{X} Follow the flow of waters down the mountain, starting at "The Wind God's Lake" nearby and ending at the "Misty Lake" near your destination.
Now You Feel Like Number None [Bleach Arrancar Quest]
- Thread starter Omicron
- Start date
- Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
The rudest are the weakest fairies
But seriously guys and girls, the more omakes posted right now delays the update, a crime against life, so maybe wait until after Omicron posts the chapter before posting any more omakes?
My suggestion? Use the time this gives you to prof read and improve upon your works so you can get more of a bonus upon posting.
My suggestion? Use the time this gives you to prof read and improve upon your works so you can get more of a bonus upon posting.
Hyvelic
Slightly Insane Tactical Genius
- Location
- Off in a Library Somewhere
Nope, Post them all now, We need more Pathetic Sacrifices for our blood ritual to kill the captains.
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD.
- Location
- Elsewhere
On the one hand, this is reasonable. On the other, it's funny enough to make up for it. Amusement has more value than a bit of EXP.
And I'm not good enough of a writer to get anything for mine anyway. Not that I'm writing one at the moment.
This, on the other hand, is completely true.
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
As for on whom we should bestow our La Marana gifts, maybe we can finally try to give poor Primera something that will let him not make everyone uneasy around him so he can also go make friends? That's what he joined LN for after all and that's what Cirucci wants too.
- Location
- The town gate.
Never fear, I won't be flooding any more down until after the update. Though I have a couple of ideas for potential omakes after it. Plus another Very Non-canon Omake Idea(tm) that I could work on.
Wonderweiss pov for during the fight scene, Nemo talking to someone about her hesitation to use her resurreccion (most likely Tousen as he'd understand her reason of not wanting to harm innocents) along with a possible second part with her seeking help for learning how she could maybe work on that...
And then for the Very Non-canon Omake Idea(tm) I was thinking the possibility of what Aizen's trip to Hueco Mundo might have looked like if we swapped Nemo and Barragan's places in the order of things.
Las Noches, ruled by the Queen of Shadows, and then the hollow who will become a numero, with a relatively curious power to manipulate how time flows around him (at high energy cost for the effect, making him feel like it's awesome but impractical, especially as it didn't save his friend, Findorr, when he angered Queen Nemo in the past.) Might be a fun one-shot to write and explore a bit.
- Location
- madison
I do have an idea kicking around, mostly tastuki's POV during the fight. Gir'ls gonna get her some PTSD. first, she has to deal with you know, breaking someones everything, only for doing that to ultimately fail. On top of that, there's a dead guy for her to blame herself for, oh and her friends got hurt. All of this is made worse by the fact that this whole thing was her idea. though i'm working on a omake for a zelda quest right now so it'll be a while.
Ilforte no question. Back at the gala he was really interested in having Nemo make something for him, though for the aesthetic rather than the magic. Then during this mission Nemo interrupted his revenge to save her own life and nearly got him killed in the process.
She owes him.
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- Location
- The town gate.
Fully agree, there. Ilforte needs something for putting up with us ruining his fight with Rukia.
CrossyCross
A+ RIDING
Whenever I try to think of ways to 'fix' bleach, that's one of the thing I inevitably drift towards.
"shatters mountains" isn't too far off from two Vasto Lordes whose random cero-blasts and hurled energy weapons cause mountain-blasting explosions. The finale of Aizen's defeat being Ichigo mastering hollow and shinigami sides (a Vasto Lorde hollow form who naturally has hierro that can barehand block Ulquorra's lightspear, combined with the bullshit of a Bankai) and then defeating Aizen would have so much better than "time to go through the time chamber!".
I mean really. It was pretty fucking awesome, but it got ruined by how it wasn't even used later.
- Location
- Australia
It kinda got used against Yhwach for a little while.
- Location
- Here & There
It'd even make sense thematically about how Aizen was all about using the Hogyoku and then here goes Ichigo
CrossyCross
A+ RIDING
While Aizen's screeching about the power of science and the Hogyoku it created, Ichigo comes in, a creation borne of some seriously fucking weird genetics, and kicks his ass.
- Location
- Australia
But Aizen didn't screech about that. He bragged a lot about what he did (become a god), not how he got there. Your message also really sucks and is the same as the Incredibles': "Innate power is all that matters. If you got your powers through hard work and dedication instead of by being born with them, then you are doing something bad."
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Eh. The one horn look was pretty silly.
- Location
- madison
innate power being all that matters is the message of like 90% of anime.
Fanwork Collection 21/05
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Let's get to it!
A fair warning: this is gonna pretty lightning round, there are so many omakes I can't possibly deliver in-depth commentary on most of them, but know that I really appreciate the effort that has gone into all this. And the wackiness. You crazy people.
@Coshiua you get 50xp for all of these.
25xp. I laughed. Don't make girls cry.
25xp.
You know what, I like it, let's make it canon. It gives us a view of what Dordonni is doing behind the scenes and a sense of Cirucci's respect for the obligations that come with the nobility she has decided to be. There probably won't be a "find weregild" quest update or anything, but this happened. 50xp.
25xp
I can just see in my mind the pages upon pages of people angrily arguing about which side of the war has the best magic items. 25xp.
25xp and let's see how this goes for a complete novice
oh god my finger slipped i'm listening to spider swing again this is all your fault
25xp
25xp
25xp.
IT IS DONE
Hopefully I didn't miss or forget anyone.
I mean I lowballed some of these but
it comes out to what, 950xp?
You absolute crazy people. I can't even randomly decide to halve the total reward given how it is scattered among so many people
And a bonus 250 or so xp to Cirucci for omakes featuring her, and none to Luppi because no one loves him.
A fair warning: this is gonna pretty lightning round, there are so many omakes I can't possibly deliver in-depth commentary on most of them, but know that I really appreciate the effort that has gone into all this. And the wackiness. You crazy people.
I love it. Lilynette looks badass now, which was Nemo's goal and her own! Time will tell whether it has the intended impressive effect on the other Arrancars. Have 50 xp for this!
Also good! What a pose.Camellia already beat me to the punch, but....
==============
Now You Feel Like Number None Fan Art
Alternate Lilynette Outfit #2
==============
That smug Di Roy. I like how obviously bothered by his presence Minirucci is.=================
Now You Feel Like Number 48 Fan Art
Indiana Sanderwicci
=================
THE QUEEN OF SHADOWS================"Now, you must face me, Mistress of Trauma!"
Now You Feel Like Number None Fan Art
Maleficent!Nemo
================
Well now I'm sad.================
Now You Feel Like Number None Fan Art
After The First Battle
================
@Coshiua you get 50xp for all of these.
Well that's just sad. But moving. A glance at a dark future, uh? 25xp.
This is funny, although not canon for a few reasons regarding Tatsuki's interactions with the Shinigami group. 25xp.
Poor, poor Ishida. And he's so right! So right. 25xp.
I really like this, actually, and I miss writing more Esmeralda stuff. I'll make it canon. Have 50xp.
...I did not expect the Tiger Dojo
25xp. I laughed. Don't make girls cry.
This is fun. 25xp. Not making it canon because I don't want you to see how Cirucci's things went yet.
Okay, now that's something that people had joked about before but it's amusing to see it come true. My favorite bits are the mistakes and misinterpretations. 25xp.
Still loving this. 25xp.
I love me some creepy Calaveras. And some afably terrifying Aaroniero. 25xp.
Hey, the fight scene was good! For the very short time that it lasted. How amusingly anticlimactic. 25xp.
I'm gonna be straight with you, I didn't read through the whole thing. Formatting is important! Space your paragraphs or it's unreadable.
This is... This is just the kind of thing that could actually happen in a ridiculously detail-obsessed and update-hungry fandom, isn't it. 25xp. I was amused.
Hah, a different take on the same as above, uh? Interestingly different. 25xp too.
Yeah no I love it. This is my favorite thing. I want more forever. 50xp and also 100xp of completed works bonus if you didn't already get it for the previous Cirucci's Saga update. Will check later. I really hope I already did and his came as a bonus because wow that is so many omakes
Okay, this is definitely the most meta of all these, and I like meta and the concept is fun. However, the formatting is totally fucked and more of the wordcount is taken up by the copy-paste of the character sheet than the actual omake, so I'm not going to give it xp. Maybe refine the idea a bit?Nemo Reacts to NN
In Caring memory of @Omicron
As you turn to run from the Captain Level Shinigami that you hadn't planned on fighting during this trip into the Human Realm's Karakura Town, your vision swims, turns, and bubbles as all that you see is turned to black. You are unsure of what is going on as your vision returns. If that is what you would call it. Instead of the city you were aband– fighting in, a cell that you are imprisoned in to be tortured or worse, or even the Sands of the place you once called home.
You instead see words. You understand them of course, the Dead speak all languages. Another thing that separates you from the living in the end. The words have a single picture above them though. One you recognized.
The picture grabs your attention because it is an image you saw once. Perfectly the same as you remember it. One of the days you were remembering what you were. What you became. What you survived.
As you begin to read you realize that this is what you have done in the past, but what catches your attention, and your confusion, is what comes after.
Character Creation
Character? Creation of a Character, like a playwright writing the script for the actors upon a stage? It catches your attention, but what comes next fills your mind with trepidation.
You are Nemo Elcorbuzier, Arrancar #48, a low-ranking servant to Sozuke Aizen, the lord of Las Noches.
Once, you could have been a valuable soldier in his war against the treacherous death-gods which would seek to destroy your kind; but alas the world has shifted under your feet. You are a member of the old generation of Arrancars, created by breaking your own mask in a harsh, painful, bloody process. Your spiritual power was never the highest, and now a new generation of Arrancars is being born; your master has recovered a gem of unimaginable power which he is using to create new, even more powerful Arrancars. Relegated to the lowest ranks of his army of souls, you wish both to claim your moment in the light, the respect of those around you, and simply to survive the terrible, deadly whims of the monsters which compose the higher ranks of Aizen's army.
[ ] What do you look like?
What is this? Why is it recapping what your distant past remembers? Why is it asking what You— This fake would look like?
You force yourself to continue reading, and as you do your confusion and caution begin to change to horror as you do.
Even in your precarious situation, your power is not insignificant. You are the living testimony to the disturbing closeness between Hollows and Shinigami; blending the features of both in a single form, you hold a spiritual power that ordinary Hollows would dread to face. Although you have not seen a Shinigami in centuries, you are assured that your power as an Arrancar would allow you to defeat all but the fabled "seated officers" of their inquisitorial army. You have demonstrated innate skills in all core aspect of Hollow powers:
Combat Arts - The overall fighting skills of the Arrancars. Because of your half-Hollow nature, this training covered both sword-fighting and a unique unarmed style exploiting whatever form you assume when releasing your zanpakuto. This skill represents speed, accuracy and strength in melee combat.
Physical Enhancement - Their flesh suffused with reiatsu, spiritual energy, the Arrancars back up their fighting skills with strengthened bodies. Of particular note are the Sonido, the ability to create bursts of speed to move faster than sight, and Hierro, the ability to strengthen one's skin to resist attacks.
Energy Release - Unlike the Shinigami, who have centuries of traditions in harnessing their energy as magical spells, the Arrancars do so in a much more innate and visceral way. Cero, the ability to hurl beams of spiritual energy, and Bala, the ability to throw small projectiles, are their two most notable assets.
Energy Manipulation - The Arrancars are invested with considerable spiritual energy, but their lack of formal training limits their ability to use it efficiently. Those who wish to survive learn to control their power to make it last longer, to cow others with their auras, or simply to perceive and read the energy of others.
Like all Arrancars, you were reborn with innate talents in all these skills, but there is one in which you manifested more gifts. Which one?
These are simple explanations for what the abilities of hollows are, what you once believed them to be, but that's changed from then… Has it? You try to remember if you can recall the moments you remember contemplating about what you were and what you could do.
[ ] Combat Arts.
[ ] Physical Enhancement.
[ ] Energy Release.
[ ] Energy Manipulation.
As you were reborn an aberration, a half-Hollow half-Shinigami, a fragment of your mask was reforged into a sword, bound to your soul. This is your zanpakuto, your soul-cutter, and if you call upon its name you will undergo resurreccion, regaining your lost Hollow powers.
What kind of power does your sword grant you? Feel free to suggest specific abilities, which may be included in a later vote for exact powers.
What do the boxes mean? What are you supposed to do with them? Are you supposed to do something with them? What concerns you the most however is the fact that the words are implying that "You" have a power over what this fake turns out to be. But how do you choose your options? Do You want to even try to? You read onward.
[ ] Enhancement-type.
The most common form of resurreccion, this changes your body into a more powerful shape, increasing your strength, resistance and mobility, and exchanging your sword for some kind of natural weapon. These are the most straightforward releases, and the most efficient in terms of energy consumption.
Enhancement? Would that be like Cirucci's Release?
[ ] Range-type.
Often blending in with the ability to use Cero or Bala, such a release focuses on the ability to attack at a distance. While it provides less versatility than an enhanced body, such resurreccions often have the highest spikes of power and can be used to utterly overwhelm an enemy.
Range Type. Like Cirucci.
[ ] Trick-type.
The wild card of resurreccions, such a release grants you some strange, unique ability that will often take even the most cautious of opponents off-guard. Such abilities rarely have intense power, but must be engaged in a specific way to defeat them or else hold a tremendous advantage.
You are already missing Cirucci.
Finally, all Arrancars have a history, and some of them have walked strange paths to get where they are. Do you possess one or more of the following unique traits?
[ ] High-Speed Regeneration.
Hollows possess the innate ability to regenerate wounds at great speed; However, most Arrancars choose to shed this ability upon assuming their new form so as to make their bodies stronger; one who does not get hurt in the first place need not heal. Only a few arrancars refuse that sacrifice. Start with Physical Enhancement one level lower, but gain a Beginner rank in Advanced Skill: High-Speed Regeneration.
Your Regeneration has served you well but… This is its description almost exactly. This concerns you so much.
[ ] Gillian origin.
Most Arrancars considered worth sending to battle were once Adjuchas, the second rank of Menos Grande, whose shape solidified out of the chorus of souls into a clear form. Few Gillian-born Arrancars hold the spiritual power necessary to warrant consideration by lord Aizen - but those few who merit such distinction tend to have peculiar abilities compensating for their weakness. Start with Energy Manipulation one level lower, but gain a Beginner rank in Advanced Skill: Spiritual Consumption.
Is this… a what could have been? No. This Fake Nemo is just that. A Fake, a copy, a Fraud.
[ ] Acid Touch.
The reiatsu of Hollows is spiritually poisonous to mortal, burning them with a touch. Spiritually potent beings like Shinigami are immune to such effects, and so Arrancars tend to abandon this ability as they transform; but a few retain this ability and develop it to levels potent enough to harm even peer opponents - but this power does not intersect well with ordinary fighting styles. Start with Combat Arts one level lower, but gain a Beginner rank in Advanced Skill: Destructive Touch.
These… You don't know anymore. You don't know what to know anymore. Why is it that you are being shown this.
Welcome to Now You Feel Like Number None. Set in the setting of Bleach and inspired by @Maugan Ra's very own We Stand in Awe, this Quest aims to follow the adventures of a low-ranking member of Aizen's army in the short time preceding their first assault on Karakura Town.
What?
Full disclosure: I have a lot of bones to pick with Bleach's canon, and we're going to play fast and loose with it, especially with everything that follows the Hueco Mundo arc.
Although this Quest is narratively driven (no dice-rolling or exact stat calculation), we will be using a system of "ranks" to assess the respective powers of characters, measure your growth and comparative abilities. These ranks are bought with xp and the entire thing is more or less ripped off from We Stand in Awe, so sue me. To earn XP, you can finish narrative arcs, perform impressive in-character deeds, undergo training montages in "downtime," and things of that caliber.
Ex-Pee? What exactly is that?
Chargen is above; I've already picked a name because I love bad puns and dumb architect references in Arrancar names. Also you're a female character because there's, like, two female Arrancars that matter in canon and it's a tragedy.
The ranking system:
- Incapable - Not technically a level as such, this will only show up on a character sheet in the rare event that some circumstance makes it utterly impossible for you to learn or use a particular skill.
- Untrained - This represents the baseline, what you can accomplish without any focused training.
- Student (100xp) - Having received some basic training in the skill in question, you have started down the long road to mastery. For humans and shinigamis, this level almost always requires that someone specifically educate you in the skill in question, though future improvements can be attained through solo practice. Many Hollows are born with such innate ability, however.
- Adept (200xp) - You have supplemented your initial lessons with hard-won experience, and can now employ the skill with considerable confidence. This level is considered 'average' for an unranked shinigami, and is the baseline skill level of most "natural" Arrancars.
- Skilled (400xp) - Your proficiency with the skill is worthy of note among the ranks of spirits. Seated officers of the Gotei 13 will virtually always have at least one skill at this rank, increasing as they climb in status. "Artificial" Arrancars typically have this as their baseline level, showing their inborn superiority.
- Veteran (800xp) - Such levels of powers are noteworthy among the ranks of Aizen's armies, and Arrancars showcasing such power are often recruited as Fraccion by the powerful Espada.
- Master (1600xp) - You are truly a force to be reckoned with, and others will seek you out for advice and guidance in improving their own skills to a similar level. This level of fundational skill is typical of shinigami Captain and Espada.
- Champion (2400xp) - Your skill is awe-inspiring, capable of sweeping aside those of lesser worth with minimal effort. Most Espada and shinigami Captains hold this rank in their areas of individual focus.
- Legendary (3200xp) - You have reached the absolute pinnacle of what is possible for this skill, and any future improvements will be of the tiniest increment at best. Perhaps one person in all of Las Noches has such proficiency.
These Ranks… You understand what is said about them… But what does it mean? That is when, however, your blood freezes.
T-that's you. Drawn strangely for sure. B-but that's Y-you. You think you stare at the picture for a great deal of time, somewhere between Minutes and Hours. The realization of what this means scares you. You almost want to stop here, to rip out your eyes, to stop going onward, to try to play this off as fiction. But you must go on. To learn the Truth.
Name: Nemo Elcorbuzier
Position: Arrancar #48
That's who and where you are located. But it still has a chance of being f-fake. (It has to...)
Description
You are a woman of short stature, with a build that borders on malnourished. Your face is adorned with a flat mask, featureless but for two horns curving out from above your brow, not unlike ribbed antennas. Cracks run through the cheeks of the mask and the bottom has been torn off to reveal your mouth. Other than that, the only uncovered feature are your large brown eyes, which stare doe-like at the world from your mask's round eyelets. Your white Arrancar uniform is completed by a scarf of black fabric stolen from a Gillian and beautifully woven with silver thread. Your sword is a thing of dull grey iron, forged like a shortened lance with sharp edges, crude and brutally efficient. Your hollow hole punches through the base of your throat, and is generally at least half-hidden under your cloak.
The Description of the F-fake is a little off, but still dead on enough.
Primary Combat Skills
- Combat Arts: Skilled Adept (Unfavored, Crippled)
- XP 0/1200
- Your skills with the blade and in unarmed combat are the peak of human skill, with slightly greater strength and speed. You can face several base Hollows or unseated Shinigami at once, can duel low-ranking officers as an equal, and might survive the opening assault of a superior opponent to allow escape.
- Spoiler: Rank Before Crippling
Unfavored? Crippled?
- Physical Enhancement:
- Sonido: Veteran Skilled (Unfavored, Crippled)
- XP 0/2400
- You have greatly enhanced speed. You can run at top human sprinting speed over great distance and perform inhuman leaps and acrobatics. You can use the "airstep" in the living world, but doing so requires concentration and is difficult in combat. Your burst speed allows you to use Sonido to withdraw from close combat, although you lack the precision to combine this with melee attacks.
- Spoiler: Level Before Crippling
You know your speed was never the best. B-but this means nothing. (nothing…)
- Hierro: Skilled (Unfavored)
- XP 75/1200
- Your hardened skin makes you immune to most natural hazards, and gives you a measure of resistance against attacks using elemental powers or raw spiritual energy. An instant's thought hardens your skin to provide considerable resistance to physical attacks, to the point of immunity against base Hollows and unseated shinigami, as well as significantly reducing the damage of peer opponents.
You are not the most durable of Arrancar but that's because you had a different Focus!.
- Energy Release:
- Cero: Master (Favored)
- XP 0/1800
- Your Cero has grown to the heights of power normally reserved for the Espada. Your wind-up is short enough to use Veteran-level Ceros in melee combat and Master-level Ceros with only short preparation. Its power can level a city block. Cero Fantasma allows you to release your energy in a wave around you, reducing direct power for the sake of a wider area of effect. Cero Triste allows you to tap into your target's memories and trauma to create haunting phantoms. At great cost you may use the Gran Rey Cero, one of the most destructive energy releases possible.
Your Ceros are tougher… Right?
- Bala: Veteran (Favored)
- XP 600/1200
- Your Bala is both harder and faster than your own physical attacks allowing you to knock opponents away and put pressure on them at a range and to mix them with physical blows. You can even unleash a barrage of Balas to deny the opponent escape at an increased energy cost. Your Bala Envolver causes a lingering effect which restrains your opponent's movements, cumulative with successive hits.
(N-no… It's not true right?)
- Energy Manipulation:
- Reiatsu Control: Master (Favored)
- XP 0/1800
- Your masterful control over your own energy allows you to spare your reserves throughout a fight, allowing you to last longer. You can flare your reiatsu to cow Hollows, most Numeros and low-seated shinigami, even impairing Fraccion-level opponents. You can suppress your reiatsu to become undetectable to those with Reiatsu Perception lower than your Control, and when you do so you surround yourself in a psychic aura that makes you less noticeable and more quiet. While suppressing your reiatsu, you may manipulate shadows to cause distractions. While flaring it and with an effort of focus, you may use these shadows to disrupt abilities that require concentration.
From here on out you can't stop crying. You can keep trying to deny it. But you can't. This isn't some [F-Fake]. It's You. This wretched text is You. Whoever made this, unless they are only recording it, which is unlikely. The tears blur your vision. You cannot read any more. Not for now. For you know what lies ahead. Nothing but pain and suffering.
(Thanks to the Beta People)
(Feedback Appreciated Please)
These always amuse me. Definitely not based on anyone, uh? That SkySpider bloke rings some bells
25xp.hey @Cetashwayo it's your girl
You know what, I like it, let's make it canon. It gives us a view of what Dordonni is doing behind the scenes and a sense of Cirucci's respect for the obligations that come with the nobility she has decided to be. There probably won't be a "find weregild" quest update or anything, but this happened. 50xp.
this is amazing
25xp
your formatting is killing me and this is very short
This is actually pretty strong! Good characterization! Poor, poor Nemo. Probably not quite how I would have written a Surrender outcome myself, actually, but not that far from it. Interesting to see a reader develops the concept. 25xp.
Well this just went from horrible to comedic and I'm still liking it. 25xp.Hmm, is that a request for more omakes that I hear? I think it might be.
Though I didn't manage to get it done before the actual update. Shame, there. The update was amazing, though.
-And a small edit from after finishing but before posting: Trying to write up this conversation stuff can be hard. So... cop-out with a reader choice shortly into the interrogation for which way Nemo tries to take things.
--Surrender, Part 2--
Clamps are fastened in place, holding you against the cold metal of the chair, and a strange bowl shaped device is lowered over your head. You'd complain about it being uncomfortable, but honestly, it's still better than being carried around by Tessai while bound with the spiritual energy restraining cloth created by his kido. You're going to have to figure out how to replicate that trick to make permanent fabric from your own reiatsu. You can think of entirely too many uses for it, both in combat like he used, and out of it for making creations of La Marana.
You wonder what the third member of their group is here for, though. So far, she's been the single least angry looking, least intimidating of the bunch. She helped move you into the chair and get you restrained, of course, but you don't doubt Tessai could have done that on his own.
Then again, she's the one who frisked you while the blonde and the giant muttered things to scan you for kido traps. Maybe the two men were slightly worried about impropriety in doing so themselves? As it is, you managed to keep from blushing too much from her touch, but she's in as good shape as Cirucci. Definitely not flabby like Luppi. If she's here to seduce you to their side, then you worry about where they got their intelligence for your type from.
You're loyal to Cirucci though! You will resist the temptation of the wicked Shinigami temptress!
"Right then, let's just get this necklace off of you!" Urahara chirps in that annoyingly fake cheerful voice of his. Or maybe he actually enjoys all of this? You frown at feeling the flight necklace pulled away from you, wondering when they'll take the other items you crafted. He settles it in a container to the side, before moving to fiddle with some equipment.
...Did he actually not notice the others? Though... you had already been wearing your memory glove and bracelet the last time you'd been here, along with the king's cloak. Since he hasn't had as many Arrancars to study as Szayel... could he just not quite be able to pick apart which parts of your mixed aura are natural to you and which aren't? The necklace is also perhaps the most obvious of the items, so if it was a quicker scan to look for devices that Lord Aizen had left on you, you could understand missing them.
Not that they can help you with escaping either way, of course.
Tessai looms over behind you, likely using whatever Shinigami magic is required for the lie detector that Urahara mentioned, while the blonde continues at the glowing screen to the side. The long-haired woman meanwhile is just playing with the surgery tools and pulling out a kit to clean and sharpen them. It relaxes you a bit internally - she looks to be using them to pass the time, rather than planning a vivisection, at least for how slowly she's going. If she was prepping them, she'd be doing so much faster.
You can appreciate sharpening tools to keep yourself busy while someone's setting things up like that.
She gives you a slightly odd, probing look under her bangs as she continues. Rather self conscious of the attention still, you do your best to give her a shy smile that conveys the fact you're already taken, though flattered by the attention. Her expression shifts to one of confusion for a moment, before she grimaces, bringing up a pair of fingers to rub at her forehead.
"Right then!" the blonde pipes up from the side of the room. "We'll start with some calibrations of the equipment, just to make sure it's working properly. So, first off, please answer this first question honestly. What color is the sky?"
...What? You shift your shoulders as best as you can in the chair. Black, usually? Though if he means the clouds, they're kind of a gray color.
He turns towards you, frowning. "...You're supposed to talk, here. Or are you trying to keep quiet to avoid giving anything away?"
You blink in honest confusion, before a sigh comes from the woman in front of you. "Kisuke, I think she was trying to use... something like sign language? Her fingers were moving, at least, and I got an odd impression she was trying to describe black, and then gray clouds."
"...Sign language? Really?" he asks back.
"Well, not quite?" she returns. "It's not actual sign language, but it gets things across. It's kind of odd, honestly, since I'm not really sure how she's getting colors across without standardized signs while wiggling her fingers."
Urahara taps at the metal behind him, hat covering most of his eyes in shadow. "Huh. Might be some minor telepathic talent or something that carries intent through body language unusually well. I've heard of stranger hollow abilities, though it's definitely one of the more situational ones I've heard of." He turns towards you again, staring intently. "Either way, you need to speak for this."
...You can't just use a pen?
"No, you can't use a pe- I see what you mean, there, now. I almost didn't even notice that she wasn't talking, when I was looking closely. But no, no pens."
Your shoulders lower, slumped, and you frown at him. Still, you force yourself to open your mouth, feeling the air move through your hollow hole. It's as uncomfortable and distracting as ever, even after having sang back at the gala. "The sky is black. Clouds are gray?" you reply, finally.
There's a pause, and he presses some buttons on the machine behind him. "You were supposed to answer that one honestly, remember?" he asks while the athletic woman goes back to playing with her knives. She must be bored already.
"I did. There's... the moon, too? It's white."
There's another pause, as though everyone is taking a moment to process what you've said, before Tessai speaks behind you. "The sky of the living world. During the day. That's generally what the question assumes."
Well that's dumb, assuming the same answer would be instinctive to a hollow as to a human or Shinigami.
Urahara waves it off. "It's fine as long as she was answering honestly - I'll just enter in the calibrations there. Now for a lie. Just state something that is completely untrue."
You nod, the horns of your mask scraping against the metal over your head. You really wish that you could just get through this already, but impatience won't help keep you alive in captivity with the angry ex-captain Shinigami. Without the others right here, you can't really count on them not killing you and claiming you had a bomb on you or something. Still, what would a good lie even be? You know it's not important what you say, technically, but it's still oddly hard to come up with something on the spot. "...I really like your hat."
"Why than- wait. What's wrong with my hat?" Urahara pauses in the middle of his configurations to turn an accusing stare at you, looking almost betrayed. Which is silly, of course. Not only are you not on his side, but his hat is a betrayal to anyone's sensibilities. Of course, the betrayed look might be more for the woman snickering across from you.
"So, we're keeping this one, right?" she asks, earning a snort of annoyance from Tessai up behind you.
"Seriously, my hat is amazing!" Urahara declares. "I'm not accepting that one as a lie. Something that's obviously false. Not something that's probably some clever attempt to mess up my baseline."
You tilt your head. You really, really don't like the hat, but you would have some time back. You can allow that some people might like it. They need help, but some people would like it. And if he's not going to accept that his hat looks terrible... "Your hat looks horrible," you say instead.
Surprisingly, along with his glare at you, you're fairly sure that you see the hint of a smile on Urahara's face. "I see how this is. Just remember that I'm the interrogator, and you're still enjoying my hospitality. So, just repeat after me for the lie." He holds up a blue pen. "This pen is red. Say that, please."
You look at it, then back to him with a glare, then back at it. He could just let you use the pen that's right there... but no, you apparently have to keep speaking out loud. Finally giving in and taking another uncomfortable breath to speak, you do as you're asked. "The pen is red."
Nodding in approval, the blonde turns back to his equipment, pressing another button, before the woman once again starts snickering and opens her mouth. "What if she's color blind, Kisuke?"
Kisuke freezes mid button-press, looking back with a mildly brittle look on his face. "...Color blind, Yoruichi?"
"Yeah. Black and gray and white? That's pretty monochrome, even describing a night sky, isn't it? It's not unreasonable to think it. You should use something other than colors. I suggest the hat comment. Pretty sure it does look horrible."
Maybe she's the good cop in their routine, you finally guess. She's certainly the only one of them that hasn't done anything to try to intimidate you or show she's not on your side. She looks back at you with a sharp grin, playing with one of her knives idly. Definitely trying to be the good cop and flirt with you. You just have to remember that Cirucci is waiting for you, and that being a Shinigami, the this Yoruichi woman would almost certainly be a black widow.
...No matter how nice her abs look through the little tear on her shirt. She could seriously give Cirucci a run for her money there.
Grumbling, Urahara finally finishes and comes back over to you, sitting down to face you to the side of Yoruichi. "Right. This machine should show me if you're lying or telling the truth out of your vision range. I'm a lot more likely to be lenient with you if you tell only the truth, though. So, let's start, shall we?"
That has you feeling a bit nervous. Hopefully, he doesn't end up asking you any questions where the truth would paint you a bit too harshly. You really wouldn't put it past him to have you be an accidental fatality if he decides that he doesn't want to bother keeping you around. It's not too unlike being in a room with Aizen and his two Shinigami minions, under their direct attention.
Actually, it's disturbingly similar in some ways. Why are there three captain class Shinigami in both groups that left it? That's six captains they've hemorrhaged, there. Aren't they supposed to be rare?
"What's your name, Arrancar?" he starts off.
Really? He... is actually interested in that? Well, you don't have a reason not to tell him, you guess. "Nemo Elcorbuzier."
"Mhmm. And what is your position in Aizen's army?"
Ah, he's taking notes, you notice, writing things down already. "Fraccion of the Quinta Espada."
That gets an eyebrow raise from both of the two you can see, and another bit of scribbling on the paper. "And your ability that you used to break into my lab, was that something that Aizen gave you with the Hogyoku?"
"No," you respond with a shake of your head. "I'm a natural Arrancar."
"...And how, exactly, did a natural Arrancar end up as a... Faccion for such an important person? Perhaps, due to the same abilities that allowed you to break into my lab and steal my notes? I'm rather curious about those, if you weren't altered by the Hogyoku any..."
This is getting into the meat of things, you can tell. But while you're not really willing to bet that he can't detect any lies from you with his machine, half truths and creative ways of explaining things could frame things differently, perhaps. But what would be the most useful way to frame them for you?
< > Downplay your own role. You're Cirucci's Fraccion and lover, who was with her before she reclaimed the seat of the Diez, let alone the Quinta. You only managed to do as you did due to the memory glove you're wearing, along with your bracelet and the reiatsu hiding king's cloak you no longer bear. You'll be less important seeming, less valuable, but also less of a threat. You'll also certainly be stripped of your remaining Marana items, even if you can play off the reason for giving you so many being that most Arrancar can only use one at a time, and you four.
< > Hide your Marana items. You can easily mention your abilities from the items without mentioning them themselves. He already knows about the memory glove's powers, but not where they come from. He also already noticed your necklace, but if he examines it, he should see that it would be difficult for most to attune themselves to more than one such object. You'll be painting yourself as a more powerful natural Arrancar, but with powers that don't change so much. A threat, but a known one, and with the option of maybe making a new item to give you an advantage for later.
< > Come fully clean. It'll be giving up all of the information without a fight, but your abilities with La Marana already gave you the respect of one mad scientist, and might get the same from another. You're valuable for those abilities, which is all the more reason for him to believe that your side would be willing to consider your safety in negotiations as the shinigami will consider Ichigo's. And, if you're able to barter your services to them, you might be able to earn a better position to work things towards some measure of true diplomacy rather than just going through with Lord Aizen's plan as it is. At least with these Exiles, even if not Soul Society itself.
I can just see in my mind the pages upon pages of people angrily arguing about which side of the war has the best magic items. 25xp.
Well, this ended on a strong note. I like the way Nemo recaps her own story and her changes through it and the Urahara Crew are fun to read about. 25xp and, given that there is no vote at the end of this one and it seems to reach a natural conclusion, 25xp for a completed work (small bonus but it was a short series and also see below).
Is this a bad time to mention that I don't actually know anything about Touhou lore, I just smashed my head against the early levels of a couple games? None of this means anything to me
25xp and let's see how this goes for a complete novice
Meanwhile in the Bleach world, Hurricane Ascendente is wrecking Karakura Town and everyone is scrambling to find the one person who can make it stop. 25xp.
is this actually a touhou or did you just throw in muffet as well
oh god my finger slipped i'm listening to spider swing again this is all your fault
25xp
Neat fight scene, still no idea what any of these places are, 25xp
Zilla where have you been all this time we missed your crack genius
25xp
this is too short to qualify as an omake but fuck me I laughed, 25xp
Hmmm yes. I like this. Short but sweet. Strong imagery. 25xp.
I was amused. Unfortunately superceded by previous canon omakes
25xp.
IT IS DONE
Hopefully I didn't miss or forget anyone.
I mean I lowballed some of these but
it comes out to what, 950xp?
You absolute crazy people. I can't even randomly decide to halve the total reward given how it is scattered among so many people
And a bonus 250 or so xp to Cirucci for omakes featuring her, and none to Luppi because no one loves him.
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
To be fair, if Nemo and Tesla don't run to him and die to Toussen, that frees a captain level enemy. Ilforte would have finished Rukia by that time, probably, only to be vaporised by a very angry death-god wisard.
The decision to run turned out to be the best one there was, I think. For LN party, ofc.
- Location
- Here & There
According to my maths about 1150 experience points. If you all wants we can get a level up in whatever skill you all collectively want.
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- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
No wait I forgot @toxinvictory and @RandomNPC also each get 25xp for actually going and gathering the gazillion omakes for me
that's
that's a thousand total xp in omakes
you've done it
you've done it.
that's
that's a thousand total xp in omakes
you've done it
you've done it.
- Location
- Here & There
Yay. That means we can level up one of the skills we're close to getting! Now to beat each other up (with words) over which one to pick! But if we get a little bit more xp we can upgrade both Marana And Bala.
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- Location
- Australia
Maraña 4 is finally in reach! Nemo will finally be able to permanently fly! She's about to reach pinnacle of her art! If it weren't for the fact that Aizen is going to have her make him his white shirt and kill Alphonse afterwards for being obsolete it would be an absolutely joyous occasion, but as is it's still pretty joyous!