>>43622655
There are three Shinigami present in the building, their black uniforms setting them apart from everybody else. You don't recall their names. None of them are instructors from the academy; they've just been assigned in charge of your group for this exercise.

Two of them are discussing something between themselves, gradually getting louder about it, while one is wandering around the students, chatting with them. The girl's dark hair is tied up in a neat bun and she looks kind of nervous, though the people she speaks with seem to cheer up a bit.

You catch the Shinigami girl glancing your way. She seems to be finishing her conversation with the female students. She's already spoken with the rest of the boys, so she'll probably head your way after that.

...

>Wait for the girl to approach.
>Move to listen in on the debate the other two Shinigami are having.
>Sit down next to the other guys. You can't really join their conversation, but you can still listen to it.

>>43622665
>>Wait for the girl to approach.

>>43622665
>Wait for the girl to approach
Nice and polite!

>>43622665
>>Wait for the girl to approach.

>>43622665
>>Wait for the girl to approach.
Hullo, op! Enjoyed your previous quest, looking forward to this one!

>>43622665
>Move to listen in on the debate the other two Shinigami are having.
Great to see you running again Mushroom. The write-up pastebin was a good read!

>>43622716
Wonder if we'll run into any familiar faces eventually.

>>43622665
Voting over, writing!

>>43622716
>>43622729
Welcome back! I'll give it my all!

>>43622830
You better! Quite the early start isn't it?

>>43622681
>>43622687
>>43622706
The Shinigami approaches, just as you thought she would. She crouches down and smiles politely. Her smile seems a bit forced, but you think she means well; she's just nervous.

"Uh... hello. Is everything alright?" She speaks up meekly, coughing into her fist afterwards. It seems that she didn't intend for her voice to come out that way, so she tried to blame it it on an unclear throat. Her voice is a little firmer when she talks again. "You shouldn't sit here alone... um... What's your name?"

"I'm Tsukuda Ryouta." You say. The girl slowly nods, probably trying to remember it for good. There's a bit of an awkward pause.

"Oh! I'm Minami Hikari." She quickly adds. It's now your turn to nod. You also mutter a polite 'nice to meet you'. The girl's smile seems a little less strained now. "Are you, uh, tired after the Soul Burials? I know they can be tiring, but... well, it's what Shinigami do. But it gets easier after a while. You don't even really think about it after a point, you know?.."

"I'm not really tired." You say. The girl seems a little surprised. After a short pause, she sits down properly. "I guess I wasn't giving it my all like everybody else." You add.

"I'm... sure you did fine... It wasn't a competition or anything. Just... as long as you think you've got your Soul Burial skills down, you're fine." She mutters. You nod; you think you've learned how to do it properly. Another silence arises. Hikari speaks up again.

"Are you really feeling alright? It's not good to keep to yourself too much..."

"I'm fine, really." You discard her concerns. You really are fine. Was something that you've been doing somehow inappropriate? Were you sticking out by not being part of either company? You'll have to keep that in mind for the future.

(1/2)

>>43623196
"Well... Do you know where we are? In the Human World, I mean." She decides to change the subject.

"Yes. This country is called Afghanistan. Though I'm not sure where in it, exactly." The girl nods at your answer.

"Did you overhear that, or did you just know?" She asks, more cheerful than before. "You'd be pretty surprised how many people here can't even recall the name. A lot of Shinigami don't bother learning about the places they're headed into, because, well, it's not their world or their job to know anything about it, and they'll just get dropped right here and then picked up when they're done, but... I think it helps."

"Well, I know a bit about the Human World, but it's hard to keep up to date."

"Ah, uh, my friend is on duty in England, and I can speak English kind of well, I think, so she sends me newspapers when she can! It's... pretty interesting to read about what's going on there... I mean, here..." Hikari pauses for a bit. "If you, uh, can read English, I could give you some of those if you want?.."

You nod, though Hikari doesn't notice - the debate between the other two Shinigami has gotten loud enough to really draw attract attention. Most of the other conversations have been hushed, or are about the argument. Hikari mumbles a bit of an explanation.

"There's... well, you know about it, right? How Class 1 is picking on Class 2." She frowns slightly. Looks like bullying isn't something she agrees with. "Hibiki thinks it'll help Class 2 'man up' and get better, but Jurou disagrees."

"How come Class 1 is picking on our class?" You ask.

"Class #1 uses, well, an accelerated program. It's meant for people with above average spiritual potential. Class #2 lasts a little longer, and is meant more for... well, average people. But it's actually not that different, really. I think it's stupid..."

...

>>43623225
>"They look like they're about to fight. Do you think they should be broken up?"

>>43623213
>"We should get Class 1 to stop, somehow. It might not blow over."
>"It can't be helped. We're not good enough to go up against Class 1. It might be best to just not provoke them."
>"Those two look like they're about to fight. Do you think they should be broken up?"
>Other. (Write-in).

>>43623242
>"We should get Class 1 to stop, somehow. It might not blow over."
Better to be proactive.

>>43623242
>>"Those two look like they're about to fight. Do you think they should be broken up?"

>>43623242
>>"We should get Class 1 to stop, somehow. It might not blow over."
Changed my vote.

>>43623353
A tie, bold move!

>>43623380
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ru8DMW-grY

>>43623400
Let's hope it does pay off.

>>43623242
>>43623236
>"We should get Class 1 to stop, somehow. It might not blow over."

>>43623242
Voting over, writing!

>>43623453
To clarify since 4chan ate my text, I'm switching to break tie here.

was there a followup to substitute? Or a continuation as to what happened anywhere?

>>43623588
There was this pastebin http://pastebin.com/mtF40Bg2

>>43623606
>September
It's been that long? Maybe I should re-read it to refresh my memory...

>>43623353
>>43623287
"Class 1 should be stopped, somehow. This might not just blow over." You say. You saw strangers harassing your classmates occasionally, but you've never been a target. Well, that's still not an excuse to not do anything, is it?

You notice a young trainee with reddish hair, around your apparent age, smirking in your direction. Or maybe it's just a coincidence. You don't really stand out, so maybe he's smiling about something else, like at one of the insults getting thrown around by the Shinigami. Hikari doesn't seem to notice him.

"...Yeah, somehow. I'm... well, I'm training to be an instructor at the academy. If I were one already, I think I could do something... but right now, I don't know..." The girl's shoulders stoop a little bit in discouragement.

"Well, the Shinigami are taught to strike their enemies from behind. I guess this is an applicable teaching here, in a way. Maybe standing up to them is exactly what Class 2 needs to do." You smile. Hikari smiles in return, but again, her smile seems somewhat forced.

"So... prove that they're no worse than them?" Hikari sounds a little uncertain. Maybe she's not all too sure about that statement herself. "I mean... violence could just fan the flames, Ryouta. Uh, oh, do you mind if I call you by your first name? If it's not, I'm sorry." She chuckles awkwardly. "I think I'm picking up English habits, or something, ha, ha, uh..."

You nod to show that you don't mind. She continues. "But it's something that could be organized, I guess. Maybe that would make it better than just having people fight each other out on the streets."

Hikari puts a hand on her chin, thinking.

The other guy with the red hair is looking at you again. Well, no, not at you this time - at a spot slightly higher than you.

His eyes widen. He opens his mouth to yell something, but-...

(1/2)

>>43623958
The girl in black is suddenly flung towards the lit barrel, knocking it over and spilling the flames onto the ground. Hikari rolls for a while until a wall harshly forces her to a halt. You tilt your head just slightly, and the green skinned monster's massive arm fills your vision completely.

Something like that could crush your head like a grape. No, forget just the head; it could do that to your entire body. And it could probably fit the entirety of you over its palm.

But it's not interested in you. It's so close, yet it's not interested in you. It's inches away, but by some miracle, it just isn't interested in you. Its lack of interest is why you're getting to live longer. But how much longer?

It makes a single step forward, giving you a brief glimpse of its pale mask before it leaps towards the still prone, staggered girl. Its speed creates a gust of wind. How can something so huge move so quickly and effortlessly?

You try to watch on, trying to feel content with your miraculous safety, but you notice something that, for some reason, you can't just get yourself to ignore.

Why are... everyone's eyes on you? The trainees are staring at you, their eyes wide and fearful, their hands shaking over the handles of their blank, nameless swords, too hesitant to act, fearing the spirit-eating beast's deadly attention. Even the two Shinigami, caught all too cleanly off-guard, seem to hardly comprehend what just occurred.

(2/3)

>>43623985
Where did it even come from?

...Maybe someone taking an action will snap everybody out of their confusion. In this case, it seems to be left up to you. If you just show them what to do, they might at the very least repeat after you.

But what should you do? What can you do?

Should you even risk it at all, when your odds of affecting the outcome are so low?

...

>Try to draw the attention away from the Shinigami and onto yourself. Make the Shinigami an opening.
>Go right for the Hollow's mask. Try to cut it from behind with your sword.
>Use Hado #31, Shakkaho. The incantation takes time, but the explosive fireball is your strongest attack.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>43624015
>>Go right for the Hollow's mask. Try to cut it from behind with your sword.

>>43624015
>Try to draw the attention away from the Shinigami and onto yourself. Make the Shinigami an opening.
It seems pretty stronk, so.

>>43624015
>>Go right for the Hollow's mask. Try to cut it from behind with your sword.
Remember your training, even if at a disadvantage.

>>43623606
Honestly I have some minor complaints with that ending.
1. One of the other reasons I came to the Hueco Mundo solution was because it would offer Clarissa a place to either cut loose and practise her full power without endangering anyone (or drawing the attention of those that could remind her that, Hougyoku or not, she has a long way to go) and yet she it doesn't seem like she's done that.
2. The fact that, despite the main divergence ostensibly being that Urahara actually pulled a win against Aizen and banished the Hougyoku into the cycle of reincarnation means that Las Noches should only exist as Barragan's dank-ass plaza. The fact that it's still a castle the size of New Jersey means something is very wrong. And to have Clarissa just give up and assume it's an illusion honestly just feels like an esoteric punishment for being so cautious and boring while we played the game. Especially since Mayuri should also be intending to visit Hueco Mundo and I bet Clarissa missed him completely.

>>43624015
>>Go right for the Hollow's mask. Try to cut it from behind with your sword.
I think this would serve to draw its attention away, even if it fails.

>>43624015
>Go right for the Hollow's mask. Try to cut it from behind with your sword.
Well this thing seems ominous in its own way.

>>43624015
Go right for the Hollow's mask.

>>43624015
Voting over, writing!

>>43624257
>>43624257
>>43624115
>>43624031
>>43624107
You dash forward, hand on the hilt of your sword. With a quick pull, you unsheathe it with a smooth motion, and after one more step, you leap at the green skinned Hollow's head.

As far as flanking goes, you've placed yourself in an ideal position. The back of its mask is right in front of you. Your sword draws a quick, downwards arc, and...

And it stops. The supposedly sharp edge of your weapon strikes the head like an iron stick. The cut it makes is hardly an inch deep. There's a trickle of blood, but it has already begun healing.

The strike that seemed so flawless failed to cut through. You think being up in the air messed up your sense of balance. You couldn't put your weight into the swing. That's why there wasn't enough strength behind the blow. But you're still a trainee. That's only to be expected.

You wonder if you'll ever get to fix this mistake in your technique.

The Hollow turns around.

(1/2)

>>43624953
The reason stealth is the primary tactic of the Shinigami is not merely a means to cut losses and ensure that the process is safe; in most cases, a Shinigami is simply unable to fight a Hollow head-on. In direct combat, they are too strong and ferocious even on an equal footing when it comes to spiritual power.

It's suicidal.

You either sneak up, or you don't engage.

That's why Hikari and the Shinigami are in a tough spot despite their superior numbers. That's why they'll need all the help they can get, even if it's something as marginal as a handful of trainees.

Even if it's just someone like you.

The worst thing that could have happened, happened.

The Hollow's backhanded swing collides with your torso, the majority of it, all in an instant - its arm is really wide; you're lucky it didn't get to aim for your head, or you might have been ended right there and then. Feeling everything inside you tearing, your vision darkens. The lack of control as you are swung around like a ragdoll is nauseating, but at the very least, it doesn't last long.

Your back violently collides with a wall.

(2/3)

>>43624975
Well, that could have gone better.

>>43624975
You don't know how long you've spent curled up in the corner, either unconscious or with your senses numbed by dull pain. Probably not long, because you're still hearing noises. Screams, shrieks, orders... something's name.

Flourish, Haname.

As a soothing pink luminescence fills the remains of your blurry vision, your consciousness slips away under the thorns of your injuries. Just for a moment, you think you saw it. A shield of light.

How strange. What makes you think that's a shield?

Why did it feel like that light was shadowed by something large, looming over you?

...

When your eyes open again, your body is still thoroughly racked with pain. It's hard to move. Blood is leaking out of somewhere, staining your blue and white uniform.

The light is gone, at least the one you witnessed before you fainted. Now all that remains is the orange hue of the fire barrel's contents, and a person casting a shadow on you.

It's that trainee with the red hair. It's hard to see him properly because of the fire behind him shadowing his features and because of the persistent dimness over your eyes.

The man silently offers you his left hand. You can't help but find it a little strange. You saw him before, and you're fairly certain that he wasn't left-handed. What is dripping from his right shoulder, and why does the shoulder conceal the orange glow only partially?

...

>Quietly take his hand.
>"Are you injured? I can get up on my own, don't worry."
>"What happened? Is the Hollow gone?"
>Other. (Write-in).

>>43625003
>"Are you injured? I can get up on my own, don't worry."
Let's try to show some worry for him. Then stab him because he's an imposter

>>43625003
>Quietly take his hand.
Ask if he needs help finding his arm or if the hollow ate it. Because if it was just severed I'm pretty sure it can be reattached.

>>43625003
>"Are you injured? I can get up on my own, don't worry."

>>43625003
>>"Are you injured? I can get up on my own, don't worry."

>>43624999
Maybe. Technically attacking the hollow should have been functionally identical to getting the hollow's attention and allowing the other shinigami time to attack. Because again, for a base level hollow, brutalzing us should have taken its full attention.

Only other option beyond a write-in was attempting Kidou, and I thought, at the time, that hollows could sense a build-up of spiritial power when someone is doing a spell. Also it had ears.

>>43625003
>Quietly take his hand.

>>43625111
True, it wasn't likely to go much better (for us anyway, mildly surprised everyone else got crushed so bad). Even so, among the potential outcomes this was fairly sub-par!

>>43625003
>"Are you injured? I can get up on my own, don't worry."
It pays to be thoughtful

>>43625238
At our current level we can't outrun, outfight, outcast, or even outsmart a hollow. So I am not sure what would have resulted in a more desirable outcome, which sucks because I'd at least like to learn from this experience.

>>43625003
>Quietly take his hand.

>>43625003
Voting over, writing!

>>43625055
>>43625042
"Are you injured? I can get up on my own, don't worry." You mutter and try to back your words up, pushing against the floor. Your body feels numb and heavy, but you think you can actually pull this off with a little effort.

"Are you acting tough?" The other trainee tries to laugh, but instead briefly erupts into hoarse, wet coughing. He spits something aside, and leans in to grab your by the shoulder anyway. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just a scratch. Won't kill me. Shinigami don't die easily, you know? Though I guess we're still pretty far from that..."

He smirks as he forces his helping hand on you, at the very least halving the amounts of effort you'd need to get up on your own. "My arm's still attached... I think. I think I'm going to faint like a huge pussy if I actually look at it. But it's dangling, I can feel that, and it's really, really unpleasant."

Even though he's smirking and trying to joke around, the rivulets of sweat coating his face give away what he's going through.

"...Could I have done something better?" You ask.

"Doubt it. It was hard to cut the green bastard, like his skin was made of iron or something. And it healed after every cut we gave it." The man shakes his head. He probably wanted to shrug, but then remembered something.

"I heard the Division Captains are like that. That you can't cut them through the eye with a sword even if they let you. I guess in this world, sometimes it just comes down to crap like that." He seems to be trying to measure your expression, though you're not really reacting in any big way. With every passing moment, the smirk keeps getting more and more strained, contorting into something malicious-looking; but if he were to relax, he probably wouldn't manage to hold it.

"You're looking at me like I'm some sorta loon. Is my arm really that bad?"

The limb is hanging on by threads of skin and muscle. It's a gruesome injury. He might really lose the arm if he keeps letting it dangle about.

(1/2)

>>43625964
You glance around. The three Shinigami are present, but most of the trainees are lying on the ground, bleeding and groaning.

"We lost three people. Miko, Rin, and Ichiro. They weren't eaten; it's just that he got them in the head. The Hollow ran away." The smile is gone. This is nothing to joke about. "I wonder how many of these guys are going to be quitting the academy once they're back to SS. To be honest, it's making me think about it, too. A single screwed up ambush is going to be the end. That's messed up, isn't it?"

Hikari is using healing magic on the injured students. She seems to be skilled with it.

...

>"How did you get injured?"
>"Who released their sword?"
>"If you think you should quit, then maybe you should."
>"I think we should lie down and take it easy. Especially you."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>43625995
Hmmm, not sure if 3 losses is more or less than expected. 3 more than it should be at any rate.
>"I think we should lie down and take it easy. Especially you."
>"Who released their sword?"

>>43625964
>"I heard the Division Captains are like that. That you can't cut them through the eye with a sword even if they let you. I guess in this world, sometimes it just comes down to crap like that."

I believe I messed up and made it easy to misinterpret this part. This line is not said by the protagonist!

>>43625995
>>"I think we should lie down and take it easy. Especially you."
>>"Who released their sword?"

>>43625995
>"How did you get injured?"

>>43626052
I thought it was fairly clear, but it's nice with some clarification.

>>43625995
>>"I think we should lie down and take it easy. Especially you."
>>"How did you get injured?"

>>43625995
>>"Who released their sword?"

>>43625995
>>43626073
Supporting.

>>43625995
Voting over, writing!

>Think of how interesting being a Hollow would be.

>>43627249
It isn't. Trust me.

>>43627249
Some enjoy being predators, some in total agony, and some stop existing essentially. A hollow quest would sound like fun though. What were the stages? I recall you fight each other and then turn to an animal? Or you become one of those giant black things

>>43626039
>>43626073
>>43626083
"I think we should lie down." You wanted to say more, but your body found the spoken idea too appealing and got to carrying it out already. You plop down and lean against a wall. Your body aches, but it feels much better without the strain of standing.

You watch the trainee. He clearly heard you, but he's not rushing to get some rest. He goes over to a sword lying in a pool of blood and picks it up, fiddling around and trying to fit it into his sheath. His sheath is on his left side, and his one-armed self isn't managing to get it in there. Irritably, the bloody weapon is carelessly tossed away.

The red haired man finally takes your advice. Slowly, probably worried about damaging his arm, he sits down, and then just as carefully lies down on his back. He's lying next to the red puddle from which he took the sword from. It's close to the spot where you've been flung to, but a little ways in front. It can't be your blood.

"How did you get injured?" You ask.

Eyes closed, the guy groans a bit. "I got... right in the way of its mouth. He tried to bite my arm off, but... I shoved my sword right between his teeth. That musta inconvenienced him enough that he didn't bite through me completely."

You pause for a bit. Don't want to tire him too much.

"Did someone release their sword?"

"Yeah... That Shinigami chick did. I couldn't make heads or tails of what she was doing with that glowing thing, and I think the Hollow couldn't, either, so it just went in the opposite direction. You were right there. Think it wanted to take you hostage, or just eat you and leg it. Or pick you up and throw you at us, I don't friggin' know..."

But it seems to have worked out in the end, considering you're still alive.

(1/2)

>>43627249
You might think it would be tops
To wear a mask and pull the stops
On your shallow morality
Abandoning all charity
Let me explain just why
This journey just to cry
Ends.


One was enough for our board
Lest the concept becomes a hoard
As it stands upon the breach
We always have more quests from bleach

>>43627393
He's lying down on the hard floor, neck careened awkwardly. You look around to see if there's anything that can be used to support his head, but you don't really find anything better than the sheath on his hip. You place it under his head. As expected, it doesn't help too much.

"...Thanks. I'm Ryuu."

"I'm Ryouta."

"Nice to." Ryuu smirks again. "Let's beat up some bullies after we're back to SS, alright?"

You nod and let yourself relax. You drift off to sleep right away.

...

It's been a few months since the incident in the Human World. Ryuu's arm has been healed, and your own injuries are gone without a trace, thanks to the efforts and care of the Fourth Division. Just as he's predicted, a few of the students present back then have left the Shin'o Academy.

Class 1 has been using the incident as a way to escalate their harassment; it was a sore spot, a weak point for them to pick on. It was certainly crossing the line; that's why it couldn't be ignored, and that's why they were using it. Tensions between the two classes were growing very quickly.

You still weren't really part of any of the conflicts going on around at the academy. You never really did anything that stood out, so that must be why.

At the end of one of your regular academy days, Hikari visits you at your dorm. Just as she's promised, she's been giving you issues of some british newspaper she's talked about back then. It's a great way of keeping track of the Human World. Your English is good enough for comfortable reading. Hikari always seems impressed by it, even though you've been making it known every time she's visited here.

(2/3)

>>43627297
First you are regular hollow. Then once the void in your heart is too high to contain you start devouring hollows till an all out cannibalism-orgy happens and you all turn into a menos, it doesn't need to be only one eating everyone, it just needs high enough concentration of hollows for that in that cannibalism orgy. As Menos Grande is formed, you gotta hold onto your individuality so the Menos Grande has a special mask signifying you and then conitnue devouring other hollows till you become an Adjuchas. Kinda more humanoid but not necessirely. But if you don't eat enough, you regress into Menos Grande, lost in collective consciousness. If another hollow eats part of you, you can't regress but you also can't evolve further except for Arrancar.

End stage of hollow is Vasto Lorde, most human of them, some even resemble humans in exoskeleton like things. I believe Tier Harribel even had hair and some face in Vasto Lorde form

Only Arrancars who were Vasto Lordes before it are most human

>>43627297
First you're a basic Hollow. Pretty weak, but still an individual capable of complex though.

Then after you eat a bunch of other Hollows, you get the calssification of Menos Grande.

Menos Grande are the divided into three groups. The first is the Gillians, who are the big black cloaked guys with the long noses. These are mostly pretty primal and mindless, since they're the combined minds of hundreds, if not thousands, of regular Hollows, and that tends to be quite disturbing, so they're only capable of simple stuff like "Eat" "Kill" "Move" etc. But sometimes there's a unique Gillian, with a different mask. These have a dominant personality within them who will continue eating other Hollows, preferably other Gillians. Then after you eat enough, you become an Adjuchas.

Adjuchas are much smaller than Gillians, with some only being the size of cars, or maybe even regular animals. They're much more powerful than Gillians, and now have a distinct mind of their own, having suppressed all the other voices of the consumed Hollows. However, they have to keep consuming other Hollows, or else they'll regress back into Gillians, and lose all their individuality. If they manage to live long enough, and eat enough other Hollows, they become Vasto Lorde.

File: 1294[1].gif (402 KB, 250x189)

402 KB GIF

>>43627481

>>43627537
Vasto Lorde are even smaller than Adjuchas, only being the size of humans. They're immensely powerful and often really intelligent, and have some pretty unique abilities most of the time, like this one guy who could age anything he went near if he so wanted, even other Hollows. Did I mention Hollows are essentially ageless, never aging from what we know? Yeah. However, that's not the most important part. Vasto Lorde are no longer in danger of regression, and will remain as they are unless they're killed, which is pretty unlikely, since they're supposedly stronger than Shinigami Captains, of which there are only twelve at a time. Hell, according to some lore, ten Vasto Lorde are supposed to be able to destroy all of Soul Society, including all the Shinigami.

Then there's Arrancar, who are Hollows of any phase who decided to remove a part of their masks. They have an almost completely human form, and they're essentially 25% Shinigami, or something along those lines. They have a release much like a Shinigami's Bankai, where they regain some of the traits they had before becoming Arrancar, like wings or whatever. Their power depends on what they were before turning into Arrancar, but they get a pretty significant power boost.

That's the basics, but there's more I probably missed, like stuff about Cero's and such.

>tfw you never want to see another Hollow quest after seeing what a shitshow HQ:R was

>>43627528
>Only Arrancars who were Vasto Lordes before it are most human
That's wrong though. Even the ones we know who were Adjuchas, like Grimmjow, look almost completely human.

>>43627520
"Are you good at languages, Ryota-kun?" She asks again, a question at which you can only shrug. "And, uh... I also have some news. I mean, um, besides the ones I just gave you." The girl jokes around with an awkward smile on her face. She quickly cuts it out; apparently the subject is something serious.

"Do you remember how we talked about... doing something to stop the conflict between the Classes? Well, I've been speaking to the instructors a lot, and..." One corner of Hikari's mouth moves sideways, and the other up. She's trying to repress a nervous smile, but it just isn't working. "T-they're going to hold a tournament between the classes to resolve it."

"What?"

"To settle everything between them once and for all... uh..."

"When is this going to happen?"

"I think in a few weeks. They need to prepare everything and all..."

There's a slight pause.

"I... think they're making participation mandatory for everyone. I-it's not going to have deaths in it, obviously! Just a... competitive thing."

...

>"...Do you happen to know what the brackets are like? Could you somehow find out for me if you don't?"
>"I guess that's one way of handling it. Could you help me get ready for it?"
>"Thanks for telling me, Hikari. I think I've got it from here on. I'll do my best."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>43627656
>>"I guess that's one way of handling it. Could you help me get ready for it?"
>>"Thanks for telling me, Hikari. I think I've got it from here on. I'll do my best."

>>43627656
>"I guess that's one way of handling it. Could you help me get ready for it?"

>>43627656
>It's a terrible idea. Having class 2 meet their aggressors head on is like facing a hollow head-on.

>>43627656
>>"I guess that's one way of handling it. Could you help me get ready for it?"

>>43627565
Sounds very interesting. Lots of character development and inner demons to deal with.

>>43627656
>"I guess that's one way of handling it. Could you help me get ready for it?"

>>43627656
>>"I guess that's one way of handling it. Could you help me get ready for it?"

>>43627565
>Hell, according to some lore, ten Vasto Lorde are supposed to be able to destroy all of Soul Society, including all the Shinigami.
Hitsugaya was just fearmongering! That malicious midget.

>>43627731
>Hitsugaya was just fearmongering! That malicious midget.

Only if the captains were his strength.

>>43627731
I don't know. Halibel, Starrk, and Barragan required multiple Captain level combatants to beat, and Ulquiorra got beaten by Ichigo's Hollow form. It's not too farfetched to say that ten Vasto Lorde could defeat Soul Society.

>>43627731
I heard that, but then the captains fucked them up. At best they're equal.

>>43627774
If the captains were his strength then it would take like five regular hollows.

Hitsugaya a shit

>>43627656
Voting over, writing!

>>43627791
Considering Ichigo's Vasto Lorde form was a massive power house monster, its kind of a shame we see so little of it.

>>43627937
>Ichigo's Vasto Lorde form
Now, this is gonna be nitpicking, but it wasn't a fucking Vasto Lorde. You can't be a Vasto Lorde unless you eat other Hollows, which he never did. He just combined with the form White had in the Masaki flashback.

>>43628000
Also the original White wasn't a vasto lorde either, but more or less a proto-arrancar that can't really be classified in hollow terms.

>>43628034
Well, he was a Hollow that Aizen made using the same method as they use to make Asauchi.

>>43628000
>>43628034

Eh, it was on a simular par level and appearence, and its a good lable to differentiate the two forms, like a lie thats a good explination but exactly true. Unless you want to just call them form 1 and form 2.

>>43628058
Bleach science is as weird as it is unethical on an existential level.

>>43628060
but not exactly*

So, Mushroom, would our character know the names of any current Captains?

>>43627666
>>43627678
>>43627686
You've read somewhere that sometimes, having a fight right then and there is much better than letting the conflict drag on and fester into something much worse. You don't believe that the book authors had this kind of scale in mind when they wrote that, and it's doubtful that they implied actual combat when they mentioned fighting.

So it might not apply here. It might actually backfire.

Well, there's probably only one thing left to do - try to make sure that you don't embarrass several hundreds of your classmates. And you'll be fighting someone who's supposedly far more talented than yourself, so it might be hard to do that.

At least without help.

"M-Me? You want me to help? You mean, um, train you for it?" Hikari apparently wasn't expecting you to ask something like that. You nod at her question. "I-I don't know if I can do that, Ryouta-kun. I, um, did mention that I wanted to become an instructor, but... I'm still not really ready, you know! Teachers have to be skilled, after all..."

The girl thoughtfully pokes at her chin with her index finger. "But I guess it's good practice..? W-Well! If you really want to risk it, I guess I can, um, tutor you or something..."

"So, I guess we could, uh..." She looks around your room for a bit. It's kind of empty. You don't really have a lot of things here. "...Is there anything you're particularly weak in? B-be warned, I'm not perfect in all areas, either, so..."

(1/2)

>>43628315
You're pretty average at almost everything. It takes you a moment to think of something you're having a little difficulty with.

"Uh, I'd say my Kido is a little behind, as well as my-"

"Kido is perfect!" She interrupts as soon as she hears the word. "I'm good at it, kind of. I think I could teach you a few things! I guess I'll... come around here and make you practice and give you tips every few days. About Kido. Um, is that alright? It'll be around a month before it all starts, so... that's how much time we have."

>Current Demon Magic skill: E

...

>"Alright, Hikari. Let's do our best. I want to improve my Kido."
>"I think I'd rather not. I think it would be better if you found out about my opponent instead."
>"Actually, I shouldn't be taking up your time. It's alright, I can handle it on my own."
>Other. (Write-in).

>>43628361
>"Alright, Hikari. Let's do our best. I want to improve my Kido."
Practice makes perfect

>>43628361
>>"Alright, Hikari. Let's do our best. I want to improve my Kido."

>>43628361
Does Kido have any use at super high levels? I rarely saw it

>>43628361
>"Alright, Hikari. Let's do our best. I want to improve my Kido."
I'd make with the innuendo but I'm not sure our protagonist has it in him. Quite the stone-faced lad is my impression.

>>43628361
>>"Alright, Hikari. Let's do our best. I want to improve my Kido."

>>43628404
Foregoing incantations and the ability to learn spells of higher ranks are going to be the benefits of the skill here!

If you mean the spells themselves, the blaster spells gain more power and tend to have special and nastier side-effects as they go up in rank.

Non-blaster spells make barriers, give debuffs and do all sorts of other things.

>>43628404
They do. Kido is seriously overpowered in a lot of aspects, though it usually takes a backseat to show off Zanpakutos.

>>43628466
>>43628555
Just that in the Arrancar battles I don't think I ever saw Kido, while it's relatively common in the earlier parts of the show. Seemed to be less relevant with Bankai and all that.

>>43628361
>"Alright, Hikari. Let's do our best. I want to improve my Kido."

>>43628404
There's stuff like teleportation, instant communication over large distances, general binding, powerful shields, incredibly powerful attacks, etc.

Zanpakuto's are more powerful most of the time, but nothing can beat the versatility of Kido.

>>43628598
Barragan could only be beaten by Kido, even though he took a literal Bankai missile to the face, twice. That Bankai was supposed to be a one hit kill, and it shows.

>>43628361
>"Alright, Hikari. Let's do our best. I want to improve my Kido."

>>43628361
Voting over, writing!

>>43628404
Kido is really neat. It's criminally under-represented in the canon.

Maybe this character can be built around Japanese Ghost Magic? Maybe get a Zanpakuto that boosts it?

I think there might be a lot of Pluses in France to consider..

>>43628383
Hikari was very enthusiastic, overly so, at first. She provided you with another way of looking at the ideas and the theories behind Demon Magic, and while you've managed to flawlessly memorize the theoretical parts, the practical parts are where the differences in your skills stuck out like a sore thumb.

It was simply a struggle to keep up with her and what she could do, especially since she expected you to do at least as much.

You really can't repeat the Shakkaho a hundred times in a row. You'd die. Not from fatigue, but from botching the spell too many times.

And the amount of spiritual energy you've been expending has caused a spike in your finances, as you need to eat a lot to remedy the losses. Luckily, you were saving up you stipend. And your adoptive mother back in Rukongai sends you extra sometimes, just to make sure that you're never in need.

It's been a rough month, combining Hikari's lessons and your regular lessons at the Academy. And, well, it took your tutor quite a while to figure out a pace that's appropriate for you rather than try to compare you to herself. "If someone as bad as me can do it, so can you!" She'd say, and then do things you were decades away from. She must have realized that it was kind of discouraging, as she stopped with those sorts of lines very early on, thankfully.

If there's one thing that's trying to make itself clear again it's that you have a long way to go. Hikari has obtained a seated position in the Thirteenth Division only a few weeks ago, and yet she's a Kido goddess compared to a rookie like you.

Well, by the end of it all, the difference isn't quite as intimidating anymore. You haven't learned any new spells, but you've gotten the basics down in a way that you probably won't need to question for years. If previously you were lagging behind the rest of your class, now you're pretty firmly ahead of everybody else.

No spell below #40 should be a challenge to perform.

>Demon Magic Rank increased: D

>>43629463
While you were busy training, the Academy staff announced the event Hikari was talking about. A few days away, they announced the brackets.

They're mostly names you don't recognize or have just heard of. You see Ryuu's name... several times. There's more than one student named Ryuu in the academy. You've never asked him for his family name... wait, one of these participants doesn't have one at all. That's strange.

Well, either way, your opponent's name is Takenaka Hanae. She's part of Class 1, so unsurprisingly, you've never seen or heard of her.

It's later that day, some hours after the announcements, that you find the red haired Ryuu, battering a dummy with a wooden sword. His nameless Zanpakuto is on his hip, as is customary for all trainees.

"Hey, Ryouta." He stops his training, resting the practice sword on his shoulder. "Did you see them? The tournament brackets?" You nod.

"You saw your opponent, yeah? Well, she's kind of a big deal. Just thought I oughta let you know." He says. You quietly nod again. Ryuu smirks at that. Maybe you look really focused right now.

"Basically, Class 1 is supposedly the elite and everything, but the thing is, they're going through the same crap the rest of us are, just faster. What that means is that there isn't that much of difference between Lee from Class 1 and Lee from Class 2, 'slong as they didn't mess around during their training. So Class 1 is just full of smack talkers and braggarts. The tourney - which I think is a great idea, by the way - is going to be much closer than you think. It'll cool them down a notch, you know?"

You nod again.

(2/3)

>>43629489
"But that Hanae girl? She really deserves her place there. Top of her class, heard she's already drowning in Division-joining offers. Just refuses to graduate early, for some reason. They say she's gonna make it to lieutenant. She's probably going to win the tournament..." Ryuu frowns. "It's a pain. It could have been really fun if it weren't for her. Fighting her is going to be like fighting a Hollow alright. People like us stand no chance at winning fair."

This doesn't sound good. "I don't think I can cheat or sneak around during a tournament fight."

The corners of the man's mouth twitch up again. "Who said that? Anything goes, as long as you're using a wooden sword instead of your real one. I figured out where the fights'll be taking place. They're pretty wide areas, but they're not just flat arenas. There's a pond there, woods to the east, hills to the west. Plenty of space to jerk your enemies around in if you can."

There's only a few days left. You don't really have much time to set anything big up.

...

>Just have a fair fight against her. Whatever happens, happens.
>See if you can set up traps on the battlegrounds.
>Try to figure out Hanae's capabilities in more detail.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>43629518
>Try to figure out Hanae's capabilities in more detail.
Subterfuge!

>>43629518
>>Just have a fair fight against her. Whatever happens, happens.

File: did-rdj-just-drop-the-fir(...).jpg (194 KB, 1920x1080)

194 KB JPG

>>43629518
>>Just have a fair fight against her. Whatever happens, happens.
>Try to figure out Hanae's capabilities in more detail.
Data! Data! I cannot make bricks without clay!

>>43629518
>>Try to figure out Hanae's capabilities in more detail.

>>43629518
>See if you can set up traps on the battlegrounds.

>>43629518
Also, character sheet!

http://pastebin.com/V0UZzkwL

Let's give this whole powerwanking thing a go!

>>43629518
Don't go so far as to set up traps, but how about we study the area in detail?

Like it's not cheating at all to know the terrain right?

>>43629571
How wanky are we getting?

>>43629592

is that wise?

>>43629592
Studying the terrain will not take up an action! It's free, and will happen even if you choose the "fair fight" option.

>>43629571
Can we level up our analytical mind thing so that we can stare at someone really hard and say the words they are about to say before they say it?

That would piss off anybody.

>>43629518
>Try to figure out Hanae's capabilities in more detail.

>>43629592
One basic strategy I can think of is the good old fashioned
>maneuver so we're fighting near a pond
>use the fireball spell
>aim fireball at pond at the last second
>use steam to our advantage

>>43629463
>you need to eat a lot to remedy the losses

Neaaaat. Shinigami who get hungry are powerful.

File: the most average main cha(...).png (595 KB, 1000x1000)

595 KB PNG

>>43629518
Ending thread for tonight, it's getting really late!

Next thread is up for tomorrow, but keep an eye out for the unexpected on twitter:
https://twitter.com/Mushroomgami

Feedback and questions are always welcome!

Thanks for reading!

>>43629796
Thanks for running.

>>43629796
Thanks for running, thoughts on >>43624113
I meant to post something like it earlier but I hate using twitter for trying to actually converse with people.

>>43629836
>>43624113
Clarissa is practicing, just not to kill people! She doesn't need to lock herself in Hueco Mundo to train.

She's not really interested in the castle in the distance, either. It's tricky to get to and it's not helping her get to SS!

>>43629796
Thanks for running. its shaping up to be interesting and i hope we get to see more meat on the decisions we choose as we go.

>>43629884
Has she at least used her spirit ribbons to see if there are any shinigami around?

>>43629571
Gotta grind SPI and Demon Magic.

Wizard class best class.

>>43629946
She did not! And as cool as she may be, she still can't sense an entire world!

>>43630030
Can I at least be very disturbed that Las Noches has risen once more and Hueco Mundo seems to be left vacant, and ignoring the presence of Captain+ Spiritual Pressure?

>>43630156
Captains are good at hiding their pressure!

But I think you can be disturbed by everything else! Though I'm not sure what you mean with vacant Hueco Mundo. There are still Hollows around, it's just that most of them aren't a threat and Clarissa doesn't spend too much time in there.

>>43630224
I meant that hollows are drawn towards strong sources of reiatsu, which would be Clarissa.

Like it was implied that if she ever used her full power in the real world, hollows would come flooding in. And I'd think, since she's been trying for years, at some point she'd wonder if the thing stopping her from making a portal to SS is that she needs to use more -oomph- in a location that wouldn't doom everyone around her.

At which point Adjuchas or worse would be drawn to her presence. And... at minimum, she'll realize it's probably a good thing she didn't try to storm SS with violence like the Hougyoku wanted.