[BitPR2] Renewed Revolution: Spirit World II

[Frozen_Feet]

[Soul Society]
Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4

Briefly after hearing Sho's whereabouts, Li wonders what the Hell Lucita is thinking, letting her into the bioweapon storage area. Then the Commander realizes the Duty Officer is talking about the new research wing, rather than using Li's own euphenism for other area.

"Ah. 'Medical Center'. Not 'reception room'. Got it. Thank you, but I can find it there myself." Before leaving, Li adds one more thing, hearing the jealous undertone in the Officer's voice: "You should not worry about her. Lucita-fukutaichou and me are devoting attention to her because she is a risk, not because we favor her. We are just making sure she won't be a threat to either you or any of the patients. Please resume your duties."

After addressing the Duty Officer, the Commander beckons the Royal Guard members to follow and replies to Saruhiko, the elder's expression softening from earlier. "That would be most welcome, Saruhiko-dono. I will have to decline for tonight, but maybe we'll have another chance tomorrow."

Li and the lot arrive at Sho's room just as Lucita is leaving. "Hello, Lucita-san", Li greets her. "I see you have gotten personally acquianted with our new problem child." Li frowns when Li sees Sho is not restrained. "Do resume your duties for now. I will have a word with you later."

Then, Li moves on to said problem child. Taking a sip from the glass to moisten Li's throat, the elder sits on the visitor's chair and places the glass, now half-full, on the room table.

"Hello to you too, Sabistura-kun. It seems you got yourself in another fight despite my best advice. And direct orders."

The Commander's voice drips with contempt. It is obvious Li does not find this situation amusing in the slightest. "I understand my underling has let you remain unshackled. For now. I'm not here to rescind her orders. I am here, again, to remind you of your position, in the hopes that understanding it will make you less likely to commit further idiocies."

"You see Sho, the thing you don't understand is that you need us."

Li gives the sentence a moment to sink into Sho's thick, thick head. "Your actions speak of a person who thinks she is fine, or can get fine, on her own. That is a delusion. Oh, I know you feel fine." Li glances at Sho's bandaged hands. "Or at least, felt fine after you woke up from your surgery. But that's not because you actually are fine. Rather, your incorrect assessment of your condition is due to three things. One, your brain was cut up, so you're somewhat excused for not thinking straight. Two, the brain does not have actual sense of touch of its own, so you can't actually feel the damage done to it. Third, you lack knowledge."

"It's that third part I'm here to remedy."

Li reaches to take a plastic cup from a holder, then places it on the table next to the glass. "You are under a rather common superstition of young Shinigami that Kaido is panacea, a magic cure-all that will fix any injury. This is evidenced by the fact you used it for self-medication, to stitch back your own ear. If you'd gotten third-year Academy lectures on the subject, you would have never done that. Neither would you have cut up your own hands so you could 'practice' Kaido."

"Ah yes, I know you wonder how I know of that. Most likely, you are assuming some other student told me. But that's not the case. I didn't know untill I viewed your surgery report. In case I had damaged the bones in your wrist, they took X-rays from your hands. That is how I found out you had scarring tissue from older wounds there. Scarring tissue from wounds that were not properly treated."

Li takes a relaxed posture and leans back in the chair. "The basic principle of all Kido is to turn user's inner strenght, Reiryoku, into a force known as Reiatsu. Reiatsu is then used to manifest various effects." Li leaves the bamboo cane to lean on the room table, and picks up the half-full glass in right hand, and the plastic cup in left. "In Kaido, this basic principle is used to transfer power from one invidual to another. When one heals with Kaido, they perform Reiatsu restoration first. By doing so, the healer can attempt to recover the physical body using the patient's restored reiatsu and the healer's external reiatsu."

All the water is now in the plastic cup. Li places it back on the table, while putting the now-empty glass a good distance away. Li then grabs the bamboo cane with both hands, letting it rest on Li's lap. "Patient's restored Reiatsu. Healer's external Reiatsu. Neither energy nor matter spring out from nowhere. To successfully heal someone with Kaido, the healer needs more Reiatsu than what the patient's body usually holds. This is a rather big problem with patients like you, Sabitsura-kun, who have much more Reiatsu than our average healer. Much more than even Nanoha Shigure-san, who conducted your operation. So... I have a question for you, Sabitsura-kun." Li draws Hei Lin from the cane, and points the Jian towards the plastic cup.

"How do you make that cup full without adding any water to it?"

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4)

Lucita

She offered a bow to the captain-commander, "yes Li-sama, there are some matters I still wish to discuss with you also" turning to Sho "please consider our discussion carefully".

She gave a polite nod to the unrecognised attendants to the Captain-Commander as she made her way back to her office - stopping to request some food be sent up to her.

[Soul Society]
(Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4)

Sho Sabitsura

She noted the two new people she did not recognise them and her attention throughout was split between the three of them for any hostile movements, as Li manipulated the water content in the glass she assumed it was for distraction and did her best not to let it work.

Listening carefully "I believe that the last time we met you encouraged me to rampantly slaughter the weak to increase my own power, I have grown bored with that and also hold it to be inaccurate from observation", crossing her arms before her, "as such I am unsure I can trust what you say".

Thinking about Kaido "Your words sound reasonable, but in practice a stop gap measure is often useful followed by natural healing. Combined with ensuring that one heals in a manner that they wish", she might not get the better of this argument but she would give the rational "a fatal strike that cannot be held at bay by Reiatsu alone for long might be reduced to an acceptable level by Kaido".

Turning to the glass she wondered if the question was a trick "that glass is already full, it is half full of water and half full of air" puzzling at why such a question would be asked, "if you mean full so that the visual effect remains you could freeze the water in sheets and place them to show that the glass is full of water in the form of ice sheets, or you could add something that is not water to it to push out the quantity of air and allow for a fullness based on liquid content", looking at the the captain-commander "there are other ways depending on perception, so how would you make that cup full without adding any water to it?" she asked.

[Frozen_Feet]

Li is not amused by Sho's inability to focus. "Look at me when I talk to you", the Commander snarls. Then Sho opens her mouth, and Li sighs in disappointment. The cane is left on the elder's lap as Li covers Li's face in shared sense of shame.

"For all your intellect, it's hard to think of a worse fool than you are, Sabitsura-kun. I said 'the strong prey on the weak'. But you are not strong. You are weak. Your ignorance makes you so." Mentally, Li makes a note: it appears Sho is unable to process analogues except on a completely literal level. Her prior psychological profiling did not suggest such a trait. Li must inform Lucita of this observation, at it is vital in future teaching of this problem child.

"For all the things you listed, you missed the simplest way. First, let me rephrase a question a bit, so you understand the problem: how do you make this cup full of water, without adding any to it? Well, let me illustrate:"

With a flick of wrist, Hei Lin cuts away the top of the plastic cup, so fast and neat the cup doesn't even move and no water is spilled on the table. The cup is, indeed, now filled to the brim - if you forget that there's only one half of a cup!

"That is how", Li snarks while sheathing Hei Lin. "That is also analogous to what you do to yourself every time you use Kaido on yourself. You spoke of 'pattern replacing', which was a keen observation, I'll grant you that - but you seem completely oblivious to what that new pattern is."

"Kaido is useful as a stop-gap measure, but only if it's done on you by someone else. In practice, a lethally wounded Shinigami trying to use Kaido on herself near-invariably dies."

"Why? A Shinigami's body can only produce cells in harmony with their current level of Reiatsu. Not their actual or theoretical maximum. When they then begin recovering Reiatsu, those weak cells undergo apoptosis and are replaced by new, stronger cells. Ordinarily this is not a problem, because a Shinigami recovers Reiatsu much faster than their bodily wounds heal. Only a small amount of weak cells are created before they are cannibalized by the body. This is why Kaido works so well, in fact, when used by someone on someone else. When Reiatsu is rapidly restored, the body can immediately devote all excess energy to creation of new, healthy cells."

"But when you use Kaido on yourself, almost the opposite happens. Creation of new cells requires energy, and that energy comes from your Reiatsu. Even worse, part of the energy is lost as waste heat and light, as you first regurgitate your Reiatsu out of your body and then absorb it back in. This creates a negative feedback loop, where every regenerated cell consumes a part of your remaining Reiatsu, and as a result all further cells end up weaker for it. Then, your body runs out of Reiatsu, and starts consuming existing cells to create more. Again, part of the energy is wasted, so for each cell destroyed, less than a cell is created."

"Bit by bit, your body devours itself. There have been cases where Shinigami tried to regenerate lost limbs, and essentially starved to death as a result. One tried to regenerate a lung, and ended up dying because the process destroyed their heart. Others perished when their bodies rotted away when too much Reiatsu was poured into them, and the bodies they thought were healed could not cope with it."

Li points at Sho's ear. "It's very lucky you only healed something as small and non-vital as leaf of an ear. It's also lucky you only did it after we'd already restored your Reiatsu close to its normal level. If we had not, that ear would wither and fall away as soon as your Reiatsu fully recovers, as your normal level of Reiatsu would have been toxic to it. You still lost almost a full kilogram of bodyfat for it. I suggest you go and fetch new bra from the Central Warehouse as soon as possible."

The Commander stands up. "That concludes your lecture for the day Sabitsura-kun, unless our visitor here has something to add." Li beckons at Saruhiko with the cane. "Saruhiko-dono here is the inventor of Kaido. By all means, if my word is not enough, ask him."

"You do not know everything, Sho. You do not know even as much as you think you do. But if you want to learn, and get rid of your weakness, we can teach you. But not without a price."

Li takes a step closer to Sho. The girl should be able to see the Commander's lips are still burned. "Too few students like you ask an important question: 'if Kaido can fix everything, why is the teacher missing a leg?' Now I've told you the reason. If there was a way for us Shinigami to recover limbs like Hollows do, I would not be walking around with a prosthetic."

"Fortunately, there is hope for me. There is a promising young robotics researcher called Takenaka Chouko-chan, who I keep healed despite her continuous mishaps. She is, in some ways, very much like you, in that she's reckless and self-destructive despite her sharp mind."

"Or, to put it more bluntly: the only reason I tolerate that damn bitch and her hideous taste in music is because she's useful to me. And that's the question you should ask yourself from here on, Sabitsura-kun: 'How I am being useful to Zheng Li Lin today?' You should ask that about yourself every time you walk, or read, or go to the toilet, or do anything at all. Even breathing."

"Because if you can't think of an answer I like, the next time you will see me is in your own execution."

"Is this clear, soldier?"

[Spacewolf]

[Soul Society]
Day after Shos' incarceration.

Going down to check on what the researchers had been able to discover with regards to Lucitas questions, Castus isn't exactly surprised by the amount of information they have been able to compile. Either way though he still has to report the findings, so while copies of what little information they have are made he writes up a quick summary of the details.

Details of hollows before hollowfication- Almost non-existent, no useful information.

Hollows set to Hell vs Hollows sent to SS by purification manifesting unusual powers- If compared by percentages no correlation, small sample of after incident reports of both types enclosed.

Giving the report to one of the lower ranked researchers to deliver to Med and Log headquarters, Castus writes off any more research as a bad job and gathers a few SSI members together for a trip to the mortal world.

Once he has enough people he heads towards the Senkaimon gate, after all he might be able to duck Sawada for abit longer and let the whole Sho business get buried in the past if he was in the mortal world collecting items for his research. Although he had overheard a few people talking about Sawada making his own trip so he might not be back for awhile anyway.

Spoiler

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Mostly just fluff stuff for Castus to be doing at this point, I left it here incase he's not allowed though the Senkaimon for whatever reason. If there are no problems i'll do the whole sample collecting and return in the next post (It's just going to be some tech if your interested)

[Draken]

Hueco Mundo
Palacio Central

Fungal bath time is fun and all, but a steward's job is never done. Specially in the aftermath of the cataclysmic spellcast of a suicidal shinigami.

Lord Jehoel was wise, of course, to take the fight out of the city walls - or dome, as it might be - falling debris certainly did a number of the city blocks underneath, and the shockwave as well, but it would have been so much worse otherwise. Why, in the palace itself, the explosion brought down a western annex. Clovis isn't sure what it was used for - he's only been around for a day after all - but it can't be important, not anymore, anyway.

Well, better get to work.

It is most fortuitous to be who he is and have the capabilities he has. A sheet of a paper and a pencil are always easy to come by, and a man can only think and hone his mental skills by spending a few centuries in a hole in eastern Europe. Clovis gets to work on a design to rebuild the devastated portions of the palace - the rest of the city is honestly not his problem.

So there he sits, outside on a small stool of quick making, sketching a plan for how to rebuild that portion of the palace.

Maybe an amphitheater would be in order. Decisions, decisions.

[Rhyvurg]

[Soul Society]
(Academy)

Kanomi Tarriz

Noticing Peredur, Tarriz tried to stand and failed, "I wanted to thank you" he coughed "just give me a few minutes to collect myself".

He was in poor shape.

A large, fat shadow looms over Tarriz. "Death does not wait for you to be ready, Tarriz." Sato lifts him to his feet. "What happened son? You look terrible."

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4)

Sho Sabitsura

I had been trying to gain knowledge when these current issues started and people got annoyed she almost snapped, the elders wordplay would likely turn that around into her misunderstanding also.

She was further unamused by the destruction of the cup and claiming that the remainder was the same - but that flawed comparison seemed to be what the elder was accusing her of doing with her body. It was something to consider at the least.

Looking between the elder and her guest "an inventor is not always the highest practical expert. But very well" turning to the guest "Captain Li advises that one never uses Kaido on themselves, would you agree or would you say that there are times which it's use is acceptable and that learning the limits of ones abilities in this regard would be positive", considering it as a problem to be solved, "further were one to capture there excess Reiatsu when at rest to be accessed once needed would this solve the issue of self use?".

Returning her eyes to the Captain-Commander, "I don't like being threatened" her voice low "but your words are understood".

The Lucita woman had offered her a path to achieving what she wanted providing that she behaved how the woman wanted her to - with the punishment implied, this one was using the same only with the punishment clear and the reward vague. She suspected they were working together to attempt to enforce what they considered acceptable behaviour.

[Soul Society]
(Academy)

Kanomi Tarriz

"Sir" he said shocked "thank you" as he was helped to his feet, "myself and Peredur-san were duelling yesterday and something came over me ... I am not sure what really" stopping "Peredur won and healed me as best he could", embarrassed now "I tried to make the assembly" against nurse request he left out "but I was to late".

[Tebryn]

"My...what fine women you are training now Commander Captain." Saruhiko chuckles at the rather gruff start of the conversation. "It is unwise to practice kaido on oneself yes but it was never intended for that." he answers simply, offering only the lightest of shrugs at the second question. "Kaido was designed with the strict intent to build bridges as well as mend wounds. When you mingle your own reiatsu with another...you understand one another on a much deeper level. Hatred is washed away as you give something from yourself to another. Much like donating blood that the mortals hold, it is an action that takes little from you but gives new hope to others. To use it on yourself is strictly masturbatory in that sense. It is a great shame of mine that I could not devise a method to properly heal oneself swiftly and safely in my time in Soul Society. It is like eating your own leg to stave off dying from starvation. The effort involved is more than the benefit you would gain. No matter the steps you take, Kaido takes more energy to heal you than you could afford to lose even at your maximum. Even the former Commander Captain would be at a net loss. You would bleed out your spiritual energies and die."

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4)

Sho Sabitsura

Considering his words she suspected that he was not in fact complimenting her, "but you didn't answer the question, if healing another is no risk to the healer, than using the same power to store the energy for later personal use should not be a problem either ... there by allowing self healing if preparation has been done, the only matter is the containing method. Yes it might take more effort than reward in an immediate sense but at a crutial moment using earlier unused power might be well worth it, storage methods started being considered in in her mind, needed to be compact, fast acting, easy to deploy etc, perhaps for the first topic of learning she would look into that "and how useful would it be as an offensive ability, if it can be used to destroy cells?" when knowledge was being offered it was better to take it - even if it would have to be tested to ensure that no misinformation was provided.

[strawberryman]

[Soul Society]
(Rokushō Kairō)

Chouko sneezes suddenly in the middle of her conversation with Hideki, shrugging it off then continuing plans for the engineering division. While silently considering how to get the one-up on Koutetsu.

It probably involved bribing the new Commander with a high-tech leg.

[Tebryn]

[Soul Society]
(Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4)

Sho Sabitsura

Considering his words she suspected that he was not in fact complimenting her, "but you didn't answer the question, if healing another is no risk to the healer, than using the same power to store the energy for later personal use should not be a problem either ... there by allowing self healing if preparation has been done, the only matter is the containing method. Yes it might take more effort than reward in an immediate sense but at a crutial moment using earlier unused power might be well worth it, storage methods started being considered in in her mind, needed to be compact, fast acting, easy to deploy etc, perhaps for the first topic of learning she would look into that "and how useful would it be as an offensive ability, if it can be used to destroy cells?" when knowledge was being offered it was better to take it - even if it would have to be tested to ensure that no misinformation was provided.

"You are under a misunderstanding, Kaido is not completely safe even when healing others. As in the previous example of a blood transfer, it is possible to drain to much energy from yourself and put yourself at risk. It is why Kaido users are better when they have more spiritual pressure. Those with little reiatsu are not fit for kaido...not without great personal risk. It is those men and women who deserve our respect." Sharuhiko explains as he takes a seat. He perks a brow at the question though answers in his same slow manner. "It is possible yes."

[Frozen_Feet]

Li snorts. "There is already a school of Kido devoted to making your Reiatsu kill things. It is called Hado. There is also something that is used to store energy so it can be consumed at used at a later point. We call it food."

It's obvious Li doesn't want to waste time on another inane argument with this girl. "Within the limits of your current orders, do feel free to search for a method to contain Reiatsu, Sabitsura-kun. But it isn't something you will suddenly come up with from the top of your head. Better minds than you have tried. And even if you came up with a workable theory out of blue, no serious application of theory has ever been achieved without hours in the laboratory."

Li moves to leave. "If I was you, before trying to do a thing I would first try to find out what has been done, so I wouldn't waste my effort on reinventing the wheel. But your time is up for now. I must return to more important duties." The Commander glances at the Royal Guard member. "Do you have any parting words, Saruhiko-dono?"

[Tebryn]

Saruhiko stands with a sigh though glances at the "patient". "I suppose one. What troubles you my dear?"

[Rhyvurg]

[B]

[Soul Society]
(Academy)

Kanomi Tarriz

"Sir" he said shocked "thank you" as he was helped to his feet, "myself and Peredur-san were duelling yesterday and something came over me ... I am not sure what really" stopping "Peredur won and healed me as best he could", embarrassed now "I tried to make the assembly" against nurse request he left out "but I was to late".

Sato nods. "I am glad you were not seriously hurt. We will keep your assessment short and easy then. When we're done I want you to report to the infirmary for a detailed examination and treatment. For right now, let's find a place to talk."

[Viera Champion]

"So... if things are not what they seem, Hikaru-san, and I seem foolish, then...

...what am I?"

Hikaru tilts her head curiously.
"Yes. Well. The most foolish sensible person I know, that's for certain."
She sighs. This might get deep.

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4)

Sho Sabitsura

"And thereby you could draw the excess energy into yourself to restore your own abilities while weakening an opponent, right?", she spoke half to herself.

Well at least the commander had given her the approval to conduct the research and take the laboratory time, that was something at least.

The tilted her head inquisitively at the question of what troubled her, "I am not sure I understand. Other people are dangerous, this has been proven repeatedly, the most direct method of achieving safety from them would be the removal of all other intelligences and all methods of intelligence arising, however this is not practical under current conditions, as such I need to focus my efforts on protecting myself from others in more achievable ways", looking at the man "you protected yourself with the invention of Kaido which you have stated is a method of binding others to you so that their loyalty is compromised in your favour, but you know that others would still seek to harm you so you have likely developed additional methods of guaranteeing your security until you are ready to solve the problem permanently" looking at Li "the captain is likely the same via different methods".

"It is an unpleasant truth that it is best to keep your known enemies close, both as a shield against the unknown and to prevent them becoming unknown, and this collection of hostile entities seeking to protect themselves from the unknown is called society", she shrugged "a necessary evil for long term security even as it compromises short term security".

"It is a logical perversion I have not been able to solve, yet" she finished.

[Soul Society]
(Academy)

Kanomi Tarriz

"Yes sir" he was prepared to follow, even as he was too weak to maintain a proper pace.

[Rhyvurg]

Soul Society
Academy

Sato leads Tarriz to an unused office and sits him in a chair. "Since you missed the assembly I'll give you a quick summary. The students, all of them, are being put through an intensive combat training course, all other classes are cancelled until the crisis is over. The teachers are meeting with everyone to assess their strengths and weaknesses. If Hollows attack again, and I know they will, we won't seed psychopaths like Sho to deal with them. Every student here will be fully capable of fighting anything short of a Menos. So Tarriz, what are you especially good at, and what are you terrible at?"

[Kuroimaken]

Hikaru tilts her head curiously.
"Yes. Well. The most foolish sensible person I know, that's for certain."
She sighs. This might get deep.

"...now you're just being plain confusing."

Setsurou obviously knew where she was going with this. But this was a cornerstone of who he was, and wasn't. As such, he wasn't going to give her an easy time about it.

He half-expected her to just come out and proclaim her love for him or something equally off the left field...

[Frozen_Feet]

[Soul Society]
Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4

Li doesn't look at Sho as she explains her philosophy. Instead, the Commander is looking at the faces of the Royal Guard members, to see their reaction. To Li, Sho's insane troll logic is nothing new, but the elder wonders how Saruhiko's appraisal of Sho's "fineness" will be affected by learning this woman considers pretty much everyone and everything her enemy.

Nonetheless, the Commander is pretty impatient to leave. There's a talking-to that needs to be given to Lucita, and then hopefully Li won't have to deal with anything Sho-related for a while. In that manner, Li's promotion might turn out to be a blessing.

---

[Soul Society]
Department of Research

Igarashi's research quickly confirms basic facts of Li's diagram. Soul Society is separated from Earth by Dangai; Hueco Mundo is separated from Earth by Void; and another lenght of Void separates Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. However, little info is found on why it is so. As they day turns into night and the night turns into morning, however, some interesting theories and observations start to crop up.

The first concerns basic building blocks of the universe. Some researcher observed that matter in both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society consists of Reishi, "spiritual matter", while matter on earth consists of Kishi, "earthly matter". The study shows that in order to cross from Earth to either realm, the spirit of a human must either be separated from their bodies, or turned into Reishi wholesale. It notes that no known way to move living humans through a Senkaimon exists, but the same does not apply to Garganta. Somehow, travelling through the Void changes a human's whole body. Even more curiously, a human body knows how to turn back on its own. Explanation for this phenomenom has not been found.

Second, there's an old cosmological diagram. In it, Earth is the center, while all spiritual realms occupy orbits around it. Below Earth is Hell; above it is first Hueco Mundo, then Soul Society. Above Soul Society stands something labeled as the "Throne", which presumably refers to the Soul King's realm. A note on the diagram says: "Like planets, realms of existence are not stationary. They move in relation to each other. Traveling between realms is possible where their orbits intersect. The orbit of Soul Society is called Dangai. These intersections may exist in more than three dimensions. Because of this, going through Dangai may cause time travel."

Later addition says: "This does not happen when following orbit of Hueco Mundo. Hueco Mundo has fixed time-dimension to Earth. To move to past from Hueco Mundo, one needs to first move to orbit of Soul Society (?)."

Finally: "Orbit of the Throne only intersects with Soul Society. To get there, one needs [ACCESS DENIED] and a cannon."

A later commentary on this theory is even wilder: "It has not been confirmed, but stands a real possibility that orbits of realms follow those of planets, either past or future. Earth is Terra; Soul Society is Mars; and Hueco Mundo is Luna. Hell, rather than a planet, lies inside the core of Earth."

Someone has scribbled a mocking note in the margins: "If Hueco Mundo is the moon, what is the thing hanging from its sky then?"

Yet another commenter has this to say of orbits: "Like Hollows themselves, their world seems incomplete. Its real size has not yet been verified, in fact we do not even know if it is round; but, based on initial calculations, it seems much smaller than either Earth or Soul Society. While I personally find it questionable that Hueco Mundo would correspond to Earth's moon in any meaningful manner, I do find it likely that just like Luna was separated from Earth by a collision of another celestial object, Hueco Mundo too was once part of Soul Society, and was struck apart by some unknown cataclysm. It maybe Hueco Mundo is a testament to some past distruption in balance of souls."

[Spacewolf]

Stepping through the Senkaimon with the rest of his group Castus is gone for about an hour, before the gate opens and two SSI members step through the gate before it quickly closes. Once through they begin advising anyone in the way to start making some room.

A few seconds later the gate opens again, this time with several hundred meters of high voltage cable coming flying though it. Along with a pair of metal squares wrapped in wire that skid to a halt with only minor damage a few feet infront of the gate before it once again closes. After a minute or so of the two squad members trying to clear some of the equipment from infront of the gate, it opens again with the rest of the group plus Castus coming though. This time carrying a few boxes of tools, testing equipment and a metal box with a few wiring connections coming off it.

Once it's all through Castus calls the research group over for a chat.

“Nice work so far, now carry the stuff over to the clearing near the SSI and we can set it up for testing. And call in some extra muscle since once it’s all set up you can take the rest of the day off so the quicker the better.”

Castus keeps an eye on the removal of the equipment from the square. Once it’s all removed he follows the group to the clearing.

[Demidos]

[Soul Society]

Spoiler

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[Soul Society]
Department of Research

Igarashi's research quickly confirms basic facts of Li's diagram. Soul Society is separated from Earth by Dangai; Hueco Mundo is separated from Earth by Void; and another lenght of Void separates Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. However, little info is found on why it is so. As they day turns into night and the night turns into morning, however, some interesting theories and observations start to crop up.

The first concerns basic building blocks of the universe. Some researcher observed that matter in both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society consists of Reishi, "spiritual matter", while matter on earth consists of Kishi, "earthly matter". The study shows that in order to cross from Earth to either realm, the spirit of a human must either be separated from their bodies, or turned into Reishi wholesale. It notes that no known way to move living humans through a Senkaimon exists, but the same does not apply to Garganta. Somehow, travelling through the Void changes a human's whole body. Even more curiously, a human body knows how to turn back on its own. Explanation for this phenomenom has not been found.

Second, there's an old cosmological diagram. In it, Earth is the center, while all spiritual realms occupy orbits around it. Below Earth is Hell; above it is first Hueco Mundo, then Soul Society. Above Soul Society stands something labeled as the "Throne", which presumably refers to the Soul King's realm. A note on the diagram says: "Like planets, realms of existence are not stationary. They move in relation to each other. Traveling between realms is possible where their orbits intersect. The orbit of Soul Society is called Dangai. These intersections may exist in more than three dimensions. Because of this, going through Dangai may cause time travel."

Later addition says: "This does not happen when following orbit of Hueco Mundo. Hueco Mundo has fixed time-dimension to Earth. To move to past from Hueco Mundo, one needs to first move to orbit of Soul Society (?)."

Finally: "Orbit of the Throne only intersects with Soul Society. To get there, one needs [ACCESS DENIED] and a cannon."

A later commentary on this theory is even wilder: "It has not been confirmed, but stands a real possibility that orbits of realms follow those of planets, either past or future. Earth is Terra; Soul Society is Mars; and Hueco Mundo is Luna. Hell, rather than a planet, lies inside the core of Earth."

Someone has scribbled a mocking note in the margins: "If Hueco Mundo is the moon, what is the thing hanging from its sky then?"

Yet another commenter has this to say of orbits: "Like Hollows themselves, their world seems incomplete. Its real size has not yet been verified, in fact we do not even know if it is round; but, based on initial calculations, it seems much smaller than either Earth or Soul Society. While I personally find it questionable that Hueco Mundo would correspond to Earth's moon in any meaningful manner, I do find it likely that just like Luna was separated from Earth by a collision of another celestial object, Hueco Mundo too was once part of Soul Society, and was struck apart by some unknown cataclysm. It maybe Hueco Mundo is a testament to some past distruption in balance of souls."

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Igarashi leans back, crossing his fingers behind his head. The data all seems rather inconclusive. The latest bit of data that he has recovered seems to be the most interesting -- Soul Society and Hueco Mundo were once one? Where is the proof of this? Perhaps the fact that they are separated by the Void instead of the usual boundary between worlds -- the Dangai. But then so too the Earth was connected to Hueco Mundo by way of the Void. What if all three had been connected in the beginning, and had been rent asunder somehow? But how then would the different kinds of particles interact. Lost in thought, he leaned farther and farther back until his head suddenly makes contact with a call-bell, the unexpected sound jerking him upright and onto his feet in surprise.

After a moment, he allows himself a small smile of embarassment. Ah well. He was almost done with the database in any case. Perhaps talking to one of the SSI would be more enlightening.

[Frozen_Feet]

"Nagashi-san? You called?" Yamamoto Sayuri, one of the younger interns, peeks into the archive room. She is a short (barely over 150 centimeters) young woman with cold blue eyes, pale freckled face, and long blonde hair tied on a ponytail. "Do you require assistance? Perhaps some coffee from the canteen? It now has 1500% more caffeine. Great for long stretches of research!" The girl gives two thumbs up.

[Demidos]

[Soul Society - SSI HQ]

"Oh." Igarashi looks surprised to see someone so young working here. "Yes. Thanks. Coffee would be great....Sayuri?"

Having had 700 years to hone his talents, Igarashi has more free time than most, and as such tries to keep most people's names handy.

Although, uh, would you happen to know anyone who could tell me about the different worlds? Particularly the border between them? Its ah, a project. On the Void. And the Dangai.

[Frozen_Feet]

The girl's face turns red as a strawberry when Igarashi calls her by name. "It's not polite to call someone you barely know with her first name", the girl mutters under her breath. And without honorofics, to boot!

At the mention of the subject matter, the girl looks thoughtful. "Border between worlds...? Got it! I will be back in a minute, Nagashi-san!"

Actually, it takes 39 seconds. The girl must have tasted that coffee herself. She returns with two steaming cups on platters balanced on one hand, and three books, a carton of milk and a bag of sugar on the other. "Here you go, sir! Made only from lab-grown, genetically engineered beans!", the girl chimes as she places the cups before Igarashi. After putting down the milk and sugar next to them, she drops the books one the floor, where they send a small cloud of dust billowing about. Someone should clean more often here.

"Most theories on the subject are just wild conjecture and crazy-talk. I mean, they sound like something I might think up while eating my morning cereal. Not much research has been done on the subject. That's because Central 46 has decreed all research into things that alter space-time highly illegal. But of course...", the girl lets out a nervous, high-pitched laughter that sounds like it could break glass, "... we're not going to do anything illegal, right, Nagashi-san?"

[Demidos]

Igarashi smiles to see the girl flushing.

"Illegal? No. Just a little harmless research."

Ah, to be young and to worry about propriety. He takes a sip of the coffee and has to do a double take, doing his best not to gag. Only a slight, quickly suppressed widening of his eyes denotes his surprise.

By the Soul King! What had this girl put into the coffee? It tasted like toe-nail clippings mixed with warm green fungus and dripping pustules. The taste was like nothing he'd tasted before, a sickly mix of bitter and acrid that assaulted his mind. He sincerely hoped that it was simply the normal taste of these overcaffeinated beans, and not any additions of Sayuris'. Although he preferred not to think about the alternative question which that raised, that of what they had fed the beans.

"This is uh, very good coffee. Who taught you to make this?" Igarashi asked, silently making a note to never to accept coffee from whoever had taught her. He moved to start pouring sugar into his drink, hoping to drown out the taste with enough of the powdery white substance.

[Frozen_Feet]

"Ah, I appreciate the compliment, but I didn't make it", the girl chimes. "It came straight from the canteen's new coffee automat. I just went and copied the design directly from Earth. This way, every researcher can remain properly caffeinated without constantly worrying about a coffee pan boiling over or running empty. If you get tired of coffee, it even makes hot cocoa or tea!"

The girl kneels down and opens the topmost book. The girl squints and presses her nose very close to the pages, suggesting she might be near-sighted. "Let's see... the most popular theories on spiritual cosmology are the 'orbit theory' and 'shadow world' theory. The first suggests that spiritual realms occupy orbits like planets, and revolve around Earth. But rather than spatial orbits, these orbits curve in more than three dimensions plus time, which why spiritual realms can not be detected from Earth using human equipment."

"The second theory posits Earth is the only 'real' world, and spiritual realms are just residual after-images caused by leftover energy from the world's soul. Theoretically, this would mean that Earth, Soul Society and Hueco Mundo all occupy the same 'space'. If you were to shoot a rocket from surface of Soul Society, it would eventually cross over from spirit world to real space and end up in the moon." Sayuri lifts her gaze from the book and glances at Igarashi. "Personally, I think both of these are a load of crap. They're all hypothetical with little experimental basis. Though I suppose they would be easy to falsify if we had a working space program. Come to think of it - why do we not have a working space program?"

Sayuri puts the first book aside and opens the second. "Huh. This is weird. It seems rocketeering and high-altitude flying devices have been banned by the decree of the Soul King. I wonder if he's worried about someone crashing to his palace or something? Though it's a moot point anyway. Shinigami expertise on conventional aerodynamics is almost null due to ubiquitous airwalking ability. And apparently if you walk above 20 kilometers of altitude, you run out of Reishi to breathe. Not air, Reishi. It is oddly specific about that. It's the same reason one mortal medium who tried to fly through a Garganta on a primitive flight machine failed. Void is full of spiritual energy, but its properties differ too much from air to create any lift, so he fell to his doom. He's probably still falling, actually. There are no verified limits to that dimension."

[Tebryn]

[Soul Society]
(Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4)

Sho Sabitsura

"And thereby you could draw the excess energy into yourself to restore your own abilities while weakening an opponent, right?", she spoke half to herself.

Well at least the commander had given her the approval to conduct the research and take the laboratory time, that was something at least.

The tilted her head inquisitively at the question of what troubled her, "I am not sure I understand. Other people are dangerous, this has been proven repeatedly, the most direct method of achieving safety from them would be the removal of all other intelligences and all methods of intelligence arising, however this is not practical under current conditions, as such I need to focus my efforts on protecting myself from others in more achievable ways", looking at the man "you protected yourself with the invention of Kaido which you have stated is a method of binding others to you so that their loyalty is compromised in your favour, but you know that others would still seek to harm you so you have likely developed additional methods of guaranteeing your security until you are ready to solve the problem permanently" looking at Li "the captain is likely the same via different methods".

"It is an unpleasant truth that it is best to keep your known enemies close, both as a shield against the unknown and to prevent them becoming unknown, and this collection of hostile entities seeking to protect themselves from the unknown is called society", she shrugged "a necessary evil for long term security even as it compromises short term security".

"It is a logical perversion I have not been able to solve, yet" she finished.

"I imagine doing that to save yourself would be deemed a heinous offense. I would suggest any Commander Captain to put you to death." Saruhiko murmurs, glancing at Li. "You're wasting your time with this one. She does not understand or even desire understanding. I will follow you."

[Eternis]

[Soul Society]
(Just outside the Shinōreijutsuin)
Chishio Zuiichi hesitantly knocks on the wooden frame of the front gates of the academy, his head bowed slightly so as to shade his eyes somewhat from the sun above.
I don't know why, but I was told to come here for training or something. All I know for certain is that some old man told me I'd fit in here. May I please be allowed to enter?"

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I don't quite know the protocol here, I just hope I didn't do anything wrong.

[DiscipleofBob]

[Hueco Mundo]
(Outside Las Noches)

"That's not all you'll regret!" This time the raw reiatsu surrounding Kiba seems to evaporate the rain bullets on contact. Jehoel will find Kiba much closer than before as he continues to accelerate towards Jehoel's location. When Jehoel fires off the wide-range Cero, Kiba doesn't even try to dodge. Instead, he charges towards Jehoel, the raw reiatsu surrounding him boring into one point of the Cero like a drill. Through it all, Kiba keeps a perfect bead on Jehoel's location. With a Reiatsu like that, he's difficult to miss.

----------

[Soul Society]
(Combat Division)

"Did she?" Scarlet asks unimpressed. "And why would she give special treatment to you as opposed to any other student? I'm warning you, Suou Nicole, I want the truth right now. All of it. Otherwise, disciplinary action will be the least of your concern. And remember, we have plenty of ways of checking into your story and asking people lots of questions. If you have something to hide go join one of the other Divisions. If you want to make it here, you had better be completely forthcoming."

----------

(Black Dragon Inn)

Kun? Sanbo-kun? The strange suit of armor resembling a kettle angrily chugs another beverage. To onlookers it looks like some kind of miniaturized robot opening and pouring the beverage inside. Her face still isn't quite visible. This was quite embarrassing. Here she was, a representative from Squad Zero, and Li had had the nerve to address her so... informally. If Saruhiko-dono had not been there, she would have spoken up more. And instead of giving her a place to set up shop, she was just brushed aside to this inn like a tourist. She even had to drag the capsule she came in herself, rather than leave it in the street. The new Commander General SAID she would provide a space for Sanbo Kojin to set up her workshop, but as of now she had yet to hear anything. Her master would discipline her harshly for going so long without real work.

[dancrilis]

[Soul Society]
(Monastery of the Ho-ou - Medical Center 4)

Sho Sabitsura

"Hmm ... that is unfortunate", was there no one in this place who appreciated potential weapons - but at lease there was no restriction on her developing what might become a banned technique if she could in fact develop it.

She looked unsure about something "I am not sure on the etiquette here, I am tired" or at least not at full rested status "and have been told to heal up ... is there anything else?, she felt the conversation was over but suspected saying 'go away' was not the correct method of achieving some peace.



[Soul Society]
(Academy)

Kanomi Tarriz

"Seed sir?" did they actually put a rampant murderer in the midst of students knowingly in case of trouble, did his friends die because the instructors didn't want to risk themselves, anger began a slow boil to the surface - it would have been faster if he was in better shape. Perhaps he had misheard.

[Soul Society]
(Monastery of the Ho-ou)

Lucita

She wasn't sure she had made the correct call, the captain-commander deserved privacy and so she had not monitored the room for the conversation - but the patient was under her care and remit so perhaps she should be listening. If it were not captain Li she likely would be listening at that.

Instead she processed papers and assessed patient reports, areas where the division had encountered trouble from other ranks, people who had preformed well, and were worthy of praise.

Scribing a note she had it copied and sent to her seated officers.

From the Desk of Lucita Acting-Captain of the Medical and Logistic Division,

There will be a weekly dinner meeting to discuss the direction of the division in general and to raise any concerns, the first will be in three days time. Attendance is not mandatory but it is encouraged - I would also encourage each of you to adopt a similar practice with any squads you oversee

.

She had also tried to follow up with Kiba directly to many times now and been interrupted, she wrote another note.

From the Desk of Lucita Acting-Captain of the Medical and Logistic Division,

To Kiba I hope your recent burden is treating you better than mine is treating me - and I hope that you are proud of your accomplishments in maintaining your division intact and well functioning despite the loss of the Kenpachi under the worst of circumstances.

I had wanted to meet you to discuss the possibility of including some Kaidō specialists within your squads during wartime manoeuvrings to ensure recovery and retention of strength.

I would intend for this to be a short term measure until the scope of the Arrancar threat has determined, and that these specialists would in turn train some of your senior agents in efficient Kaidō use to ensure that those with a high degree of Reiatsu can protect and stabilise the other squad members after a conflict occurs to allow for the greatest possible recovery rate of military strength.

Of course the exact structure of this would need to be confirmed between us. If you would be interested in discussing this please follow up with me tomorrow or the following day.

.

Resting the pen she read over the note before directing a messenger to deliver it, ideally she would arrange the same with the Recon division but she lacked the resources currently.

Standing from her desk she began to practice a series of katas to ease her mind again - and take it off some more unpleasant matters.