[BiTPR2] Renewed Revolution: Spirit World V

[Kuroimaken]

"What kinds of stories do you like?"

[Frozen_Feet]

[Seireitei;Shinoreijutsuin]

"C'mon, guys! You should remember I'm at least marginally smarter than the average Hollow! You keep going for the same spots!"

It's kind of funny he knows what marginally means.

Oh, by the way, here comes another stomp!

"NOW!"

Just as Ryouma has lifted his foot and is about to stomp it down, the recruits drop their chains and rush as a group against his leg just as it's about to hit down. The effect is akin to someone pulling a rug from under your foot just as your about to take a step. At the same time, the recruit who fell down sprints and leaps, trying to snatch Ryouma's collar and serve as a "counter-weight".

[Kuroimaken]

That... probably wasn't the smartest idea, in retrospect.

Ryouma's spiritual pressure did have freezing effects, after all. It was like holding onto an iceberg as he unleashed it for the same stomp tactic. But there's a chance they hadn't realized it yet - the first time he did it, the impact force went into the ground, after all.

Instead of trying to act counter to it, Ryouma goes with the motion, bending at the knee of his supporting foot and slamming both elbows into the ground just as he's about to touch down to bounce back up.

This isn't done only to keep himself from falling. He's afraid he might crush the student grabbing onto his collar on the way down.

[Frozen_Feet]

When Ryouma bends backwards, some of the recruits tackling his leg try to jump on his chest and stomach, hoping their weight will be enough to prevent him from getting all the way back up or maintaining balance. The recruit hanging to Ryouma's collar lets go and slips away from under him precisely to avoid the grissly fate Ryouma was afraid of, in case the others manage to get the giant to stumble and fall flat on his back.

[Ammutseba]

[The Great Library of Hueco Mundo]


If one could call it that. Nuala was sure it wasn't. Not that it wasn't a library, more that now that she was awake, she could see it for what it was. Someone had gone to a bit of trouble to collect all these books and resources, and some of them were, in fact, very old. She could tell just by standing in the main wing. Obviously, her single-minded pursuit of the library meant it was very important to her, but for more reasons than a love of good books. Not that she didn't love good books.

The library... a collection of memories. Memories a fullbringer could draw on and experience for herself. Still, she had fought for days for this? She'd expected a grand library. Something legendary, but for all appearances, the hollows weren't big on places of knowledge. Walking out to the main floor, she quickly found the card index and asked it which books she had already seen. She tasked Escarabajo and Saltamontes to looking for the rest with her, and as they brought to her many books, she sent most of them away with her assistants just as quickly.

A book in her hands, at once a collection of pages, and then a collection of thoughts. The smell of the wet ink on each page, penned in slowly, the binding of the paper, the hand of the writer while he or she worked. Nuala was there for it all, immersed in the soul of every tome that came her way in the blink of an eye, her hand on the author's shoulder from incunabulum to publishing. If they took it that far.

Some were worth further study. A more detailed examination, or cross-referencing. These were the volumes that she had come for. The autumn harvest of her spring and summer's hard work. A smile spread across her lips, forming slowly as the hours waxed and waned by, and slowly Nuala distilled her laundry list of transliteration.

Most library rules forbade taking the books from the collection on a permanent basis. Saving the missals from these savage hollows would be doing them a favor, but for the contracts she had signed only a day or so ago. Nuala set her jaw, and took to plan B. She retrieved a blank volume from her bag, a well of ink, and a pack of sticky notes, and began marking the exact passages she'd need from these other books.

[Draken]

[The Great Library of Hueco Mundo]

While Nuala checked the books, the hours passed and the lights shifted, although not as much as after she had sat down to write.

And as the sun set on the dome, beautifully faking a horizon, a man sat across from her on the reading table. His face reminiscent of a Spaniard, with a long nose and a carnival mask around his eyes, as well as a large, wide brimmed white hat on his head.

But her companions just saw the librarian. They didn't see that.

"My, oh, my. A human here in Las Noches... Admitedly not that rare, but the ones that came before just wanted to learn how to fight from the hollows, not read the books."

"Or peruse the souls of the books and internalize all they are, at any rate. Someone is looking for something, something rare and old, I don't think you will find anything particularly rare and old here. Well, besides the Vasto Lordes, they are pretty rare and pretty old, not very pretty though."

The man says everything with a smile, his tone is at odds with his expression. Except to Saltamontes and Escarabajo, to them the librarian looks fairly grim, as usual. All in all, Nuala gets a feeling that this man is putting on an act, but not for her, he looks funny.

[Ammutseba]

Behind her midnight gold shades, Nuala's green eyes flick upward and look at this librarian for a moment, then back down at her work. She takes a shallow jar out of her bag, opens it to reveal a worn pad of soft amber wax with a bitter smell, and swiftly flicks her thumb and her Jupiter and Saturn fingers across it. As she sorts through the pages of a book and tags it with ripped pieces of sticky notes, she addresses the man in the strange mask. "Ya familiar with fullbring," she accuses him.

"I keep hearing bits an' pieces 'bout the folk that showed up before me. Quincy, apparently," she says the word like a mild curse, shaking her head so that the wrecking balls in her hair clack together. She glances to the side, thinking briefly about Quidel. "Wutless ones, I gather. I don' suppose ya know any more den I on it, na?"

[Draken]

[The Great Library of Hueco Mundo]

The man smiles widely, the librarian does not.

"I know that old eel has a softer spot for mortal children than he would be capable to admit, if that is what you want to know. But yes, a great many quincy showed up, and now there aren't a great many quincy left, but I must admit I wasn't around during the whole thing. Places to see, people to meet, sand to shove."

Arms on the table, hands together.

"And yes, I know a thing or two about fullbringers. Some used to call you people shamans back in the day, or priests, but that was more generic of just about any medium, and just about any spirit was a god if he put in the effort."

[Ammutseba]

"An ya know I'm lookin fi something..." she says, as if by way of answering the hollow's rambling. "Ya right, there isn't much here. Less than I expected." She pauses briefly, then comments, "That's a bit sad." She finishes with one book, refreshes the wax on her fingers, and then continues to the next book without a pause.

"I studied wit a shaman," she says, going on. "So, they're still out there, if ya know where t'look. But ya na come fi count cows, aye?" She sets the book down in front of her, jots some numbers onto a sticky note, and hands the job off to the inexorable arrancar, Escarabajo. In a way, he is the spitting image of an older Oliver Hardy, but dressed in the uniform of the Sin Rostro, and wearing the front half of a thick circlet with a relatively small beetle's horn.

"What milk is that?" Nuala asks.

[Draken]

"Well, I must say I like to count, its my favorite title to boot."

The man leans back on his chair and puts his feet on the table. The librarian does not.

"You've been out there, not a whole lotta trees to be seen, right? Well, wrong, actually. There are trees under the sand, old and petrified, and the sand is all made of trampled leaves. This was a beautiful, living world once. Never seen it! I'm not that old after all. Anyway, no trees. No bark, no cellulose, no paper. But there were definitely people before this dandy little town who had things to say and wanted to write them down. And most of them?"

The man raises his arm, his hand parallel to the ground.

"Big as a skyscraper. If you want their secrets, 'm afraid you'll need to go to their old haunts. So you tell me."

"Wanna go on an adventure, darlin'?"

What are his eyebrows doing. Stop.

The librarian is still the image of seriousness, honestly it is disturbingly mismatched with his words.

[King539]

Seireitei

Seji immediately starts leading Narsica towards the Monastery of the Ho-ou, where he begins to discuss Narsica's treatment with a receptionist.

"Okay... so... get her our best psychologist. And our best psychiatrist. Weekly appointments. Also, could you enroll her in a course to bring her up to speed with the modern world, starting at..."

Semi calls to Narsica over his shoulder.

"Excuse me, Miss Zoraida? Would you mind me asking the year you died?"

[Lord Raziere]

Seireitei

Seji immediately starts leading Narsica towards the Monastery of the Ho-ou, where he begins to discuss Narsica's treatment with a receptionist.

"Okay... so... get her our best psychologist. And our best psychiatrist. Weekly appointments. Also, could you enroll her in a course to bring her up to speed with the modern world, starting at..."

Semi calls to Narsica over his shoulder.

"Excuse me, Miss Zoraida? Would you mind me asking the year you died?"

"It was 1807. I had become an accepted member of the crew after working five years as a slave kidnapped from a Spanish colony, where I had been abandoned by my father. I was having the time of my life raiding when suddenly another crew of pirates came, killed us all and took our most recent spoils. After that well....its obvious. Rest is afterlife history."
Little did people know that her memories before she died weren't all that clear to her, so every time she told the story it changed dramatically without her realizing it to the point where she could rival the Joker in how many multiple choice pasts she has. It wasn't as if such parts were all that important anymore anyways.

[Frozen_Feet]

Around Seji and Narsica, the hospital staff hurry to do as ordered, but... they look visibly unnerved by Narsica's presence. The receptionist in particular is doing a poor job of hiding the cold sweat of terror forming on his brow. The unvoiced question hangs heavy in the air - why in the world has the Acting Captain brought an Arrancar to the Central Hospital, apparently unrestrained? In the light of recent events, that hardly seems like a good idea.

[King539]

Ah. Yes. That.

After conveying the time information to the receptionist, Seji turns around and begins to walk towards the door. He pauses next to Narsica and begins to speak quietly.

"Miss Zoraida, I regret to say it, but you are not welcome here. I would recommend going to Las Noches, and only visiting for your sessions with the psychologist."

Seji then continues towards the door.

[Kuroimaken]

When Ryouma bends backwards, some of the recruits tackling his leg try to jump on his chest and stomach, hoping their weight will be enough to prevent him from getting all the way back up or maintaining balance. The recruit hanging to Ryouma's collar lets go and slips away from under him precisely to avoid the grissly fate Ryouma was afraid of, in case the others manage to get the giant to stumble and fall flat on his back.

Sadly, their weight even combined would not be enough to bring the giant down. As he slams his elbows off the ground, the recruits find themselves slamming against him in tandem - the result is not unlike trying to slam into a brick wall that is, itself, moving towards them. The bigger combination of mass and acceleration wins.

________________________

[Monastery of the Ho-ou]

Koutarou, after trying to talk his doctors into discharging him, is asleep from a heavy dose of sedatives.

Spoiler: Long long ago

Show

An older time. A happier time.

"Hurry up, nii-chan! You're gonna miss it!"

"Hikari, stop running! You'll get lost!"

"Hurry, hurry!"

The view from the lake was the best place in the whole village to see the fireworks. Because the lake was on higher ground, it felt a lot like the fireworks themselves were right there - and the noise from them blowing up wasn't so bad from there. Kagetora didn't really like the noise.

As if it weren't enough, it was a full moon. The silver glint against the lake's waters, combined with the fireflies fluttering about, and then the fireworks... it was quite surreal, and above all, beautiful.

"Wow..."

"Toldja this was the best spot!"

"You weren't kidding."

For the longest time, the two of them remain silent, sitting on the grass and enjoying the view. Hikari trembled a little.

"You cold?"

"Nah."

"Come here."

Kagetora moved to gently embrace his sister. He felt so warm... he was the only one who didn't seem to need an extra blanket during the colder nights of winter. The one who never even caught a cold.

"I wish we could just watch the fireworks forever. I know I could."

"You know... maybe one day we'll find gold out west, and then we could have fireworks every night."

"Yeah. But..." Hikari turned to face her brother. "...I hope you don't do something crazy like become a samurai first. Or you did anything that made you go away."

"Don't say silly things, Hikari, you're my little sister."

His embrace tightens.

"We will always be together. I promise."

When he does awaken, Koutarou finds his face is wet with tears.

I wonder what I was dreaming about.

_________________

"And what, might I ask, is the reason for all this ruckus?" Koutarou appears out of the corner of everybody's eyes, leaning on Kokuden-ou in its staff form where Senji and Narsica are.

[Lord Raziere]

Monastery of Ho-u
She hisses quietly back.
"You mad Señor Seji!? I'm half Quincy, the Arrancar will probably kill me as soon as they sense me! I can't go to Las Noches!"
She turns to see the newcomer.
"and who in Davy Jones locker are you?"
Wait a staff.....a....staff....wasn't that one of the higher ranking Shinigami she heard about? Something something.....oh right! She snaps her fingers
"Wait I think I know: Your Koutarou! Vice Commander of the Shinigami! Wait.....all the nope!"
Wow, she was outdated. Nevertheless this was bad. She could feel the urge to Kill All Shinigami rising and she needed to restrain herself lest they kill her. Narsica starts running away out of the hospital in a rush.

[Frozen_Feet]

[Seireitei; Shinoreijutsuin]

The students get thrown off of Ryouma. They pick themselves up pretty fast, but don't move to continue their assault. They look a bit winded and completely out of ideas.

The instructor looks at them and does a headcount in his mind. Then he blows a whistle. "That's enough for the day! Line up! We'll be moving indoors indoors and after you've cleaned up, we'll examine what you've done in class."

He turns at Ryouma. "Does our excellent practice opponent have any feedback to give?"

[Kuroimaken]

"Actually, I do." Ryouma notes. "You guys had the right ideas - distracting me, going for my legs, going for my neck. You worked well with each other, too.

But you were reckless. One of you almost ended up a smudge on my back, and I was having to be extra-careful not to actually hurt any of you. If one day you have to fight off a giant Hollow, and it's just smart enough, it's going to try picking you off one at a time, so you have to divide yourselves between tending to the wounded and bringing it down. Hopefully by then you'll have better tools to work with.

If you want to give it another shot sometime, I'm up for it. I like the spirit in you guys."

[Ammutseba]

Nuala gives the man her earnest attention, looking at him directly for the first time. She seems to be weighing him, appraising his appearance and his words at the same time. Her eyes narrow the more she looks and listens, analyzing exactly why this hollow, unbidden, would offer her an opportunity of this kind. In her experience, most hollows weren't sophisticated enough to lay a subtle trap, but for that, one would need something to gain in the first place. Killing Nuala? It might be worth it, if they felt she was worth it.

Still, that didn't seem to be the case, here. Did she want to go on an adventure? No, not particularly. Certainly not at the behest of something who was as clearly deceptive as this strange hollow, regardless of which version she happened to be looking at. She glances at Escarabajo, who promptly excuses himself from the area. Nuala looks back at the stranger with his strange ways. "I might," she says cautiously, kicking her feet up onto the table at the same time. "If these haunts are as old as ya say they are..." she trails off and hmms, thinking of all the memories a place like that would possess. Trap or no, that is one tantalizing bait. "What'll it cost me?"

[King539]

Monastery of the Ho-ou

Seji quickly replies to Narsica. "Yes, but you certainly have a better chance there than here! I'll explain later."

He then turns around and takes a few steps towards Koutarou, before replying to his question. "Simple. I was merely registering a patient for some psychology sessions."

[Frozen_Feet]

[Seireitei; Shinoreijutsuin]

The instructor nods approvingly at Ryouma's words. "Thank you. Now..."

"I don't think we need to worry about fighting a Hollow that's both giant and smart. The biggest ones tend to also be the dumbest", the magenta-haired girl blurts out.

The instructor glances at her. "Keep quiet in the line, Zaraki-kun. If you want to say something, raise your hand and wait for me to address you", the instructor notes. He then looks along the line, speaking to all the recruits: "I do note what she says is generally true, there are always exceptions. Now, let's get back to your quarters..."

The recruits and the instructor march off, leaving Ryouma to his own devices for the time being.

[Kuroimaken]

Monastery of the Ho-ou

Seji quickly replies to Narsica. "Yes, but you certainly have a better chance there than here! I'll explain later."

He then turns around and takes a few steps towards Koutarou, before replying to his question. "Simple. I was merely registering a patient for some psychology sessions."

"An Arrancar patient. One that is not affiliated with Las Noches?" Koutarou sighs. "Seji-kun, surely you remember our recent trouble with letting unaffiliated Arrancar in our midst wander about. You should have cleared this with me, or at least Setsurou. We need more strict security here."

[Frozen_Feet]

The hospital receptionist looks at the door Narsica just fled through, then at Seji and Koutarou, then at the door again. She coughs awkwardly to gain attention. "Sirs...? The patient seens to be running away Should I send a guard after her?"

[King539]

Seji smiles sheepishly. "Apologies, sir. I... erred by not running it by you first."

He then turns to the receptionist. "No need. I can deal with it myself." He then Shunpo's out of the building, pursuing Narsica.

"Excuse me? Miss Zoraida? Why are you running?"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

So this is what it feels like to try to reply to three people in one comment! Phew!

[Lord Raziere]

Narsica
"Because! Urge to kill all Shinigami rose! Why? I think its because he is the first mate! Would cause a lot of chaos! Can't let that happen, he would kill me, or all shinigami after me and I don't want to be dead because of those two voices yelling at me."
She looks twitchy and she stares at Seji. She might not value life all that much, but she recognized that if she killed someone important, everyone would be after her head.
".....Wait......what rank are you again?"
Dangerous question. Lets hope you have a good answer.

[Kuroimaken]

"...why on Earth are we offering psychotherapy to Arrancar?" Koutarou asked himself, since Seji was already hot in the heels of his 'patient'.

[King539]

No, Koutarou. The question isn't why we're offering psychotherapy to Arrancar, it's "Why haven't we offered psychotherapy to Arrancar before?" I mean, most of them need it.

Meanwhile, back to Seji. "Well, Koutarou is actually the Commander-General of the whole Gotei... so attacking him would be even stupider than you thought."

Avoiding the question. Probably a good idea. A really good one.

[Lord Raziere]

Somewhere in Soul Society?
"YOU FOOL! I've been discovered by the Leader of the Shinigami! Thats almost as bad as Jehoel Yurius! Know this Senor Captain of the good ship Seireitei, I'm not going down without a fight! I'll fight to live as much as I can! I have a uh..."
She conjures a makeshift sword and suddenly a red pistol like energy thing in her other han.
"Sword! and uh....wait what is this? This didn't happen before. Is it because I'm in a place with more spiritual energy? Thus making it easier to get my real spirit weapon? Could be, could be....And the Quincy energy does seem to gravitate towards ranged combat at times...RRRRRRRRRRRGGGH.......Oh no nope, not this again....."
She stumbles about seemingly in pain from trying to keep them back.
"Gotta.....open a...Garganta.....gotta get out..."
Why did she come here again!?

[King539]

Seji slowly raises his hand towards Narsica, palm open. "Very sorry, Miss Zoraida, but you are threatening aggressive action towards a Captain of the Gotei 10, and also attempting to forcibly refuse psychotherapy treatment for multiple personality disorder, violent psychosis, and possibly dementia. Please remain still and do not struggle."

Seji closes his palm into a fist. "Bakudo 63: Sajo Sabaku." Several thick ropes of yellow energy fly from Seji's hand, trying to wrap themselves against Narsica.

[Ammutseba]

[Monastery of the Ho-ou]

"Can I be of assistance, Acting Captain?" Kazuki announces, coming upon the strange scene. His very tall shoes thump quietly on the paved Seireitei road. His silvery eyes look down at Seji and Narsica, without somehow also looking down on them, and he waits several feet away. In one hand, he carries a book collection of crossword puzzles and in the other, a warm bamboo steamer and a cloth bag.

His expression is gentle and patient, despite the clearly tense situation.