If I stabbed you through there, would I hit anything important, hmmm?", she asks. "Do you know what happens to those you eat? For your own sake, I hope it's only been other Hollows, but still... do you even know where Hollows come from?"

[Terry576]

Sora blinks.

"People like me eat things that aren't Hollows?"

He looks rather surprised by this fact. A thoughtful crosses his face, contrasted by his red eyes, as Yui demands an explanation.

"Hollows... They're monsters, right? They have no souls. They're just demons, and if they help me survive, then I'll defeat them. If they curb this constant, constant hunger, I'll eat."

He looks at his hand, then grins.

"Am I monster? If I kill by my hand, for myself. Some would agree, but I don't believe removing a monster makes one a monster. More of a... humanitarian, wouldn't you say?"

[Frozen_Feet]

Yui pokes Sora's chest again, a bit harder this time. "Hollows are people, you oaf", she says. "All kinds of people. Who rarely had any say on whether they'd want to be Hollows or not."

"You haven't seen it happen? Figures. If you had, you'd think twice of what you've been doing." Yui pokes Sora once again. "Remember that kid from the park, hmmm? Cute little thing, would've never harmed a fly. Saw that chain in his chest? That is what ties the soul to the body. Heart of your soul, to be exact."

Poke, poke, poke.

"It, the chain I mean, represents their connection worldy things. It grows shorter and shorter as they linger down here on earth... and if they can't let go of what they were tied to, it will eat a hole through their being. Through their heart."

One more poke. This time hard enough to be painful. Yui glares at Sora in disappointment. "That's why it's important that Shinigami slay Hollows. They can give their hearts back to them and guide them into whatever afterlife they deserve. You are not a Shinigami. You can't do that."

"When a Hollow slays another Hollow, there's usually only one thing that can happen - the devoured soul is fused with whoever ate it, and it's forever gone. That's it. No more reincarnations, no chance to be whole ever again."

"Just oblivion."

[KerfuffleMach2]

Silva stands silently during most of this. She didn't really have anything to add in.

How could she?

Was she so different from Sora?

Yui...if that's what he has to do to survive...and if he isn't attacking random bystanders...what's the problem?

[Frozen_Feet]

"Survive?", Yui asks, looking at Silva. "His body is still alive. He doesn't need to eat Hollows to survive." She turns back at Sora. "If I gave you a gun, would you start shooting little birds to feed yourself, hmmm? Even when the store's just short walk away?"

"I can understand defending yourself, on the occasion that a Hollow comes after you... not that unlikely, all things granted. But hunting them for food? Who even taught you to do that? No-one, I bet."

Yui lowers the sheathed sword to the ground, placing it leaning against the couch. "Even the lowliest Shinigami goes through years of training before they're allowed to fight real Hollows. That's because otherwise they're danger to themselves and others. Eventually, you'll run into something you're not equipped to handle. Then, you'll die a most miserable death."

Yui crosses her hands on her lap, looking sternly at the young man. "And it isn't just Hollows you have to worry about, oh no. You saw that man out there? If he'd realized your nature, he'd slain you without hesitation!" She stops to take another sip of water. "Indeed, he might have even considered himself a good man for it, liberating you from what to him is a perverted existence. Now, Akio-kun is a very disagreeable person, but it's still easy for me to see where he's coming from. You are no less horrifying to him than other Hollows."

Yui finishes her glass of water, then hands it towards Silva. "Thank you", she rasps, stopping to catch her breath again. She closes her eye and leans back, before suddenly asking another question. "Do you have a mask?"

[KerfuffleMach2]

Silva raises an eyebrow. A mask? She shakes her head. Nope. I don't do that whole Halloween thing.

[Frozen_Feet]

Yui opens her just enough to give Silva a funny look. "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean you. Meant him." She gestures towards Sora. "I have no reason to believe you ever had a mask, Silva-chan."

[KnightDisciple]

Akio blocks quickly with the solid white chain of his Zanpakuto, jumping back as Nero disappears in front of him. "If you really want to protect this town, you'd do well not to interfere. If I were a threat to the town you'd know it. You should come out now, because two can play at that game." His eyes sweep the area for any sign of movement. "Bakudo 26: Kyokko!" He too becomes invisible, using shunpo to move away from where he was standing.

The SCAR droids cease firing, quickly spreading out in a search pattern.

"Wow. Impressive. You do with some fancy words and your inherent energy what takes us hard work and technology. Then again..."

Suddenly, Akio's general area is peppered with blasts.

"Technology makes it easier to turn the tables. I see that blob of heat there. And your footprints. Not bad, but that little spell of yours isn't perfect."

[riccaru]

The SCAR droids cease firing, quickly spreading out in a search pattern.

"Wow. Impressive. You do with some fancy words and your inherent energy what takes us hard work and technology. Then again..."

Suddenly, Akio's general area is peppered with blasts.

"Technology makes it easier to turn the tables. I see that blob of heat there. And your footprints. Not bad, but that little spell of yours isn't perfect."

As the droids begin moving, so does Akio. Taking to the skies to charge the nearest droid and using short shunpos to dodge the blasts. When he reaches the droid he stabs at the center of the contraption while simultaneously firing a hado 4 at it. "Technology is frail! You trust your lives and the lives of your children to these machines."

[Terry576]

Yui opens her just enough to give Silva a funny look. "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean you. Meant him." She gestures towards Sora. "I have no reason to believe you ever had a mask, Silva-chan."

Sora blinks, appearing genuinely confused.

"Mask? I don't have a mask. Why would I have a mask Yui?"

[strawberryman]

Nero's voice comes from behind Akio, as the shining blade flashes towards his back. "You entrust your own lives to the whims of uncivilized beasts of spiritual nature. So much so that you leave yourself tactically undereducated." With a skilled slash, the invisible agent aims for a vertical bisection of Akio from his back.

[KnightDisciple]

As the droids begin moving, so does Akio. Taking to the skies to charge the nearest droid and using short shunpos to dodge the blasts. When he reaches the droid he stabs at the center of the contraption while simultaneously firing a hado 4 at it. "Technology is frail! You trust your lives and the lives of your children to these machines."

Of course, since they can track his general position, the droids see his shunpo start, and immediately begin scattering. When it finishes, and he's stabbing at the closest droid, it's moving back fast enough to avoid the blow from the sword.

The hado 4 struck home...and was promptly absorbed.

"We must have different definitions of frail. Besides, they do the job well enough, and without the delusions of grandeur you shinigami have! What's next, are you going to insist your nigh-immortal selves know how to run our world better?"

The droid darts still further away, the energy it had absorbed quickly being passed between several of the machines, until it ended up in the one that had been firing the quick, small blasts.

"And technology constantly improves! Unlike you shinigami, who stagnate!"

[Frozen_Feet]

Sora blinks, appearing genuinely confused.

"Mask? I don't have a mask. Why would I have a mask Yui?"

"All Hollows have a mask. At least in the beginning, they do", Yui answers. "It's what their heart becomes when its eaten. Do you have any idea why?"

[Terry576]

"All Hollows have a mask. At least in the beginning, they do", Yui answers. "It's what their heart becomes when its eaten. Do you have any idea why?"

Sora shakes his head, shaken to the core. He didn't have a mask, he never had one. What did that mean? Was he a monster?

No. Monsters are those who kill without reason. Anyone who strikes out against another, not for self defense or to protect, but with an intent to kill.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Yui...you're really accusing him of being a Hollow? Really? Silva shakes her head a little. I really don't see why.

[Terry576]

Sora grins shakily.

"No... It's quite alright Silva. I think I understand why, too. It's because of that... sword, somehow, right? It somehow makes me... inhuman."

He stares at the blade coolly, his red eyes flickering.

"But, if it consoles you in any way Yui, I do not know about any 'masks', or any of that. I only know my abilities."

A crackle of energy begins to form around his hand, suddenly cutting off.

"Speed... Strength... Those are what my powers appear to be based around. Getting to the enemy, and tearing him down with all my might. Whether long-range or short, they work perfectly well at tearing opposition apart."

[Frozen_Feet]

Yui snorts. "He's a Hollow. That's not something either of us can do much about, save for killing him. That's not what I'm accusing him of. I'm accusing him of being stupid."

"Hollows have masks, because it's easier for humans to fight things that don't look human", she continues. "I know that sounds weird, but it's how things are. It took me a long time to realize that."

"A Hollow's mask is the last wish of a dying heart to be destroyed - before its former bearer goes out and destroys everything that was dear to it. If Hollows just looked like the people they were, they would have even easier time luring their former loved ones to their doom. Shinigami would have much harder time figthing them if they could see the fear and confusion on their pathetic faces."

"But their masks make them scary. Inhuman. And they mark the only constant, universal weak spot in all Hollows. I've seen some who can heal severed limbs in blink of an eye, and I've seen some who can pick their bloodied bodies up and fight even after all bones in their bodies are crushed. But I've not seen one who could survive its head and mask being cleaved in twain."

"It's the manifestation of the deathwish that governs them. It's why all Shinigami are taught to aim for the mask", Yui recounts, leaning forward and looking Sora in the eyes. "If you don't have one... logically, it means you've overcome such unreasonable instinct. But for that to be true, you must cease to put yourself in danger by needless actions."

Yui reaches for the hilt of Sora's katana. "This thing here does not define you", she says. "Your soul might be half dead, but your body and mind are still human. Don't you want to have a normal life? Find friends, or a girl who loves you?" Yui stops for a moment, looking thoughtful

"... well, or a boy, I don't know how you young people swing these days. Anyways, the points is", she lectures, lifting his other hand to shake a finger at Sora, "that you are alive. Shinigami, Hollows, they're matters of the dead. If you want to live, you can't let your life revolve around them. You can't let yourself act on that hunger you feel. There are Hollows who eat other Hollows, you know. They aren't any less monstrous than their lesser brethren, and no better in the eyes of the Shinigami either."

[riccaru]

Nero's voice comes from behind Akio, as the shining blade flashes towards his back. "You entrust your own lives to the whims of uncivilized beasts of spiritual nature. So much so that you leave yourself tactically undereducated." With a skilled slash, the invisible agent aims for a vertical bisection of Akio from his back.

Akio shifts slightly out of the way as the knife comes toward him, so instead of being slashed in half he instead takes a powerful blow from Nero into his tender ribs, feeling the telltale snap of bone under the skin he had become used to in eleventh division.

Of course, since they can track his general position, the droids see his shunpo start, and immediately begin scattering. When it finishes, and he's stabbing at the closest droid, it's moving back fast enough to avoid the blow from the sword.

The hado 4 struck home...and was promptly absorbed.

"We must have different definitions of frail. Besides, they do the job well enough, and without the delusions of grandeur you shinigami have! What's next, are you going to insist your nigh-immortal selves know how to run our world better?"

The droid darts still further away, the energy it had absorbed quickly being passed between several of the machines, until it ended up in the one that had been firing the quick, small blasts.

"And technology constantly improves! Unlike you shinigami, who stagnate!"

A cry of pain and frustration escapes Akio as he takes the hit from the gauntlet and watches the droid come out unscathed all at once. This doesn't keep him from acting, however. A powerful swing of his arm brings the man sized hourglass as hard as soulsteel toward Nero behind him, and with it Akio turns to face his invisible enemy. "Fight me if you want, but don't hide behind your cowardice. I came here for one reason only, to fight Elder and overcome myself. You are getting in my way, and I damn well suggest you step aside and let me wait for that damned hollow. No matter what happens here you lose, if I don't beat you down then the Seretei will come looking for me. I'm a noble and an Officer, and you can't win anymore."

[strawberryman]

A flash and clang of steel echoes through the forest as a metallic gauntlet forms over Nero's arm, blocking the blow and seemingly absorbing the impact. The agent continues to look coldly at Akio. "What you call cowardice is more accurately described as tactical positioning. You know as well as we do that in a straight fight, there is no contest. So we are forced to respond with so-called cowardice." With a thrust, the Gauntlet flies hard towards Akio's gut, releasing the kinetic energy of the blow that the shinigami just aimed at Nero not seconds ago. Not even a grimace crosses the man's face as he feels the telltale signs of a fracture.

"But the age where you may arrogantly hold superiority over us will soon pass. Your 'noble' highblood will mean nothing in the age of the common Mortals."

[riccaru]

A flash and clang of steel echoes through the forest as a metallic gauntlet forms over Nero's arm, blocking the blow and seemingly absorbing the impact. The agent continues to look coldly at Akio. "What you call cowardice is more accurately described as tactical positioning. You know as well as we do that in a straight fight, there is no contest. So we are forced to respond with so-called cowardice." With a thrust, the Gauntlet flies hard towards Akio's gut, releasing the kinetic energy of the blow that the shinigami just aimed at Nero not seconds ago. Not even a grimace crosses the man's face as he feels the telltale signs of a fracture.

"But the age where you may arrogantly hold superiority over us will soon pass. Your 'noble' highblood will mean nothing in the age of the common Mortals."

Akio raises his sword, a single minded fury evident in his cold eyes. The blade is brought to where Nero would strike as Akio flashes backwards, just barely letting the blade skim over the gauntlet, not even enough to cut through. "This fight was over before it began. I'm a battle hardened and highly trained former member of eleventh division. I've been taught since birth to wield my blade in battle. I've fought and defeated hundreds before you. So why do you think you'll win here? Superior numbers are nothing new to the Shinigami."

He stands for a moment before flashing straight for Nero, sword aimed to stab at the man before he leaps into the air, coming down with a powerful slash. "You fight me because of a perverted sense of justice. I had no intention of harming the mortals. If you leave me now I'll have no reason to harm anyone. If you continue to fight Soul Society will declare all out war on you, putting everyone near this place in danger."

[strawberryman]

"I know I will win..." Nero deflects the piercing jab with the gauntlet, then brings it up to grab the blade, fishing something out with his other hand. "Because you believe that victory is certain." Akio may see a glowing flash head for his torso in Nero's hand even as he begins to feel his strength draining away. The longer he stays in the hold, the weaker he feels.

"You may believe that to be contradictory, but you know nothing of my capabilities; whereas there is nothing you can do I cannot adapt to. Your kind have been around for millennia. I know all your tricks. Surrender and you may just live."

[riccaru]

"I know I will win..." Nero deflects the piercing jab with the gauntlet, then brings it up to grab the blade, fishing something out with his other hand. "Because you believe that victory is certain." Akio may see a glowing flash head for his torso in Nero's hand even as he begins to feel his strength draining away. The longer he stays in the hold, the weaker he feels.

"You may believe that to be contradictory, but you know nothing of my capabilities; whereas there is nothing you can do I cannot adapt to. Your kind have been around for millennia. I know all your tricks. Surrender and you may just live."

"Bad idea. You have no clue what my Zanpakuto does!" Akio forms the cutting shards of bone over his sword as he wrenches it away from Nero. The cutting power of the shards and the sword may prove problematic if he holds the blade. He then places a foot against Nero, pushing off the man to escape. "You began the attack, not I. I had no intention of killing, and yet you interfere with my work. You're stagnant in your misguided beliefs and delusions of grandeur. You're a racist and a coward. You don't deserve your life, but it's not my place to take it."

[Terry576]

Spoiler

Show

Yui snorts. "He's a Hollow. That's not something either of us can do much about, save for killing him. That's not what I'm accusing him of. I'm accusing him of being stupid."

"Hollows have masks, because it's easier for humans to fight things that don't look human", she continues. "I know that sounds weird, but it's how things are. It took me a long time to realize that."

"A Hollow's mask is the last wish of a dying heart to be destroyed - before its former bearer goes out and destroys everything that was dear to it. If Hollows just looked like the people they were, they would have even easier time luring their former loved ones to their doom. Shinigami would have much harder time figthing them if they could see the fear and confusion on their pathetic faces."

"But their masks make them scary. Inhuman. And they mark the only constant, universal weak spot in all Hollows. I've seen some who can heal severed limbs in blink of an eye, and I've seen some who can pick their bloodied bodies up and fight even after all bones in their bodies are crushed. But I've not seen one who could survive its head and mask being cleaved in twain."

"It's the manifestation of the deathwish that governs them. It's why all Shinigami are taught to aim for the mask", Yui recounts, leaning forward and looking Sora in the eyes. "If you don't have one... logically, it means you've overcome such unreasonable instinct. But for that to be true, you must cease to put yourself in danger by needless actions."

Yui reaches for the hilt of Sora's katana. "This thing here does not define you", she says. "Your soul might be half dead, but your body and mind are still human. Don't you want to have a normal life? Find friends, or a girl who loves you?" Yui stops for a moment, looking thoughtful

"... well, or a boy, I don't know how you young people swing these days. Anyways, the points is", she lectures, lifting his other hand to shake a finger at Sora, "that you are alive. Shinigami, Hollows, they're matters of the dead. If you want to live, you can't let your life revolve around them. You can't let yourself act on that hunger you feel. There are Hollows who eat other Hollows, you know. They aren't any less monstrous than their lesser brethren, and no better in the eyes of the Shinigami either."

[Sora]

Sora sighs. "I know I'm human. I just never feel human. I don't get humanity, Yui. I don't understand how to be human. When I found out that I was... a monster, of a sorts, do you know how I felt?"

He grins, and the grin is free of pain, just a happy smile.

"I felt... normal, for once. My entire life, I've had a single friend. One friend. She's the only one I've ever had pester me about my life, ask me if I like anyone at school, demand I do my homework on time... before you. My entire world revolved around her. And life made sense, when I was with her. I guess I... I felt human, for once. When she wasn't around, I never felt like that. I always felt like... like a monster, even when I wasn't one. It hurts, when you realize that. That what everybody's been telling you for so long, ever since I started school, telling me that I was a monster, was true. It's funny, really. Finding that out was when my life made sense. It's the only time I've ever felt... normal, I guess? But... Even then, she was still there."

Sora looks a bit surly, but happy at the same time.

"She wouldn't leave. It's nice, having someone who cares for you that much, but I didn't want her around anymore. I'd hurt her, and then I would really be a monster. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I'd become a real monster, not just a kid playing one."

He looks at Yui, tears in his eyes.

"And... and you're telling me that all those... Hollows, that I ate, they... they were people? They were like me, just they'd gone farther? That by fulfilling what I thought I needed, hurt... no, killed others? I... I don't want to believe that. I can't believe that. I just ate to... to stay alive. For her. Because she's always so worried about me, wanting me to live a normal life."

He laughs. A short laugh, more of a bark, really. He looks almost hollow inside, as if finding out that he'd killed had drained that last bit of hope left inside him.

"Alright Yui, I'll stop. Just... Just help me."

He looks at her, a slight tinge of admiration, with a small sliver of hope in his eyes.

"How can I do what you do? Be... normal, live like you do. Not how you've told me I've been living. I... I don't want to be that person anymore. He's... different, bizarre. I just... I just want to be normal for once. Not a freak."

"Is that so much to ask?"

[Frozen_Feet]

Yui watches Sora break before her. "Well, the first thing you must stop is living in a damn graveyard", she replies dryly. "To get along with people, you must live among them. Isolating yourself and then wondering why no-one loves is stupid." She looks thoughtful for a moment, her eyes wandering around Silva's apartment.

"Come to think of it, there'd easily be enough room for two here, don't you agree?", she asks playfully. She looks over her shoulder at Silva. "You wouldn't mind if the boy stayed here for a night or two?"

Then her head snaps back and looks at Sora again. "Oh! Now that I still remember - what's the name of that friend of yours?"