[BiTPR2] Renewed Revolution: Spirit World V

[Kuroimaken]

Senshi shifts one of his feet back, putting weight onto it. "Strange. I've never run into one either."

"I'd expect there aren't that many of you around."

[Frozen_Feet]

The magenta-haired girl looks at Senshi and Ryouma as if they're both idiots. "What does it matter if someone smells like a Hollow? Hollows smell like all sorts of things. Can't be all that important."

[Kuroimaken]

The magenta-haired girl looks at Senshi and Ryouma as if they're both idiots. "What does it matter if someone smells like a Hollow? Hollows smell like all sorts of things. Can't be all that important."

"Proof that you ain't used to giving your nose a second thought. That's alright though, few people are. Smell can actually tell a lot about a person. You smell blood on someone, it's a fair shot they've hurt someone else. You smell dirt? Good odds they've got a garden, grave dirt smells different.

This fella smells like Hollow. Live Hollow. Ain't enough to just be around one for a smell this strong either. He'd hafta spend a week or more practically glued together ta one of them."

- - - Updated - - -

"O-Okay...." Suguri said nervously.

Katsurou clapped, and the warehouse projected a grassy landscape with a voice narrating a story.

"The people of Seyruun used to live peacefully under the guidance of their king. One day, a terrible wizard unleashed the centuries-old seal upon the monster race in hopes of bringing back their lord.

Oh no! The people are in danger! Who will come to their aid?"

Throughout the narration, a number of stylizedly drawn people seem to be running from childish-looking monsters. Both the people and the monsters don't look any bigger than Suguri herself.

[Hawkflight]

Suguri looked around in a panic, not sure what to do. She wasn't a fighter. In fact, she would prefer if the humans and monsters could live in peace. It was also entirely possible that, in her life, she'd played too much Undertale - always taking the pacifist route, obviously.

"W-Wait! Stop! Why are you doing this?!" she shouted, primarily at the monsters.

[Kuroimaken]

"Hueee-heehee! We're monsters, hueeee-hee! It's the fault of humans that we were sealed so long ago, and we are going to punish them for it!"

It doesn't look like talking to them will help. Suguri might recognize this as one of those points in a game where it doesn't let you pick anything else.

[KnightDisciple]

[Royal Realm, King's Realm]
[Meeting Room, Royal Guard's Palace]

[Royal Realm]
Meeting Chamber

Rin nods in agreement.

"I have no objections. I will begin preparations for an artificial Shakonmaku barrier to prevent casual travel between our territory and the rest of the Soul Society."

Masamune nodded at that.
"That sounds excellent, Rin. Once that has been done, please make sure to gather any other supplies you will need. Kusuma, please let me know when you are prepared.

This meeting is dismissed; those who are not going to Soul Society, ensure the strength and security of the Royal Realm while we who go are occupied. We hope to not be occupied over-long."

Barring objections, the meeting would end, allowing the Guards to disperse to their individual Palaces to do what work was necessary.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Soul Society]
[Cemetary]

[Soul Society]
Rukon

The representatives bow again.

"Very well. We will return at that time."

Cemetery

Jehoel is impassive.

"I have no additional insight, if you are expecting some form of revelation."

Masaru shrugged noncomittally.

"In my defense, your memory, age, attention to detail, and long interactions with both Hollows and Shinigami tells me there was at least a chance you might know something."

He's not 100% wrong.

[Cemetery]

"That'd be because they fled the scene shortly afterwards. I wasn't fast enough to save Mizuki... But I did manage to kill those Hollows afterwards. My way of making up for my inability to save her."

Hasunaga takes a deep breath.

"Never thought I'd be able to actually visit her grave. Small things to be thankful for, I suppose."

Masaru's smile was not full of humor.

"Good. I'm glad some measure of justice happened. And I am glad you were able to visit this memorial for her. Know her spirit lives on in the Division, in many ways, even amidst the changes wrought in recent times."

[Hawkflight]

"Hueee-heehee! We're monsters, hueeee-hee! It's the fault of humans that we were sealed so long ago, and we are going to punish them for it!"

It doesn't look like talking to them will help. Suguri might recognize this as one of those points in a game where it doesn't let you pick anything else.

That didn't mean she wasn't going to try, however.

"W-Wait," she said. "If, um, i-if ... I mean, I'm really sorry the humans did that, and that sounds pretty sucky of them, b-but if that was so long ago,
um .. d-do these humans, who didn't do anything wrong, need to suffer for it?"

It looked like she would need just a bit more of a push to fight.

[Kuroimaken]

"What are you talking about? We locked up the monsters because they attacked us!"

"Hueeee-hee-hee! We attacked you because you were weak! The weak should obey the strong!"

A narrator's voice interjects. "It seems the monsters were bullies all along! And you can't reason with a bully! But Suguri-chan will need power in order to beat these monsters!

Fight, Suguri-chan! Repeat after me!

'Where monsters rampage, I'll be there to take them down!'"

[Hawkflight]

"Oh shut up!" Suguri snapped at the narrator.

Funnily enough, if these creatures had been mindless beings, like Hollows, Suguri wouldn't have hesitated. However, even as she interposed herself between the monsters and the humans, she still didn't make the first blow. If these monsters wanted to fight, they would have to strike first.

[Kuroimaken]

The monster swings its comically-drawn club at Suguri. If it hits, she'll find herself comically flying away before she "smashes" against a nearby tree with a squeaky 'thud' sound.

"See what happens when you don't listen to narration?" The narrator snarked.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Seireitei; Combat Division]

The girl rolls her eyes and taps her head. "Your elephant ears are not hearing what I'm saying. I said 'Hollows smell like many things'. The flipside of that is that many things smell like Hollows. Yet you keep talking like there's this distinct Hollow smell, which is just patent nonsense. It's like saying someone handled lilacs when in truth, they just used lilac-scented shampoo."

She spaces out for a moment, then turns to look at Senshi with hands on her hips. "Is that it? You used Hollow-scented shampoo?" Pause. "Also, your hair is goofy."

[Kuroimaken]

[Seireitei, Combat Division Grounds]

"And you ain't hearing what I'm saying. Everything has a distinct smell. Maybe you wouldn't know cuz your nose is so small. What you think you smell outta Hollows is just the surface - deeper within, they got their own scent."

[Hawkflight]

The monster swings its comically-drawn club at Suguri. If it hits, she'll find herself comically flying away before she "smashes" against a nearby tree with a squeaky 'thud' sound.

"See what happens when you don't listen to narration?" The narrator snarked.

As Suguri hit the wall, her spiritual power spiked dramatically and she began to transform. Fur erupted from her body, her mouth pushed out into a muzzle, and her feet transformed into paws. Gritting her new teeth together, Suguri dropped to all fours and leaped at the monster, operating on feral instinct alone as she slashed at it with her claws and her terrifying amount of spiritual energy.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Just to clarify, she's not adopting a quadrupedal stance, she's still very much bipedal and a humanoid. She actually looks kind of like a canine version of Asriel, from Undertale.

[Kuroimaken]

"Well this is unexpected." The monster could actually be heard saying, shortly before it fizzled out of existence as Suguri clawed at it.

It didn't feel like a real thing. It was more like... a hologram. Suguri could feel some warmth as her claw went through it, but that was the extent of feeling it had.

"In an unexpected twist, it seems our heroine is capable of transforming herself!" The narrator speaks out.

A lot more monsters pop up!

[Hawkflight]

A lot more monsters, but not enough. Suguri seemed to disappear, emitting a shockwave of pure spiritual energy as she tore through the monsters, the shockwave obliterating the ones she bypassed. Unfortunately, it was uncontrolled, so the shockwave was also expanding in the direction of the town, and Suguri didn't notice, being lost in her almost animal-like state of kill-or-be-killed.

[King539]

Spoiler

Show

[Seireitei; Combat Division]

The girl rolls her eyes and taps her head. "Your elephant ears are not hearing what I'm saying. I said 'Hollows smell like many things'. The flipside of that is that many things smell like Hollows. Yet you keep talking like there's this distinct Hollow smell, which is just patent nonsense. It's like saying someone handled lilacs when in truth, they just used lilac-scented shampoo."

She spaces out for a moment, then turns to look at Senshi with hands on her hips. "Is that it? You used Hollow-scented shampoo?" Pause. "Also, your hair is goofy."

[Seireitei, Combat Division Grounds]

"And you ain't hearing what I'm saying. Everything has a distinct smell. Maybe you wouldn't know cuz your nose is so small. What you think you smell outta Hollows is just the surface - deeper within, they got their own scent."

Senshi looks back and forth between the two, ignoring the comment on his hair. "Taped to a Hollow, huh? I was wondering where i've been for the past week, and you may have helped me figure that out. I'll leave you to discuss what exactly Hollows do and do not smell like, while I do other things." Senshi begins tao walk past Ryouma, heading off to who-knows-where.

[Kuroimaken]

A lot more monsters, but not enough. Suguri seemed to disappear, emitting a shockwave of pure spiritual energy as she tore through the monsters, the shockwave obliterating the ones she bypassed. Unfortunately, it was uncontrolled, so the shockwave was also expanding in the direction of the town, and Suguri didn't notice, being lost in her almost animal-like state of kill-or-be-killed.

Luckily, they were in a contained warehouse built to withstand quite a bit of damage, modelled after the Combat Division's training grounds. In order for Suguri to actually do any damage to the environment she was in, she would need to have more energy on her than a good deal of Shinigami could build up over their careers. For the moment, the monsters just kept showing up.

After all, she had to tire out sometime.

- - - Updated - - -

Spoiler

Show

Senshi looks back and forth between the two, ignoring the comment on his hair. "Taped to a Hollow, huh? I was wondering where i've been for the past week, and you may have helped me figure that out. I'll leave you to discuss what exactly Hollows do and do not smell like, while I do other things." Senshi begins tao walk past Ryouma, heading off to who-knows-where.

"So... what, you got a kidney transplant from a Hollow or somethin'?"

[Frozen_Feet]

The girl glances at Ryouma and huffs. "Well excuse me for not owing a massive trunk like yours." Then they spot Senshi trying to shuffle away. "You leaving already, Mister-dude-guy? Oh well. Have a nice day." The girl looks around for the other students and begins skipping away, then stops and turns to look at Senshi one more time. "Oh, one more thing! I suggest you dye your hair white! Would suit you better!", she shouts after him.

[King539]

Spoiler

Show

The girl glances at Ryouma and huffs. "Well excuse me for not owing a massive trunk like yours." Then they spot Senshi trying to shuffle away. "You leaving already, Mister-dude-guy? Oh well. Have a nice day." The girl looks around for the other students and begins skipping away, then stops and turns to look at Senshi one more time. "Oh, one more thing! I suggest you dye your hair white! Would suit you better!", she shouts after him.

"So... what, you got a kidney transplant from a Hollow or somethin'?"

Senshi shrugs. "No idea. I told you, I can't remember the past week." He then keeps walking. It looks like he's seriously considering the comment on his hair.

[strawberryman]

[Soul Society]
Rukon

The representatives bow again.

"Very well. We will return at that time."

Momoka bows back, slipping them a piece of paper. "My address. In case you need to speak with me. And I know where our current holdings lie. Until tomorrow."

"And I'm guessing you like your meat spicy and medium rare too. Not a problem. I'll just make some hiyashi-chuka for Mo-- Junko. I'll make sure it's her favorite combination." Setsurou grinned.

It might strike the Tsuyoi representatives as odd that Setsurou would be cooking when he's got servants that could do it for him. They clearly never tasted his cooking.

"Ah, yes, I should have at least some of the details ready by tomorrow."

Momoka turns and nods in thanks to Setsurou, taking his hand.

Gwynned shrugs. "Honestly used to my meat being seasoned with coal. So if it's got flavor I ain't gonna complain. Just try not to make it weird if you two end up banging."

Momoka blinks rapidly, not sure how to respond to that, which provokes a wide grin from her half-sister. "...Lady Junko doesn't have anything to say about that, huh? Well, thanks to putting -me- through an embarrassing situation I get to put you through one." She looks to Setsurou again. "You two done it yet?"

"...let's go home. And perhaps change the topic to our future." Momoka tries - and possibly fails - to change the subject.

[Kuroimaken]

"Just because you're keeping your expectations low doesn't mean I'm not going to try and make it savory." Setsurou offers. "Your sister has never tasted my meats, so I can't ask her to vouch for them."

Smooth, dude, smooth.

"I think if we keep the conversation on this track our dear Lady is going to transform into a tomato. As for the future, why worry about it now? We have all of tomorrow for that. For today, we celebrate."

Spoiler: When Momoka isn't looking...

Show

Setsurou slips Gwyn a pair of earplugs and a piece of paper. "Keep going, I like where this is headed."

[Kuroimaken]

[Soul Society]
[Cemetary]

Masaru shrugged noncomittally.

"In my defense, your memory, age, attention to detail, and long interactions with both Hollows and Shinigami tells me there was at least a chance you might know something."

He's not 100% wrong.

Masaru's smile was not full of humor.

"Good. I'm glad some measure of justice happened. And I am glad you were able to visit this memorial for her. Know her spirit lives on in the Division, in many ways, even amidst the changes wrought in recent times."

"Forgive the bluntness, but that justice isn't gonna bring the girl back." Hasunaga admitted with a heavy sigh. He sounded like he was so much older than he looke-- wait a minute.

This incident happened over 30 years ago. This guy is unmistakably human, not a spirit, so how come he looked so damn young?

"I actually feel like I owe her an apology instead."

- - - Updated - - -

Spoiler

Show

Senshi shrugs. "No idea. I told you, I can't remember the past week." He then keeps walking. It looks like he's seriously considering the comment on his hair.

"...wasn't this place like... wrecked last week or so by a Hollow that could split into a bunch of other Hollows? What if this guy is actually a surviving part of them?"

[King539]

Senshi makes what may be a very bad decision, giving the circumstances.

He slowly picks up walking speed.

And doesn't reply.

[KnightDisciple]

[Soul Society]
[Cemetary]

"Forgive the bluntness, but that justice isn't gonna bring the girl back." Hasunaga admitted with a heavy sigh. He sounded like he was so much older than he looke-- wait a minute.

This incident happened over 30 years ago. This guy is unmistakably human, not a spirit, so how come he looked so damn young?

"I actually feel like I owe her an apology instead."

"Achieving justice for the dead is for the sake of those still living. And to prevent their killer from harming innocents. But, your bluntness is forgiven."

There is no rancor in that, only calm. Masaru has merely raised an eyebrow at the Mortal's tone and words.

"Why should you apologize? She died away from where you resided, doing her duty alongside her fellow soldiers. You cannot fight the battles for every soul you encounter, even if you are unusually hale for a Mortal."

[strawberryman]

"Just because you're keeping your expectations low doesn't mean I'm not going to try and make it savory." Setsurou offers. "Your sister has never tasted my meats, so I can't ask her to vouch for them."

Smooth, dude, smooth.

"I think if we keep the conversation on this track our dear Lady is going to transform into a tomato. As for the future, why worry about it now? We have all of tomorrow for that. For today, we celebrate."

Spoiler: When Momoka isn't looking...

Show

Setsurou slips Gwyn a pair of earplugs and a piece of paper. "Keep going, I like where this is headed."

Gwyn reads the note, and gives Setsurou a quizzical look, but shrugs with a 'why not' kind of gesture.

"That's a shame, meat is a very important part of a girl's diet, and no offense, sis, but ya look like you could use a supplement. A good sausage, maybe?"

Momoka sighs. "I suppose you think you're terribly clever."

"Why would I need to be clever?"

[Kuroimaken]

[Soul Society]
[Cemetary]

"Achieving justice for the dead is for the sake of those still living. And to prevent their killer from harming innocents. But, your bluntness is forgiven."

There is no rancor in that, only calm. Masaru has merely raised an eyebrow at the Mortal's tone and words.

"Why should you apologize? She died away from where you resided, doing her duty alongside her fellow soldiers. You cannot fight the battles for every soul you encounter, even if you are unusually hale for a Mortal."

"Small comfort that is.

Truth be told, Mizuki was still a bit of a kid. She didn't have all that much experience for a Shinigami. But I didn't once try to tell her to know when to cut her losses and run. Back then, I was cutting back on the Hollow-hunting business. Trying to make it less about my life's work, and more about protecting the people around me.

I shoulda factored her into that. I knew she wouldn't stop. Too damn proud for her own good."

[KnightDisciple]

[Soul Society]
[Cemetary]

"Small comfort that is.

Truth be told, Mizuki was still a bit of a kid. She didn't have all that much experience for a Shinigami. But I didn't once try to tell her to know when to cut her losses and run. Back then, I was cutting back on the Hollow-hunting business. Trying to make it less about my life's work, and more about protecting the people around me.

I shoulda factored her into that. I knew she wouldn't stop. Too damn proud for her own good."

Masaru goes very still.

"Officer Mizuki was not "still a bit of a kid". She was a Seated Officer in the Combat Division, and she excelled at that role. She didn't die randomly fighting Hollows, she died buying time for her people to evacuate, saving many lives in the process."

He took a single step toward Hasunaga, his face still implacable.

"She was doing her job. She knew what she was doing. She did it not out of pride, but out of duty, loyalty, honor, and love for her comrades. You dishonor her memory by suggesting she should have "cut her losses and run". If she had done that, at least 6 Shinigami would not be alive today, not to mention some civilians caught in the crossfire. If you really think she was an inexperienced, overly-proud kid who should have just run away, I want you to go up to each and every one of them and tell them how worthless their lives are, then go to her grave and tell her how worthless her sacrifice was."

[Kuroimaken]

Oh, that was precious.

"All the nobility in the world doesn't mean squat if you die for it." Hasunaga replied. "I would rather she had been a live coward than a dead hero, Captain. And had I not been too busy lamenting my responsibility, she could've been a live hero.

Looking for a place to throw your life away is no way to fight!"

It's easy to see Hasunaga is a lot angrier at himself than he is at Mizuki. However, both men are now irate enough that they should be using their fists to talk.

[KnightDisciple]

[Soul Society]
[Cemetary]

Oh, that was precious.

"All the nobility in the world doesn't mean squat if you die for it." Hasunaga replied. "I would rather she had been a live coward than a dead hero, Captain. And had I not been too busy lamenting my responsibility, she could've been a live hero.

Looking for a place to throw your life away is no way to fight!"

It's easy to see Hasunaga is a lot angrier at himself than he is at Mizuki. However, both men are now irate enough that they should be using their fists to talk.

Masaru's left hand is resting on his sword's hilt, but he still seems fairly calm. Outwardly.

"Just because you're as craven as she was brave doesn't mean you get to disrespect what she did. Survival is not the highest end to life. And I will not hear your churlish words again. I don't care how upset you are that for some reason you were not present in a fight conducted by the trained military of Soul Society, if you do not cease this prattle we will settle this argument in a training ring. I would suggest you not push us to that point, as my temper is fraying."

[Kuroimaken]

"Bravery? I call it folly.

I don't mind settling this with my fists, Captain. The truth remains the same. I cannot accept that the only way for others to live on is to sacrifice someone else.

Let's go. I can pay my respects to Mizuki after I've pounded that lesson into your head."