Now You Feel Like Number None [Bleach Arrancar Quest]

[Omicron]

There's some interesting discussion here, although the real limitations Aaroniero has under my approach are a bit different from what is portrayed here.

 

[ObsidianNoir]

I'll go out on a limb and assume he can, ahem, lose himself the more abilities he uses? Kinda like losing track of who is actually Aaroniero and what was his food.

 

[NSMS]

There's some interesting discussion here, although the real limitations Aaroniero has under my approach are a bit different from what is portrayed here.

Click to shrink...

Ah, the joys of characters with poorly defined canonical limits and restrictions...

 

[Phigment]

There's some interesting discussion here, although the real limitations Aaroniero has under my approach are a bit different from what is portrayed here.

Click to shrink...

In this quest, Aaroniero's abilities are represented by a collectible card game, and he has a limited hand size.

Eating people adds new cards to his deck.

Unfortunately, he has not eaten a good mix of basic lands, so he frequently gets mana-screwed. Worse, different types of spiritual entities are actually playing different games, so sometimes when he desperately needs a Yugioh Dark Wizard Dragon Girl he finds himself drawing nothing but pokemon instead. This is why he just stuck with Kaien Shiba for so long; if he ever reshuffles the deck, it may take forever before he can play one of his bombs again.

 

[Eiral]

I think AA's limit is that it copies the ability of the hollows he ate up to the punch tier. For example Grimmjow's Desgarron is a "normal" light blast in the high end of the Adjuchas level, we can assume that the best AA has ever eaten is a middle-tier Adjuchas, so in his bag of tricks there is nothing that punches as hard as Desgarron, but it's likely he has a good counter to it.

 

[EarthScorpion]

I'll go out on a limb and assume he can, ahem, lose himself the more abilities he uses? Kinda like losing track of who is actually Aaroniero and what was his food.

Click to shrink...

No, I don't think so, for one very simple reason.

The entire point of his appearance in canon is that, no, Kaien is not in there, and this is a serial killer hungry monster who's using him as a face. There is no one in there for you to save, though Aaroniero may pretend otherwise if it amuses him.

Kaien is dead, and there's just a monster with its hand stuck up the arse of his well-preserved corpse, using it as a hand puppet.

 

[Xexilf]

One way or another, apart from the random sunlight weakness, he must have serious limitations, or as someone already said, if he could use the combined form of thousands of abilities effectively simultaneously, he would be number one, or at least number five.

Theres a few points of interest that im not sure have come up yet.

First, his head(s). We have no clue whats up with that, but its pretty unique, and presumably its like that for a reason.

Second, he drank some of the energy gathering stuff, and implied he does that regularly. Could it be, that in keeping a mundane hollows power to consume spirits when becoming an arrancar, he also kept some of the need to feed? What would happen if he was starved of energy/hollows/souls for a while?

Third, hes a gillian. Why? Much was made of how only one in a million menos make it to vasto lorde, but getting from sentient gillian to adjuchas seems not much of a problem for most. Hes certainly a very sucessful gillian, with special power, so what happened here? Hes a previous generation, so this cant be a hogyoku modification. Why turn arrancar, when presumably hed have known hed make adjuchas in short order. Couldnt he somehow? Like, did his ability to assimilate abilities stop his evolution? That is actually a thought in a way. Being adjuchas means concentrating your body and gaining better dominion over your subsouls, but maybe that he couldnt do without the sub-souls loosing their individual shape, which is necessary for their power? Would fit with his ress being a huge bloated mess with random intact body parts.

Also from that, back to his heads in a tank. This is not natural. Aizen had some methods to modify hollows before the hogyoku, which almost certainly must be the case here? Is he another of his failures in hybrid research?

 

[Aze]

Third, hes a gillian. Why? Much was made of how only one in a million menos make it to vasto lorde, but getting from sentient gillian to adjuchas seems not much of a problem for most. Hes certainly a very sucessful gillian, with special power, so what happened here? Hes a previous generation, so this cant be a hogyoku modification. Why turn arrancar, when presumably hed have known hed make adjuchas in short order. Couldnt he somehow? Like, did his ability to assimilate abilities stop his evolution? That is actually a thought in a way. Being adjuchas means concentrating your body and gaining better dominion over your subsouls, but maybe that he couldnt do without the sub-souls loosing their individual shape, which is necessary for their power? Would fit with his ress being a huge bloated mess with random intact body parts.

Click to shrink...

We know from Grimmy's flashbacks in canon that getting hurt as a Menos can prevent you from becoming an Adjuchas/Vasto, maybe this is what happened to him ? He was badly hurt with no chance for growth and Aizen provided him with an alternate path ?

 

[NSMS]

We know from Grimmy's flashbacks in canon that getting hurt as a Menos can prevent you from becoming an Adjuchas/Vasto, maybe this is what happened to him ? He was badly hurt with no chance for growth and Aizen provided him with an alternate path ?

Click to shrink...

It's specifically having a part of you eaten by a Hollow on the same level that locks your evolution, though it's an interesting possibility/suggestion regardless.

 

[Eiral]

One way or another, apart from the random sunlight weakness, he must have serious limitations, or as someone already said, if he could use the combined form of thousands of abilities effectively simultaneously, he would be number one, or at least number five.

Theres a few points of interest that im not sure have come up yet.

First, his head(s). We have no clue whats up with that, but its pretty unique, and presumably its like that for a reason.

Second, he drank some of the energy gathering stuff, and implied he does that regularly. Could it be, that in keeping a mundane hollows power to consume spirits when becoming an arrancar, he also kept some of the need to feed? What would happen if he was starved of energy/hollows/souls for a while?

Third, hes a gillian. Why? Much was made of how only one in a million menos make it to vasto lorde, but getting from sentient gillian to adjuchas seems not much of a problem for most. Hes certainly a very sucessful gillian, with special power, so what happened here? Hes a previous generation, so this cant be a hogyoku modification. Why turn arrancar, when presumably hed have known hed make adjuchas in short order. Couldnt he somehow? Like, did his ability to assimilate abilities stop his evolution? That is actually a thought in a way. Being adjuchas means concentrating your body and gaining better dominion over your subsouls, but maybe that he couldnt do without the sub-souls loosing their individual shape, which is necessary for their power? Would fit with his ress being a huge bloated mess with random intact body parts.

Also from that, back to his heads in a tank. This is not natural. Aizen had some methods to modify hollows before the hogyoku, which almost certainly must be the case here? Is he another of his failures in hybrid research?

Click to shrink...

I think he is a case of a Gillian with two dominant personalities, two minds manage to coordinate the body and have coherent thoughts. But the complete subjugation of the mass of souls to a single individual is necessary to evolve in Adjuchas, so Aaroniero is stuck iat the cusp of the Gillian stage and became the strongest Gillian alive.

I would compare him to Nnoitora or Grimmjow, since the ascension to Vasto Lorde seems to require some philosophical component and they didn't do the mental work back when they were Hollows, they reached the cusp of the Adjucjas stage becoming the strongest Adjuchas alive, but still didn't live up to their full potential.

 

[Omicron]

The arrancar were in a bad state. Two teams had been sent out - one heavily hitting team of the Quinta and the Sexta along with three of their Fraccions, while the Tres Bestias had their own task to steal occult lore.

Grimmjow was the first back through the portal, spitting teeth and with a brand new scar on his chest. "This! This was so much bullshit!" he complained to the waiting Gin. "This was meant to be a fucking stealth mission, right?"

"Mmm."

"Well," he said, as Cirucci stepped back through the portal, carrying Nemo and Luppi over a shoulder each, "we got toasted! We got fucking smashed! Because they were waiting for us with four captains!"

"It was just dreadful!" Ilforte agreed, stepping back through the portal. Not a hair was out of place.

"And whatever bullshit they were using didn't work on our fucking scout! This is bullshit! They should've at least beaten up Ilforte too!"

"It really is," Cirucci agreed. "All of us got trashed, me, Nemo and Luppi. Do we have a traitor in our ranks?!"

Complaints were interrupted, however, when Sung-Sun stepped in through another portal pulling her companion. "Yoruichi was waiting," she said simply. "Turns out cats beat lions and deer."

"Mmm. But not snakes."

"I don't understand," Sung-Sun said, spreading her long-sleeved hands wide. "It was like they didn't know I was here."

Ilforte smiled, approaching her. "Sung-Sun, my serpent queen, my dark radiance, at least you are fine. Might I be permitted to inspect you for wounds and salve your injuries."

"Well, I don't know," she said thoughtfully. "Do you have any healing salves you might be willing to contribute?"

"Anything for you, my love! I have heard there is a mystical salve obtained from one-eyed serpents!"

"Well, that bears investigation, doesn't it?" Sung-Sun said with an arch look.

Despite her beaten-unconscious state, Nemo still made some gagging noises and whimpered in pain. Luppi was violently sick.

"I believe I know what happened here," Gin said. "There's tales of this in Soul Society. It's why we acted against the Visored - one of them, Lisa, had a potent mystical power that could sense beings such as yourself."

"Arrancar?" Cirucci demanded.

"No, my dear Quinta, members of the LGBTQ community," Gin said with a smirk. He was always smirking, though, so it probably didn't mean anything. "We are up against a gaydar."

"This fucking sucks!" Grimmjow complained. "How are we meant to beat something like this?"

"What we need," Gin said, stroking his chin in a way which suggested he had an invisible goatee made out of spiritual matter too rarefied for even arrancar to see, "is heterosexual chaff."

---

"Hmm."

"What is it, Orihime?" asked Kisuke, adjusting the suspiciously phallic knobs and levers on the brightly-painted machinery. A number of sensor screens were showing the Wizard of Oz.

"Well, I thought I felt something," Orihime said. Kisuke had tied her to the rainbow-shaped sensor dish. "But I think it might have been just some latent bisexuality."

"What's going on in here?" the Captain of the Second Division asked, stepping into the room. Alarms went off, and Orihime's eyes rolled back in her sockets as she went into convulsions.

"Goddamnit Soi Fon, stop burning out my sensors!" Kisuke screamed.

---

"I can't believe this worked," Cirucci said through gritted teeth. Her orange wig was perfectly fitting, but also soaked with tears. Nemo had worked very hard on it, weeping as she fitted the disguise. Her sailor outfit was likewise immaculate, although she had refused to surrender her stockings.

"Hey, I don't like this any better than you do," Grimmjow growled, running his hand through his badly dyed black hair. His school uniform had already contrived to lose all the buttons that had been concealing his abs from the world. "I swear, if that bastard Gin is having us on... you hold his arms behind his back and I'll break all his ribs."

Cirucci checked the notes written on the back of her hand. "And. It's not a date... we're just... going to be going there together, idiot," she read, with a shudder.

They were holding hands as they stepped out of the Garganta.

Click to shrink...

Why this. Why me.

25xp you monster.

Hearth​

People were never really meant to live here. This place, harsh and hostile and hateful, this place that even now chafes and catches against you in a hundred ways, a hundred raw, ragged edges snagging on the self. The cold of the greater desert leeches the warmth from the skin, drying the flesh taut and scaled even as little cracks, little cuts, form in the softness of your lips or the corners of your mouth, the spaces between splayed fingers. The sun that shines over the inner sands bathes you in sweat, shortens the breath, it takes you, presses down upon you, slowly squeezing you until it seems like even your bones ache and throb beneath the weight of its light. The only real succor is in the shade.

And even then...there's. Well. There's no tactful way to say it so you don't, just contemplate it in the privacy of your own thoughts: Ulquiorra's fortress leaves much to be desired.

Not that you're ungrateful or dissatisfied, no of course not. Your expectations were not high, insofar as you considered them at all, but with the initial glamour gone it's hard to ignore how stark and sparse these rooms are. And you are being charitable, they are rooms really only by dint of definition and not much else. Empty cubes of enclosed space, blue-lit and swathed in shadows. Some barely large enough for you to stand upright, splitting, blistering off corridors that seem more like fissures in the spire's construction than proper passageways. Others enormous, roof and far walls lost in a cool cobalt haze and deep, inky darkness; so quiet, so still, the sound of your own footsteps swells until its like an entire formation walks with you. Grand galleries split the fortress, running through the core of the central column. Hushed arcades and column-lined paths. All of it going nowhere. Holding nothing. Or- no that's not quite true. It took you a few days to feel it, feel the pattern. The fortress's guts are twisted around themselves, torqued into a vast, silent spiral, chamber after chamber descending down to the sun-scorched sands, digging deep below the desert's skin.

You explored it once, in the early hours of morning. One gloved hand resting lightly, somewhat selfconsciously on Verruga's hilt. Your green eye still itching, twitching, in your socket. Down, down, down, you went until the gravity of the citadel seemed to bear down upon you and the walls grew cold and slick with something like condensation. Until you heard the ripple and rush of distant, impossible water. Or was it the whisper of cloth against cloth? Or was it something else? Something syrupy thick and viscous.

You retreated to the more settled sections. Less cowardice and more a...no, it's fine. Call it what it was, standing there at that bend in the corridor with your knuckles straining white beneath black fabric. Feeling it rush and flow against you, that ambient heat. You were frightened. There's no shame in that. You're not one of Grimmjow's pack, you have no investment in seeming fearless, no one to perform for, and it's not as if you're immune to the feeling. You're just persistent is the thing. Constantly plunging ahead bluntly, almost blindly, it's not quite the same as being brave.

Arguably more useful though. It's let you make yourself useful.

Ulquiorra himself doesn't seem to sleep, he doesn't seem to eat, he doesn't read or craft or spar or any of the handful of other pastimes that the Arrancar have found to amuse themselves with. That you have found to amuse yourself with. Instead he seems to just...be in his ample spare time. You've found him now and then standing alone in the central chamber, staring out the window at the desert. Hands in the pockets of his coat, slim and slight (he's shorter than you, how did he always seem so much larger), reiatsu settling all about the fortress like softly falling night. He seemed to enjoy it as much as he did anything, appreciate it as much as he did anything. You left him there in privacy and he didn't seem to much mind. You joined him another and all he did was flick his eyes towards you once and then back to the desolate vista. Departing eventually but not immediately, apparently not entirely displeased with the quiet company.

It's a small kind of victory, there have been others. You and the prisoner -Kurosaki- live here now. And with your very presences you have softened this space, made it malleable and molded it, blunted its edges. To be sure the Cuarta would tolerate nothing like the creature comforts that the Quinta gathers to herself, even encourages. But you have had degrees of success with individual requests and recommendations, each one practical, each one some shade of necessary. It's a constantly ongoing project and you're grateful for it, grateful to have something to fill the day. Methodically working borders into the disjointed jumble, plotting out the purpose and function of each room. Figuring out the tools and setting and framing they need. Furniture isn't impossible to find in Las Noches: relics of the human world taken on a whim, abandoned in the dusty lower rooms of the fortress for sand to slowly creep in, to curl around their flanks. Numeros who take the natural nothing, the raw grit or the silicate trees or the fleshy, fungal stalks and form it, fashion it: living tools with Aisslinger-graven masks, made on an idle whim decades past; part of an experiment, and discarded since.

It happens piece by piece: a set of shelves for Kurosaki for which he thanked you by grudgingly not dropping his spare uniforms on the floor anymore. Basins for washing, a chaise and a chair from a completely different set, a high backed wooden sofa that you stocked with the least mismatched pillows you could find. A mirror, tarnish spreading beneath the silver surface, the gilded edges pitted and scarred. A counter top near the small cubby you use as a pantry, a workstation slowly growing around the gas stove.

And food. Of course food. Ulquiorra's own allotment of materials and supplies (there's hardly anything missing, has- has he just been eating the oatmeal?) augmented by requisitions from the kitchens. Metallic cutlery, a small selection of pots and pans, a set of fine, bone white knives bartered from a hyena ex-adjuchas with a sawtoothed sword. A selection of precious, painfully gathered spices purchased from one of the assistant cooks, an older model arrancar, his brawny body half-exposed, stomach and chest and lower jaw laid bare, the rest sealed within the sleek black frame of a bipedal shark. You helped with his hunting, a few hours dragging back black-clad mountains through the moonlit sands, on top of everything else you've done just for this.

You, standing at the stove, looking down with a slight smile at the dumplings sizzling in the pan. Minced meat and greens in slowly crisping skins, the smell enough to make your mouth water as you prod one with a fork. A shock of orange hair appears at the corner of your vision, the slouching shadow attached leaning against the open doorway. Palm pressed to one socket as he tries to work the sleep from bloodshot sclera, shadows clustered under his eyes.

"Yo Tesla, do you smell-" He blinks, his head tilted as he just takes in the scene. "You have an apron."

The "why though?" is barely unsaid, carried through on an exhausted squint as he looks at you almost accusingly. Like this is some exceptionally weird joke you're playing on him. You smooth it unconsciously with your free hand and look down, almost a little guilty as ridiculous as that is. Fine white fabric over your immaculate uniform, you've never spilled anything on yourself, the risk is nearly nil. It just-

"It's part of the ensemble," you say "necessary for the correct frame of mind."

"So where's your puffy hat?"

"My wha-"

"Nevermind," the boy waves his free hand, dismissing the reference and your polite bafflement with it. "Wasn't that funny. Any of those uh- any of those for me or do I just have to watch you eat them?"

"If you'd like some, yes."

"Nice." He takes ten steps forward and promptly pitches himself facedown onto the couch. The vast window opening out onto the sunlit desert just ahead, a square of stark white light cutting through the shade. A perfect square painted on leaden stone. His spiky mess of hair all but glows, like your furniture just caught on fire. A second of silence as you keep working, carefully lowering the blue-tinged tongue of flame. He sniffs, mumbles mostly to himself "(m'not crazy this definitely smells like dog)".

"Ah. I guess it would. It's from Yammy's quarters, his Fraccion was a canine. I'll have to clean it again."

"W-wait I-" he peels his face from the pillow, dark eyes rising just above the backrest as he pushes himself up on his hands just to glare at you, "Uh. What? Like a Hollow dog or a guy who was a dog or a dog-dog? Wait this is- this is the one Thunderbird killed right?"

A twinge, not too bad, it doesn't linger, just something like a tendon torquing a little farther than it was supposed to. A flickering spasm beneath the ribs. It's fine, it's getting better every day. You draw down plates, take a set of cups for the cooling sauce sitting on the counter. The mundanity helps, there isn't even a trace of terseness, of tightness to your voice. "The one she lamed, he survived and is in the Octava's care."

"Oh. Yeah him. Mayuri in a skintight suit that's..." He trails off, sighs. You hear the muffled impact as his head smacks the pillow. "This fucking place."

"Mhm," you say because really is the sentiment wrong? You click the stove off completely and unlace your apron, carefully hanging it up before you start portioning out the meal. A third for you, a third for him, and a third carefully deposited in a small bowl and covered. The heat trapped, lingering, as you fill the cups. As you carry the meal to the single battered wooden table. The shinigami less stands and more slumps into a vaguely vertical position before dumping himself at the opposite end of the table. A jug of water between you two. You both tear in.

"S'not...bad actually," he says after awhile. It's odd. Hardly the most uncomfortable meal you've ever had, you're a Hollow how would this even compare? But still odd. Every time you glance over he's somehow looking at you, staring at you, trying to bore a hole through your head. Attention drifting to and away and back to the green-irised eye. And despite carefully minding your plate you always know where he is, his posture, his spiritual pressure filtering out like a second sun. It feels like the two of you are five seconds away from explosive violence, from you slashing through the table and he digging fingers into your injured flank. Spilling blood in the kitchen. Your head slamming into the stone. But neither of you do, neither of you move, you just eat. Dining in the shadow of a sword.

"Thank you," you say.

"Saw you, Chad, and Ishida fighting. Caught the start, caught the end when the golden beam came down," his tone is light but there's a challenge to it, something harder, like a half buried razor in his words, "Never figured a guy like that for the domestic type. Uh, ten foot pig and all."

"I enjoy it."

"What the fighting or the food?"

You shrug a little, "Both I suppose: fighting is familiar, being a soldier suits me; cooking is comforting, being a servant suits me as well. When I'm allowed to be either it's a kind of relief, it's what I'd want to do even if there wasn't a war. I've never sought power, just survival, and if I strive to be more it's not because I want any throne. To dominate other Hollows or prove myself better. Isn't it the same for you?"

Kurosaki chews slowly, he's thinking or maybe he can't just snap back at you with his mouth full. But you should be more charitable, he's being forthcoming enough thus far, reciprocating your efforts. Isolation has a way of burning out hate, starving anger until it collapses into irritation and less lethal things. At last he swallows, flexes his fingers, you can hear the knuckles crackle and pop from across the tabletop.

"No," he says finally, "And yeah. It's- I don't want to be anyone's fucking servant. But I don't want to be in charge of shit either. I just want to do my part y'know? Look after people who can't look after themselves."

Hah. You don't mean to laugh but it just kind of happens, a soft exhale, a huff. You cock your head, spread your arms. Taking in these apartments and their absent master. "So it is the same then, in the end."

Click to shrink...

More delicious Tesla characterization and Ichigo wrapping his head around the Las Noches weirdos. Very good.

Canon, 50xp.

Alright, and now time for my omake for this update time frame. It's time for more bala games with Luppi.

- Bala Royal-

Though the sun never moves within Los Noches, nor the moon outside of it, your schedule's night time has come once again. You managed to beg off the previous day to spend the night curled within Cirucci's arms after the mission that she and Luppi took on themselves, simply resting and recovering from the entirely too busy day that everyone had wound up having. Tonight though, you've already promised to make up for the skipped training night with Luppi. You've spent a few hours basking in the warmth of your Lover's grip, your eyes closed as you forced yourself to leave even the scraps of your carefully held mask of style and poise outside of the bed, and you feel close to Cirucci for it.

You're a bit worried that she caught the winces you normally hide when some of your more... energetic movements ended up straining you, and you fear she may bring it up soon, but for the moment you are safe at least. Cirucci is asleep, tired out and with a wide smile on her lips, and though you want nothing more than to stay with her, your commitments call.

Slipping out of bed and over to your desk, you slide open a small drawer and reach under it, into a small hollow. A vial of glowing energy comes out in your palm's grip, and you quickly down its contents before hiding it again. A surge of energy floods through you, and though it will not recover your spiritual strength, it still lends physical refreshment enough to avoid the need for sleep for a while longer.

With soft steps as quiet as a moth's wings, your Reiatsu wrapped around you until you're nearly a shadow yourself, you slip out of the room and into the brighter lights of the red room's main hall. A step and a leap, and you reach the first of the pillars, releasing your concealment as you look around for Luppi.

He's... not here yet? That's rather odd; you were figuring that he'd be chomping at the bit to get started on the bala training that you've both been working on. You cast your senses out wide, a net of threads gently rustling as they take in the pressure around you, and the feel of waving vines or tendrils, of laughing masks and grinning darkness looms nearby, alongside another pressure that takes you by surprise. Just what is Luppi doing with Ilforte here... and why are Tesla and Ichigo of all people arriving as well?

You step down from the pillar with a sonido's buzz, landing on the ground below with a small, sharp pain to your guts as you walk forward with your mask back firmly in place to greet your guests. The four signatures meet at the entrance, and step in as you reach your place to bow a small greeting with a polite smile.

"Ah, and there's our last," Luppi says, waving the other three in. Ilforte shares a small smile towards you, while Tesla gives a respectful nod. Ichigo, of course, just looks dubious all around, his face set in a scowl so deep that it may very well be his default expression.

You tilt your head, kindly asking Luppi why he didn't tell you that you'd have guests tonight, right at the time that you were planning training? You weren't planning to give up sleep for a meeting over tea that you could have in the day time.

Ichigo blinks, before leaning back and looking up at the sunlight streaming through the open roof. "...Night? Seriously? I mean, I don't have a clock or anything, but how can you tell?"

You point over to the clock, the hands reading... about five in the morning, it looks like. He notices, and looks only more confused. "Okay, but... that's really more when I'd expect you to be waking up, or a couple hours before it. Did you seriously just stay up the entire night already? I know I took a couple naps earlier, before I got woke up and dragged down for this."

Well, you point out, you hardly have a dawn and dusk to worry about, so it's more a matter of when you were sleeping most often and how you wanted to move your schedule to match other people. You try to keep it relatively consistent when you can, but when there's a reason to change it, there's not really anything that's preventing it from being changed.

"That's... alright, I guess I can see it. Still weird," he adds, making you stare at him for just a moment longer in annoyance.

Luppi picks that moment to cut back in. "Well, now that we're all here, why don't we get started? To answer your earlier question, Nemo, since you insisted on spending last night being sappy, I had to go elsewhere to find a training partner. And you know, the same sort of games all played very, very differently with Ilforte here. And it got me thinking a bit: I asked myself, Luppi you handsome devil, what would be even more useful training than throwing balas around with just one opponent who fights one way? And so, I had this idea of making it a bit of a larger thing, a five person match-up. Dare I say... a Bala-Royal!"

That joke is horrible and he should feel bad. It even made Ichigo groan, and Ilforte slap his forehead, you point out. He simply grins back. Well, you allow, it is kind of a good idea, you suppose. But... Ichigo? Really?

The teenager himself just shrugs. "Hey, no one really told me much, and after living here a few days... I really do have to admit that you had a little point about it being dull here. My options were to let the witches tease me and wail on me more, or come here, or go looking for the blue haired prick for a fight I could use Zangetsu for. Or, you know, keep hanging out with the dullest duo in any world I've been to. No offense, Tesla."

Tesla smiles softly at the comment. "I won't deny that my master tends to be... very still, much of the time."

And... he chose to go with Luppi, you confirm. You're not very sure that says anything good about his taste in company or his sense of self preservation, if you're being honest.

"Hey!" Luppi cuts in, pouting. "I resemble that remark! Besides, you know you love me, so it can't say anything worse than it says about you."

Yes, and you've recently been finding yourself constantly berating yourself for being foolish, and dare you say it, nearly Luppi-ish. Clearly, it just says bad things about you as well, rather than being any less telling about Ichigo's poor decision making abilities.

A snort from the side has you glancing over to see the corners of Ichigo's lips moving up. He notices, and quickly puts his scowl back in place, much to the amusement of the other arrancar in your group. You sigh, before gesturing up to the pillars. You're guessing that you and Luppi will need to explain things to the two who haven't already done this, then?

"It might be helpful, though I already have the general idea," Tesla replies. "It's a sparring match with nothing but Bala allowed, basically?"

Luppi, clearly needing to be the center of attention again, steps forward into the middle of the group to reply. "That is, in effect, the case. However, it's a bit more complicated than that. You see, since there is likely to be a wide gap in power and skill in other areas as well, and we're trying to specifically help practice Bala itself, I've made something of a game out of it. The rules are simple - we each take a pillar up here, and we have to stay on that pillar. Any time you get a hit on someone, you get a point. Knock someone off, and they're out of the game and you gain ten points. Just jump off on your own, and rather than someone else getting the points, you lose ten points. Of course, I've come up with a few variations for more focus on specific parts, and for making things more difficult as a handicap for myself when I was going against people clearly unable to keep up with someone as amazing as myself."

Yes, you remember a few of those. Like the one where he had you flying and he was only allowed to take a certain number of hits, but he was allowed Sonido on his pillar. Or the one where he used his resurreccion and started flinging a figurative storm of bala at you while you were allowed to move between pillars, but if you landed anywhere even once, you'd lose. You were honestly rather tempted to have your four new Calavera participate as something of an arena hazard who weren't allowed to be targeted, and who would go after whoever was in the lead on points at a given time perhaps, or would fire every time they saw someone else fire, forcing situational awareness to come more into play as well.

Ichigo, at this point, starts to look more than a bit worried. "Uh, alright, I know this is going to probably sound a bit dumb, but I kind of have to ask now. What the hell is a bala?"

In answer, Tesla lifts a hand, making a fist, and punches at one of the pillars. A flash of reiatsu erupts from his fist, the orb flying nearly too fast to track, and slams into the wall with a dull thud. "That, right there, is Bala." He doesn't bother saying more, simply clasping his hands back behind his back.

Ichigo frowns, lifting his hand to look down at it. "Well, I'm not so sure I'd be able to participate in this little training game of yours - I don't know how to do Bala or Cero or any of that. And before anyone goes comparing the Getsuga to a Cero again, I need my sword to throw those around."

Except, you point out, he is part hollow. You listened to Cirucci's description of their fight, and you know that he even wore a hollow's mask during it, at one point. And he clearly has the power and technique for using Cero, even if only through his sword for now. It would really be just a matter of learning to use his energy in a slightly different way.

Ichigo just frowned, shaking his head. "Look, I wasn't even able to learn any of the kido stuff from Rukia and the others. I don't think I'm going to be learning hollow spells in a few hours, even if they're not as weird as the stuff that the witches were doing. I had to spend like a month with the Visard to get to be able to control my hollow stuff well enough to have my mask on for like, ten seconds. It's just not going to work."

All of the rest of you are staring at him. "You... think that Bala is... hollow magic?" Ilforte asks after a moment. "Brother, what those three witches do is not the standard for us. It is instinctual to use Bala, to use Cero. Their art... it is something very, very different. I don't think you would learn to use it in a day, no matter who you are. Bala... you punch, and send your intent to punch forward with a bit of your energy. It is not hard."

You very, very carefully say nothing. Your finger itches though, where the ring that doesn't exist sits.

Luppi claps his hands together. "Right, let's just have you try before being a party-pooper, shall we? Just aim at a pillar, and punch it from a distance. Seriously, even Nemo can do that! And look at her, seriously, just look!"

You feel like you should take offense to that. You really do. Still, Ichigo shrugs, before walking away from the group slightly. He slowly shifts his stance, legs spreading out as he seems to take some sort of martial arts stance. His energy flares, far, far more than a bala could ever need, dark and heavy with the power of a shinigami, with the burning power of a hollow hiding deep under it, laughing mad. He slams his fist forward... and nothing happens.

"There, see? No bala," he states, relaxing. Honestly, he almost looks relieved that he didn't get one.

Luppi makes a little sound of annoyance, walking forward. "You can't give up after just one try; come, come, let me see if I can't help you a bit..." Luppi all but folds himself to Ichigo's side, arms moving around to grip his hand, and Ichigo's face instantly turns slightly pink. You idly wonder if he knows that Luppi's a guy, actually. Even if you wouldn't ever make the mistake, Luppi is kind of... well, less built than Cirucci, to say the least. Luppi's aura spreads out, focusing on Ichigo, and you can feel the influence of your sash starting to move with it. "Now, collect just a bit of energy at your fist, no need to flare it out and all. Ball up a little in your palm, and just hold it. Focus on the idea of a punch into it, focus on the pillar, and give it the dumbest, most punchable face you can in your mind. Then, pretend that it's close enough that you can punch it, and do so while letting go of the ball of energy."

His presence is a distraction for Ichigo, having him looking unable to even put his feet in the right place with how Luppi's just leaning into him, but that along with his aura are actually helping, it looks like. "R-right," Ichigo replies, bunching a fist, and looking at the pillar. You get a vague impression from his spirit of a green and white hat, of a smug blonde face, and then his fist flies at it. A blob of black energy jolts forward, slow by bala standards, and impacts against the pillar with more of a splat than a thud. The energy loses any sense of cohesion and just flows over it, leaving unblemished stone, but even so, you can see the surprise that he managed that much. "...I... did it?" he asks, before shaking his head, and then shaking Luppi off of him.

Luppi backs up with a snicker. "It's kind of pathetic, like a strong gust of wind more than a punch, but it's a starting place. You won't be knocking anyone off of a pillar with those without getting a lot better, but it is enough to get points on a hit, and to help you get used to managing all that energy you have pent up in there. A bit of a release, if you will, for all that frustration building up from being stuck here."

The flush on Ichigo's face turns a bit brighter red, and he scowls and turns away, before flash stepping up to the top of a pillar and calling back down. "Sure, fine, whatever. Let's just get started on this dumb game then."

A glance shows that Tesla has the smallest hint of a smile, and Ilforte has a grin that quickly goes from amused to feral at the challenge. It seems everyone is ready. Sonido buzzes through the room, and soon each of you has picked a pillar that's relatively close to a couple of the others, and fairly far from the other two.

You yourself have ended up with Ichigo to your right, and Tesla to your left, Ilforte and Luppi farther away with Luppi on the other side of Ichigo's pillar. And, come to think of it, Ilforte and Ichigo probably are the least practiced with Bala of any of you. You strongly doubt that this is a coincidence on the part of Luppi's choice, even if you're not quite sure how he managed to maneuver things towards that.

"Right then," Luppi's shout echos out. "For this match, rules are simple - no flying, no sonido or flash step, nothing but Bala to hit people all around. No teams since this is a free for all, and I'll help keep track of points since we have so many people. Other than that... go!" He punctuates his statement with an immediate pair of bala right at Ilforte and Ichigo, neither moving out of the way in time after being caught off guard. You duck instinctively as one whistles overhead from your left, quickly spinning to respond in kind.

Tesla manages to step out of the way, and then you're quickly drawn in, focused on striking out at him and dodging as best you can to avoid the flying bolts of power. Both of you clip each other, and his Bala hits like a ton of bricks against your side, while your own slams into his leg. Of course, you can afford the trade, since suddenly he's just a bit slower - the tell of his swing a bit easier to see as you spin to the side... only for another follow up to clip you as you force yourself to a sudden stop. You turn with the momentum, lashing out with a foot, a slap of a hand right after it, and then a jab of your fist from behind and manage to catch him off guard, before the Bala Envolver slows him enough for you to quickly stack a third on before dodging his next hit.

A quick flurry of bala box him in as you take another hit to strike him, one ahead, and he's suddenly slow enough that dodging just doesn't work anymore for him. In his favor, he notices immediately and switches to a flood of Bala that you have to quickly jump, roll, and spin to avoid, flipping over one before you can counter, but even there he's a bit slower to swing his fists. Your own retaliation locks him down enough that he's effectively a sitting duck-

Which is when four suddenly plow into you from the side, sending you skidding. You barely manage to spot another as you dodge, only just avoiding going off the side, as another four slam into the slowed Tesla from Luppi, two more hitting him from Ilforte, and one weak, malformed bala is tossed your way from Ichigo. It's almost surprising enough to hit you. Almost. You take stock, and scowl slightly. Luppi's been dominating the others, clearly, letting you and Tesla distract each other for him to take advantage at an opportune moment. Ichigo suddenly seems rather focused on throwing his few, sickly looking bala blobs at you, and Luppi's managed to get Ilforte to go after Tesla as well.

Of course, Luppi's probably a much less tempting target than people who are distracted in their own fight, or all but tied up in moaning energy from your bala. You slide around Ichigo's next attack and send one Luppi's way, but no one else is focusing on him at the moment, and the distances lets him easily avoid it. Your next few slam into the Shinigami's leg, his chest, and then his back, propelling him towards the edge before he catches himself and moves with simple speed, and you turn back to dodge a shot from Tesla.

It's quite quickly gotten confusing to keep track of all four of your potential opponents, leaving you constantly debating between focusing enough to actually catch small details of body language, or keeping everyone in sight to know when to dodge someone else-

Another bala catches you off guard, simply too fast to dodge when you weren't in the process due to not having expected one from Ilforte at all. He calls out as you go flying half way to the ledge before catching yourself. "My apologies, sister, but I need a few points to have a good showing, and you weren't paying attention!"

You reply in kind, before quickly ducking, spinning, dodging, and moving back towards the center of your pillar, kicking out a pair of bala towards Ichigo to send him running to dodge, disrupting his focus to leave him with a few seconds before he'll be able to counter. Your fists slap out lightly to propel bala towards Tesla again, renewing the envolver and sending him skidding out of one of Luppi's barrages and closer to Ilforte, where he quickly takes advantage for a moment before being knocked back just to the edge by Luppi suddenly focusing on him again. You duck, and then feel a light splash of potent energy unrefined over you from Ichigo. It's not painful, not even slightly, but it blinds you for a moment. You roll to the side, but Luppi's attack still catches you, knocking you just over with a curse as you drop. You watch up as Tesla follows, before Ilforte a moment later, and Ichigo swearing a blue streak a mile wide not a minute later.

As the last of the others land, you all look at each other. Luppi played that match like a harp, didn't he?

"...Wait, he?" Ichigo asks, blinking. He looks back up, then back to you, face just slightly pale. "...Really?" he asks, looking like he's slightly dreading the answer.

Yes, you assure him, Luppi is in fact a guy. Also frustrating beyond measure, smug, and winning against you all so far.

Ilforte's chuckle seems entirely too amused. "I suppose it is natural, for one who specializes in fights against many foes. Perhaps we should try to make it more difficult on him for the second round?

Yes, you agree, that would suit you just fine. Three Sonido and a Shunpo bring you all back up, where you find Luppi laying on his side, a hand draped over himself in apparent relaxation. "Oh, back finally, are you all? Up for round two?" he asks, smirking as he lifts a leg, swinging it to right himself on his feet-

Same rules, ready-set-go! You can't quite help but feel a bit of satisfaction as Luppi's eyes widen while a flurry of bala come at him from all sides, along with a couple weak but wide splashes from Ichigo that are surprisingly hard to dodge completely, and which disrupt vision nearby. They're almost worse than his first attempt, but it looks... intentional, almost, as a slightly tighter, barely passable bala follows behind them from him.

As it turns out, it's rather hard to disrupt people's teamwork when all they're focused on is attacking him, and he's not in the middle of anyone where he can leave them hitting their own allies from forgetting where they were. The best he manages is the sudden yet inevitable betrayal coming a bit quicker from Ichigo trying to get a few extra points where he can just before Luppi goes flying off the side.

By the end of a couple hours, all of you have some bruises, all of you have gone through more alliances and betrayals than you can count, and Ichigo's balas actually feel like a light slap on the back, at least. And, there are smiles on everyone's faces, even as they complain about Luppi's sudden resurreccion to throw absolutely monstrous numbers of attacks. He hadn't said Resurreccion was against the rules at the start though, as he reminds you all. Over all... sore or not, it was kind of fun.

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Yeah, having thought about this, I'm not gonna go with Ichigo learning Bala that easily, so it's not canon. That said, something like it probably happened; maybe Ichigo wasn't there, or he was there and studied the Bala thing, and it might eventually lead him there or not.

25xp.

Decided the stabbing of Nemo could use a more serious rendition. I commissioned this to be made by Renu, looks pretty cool to me.

Click to shrink...

Stunning picture. Nemo's pain and determination really comes across. We've had a lot of pictures of her, but rarely ones where she appeared so strained and angry.

What did I give the last commissioned pictures... 100xp? Have that.

But I'm probably gonna have to reduce it from now on. Because I didn't expect several of those

This isn't really edited or anything i'm just throwing it out there. If someone wants to help revise it later they can.

Plots​

After the meeting each of the Espada broke up to return to their quarters; wondering about their future as balancars and if it was a reward they were willing to take. After all none of them knew what it would mean to take up the balancing of souls against other hollows. How would it work, was it possible that Hollows would still be willing to became Arrancar when they were the ones hunting them and becoming the feared Shinigami. Would they even be able to create new members of the Espada from strong hollows One of the Espada however had other weighty business on her mind

Circcui Thunderwitch had been interrupted by the meeting but Nemu had long since become more important then her position and so rather then Aizen's offer she was still thinking of how to convince the others to spare the Karakura group. Perhaps the plan would be helpful after all if they weren't a hollow only organization their was no reason why they couldn't have a human subordinate so planning ahead could convince some of her practically.

The first step would be to talk to Syazel his maze would allow him to choose who ran into what and so without his assistance someone would die.
After that a way to keep them imprisoned safely until they could be released; perhaps Tesla would be willing to talk to his master about running the jail. It wouldn't be comfortable but he is already watching over one human and so should be able to be talked into it.

Aizen is lying to us,

She jerked up eyes wide open, and her jaw dropped. Soon after she straightened up and serenity fell over her any hope for a quiet peaceful night with the one she loved was gone but the night could still be productive. After all it wasn't like she was getting back to sleep tonight.

Circucci looked into Nemu's chocolate eyes. How, Nemu often saw things that she didn't it was how their relationship worked. It took a moment but when she spoke Nemu was quiet but firm in her words.

I don't know if the plan itself was a lie your better at judging that then my but his reasons for keeping it secret those were lies. She paused briefly, when I was ordered on my suicide mission I didn't just grab the files I read the titles of each file I stole. One of the filed I gave to Aizen was titled to become a god speculations on Aizen's ultimate goal. His goal here sounds exactly like becoming god.

He knew the Shinigami knew the goal directly after the theft so he didn't keep it hidden for security reasons. If he is lying about the why of the plan then what else is he lying about.

Circucci frowned thoughtfully and when she laid back down several minutes later after comforting Nemu, her mind was ticking once more.

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This is not quite reaching the bar quality-wise. You even misspelled Nemo's name! But I respect the attempt.

Questions of Leadership
—————————————————

"All right," Shinji started, "now that we have a few minutes, we need to start making a real plan. Hatchi, your first priority is figuring out how to try and communicate with Ichigo Kurosaki or Tessai. Second priority is finding a way to fix Rose, when we catch up with that thing that…"

"Hold up, here!" Mashiro interrupted. "Why put you in charge? That's not how we operate!"

"What, you want to to be the leader, Mashiro? You think you can do a better job than me?"

"Maybe I do! The way I see it, your leadership recently has sucked! You got us stranded here in god-knows-where off a half-assed plan you got from an evil ghost who wanted to murder us!"

"He was a very convincing evil ghost! He looked and acted just like Urahara!"

"Who is also not someone we should be listening to! You can't excuse trusting somebody untrustworthy because they were pretending to be a different untrustworthy person! You screwed up, Shinji, and we're not your soldiers any more. This isn't the military, and we're not going to just fall in line!"

"Fine. We'll handle this the usual way. We're deciding on operational command. We'll vote. I vote that I get command."

"I vote for me!" Mashiro announced.

"Kensei," Kensei announced.

"Shinji," Love shrugged.

"Mashiro," Lisa called from across the cabin, where she was reclining on a hammock.

"Mashiro," Hatchi said. "All the rest of us went along with fake Urahara, so clearly our judgement is suspect. She's the only one he didn't fool."

"Because she skipped the meeting to play pachinko!"

"Yes, and if we'd all done that, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Shinji," Hiyori decided.

"Yarr," Pyleho interjected. "The crew and I be stickin' with Cap'n Mashiro."

All the vizards turned and looked at the stumpy hollow. He was easily as broad as Hatchi, although not as tall, and built like a distorted ape.

"Do the hollows get to vote?" Love asked. "I mean, it's never really come up before…"

"If they don't," Lisa pointed out, "we're tied three to three."

"All be equal upon the sea, mateys," Pyleho told them gravely, "for the black sea would surely devour us one and all if we do no pull together. When you joined this crew, you joined a sacred brotherhood of the waves, and cursed be any who disrespects that bond."

"Look, we didn't join the crew. You sailed over to see what was happening, and we stole your ship, and we're forcing you to take us to that big tower on threat of death, because none of us know how to sail."

"That do be the traditional way of joining the crews who ply the black oceans of Hueco Mundo. Captain Mashiro proved her worth to us with her mighty Mashiro Super Kick, and now we sail for food and glory under her flag."

"Why her in particular?"

"I just told you, you daft lubber. We witnessed the power of the Mashiro Kick, and none on this crew are eager to challenge her. This crew shall follow those mighty feet across the inky waves, until they fail us."

"The Mashiro Kick isn't anything special. I'm stronger than her; if it's just that you're scared…"

"So, you be able to wield the Mashiro Super Kick? That's a tall claim, lubber. Be careful you can make good on it."

"No, I can't literally do the Mashiro Super Kick, because I'm not Mashiro. But it's just a kick, there's nothing special…"

"As we thought. You be but a talker. On the day you are willing to face the fury of her feet in a fair match, you may try to tell us where to sail, but until then, every hollow on this vessel follows Captain Mashiro of the Green Hair. Now, Captain, tell us which way to sail, for plunder and glory!"

Mashiro paused dramatically, and then pointed out the nearest porthole.

"Men, women, hollows...We sail for yonder tower, and hell itself shall not bar our path!"

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This is great. You know, if Pirate Findor had turned out canon, maybe this would be canon too

25xp.

Serious Talk
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"He is not," Tesla reminded gravely, "to be killed. Or damaged. On Lord Aizen's orders."

"Yeah, whatever," the blue-haired man sneered. "I ain't here to break Aizen's toys. We're just going for a walk. As long as he doesn't start anything, he'll be fine. And you're not going to start anything, are you kid?"

"What do you want with me, Grimmjow?" Ichigo demanded. "What's this about?"

"It ain't about nothing, kid. There's no big scheme. I'm sick of sitting cooped up in my tower with my boys, so I'm going for a prowl. And I figured, hell, as long as I'm out I might as well spell off Tesla a bit. But if you want to sulk here in your room, be my guest. Just hand the sword back, and I'll be on my way."

Ichigo considered briefly, and then stowed Zangetsu over his shoulder. Being separated from his zanpakuto was…wrong. It was uncomfortable. Spending time with the Sexta Espada was probably going to be uncomfortable, too, but at least it was a change.

"Fine," he said. "Let's go."

They walked for a time, Ichigo Kurosaki stomping along scowling, Grimmjow slouching around cheerfully with his hands in his pockets. He didn't seem to have a destination in mind, just prowling as the mood struck him. They passed out into the sunny sands that would have been outside anywhere but Las Noches, and wandered by columns and monumental structures.

"What is that you're whistling?" Ichigo finally broke the silence.

"Huh? Soy Yachiru. It's from this show the Quinta put on. Grabs you, don't it?"

"It's something. Cirucci does music?"

"Not her personally. Her people did it. Threw a big party. Wasn't bad. If she does another one, you should show up."

"You have parties here?"

"Just the one, so far. Maybe I'll do one. Nobody would expect that. I bet it would freak people out. They'd probably think I was gonna murder somebody! Have to think of something fun, though. Can't do it stupid after Cirucci's thing was cool."

"Whatever. I'll be out of here before you have time for more parties. Just a matter of time."

"Sure thing, Kurosaki. You do that. Say, you're a shinigami. Was Yachiru real? Is she still around?"

"Yachiru? I met one Yachiru, and she's a freaky little kid. How do you know about Yachiru?"

"That doesn't sound right. Yachiru, the great warrior with the crimson sword who dueled Barragan in the World of the Living. Fought him to a standstill, which basically no one ever has done. She's who the show was about. Wonder how close it was to the truth."

"Must be somebody else. Yachiru I know is all pink, and three feet tall. It's probably just one of those common names."

"That's stupid. How can two people have the same name? Names come from who you are. It's like, there can't be two Grimmjow Jaguerjacques out there. I'm Grimmjow, I've been Grimmjow since I ripped my way from my cocoon."

"Not like that for regular people. Lots of people have the same name."

"Yeah, well, it's dumb. Means people don't even know what I mean when I ask about Yachiru."

"Forget Yachiru. If you ever get to the Soul Society, ask for a guy named Kenpachi Zaraki. You'll like him. He's your kind of people."

"Huh."

They walked further, and came to the remains of a giant arena. Grimmjow jerked his chin at it.

"If you want to smash some stuff, we can stop a while. There's enough room you won't bother anybody."

"What, you wanna spar? You looking for your rematch?"

"Nah. I just sometimes feel like smashing stuff when I get frustrated. Helps. You been cooped up a while; I thought you might want to cut loose. But I don't need a rematch. I know I can beat you now."

"Oh, really? Don't underestimate me."

"It's nothing personal. The Quinta beat you, without using her resurreccion. I've seen her fight, a real fight. I could beat her, if neither of us released, so I could take you. All there is to it. Don't get me wrong, she's strong, and you're not nothing, but the result isn't in doubt."

"If you're stronger than her, how come she's number five, and you're still number six? Sounds like she would beat you."

"Well, first, because me and her get along OK, so we don't have much reason to start shit. And with this whole war thing, we're not supposed to start shit with each other anyhow. No point in us doing the shinigami's work for them. And second, I said if neither of us released. I know she didn't use resurreccion in her fight with you, which means she didn't ever get really serious before she beat you. But if she cuts loose in a fight, that's a whole different ball game. I'm not saying I couldn't beat her, but that fight…that's a fight you only get one shot at. So, no. I'm not in a hurry. Five vs. six doesn't mean much anyhow, when number four is a Vasto Lorde."

"She only beat me by cheating with that stupid necklace."

"Hah! Got you the same way she did Nnoitra, then. I wondered if that was a trick she could do more than once. Good to know. If I do ever find myself matching swords with her, I'll have to watch for that."

"Why do you think she didn't release? Why do you say she wasn't serious?"

"Look over there, kid. See where the wall is knocked down?"

Ichigo surveyed the arena, and took in the scale of the destruction. The size of everything in Las Noches tricked the eyes; made it hard to grasp just how big every structure was, but when you paid attention…

"I ain't telling you any secrets, kid, so don't think I'm going to give away how her release works. But the Thunderwitch did that, with one strike, the day she became the Quinta. You want to know how I'm sure she didn't release when she fought you back there? Because you're pissed at her for kidnapping you. If she had released, you wouldn't be pissed over her beating you up and dragging you off. You'd be pissed at her for wiping out your town, and that's a totally different scale of pissed than what I've seen. That's what happens when an Espada gets serious, and you haven't seen that. Yet."

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what is this

a seriousface omake from Phigment

and a good one too

has the earth stopped turning

Canon, 50xp.

Rafflesia

The corpse flower squatted in an empty oasis, the iris of a grand collection of gnarled trees. It was not a forest, for a forest implies life and beauty and not an impenetrable knot of dead and dying wood.

Through this collection wound a single clear-cut artery bridging two great plains. Fiefdoms grew on those plains like mushrooms atop the rotting bodies of their predecessors and grand battles scored the endless night with blood-specked thunder.

The wounded and the cowardly flowed through the collection, and when they reached the iris, they would sit and rest and strike each other's masks from their memories. When the air grew heavy with shame and regret and the creeping onset of necrosis, the corpse flower would speak.

There was nothing to fear in the death after death, it said. Their desertion mattered not; the only cause that mattered was that of GOD, not petty land grabs and ego-stroking. To abandon such meaningless conflicts was equally meaningless. Those still between deaths had an opportunity, a beautiful opportunity to bear the banner of GOD into these wastes, to leave themselves behind and walk forth as extensions of His perfect will. Those fading could pass beneath His eye, free at last of want and hunger.

The wounded and the cowardly would sleep, rise, and look away from the emptiness where lay their dead and dying the night before. They walked through the thorny brush into another war, the seeds of its words stillborn in their minds, and the corpse flower sat and waited and took in the endless expanse with its many eyes.

The centuries passed and the fiefdoms devoured one another until there was but one, so choked with the stench of death that even the flower's miasma, forever undisturbed by wind, paled in comparison. Pointless wars gave way to pointless torpor, and what few wandered into the iris were so infested with terrified devotion to their skeletal god that the corpse flower simply devoured them, not even bothering to commit them to memory.

So sat the corpse flower, preaching to no congregation save the befouled sands of its home, until three pairs of footsteps stirred those sands. The men stood before the flower and asked what it knew of divinity. When it answered, the one with the hollow smile told the flower it knew nothing. Driven by dogma and ferocious hunger, the corpse flower erupted from the earth in a movement faster than sight or sound, faster than anything on this satire of a world, and unfolded in terrible bloom.

Twenty-nine pairs of eyes saw the face of GOD.



Zommari Leroux watches his king's statement ripple among the gathered Espada, passing through unmolested in places and stopping dead in others. One hundred thousand souls for a miracle. He wonders, idly, if the creatures around him surpass that total on their own. Somewhere in his chest rises a pang of envy for the chosen sacrifices, blessed to play so simple and straightforward a role in the machinations of GOD.

There is to be war on Heaven and Earth, and all the bellowing fury of ages past will shake off its rust and slouch once more into the fray to consume all in its wake. He will preach in the late hours as he always does and he knows that he will see countless faces for the last time, whether through their deaths or his own. His is the role of painkiller, assurance to those fighting for honor or freedom or for the simple opportunity to be part of something greater than themselves that they charge unto the breach with nothing to fear.

He himself stands among the hands of the divine, a tool of perfection. Free at last of want and hunger.

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I have to confess something

while "rafflesia" is the actual name of the "corpse flower"

it is also the French name of Vileplume

that threw me off at first

This is good. Very good. Strong imagery. More Zommari characterization. I like.

I'm not sure I want it to be canon because the idea that Zommari was always looking for "God," while an interesting one, is not what I had in mind for him - I had him pegged as someone who had experienced Aizen as a revelation, and whose worldview had shifted to the religious because of it, when he used to be just another Hollow.

Hmm. I'll give it 50xp like a canon omake and think about it further.

A Is For Amigo

The sound of rapid footsteps echos through towering white corridors. Ichigo Kurosaki pounds the towering structures of Las Noches. He races down mile-long corridors, scales sheer walls, and leaps between gantries.

What is he running from? He's running from the home of the empty, dead-eyed Fourth Espada who is his jailor and can always find him wherever he goes. Every time Cifer wearily appears through a hole in the world to bring him back, it's a petty victory. He's forced the other man to do something he doesn't want to do.

But it's not just that - though he'd rather die than admit it to anyone else. When he runs, when his muscles burn, when he collapses at the end of the day, he can ignore the feeling of not having Zangetsu. It's like he's missing an arm. It leaves him feeling - and how he hates that word - hollow.

The echoes of his footsteps sound almost like laughter. Just for a moment. Just a trick of his mind. Nothing more.

There's something wrong about the air here. He grew up in the world of the living, he's been to Soul Society, and neither have air like this place. It's dry. It's lacking something. And every breath he takes reminds him that this dusty hell is the world of the Hollows. Their pressure suffuses the world, even when there's not a single living - ha - soul in sight. There's a part of him that doesn't mind that, that doesn't feel the skin-crawling wrongness - and he hates that part of him.

So he runs. He runs to build up his stamina, he runs to learn his way around this impossible city that swelters under endless sunlight, and he runs to exhaust himself.

And maybe amuses himself by envisioning what it'd be like to stab Aizen. Fuck that sword-blocking asshole.

He's in shadowy halls when he's interrupted.

"Well, that's an unfamiliar sight," says a new voice. "A poor little lost lamb with a new white coat, running through these corridors like all the hounds of hell are after him."

Ichigo flinches, hand going for a sword that isn't there. A little bit of him is keenly aware of how used he'd gotten to Zangetsu's presence there on on his back. This is dumb! He'd lived his life without his sword! He balls his hands into fists, dropping into a practiced guard. "Just working out," he says.

"Hah, good move, kid." The stranger chuckles. "Don't want to get fat and bloated from eating too much."

A white-clad figure steps out of the shadows. They're not wearing the standard uniform that the other arrancar seem to mostly dress in - it looks like some kind of fancy dress coat with puffed sleeves. Ichigo guesses that they're a man from the voice and body shape, but they're wearing a full-face strange tubular white helmet like nothing he's seen before.

"So what's with that?" Ichigo says, lips curling back. He's not going to show weakness. "Why the strange get-up, arrancar? You a dog under there?"

"A dog? No." The man laughs again. "I never did find out what happened to Yammy's dog, but I don't think it could get away with dressing like that. Little bit small, yeah."

Ichigo has no idea what he was talking about, and says as much.

"Well, fair enough." The man leans back against the wall. "I've been waiting for you to head away from the sun out there. If you're training, you'll want to keep doing it inside buildings. Where the sunlight can't get to you. It isn't good "

"Yeah, you'd be amazed at how little sunscreen there is in ghost hell," Ichigo says warily.

"I'm talking more about how it's the eye of Lord Aizen," the other man says.

"What."

"You heard me. He made it. Everywhere the sunlight falls, he can see. Keep inside if you want to hope to keep any secrets from him. And that's why I've been waiting here for you. Where he can't see us." The man reaches up, and carefully removes his helmet.

Underneath is someone who looks uncannily like him. Oh, not quite the same. He's dark haired, he's older, he's not quite got the same face - but it's close enough that Ichigo suddenly is worried that he had a dead older brother that his useless dad never told him about.

"What."

"Close your mouth, kid. You'll get flies in. Well, if there were flies here. You're probably okay right now, but there are places in Las Noches where that ain't a good idea. You don't want to do that near where a certain guy dumps his medical waste."

"Who are you?" Ichigo demands.

"Well, that's the question, isn't it? I'm the Noveno, but that's just a job title. You know the Hollows here go and give themselves new names? Pretty stupid, right? They called me Aaroniero, but that isn't really who I am. So I guess - because we're really not so different in how we wound up here and the fact we're both shinigami who got stuck here in Hueco Mundo - you can call me Kaien Shiba. Because that's my actual name." He winks at Ichigo.

Ice runs down Ichigo's spine. He takes a step back, but recovers. "Huh," Ichigo says, hooking his thumbs into the belt of his too-tight too-stiff white uniform. "You. I've heard of you. You're dead."

"Stuff isn't so simple here in Hueco Mundo. But yeah, a Hollow got me. I'm not a shinigami anymore, not really."

Ichigo frowns. "When I was in Soul Society, I think I met your brother, Sanji. And your sister, Makoto."

The man frowns too. "Uh… what are you… ha ha, you don't trust me, do you kid? You're a sharp one. My brother's Ganju and my sister is Kukaku. Good to hear that they're both still alive. I always worried Ganju would get himself killed doing something dumb. He still got Bonnie?"

Ichigo leans back against the wall. "Yeah. He does. So you know their names. And even about that pig. And that does sound like Ganju." That's something, at least. But-

"What I want to know is why you look so much like me," Kaien asks, frowning.

And it's true, they do. It's like looking into a not very good mirror that shows him older and dark-haired. Ichigo isn't sure what kind of mirror does that, but this is the feeling right now.

"Who were you when you were alive?" he asks. "Maybe you're some ancestor of mine."

Kaien shrugs. "The Shiba are nobles. I was born into Soul Society. I mean, I guess it's possible that one of us had a fling with one of your ancestors, but I've never heard of that. It's a crime, mind you, so whoever did it would have good reason to cover it up."

Ichigo scowls, even if inside he's feeling weirdly unsettled. Was that a thing that happened? Shinigami in gigai having affairs with humans? And - huh, it was true that he and Karin had always been mediums. But Dad was blind to ghosts. Maybe his mother had had some Shiba blood. "Well, what do you want?" he demanded instead, to cover up any doubt.

"I wanted to measure you up," Kaien says. "Aizen's been talking about you a lot and he's put a lot of effort into getting his hands on you. I wanted to see what the fuss was."

"Well, are you happy yet? Am I done being a dancing monkey for you?" Ichigo demanded.

"Chill, kid, chill." Kaien stretches. "The thing is, I didn't ask to wind up in Hueco Mundo. It's my prison too. I wish I was back in Soul Society. I wish I could see my family again."

"Well, why are you helping Aizen, then!?"

"Y'see," Kaien says, "not all of us manage to be reborn properly." He massages the back of his neck. "I guess it's to do with being killed by a Hollow while in Soul Society. Y'know that this desert's mid-way between Soul Society and the human world, right?"

"Uh huh." Ichigo vaguely remembered that Urahara had mentioned something like this. Or maybe it had been Rukia. Either way, he wasn't going to look dumb.

"Well, I think I got lodged in it. When I woke up, I was lying in the desert with a mouth full of sand. And this gnawing pain in me. My spirit's polluted by whatever happened to me. Not quite a Hollow, not quite a shinigami. Notice how I ain't got mask fragments, unlike all the others? I'm not the same kind of thing as the others. They think I'm a gillian, and I do some things to make sure they believe that." He winks roguishly at Ichigo. "That's where the rumours of cannibalism come from, kid. I get rid of Hollows who need to pass on, and tell the others that I ate them. Makes me super scary and stops them investigating what I get up to in private too deeply. I need my privacy, yeah? I don't want them asking too many questions about what I'm up to."

"Then we can get out of here!" Ichigo snaps. "Come on, we can work together to get back to Soul Society!"

Kaien shakes his head. "That path's closed to me. The Central 46 would execute me. Aizen's the only one who won't kill a Hollow-tainted shinigami on sight."

"No, things have changed!" Ichigo says. He slams his hand into the wall, denting it. "All the old men and women are dead. Soul Society's now being run by old man Yamamoto."

"And he hates Hollows," Kaien counters. "I heard there were other shinigami who get taken over by Hollows. I heard that Yamamoto killed the ones who weren't fast enough to get out. Burned them up on the execution hill himself."

"I met the others, though! The Visored! They hang out in the human world! We can go to them, then! They can help you get this under control!"

Kaien perks up. "They do? You mean there's others like this out there? Still alive?"

"Yeah!"

"Huh. Do you know where they are? I… this changes things. This changes things a whole bunch."

They talk of the Visored for a bit, and Ichigo thinks he's getting through to Kaien. He certainly hopes so. If he could get one of the Espada to defect, Aizen would have lost one of the ten strongest warriors he has - even if it's just the ninth - and the info that they could get from him might be priceless. That and he'd be able to escape. That'd be great too. Especially if Kaien could get his sword back for him.

"Well, you certainly gave me a lot to think about," Kaien says, at the end of things. "But we should talk more later. I don't know if I can trust you yet, but… I want to believe."

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"One more thing." Kaien reaches out and rests his hand on Ichigo's forearm. He's cool to the touch. "I heard from our meetings that you know Rukia."

"What's that to you?" Ichigo bristles.

"Easy, kid. Easy. I don't mean no harm." He sighs. "I trained her, you know. She was one of the best students I ever had."

"She'd be pleased to hear that." The corners of his lips turn up. "A bit too pleased, really."

"Hah! Well," Kaien massages the back of his neck, "if you see her again... send her my best. I hope... I hope she's doing well. I don't know if it's safe for us to meet, but I'd like to. I wish I could see her again, though. Somewhere safe and private. Aizen and the other Espada would suspect me more than they already do if they knew I was meeting with shinigami, and Rukia mustn't put herself in any more danger."

"Hah, yeah." Ichigo grins, forcing some of his old cockiness to the surface. If he acts like he isn't a prisoner, he isn't. Not really. There are bits of him they're not going to let him chain. "I already took on all of Soul Society for her. I'm not going to let her waste all my effort."

"That's the attitude, kid. Don't let this place get you down. Stay strong. Don't let it in your head. And keep mum about this chat, eh?" Kaien says. "You can't trust the Hollows in this place. Remember they kidnapped you and they've got their own plans for you. Any of them could be Aizen's spies. You know how much he likes mind-games. They'll try to get close to you, try to be your friends, try to tell you that you can trust them. But don't let them fool you. They're just Hollows at heart. Hollows can't be trusted, Hollows don't have friends, and the only reason a Hollow gets close to you," he leans in, "is so they can eat you up.

He turns to leave, picking up his helmet.

"So stay safe, friend."

Click to shrink...

This is a really strong omake, and a very plausible one to have happened.

I'm not sure I want it to be canon because of how it affects Ichigo's character arc by making him indirectly responsible for the Visored Raid and the death of someone he knew and acknowledged as at least an ally, if not a friend. That would have a big effect on his actions going forward, once he discovers it.

I'm going to give it 50xp for quality and length, but like the above, I'll be thinking about it some more before I decide whether to canonize it.

 

[Alectai]

I'm... Reasonably sure that Adjuchas to Vastro isn't something you can power level to. Or that you can get with some moment of enlightenment.

Instead, it seems to happen when a powerful Adjuchas forgets what they are, loses their identity once again. But has built up so much power in their shell that they don't just fade away.

And instead, something new gets up in its place. Something mighty, because it's no longer a chorus of souls, all of the boundaries that prevented them from merging fallen with the mental death of the dominant mind.

Hence why there is no such thing as a Vastro who can remember being anything other than what they were. Countless souls become one again, because there is no longer any distinction between them.

EDIT: There's the round up!

375 total, enough for Master Bala and some change, or go get within 50 XP of Master Res.

Either way, it's progress!

 

[NSMS]

I'm... Reasonably sure that Adjuchas to Vastro isn't something you can power level to. Or that you can get with some moment of enlightenment.

Instead, it seems to happen when a powerful Adjuchas forgets what they are, loses their identity once again. But has built up so much power in their shell that they don't just fade away.

And instead, something new gets up in its place. Something mighty, because it's no longer a chorus of souls, all of the boundaries that prevented them from merging fallen with the mental death of the dominant mind.

Hence why there is no such thing as a Vastro who can remember being anything other than what they were. Countless souls become one again, because there is no longer any distinction between them.

Click to shrink...

Er... where are you getting this from? Because the only Vasto Lorde we've seen explicitly shown in-quest isn't described as suffering memory loss or problems or anything like that until they became an Arrancar (Starrk and Lilynette), and I don't think we have any information on how any of the others transitioned. Have I missed something massive, or something?

 

[Nexusflamehart]

*Looks at EXP*
*Tallies it up to 375*
*Looks at Res*
*Cries*

50 EXP less than the next Res level, well played master moth

 

[Alectai]

Er... where are you getting this from? Because the only Vasto Lorde we've seen explicitly shown in-quest isn't described as suffering memory loss or problems or anything like that until they became an Arrancar (Starrk and Lilynette), and I don't think we have any information on how any of the others transitioned. Have I missed something massive, or something?

Click to shrink...

Lily told us that she mostly heard the early story from others I thought?

But meh, it's just me spouting off ideas in the end from memory, while I'm bored at work.

 

[NSMS]

Lily told us that she mostly heard the early story from others I thought?

Click to shrink...

They lost their memory on becoming an Arrancar- prior to that, there's no indication that they had any problems (it's still crying for its dead friends after the transition, for example):

"The thing came back. And the grass went black where it stepped. And the silver leaves… What's the word? Tanned? Tarnished. They got tarnished. Green and black and they fell. And the trees became quartz. And the wolves looked at the garden dying, and asked the thing why, and it did not understand. It tried to explain. It tried to apologize. But the wolves just cried. They cried and cried and cried and with their tears went everything inside them. And when they stopped crying they were just hollow pelts on jumbled bones. And they were dead. And the thing was alone. So it started crying too. And in crying, it changed. Its transformation was complete: it had the power it had wished for, and nothing to protect with it. So it left the ruins of the garden, still crying, and every tear burned a hole in the sand where it fell, 'cause even its tears killed, even its sadness was murder. It wandered and looked for another home, another place, other friends. And when it found some, they died. They all died. It was alone. Forever."

Click to shrink...

But meh, it's just me spouting off ideas in the end from memory, while I'm bored at work.

Click to shrink...

Eh, fair enough.

 

[TheLurker]

Oh cool, those canon omakes could allow for some really hilarious au!manga reactions, as well as being really well written in their own right. I especially loved tesla's comment at the end about how both he and ichigo seem to have a thing for taking care of people who can't take care of themselves.

 

[Eiral]

@NSMS
I personally think that during the trasformation into Vasto there is some sort of battle royal of the Adjuchas character traits. In the same way during the Gillian stage a single soul subjucates all the others, during the Adjuchas stage one of the chatacter traits subjugates the others, creating a completely new personality that revolves around that trait.

 

[NSMS]

@NSMS
I personally think that during the trasformation into Vasto there is some sort of battle royal of the Adjuchas character traits. In the same way during the Gillian stage a single soul subjucates all the others, during the Adjuchas stage one of the chatacter traits subjugates the others, creating a completely new personality that revolves around that trait.

Click to shrink...

I think we've far too little information to make any kind of real guess, personally. The one example we do have is a partially second-hand story that doesn't even seem to involve a- for lack of a better description- 'typical' Vasto Lorde (seeing as there's no indication that other Vasto Lorde unavoidably insta-kill everything around them with the weight of their presence alone). And that's not really much to go on.

 

[Phigment]

@Omicron

My 75 XPs into High Speed Regeneration.

 

[Eiral]

I think we've far too little information to make any kind of real guess, personally. The one example we do have is a partially second-hand story that doesn't even seem to involve a 'typical' Vasto Lorde (insomuch as that term can ever be applied to one), since there's no indication that other Vasto Lorde unavoidably insta-kill everything around them with the weight of their presence alone, and that's not really much to go on.

Click to shrink...

It's an headcanon I created from Ulquiorra's backstory in Unmasked. The only difference that all the Hollows in the pit have is the shape of their horns/ masks so I think it was different aspect of the personality Adjuchas Ulquiorra had. It would explain the alien mindset the Vastos have respect to the rest of the Arrancars, and it would explain the pit as ascension sheningans. Because as much as Hueco Mundo is full of weird stuff, the mysterious pit that spawns baby Vasto Lordes that look pretty much the same is too absurd.

 

[persivle]

I think we've far too little information to make any kind of real guess, personally. The one example we do have is a partially second-hand story that doesn't even seem to involve a- for lack of a better description- 'typical' Vasto Lorde (seeing as there's no indication that other Vasto Lorde unavoidably insta-kill everything around them with the weight of their presence alone). And that's not really much to go on.

Click to shrink...

Before alphonse made him the robe barragan had so little control over his age you to death field that he literally evaporated part of the black sea and nearly killed findorr who he was trying to recruit. Or that could have been part of the no canon pirate findorr omake, it was like 1200 pages ago.

 

[Omicron]

Barragan never had Starrk's omnikill spiritual pressure, but yes, before he had his robes his Senescencia tended to flare up with any emotion, so he couldn't exactly be a King because mild frustration towards one of his subjects would turn them to a pile of dust.

 

[NSMS]

Before alphonse made him the robe barragan had so little control over his age you to death field that he literally evaporated part of the black sea and nearly killed findorr who he was trying to recruit. Or that could have been part of the no canon pirate findorr omake, it was like 1200 pages ago.

Click to shrink...

Not the same thing; Barragan had an ability that killed people around him by ageing them to death, whilst proto-Starrk just had such massive reserves of energy that the passive leakage from them alone would kill everything around him. To put that in perspective, the only other time we see something like that happening is when half the Captains (including Yamamoto) and almost all the Lieutenants in the Gotei gather into one spot preparing for a fight.

It's an headcanon I created from Ulquiorra's backstory in Unmasked. The only difference that all the Hollows in the pit have is the shape of their horns/ masks so I think it was different aspect of the personality Adjuchas Ulquiorra had. It would explain the alien mindset the Vastos have respect to the rest of the Arrancars, and it would explain the pit as ascension sheningans.

Click to shrink...

Interesting idea, but there's not really anything to back it up. And I'd also struggle to call Starrk and Barragan 'alien' in their mindsets.

Because as much as Hueco Mundo is full of weird stuff, the mysterious pit that spawns baby Vasto Lordes that look pretty much the same is too absurd.

Click to shrink...

*cough*

'Too absurd'

You... do remember what series you're talking about, right?

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[Eiral]

Not the same thing; Barragan had an ability that killed people around him by ageing them to death, whilst proto-Starrk just had such massive reserves of energy that the passive leakage from them alone would kill everything around him. To put that in perspective, the only other time we see something like that happening is when half the Captains (including Yamamoto) and almost all the Lieutenants in the Gotei gather into one spot preparing for a fight.
Interesting idea, but there's not really anything to back it up. And I'd also struggle to call Starrk and Barragan 'alien' in their mindsets.
*cough*

'Too absurd'

You... do remember what series you're talking about, right?

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Click to shrink...

I'm on mobile so I can't see any of the images exept for one that belongs to the TYBW, I belong to the crowd for which it doesn't exist.
Absurd is perhaps the wrong word, I mean "completely agaist what we are told/shown in canon", I mean Vastos are incredibly rare and unique hollows, exept for this pit that's full of the things and they all look the same