[Bleachitp:Reborn] Mortal World IV

[Terry576]

Sora doesn't turn away from Valeria. "We're not really friends. Acquaintances at most. Only 'friends' with two or three, and one of those is right here." His red eye flinches slightly at the man's reiatsu. Reminded him of that... other man. Back then.

No. Stay alert. Stay alert. Don't devolve into rage and demand to know where she is. Won't help. Won't fix it.

"Besides, who the hell are you to judge? You don't know me, her, or our group." Flare Reiatsu? No. Bad plan. Apparent Shinigami back there. Arrancar require instant reaction. He turns around slowly, holding his arm out to try and stop Valeria from venturing forward. "So why not you and your friend go away."

[strawberryman]

"Running? I'm not running." He looks remarkable evasive. "C'mon, let's go back to the cafe. Who knows what 'plans' our wonderful little group has decided are 'brilliant ideas'."

oh god why is he so sarcastic

Valeria continues frowning. "...I've resolved not to run from my powers for the sake of my friends. It's obvious staying under the radar-" But she's interrupted.

A freakishly large man and a silver-haired woman approach Sora and Valeria.

"That is a horrible way of speaking about your friends, young man."

Ding, ding, ding. Shinigami. The man appears to be a hollow, but a very weak one possibly, he has almost no signature.

Sora doesn't turn away from Valeria. "We're not really friends. Acquaintances at most. Only 'friends' with two or three, and one of those is right here." His red eye flinches slightly at the man's reiatsu. Reminded him of that... other man. Back then.

No. Stay alert. Stay alert. Don't devolve into rage and demand to know where she is. Won't help. Won't fix it.

"Besides, who the hell are you to judge? You don't know me, her, or our group." Flare Reiatsu? No. Bad plan. Apparent Shinigami back there. Arrancar require instant reaction. He turns around slowly, holding his arm out to try and stop Valeria from venturing forward. "So why not you and your friend go away."

Val turns to the other pair with a slightly paled look, wondering if they heard anything. However, she fights her way past Sora, looking straight at them. "...Whoever you are, you picked a very bad time to act like you know us. So I suggest you leave or prove you aren't an enemy." She tries not to act too threatening...

[Draken]

Helena sighs.

"Brash like you said."

Oscar interjects absentmindedly.

"Am I really supposed to work with this kind of material?"

Then a familiar voice.

"I told you I wanted you two at the Venti Buon did I not?"

Gabi flies off from between Helena's hair, hovering in front of Sora and Valeria.

[Terry576]

Sora raises an eyebrow. "Yes you did bird. I decided, because you're a bird and therefore a lesser life form, I, as a human, could choose not to listen to you. Also because you're a dead bird, meaning you were woefully incompetent at something in life. Presumably flying, judging from the way you're hovering."

He's decided to ignore the people behind the bird for now.

[AnimeKid]

Suzaku Bros.

After looking at all they had to offer Chase ordered him and his brother a bacon egg sandwich and a cheese bun respectively. He also ordered himself a milkshake while his brother just had water. As the two of them sat at a table and ate Koga looked towards the table with 10 people at it staring for a bit before talking to his brother in a lowered voice. "Hey Chase. Doesn't it seem a little strange to you that all those people are sitting at the same table. Looks a little suspicious if you ask me. Plus their all our age."

Chase continued eating his bacon egg sandwich swallowing a bite before responding. "Maybe so, however I'm sure it's a private conversation." He then goes back to eating his sandwich making a small sound of satisfaction as he does. Koga still not convinced turns his head slightly as he tries to listen in on the group.

After a while he turns towards his brother as he says, "Never mind bro. Their just some rookie street fighters trying to find way to prove themselves. Che, man what a bunch of noobs." Chase sighs as he puts down his sandwich, "First off the chances of all 10 of them being street fighters like you is totally illogical Koga-baka. There would only be a handful if even that. Plus street fighting is not something that you talk about in an establishment such as this." Koga's eyebrow twitches as he whispers furiously, "That was totally uncalled for! Besides I know what I heard and that is that. Listen for yourself, and then you will call me Koga-sama once you realise I'm right."

Chase sighs as he humors he brother and closes his eyes and tries to listen to the table of ten, his eyes then snap open. His brother currently has a smug smirk on his face. Chase then responds, "You were wrong Koga-baka. Their just students talking about homework. They probably go to our new school. Actually if they do we should introduce ourselves after they finish thier meeting." Koga's eyebrow twitches again as he says, "That is low Chase. You lying just to avoid calling me Koga-sama? Man up you p*ssy!" Chase now has an eye twitch of his own as he responds, "I am not a liar. Now I suggest you keep your tongue civilized before I rip it out."

Both brothers enter a glaring contest, unintensionally starting to release their reiatsu before a voice calls out to them stopping their glaring contest and startling them out of their reiatsu flares."Cha-nii!" Both brothers look towards the voice to see a small girl of about seven years old. (Does the establishment prevent spirits from wondering in? Also this is the spirit that Chase is currently helping and taking care of. She grew attached to him, is that okay?)

She runs up to them as Chase looks down at her and tries to covertly whisper. "Tali-chan what are you doing here, why aren't you at your death site?" The little girl just frowns as she looks up at him, "I wanted to come see Cha-nii. You don't want me here? Chase shakes his head and speaks in the same tone as before, No, it's just that I thought something was wrong again. Anyway you better not talk to much I can't be seen talking to a spirit, though I'm sure some of the people here can see you others might not." The small girl pouts but nods in understanding and waits for them to finish their argument now forgotten.

[KnightDisciple]

Kina Yoshimoto - At Venti Buon

Kina looks up from her food. She puts her cheese bun down and lets her arm rest on the table. For the first time, her Quincy pendant is obviously visible at her wrist. Absentmindedly she adjusts her glasses.

"Um, what do you all know? About, um, Hollows."

Kaito lightly scratches his chin in thought.

"Not much, just kind of the general "evil ghosts" thing, as well as observation that they tend to be non-humanoid in appearance, and may or may not be sapient."

[Draken]

A vein pops on Gabi's forehead.

"Don't make me kick your sorry ass, you punk. I had to call in some big favors to bring these two to teach the both of you."

Helena muffles a giggle and Oscar scoffs at it all.

[strawberryman]

Sora raises an eyebrow. "Yes you did bird. I decided, because you're a bird and therefore a lesser life form, I, as a human, could choose not to listen to you. Also because you're a dead bird, meaning you were woefully incompetent at something in life. Presumably flying, judging from the way you're hovering."

He's decided to ignore the people behind the bird for now.

Valeria twitches, and turns to Sora with an actually livid face. "Sora, knock it off! I'm tired of people treating Gabi this way! He's been more helpful than anyone else, and if it weren't for him, I would probably be dead! He's made me feel that much better about being like a Hollow, so just stop it!" She tears up a little, even, but she fights it off very well. After casting an angry stare at Sora, she turns back to the group, or more specifically Gabi.

"...Who are these people? ...Or, what are they..."

[Draken]

Helena steps closer to Valeria, speaking pleasantly.

"I am Helena, and I believe, from what Gabi said, that we share something in common, a certain unsightly mask."

Oscar gruffs from where he is.

"I am Oscar Meyers, the greatest weapon master of the Ciudad Baja of Las Noches, behind only the Ghost King of All Hollows and his ten espada in prowess and skill with the blade."

"Helena is a vizard, similar to you Valeria, and Oscar is a true arrancar. I have arranged for them to teach you some more advanced skills. Specially better ways to control spiritual pressure."

[Dorizzit]

Spoiler

Show

Kina Yoshimoto - At Venti Buon

Kina looks up from her food. She puts her cheese bun down and lets her arm rest on the table. For the first time, her Quincy pendant is obviously visible at her wrist. Absentmindedly she adjusts her glasses.

"Um, what do you all know? About, um, Hollows."

Nakahiro considers for a few seconds.

"They are the corrupted remnants of a lost soul, they attack people and their mask is their weak point. Beyond that I have a lot of hypotheses and few facts."

[Terry576]

Valeria twitches, and turns to Sora with an actually livid face. "Sora, knock it off! I'm tired of people treating Gabi this way! He's been more helpful than anyone else, and if it weren't for him, I would probably be dead! He's made me feel that much better about being like a Hollow, so just stop it!" She tears up a little, even, but she fights it off very well. After casting an angry stare at Sora, she turns back to the group, or more specifically Gabi.

"...Who are these people? ...Or, what are they..."

Sora debates responding to Valeria's outburst, then decides not to. Telling her that she's not a Hollow, again, and restating the fact that Hollows eat souls, like he and Gabi had, would presumably do nothing. He nods amicably, and eyes the trio in front of them.

Helena steps closer to Valeria, speaking pleasantly.

"I am Helena, and I believe, from what Gabi said, that we share something in common, a certain unsightly mask."

Oscar gruffs from where he is.

"I am Oscar Meyers, the greatest weapon master of the Ciudad Baja of Las Noches, behind only the Ghost King of All Hollows and his ten espada in prowess and skill with the blade."

"Helena is a vizard, similar to you Valeria, and Oscar is a true arrancar. I have arranged for them to teach you some more advanced skills. Specially better ways to control spiritual pressure."

"Why would you do that bird? It seems highly unlikely that you would 'call in favors' for two random children, one of which you have only met a single time."

He's trying not to jump up and down at hearing the phrase 'weapons master'. That would mean swords. And Sora had always enjoyed sword styles.

A lot.

[Draken]

"You are not that random. With hollow powers already while living, it is all but sure that you two will become powerful hollows as soon as that mortal flesh fails you."

Blunt.

"Manners Oscar."

The man grunts.

"Las Noches is always looking for those with potential for power, and Gabi has good eyes. He knows potential when he sees it."

"Specially given the crap we got for the upper echelons lately."

Ahem.

"I know he mentioned big favors, but that is just a figure of speech to give a sense of importance to you -blockhead."

Helena's fist flies back, and after a rather loud slap, Oscar is left with a red fist mark around his eye.

"We are his friends, and everyone always likes to have an excuse to take leave of work in the living city to visit this side."

[tgva8889]

Kina Yoshimoto - Venti Buon

Kina looks around. The silence of most of them is explanatory enough for her.

"When, um, a person dies... uh, their soul can either be sent away or be, um, trapped here. A soul sent away is, um, er, returned to the cycle... um, able to be reincarnated. Those that are trapped, however... they, um, become Hollows. They're, um, absorbed by... sorrows, I guess. They can't, um, let themselves leave."

She wrings her hands a bit.

"So, um, when a Shinigami - " she motions towards Izumi "- kills a Hollow, it becomes, uh... purified. The soul inside it is returned to the cycle. But, when a Quincy -" she points to herself "- kills a Hollow... the soul is obliterated. Gone. Destroyed."

Kina puts her pendant on the table.

"Quincy powers... they're, um, human-developed. We're... similar to all of you. If we use our powers to often... we disrupt the balance of the universe. We aren't just, um, killing evil things. We're entirely destroying innocent souls."

[horngeek]

Izumi thinks. "...looks like I'm on finishing-off duty when we can manage it, then.

...maybe you guys can have a look at my powers, try and see why I purify?"

[strawberryman]

"You are not that random. With hollow powers already while living, it is all but sure that you two will become powerful hollows as soon as that mortal flesh fails you."

Blunt.

"Manners Oscar."

The man grunts.

"Las Noches is always looking for those with potential for power, and Gabi has good eyes. He knows potential when he sees it."

"Specially given the crap we got for the upper echelons lately."

Ahem.

"I know he mentioned big favors, but that is just a figure of speech to give a sense of importance to you -blockhead."

Helena's fist flies back, and after a rather loud slap, Oscar is left with a red fist mark around his eye.

"We are his friends, and everyone always likes to have an excuse to take leave of work in the living city to visit this side."

Valeria looks extremely torn. "...I'd rather not think about dying, please... if I turned into some monster..." She shudders.

"That's what I'm trying to avoid. If you can promise me to keep that from happening, if I die or not, then I'll... go with you." She frowns. "I don't trust you, but Gabi has helped me, so..."

Then she turns to Sora. "...Sora, it's your choice... and I want to... be with you. But... I also want to help our friends."

[Draken]

Helena covers her mouth to snicker.

"Oh, don't worry dear, death is certain, but you are still young. Humans can live a bit over one hundred years, correct?"

"Something like that."

"As for turning into a hollow, that is merely my guess. There is no sure way to know at this point, but even so, I doubt you would become some feral monster."

[Dorizzit]

Spoiler

Show

Izumi thinks. "...looks like I'm on finishing-off duty when we can manage it, then.

...maybe you guys can have a look at my powers, try and see why I purify?"

Nakahiro listens intently to Kina's explanation of how the system of purification works, thinking on it silently. After Izumi speaks, however, he looks up from his contemplations and nods.

"Sure. I have some really advanced analytic capabilities on these glasses, we may be able to figure something out."

[KnightDisciple]

Kaito's look turns pensive as he considers Kina's words. Then Izumi and Nakahiro speaks, and he brightens a bit, nodding.

"Yeah. That actually makes some sense. I mean, there has to be a sort of logic behind why one set of powers does one thing, and another set do another. Maybe it's a difference of...I don't know, "energy frequency" or something?

I mean, you say Quincy powers are "human-developed". But there must be something more to it. Maybe Nakahiro can analyze Izumi's swords, then you fire an arrow.

Also, do you just call the energy for them up from within yourself, Kina? I mean, that's kind of how mine seems to work; I have a..."tank"...of energy. I have to draw from it to do things. It refills pretty quick, but I can run out..."

[tgva8889]

"Um, not quite. All of us... we all, um, have an ability to see spirits. But your power, it's, uh, based on internal strength. I use... spiritual particles in the air to make arrows.

"The, um, the Quincy have been around for... ages. It's an, um, old tradition. It's really more, um, a specification of a Shinigami's abilities versus ours. Shinigami exist to, uh, purify and guide souls to the afterlife. Quincy powers were created purely as, um, a defense against dangerous spiritual beings. Purification wasn't, um, important."

[horngeek]

Izumi nods. "Something to do during the training camp, then?"

[InyutheBeatIs]

"Spread misery, now that is short-sighted..."

Helena sighs and does not dwell on the subject further.

"There are all kinds of different personalities among the higher echelons of the spiritual world, on both sides. Serious, jaded, heartless, systematic... Caring, dutyful, honorable... Fickle, lazy, lecherous, treacherous. On both sides there are bad apples."

"A fickle lord of hollows decided to come to the mortal world out of misplaced nostalgia that time, he flared his presence and drew the attention of mediums and shinigami. And then a medium gave him an excuse to attack. It was only the timely interference of the Ghost King of All Hollows that prevented the situation from escalating into the catastrophic for this world."

"There is no place for mortals in this conflict, the vast majority of your kind will not even find out about it, and that is how most of the powers that be like it. For those who find out, it is your choice. Althought I do recommend siding with Hollows."

It is noteworthy that Helena feels like a shinigami.

[Venti Buon - Past]

For a moment, Rosa's expression changes. For that moment, she looks somewhat like a computer that just hit an error in the programming. However, this soon passes, returning to normal almost as soon as the expression change arrived. She gives a small bow towards Helena. "My apologies. I was only making an observation based on what information I have heard and various effects of Hollows in the world. I will try not to make such a mistake in the future."

She then stood back up. Rosa nodded her head once. "What you are saying sounds reasonable. However, I cannot help but ask something. What particular reason do you have for suggesting siding with the Hollows?

[Draken]

[Venti Buon - Past]

For a moment, Rosa's expression changes. For that moment, she looks somewhat like a computer that just hit an error in the programming. However, this soon passes, returning to normal almost as soon as the expression change arrived. She gives a small bow towards Helena. "My apologies. I was only making an observation based on what information I have heard and various effects of Hollows in the world. I will try not to make such a mistake in the future."

She then stood back up. Rosa nodded her head once. "What you are saying sounds reasonable. However, I cannot help but ask something. What particular reason do you have for suggesting siding with the Hollows?

"Because Hollows respects power, the shinigami don't."

"Should you side with shinigami, you will face their restrictions in how to proceed in your fight, when, where and how you can go to their realm, to them, you will never be more than an outsider mercenary and might very well be entirely disposable on grounds of mortality. Furthermore, I can feel your hollow powers, their prejudice over this fact would make you lucky to even manage a friendly contact at first. If you had shinigami powers, it would likely be the same in Las Noches."

"Las Noches has no such trivialities and its prejudices are different. If you want to come and go, you may do as you please, if you prove your worth and power, hollows will flock under your leadership, and none will question your worth based on what you are if you try to seize power, all that matters is if you can or not achieve it."

"At the most basic, you will have more freedoms and more room for growth in Las Noches than the medieval soul society can or is willing to offer."

[Terry576]

Valeria looks extremely torn. "...I'd rather not think about dying, please... if I turned into some monster..." She shudders.

"That's what I'm trying to avoid. If you can promise me to keep that from happening, if I die or not, then I'll... go with you." She frowns. "I don't trust you, but Gabi has helped me, so..."

Then she turns to Sora. "...Sora, it's your choice... and I want to... be with you. But... I also want to help our friends."

Sora starts, rather... confused. He could presumably refuse, because well, Gabi is about as trustworthy as Elder. But still... The other two seemed to trust the bird for some reason. Maybe it would be all right for once.

He sighs, running his hand through his hair. "I suppose it couldn't hurt... But what did I tell you Valeria-san? You're not a monster." He smiles at her, wanting to reassure her.

Helena covers her mouth to snicker.

"Oh, don't worry dear, death is certain, but you are still young. Humans can live a bit over one hundred years, correct?"

"Something like that."

"As for turning into a hollow, that is merely my guess. There is no sure way to know at this point, but even so, I doubt you would become some feral monster."

Sora turns away from Valeria, a sharp glare directed at the duo. "Valeria-san is frightened. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't undermine her feelings, without even knowing why she feels that way."

[Draken]

"Think it as your first lesson, punk. You are dealing with the spirit world, death is our daily bread and butter. Sooner or later, you care more about not dying for nothing than not dying at all."

Oscar stretches his arms back, damn cramped gigai.

"And stop sheltering your friend. It is a harsh world out there and words are the only thing the shinigami, hollows and whatevers out there will use that can't break your bones."

... A short pause.

"Usually, anyway."

[strawberryman]

Valeria doesn't look back to Sora, merely bowing her head downward. "...I know. I don't care."

"I know the world is worse than I can hope it to be. I know that it's more than I can expect for my powers to attract negative attention. I know I'm going to die. But I don't want to die and become the same kind of monster that my friends have been fighting, so I don't hurt them or... worse. I know it's naive to be so optimistic, but I don't care."

"I could be pessimistic and cave into knowing that I might never have a normal, happy life, but I won't. Because as long as I can hope for more, I can fight on." She looks straight at Helena with resolve in her eyes. "But I'm not stupid. I merely want to receive the promise, or even just an assurance that your 'training' might help me keep myself from becoming a monster."

[Draken]

Gabi looks up to Helena, who then sighs.

"Steel your will, and even if your form changes, it is possible for you to remain yourself even as a hollow."

[strawberryman]

Valeria looks straight to Helena in silence before nodding. "...I'm Valeria. Valeria Abel." She bows. "...So, you're... like me, right?"

[Draken]

"Nice to meet you Valeria, and yes, after a fashion we are alike, we both have hollow powers despite not being hollows of any kind."

[strawberryman]

Valeria nods. "When will you start training us? We do have school to account for."

[Draken]

Oscar and Helena turn to Gabi.

The small bird coughs.

"I'm going to arrange some training grounds for the weekends. And see if there are any other free days."