>>42167269
>"I don't think there's anything else. Thanks again."

>>42167269
>"How do I get along with Hiyori?"
Might as well hope for some tips!

>>42167269
>"I don't think there's anything else. Thanks again."

>>42167269
>"How do I get along with Hiyori?"
>"Can you tell me more about Zanpakuto?"

>>42167269
Ask about Zanpakuto.

>>42167269
There only time for one thing?

>>42167269
Voting over, writing!

>>42167806
Might get to ask more if we bring up something now, probably just Mushroom asking us if we want to move on through his character.

>>42167498
>>42167583
>>42167627
"Is Hiyori still around?" You ask. Urahara looks at you curiously, but answers anyway.

"Well, she will be returning to Soul Society in a few days. Why? Has she been giving you trouble?" The man's tone sounds almost tired, as if he's the parent of a troublesome child listening to the complaints of other adults. But trouble? Well, you can't really say that your apparent dislike of one another is some sort of trouble in and of itself, but it can very easily lead there.

"No, not exactly. She just... hates me. She really hates my guts for some reason. I was wondering how to get along with her." You say, and the Shinigami shakes his head.

"Don't take it personally. She's like that with... most people. Hiyori never shows what she really feels. She most likely doesn't actually hate you. I don't think it's possible to really 'get along' with someone like her." He laughs a bit before shaking his head again. "She's probably acting cold to you in order to discourage you from getting involved in things humans shouldn't be mingling in; and I can't disagree with her there. But she'll be leaving soon, so don't worry about building up relations with that girl."

He says that, but you get the feeling he simply doesn't know how. Hiyori never really looked pleased when she was around him, so they're probably not particularly friendly with one another, either. What a difficult person.

"And another thing, if you have the time..." You start with another question. Urahara nods for you to continue. "About Zanpakuto. Just... how do those things even work? I know that they aren't just 'swords'. I know they have their own names, and... that they're kind of like people, in a way."

(1/2)

>>42169071
The Captain scratches at his chin in contemplation. "There are lots of mysteries to those soul slaying swords, and explaining all of them to you would take a while. To be honest, in your case, I'm not sure where to even begin. The gist of it is that a Zanpakuto is a piece of the Shinigami's own soul taking the form of a weapon. That makes them one and the same, and yet because they are separated from one another, they both have a mind of their own. Even so, a single inner world connects the weapon and the wielder."

"The maturity of any given Shinigami can be measured by the strength of their unity with the spirit dwelling within the sword. A Shinigami is considered to have truly reached maturity once they have managed to learn the name of their sword, and with it, the ability to release the true form of their weapon. This release is called the Shikai. There are many ways to obtain the name of your sword, but communication with the split-off piece is practically a necessity. The most common way to communicate with the Zanpakuto is meditation, but, well, some have been known to obtain the names of their swords through more radical means, such as in the heat of combat..."

Urahara flicks up the cane in his palm, so that the bottom of it is facing the skies. He looks over the object with a thoughtful gaze. "It's all quite fascinating, really." He glances your way. "And you are breaking all the rules when it comes to these swords. All I can tell you is how things 'should be', and not how they truly might be, apparently," He sets the cane down. "I have my own suspicions as to why you have an entire arsenal of genuine spirit slaying swords at your disposal, but I won't be able to confirm anything until you are able to join my Division. But I can wait, so don't worry about me." He chuckles a bit.

(2/3)

>>42169106
The Hogyoku isn't your sword; he said as much himself. But you think that the concepts are probably similar to how the Shinigami interact with their spiritual weapons, most likely because he used Kimiko's sword as a 'base' for himself. You speak up. "Kimiko told me something along those lines, yeah. I tried talking to my sword, but it didn't go anywhere." The Hogyoku's not your sword, and you couldn't reach him through 'meditation' back then, either. You were aiming specifically for the weapon in your hands, and yet it didn't work.

"It takes most Shinigami years of training to even glimpse at the true forms of their Zanpakuto, and many more to learn their names - if they can do so at all - so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. And besides that... you may not have even possess the potential to truly use your own Zanpakuto at the moment. You are not a real Shinigami, so your real sword hasn't awakened yet... though I suspect that it might exist among the weapons you have. Even so, it will most likely remain mute until you get your own powers."

You nod. Well... that explains some things, you suppose. But at the same time, it raises more questions. You thought that the girl could have been your real Zanpakuto, but apparently not?

...

>Ask more questions. (Write-in).
>You're done here, say your goodbyes.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>42169185
>If Hiyori's leaving soon, it means they've found some other Shinigami to send here, right? Anything you can tell me about them?

>>42169185
>You're done here, say your goodbyes.

>>42169185
>You're done here, say your goodbyes.

>>42169202
I dunno, soon seems to imply it's not been decided yet, just that they're in the process of reviewing the incident in our town.

>>42169185
Voting over, writing!

>>42169185
>You're done here, say your goodbyes.

>>42169185
Still think not-Aiko is our Zanpakuto, but who knows.

>>42169202
>>42169238
>>42169411
You ask about the replacement that's supposedly coming in eventually, and if Urahara knows anything about it. He shakes his head; nothing concrete has been decided yet. But your question reminds him of something important.

"Ah, yes. Whoever the replacement is, they will be completely clueless about what goes on in this town. So make sure that it stays that way, young lady. Don't show yourself in front of any Shinigami in anything but your human form, or things will get complicated." He warns, though the tone of his voice makes it sound more like a threat.

You know just about exactly what he means by that. Your existence is a secret that only a few Shinigami know about, and they're all in on keeping it a secret from others. But if someone completely unrelated and neutral ends up finding out, things really would get complicated.

You're sure that Urahara doesn't want to deal with that sort of problem, either.

And to make sure that there isn't a chance of stumbling onto the truth accidentally, you'll have to take care of Paul before that replacement arrives. But thankfully, if the Hogyoku is correct, then you don't even need to leave your human body to solve that problem. You just need to actually get it done some time, though you can't say you're looking forward to it. It's still a risk, even if the means are supposedly simple.

"If that's all, then I wish you good luck, young lady. Farewell. Hopefully, there won't be any problems after this, and we'll meet when your time comes." He smiles and walks away, forgetting to use his cane at first. You keep a firm grasp on the cellphone he gave you, and flick the lid open just to check it out. Right now, it's turned off. You probably shouldn't mess with it until he sends you the signal that Kimiko is ready.

(1/2)

>>42170074
...Damn it, you should have asked for an estimate. You have no clue how long it can possibly take, and that's frustrating.

After the man departs, you hear Ren let out a sigh.

"We really don't do anything during these meetings, huh?" Ren laughs a bit in self-derision. The girl looks much more relaxed than when Urahara was around. "I feel like I'd get killed or something if I said something wrong. And that guy looked at us like we were about to jump him or something..."

"Really? He seemed pretty chill. You guys didn't have to be so nervous. You should have asked him if he had any questions."

Naoko speaks up. "No, he really did look like he was expecting us to attack."

You really didn't notice anything like that, but Naoko, with her sharp eyes, most likely knows better. She noticed that Aiko wasn't Aiko, after all. "He probably thought I'd attack him to get to Soul Society or something." You shrug.

...

>"...I wouldn't do something like that, though."
>"...And maybe I would have, if I was more confident about my chances."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>42170101
>"...I wouldn't do something like that, though."

>>42170101
>"...I wouldn't do something like that, though."

>>42170101
>"...I wouldn't do something like that, though."
She really wouldn't. But that puts our interactions with him in a bit of a different perspective...

>>42170101
Voting over, writing!

>>42170101
Maybe we can say that that's the trickiest part of all this, like brute force isn't the answer because even if Kimiko would be alright with us hurting innocent(ish) people to get to her (she wouldn't) "rescuing" her means nothing if it means we'd both be hunted for the rest of our lives.

>>42170573
Yeah, pretty much. Of course, series-Urahara shouls that being wanted by SS isn't necessarily too debilitating for living a happy life, but I doubt Clarissa and Kimiko could set up a swanky arrangement like he had.

>>42170242
>>42170186
>>42170173
"...I wouldn't do something like that, though." You say, which makes Ren smile for some reason.

You probably wouldn't accomplish anything by rampaging through another world, except for endangering yourself and possibly Kimiko. Of course, it's not that you've never considered the option. It often felt like it was the only way to get something done about this mess, but if the only solution involves that much risk, it's probably better not to take it and just wait for something better.

And maybe you do have something better now. Even if you don't manage to figure out a conclusive solution after talking things through with Kimiko, well, you'll at least be able to end things on a much better note. Of course, you're not talking about a permanent end of any sort. But if the only way to meet her really lies in waiting for several decades, then maybe you can at least make that wait less agonizing than it currently is. For both of you.

Ren grips your hand. "It'll all work out." She says, and you smile back at her.

You get off the bench and put the phone into a pocket. You feel both excited and impatient, so you need to do something to place this newfound energy somewhere. "It's the weekend, so let's go do something!"

Naoko and Ren stand up, following after you and smiling. It seems that your good mood alone is enough to cheer them up as well.

...

>>42171133
Today was fun. You lie down on your bed, texting about trivial things and today's events with your friends in a group chat. It's half past ten in the evening, and although you should probably be heading to sleep, you really don't feel like it. You haven't been spending as much time with your friends as you should be, so you're trying to make it up to them, and they seem happy about that, too.

Akemi chats with hard-to-comprehend and frequent speech, splitting three word sentences into four separate messages and littering everything with emoticons. Tomoko and Naoko are very formal, keeping to the proper grammar pretty much always. Ren and Moriko vary their style between those two extremes, though Moriko doesn't even send messages all that often. You suspect that she keeps falling asleep and is only occasionally woken up by the noises from her phone.

In the corner of your eye, you suddenly spot movement. Yet another black butterfly intrudes into your dimly lit room and hovers over your bed, trying to catch your attention. You reach out for it and let it land on your finger. Immediately, Urahara's message is transferred right into your mind.

"It's ready. You can do it whenever you like, young lady."

Your heart skips a beat.

...Really? Already? You can really talk to her right now?

You take the phone into your hands and flick the lid open. You feel almost scared to turn the device on... but at the same time, you can hardly wait. Should you really do it now? Is it okay? Is it really fine? Will you be inconveniencing her by calling so late? What time even is it in Soul Society right now? Uh...

...

>Do it now, of course!
>Give it a little time. You might waste the opportunity in all the excitement.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>42171154
Well, shit. That IS fast.
>Do it now, of course!

>>42171154
>>Give it a little time. You might waste the opportunity in all the excitement.

>>42171154
>Do it now, of course!
>...after psyching yourself up first. Stay calm, Clarissa! No freaking out now!

>>42171154
>Give it a little time. You might waste the opportunity in all the excitement.

>>42171363
Yeah...if time in SS is the same as the time here. I have no clue if it is.

>>42171154
Honestly I'm not sure how tired Clarissa is right now, but at the same time, the longer we wait, the more time there is for things to go wrong. Like what if Kimiko left it in her room? Or it buzzes when she's with her family? At least now she might be alone right?

>>42171426
Like I don't know why we shouldn't, unless anons don't think they're up to doing a conversation without messing up?

>>42171473
Well I wasn't planning to wait a LONG time, just think about it a bit first and let Clarissa calm down. But I guess Kimiko would know that Clarissa could call now so waiting might seem bad for her huh?

>>42171154
>Do it now, of course!
Waiting hasn't done us much favors, after some hesitation I'm cool with moving fast.

>>42171154
Voting over, writing!

>>42171595
I'm kinda nervous too, guess Clarissa's rubbing off on me!
How long has it been now since we last heard from Kimiko? Real time that is.

>>42171650
We haven't seen Kimiko since early may looks like. ~4 months!

>>42171650
>>42171762
I need to learn how to read! I didn't notice the 'real time' thing!

4 months huh...with how rapidly the dynamic between them changed in the last day or two in-story, I have no idea what to expect from our conversation with her. Enough time to forget the details.

>>42171309
>>42171161
>>42171572
You take a deep breath and turn the phone on. After a slight delay, the screen flares up, the device slowly coming to life. It's full of simple menus with very barebones user interfaces. You wander about and figure out how to make calls and send texts, and, looking at the contacts list, find only a single number. It's named 'Kimiko-sama', courtesy of Urahara, no doubt.

You get to the text-sending screen, and... just can't bring yourself to press any buttons. You don't know what to say, and even if you did, you wouldn't know how to say those things. ...Easy, damn it, take it easy and breathe, for crying out loud.

First of all, the password. You swallow heavily and tap the numpad, - it's a very old-school method of typing text - slowly putting your part into the textbox. How is this so bloody terrifying?

"I have my spoon." You mumble out loud, reading the end result. Now you just need to get yourself to send this... just... press the friggin' button already!

You do. A notification pops up to confirm that the message has been sent. And now it's just silence. Your eyes wander around your dim room, thinking of a way to spend your time so as to not lose it in the anticipation. Maybe if it's night in Soul Society she's currently asleep, so she might not respond until it's morning. Maybe she hasn't received or lost the phone somehow, or maybe it was taken away by her crappy family.

Maybe she doesn't even want to talk to you and you're just making wild and wrong assumptions about everything. Maybe she-

Your thoughts are interrupted by a noise coming from the device you're clutching in your hand. You glance at the screen, your eyes going wide.

"But what I really need is my fork."

>>42172272
This is the password.

Kimiko... responded.

And once again, everything turns silent. No further reply comes, and you can't bring yourself to write anything, either. This is... ridiculous. Could she be going through the same thing right now? Is that why she isn't saying anything else? Because this is just... laughable.

You want to scream. What the hell do you write, and why is this so hard?!

...

>Other. (Write-in).

>>42172272
>>42172289
Dropped my trip, but it's me!

>>42172289
>Are you alright?
Let's get to the most important thing first of all.

>>42172289
Tell her Clarissa's missed her, of course! And how worried she's been.

>>42172289
We could do things like say we missed her, but I think asking if she's okay is the right place to start off.
Eventually we could move up to asking why she left though that could be painful to do.

>>42172289
>Ask if she's alright.

>>42172289
Voting over, writing!

>>42172624
Moment of truth incoming, huh.
Let's hope she's nice! And has it nice!

>>42172333
>>42172394
>>42172477
>>42172371
"Are you alright?" You finally get yourself to tap the words in, letter by letter, and send it in. It actually takes a while to write something on this bloody thing. No such convenience as a touchscreen keyboard. Waiting for a reply is torturous.

The phone lets out a sudden beep after a brief while. "I'm fine, just really bored without you! And what about you?"

You smile. "I'm the same. I miss you! I was so worried. What happened?" You type. Man, this feels really formal and stiff, somehow. It'll probably get better over time, you think. After a fairly long pause, you get your reply.

"When I was going to Mayuri's, I stumbled into lots of Shinigami and was caught by a Captain. My orders were to leave Karakura, but I ignored them, so he was really surprised to see me still running around and told me to get going. I couldn't do anything. I'm really sorry for leaving you behind like that. I feel really awful for doing it. Will you forgive me?"

That simple, huh.

...

>Other. (Write-in).

>>42172948
Say yes of course, but ask for information about how she's no longer working as a shinigami. Did her family force her to resign, or are they actually protecting her from the punishment she'd face for disobeying orders?

>>42172948
>Of course I forgive you! Just wish I'd known so I hadn't been so worried. But, this Urahara guy said you were being held cooped up, what's that about?

>>42172948
>>Other. (Write-in).
"Always"

>>42172948
There's nothing to forgive! She couldn't help it. Yeah, I support asking about her situation, and what'll happen to her.

>>42172948
Voting over, writing!

>>42172948
>"I love you."
Cheesy but I'll risk it.

>>42173349
Even if it is true, which is debateable, I don't think the first time we say it should be through text.

>>42173638
Maybe not. It's emotional times though anon!

>>42172989
>>42173136
>>42173145
>>42173253
"Of course I forgive you! Always! And it wasn't your fault anyway." You think about sending it as is, but then you decide to add more stuff to it. You never know when you won't be able to message her anymore, so you should probably pile in as much stuff as you can think of in every text. The character limit is pretty small, though. "I just wish I knew what was going on. But still, I heard you were cooped up. Are you sure that everything's fine? Why are you not working as a Shinigami anymore? Did your family make you stop?"

You send it off and wait again. The reply takes some time. "They told me not to be a Shinigami anymore using the trouble I was in as an excuse. I wasn't in that much trouble, but they wanted me to sit safe and still, so I had no choice. I really hate them. I'm back to how it was before I became a Shinigami. They don't let me go anywhere or do anything. It's awful."

You linger with your response, aimlessly tapping the numpad in contemplation without actually pressing anything. The phone vibrates and beeps again with a follow-up reply.

"But it's way better now because I have you and I love you (∩˃o˂∩)"

A smile creeps over your face. This is... really cute. Makes your heart feel all weird and tingly in an incredible way. But at the same time, it makes you feel a little sad. You're literally a world apart from each other. This might be your last chance at talking like this for a long, long time.

...

>Other. (Write-in).

>>42173926
Somehow the idea of a Shinigami using emoji feels anachronistic...oh well.
>Why are you letting them decide what you do? Don't you have any rights in SS?

>>42173926
Hm. Ask what her family is like, like are they really strong physically/spiritually in addition to having political influence? If they're not, then I think we found a new victory condition.

>>42173926
>>42174028
Also type that we love her back I guess.

>>42173926
Yeah, ask if there's anything she can do to get out of this situation. And ask if she wants us to come see her I guess. She'll no doubt say no, but...

>>42173926
Maybe ask why they want her home. Like are they going to try and marry her off to someone?

>>42173926
>Love you too. But I want to see you Kimiko. And more than that, I want you to be happy. Is there anybody in your family on your side?

>>42173926
>>42174128
How about we first ask how a Senkaimon works? That way she can either explain or just go "oh Clarrissa no"

>>42174231
A whowhatnow?

>>42174250
The thing shinigami use to go to the Soul Society, Urahara said it involves a Zanpakuto which we have plenty, and a Hell Butterfly which we also have.

>>42174292
Ah, right. Yeah, that'd be useful.

>>42174332
It probably wouldn't be, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

Like my shitty plan is find some way of sneaking into the Seireitei, either by figuring out how Shinigami doing it and replicating it, or going down the dark dark path of beginning to duplicate Hollow abilities, including their means of dimensional transfer.

>>42174418
Well, there's no reason not to research it.

>>42173926
Forgot to close off the voting! Was writing, though!

>>42174418
And once there, instead of challenging the Seireitei to a fight, we instead sneak around through abuse of mind control, until we can mind control Kimiko's parents into giving her more leeway and letting her be a shinigami again, at which point Kimiko could be reassigned to Urahara's division where he might let her see us on a semi-regular basis as a means of placating us.

>>42174497
Mind control doesn't work on people with a higher amount of Reiatsu than a human.

>>42174497
Of course, someone will inevitably somehow use Clarissa as a smokescreen for their own plans, though I've no idea who/how/why. If we're phenomenally unlucky, it could be Yhwach himself.

Hey Mushroom, does Naoko know the Kaiser Gesang?

>>42174543
I dunno if Urahara would be so happy to leave Clarissa alone if he figured out that she was perfectly okay using MC willy-nilly.

>>42174559
Even I don't know what that is, so I'd say the odds of that are pretty low!

>>42174543
Pretty sure that's not true, otherwise using it on Paul would be impossible. We've just got to have more power than the person we're using it on, and the stronger they are, the more chances they have to notice or resist. That's why I'm hoping we're not dealing with the Kuchikis or Shibas or Shihouins, but one of the two royal houses which is still unnamed.

>>42174582
After Yhwach, creator and god-emperor of the Quncy, was defeated at the hands of Yamamoto about one thousand or so years ago there was a prophecy. In 900 years his heart would beat once more. And then in 90 years, his mind would awaken, but it would take another 9 years for him to regain his full power. And then, in 9 days, he would conquer the world once more.

>>42174575
Obviously we wouldn't tell him that. I don't know, I feel like there needs to be some fighting in this quest, but I'd prefer not to have brought it all on ourselves.

>>42174715
I can't see it being terribly tough for him to figure out even IF that plan goes off without a hitch.

I dunno, I do think we should try to go see her though.

>>42174028
>>42174128
>>42174183
"I love you too!!!" You considered putting an emoji here as well, but they're kind of a chore to put in on this numpad, so you decide against it. Instead, you just added a bunch of exclamation marks at the end. ...Maybe that's a little stupid. You probably shouldn't have done that. "But I don't really get what your family is like, Kimiko. Why are you letting them decide what you do? Just how strong can a dead family be?"

"I don't get a say in the matter, Clarissa. It's just how things are. And they're strong on all sides. They even stuck a Lieutenant-level (super high level) bodyguard to me and she's really boring and doesn't talk much. She sucks."

You don't really care much about the bodyguard, especially if she's as plain as Kimiko is painting her to be. There are probably more important things to talk about for the time being. "Can't we do something about it? Isn't there someone in your family who doesn't like what's happening to you? Why do they even want you around so much?"

"Lots of stuff. There's a boy that really seems to like me in another major family, so they probably plan to marry me to him when he becomes head of that family. I don't like him, though. And there's no way I ever will, not when I have you!!! And it will take centuries before the other head of the family croaks, so please don't worry!!!!!"

Her reply makes you smile again. She follows it up just as you're in the middle of making a new message. "And nothing can be done about it right now, Clarissa. You can't get to Soul Society, and even if you could, it'd be way too dangerous. Don't think about it even if you somehow can! I don't know how, but you can do anything, so I'm sure you'd do it, but don't!!!!!! Don't worry, I'll just wait until you get to Soul Society and we can both run away from them!! A hundred years is nothing"

...

>Other. (Write-in).

>>42174874
>Hundred years probably isn't much to you Kimiko, but it is to me. My perspective is still that of a human, even if I'm not fully human any more.

>>42174874
"It'll be my entire life. What do I do until then? Just live my life?"

>>42174874
Tell her we don't want to wait a hundred years for her. Then, maybe tell her about Gil and that stuff? I dunno how safe it is though, Urahara very possibly could have this phone monitored after all. Maybe if we don't mention the plotrock directly?

>>42174874
Try and make her understand that it's not nothing to us because we age at the same rate as a human. Like right now we're an adolescent, but in twenty years we'd be an adult and expected to have already had kids. Another thirty years after that, and we would be old and shrivelled. If we died then, how could we even feel as youthful as we do now? Like maybe confess that we're not as strong as she thinks we are, the first week or so after she left we could hardly bear it.

>>42175051
>If we died then, how could we even feel as youthful as we do now?
That's a good point, really. One of the things the setting just kinda glosses over, isn't it?

>>42174874
In addition to the rest, I guess ask her how she could stand living in isolation without any control of her life for a hundred years or more. Even for a Shinigami that seems extreme.

>>42175051
Like it's one thing to just say humans perceive time differently, but I want to try and convey the weight of those years to her, and even though we can do almost anything, we can't bear that weight.

>>42175135
Yeah that seems like a long time. Especially since I'm pretty sure all but the most powerful shinigami like Yamamoto and Unohana are older than a millenium.

>>42175149
Really what we'd need is permission to try and live a normal life until we could join her. Talk when we can, help when we can, but not treat life as an imposition.

>>42175196
You mean younger? Yeah, and I don't think Kimiko was more than a couple hundred or something? I know I'd go crazy in that situation within a week, much less a third of my life.

>>42175240
Yeah younger.

>>42175220
But Kimiko won't be able to live her life at all, so that's not fair.

>>42175361
Yeah, plus what if Clarissa was allowed to live her life, then fell in love with someone else with spiritual powers who she'd still be able to meet after dying? Now THAT would complicate things - if even Clarissa being with someone mortal wouldn't be enough to ruin things for them, which it probably would. And asking her to live a hundred years without love isn't a great idea either. I bet Clarissa would feel too guilty to even fool around as well, knowing Kimiko was living a joyless life waiting for her.

>>42175093
Well I mean, look at Isshin. Back when he was a Shinigami, he looked barely older than Ichigo, despite almost certainly being around for several centuries. But when he had his powers sealed and placed in one of Urahara's shockingly efective gigais, he aged twenty years, and his soul matched that age. The world wore him down then, and he was a shinigami first.

>>42175505
It's kind of frustrating, because if we do go to the Soul Society blood will be spilled, but I'm not sure if we can afford just doing nothing.

>>42175832
I dunno if the fact we at least have a lot of time is a good thing or a bad thing. Sure it's nice not having to worry about missing a time-limit to save her, but on the other hand we might need something like that to push us into action.

Well, we have gotten a bit better about that I guess.

Side-note, I kinda wanna know more about her bodyguard. I bet she could work her, become her friend and recruit her to our cause!

"A hundred years is just too much, Kimiko. I don't know if I can take it. I almost went mad in just one week, Kimiko. And besides that, I'll grow old. I just can't wait that many years. I need to do something now, Kimiko. I want to see you right now."

"Please endure these years for me. I don't mind if you'll arrive old at all. I don't care what you'll look like, because it'll still be you."

"But just how can you take it? How can you live in that kind of isolation? It hurts me to even think that you're like that right now."

"Of course it's awful. I hate every minute of it, and I often wish it'd all just end. But I always hoped that there was more to life than just sitting around like this, coddled into uselessness and sheltered from the whole world. Before dying, I wanted to at least see that world, and be able to tell for myself if it was worth the effort of continuing it all. And it was, Clarissa."

After a slight pause, another reply comes. "I wouldn't mind waiting for a thousand or even a million years if it meant that you'd come to me and we would get to really live, just like I've always dreamed. So please don't risk anything for me, Clarissa. Let's both just wait for each other. I don't want you to risk anything for me. I don't want to even think that there's a chance to lose you forever. So, please, don't do that. Just wait with me. I'll do everything for you and make the wait worth it, I promise."

"And I'm not asking you to stop living just for my sake! That's so selfish that the idea of it is making me sick. Live your life however you want, and don't even take a dead person like me into consideration. If you find someone you love, then that's fine, I don't mind at all! I know what living is really like, so I'd never take that away from you, and I'd be really mad if you stopped yourself from enjoying it. I don't want to be the reason for your misery. Can you promise me that I won't be? Can you promise to me that you'll live?"

...

>Other. (Write-in).

>>42176027
>That's selfish, Kimiko. Can't you see how asking me to leave you to your boredom and do nothing is just as painful to me as the idea of me dying or being in danger is to you? Even without the guilt, I would be unable to enjoy myself worrying about you.

>>42176027
We can't really promise that. Not yet, anyway.
Does she have any way to charge her phone? Even if she doesn't, it'll probably be discovered soon, right? After that we have no way to contact her. Shit.

>>42176027
"I can try."

We'll live alright. Doesn't mean we won't go see her, but we'll be alive at the time for sure!

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>>42176027
I'd like to end the thread for tonight, it's getting really late! I hate to interrupt it at a moment like this, but I can't help it! We'll continue the conversation next thread!

Next thread will be announced on twitter:
https://twitter.com/Mushroomgami

If you have any feedback or questions, shoot them my way!

Thanks for reading!

>>42176574
Thanks for running Mushroom!
I'd hope for more voters for a big choice like this but I guess many went to bed. Oh well.

>>42176574
Thanks for writing.
About how long do we have until her phone is taken away/runs out of juice/whatever?

>>42176712
It's unknown!

>>42176782
Hmmm, alrighty.

>>42176027
Didn't we already promise that we would protect her, and we wouldn't let anything stand in our way? The last time we spoke?

>>42176817
There was a promise like that, yes! But it didn't work out that well.

>>42176913
Hey now, it hasn't stopped being in effect!

>>42176574
About how close to the end of the quest would you say we are? Like I don't know, we seem close to settling things with Paul, we blew things forever with not-Aiko, and Kimiko seems to be telling us to stay away, and unlike Rukia she isn't in mortal peril. so it doesn't seem worth risking our lives or the lives of our enemies. But I don't know what we can do if we just stay where we are.

>>42176913
I'd still like to remind her of that.

>>42177005
It's a little hard for me to say because it's still subject to change because of player decisions.

But I'd say we're near an ending, yeah!

>>42177129
Somehow that's worrying!

>>42177161
I think we're pretty safely tucked away from any bad ends by now, actually!

>>42177129
That's kind of troubling. I kind of hate leaving things unsettled. But moving on might be the point.

>>42177205
Huh, that's surprising.
Well, I'll still miss this quest a lot when it's done!

>>42177205
Even so, I kind of liked fighting stuff, and it seems weird to have the power of the Hougyoku and never really use it. Stupid responsibility and stupid reality not giving justifications for our violent actions.

>>42177218
I'll just make a new one!

>>42177217
Right?
I guess we could sort out the Paul stuff, but Kimiko/plotrock seems unlikely now.

>>42177262
I'll read it!
But you know, it'll never be the same. It could even be BETTER, but never the same!

>>42177264
I think things are as settled as they're gonna get with the Hougyoku, unless we decide to start mimicking hollows, which could mean FUN. I'm really sad that the one time we decided not to just wait and see, it blew up in our faces with permanent consequences. Like even if it wouldn't be fun, eventually we'd have gotten enough pieces of the puzzle to solve it.

>>42177303
That's true. But I hope that it'll at least be better!

And thanks for reading, now and in the future!

>>42177351
Please don't worry about that! That conclusion may have been inevitable. I think it seemed as bad as it did because it was rushed!

>>42177256
Like right now Urahara seems willing to wait and see, Aizen is dead, Gin is either dead as well or happy with that outcome, Tousen doesn't matter, Mayuri doesn't have the resources for revenge and might not even care about such a thing, and I don't know if Mushroom even knows about Yhwach. I still feel like there should be more, but there's just not room for it. Even Ginjo fucking Kugo would be welcome at this point.

>>42177413
I think it was that we've spent so much time waiting, and when we finally do something we let someone down in a way we can't take back. Also I was the one who first suggested we ask if she wants to fight, so I kind of feel responsible for anons deciding to try it.

>>42177704
I didn't really think it was anything finite at the time, to be honest. Seemed too sudden.

>>42177750
*final, durrr

>>42177750
That's why I'm too scared to risk things with the Soul Society even if leaving Kimiko and Clarissa miserable doesn't seem tolerable. I feel convinced that anything we try would be doomed to fail.

>>42176027
I don't know if we can bear the weight of that promise especially when combined with Aiko's forgiveness.

>>42174874
What if the current head of that family suddenly dies, and that boy becomes the new leader of the clan? That'd be something.

Also I feel like Clarissa really isn't worth that much devotion, but the fact that that's all Kimiko has to hold on to is almost too much to bear. Like even if we weren't her true love, leaving someone in such a state like that is horrible.