[BITPR²] Kyuukyoku Gaiden: The Beachdown Apocalypse

[Frozen_Feet]

Virtanen listens and nods. He doesn't look convinced, but: "Well that is one explanation for the events. The other is that the same person has somehow been at two places at once, which is of course impossible." Virtanen taps his fingers together, then pulls a photo from a drawer. "This is the man you talked to in front of the station, yes?"

At a glance, it sure seems so. Similar clothes, identical height and build, same face, just lacking those mirror shades. But if Svetlana looks at the picture carefully, she might notice the shades under his eyes are less pronounced, his skin a bit healthier shade... overall, as if the man in the picture is younger than the man she saw. Yet still, every instinct tells her it is the same person.

[Rater202]

"Yes... He seems to be in slightly better health, but that is the same man... Which raises questions."

[Frozen_Feet]

Virtanen watches Svetlana's reaction intently, then puts the picture away. "Well, then I trust you can understand our confusion, because this was taken of Mikael Rautiainen few days ago", he says. "This picture is not of the man we had here in this station. But they look identical. The man we had here, he could also provide us with proper identification. All in all, enough that we did not suspect anything was off..." , the Commissioner leans his elbows on his desk and presses his fingers together, "... not untill we tried contacting him later. You see, there is a limit to how long a person can be held in custody. And at first, we did not have strong enough reasons to keep him here for more than a day. We had him leave the van here. Later, when we tried to call him to ask more questions about it... of course, it was Mikael Rautiainen who answered and proclaimed he had no knowledge of what this is about."

Virtanen leans back in his chair and shrugs. "So far, we've been unable to relocate the other man. If there indeed is another man. Your thoughts are on his case are... interesting, but sadly, I can say nothing definitive about them. If you happen to see him, please, inform us."

[Rater202]

"I will do so," Svetlana says. "...Is it perhaps possible that the man has a twin he is unaware of? I wouldn't want to suggest something so cliche as an 'evil twin' but who better to steal an aidenity from or impersonate than someone who you are nearly identical to? I'm not sure how you handle things here, but in your seat that would be something I looked into if only to eliminate the posisbility."

[Frozen_Feet]

"Mikael Rautiainen does have a brother. Non-identical, younger one, though" , Virtanen says. "A previously unknown identical twin would defy belief. This said, I have to admit this case you've brought to our attention is perhaps the most peculiar I've seen. Three people who arrive without papers and claim amnesia, and now a possible doppelganger... in any case, your continued co-operation is most appreciated and maybe necessary for clearing this case. I'm sorry I have nothing more for today. "

Virtanen rises up and offers Svetlana a second handshake. If she has nothing more to add, they exchange some more formally required pleasantries, after which she is free to leave, along with Koutarou and Sarah.

[Kuroimaken]

"Few months of formal training. Enough to learn what everything's called and complete my Fullbring. Few years of regular practical, everyday use."

Sarah did admit to supporting herself with petty theft and 'magic tricks'

Sarah's issues with trusting other people begin to make more sense as Koutarou connects the dots.

"Well... from what I understand, fullbringing is a rather complex set of powers, so it stands to reason it would take a lot of time to master them." He seems to speak this more to himself, though. "What would you say is the most unusual thing you've ever done with them?"

[Rater202]

"Mikael Rautiainen does have a brother. Non-identical, younger one, though" , Virtanen says. "A previously unknown identical twin would defy belief. This said, I have to admit this case you've brought to our attention is perhaps the most peculiar I've seen. Three people who arrive without papers and claim amnesia, and now a possible doppelganger... in any case, your continued co-operation is most appreciated and maybe necessary for clearing this case. I'm sorry I have nothing more for today. "

Virtanen rises up and offers Svetlana a second handshake. If she has nothing more to add, they exchange some more formally required pleasantries, after which she is free to leave, along with Koutarou and Sarah.

She shakes and departs.

Sarah's issues with trusting other people begin to make more sense as Koutarou connects the dots.

"Well... from what I understand, fullbringing is a rather complex set of powers, so it stands to reason it would take a lot of time to master them." He seems to speak this more to himself, though. "What would you say is the most unusual thing you've ever done with them?"

"One time, I got my hands on an Arrancar's Soul Cutting Sword. I could feel it's true form it in. I almost figure out how to take that power from it, but when I tried I exploded. Another time I touched a book in the Las Noches Library and I got sort of an echo of another, stronger fullbringer that'd read he book before me."

And there's Svetlana coming out.

[Kuroimaken]

"What happened to the Arrancar it belonged to?"

[Rater202]

"What happened to the Arrancar it belonged to?"

"It kidnapped me and dragged me to Hueco Mundo."

[Kuroimaken]

"Huh. A Zanpakutou is a piece of his soul, you know. By rights, he should have... I don't know, slipped into a catatonic state or something."

[Rater202]

"Huh. A Zanpakutou is a piece of his soul, you know. By rights, he should have... I don't know, slipped into a catatonic state or something."

"Not for an Arrancar," Svetlana counters. "While our weapons have similar properties to your blades, they're merely vessels for between 4/5ths and 9/10ths of our power and our true forms."

"A threat of destroying stolen Zanpakuto or using fullbring to mess with the Arrancar they belong to might have just gotten me lauged at."

"Of course, those were Sin Rostra. Hardly typical Arrancar."

[Kuroimaken]

"For a Shinigami, that might be different.

How'd it go?"

[Rater202]

"I don't want to talk about what happened next."

[Kuroimaken]

"I, uh, was asking Svetlana about the call she got. Sorry."

[Rater202]

"Perhaps it would be best to discuss this somewhere else?"

Svetlana motions to leave the police station.

[Kuroimaken]

"May as well. Lead the way."

[Rater202]

Svetlana leads them out of the police station and.. Basically wherever she can think of where they can get some relative privacy without looking suspicious.

"It seems," the Arrancar says, "that there are two nearly identical Mikael Rautiainens"

[Kuroimaken]

Koutarou doesn't look surprised in the least.

"Oh?"

[Rater202]

"The van that I awoke in and used to get here was registered to Mikael. I made mention of this when I surrendered it to the police becuase well, owning potentially stolen property would make things difficult for us."

Svetlana works out a crick in her neck, then continues. "I directed them to the man we spoke to, as he'd claimed to be that man, but..."

"The vehicle had in fact, been purchased recently by someone purporting to be that man, but when th epolice tracked him to his legal adress, he had no reccolection of having ever done so. I was shown aa photograph of the man, and he appeared to be the man who confronted us, but younger or at least in better health."

"...So... Is the one who we talked to like, from the same original world we're from or something?"

[Kuroimaken]

"That is a bit unlikely. He seems to be fully aware of the nature of this world in a way that suggests he's connected to it.

If this world is somehow a copy of ours, or if for whatever reason he took that identity, that would explain his doppleganger."

[Rater202]

"Well, if nothing else we have things to ask of him if he confronts us again... so, since we're all still together, shall we hunt for an apartment?"

[Kuroimaken]

"That's a reasonable proposition. I've been doing a bit of hunting on my own, so we could check which ones interested me that would be big enough for the three of us."

[Rater202]

"That's a reasonable proposition. I've been doing a bit of hunting on my own, so we could check which ones interested me that would be big enough for the three of us."

Sounds like a plan to me.

[Kuroimaken]

Apartmentward ho!

It turns out that Koutarou has some pretty spartan tastes for his living arrangements. Out of maybe 10 apartments scouted, only 3 really have enough space for three of them.

[Rater202]

"This one's nice," the ladies say on the third one. It should be moderately sized and Sarah and Svetlana will probably be sharing a room unless they can get a couch, but it meets their needs and is in their budget.

(Skip ahead?)

[Kuroimaken]

A little bit of time later, Koutarou and his meager possessions have moved in.

"Well, now we don't have to worry about living on the street, I suppose."

[Frozen_Feet]

The apartment is largely empty. There's no furniture there save for what's part of the building infrastructure, such as the kitchen and bathroom sinks. There aren't even lamps on the ceiling. Not that it would matter, since the electricity will be off untill Koutarou and Svetlana sign an service contract with the local grid provider.

Sarah can feel that no-one has lived here for a particularly long time nor attached any strong feelings to this place. It is thus devoid of any sense of being a home. At least, for now.

There's no sign that this day will be particularly interesting compared to those before it and the new residents have all their time to unpack their bags and stretch their legs.

That is, untill a sudden tidal wave of spiritual pressure washes over them, heavy and vast enough to cause a physical sense of drowning.

And then, as fast as it came, it's gone.

This wasn't a local phenomenom. The epicenter was at least a hundred kilometers to the North from here, though where exactly is hard to tell.

Sarah can feel something else too. In the wake of the wave, the spiritual feedback that was meager just moments ago has gotten a lot stronger. She can almost see past residents of the house moving around. There's also something whispering in her inner ear, but she can't make out what it is saying.

Did she ever ask where souls of objects come from?

[Kuroimaken]

"...who's up for a road trip?"

[Rater202]

"...who's up for a road trip?"

"Before or after things get finalized here?"

"A road trip requires a vehicle of some kind"

[Kuroimaken]

"Before or after things get finalized here?"

"A road trip requires a vehicle of some kind"

"I daresay immediately. And we can airwalk there, can't we?"