As Tuilendra and Hesiodio tried to climb to her feet, you let your reiatsu burst out of you in a storm, just as Adamus had done before. The power circled around you, reinforcing all aspects of you. This was it, your every step in training had been leading up to this moment.
"Pressure Release-"
Your reiatsu burst outward from you, filling the room.
Involuntary soul crush: DC 118(!)
Tuilendra: 8+11+40 (Reiatsu), -24 for 59 turns
Hesiodio:18+14+30 (Reiatsu), -24 for 56 turns
Veni:16+18+46 (Reiatsu), -16 for 38 turns
…While you could have rolled bluff (DC 20) to restrain this from hurting your allies, I believe the -16 to your opponent was worth it. Plus, you've never had to restrain this power before.
The wall hit Veni like a typhoon passing by, it even slammed up against the wall that was shielding the emperor and the high lords and made it shake slightly.
This was amazing. It was like what Captain Aizen did before, only now you were in control. In fact, while it was only slight you felt that your reiatsu was even stronger than Captain Aizen's had been during the Kido lesson.
You directed your orbs at your target, and your doubles summoned their own orbs to send them in. Your pressure release had given them that power and you could now swarm the battlefield with orbs.
"Ha… ha-" The hollow-masked rebel still tried to laugh under the weight of your reiatsu before it tried to gain its second wind.
As it did though it tried, and failed to evade your orbs which were glowing so much brighter now.
His reflex save: 16+18-16 (Soul crushed), fail.
Damage: 20d4+80, 131
As the orbs burned around him, you thought that would be the end of that. The orbs you could summon along with your doubles could now hit every possible angle of an opponent, robbing them of any hope of escape.
You can only fit 20 orbs in a 5ft square, even though with the three doubles you have out making it so you can effectively command 36 orbs at once
Even so, you were surprised to see the hollow-like rebel still alive as he stepped through the orbs. Granted the orbs had dealt massive damage. His body was disintegrating under their holy onslaught. But then you noticed something strange, his wounds were repairing themselves. Something like a hollow's high speed regeneration? That had been why he wasn't appearing to take damage during the fight so far, he was just healing up.
This needed to be dealt with quickly, before he had the chance to recover!
You'd settle this yourself! As your doubles commanded their (27) orbs to surround him, you ran in and charged reiatsu through your lance.
"Kalina!" You heard Hesiodio call from the ground where he was stuck "It's over now, you can stop!"
Panting, you slowly pulled your orbs away. Even now their body was regenerating, but the mask had fallen away from what you could see of his face.
Regeneration means he takes all damage as non-lethal which can stack up as high as it wants. He would restore 5/turn but from the damage you just inflicted it would take around 18 minutes for him to wake up again. That said, as the battle has now ended, his regeneration has just deactivated so any further damage within those minutes could kill him.
The wall that was protecting the high lords fell away, you saw that Meginheri looked the most impressed of them, though that might be your use of the Ruby Nightmare Blade as a finishing move. He was meant to be a master of that style, wasn't he? Along with being Sigubert's father.
The emperor looked decently impressed. That golden colouring though… nobles looked more metallic than commoners and as you knew, holy power tended to look gold. So was this some sort of result of his power?
The high advisor was unreadable, and the other two high lords were keeping a resolute expression.
"Now, next generation of Terra Knights." The emperor intoned "Carry out the execution of the defeated rebel."
You had just been doing that before Hesiodio had stopped you.
Endymad was the first to stand and join you by Veni who lay dazed on the ground, his wounds were recovering much more slowly now the battle was over but he would still recover in time.
Natural healing would have him wake up in about 4 days
The five of you stood around the defeated rebel. Despite the pain he had inflicted… none of you had performed an execution before.
"Father." Endymad spoke, looking to the emperor "Why wouldn't a public execution be performed. At this point it would kill him."
The emperor didn't react to his son's words at first, but after a moment, he looked to the High Advisor and asked "What do you think Ilistor? Which would have more impact. My son stopping the terror attacking the palace? Or us having captured the enemy leader to put to death before the crowds."
The High Advisor gave a slight smile "My lord, I believe the second would only make a martyr of him when the word spreads. If instead he is a monster that had to be bravely faced by your own son, they would have less of a leg to stand on."
They had likely discussed this before from the sound of it, they were just speaking aloud for the benefit of you and your classmates.
Preventing a Martyr from bringing more rebels into existence would be good. When the rebels disrupted the peace, only suffering was the result. They should be known as the monsters they were.
Right?
…
Hesiodio nodded at hearing that and stepped forward. One by one, you and your classmates stabbed into the defeated rebel.
None of you knew who's blade dealt the final blow.
Most of the rest of the day was a blur. You returned to the Academy to rest.
The day came to an end, and the next one dawned.
In the afternoon, your graduation was held.
"Rise, Terra Knights of the new year." The emperor announced, raising his fist into the air."
Great cheers filled the palace's throne room where your entire class stood in a line.
The postings were waiting for them in letters delivered by the palace staff after the graduation as you all hung around a different great hall in the palace.
Your class was splitting up now.
Some were going to the Igneous order, both to protect and to finish training to unlock their own Pressure releases. Others were joining the royal guard, or special operations. Tuilendra was joining the medical corps but surprisingly so was Kryako. It was apparently the main posting for mages and the place to train in order to become an Archsage.
Hesiodio was taking a posting offered to him at the edges of the empire. Shimotenhara. That was in Japan so he'd be able to walk with you as far as there before you headed to the surface if you wanted.
Some of the nobles like Helenria were just going to return to their family estates to pick up the skills to be the next heirs in case something happened to their family.
Between all of this, no one except you took a position as a surface agent. They knew what it meant and no one was in much of a hurry to return to the surface.
Around you, squires, Gaians who instead of going to the academy trained under a terra knight, were being assigned. None came to you though. You'd be leaving alone.
Soon you'd begin your trip. You'd stop by your home village one last time to speak to your old friends, then you'd carry on to Alterosten. After that you weren't sure. You'd go to the surface either in Japan or else somewhere in asia. After that… well, travel anywhere you want to go.
Was there anything specific you wanted to do during your last trip through the empire below?
[ ] Write in (As many things as you want could be mentioned)
[ ] Just do what's already planned.
Wow that Pressure release is broken. It does two main things: boost your orbs (both damage and difficulty to avoid) and gives your doubles the power to summon their own orbs which allows you to easily hit the 20/square cap.
We're coming to the end of your time here in the empire below, after this it will just be a few filler missions while waiting for the sister quest to get its act together already.
Also, for the sake of choosing which filler missions to offer, where are you interested in travelling once you have freedom?
And so in the late summer of Gaian year 3998, about 22 years after her birth, Kalina began her trek into exile.
…it should be noted that due to the speed at which Gaian's age, "22" was seen as little different than "18" or "19" to humans. You were an adult now, but a young one.
First you took one more look around the capital. You couldn't stay long due to the nobles getting antsy but you managed to spend a few hours more there at least. You saw your friends off before departing with Hesiodio.
Helenria was taking a carriage and while you probably now had the power to outrun a carriage, doing so would only cut down on the amount of time you had left in the place you've called home up until now.
That wasn't to say you didn't use the run and flash step trick, just that you only used it for eight hours a day. It still took nearly a week to reach home village once more in order to speak with your friends and parents.
This might well be your last time in Byzaloom. Like before it hadn't changed that much but it had only been a year since last time you were here so that wasn't surprising.
Constantos and Lyrian were surprised when you told them about the exile, though you did swear them to secrecy first of course.
You thanked them for being good friends to you in your childhood and you wished them well in the future. They wished you the same. Lyrian even promised to compose a song for you. She'd heard the public story of how the rebels in the capital had been defeated and promised to write an "epic verse" as she put it.
Your parents weeped for you, clutching you close. Even so there was nothing they could do for you. At least they'd had warning for this day. Each gave you a trinket to remember them by. Your father gave you a carved wooden bracelet and your mother gave you a small silver ring. Neither were magical in any way but you happily wore them both (left arm for both, as the ring might get in the way of your spear skills.)
You spent a day and night there. Your final visit home.
The next morning, you and Hesiodio set off again. Last time you'd gone to Alterosten it had been by carriage but this time you both jogged there using the running mixed with flash stepping trick.
Even doing that for eight hours a day, it would still take you most of a month to reach Alterosten. Twenty days or so.
As you rested between runs, you and Hesiodio talked about all the sorts of things you'd do. All the places you planned to go.
While there wasn't an easy road between Shimotenhara and the new world, Hesiodio said he intended to visit it now and again mostly because it would be way easier for you to meet him there. You'd have to set up times to do it and things like that though. That said, japan would be far enough too.
For your part you were quite interested in the new world and its version of the soul society so you could probably head there easily enough if you wanted. You also wanted to see how the Solars were settling in by heading to Africa again. If possible you were also considering exploring other spiritual planes like Albawaabat Alburunzia or Hueco Mundo. Those might be quite tricky though.
Beyond that you wanted to look into China and Australia, oh, and to learn about all the spiritual races you've heard about like the Bounts in central Europe.
And you wanted to look into what the humans had been able to do too. Like those guns that the rebels were wielding. Those were interesting. Or just modern tech in general.
All of it was a whole new world for you to explore, somewhat literally!
Visiting any unfamiliar spiritual plane would likely require a native of that plane to act as a guide, so you'd have to start with somewhere familiar.
Eventually you made it to Alterosten and were invited into her family's Manor fortress for something like a "Going away party."
This would likely be the last time- wow you were really thinking that sort of thing a lot now you reflected on it. Regardless-
The noble you'd met and become friends with before even starting your training would now continue down a path separate from yours. It will be sad to separate at last but you wished her the best.
After you left (after a night spent in the manor's comfortable beds) you continued on east to Shimotenhara.
This would be a journey worth another few weeks, about a fortnight. You and Hesiodio even fought some Tsuchigumo hollows as you were travelling, but with your combined strength they weren't even worth the attention of a fight. Not during the montage at least.
Your first difficult trial as a student is now just becoming a side note on your travelogue.
Finally you reached Shimotenhara. Red flowers bloomed throughout massive caverns below the ground. It was a wonder in itself that these wide caverns didn't collapse in on themselves. They were miles wide with no forms of support at all.
Eventually you reached the city itself. It actually looked quite like soul society in a few ways, if anything the style was a little older- if soul society was "Edo" japanese then Shimotenhara would be "Heian."
"Well…" Hesiodio smiled sadly "This is where we part ways."
You'd be taking a pod up towards the surface and from there you'd be making your way out into the sunlight to start the exile. This would be the last time you'd see each other, maybe for years.
…What was there to say to him.
"Stay strong?" You offered him "And don't do anything too stupid?"
He laughed and nodded "And you, well… all I can say is don't let your power do too much damage. Humans are more fragile than us, as are their buildings."
Fair advice, fair advice indeed.
The nearest shuttle station was one of the faster ones as this location was near where three tectonic plates met. That meant that once you got your paperwork signed you could head off immediately.
You were going for a straight shot up, no diving into magma for you. You still got a pilot assigned though as you hadn't taken any lessons to learn how to pilot one of these.
"For the last time."
You were really caught up on that, each step you took was a step you were taking "for the last time."
This might well be the final one of those steps, the final journey in a pod.
So be it.
The pod shot up towards the surface and docked at the village station above. This village was known as "Yoana" (黄穴).
As you left you headed out of the village and towards the surface
There was a small seal between the cave and the surface, a boulder that required great strength to move. It must weigh about 53,683kg. It was this seal that meant the cave was undiscovered by humans because it was impossible to get heavy machines into the cave to move it.
It was in theory impossible for Kalina to move either, as much as you shoved against it, it wouldn't move, not even a budge. However-
The small boulder rolled as you pushed on it with a chunk of your strength. You were able to squeeze through the gap it left before pushing it back into place with another burst of reiatsu.
Now you was in a short and stubby cave which had sunlight streaming in from one side. Quickly crossing over to it, you found yourself in a garden of those same red flowers that were growing in the depths. Well it probably wasn't actually the same flower. A similar breed.
What were they called? You'd seen something about it below.
"Red spider lilies."
Humans and Gaians apparently had different thoughts on what the flowers meant, though you didn't know the details on either side.
The sunlight shone down on you from the sky as your appearance shifted, a human-like facade you had learned to create over the last year.
Human terms might describe you as looking middle eastern in complexion, but you had been trying to go for a universal appearance so you wouldn't look out of place anywhere. It hadn't really worked though.
Regardless, here was where your journey really began.
In human time, it was late summer of 1998 and you had a world to explore. Where did you want to go first?
[ ] Australia (What could be there?)
[ ] China (What could be there?)
[ ] North America (Maybe you could meet some agents?)
[ ] Africa (Make your way to the Solar village, it is on the opposite side of the world though)
[ ] Eastern Europe (To look for Bounts, it's quite close to germany though which is quite close to the area above the capital)
[ ] Write in (Just in case I forgot anywhere you're interested in)
And so begins filler. It's not a true bleach quest until the filler shows up. Meanwhile I will encourage readers of this quest to become voters for the sister quest. It will have an update anyway tomorrow but after that if we can keep a good pace, maybe we'll only need one filler arc of this quest?
Also just in case it wasn't clear in the chapter, the spot you emerged into the surface from is at Yomotsu Hirasaka. Look it up if you want.
...And so ends the use of Trails music in this quest. Well, we might always see it again, but now your school time is over it will be less common.
Turns out, the human world had travel papers. You had been given some human money but your first actual task had been to find a forger who could make you a believable identity as a human.
You had been given directions to one who was decently well known to the supernatural world. Apparently well known really. You'd never heard of him before.
His name was Tsuchigumo, or at least that was what everyone called him. What had possessed him to use the same name your people used to classify a group of hollows was beyond you.
Heading over to him took a short journey across the country.
It took two days of eight hour travel to reach Osaka. After spending a night in a hotel there-
…Apparently somewhere along the way it seemed you were given much more money than you'd expected. You were loaded. Able to afford a really high class room in the top hotel in the city.
And it didn't even take that much out of your funds!
In the morning, you headed over to the place you were told you were meant to go to in order to meet Tsuchigumo.
It was a small shop in a back alley. Tsuchigumo was your first real look at a spiritually aware human (that wasn't a quincy). He was tall and lanky with hair and skin on the darker side of his kind. He didn't look like he was native to japan but it looked like he blended in with the population easily enough.
"Greetings wanderer." He chuckled "Feel free to drop the facade here, I've heard about you."
He was speaking Japanese but in a way that made it sound slightly strange. You couldn't really say your Japanese was much better but it was another clue he wasn't native.
Dropping your human disguise, he got a look at you.
"Good, good. Best be honest before breaking laws." He chuckled again "I've heard from your people that you'll need papers, yes? I'll help set them up."
You went over the details you'd need for the forgery. You had some trouble working out a name.
"It's fine-" Tsuchigumo nodded, writing 'Jane Doe' in that line of the documentation "If you need it changed, just come talk to me again."
Wealth check: 5+26, pass
Due to this being an expensive purchase wealth score has dropped by 1
You picked up your forgery from him in the morning.
"Where are you planning to go if I may ask?" Tsuchigumo asked as he handed some of the items over, others would need to be submitted to the government.
"As of now?" You shrugged "Australia might be nice. I haven't heard about much down there."
"It's a land overseen by the living Hououza and the Dead Shinigami." Tsuchigumo answered simply "The biggest threats you'll face there would be hollows I expect, they have a Jūreichi there on uninhabited land. You'll have to ask my relatives there if you want to learn more."
"Your relative?" You asked and he nodded.
"Yes, I have quite the big family. Look for one named Purlkartu, she lives in the west of Australia. She'll tell you more, for a price."
Accepting his advice, you next headed towards an airport (after reapplying your disguise of course). Booking a ticket was easy enough, and as it turned out your wealth was such that a first class ticket didn't even cost that much to you, relatively speaking.
Wealth check: 9+25, pass
Due to this being an expensive purchase wealth score has dropped by 1
The only question where you wanted to head first, did you want to head to the west like Tsuchigumo advised to hunt down his sister to ask for information, or did you just want to look for that info yourself.
You had time to kill and you could sait your curiosity with your own research if you just headed for the largest city and started asking around.
So, which airport were you going to?
[ ] Perth (In the west)
[ ] Sydney (In the east)
Oceania vacation time! Ha, you wish. I wonder how long it will take you to get caught up in the filler questline. Also, from now on your leadership can start mattering. If you find people who could be your companion and who'd be willing to travel with you, you can attempt to recruit them.
Bit of a shorter chapter, but we just needed something to start this arc.
You decided to do any investigations yourself, so you flew to Sydney instead of going to meet up with the informant.
The flight over was quite something. High in the air in a small metal tube. Humanity's version of the Terra Pods in a way.
You leaned against the window, looking at the clouds below. Was this the sort of sight ancient Kami had seen? Was this how the Lunars and the solars had seen earth from their homes?
You landed in the evening, though before the sun had gone down entirely. The air was warm, if not too hot with night coming.
The first thing to do was check for various other factions. Australia should be well within the Shinigami's territory, though figuring out where exactly they were based would be difficult. Australia didn't exactly have Shinto temples all over the place, and something made you suspect that Agents wouldn't want them making a base in any kind of abrahamic place of worship.
The best way to meet one then would probably be to wait until you sensed a hollow and follow it around until a Shinigami showed up. Though not tonight, tonight you should find a place to stay.
As before your funding was great enough to cover the best class of hotel in the city.
Relaxing upon the soft bed with a bag of food brought from a nearby store you began to relax. The food was something you had been curious about in general. Compared to the empire below, food was way cheaper here. It was so cheap it was barely even an expense.
Lots of it was good, some of it was a bit bizarre and one or two items were fantastic.
The idea that you could have three meals every day for the entire time you stayed in the human world was a boon you'd never even considered before.
You added it to the mental list of things you wanted to do: A culinary world tour. You had the money for it after all.
After eating dinner you allowed yourself to sleep and in the morning you were awoken by the rising sun through the room's massive windows. It was the second most beautiful sunrise you'd ever seen. The only one that was better was the first one you'd seen which had the advantage of it being a new thing at that point.
Well, while you looked for a hollow, you might as well do some tourist-like activities.
Walking through town, you did occasionally see things that just didn't seem normal- humans with odd skin colours and animalistic features. Mostly it was red-skilled humans with bird wings but there were some other combinations too like pale skin and cat features and even some that looked mostly human but with short stubby wings who carried what looked like weapon cases with them.
You didn't approach them for now. They didn't feel like hollows but you wanted to find the Shinigami to discuss matters with them before confronting the unknown.
Besides, there weren't many of them. Maybe one in five hundred people or so? Mostly you spotted them while in crowded areas. They didn't take any particular notice of you but you were doing your best to conceal your reiatsu so it's possible they thought you were just a normal human with your disguise on.
You visited various appliance stores, clothes stores and food stores. You brought yourself a proper suitcase to help you bring stuff with you as you travelled.
In the afternoon, you visited the beach. The sun was warm and there was a brisk wind. Around you humans played in the sand.
You felt a hollow coming, though not from where. There were some of the strange bird people around the beach and they all reacted to the hollow's reiatsu too.
Some of them began calling out that dangerous Jellyfish were washing up and that people should get off the beach to keep themselves safe.
Ah, an evacuation effort, likely to make things easier for the Shinigami when they showed up. Hollows couldn't hurt people in the crossfire if the people had been evacuated ahead of time.
You watched from the top of the sands as people raced away from the lapping waves which didn't have any sorts of jellyfish in them.
Eventually, one of the bird humans ran over to you too "Please miss, it's dangerous here, move away."
Let's see… How did you want to do this?
[ ] Point out you can see their wings and that there is a hollow coming, and ask to join in.
[ ] Agree to leave but stay and hide somewhere nearby.
[ ] Just leave, you don't want the hassle of these bird people learning about you before you learn about them
Sorry for the delay. I forgot that all the votes had come in. Then I remembered to check, learned they had and forgot to write the chapter (and that the votes had come in at all) again almost every other day since. In my defence: I was distracted reading another story. I'm just posting now because I refuse to let it be another few days before I remember again.
"Sir." You said a polite greeting as you began standing, "I can see your wings."
The man blinked in confusion as you continued "I feel the hollow coming too. I am spiritually aware, may I be allowed to help?"
The bird man's face went through a lot of emotions very quickly before he shook his head "No, it's our job to keep you safe. Even if you are spiritually aware- and on that note are you not registered? You don't look like any of the spiritually aware humans we know about?"
You looked out towards the sea, that was where the feeling was coming from "Can this wait until later? The hollow's nearly here."
In a flash you materialised your spear from the beach's sand- it hardened into sandstone before morphing into the more familiar construction of grey stone and wood that you were used to.
The bird recoiled slightly but nodded, muttering something about 'Fullbringers' before turning with you towards the waves.
There was a creature surfacing between the waves, a great shell breaking and splitting the water.
A huge, hollow, turtle.
Initiative:
Kalina: 4+18
Bird people (Group of 5): 8+11
Turtle: 8+9
You leaped over a pair of beach chairs as you ran down towards the coastline, while you did so you brought up your defensive aura.
This was your first fight with your disguise on which gave you a few surprise limitations: Unless you dropped the disguise you couldn't use your innate ability or Terra abilities. That said you could still use your spear, your kido and your blade arts. That should hopefully be enough.
The bird people began flying towards the shore too. One of them, some sort of squad leader, called out.
"All forces, unleash your Hybrids!"
"Roger!"
They all began calling out "Hybrid" and releasing blasts of reiatsu. Ah, this was something like their version of Shikai was it?
Before they could launch any attacks, the turtle splashed out of the water like a flying fish. It landed on the sand and began crawling along it, flippers morphing into clawed legs.
It struck a blow across you as you were entirely out of position to defend properly.
While the bird man who had been attacked by the turtle retreated, the others moved in. You saw one whose wings turned to ice and another one opened some sort of portal between it and the space next to the hollow before quickly moving through and attacking.
Bird's full attack
First strike: 10+11
Hollow's defence: 15+21
Second strike: 12+6
Hollow's defence: 18+21
Its wings were like swinging blades in a way, coated with fire (Other than that one's who were ice). Even so the hollow took no damage from the portal user who called out.
"It's really tough, bring your best!"
Another one flapped over after that to try and strike.
As the claw moved, it looked like the bird person's eyes sharpened and they dodged quickly, so quickly it was like they could track the movement of the claw as if it was in slow motion.
Tail (Against the portal user) 7+11
Their defence: 13+11+4 (Aura)
You shot away from the attack using the enhanced speed reiatsu could grant you.
How should you do this then? You knew the turtle's skin and shell were incredibly hard from the discussion the birds were throwing around. Given that… Emerald Razor would probably be the best option, empowered after the fact by a blast of reiatsu to punch through the armour.
Well then, let's go.
"Stance of clarity!"
You let the world vanish around you. In this world there was only you and your opponent.
Your spear flashed as you struck forward, reiatsu glowing green along it.
However even with that, your spear strike was deflected. You didn't let your focus dip but that did bode poorly for the fight.
You heard chatter from the bird people calling to each other but it blended into the sounds of the worlds around you as you focused only on the hollow in front of you.
Attacks targeting the hollow.
Enfeebling strike: 20+11
Crit confirm 12+11
Hollow's defence: 13+21, hit but not crit.
Damage: 2d8+3+10 (reiatsu), 10
Enfeebling effect: 1 STR and 1 DEX damage dealt too
Two wing strikes from the portal user.
First: 17+11+2 (Flanking with you)
Defence: 17+20
Second: 13+11+2 (Flanking with you)
Defence: 12+20
The turtle lashed out in many directions, some which seemed to you to be unoccupied, but you knew that if you stopped focusing it was likely the bird people would have been there.
Hollow's full attack:
Claw (Against the one with the enfeebling strike): 15+16
Their defence: 7+10+6 (Enhanced Sensory Input)+4 (Aura)
Damage: 4d6+11, 27
Tail (Against the portal user) 3+11
Their defence: 8+11+4 (Aura)
You were able to dodge carefully as you considered your options again. So, Emerald razor hadn't worked. The beast was fast.
The "funny" thing was you suspected this fight wouldn't be that hard if you had your orbs. But you didn't with your disguise up.
Well whatever. You quickly did some calculations. They basically boiled down to "Could you do more damage if you kept trying Emerald Razor or by just unleashing reiatsu-empowered attacks?"
…Normal attacks were probably cheaper.
Your full attack:
First: 10+14+10 (Reiatsu)+2 (Flanking with the unseen bird)
Hollow's defence: 14+20+5 (Reiatsu)
Second: 19+9+16 (Reiatsu)+2 (Flanking)
Hollow's defence: 8+20+14 (Reiatsu)
Damage: 3d6+2+16 (Reiatsu), 15
Attacks targeting the hollow.
Enfeebling strike: 13+11+2 (Flanking with you)
Hollow's defence: 8+20
Two wing strikes from the portal user.
First: 1+11+2 (Flanking with you)
It seemed they still weren't helping that much. The problem was one of baselines. Sure, you could break through using reiatsu in various ways and you had more reiatsu than the hollow but there were too many overlapping defences that even if both of you were reduced to low reiatsu, you wouldn't be able to break through him ending in a loss.
As the turtle lashed about, you tried to work out a route, a route that could lead to victory even if you were exhausted.
Hollow's full attack:
Claw (Against the one with the enfeebling strike): 10+16
Their defence: 14+10+4 (Aura)+15 (Reiatsu)
Tail (Against the portal user) 3+11
Their defence: 3+11+4 (Aura)
So, what was the plan? How could you expose a weak point that would allow you to finish this? Its shell deflected blows before they could land and absorbed the power of blows that did land. You had blade arts that could prevent one or the other but not both at the same time.
…Wait, but what about…? It had been a long time since you'd intentionally used this in a battle instead of it just being a side effect but-
You gathered your reiatsu pressure, forging it into a surge you could slam down onto the hollow.
Soul Crush: 5+22+44 (Reiatsu)
Hollow's resistance:4+6+30 (Reiatsu)
A difference of 31, -8 for 31 turns (About three minutes)
"Go now!" As your reiatsu poured out of you to empower the surge, you called to the unseen birds "His reiatsu will be exhausted and he's been weakened! You only have moments!"
The other bird people came into focus as you looked for them to see what they did. The one with ice wings was still pointing and muttering.
"Fall damn you, fall and end this!"
Hollow's will save: 11+18-8 (Soul crushed)+4 (Action dice)
No one was able to land a decisive blow though. Even so the soul crushing would remain in effect and it would drain the hollow as it had to defend. It lashed out, but slower.
Hollow's full attack:
Claw (Against the one with the enfeebling strike): 18+16-8 (Soul crushed)
Their defence: 4+10+4 (Aura)
Damage: 27
Tail (Against the portal user): 17+11-8 (Soul crushed)
Their defence: 8+11+4 (Aura)
As the remaining bird people tried their best, you saw a new one move in, it's wing sharp like a blade. Charging in it slashed with the wing and left a mark on the target.
Oh? It was something like the Shikai you'd seen in soul society? The one that killed if it inflicted enough hits. That would be excellent… as long as they could strike the same spot again a few more times.
The hollow leapt forward to continue striking at you.
Hollow's full attack:
Claws (Targeting you): 12+15-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 14+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
Bite (Targeting you) 18+10-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 2+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
Tail (Targeting the assassin): 7+10-8 (Soul crushed)
Their defence: 15+11+4 (Aura)
Since you'd used your second wind already, the reiatsu you had now was quite limited. On top of that the hollow's mask wasn't even cracked yet. You were losing this battle of attrition.
The question was if you were fine revealing your disguise. This fight would shift quickly if you had access to your orbs. That said… you still weren't sure if you wanted to release your disguise when you didn't know the relationship between the Gaians and the bird people.
Besides, the point of the disguise was that it was meant to stay on unless there was no alternative.
How long had this been going on so far? Thirty seconds or so? How long would you need to wait before Shinigami support arrived? Would the Shinigami even have a way to break through this incredible defence?
As far as you could tell there were two "Winning moves" already on the field. Whatever Ice wings was doing and the assassin power. Whenever Ice wings tried to do his thing, you felt a burst of reiatsu as the hollow quickly threw it off. So maybe if you open the way…
Stepping back, you chant.
"Chains bind your spirit, Your joy is impossible, you can always fail! Bakudo number twenty eight: Tekase Zetsuboo Shimasu!"
Hollow's will save: 15+18-8 (Soul crushed)+15 (Reiatsu)
He missed the same point but that just gave him more targets to hit.
At the current rate, this really was the best way to drain his reiatsu quickly. If the turtle was left without the energy to defend itself then one of the winning moves could finish it off even if you were exhausted in the process.
The hollow kept pushing forwards, one footfall at a time. It threw out attacks in all directions.
Hollow's full attack:
Claws (Targeting you): 16+15-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 11+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
Bite (Targeting you) 9+10-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 18+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
Tail (Targeting the assassin): 15+10-8 (Soul crushed)
Their defence: 7+11+4 (Aura)
Due to your soul crush, it had to carefully use its reiatsu. Any reiatsu it used to attack couldn't be used to defend. It wouldn't take the risk in attacking you when your Kido and ice wing's ability might spell doom for it.
"Chains bind your spirit, Your joy is impossible, you can always fail! Bakudo number twenty eight: Tekase Zetsuboo Shimasu!"
Hollow's will save: 9+18-8 (Soul crushed)+10 (Reiatsu)
Meanwhile the portal user seemed to be… charging up further? Like an extra second wind? Whatever it was, it made him feel strong. There was a lot of reiatsu charged up inside him now.
The hollow was focusing on you so as you backed up at an angle, you drew it away from the assassin so it could only hit you.
Hollow's full attack:
Claws (Targeting you): 13+15-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 13+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
Bite (Targeting you) 16+10-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 9+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
Tail (Targeting you): 18+10-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 18+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
The symbol that was forming was something like a bird. Or at least the figure of one. The first two hits became a pair of wings and this last one had become a tail feather. The hollow still wasn't dead though so the figure was incomplete.
The hollow continued plodding towards you, seemingly ignorant that it was almost trapped.
Hollow's full attack:
Claws (Targeting you): 10+15-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 6+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
Bite (Targeting you) 12+10-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 17+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
Tail (Targeting you): 6+10-8 (Soul crushed)
Your defence: 10+18+4 (Aura)+2 (Stance)
Each swipe dodged nimbly. You felt it moving through your aura and you were able to shift away like dust in a beam of sunlight when you tried to catch it.
This would be your final chance though. After this you were out of reiatsu for spells.
So be it.
"Chains bind your spirit, Your joy is impossible, you can always fail! Bakudo number twenty eight: Tekase Zetsuboo Shimasu!"
Hollow's will save: 7+18-8 (Soul crushed)+10 (Reiatsu)+6 (two action dice)
After that it ran down the shelf towards the sea. In only a moment it would be able to leap into the depths. Once it was there you could never hope to catch it.
But you were tired. Your reiatsu was exhausted and you had no options left to use.
"No!"
"You won't escape!" Ice wings yelled as he flew up and pointed "Fall, not to safety but to your doom!"
When it failed, he yelled out "Everyone, OPEN FIRE!"
All those who still stood opened their wings wide, flying up into the sky and unleashing blasts of fire like scorching rays.
In fact, it is literally them using scorching ray as a spell-like ability
Three birb's left. Portal, assassin and the one that you pointed out you could see the wings of, who'd been holding back because his abilities were largely support.
Three shots at +10+15 (Reiatsu), 10,19,13. Or 35, 44 and 38
Hollow's defence: +15, needs at 20 to dodge any of them. 10,3,10. All hit
Damage: 4d6+15 (Reiatsu), 15, 11,20
The others seemed to want to do the same, but their leader had to call it into base first.
"Yep, turtle hollow." He was speaking on the phone "Huge, heading back out to sea. Are there any Wanizame about who could finish it off?"
There was a pause as he listened to the reply before he sighed.
The bird person who had come to speak to you earlier flew down next to your heavily breathing figure on the sand.
"Human, or whatever you are. Thank you. Things would have probably gone a lot worse without you here."
"Your gratitude is appreciated." You got out between pants "But I rather want to rest now. Can you tell me where to find your base so I can talk to you later? And the base of the Shinigami? Because for now I just want to go back to my hotel room?"
They were gracious enough to give you both addresses and they even called a taxi to get you back to your hotel. Once you were there you collapsed onto your bed to rest.
Right now… you just had to rest.
You ended up sleeping the rest of the day but when the sun rose the next morning, you were able to get out of bed. You still felt a bit of lingering fatigue but you were basically back at full strength.
The only question was where you wanted to go first?
[ ] The Shinigami's base (They apparently rent a floor of a large building)
[ ] The Bird people's base (They have a full compound in the desert)
[ ] Somewhere else (Write in)
It's finally done! *Sigh of relief* This battle took a while to run. Hopefully it teaches me not to give an enemy too much defence again. Funnily enough at the end of the battle the turtle was only missing about 24% of its HP, but as there were two save-or-die effects pointed at it, it realised it was doomed. The ice user's ability was basically an infinite use version of the Feeblemind spell.
Right, the bird people were the first ones on the scene yesterday and their base was apparently much bigger so it was possible they were the ones in charge of the region. Based on that it was best to head that way first.
After a breakfast in the hotel (and that still excited you even though you'd spent a few days on the surface now) you headed out into the desert.
The term desert made you think of the sandy desert you'd seen in Africa but Australia's wasn't like that. It was cooler and wetter to start with and the ground wasn't great dunes of sand. Instead it was red flat lands covered by an ocean of small shrubs.
The bird person compound was apparently a few miles out in the desert, though not that far really. Just twenty miles or so. At your running/flash step speed it would take… about two hours and twenty minutes?
Hmm. You considered taking time to improve your flash stepping skill. That would certainly speed up runs like this. That was something for later though.
As you ran, you pondered how they could travel to and fro from the city. They reacted faster than the Shinigami who outright have a base there. Maybe they just have a lot of patrols?
After running for a large chunk of the morning, you ended up seeing a fenced off compound in the distance. As you approached you saw that it looked like… woah. At first it had just looked like a small fenced off house but as you approached you had crossed some sort of barrier it had morphed into something like a small japanese castle.
You approached and guards stopped you.
"Halt, who goes there?"
"A traveller." You held your hands up "I was told that I had to register my presence here as I am spiritually aware. Besides, I don't know much about your kind and wish to learn."
"...hmm." A guard grunted "alright then, you can come in to register."
You headed inside, accompanied by another guard to a reception desk where you went through the basics.
"Name?"
"Kalina, though my papers say Jane Doe."
The receptionist (She was less birdlike than others you'd seen. Human face and body but she still had a pair of wings sticking out her back) nodded and looked up.
"So you're a fullbringer miss Kalina? That's what our agent reported."
"No, ah. I don't actually know what a fullbringer is. But I'm not one. I'm not even human. Do you mind if I remove my disguise?"
That got a surprise out of everyone watching. The receptionist nodded with a surprise though and you let your disguise melt away to reveal a form that in some ways was more inhuman than even the birds'.
"I am a travelling Gaian, on a journey of my own." You reported "And I kind of wanted to know what was going on in Australia spiritually."
The receptionist nodded slowly but quickly sent a message up the chain for someone more important.
The kid who showed up looked to be about fourteen to sixteen in human years. Like the receptionist though he also looked more human.
"Hey there, my name is Rude. Heir to my clan. If you want an introduction to what's going on in our neck of the woods there is none finer."
He gave you the brief description. They were Shikoukenjin. You had heard about them on and off throughout your training so you hadn't really known what they were. These people were a special group of Shikoukenjin called the Hououza. Also known as the vermillion phoenixes.
He took you on a tour as he continued to explain, the guards and passing members of his kind speaking up when he forgot things.
Shikoukenjin protect the living in the same way Shinigami protect the dead. They prevent Hollows from impeding on the lives of normal humans. Different clans of Shikoukenjin live across the world but Oceania (and southern japan along with the south coast of africa sometimes but not always) are under the Hououza's decree. Australia specifically is the Hououza home base that they hold power in.
The discussion shifted from one of introduction to one of questions. You asked about the turtle hollow from before. Did they need help hunting it down?
"We've called the Wanizame, that's another clan of Shikoukenjin for reference, in to help hunt for them. They are shark-like and are more adept at hunting aquatic hollows than us and likely you."
That was probably fair. You had no training in aquatic combat.
After your introduction, he asked you if there was anything you wanted to do now.
Hmm… Questions.
(Feel free to ask as many as you want in a plan vote)
[ ] Ask them about the story you heard about from the Shinigami (The Jigoku escape war)
[ ] Ask about other types of Shikoukenjin.
[ ] Ask if there are any jobs you can help with.
[ ] Write in your own questions.
Hey look, it's Rude. I will take this time to point out that you're currently in the past relative to the sister quest. Rude showed up in the sister quest's Hiroshima arc which takes place a few years from this quest's present.
This chapter was a bit short but I wanted to offer questions. The suggested ones will be ones I expect you to want to ask anyway so I'm just trying to see if that's right or if you want to ask anything more.
As you walked, you began by asking about the Jigoku escape war and got told basically the same story you'd been told before.
There was a sword called the "Ten-Seigenken" The heavenly sword of restriction. Its protector was Suzaku, a member of the Hououza, the very people you were speaking with now. Specifically it was "Suzaku Sanashikaga." Suzaku is a sacred name to their people as it was also apparently the name of the first of them, though much of that has been lost to history.
Oda Nobunaga broke into Azuchi castle, where she was staying and slew her to steal the sword. However, Hououza possess the ability to be reborn in flames so her people were able to get to her and revive her. She swore revenge on Nobunaga.
When Nobunaga escaped from Jigoku, Soul society worked with all of the clans of Shikoukenjin to defeat him once more. When he was returned to hell, the Shikoukenjin followed him in to set up an ancient seal that had been mentioned in one of their history books.
The seal used divine power to seal away a being in Jigoku, divine power that the Shikoukenjin had trouble using. In order to ensure the seal worked, three clans of the Shikoukenjin agreed to perform the ultimate sacrifice- to let themselves be sealed in with Nobunaga to ensure the seal was kept powered.
Those clans were the Mamushi, the serpentine guardians of north africa (So that's why they weren't there to help with the solars!), the Sasori, the scorpionida guardians of India and the Henpuku, the batlike guardians of South America. It's said that they still stand at their posts in the deepest level of Jigoku, holding back Nobunaga's escape.
"What are the other clans?" You asked "I'm not sure I've ever heard the full list."
Rude gave the quick rundown.
First were the four "Great clans." They are said to be the eldest amongst all of the Shikoukenjin.
Kirinketsu, children of the azure dragon
Tora, children of the white tiger
Shougakubou, children of the black turtle
Hououza, children of the vermillion phoenix
Then the lesser, but still full, clans.
Tatanka, children of the white buffalo
Sugmanitu, children of the fenris wolf.
Shirokuma, children of the man-like bear
Jinchou, children of the emperor of ice
Then there are the lost clans, as mentioned before.
Mamushi, children of the order-obeying evil god
Sasori, children of the stinging goddess
Henpuku, children of the death bat
Lastly there were the outer clans, clans that had, for one reason or another, refused to participate in normal Shikoukenjin affairs. They still protect humans from hollows and the like but they have certain disconnects with the other clans.
Suzume, children of the tongue-cut sparrow. Act as mercenaries for the other clans
Icra, children of the singing dolphin refuse to have a base, basically just do their own things in the oceans of the world
Wanizame, children of the boat-sized shark. Lack a base but still works alongside the alliance
Uiba, children of the spider that stole stories, went missing as a clan a few hundred years ago, individual members can still be found but their leadership is MIA.
"And that's it." Rude finished "15 clans."
You nodded and after a fair amount of other things you got on to the next question.
"When I came here, they seemed familiar with Gaians, what's the relationship between you and the empire below?"
"When Gaians come to the surface, we do what we can to assist, we are all working to protect humans out here after all. Or at least to stop hollows, right?"
"But no actual relations?"
"No." Rude agreed "Your people really like to keep to themselves, and there are few Shikoukenjin that would enjoy it down there. Maybe if they were still around, one of the lost clans would have been in charge of diplomacy. The Sugmanitu might know more, your capital is in- or rather under- europe, right?"
"Right."
"Then what about with other races?" You asked.
Rude shrugged "We have cordial enough relations with the Shinigami, but there is little else in Oceania. This is one little corner of the world that seems to have been forgotten about. We do seem to have more hollow visits than normal but that is likely just because of Australia's Jūreichi."
A Jūreichi, as you'd been taught in the academy, was an area of ground where spiritual energy was concentrated. Humans born there are more likely to be born spiritually awakened or to achieve such a state later in life. They are also attractive to hollows as the souls of such people are a delicacy to them.
"Where is the Jūreichi by the way?" You asked.
"Ayers Rock and a large area around it." Rude commented "It's one of the largest Jūreichis in the world by surface area."
You reached a seating area and sat down as you moved on to the next thing.
"Do you need help with anything? I can offer my services while I'm staying in australia."
Rude paused and looked to one of the other Hououza that was standing about who began to answer.
"We could ask her to help with the Mad Djinn?"
Rude nodded, turning to you.
"How much do you know about Djinn?"
"That they're a more war-like version of the Shinigami that live in their own world, elsewhere in the Dangai?"
One of the other minders spoke up to help Rude.
"That is essentially right, if a bit sparse on details. Nevertheless, a Djinn came through to the human world a few weeks ago. He seems to think we're responsible for wronging him in some way and he's quite strong as he repels the people we send to try and talk with him or arrest him."
One of the others spoke up.
"Djinn are a devouring species, similar to Hollows in a way. They can grow stronger by consuming another's soul. That said, unlike hollows they aren't feral so even if Soul society has a standing order to oppose Djinn, they aren't seen as such a major threat as they generally only eat other hollows."
Rude took over "The Mad Djinn, as he's known as we don't know his name, has only been attacking hollows for now but we worry he might start trying to eat us if we aren't able to stop him soon as he's pushing himself into a frenzy over whatever act he thinks we committed."
You nodded, getting the idea "You want me to try and talk with him, figure out what's wrong and get him to stand down or go home?"
The young boy nodded "Essentially, though if it's possible to resolve his problem then it would be good if you could take care of that too."
Well then, it looked like you had a job.
You should probably keep your strength up, just in case there was a fight with this Djinn. So sparring was off the table. You could still ask after a Kido user to talk shop. That trick they'd done before with those burning rays was interesting.
What did you want to do at the Hououza compound before leaving?
[ ] Talk with a kido user (about what?)
[ ] Try to go shopping (What are you looking for?)
[ ] Ask any further questions (What sort?)
[ ] No, just head off.
(Feel free to do a plan vote if you want to do multiple things.)
I wonder if you'll be able to spot all of the origins of the different clans. What do you think of all this BTW? You've already seen some of it from the sister quest but here is the "full story" in a way.
Before going on the mission, you wanted to talk shop with one of the local Kido users, just for the sake of your own research.
The compound had a specific building set aside for spellcasters and it was run by a Hououza who was referred to as a "Spellslinger."
The old bird carried a staff with a carved avian figure at one end. You asked him about it and he said it was called a "Totem."
"I'm surprised to hear that the Gaian empire doesn't use totems." the old man admitted "Maybe it is simply your kind's relatively poor use of Hado, since totems do little to boost Bakudo or Reido."
"What does it do though?" You asked.
The old man stroked his chin. "Well, it's an amplifier of spiritual ability, you understand how channelling a weapon with reiatsu can increase the damage it does against enemies, correct?"
Indeed, though your training only went into the short-term version of that. Generally speaking though as your skill improves, more reiatsu can passively empower your spear. Your spear is able to do more damage to hollows now than when you started learning, even if you don't put all your strength into it.
"Totems, or as the Shinigami call them items of power-" The old man continued "Allow the user to do the same with spells, taking even the most basic of spells to higher levels. A skilled person with a totem could use a first of second grade Hado and make it do damage two or even three grades higher."
"Hold on," you asked him "Shinigami can do this? I never heard of that when I visited the soul society."
The old man nodded "Yes, I believe they are only used by the Kido Corps though, they're outside of the normal squads so you might have missed them."
You'd never come across anything like totems or items of power in the Gaian library so it was interesting to learn about this. Maybe the Solars would know, you could ask them when you eventually made your way over there.
Additionally, you asked about the rays of fire you'd seen used in the battle against the turtle hollow. The old man laughed though.
"That wasn't Kido, that was simply an ability we possess. Though I will admit it mimics the effects of Kido."
He put his other hand on the staff, concentrated and then let it go. The tip of his staff was now glowing brightly.
"The power is called vermillion soul, what you saw in the battle was its offensive use- blasts of fire that shoot towards an enemy. What I've done here is its supportive use- creating a long-lasting light. In some ways the light is similar to the effects of Bakudo 05 or Reido 11, but it requires no reiatsu for us to use. It cannot be taught though, as it is part of our beings."
You learned a few more things while you were there too. Shikoukenjin could apparently start learning Kido earlier than Gaians, though not as early as Shinigami. Maybe a year or two after their training starts, instead of the case where Gaians were lucky if they could start learning earlier than six years.
After you were finished talking shop it was time to take on the mission to find and hopefully calm down that Djinn.
You weren't great at driving and they thought seeing a Hououza might set the Djinn of more, even if he was acting as your driver. The result was that you had to run.
He was over a day from the compound so you were given camping equipment and a supply of food and water (even if you didn't need that).
On the second day, you began searching for reiatsu signatures.
In the afternoon, you sensed a reiatsu of a type you'd never felt before. As that was probably him, you ran off in that direction.
He felt… maybe a bit over half your strength? Though that might say more about you than it does him. Besides, there were more forms of strength than the raw amount of reiatsu you had to throw around.
Your hide reiatsu: 1+16
Djinn's sense reiatsu 20+6
As you looked at him, you considered that another reason Djinn might be better liked than Hollows is that they didn't look like monsters. Or at least they didn't look as inhuman.
The young man sitting by the fire had skin of bronze, not the metal though- it looked like a normal skin colour (Compared to the Hououza's bright red skin at least). He had dark hair which had a pair of horns poking up through it. There was also a haze around his body as wisps of smoke blew off of him.
He was dressed in cloth wraps of a style quite unlike any you'd ever seen before.
As you watched, he spoke suddenly. The accent was unusual too. Exotic in some ways.
"I let you approach, because you didn't feel like one of those birds or the deceiver's kind, but you will tell me who you are."
He stood up and turned to face you and you saw he had some sort of hilt at his waste- a sword with no blade. Unusual, maybe it formed from the elements like your spear.
Regardless, he had noticed you. You stepped out from the bushes.
The Djinn didn't seem mad, but there was anger in his expression.
Let's see… How did you want to handle this?
[ ] Explain why you came in full, and ask for an explanation.
[ ] Hide the fact the Hououza sent you on this job, and just try to get info from him.
[ ] Skip the talk, fight him (non-lethally) and get the answers out of him after the fight.
[ ] Other, write in.
And you meet a Djinn, though you don't know his name yet. Now the question becomes "Can you sort out the problem he represents properly?"
What else should I mention then… Items of power? To be more specific in how they work, normally your racial weapon scales with your skill level. Your spear does an extra dice of damage for every five ranks you have in the weapons skill (1=1 dice, 6=2 dice, 11=3 dice, etc). Having an item of power lets you apply that sort of scaling to any Kido that does damage, though it is scaling of the spellcraft skill, instead of any of the normal attacking skills.
"I am a Gaian." You stepped closer to the fire and removed your disguise "And a partial exile from my lands."
…
"I've never heard of your kind." He admitted. He looked a little shocked by your transformation actually.
You gave him the simple explanation, how your people lived underground and mostly kept to themselves.
You shook your head after finishing.
"Though I'm basically a tourist right now, thanks to my exile. I'm just taking the time to learn about other cultures. When I arrived in this land, I met with the bird people on good enough terms-"
The Djinn looked up sharply, anger in his eyes and you had to quickly raise your hands.
"Please, I believe you must have had a misunderstanding with them, they really didn't seem that bad. Regardless, I'm still not with them. If they committed some sin, I'm ignorant of it and am willing to hear what it is."
He looked for a moment as if that wouldn't be enough, but your words did get through to him and he sighed.
"I'm chasing after one who I call the deceiver. When I chased him to this land, the Hououza attacked me. They are allied with him, and I can't follow his trail with them here."
"Why not?" You asked.
"He was heading towards that human city they guard, but I don't know where he went from there." The Djinn explained "And if I try to approach, the Hououza fight me. Due to their meddling, I might already have lost their trail."
You think about it for a moment, you're beginning to put the pieces together now, but there is still something you need.
"Who is the deceiver?"
"He claimed to be a Shinigami belonging to the 11th division, he had come to Albawaabat Alburunzia to do some research on our ways. We had no embassy for them due to poor relations in the past so he ended up staying at my house."
He paused and grit his teeth.
"One day, I returned to an empty house. Both he and my fiancée are missing and I find signs of struggle. I pursued him to the city's edge and then into the Garganta. Finally I end up here and follow his tracks, but get blocked by the Hououza."
Oh, he has a fiancée. You shook your head, that shouldn't be the first thing you noticed. You turned your attention back onto his story.
Squad 11 though? What were they in charge of again?
Combat skills and soul reclaiming. Not research. Well, they probably could do research if they wanted but if their primary duty was practising combat skills, this didn't really make any sense.
Then came the question of 'was this even a kidnapping?' Did the fiancée go willingly or was she taken? The Djinn seemed convinced it is a kidnapping but it could just be some form of cheating.
Regardless, you had more questions.
"What is your name? And the name of your fiancée?"
"I am Alishar, my fiancée is called Zumurrud. We met when I freed her from slavery."
…The Djinn practise slavery?
"Can you tell me about Djinn society? There seems to be a lot about it I'm ignorant of."
Alishar nodded "I will, but in return, may you help me get to that city so I can track the deceiver?"
You gave a nod, there seemed little reason to refuse.
Albawaabat Alburunzia, or the brass city, is a pocket reality within the Garganta. It is linked to the Dangai so practised Djinn can travel as they please. Many Djinn stay there, training for future battles. Others wander the world, seeking out hollows in the places no one else covers properly. For this they are reviled, many cultures fearing them for their tendency to devour souls while having an inability to send souls on to the next world.
The population of Djinn isn't very large, compared to some other races. Some of this is due to infighting and some of it is to do with how rare a child can be for them. Nevertheless their skill is such that every one of them has combat training, typically at least as much as a Shinigami who has finished their learning at the academy.
The culture of the brass city is one where might makes right, though with some controls in the form of basic laws. Killing a Djinn is against the bans, as are most forms of theft. Challenges over possessions are allowed though.
It is common enough for the weaker or younger Djinn to wander the human world specifically to avoid the battles common in the brass city, but eventually they suffer too much at the hands of those in the human world and return.
That was the path Alishar took, and when he returned to the brass city, he saw Zumurrud at the slave auction. But Zumurrud was a clever woman, she had managed to save up enough money to buy herself free, she just needed someone trustworthy to get it and use it. She had entrusted Alishar.
In the moments before Zumurrud would have been auctioned off into one of the harems of the strongest Djinn, Altishar returned and bought her with the exorbitant sum she had collected.
And that is how the tale went.
"We Djinn value the art of storytelling." Alishar added "But the tale is true. I did decide to leave the human world when I saw the hate it has for my kind, the judgement its people have of us. And Zumurrud's clever plan allowed me to free her."
After you'd been regaled by that story, the only question was what you wanted to do now? You were sure you were going to help him, but in what way?
[ ] Bring him to the bird's base and explain the situation there.
[ ] Just go straight to the city, and cover for him if anyone started something.
[ ] Ask him some more questions first (Which ones?)
[ ] Write in your own idea.
The Djinn draw a lot of their concept from the 1001 nights. Just because it seems like a fun theme to use. I wonder how many of the hints I slipped into this chapter though, not just of the 1001 nights but clues to what's going on in the greater plot of this filler. I pointed at least one of them out in the chapter itself.
Side note: Curse your amazing diplomacy mod, it meant I couldn't have a cool boss battle between you two before you were able to talk it out.
With a sigh you looked up "It's probably not as bad as you think. The Hououza do work with the Shinigami but they do not work for them. They probably had no idea about the crimes the Shinigami had done."
"How could they not? A Shinigami was bringing a Djinn through their territory!"
…Why? If a Shinigami was going to kidnap someone, you would have thought they'd just bring them back to soul society, not the human world.
Well, Alishar clearly believed they had come to the human world at least.
"Even so, they insisted to me, without a reason to lie that I can understand, that they had no idea why you were angry about them."
"Well what if they wanted you to try and fight me?" Alishar suggested "They didn't want you to know I had the right of it!"
You could see how he'd think that but you hadn't sensed anything like that from anyone in their base. They couldn't all have been expert liars or ignorant. There were honest and good people there who had just been misled.
"I don't think so." You noted "I feel like if I speak for you to them, they'll actually help you."
Alishar reluctantly agreed to try as long as you would help him fight through them if they were hostile. You didn't think they would be so there was no problem making that promise.
As the two of you began running east, you talked about the Shinigami. You hadn't seen that many while you were there other than the students so you wouldn't be able to identify them but you could at least discuss the issue.
"Squad 11 of the Shinigami, they focus on combat skills and reclaiming souls in the world. They aren't the sort to study things."
"Just another lie they told then." Alishar muttered "If researching was never their goal, they only came to take her."
Though why would someone from that group want to kidnap someone?
"What was he like, this Shinigami? Did he dress normally for their people?"
"No." Alishar noted "He was wearing a black robe over a white undershirt."
That sounded something like what Shinigami wore, the right colours at least for a non-captain. But the style of clothing was wrong.
"Any other identification?" You asked "Did you see his Zanpakutō?"
"His sword? Yes, it was a big sword, but I didn't see its released form."
"When you say big?" You began
You and Alishar stopped for a moment and he gestured.
"About this wide and this long." He said, using his hands to give a rough estimate. But he was describing a big sword. Far wider than most sealed-form Zanpakutō that you'd seen.
As you started running again, Alishar continued "It was also double edged."
A double edged Zanpakutō? Well, you had heard people suggest that the sealed form of the blade didn't have to be a katana, it was just the normal thing
How curious.
After running for a while, you both settled down to camp. You'd reach the complex tomorrow.
As you sat together under the stars, you pondered. Why kidnap a Djinn and take them through the human world? You couldn't really think of a logical reason.
Well, maybe one.
The basic idea was that "If you kidnap someone, you take them somewhere 'safe' from being found by those who would want to rescue them."
If a Shinigami wasn't taking them back to soul society, that meant soul society wouldn't approve. Or at least, they wouldn't publicly approve. But no, you'd been to soul society, could you really imagine them doing that sort of thing?
So some random Shinigami, acting on their own…
In the morning, you and Alishar set off again. It took you a while to reach the Hououza compound but as you approached you made sure not to hide your reiatsu so that they'd sense you coming.
"I'm back!" You called as the wary guards approached "It was really a case of miscommunication. He'd like to ask for your help."
"...really?" one of the bird guardians asked.
You explain the basics.
"A Djinn was kidnapped, he thought you were in on it because you tried to stop him."
The guardian hesitated "I mean, we probably had a good reason?"
"Regardless, we should probably talk to someone higher up again. We need to request some documents." You said.
They glanced at Alishar again. Did they believe you?
You found it quickly, though not in the way you'd expected.
Before you on the desk was a report from the docks. Someone who claimed to be a spiritually aware human had taken a ship away from the city with a lot of cargo (What sort wasn't actually listed in the document annoyingly). Now, with just that much information, it could be anyone. But, cross referencing other documents raised the question "Where had the cargo come from."
The man himself looked to be a fairly unreliable person from the records. He came here, stayed for a short time and left, that was basically what you had been planning to do with your holiday
But, nowhere did it say where he got the cargo from.
As you brought up that this was suspicious, the clerks helping your research agreed and sent a runner to the docks for information on what, as far as the normal humans were concerned, the cargo had been.
According to the manifest "Rare plants and research materials on them."
You tapped the paper. You couldn't be sure, there was no smoking gun- at least until Alishar was allowed into the research room and showed a picture of the "man's" face.
"That's him." The Djinn confirmed "No doubt in my mind."
Well then, the only thing to do was check where that ship was going…
Not Japan, as you might have first guessed…
Huh, not what you would have expected at all.
"San Francisco, America"
Well… that was something.
"We'll need to arrange a flight quickly." You suggested and Alishar agreed. One of the clerk's pointed out a problem though.
"He's smoking."
Alishar was indeed smoking, literally. And you remembered those no smoking signs from the airport.
"Djinn are creatures of fire, wind and smoke." Alishar pointed out "Of course I'm smoking, what about it?"
"They won't allow you on a flight." You explained.
The smoke may be thin but put inside a sealed space for long enough and someone will notice.
It seemed the best way to cross might just be to follow the mystery man via another boat, though you would certainly arrive after-
"No." Alishar muttered "I refuse to wait that long. I can fly, I will simply cross the sea."
"That's around twelve thousand kilometres!" One of the clerks objected, "You'd never make it!"
He'd fall unconscious at some point. Everyone needs sleep.
"Oh and a ship would be faster?" Alishar complained "When he's already gotten a head start on me?"
A clerk looked up after a quick check of the numbers.
"He departed from port roughly fifteen days ago, he should be about halfway there now, though you'd likely never catch up to the ship he was on, even if you could tell which one it was."
Damn it, if you weren't exiled from the empire below, you might be able to suggest you cut through there to make the trip faster.
There was. But you didn't like it. As a Djinn, Alishar could open a portal into the Dangai. Somewhere in the Dangai would be a path that could take a traveller to a different location in the world of humans.
Shinigami didn't need to come out in the same spot each time. While they did, if you remember correctly, need specially trained people able to direct their gates to specific locations, you could go from anywhere in the Dangai to anywhere else in a relatively short amount of time.
The problem would be finding the right point to try and exit at. In theory you could go literally anywhere with those Dangai gates, there was nothing to guarantee you even ended up in the human world. And it would require quite some hefty knowledge from you to even try to do this.
There was also another, another option. Ask the Shinigami for help. They'd deny it, since you had a Djinn with you and because you weren't a Shinigami. But if you could get them to go along with it, it would be a relatively simple matter of travelling to soul society and back again- except no it wouldn't because America is part of Heaven's authority so you couldn't do that.
One of these had to work, surely?
[ ] Go with plan A, take a boat, though you will be about two weeks behind whatever the mystery man is doing.
[ ] Try to do Dangai travel the hard (Read: Theoretically possible, practically impossible) way.
[ ] Try to talk with the Shinigami to get through
[ ] Ask the Hououza more, maybe they might be able to come up with something
[ ] Write in your own ideas.
So here's a challenge for you; a problem that only exists due to the fact that Alishar constantly emits smoke that planes wouldn't allow. I hadn't even thought about that until writing this chapter actually. As a note, I'll try and point out the problems (In character) with any plan you suggest, and I'll include that in the next chapter too, so feel free to get creative. Just be ready to change your votes (Or not, if you accept the problems with the plan) after I speak up.
