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>>1412581
“A Valley of Screams,” Tenkotsuki quietly corrects you.

“So?” Yoruichi presses, having only heard your half of the brief conversation.

“I need to send a message to Kisuke,” you sigh, taking a knee and tracing a circle on the ground with your thumb. “Kakushitsuijaku!”

With a few moments of concentration you track down Kisuke, who is deep in one of his labs, and Shunsui, who is in his office. Your arm glows, the tattooed pattern emerging through your white guard and extending from your fingertips as you stretch your palm out to your side. “Tenteikūra!”

“Reporting contact with an intruder on the Ninth Division's grounds,” you announce, keeping your voice low enough to avoid attracting attention from the training Lieutenants or your own personnel. “Tenkotsuki and I got the sensation that whatever it was may have come from a Valley of Screams. Has the SRDI's equipment registered anything strange in the last ten minutes?”

“It would be a small anomaly,” Yoruichi adds, resting her hand on your shoulder to join the conversation. “I can confirm that something was definitely there, and its reiatsu wasn't especially powerful. But it certainly felt strange, not like a hollow or a shinigami.”

A minute passes, maybe two, before you get your response in the form of a loud splattering of red against a nearby rock.

“Three anomalous readings in that time frame.”
“Equipment now set to detect repeats.”
“Proceed with caution, do not engage.”

“Do not engage?” Yoruichi muses. “Just who does he think he's talking to?”

>Head for the Valley you know of, investigate it for anything out of the ordinary.
>Find Halibel, get the opinion of someone who's lived in a Valley for years.
>Leave Zabimaru or maybe Tobiume in charge here, search the Seireitei yourself.
>Other?

>>1412586
>>Find Halibel, get the opinion of someone who's lived in a Valley for years.

>>1412586
>Find Halibel, get the opinion of someone who's lived in a Valley for years.

>>1412586
>Find Halibel, get the opinion of someone who's lived in a Valley for years.

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>>1412586
>Find Halibel, get the opinion of someone who's lived in a Valley for years.
Maybe put the lieutenants on alert? Tell them not to engage as well? They're not children, they should at least be informed of the situation.

Also FUCK YEAH SSQ IS BACK

>>1412586
>>Find Halibel, get the opinion of someone who's lived in a Valley for years.

>writing

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>>1412614
“Okay, so here's the deal,” you announce to the Lieutenants. “There's been a series of anomalies in the Seireitei, so continue your training but be on alert. So far whatever these things are they haven't been a threat, in fact if Omaeda hadn't shouted we might not have noticed them at all.”

“There, see!” Omaeda puffs up a little. “I'm not a coward, Renji. I'm observant!”

Yoruichi rolls her eyes.

“I'm going to try and follow the one lead I have, see what I can learn,” you conclude. “I suggest you spend some quality time with your zanpakuto until I return.”

Leaving your students behind, you follow the feeling of Halibel's cool and somewhat 'damp' reiatsu until you find her sitting quietly outside the cells which house all the various prisoners you've collected over the last few months. She's reading a book of what appears to be old Japanese poetry, while Yamada from Fourth Division sweeps the corridor and the empty cells.

“Ah, Captain!” he starts, dropping his broom in surprise as he nearly leaps out of his own skin. “I didn't notice you come in!”

“Yamada,” you nod. “No need to freak out, just... keep up the good work.”

“Yes, ma'am!”

Funny, it seems he's been spending a lot of time around Ninth Division's barracks lately. Does your Division really require that much routine maintenance? You suppose with the amount of activity, the upkeep required in its public spaces, the number of explosions and gunshots per hour... yeah, it probably takes more of Fourth Division's time than most units in the Gotei 13.

“You come here often?” you ask the arrancar, still in her released form. She's had to cross her leg as she sits on a carved wooden chair set back against the bars of one of the empty cells: you never knew her to be one for modesty, but you also suppose that being around shinigami who care about such things has forced her to change her behavior somewhat since revealing your alliance by mistake.

She shakes her head. “Not so often. Someone needed to oversee Yamada while he was here, so I volunteered.”

“Not like the little mouse was gonna do anything anyway,” Candice grumbles from her own cell. “How does he stand up straight without a spine?”

“That's not quite fair,” Liltotto counters. “He seems not to be the front-line type, anyone in this room could eat him for breakfast... some of us literally. His caution's well-warranted.”
>1/2

>>1412631
You would know Liltotto

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>>1412631
“Enough from the peanut gallery,” you grumble. “When I want your opinions I'll ask.”

“Charming,” Candice sighs.

You ignore her, turning back to Halibel. “I have a question about the Valley of Screams, actually. Maybe you can answer it?”

Halibel looks up from her book, puzzled. “I suppose there is no harm in asking.”

“Have you seen anything in there that was... you know. Alive?”

“Alive, as in sentient?” Halibel muses thoughtfully, before shaking her head. “No. Vegetables, fruits, other plants, yes. After some time, fish and birds.”

“And when did those appear?” you press quietly.

“Some eighty years ago,” the arrancar recounts. “In those days it was difficult to tell precisely, but it was not long after the first war in Europe.”

“And nothing else ever showed up?”

Halibel shakes her head again. “Never. Why do you ask?”

>I need you to come with me to the Valley quickly.
>Explain the situation in detail to her, see what she makes of it.
>Get this information to Kisuke, ask if he needs anything else to work with.
>Other?

>>1412645
>Explain the situation in detail to her, see what she makes of it.
>Get this information to Kisuke, ask if he needs anything else to work with.

>>1412645
>Explain the situation in detail to her, see what she makes of it.
>Get this information to Kisuke, ask if he needs anything else to work with.
Everyone up to speed before running off to do god knows what is always best.

>>1412650
>>1412645

Oh, and tell hanataro that it's nice to see him hanging around 9th, and that he's free to use our facilities if he likes, since he's a friend of our nephew.

>>1412645
>>Get this information to Kisuke, ask if he needs anything else to work with.
Maybe see if that whole Seireitei expanding issue has something to do with it.

>>1412645
>Explain the situation in detail to her, see what she makes of it.
>Get this information to Kisuke, ask if he needs anything else to work with.

Huh. Is it a second soul society type deal? The dead are going to the valley of screams because the other is full up?

>>1412645
>I need you to come with me to the Valley quickly.

>>1412645
>Explain the situation in detail to her, see what she makes of it.

>writing

Actually, give me 3d10. DC 18, crit 22, best of three.

Rolled 2, 9, 9 = 20 (3d10)

>>1412685

Rolled 4, 10, 1 = 15 (3d10)

>>1412685

Rolled 4, 5, 7 = 16 (3d10)

>>1412685

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>>1412685
“We've had a few intruders,” you explain in a low voice. “Not arrancars or quincies, but Tenkotsuki insists their presence reminded her of the Valley of Screams before it started adjusting to our presence in it.”

“Before that point?” Halibel muses softly. “It certainly proved it could generate life, but was it doing so when you discovered it?”

“No,” you shake your head. “Not that I could tell at the time, and now that I stop to think about it the whole place started basing its appearance off Okinawa after that. Probably because of my fragmentary memories of that place.”

“It also reacts to those with sufficient shinreiryoku,” Halibel observes. “Perhaps it responded so specifically to you for that reason.”

“So if we learn more about the intruders...”

Halibel nods knowingly. “Precisely. Their nature will tell you something about their genesis... at least that is what I believe.”

You extend your arm once more, extending a line of communication through the air to connect with Kisuke and a second to connect with Yoruichi. “Halibel came up with an idea, if we can observe or capture another one of the intruders we may learn more about who or what caused them to spawn. We think that the Valley we've been using sort of... aligned itself to what it 'thought' my needs were, or something like that.”

“Hell, we could be wrong about that though. But it's better than nothing.”

After a few moments of contemplation, you turn to Hanatarō. “Yamada, please be so kind as to open the window at the far end of the corridor.”

“That one?”

You nod. “Yes, Third Seat. That's the one.”

Almost as soon as he clambers up to the window and forces it open, a red blur startles him from the perch he's found and he yelps as he crashes to the floor. Kisuke's reply reads:

“Understood, will keep you appraised.”
“Please maintain caution around intruders.”

Hanatarō manages to sit up, looking astonished at the blood-red characters that have appeared on the floor. “Creepy... it's like a message written in a murder victim's blood.”

The characters shift and stir restlessly to form a third line.

“Please tell Third Seat Yamada he has no sense of humor.”
>1/2

>>1412707
Did Urahara predict Yamada's reply ahead of time and program the blood stains to reshape? Cause if he could reshape afterwards while listening in, he could be carrying on a conversation.

....Wait, Benihime's ability uses blood, right? Is this Urahara abusing his shikai like Aizen does and delivering a spying device, communicator, and bomb all in one?

Kisuke is [i]scary.[/i]

>>1412715
Benihime is more like playing "Operation" with your own body. So yeah. Blood is within jursidiction.

>>1412707
“Okay, if there was still any doubt... that man is definitely fucking with me,” you grumble. The bloody characters on the floor try to rearrange themselves once more, but you sweep your foot through the center of them.

“Yeah, you like that?” you grin. “Harder to smart off like this, isn't it?”

The characters shift again, only for you to smear them a second time. “I can do this all day.”

After a few more moments the letters begin to dissolve, leaving one line which fades last.

“You're no fun.”

“Did... you just have a conversation with a blood splatter?” Cirucci asks, now sitting up in her own cell to watch. “I thought it was just Aizen and Gin, but now I know... shinigami are just weird in general.”

“Hey!” you reply, pointing at her. “You shut up.”

“Eat me.”

“Please do,” BG9 pleads mechanically.

“Shut up or I start with the puns again, amigo!” Dordoni snaps.

>So, are you all... you know. Okay?
>BG9, you're a robot. In your unbiased opinion, is anyone here ready for limited release?
>You've been in here before, Yamada. Give me the details, are they always like this?
>Just go, you don't have time for this.

>>1412733
>>BG9, you're a robot. In your unbiased opinion, is anyone here ready for limited release?

>>You've been in here before, Yamada. Give me the details, are they always like this?

>>1412733
>So, are you all... you know. Okay?
>You've been in here before, Yamada. Give me the details, are they always like this?

>>1412733
>You've been in here before, Yamada. Give me the details, are they always like this?

>>1412733
>BG9, you're a robot. In your unbiased opinion, is anyone here ready for limited release?
>You've been in here before, Yamada. Give me the details, are they always like this?

>>1412733
>>You've been in here before, Yamada. Give me the details, are they always like this?

>>1412733
>>So, are you all... you know. Okay?
Stir-crazy is probably an understatement right now.

>>You've been in here before, Yamada. Give me the details, are they always like this?
And no sparing them a glance, Yamada. No sugarcoating it.

>>1412733
>So, are you all... you know. Okay?

>>1412743
>>1412751
>>1412768

??

>>1412773
I'm super undecisive.

>>1412733
“Are you all... you know. Okay?”

Your question is mostly met with silence. “I mean, aside from being in prison?”

“Aside from that?” you hear Meninas ask.

With a sigh, you turn to Yamada. “You're here when I'm not, and I take it you're not always supervised by someone as powerful as Halibel.”

“So tell me the truth, how are they really doing?”

“Well, since you do seem to care,” Yamada muses, “better than most prisoners would by this point. Poor Rukia had a chair, and that was about it...”

“And what about Berenice?” you ask, and Yamada seems obviously confused about who you're talking about. “The one who never talks.”

“If I hadn't seen her eat I'd have thought she was catatonic.”

“I see,” you nod thoughtfully. “I guess out of everyone here she was the most messed up even before I turned her own powers on her.”

Halibel watches carefully as Berenice rolls over.

“She seems responsive at least,” she observes.

“Unfortunately I don't think there's anything I can do about it,” you admit. “At least not until we're sure that trying to fix her brain won't just kill her.”

“The arrancar in particular seem to be adjusted,” Hanatarō continues. “The quincies are a bit of a different matter. I almost feel like I can't be sure about them, whether they're... you know...”

“Sane?” Meninas offers.

“Yes, sane,” Yamada agrees. “Sorry.”

“No offense taken,” Liltotto shrugs.

>It may be a long time before any of you are ready to leave.
>It's still not safe, you'll have to bear with it until Aizen is dead.
>I think I can arrange for some outside time for some of you.
>Other?

>>1412811
>I think I can arrange for some outside time for some of you.

>>1412811
>I think I can arrange for some outside time for some of you.
Under heavy guard, including us. And one at a time.

>>1412811
>I think I can arrange for some outside time for some of you.
>Other: It'll probably be one prisoner at a time. I can't babysit all of you.

>>1412811
>I think I can arrange for some outside time for some of you.

Definitely the arrancars, under guard of course. Less confident in the quincies not having a psychotic break and attempting to murder everyone

>>1412811
>>It's still not safe, you'll have to bear with it until Aizen is dead.
Dordoni and co. might bear with it, but the Sternritters are a harder read.

What's the progress on the treatment for the Sternritters anyway?

>>1412836
Basically Urahara is trying to recreate Mayuri's Hollow regen serum to have the same effect of what Riku did to Bambi without the need for a blut transfusion like what Riku did to Bambi.

>>1412811
>>I think I can arrange for some outside time for some of you.

Also, I'm back again btw. Had to start fixing a late dinner.

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>>1412871
“I may be able to arrange some outside time for some of you,” you sigh, rubbing the back of your neck as you ponder the specifics. “It'll have to be one at a time and under full guard, myself included, but I feel like you deserve at least that much.”

“Will the Central 46 approve of that?” Halibel muses.

You shrug. “Since when has their disapproval ever stopped me? It's my fellow Captains I need to consider, since it's them that the Central 46 would have to go through to try and punish me anyway.”

“And you believe they will consider that wise?”

“No,” you shake your head, “but I do expect that most would give me the benefit of the doubt.”

Halibel nods quietly. “I see. Did you need anything else?”

“You doing okay with your training?”

The arrancar rises, briefly stretching her arms and legs. You're not used to seeing so much of her skin like this, even if her uniform leaves her midriff bare it covers most of the rest of her body. And in this form it'd be hard to imagine any sort of outfit that wouldn't be torn to shreds by the bony plates around her wrists and shoulders.

“My reiatsu feels quieter,” she informs you, “though you could probably sense that. I still find myself unsure of how well this is working.”

“You're on untested ground,” you remind her, “so you're the only one who can really say whether it's having the desired effect or not. Nobody else has anything to compare it to.”

“I will keep you informed,” Halibel decides. “I trust you will be available this evening to help us sleep again?”

“I see no reason why I wouldn't be,” you nod, “so until then, enjoy your book.”

“Good hunting, Lady Riku,” Halibel bows slightly before taking her seat and returning to her poetry.

>Meet with Urahara, see what he's got going on.
>Coordinate extra patrols with Yoruichi.
>Take some time to train yourself until you get any news.
>Other?

>>1412897
>>Meet with Urahara, see what he's got going on.

>>1412897
>>Meet with Urahara, see what he's got going on.

>>1412897
>Meet with Urahara, see what he's got going on.
>Coordinate extra patrols with Yoruichi.

>>1412897
>Meet with Urahara, see what he's got going on

>>1412897
>Meet with Urahara, see what he's got going on.

>>1412897
>>Meet with Urahara, see what he's got going on.

>>1412897
>>Take some time to train yourself until you get any news.

Hado 99 training time

>>1412897
>>Meet with Urahara, see what he's got going on.

Pretty much everyone is agreeing today apparently

>3d10, taking the third roll

Rolled 7, 9, 5 = 21 (3d10)

>>1412930
why the third roll?

Rolled 7, 8, 9 = 24 (3d10)

>>1412930

Rolled 8, 8, 10 = 26 (3d10)

>>1412930

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>>1412932
Okay, that's pretty neat.
>>1412936
Wow's that's pushing the quality
>>1412952
mien gott
time for Urahara to show the fruits of his SCIENCE

>>1412952
Well then.
>dice+3d10, DC 16, Crit 23, best of four

Rolled 6, 8, 5 = 19 (3d10)

>>1412958

Rolled 3, 10, 7 = 20 (3d10)

>>1412958

Rolled 5, 2, 10 = 17 (3d10)

>>1412958

Rolled 10, 4, 1 = 15 (3d10)

>>1412958

Rolled 6, 1, 1 = 8 (3d10)

>>1412958

>writing

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>>1412897
Reasoning that you should probably check in with Kisuke to coordinate your efforts in tracking down any of these intruders that decide to return, you head towards his Division's barracks and underground labs. The autumn air is fresh and clean, warm without being oppressive like in the midsummer, and the sunlight falling on you is just a little less intense. The hydrangeas in many courtyards are still in bloom even as the leaves are turning colors all around, a mix of blues and oranges that just isn't seen in the living world.

This should be a lovely afternoon stroll. You should be out enjoying it with your family and friends.

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGohNlOgEZ4

But then you feel it.

How could you not, when there's so damn many of them?

Diverting away from the Seventh Division, you head for the scene of the disturbance. Atop a high walkway near the First Division, you hear shouting.

“What the hell are those things!?” a shinigami of one of First Division's local patrols shouts, drawing his sword as what must be several dozen figures approach him across the narrow bridge.

Each is about the size and shape of a man, but strangely lacking in anything that could be defined as “features”. Like white cloaks without shape underneath, each topped with a head-like mass of red cloth or flesh without any real character to it aside from its dramatically contrasting color from the sea of bodies, all marching slowly, inexorably forwards in unison.

The sensation is absolutely appalling, as if this eyeless and featureless procession somehow disapproves of your presence in its vicinity. As if it doesn't realize that you're not the intruder here. Without doubt it's the sensation that you got when there was only the one of them, only stronger.

“Get out of the way!” you shout, waving at the First Division shinigami as you follow alongside the ghostly intruders, balancing yourself atop a low handrail. “Don't interfere with them!”

“Raise the alarm!” the ranking member shouts, but you cut him off.

“I refuse! If you raise the alarm that'll just cause a panic and increase the odds they'll meet accidental resistance.”

The shinigami scramble over each other to comply with your orders as the faceless horde passes through the spot where they had been gathered moments before. “We still don't know what these things are, where they came from, or why they're here. Just leave this situation to me.”
>1/2

>>1413045
this is getting spoopy.

>>1412897
>>Take some time to train yourself until you get any news.
The gud must be git

>>1413078
How slow can you go?

>>1413045
“Tenteikūra!” you call, extending your tattoo once again to reach Shunsui, Yoruichi, Kisuke, and Rangiku all at once... this thing's really proven useful. You make a mental note to thank Kūkaku for her work when you see her next.

“I've made contact with what looks like two or three dozen of the intruders. Kisuke, start tracking them... use my location as a reference if you have to. Shunsui, please issue orders to your Division to shelter in place until such time as we can determine the nature of the threat.”

>Follow the intruders as long as you can, keep a bit of a distance.
>Stay in close, make as careful detail for Kisuke and Yoruichi as possible.
>Try throwing obstacles in their way, specifically inanimate obstacles.
>Maybe kido could tell you more about their... well, whether they're tangible at least.
>Other.

>>1413085
Slow enough that seeing it momentarily terrified me that I might have posted in the wrong thread.

Jesus Christ anon don't do that to me.

>>1413085
Mobile browsers and refreshing, man.

>>1413094
>>Follow the intruders as long as you can, keep a bit of a distance.

>>1413094
>>Maybe kido could tell you more about their... well, whether they're tangible at least.
>Try throwing obstacles in their way, specifically inanimate obstacles.
barrier spell

>>1413094
>>Follow the intruders as long as you can, keep a bit of a distance.

>>1413094
>Follow the intruders as long as you can, keep a bit of a distance.
>Kido Barrier "herd" the intruders towards an isolated area for containment.

>>1413094
>Midrange, observe their behavior and report details to kisuke and yoruichi. Maybe try focusing really hard on how their reiatsu feels. Take note of where they're heading, anything of important in a direct line in front of them.

>>1413115
Fucking with them when they're nonviolent smells like a bad idea. I ain't seen this part of bleach, but that should be obvious.

>>1413127
We're into the Memories of Nobody filler movie part. Things may have changed.

>>1413134
definitely did. we met Senna a long while ago, after all

>>1413134
Spoiling myself would be cheatin'!

>>1413094
>>Stay in close, make as careful detail for Kisuke and Yoruichi as possible.

>somehow disapproves of your presence in its vicinity
Shinreiryoku is the only factor I can come up with for them to react in this manner exclusively.

I wonder if, at some point, manifesting minute amounts of shinreiryoku would allow Riku to essentially pull a Pied Piper on these things?

>>1413147
They might be adverse to shinreiryoku. We could "herd" them around and find Mimihagi or other divine objects in seireitei that way.

>writing
>dice+3d10, best of three, DC 18, Crit 22

Rolled 1, 3, 8 = 12 (3d10)

>>1413176

Rolled 6, 9, 4 = 19 (3d10)

>>1413176

Rolled 1, 10, 2 = 13 (3d10)

>>1413176

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>>1413176
The procession continues to grind ceaselessly forward, oblivious to anything and anyone so long as it's not physically barring these beings' progress. And so you choose to follow their movements, both to observe them as well as to warn anyone foolish enough to ignore Shunsui's orders to get out of their way.

“They're featureless, like cloaks with no body underneath,” you continue describing the intruders as you follow them. “They're moving slowly, and don't seem to respond too much to obstacles. I don't see any eyes, or sensory organs of any kind, but they seem to be able to at very least navigate around things well enough. Can't figure out how.”

The creatures keep moving, crossing another bridge, walking around a tower, up a ramp to a higher level, and then begin to drift almost lazily across to a rooftop, as if carried upon a gentle breeze. You follow of course, right to the edge of the roof where the figures float slowly down off the edge. Peering down you see a courtyard far below, but none of the figures are visible at all.

“Strange. Seems like they're starting to disappear already, just like the one Omaeda spotted.”

>I'm pursuing.
>I'm calling it off to meet with Kisuke.
>I'm going to linger here for a while.
>I may be able to get a sample...

>>1413234
>>I'm pursuing.
>>I may be able to get a sample...
Not mutually exclusive.

>>1413234
>I'm going to linger here for a while.

>>1413234
>>I may be able to get a sample...
Fuggit, go barrier one. Tozansho seems appropriate for it.

>>1413234
>>I'm pursuing.

>>1413234
>>I'm pursuing.

>>1413234
>>I may be able to get a sample...

>>1413234
>>I may be able to get a sample...

>>1413234
>>I may be able to get a sample...
Good to see you back King.

>>1413301
>>1413305
Wow, I had already started typing. Way to squeak in at the end there.

>dice+3d10, DC 18, Crit 21

Rolled 10, 10, 10 = 30 (3d10)

>>1413311

Rolled 9, 5, 5 = 19 (3d10)

>>1413311
rollan

>>1413316
AND A THIRD TIME!

Rolled 8, 5, 10 = 23 (3d10)

>>1413311>>1413316

O_O

Well...roll anyway...

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>>1413316

>>1413311
So, did we just grab a live specimen or something? Get ourselves a straight up familiar spirit or something crazy?

Cause this is just....WOW.

A perfect 30 and a 23, goddamn we're on fire here.

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>>1413316

>>1412930
>>1412952

>>1412958
>>1412963

>>1413311
>>1413316

So...aparently the dice really, really, really, REALLY like Science in this thread.

>>1413347
It's cause they want to help us mess with Kisuke by letting us do science Riku style.

>>1413354

Remember when Oetsu confront us after help Apacci become an Arracnar, and said he came to decide whether we were brilliant of mad idiots, cause that's a real fine line sometimes?

Well. I think we're about to do it again...

>>1413354
"THAT IS NOT HOW A BEAKER IS SUPPOSED TO WORK!"
cues to riku with an impromptu ghost busting beaker going "wut?"

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>>1413316
“I think I can isolate one of them,” you decide, “give me a moment.”

“Tozanshō!”

Extending your hand towards a falling white figure near the end of the procession you create a ball of bright green light, which extends in a series of lines through the air which become the walls of an inverted pyramid.

“There,” you mutter, “that oughta...”

The white figure subsequently explodes inside the barrier, thus defeating the purpose. Not a huge blast, and certainly nowhere near strong enough to destroy your spell, but you've just lost the test subject.

“Shit!” you curse, “Bakudō 81: Dankū”

The next barrier springs into life horizontally while you draw your sword, and it catches a few of the stragglers on its flat surface. “Prohibit, Tenkotsuki!”

“What do you wish for me to do, Lady Riku?” your sword asks, not having quite caught up with your idea. In fact... you have to admit you're impressed you thought of it so quickly.

“Form it into a toroid!” you shout. “Like a hollow doughnut, they should follow the path of least resistance and keep moving inside indefinitely!”

Working together you and your zanpakuto manage to execute your plan, and the intruders begin to circle around the inside of the barrier precisely as you had anticipated.

“I'm impressed you knew what a toroid was,” Rosa quips.

“Hey, I've read a book or two,” you hiss indignantly. “I may not be a genius but I'm also not exactly a moron, you know.”

“Oh really?” Rosa asks smugly. “Don't look up.”

Sure enough, you notice too late that on the far side of the toroidal Dankū one of the strange white entities has reversed direction.

“Shiiit...”

The resulting explosion when two of them meet is, once more, not enough to break your kidō barrier. But several of them going off in quick succession increases the yield dramatically, so you're at least convinced that keeping the First Division as far from them as possible was the right call. But that still leaves you with only one more to try and capture, and it's already falling...

"Ah, fuck me..." you grumble, clapping your hands in front of you.
>1/2

Well that's something. Gonna be quite an ice breaker with Hats.

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>>1413414
By the time Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Shunsui are all finally present, you've moved the captive figure back to the middle of the wide roof it had tried to fall off of.

“How did you get it to stand still?” Shunsui asks curiously, looking the unmoving being over.

Kisuke gives you a knowing look. “Oh, I have my suspicions.”

“It's not,” you admit, avoiding eye contact. “We might've resorted to removing it from the timestream entirely.”

“You used Jikanteishi?” Shunsui asks, eyes widening.

“Not exactly,” you sigh. “It was a modified Jikanteishi, so it's technically not illegal at all. I'm not sitting down because I'm bored, capturing this damn thing was exhausting.”

“I thought you said they didn't resist?” Yoruichi muses, cocking her head at you.

“That was before I learned that they can explode,” you tell her.

>So, Kisuke. Do I know how to pick a gift or what?
>Shunsui, can you get Yoruichi and me into the Central Archives?
>Yoruichi... I need a break.
>Other?

>>1413456
>>So, Kisuke. Do I know how to pick a gift or what?

>>1413456
>>So, Kisuke. Do I know how to pick a gift or what?

>>1413456
>>So, Kisuke. Do I know how to pick a gift or what?
>>Yoruichi... I need a break.

>>1413456
>>So, Kisuke. Do I know how to pick a gift or what?

>>1413456
>>So, Kisuke. Do I know how to pick a gift or what?

>>1413456
>>Yoruichi... I need a break.
>>So, Kisuke. Do I know how to pick a gift or what?
Mind the unwrapping part though.

>>1413456
>>So, Kisuke. Do I know how to pick a gift or what?

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>kisuke's face when he gets back to the lab

Rolled 4, 9, 2 = 15 (3d10)

Gimme 3d10, DC 17, Crit 20, best of three. I'll also be rolling.

Rolled 2, 2, 10 = 14 (3d10)

>>1413558
Luck is gone.

Rolled 3, 9, 9 = 21 (3d10)

>>1413558

Rolled 10, 8, 2 = 20 (3d10)

>>1413558

Rolled 10, 4, 6 = 20 (3d10)

>>1413558

>>1413561
... for you, maybe.

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>>1413580
“So Kisuke, do I know how to pick a gift or what?” you chuckle to yourself.

Yoruichi smirks. “Yeah, but as always you overwrapped it.”

“Hey, I take pride in my wrapping thank you very much.”

“She has a point,” Kisuke says, agreeing with your wife. “This is a lot to try and work around for a single specimen.”

“Would you rather have it blow up in your face?” you ask.

“Point taken.”

“So what can you tell us about it?” Shunsui presses, watching Kisuke's expression closely.

Your fellow Captain examines his new subject carefully, tapping lightly at it at times, before rendering an initial verdict. “It lacks any features that could be considered identifying. No face, perfectly proportional body, no hair, no markings. Nothing. It's as if the being itself is literally a blank slate.”

“Blank...” Yoruichi frowns, staring at her old friend and the time-locked statue of the intruder. “Like a blank slate, you said?”

“You're getting that look again,” you observe slyly.

“I may have an answer for you.”

Yoruichi takes off running, leaving the rooftop far behind and leading you to the Shihōin manor. After making at least a token gesture to Yūshiro, she makes for the entrance to the underground library.

“So it's gonna be under the Dangai records, or very close to them,” she mutters, lost in thought as she darts between shelves and across high catwalks. “In the folios perhaps? Yes, a single incident report... here we go!”

She retrieves an old stack of paper, made from bamboo pulp and covered in messy handwritten characters. “This is a report of an incident that happened shortly after the battle with the King of the Quincy... an incident involving a Valley of Screams which briefly overlapped with the Rukongai.”

“And this is where you remember the description from?” you ask.

Yoruichi nods thoughtfully. “It describes something called a 'blank', in this case a spirit without an identity or memories. Its outward appearance was described as “featureless”, like linens blowing on the wind.”

“That sounds a lot like our intruders,” you nod. “What else does it say?”

“It advances a theory that the Valley of Screams is formed when spirits fall out of the cycle of death and rebirth,” Yoruichi explains carefully. “These souls become separated from their identity, which coalesces around a single object. Then the bodies form a Valley of Screams.”
>1/2

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>>1413610
“A single object?”

“Called a Shinenju,” Yoruichi adds. “Apparently it can take any sort of form... perhaps they coalesce around a shintai?”

“That certainly sounds likely,” Tenkotsuki chimes in.

“Tenkotsuki believes that's a reasonable theory,” you relay your sword's message. “Being a shintai myself I'd tend to believe it as well. And if the Valley we found responded to me, the fact that these Blanks appeared instead of something more specific suggests to me that shinreiryoku isn't involved in the situation... for once.”

“It's consistent,” Yoruichi nods.

>But how does that contribute to a Valley forming?
>So how are they here? Where's this Valley at?
>So is there someone even behind this at all?
>Other?

>>1413610
>the arrancar clubhouse is people

>>1413624
>But how does that contribute to a Valley forming?

>>1413624
>>So how are they here? Where's this Valley at?

>>1413624
>>But how does that contribute to a Valley forming?

Rolled 10, 5, 1, 4 = 20 (4d10)

>dice+3d10, best of four, DC 19, Crit 22

Rolled 4, 6, 9 = 19 (3d10)

>>1413701

Rolled 5, 9, 1 = 15 (3d10)

>>1413701

Rolled 5, 3, 3 = 11 (3d10)

>>1413701

Rolled 8, 7, 3 = 18 (3d10)

>>1413701

Rolled 9, 10, 2 = 21 (3d20)

>>1413701
Rolling!

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“So how exactly is that supposed to lead from one thing to the other?” you ask, staring skeptically at the paper. “And if there've been at least two Valleys formed recently, how is it possible we didn't notice an imbalance if that's how they form?”

“It does seem to strain credulity if you think about it at all,” Yoruichi admits, setting aside the papers. “Especially given what we know now, it's just not consistent.”

“So then how do they form?” you ask curiously. “Any ideas?”

“If they're responsive to shinreiryoku, that could give us a hint,” Yoruichi suggests. “A god or goddess may be responsible for forming them within the dangai. What does Tenkotsuki think about that?”

“I do not know,” Tenkotsuki admits.

“Who can say?” you shrug. “Gods tend not to share details, even with each other. But that doesn't account for the fact that these Blanks haven't taken on a more definite form, as they should have based on how we understand the interaction between Valleys and shinreiryoku.”

“So you think that this is either an accident...” Yoruichi begins.

“Or it's a mortal who's trying to manipulate the situation,” you finish the thought. “The difficulty going forward is determining which it is.”

“Hopefully before they attack,” Yoruichi adds, “assuming there IS a they.”

“Yoruichi, let's be honest here,” you sigh, “this is the Seireitei. There's always a “they” involved.”

>Rejoin Kisuke and share your findings.
>Return to your Division, check on the progress there.
>Suggest that you spread more sensors in the Living world and Hueco Mundo.
>Other?

>>1413747
>Rejoin Kisuke and share your findings.
>Ask Kisuke on how the serum replication project is going.

>>1413747
>Rejoin Kisuke and share your findings.

Didn't he already know about Blanks in the film?

>>1413747
>>Rejoin Kisuke and share your findings.

>>1413747
>>Rejoin Kisuke and share your findings.

>>1413763
This isn't the movie, anon.

>writing

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>>1413814
“We need to get back to Kisuke,” you decide. Yoruichi nods in agreement. As much as you're tempted to stop and tease Yūshiro a bit on the way out, business has to come before pleasure this time. You rush back to the site where you froze one of the Blanks in time to find Kisuke joined by Lieutenant Kurotsuchi and a massive pile of equipment.

“I gathered as much as well,” Kisuke nods in agreement when Yoruichi tells him what you've found. “I just couldn't prove it, having never seen a Blank close-up or sampled unmodified reishi from a Valley of Screams.”

“And now?” you ask.

“They're made from a sort of reishi that's similar to what you find in the Dangai,” Kisuke explains, “which all but confirms their origin. Somewhere, probably immediately adjacent to the Soul Society, there's a Valley of Screams.”

“But is it a natural alignment or something more nefarious?” you press as Yoruichi pushes against your arm.

“I don't think I can say for sure,” Kisuke admits thoughtfully. “It's not a long list of people or entities that can align a Valley of Screams deliberately.”

Yoruichi nudges you again. “Hey.”

“Well I did it,” you shrug. “So how hard could it be... Yoruichi, why do you keep pawing at me?”

She points up at the sky, still staring upwards. “The hell is this shit?”

You look up as well, and you can feel your eyes widen slightly. “I... wow. That's not something you see every day.”

“Well I'll be damned,” Kisuke muses. “That's not good. That's not good at all.”

High above the sky, like an image distorted through a magnifying glass, you see something vaguely familiar. There's no way it should be possible, but your eyes aren't lying. Yoruichi shakes her head in disbelief.

”Why is Hueco Mundo floating in the sky?”

>>1413866
And sadly that's where I have to leave off for the night. I'll be running SoZ tomorrow at 10am PST, and will continue here for a few hours afterwards. Archive is up, thanks for playing!

Hopefully next week I'll be back up to a more regular speed, I felt a little slow this time as I tried to get back into the swing of it. Thanks for being patient.

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>>1413866
Well that's another layer.

>>1413885
Also, as always, feel free to throw questions, omake ideas, insults, etc at me while I'm asleep. I'll get around to it in the morning.

>>1413866
Ayy

This shit is fucked

>>1413866
>”Why is Hueco Mundo floating in the sky?”
Well, shit. You better figure out some sort of dimensional lever to move that place away from us, Kisuke.

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>>1413901
>insults

Thanks for running King.
With Kaien being the fuel for White, has Ichigo's inner hollow changed much from canon, or are any differences mostly cosmetic (like the trident mask)?

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>>1413901
>look straight up
>dead silence
>look of horror and high pitched scream
>"KISUKE"
>"Wh-"
>"fffffffFFFFFFFIXITFIXITFIXITFIXITFIXITFIXITFIXITFIXITFIXITFIXIT"

>>1413866
So Aizen is finally ready for the overture?

>>1414012
I don't think a dimensional lever can help us anon. This is a planar convergence. And the only solution we know that can "fix" this is 2 consenting gods of their respective planes and "Oin the magic box". But there are problems to that solution:
1. The "ruling" god of Ghost mexico is Izanagi's 'dead' wife Izanami.
2. Izanagi is a crippled god on life support. Almost all of his power is focused solely on making sure the soul cycle and Seireitei is 100% operational.
3. The Box is dead. Riku and Yoruichi killed it, and Riku subsumed part of the box's Shinreiryoku.

Omake idea: somehow a copy of canon Bleach ends up on Riku's desk. She spends the time to read and laugh at its stupidity

>>1416237
But Riku also has Hell shenanigans, Oin shenanigans, a pseudo-deity on her side, and metaphysical connections with all the planes in question.

I think the valley of screams might be under the control of somebody who is using dimensional shenanigans to make the convergence worse, and I think if that someone was removed, Riku could wrest control of the Valley to stop or even reverse whatever is being done here.

If the gods themselves are behind this, we'll probably have Royal Guard support anyway.

>>1415173
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZCysBT5Kec

>>1416396
Dangai might be under Amatsu no Mikaboshi's Jurisdiction, since his domain is primordial chaos. I dunno whether if the Dangai counts as a realm of chaos.

>>1413866
Apologies, but due to the late start with SoZ and an early morning tomorrow, I'll have to wait until next weekend to continue.

Feel free to hit me with any questions or omake ideas and I'll work on them through the week.

>>1416931
>omake ideas
Hanataro explaining certain details of mortal life to Halibel so that she can better understand her reading material, and the motivations of the characters within. Turns out they both share an enjoyment of literary analysis.

Bonus points if he's forced to explain why she's considered attractive even though she's obviously a predator.
x2 Combo Bonus if there's a running imprisoned Quincy peanut gallery.

>>1416931
Karakura cultural festival with Halibel and Apacci. A sports festival would probably be too unfair for everyone else, as entertaining a curbstomp as it might be.

Or hit us with a Seireitei summer festival. Kukkaku and Gangu's gotta maintain that fireworks title after all.

>>1416931
>omake ideas
A blossoming romance within the seireitei. Any couple will do. Pick the one you want to write about the most.

>>1416931
Would Tatsuki’s ability to fake reiatsu control with her Zanpakuto help her learn actual reiatsu control?

>>1416981
This is a great idea

>>1413885
Omake:
>Feral Instincts - There are some instincts Arrancars can't seem to keep under control no matter how much they've progressed in regaining their humanity. Lilynette Awoos in the night whenever there's a full moon much to Starrk's embarrassment, Neliel occasionally eats non-edible items without noticing (because goats eat anything), Apacci gets a deer-in-headlights reaction whenever someone manages to startle her, Mila Rose sometimes finds herself using her tongue to clean herself like a cat would, Sun-Sung sometimes stretches the 's' syllable too much and does the tongue flicking thing, Tia has a tendency to jump out the water in a way similar to how a Great white shark catches seals whenever she goes swimming.

>>1416981
I like it
I ship it

>>1413901
Omake idea:
Every time Riku makes arrangements to have a prisoner have time outside their prison cells, the other prisoners get stir crazy and bombard the lucky inmate questions on how was their day outside of their cells like, with said inmate providing story time of what happened during their time outside of their cell along with snippets of news. Like Plato's allegory of the cave, except it's not an allegory.

>>1413901
To Kisuke:
>Why blood writing? Do you use your own blood to do that? before you bemoan about it, Yes. I get the humor.
>Can you draw pictures with the same technique you used with blood writing? Have you ever trolled people doing that?

Riku & Yoruichi:
If you can see ghost Mexico in the sky, which part of ghost mexico are you seeing? The hollow moon?

Kisuke
>What font do you use to write in with your blood? Comic sans?

I'll be working on some of these ideas as well as continuing the last one, where we left off with Apacci.

>>1418100
>>1418495
Kisuke:
>It's blood, but as for where it comes from it's... complicated. And yes, I think I just did "troll" someone.
>Comic sans is so unprofessional... also I write in kanji, so there's that.

>>1417055
Not necessarily. Since she sealed much of her power into Tō'ōkenju her base form doesn't have access to enough reiatsu to require fine control. But as with most spiritual beings, she'll now develop better control as she grows more powerful. Riku basically set her on something more approximating a shinigami's growth curve, and gave her a bit of a head start.

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>>1420278
>Comic sans is so unprofessional... also I write in kanji, so there's that.

Pic related, it exists.

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>>1420322
>it exists
>mfw

>>1420325
Pretty sure they just took someone's handwriting from a manga and rounded all the tips of the lines.

Apologies, but I couldn't get the first omake done this evening. I'll work on it some more tomorrow morning, and so you'll get at least two tomorrow.

>>1421779
No worries, take care man

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As the Karakura High Kendo club goes through their daily routine of endless drills one afternoon, something finally happens to break the monotony.

“So, this is the kendo club?”

One of the members nearest the door turns to see who called out, and finds a tall, powerfully-built woman standing there. Her hair and complexion are both dark, and she seemed to be practically bursting from her uniform... if her chest didn't do it first her biceps just might.

“I'd like to formally challenge you. One at a time, or all at once. Makes no difference.”

Though even some of the girls present have to admire Mila Rose fore her physique, the suggestion that she could beat the entire club at once comes across as an empty boast. One of the boys takes off his mask and approaches her.

“Well, I like your enthusiasm at least!” he grins. “Honestly we could do with a bit more of that. How long have you been learning, or are you new?”

“Since as long as I can remember,” Mila Rose replies, her gaze falling heavily on the upper classman. “But it's been very informal, so I'd have to learn that part of it.”

“What do you... nevermind,” the boy shakes his head. “There's some armor for loan in the closet at the back. Put it on, grab a shinai, and we'll see what you can do.”

The first problem comes when Mila Rose opens the closet and immediately recoils. Every single drop of sweat that's soaked into the things she finds inside she can smell, and despite the fact that clearly most of it has been washed recently the odor is almost overwhelming to her.

“Is there a problem?”

Mila Rose nods emphatically. “Do I have to wear all this stuff? I don't plan on getting hit anyway...”

“You have to wear it,” the boy nods sternly. “It's about the school's liability as much as your own protection.”

After a few minutes, a clearly-disgruntled Mila Rose returns with a chest plate, helmet, and gloves... the bare minimum the club president would accept. Inside the helmet, Mila Rose holds her breath as the president squares off.

“Alright, I'm not gonna hold back!” he declares before taking a swing.

By the time his ass hits the ground Mila Rose is doubled over, having ripped off her mask and started gasping for air.

“I can't do this!” she wheezes, drawing in massive cleansing breaths. “I can't hold my damn breath that long... sorry, Lady Halibel...”

>Kendo Practice: FAILED

>>1422865
hehehe, its adorably funny that Mila still retains her Leonine sense of smell. If Apacci is having difficulty adjusting her Arrancar strength, and Mila still retains the smelling capabilities of a Lion/cat, I wonder what feral instinct Sun-Sung and Tia Halibel can't keep under control...

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>>1422865
The Cooking club was already having a rough day... because of all the people to try and join, Inoue Orihime decided to show up. Notorious in her own class for her bizarre tastes and apparent inability to make herself sick, the club members were beginning to understand the depth of the horrors to which her classmates had gradually become insensate.

“Are you sure you don't want to try it?” she asks, offering the cake she'd baked for the day's event: 'novel preparations' was the theme to the event, and this certainly qualifies.

“Sorry, Inoue,” one of the upperclassmen says, raising her hands as if to ward off the impending doom of a peanut-butter flavored cake with natto icing. “But I'm already so full from the other contestants! I'm not sure I could, but it certainly is... novel!”

Then Sung-Sun arrives with her contribution. “I apologize for being late, but some of these ingredients were difficult to acquire.”

On the platter she's brought are pieces of sashimi... only none of these were fish. One type smooth and red and uniform cut thin, a second slightly thicker cut with dark, well-marbled meat, and the third type which looks for all the world like raw chicken.

“Ummm... Sung-Sun, wasn't it?” one of the girls asks, looking at the pieces of sushi skeptically. “What... exactly are those?”

“Some of them are venison sashimi, others are rare Ishigaki steak, and the pink ones are chicken,” she explains, trying and failing to suppress a note of pride in her voice. “The steak was a particular pain.”

“We can't eat these,” the girl replies carefully. “Sorry, but we can't do raw meats, and raw poultry is kinda dangerous.”

“Oh?” Sung-Sun muses, sounding somewhat disappointed as she sets aside her . “Is that so? We... do not have chicken where I am from, and so I assumed it could be eaten raw or rare like any other meat.”

“You mean you don't cook meat?”

Sung-Sun shakes her head. “Not always, no. Do you mind if I eat the venison and steak at least? They were rather pricey per ounce.”

“No, I don't think we can stop you from eating it yourself,” the girl admits. “Go ahead...”

“Here!” Inoue offers the arrancar a large slice of her cake as several of the club members wince instinctively. “Try the cake I baked! Everyone else said they're full.”

As Sung-Sun gratefully accepts the treat, her jaw coming ever so slightly unhinged to allow such a big bite, a collective shiver runs down the Cooking club's spines...

>Cooking Club: DOUBLE FAILURE
>new Yoruichi art unrelated, but enjoyable

Senpai, which show should I watch next?

I like my anime with tragedy on the side

>>1423212
Have you considered Terror in Resonance?

>>1423212
If you somehow haven't seen Mushishi I can't recommend it enough.

>>1423216
It sounds intriguing. I'll give it a go.
>>1423219
I'd been planning to read the manga since it's an adaptation, but I'll watch the show if it's better overall. It's tough to find comparisons.

>>1423229
The soundtrack and voice acting are definitely both additive, and Travis Willingham fucking killed it in the English dub.

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>>1423239
>dub
I haven't felt this much disappointment in weeks.

>>1423242
Even /a/ grudgingly admitted that the dub was good.

>>1423246
Isn't that also the board who thinks Code Geass is great, and the Berserk manga is complete garbage?

This is kinda getting off-topic and dickish of me. I'll go watch Mushishi sometime this week, so thanks for the recommendation.

>>1423246
We going to see harribel's club omake?

>>1423242
>Hating dubs

Opinion discarded right out the window

>>1423242
I can confirm that the Mushishi dub is one of those special few that is actually on par with the original voice work. The music alone is worth watching the anime though.
Watching Mushishi alone in a quiet room only gently lit by sunlight filtering in through shades is one of the most pleasantly mellow experiences of my life.

>>1423490
don't know why you're wasting your time, he doesn't care and is probably watching it subbed anyway.

>>1423496
Someone else reading this thread might've been on the fence about the show.

>>1423499
fair enough

The irrational disdain of all dubs is just something that infuriates me. Sorry dude

>>1423109
To Sung-Sun: So how was Orihime's cake? Even if you could unhinge your jaw to eat that slice, and eat your food by swallowing them whole, there's no saving you from the taste and the Gigai body you inhabit will certainly reject the food you try to eat.

>>1423109
There we have the Tres Bestias, but what about Tia Halibel?

>>1423212
Samurai 7

>>1423726
>It was... indescribable. Having never had many of the ingredients on their own I cannot say for certain whether it was one of them or the combination, but it was absolutely revolting. And my diet used to consist entirely of hollows.

>>1423766
She'd only have like a few sentences, because she chose something quiet and calming that shes actually good at.

>>1424373
I kind of want to see Tia's anyway, because the students reacting to her is entertaining enough.

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>>1424506
Seated calmly at a low table, Halibel retrieves a fine brush from a nearby case and inspects its bristles. Once satisfied she places a smooth black stone on the table, then carefully pours a few drops of water into a deep well at the center of the stone. She grasps an old sumi, or “ink stick”, lightly between her fingertips and works it back and forth across the worn stone surface, each stroke spreading a mix of water and particles ground off the stone which begin to pool at the low end of the well. She does this intently for several minutes, with painstaking precision, until she has a nice, milky black ink.

A thin piece of mulberry paper is weighted down to the table, lying over a thin piece of cloth to keep the ink from bleeding through, and Halibel delicately loads her brush with a carefully-determined amount of ink.

Each stroke is decided well in advance. Halibel carefully controls the force she applies through the brush, holding her wrist with her left hand to isolate it as much as possible so that only the practiced movements of her fingertips translate into the marks she leaves. Each radical is lightly finished, flowing fluidly and almost delicately in long, swirling trails.

Ipami naru
Taka tuno yama nö
Ko nö ma yu mo
Wa ga sode puru wo
Imo mikemu kamo

One of the students, a girl from the class Halibel has been pretending to be a part of, nods thoughtfully as she reads the finished product:
“In Iwami
From the summit of Tsunoyama
Even through the trees
My waving sleeves
My darling must have seen.”

“Very nice, Miss Halibel. When did you learn how to use the old techniques like this?”

Halibel smiles quietly behind her mask as she places a small mark near the bottom of the first line of five syllables, like a swirling river current. “When I was younger.”

“It's hard to imagine a young girl having the patience,” the girl muses, blissfully ignorant of what Halibel actually meant. “I only got interested in calligraphy in middle school.”

“You could say I'm older than I look,” Halibel jokes, again going over the girl's head. “But I find it calming, so I don't mind spending the time this way.”

“Well, keep it up!” the girl says cheerfully.

>Calligraphy Club Meeting: SUCCESS

>>1423505
Japanese culture and behavior is heavily influenced by the fact that their language is spoken in a very distinct manner. It's hard to explain since I'm not a linguist, but it's like the nips speak with their whole chest cavity while most western languages are spoken using throat and mouth only. And when you replace it, there is always a certain amount of meaning lost in terms of enunciation and stuff, and that's without counting the grammatical incompatibility between nipponese and murrican.

For some people it still comes out to a better experience as they don't have to both watch and read at the same time, which is okay in real life, but here I get to gloat over my technically superior method of watching.

Pleb.

>>1424584
Halibel is my waifu.

>>1424611
>watching subs

Why don't you just learn to speak the language you pleb?

>>1424634
My powerlevel isn't high enough :(

>>1424611
You really don't since half of that is made up bullshit elitists like to tote.

So whatever makes you feel superior I guess.

>>1424584
That was great

>>1424373
Hmm....Seems like The Tres chose a club that ill suits their instincts. It should be that Mila Rose takes Cooking club because her cat-like sense of smell would help greatly in taste, Apacci should take Kendo because of her stand-offish strength and stalwart stance would be of great use in Swordsmanship, and Sung-Sun would take Baseball because her Snake like instincts would be perfect for throwing blink or you'll miss it fast-balls.

>>1424681
It's okay to admit your shortcomings, anon.

>>1424611
That sure sounds like some weeaboo elitist bullshit, if I'm honest.

>b-but Japanese is such a DEEP language, with NUANCE that some western gaijin couldn't possibly understand

Like I agree that a lot of the time subs is better because the script hasn't been mangled by poor translation. Script mangling can occur when you translate between any two languages, in fact it's pretty likely, which is why subs is generally superior, but if the translator has his shit together and the VAs aren't trash, there's basically no difference in quality between dub and sub.

Unfortunately, finding good translators is really, really difficult.

>>1424685
>>1424584
Will there be a Round 2 Omake of the Tres Bestias actually finding their Niche in School Clubs? Because as amusing as it is to see them initially fail, I kinda wanna see them succeed and get a better human perspective.

>>1424727
There will be one more in this series that ties it all together.

>>1424729
>inb4 "Go home club"

>>1424584
Tia a best

>>1424729
Noice

>>1424725
I agree with everything you just said, nice

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>The Festival
At last, Karakura High's student body came to the single most anticipated event in the year: the culture festival. Each year the students organized themselves to put on shows and run various stalls with food, games, and other attractions. The money usually goes to local charities, in this case a kitchen that prepares food for low-income primary students in Karakura and the neighboring city of Naruki. This year however, a dark cloud loomed in the minds of many of the students: what would the transfers be doing?

Rumors had already spread to an extent: rumors of ferocious physical prowess, and a certain blissful ignorance of just how weird they were. Talk quickly began to turn to the future... would it be a food stall? Would it be some unwinnable game or challenge? Nobody knew, and the transfer students themselves weren't telling. There was even some rumor that they would be absent altogether for that day, like they were most days.

Then, the morning of the festival, Arisawa and Ishida turned up, along with all four of the transfer students.

“Well, I had to turn in my assignments,” Arisawa shrugs when Ichigo asks her about it, “so sensei figured I could use the break from training to relax.”

“You wanna go together, get caught up?” Ichigo asks. “I was on the planning committee again this year, so I'm not working a stall.”

“Jeez, every year since our freshman year!” Tatsuki exclaims. “How do you do it, Ichigo?”

“Well... I guess I'm just good at telling people their plans are totally unrealistic. Like Keigo wanted to do a bikini cafe this year.”

“Please tell me you hit him for me.”

“Didn't have to,” Ichigo shrugs. “Apacci was there to chew him out, so he shut up pretty quick.”

“Wait, the arrancar are doing a stall?” Tatsuki asks under her breath. “I've got to see this.”

After grabbing a few treats at the first couple of stalls, a variety of steamed buns, dumplings, and iced coffee, Tatsuki and Ichigo turn a corner in the hallway to find a small crowd gathered outside the room where Halibel and her entourage are supposed to be running something. Outside, Ishida stands in awkward silence, adjusting his frameless glasses as his classmates draw near.

“So... what's this all about?” Ichigo asks, clearly confused at the commotion.

Ishida seems to struggle with the words. “It's... almost surreal.”
>1/?

>>1425070
>The Festival
Oh boy.

>>1425070
>“You wanna go together, get caught up?” Ichigo asks. “I was on the planning committee again this year, so I'm not working a stall.”
>“Jeez, every year since our freshman year!” Tatsuki exclaims. “How do you do it, Ichigo?”
>“Well... I guess I'm just good at telling people their plans are totally unrealistic. Like Keigo wanted to do a bikini cafe this year.”
Ichigo as Head Captain.
All he does is tell people off when they're being stupid.
Greatest Head since Yamamoto

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>>1425070
Inside is something neither Ichigo nor Tatsuki could possibly have expected: they're mostly being quiet for once. There's no arguing, bickering, or outbursts of violence. Halibel, Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun are sitting behind four long tables set out in a u-shape, with heaps of fluffy material lying on them. Hats, scarves, gloves... all hand-made in subtle patterns and colors, most of which appear to be natural, with price tags on them.

“1,500 yen for a hat?” Tatsuki asks, picking up a particularly nice hat to feel the texture of the material. “This is really nice... did you really do all this?”

Halibel nods quietly. “We used to make our own clothing all the time.”

“And we got pretty good at it,” Sung-Sun adds confidently as she works quickly on a scarf. “I choose the colors and dye the yarn.”

“I usually knit, because I am the fastest,” Halibel tells them.

“Processing the raw material's my job,” Mila Rose declares as she sets aside a completed hat. “Though we all kinda knit when we've got nothing else to do.”

Apacci is in the middle of carefully feeding clumps of wool into a drop spindle, creating great lengths of extremely fine thread from it before doubling it over into two-ply yarn. “And I spin the material into somethin' we can use. This is raw merino wool.”

“The silk-like texture you feel is primarily due to Apacci's years of practice,” Halibel comments, and Apacci beams at the compliment. "Even Captain Kusajishi favors them for her armguards."

“Hey, I just make the yarn,” she shrugs reeling in the still-whirling spindle with her fingertips. “You guys are the ones who make the finished product.”

“And you made all of these?” Ichigo asks, examining the large rather large number of garments. “By hand?”

“We had time to prepare,” Sung-Sun shrugs. “Such a task was trivial. You know better than most how quickly we can work."

“Lady Riku suggested it after hearing about the festival,” Halibel explains quietly. “And I thought it was a good idea. The students get warm, inexpensive hand-knitted clothing for the winter, and the charity makes about 1,000 yen for each of them.”

“And with about a hundred of 'em selling quick, that charity this whole thing's for stands to make about a hundred thousand yen,” Apacci adds. “It's kind of a no-brainer.”
>2/3

>>1425215
Uryu asking to be taught in their wisdom when?

He is a sewing freak.

>>1424611
Reminds me of when Japan was proudly proclaiming to the world that Japanese was the only language that had absolutely no slang.

They were just as proudly proven wrong.

>>1425215
The students of Karakura were expecting the unexpected, and yet their expectations were still defied.

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>>1425215
“You know something?” Tatsuki muses. “I think I'll get a scarf.”

She hands over two bills, and gets back a small handful of coins in return along with her purchase. “Thanks, I'm actually looking forward to it getting cold enough to wear.”

“If you could do us a small favor though,” Halibel asks calmly, “and go down to the courtyard, Lady Riku and Lady Yoruichi have set up a stall.”

“Since when?” Ichigo asks, eyebrow raised in surprise.

“Since they decided to this morning, duh,” Apacci rolls her eyes as if the answer should have been painfully obvious. “They're hanging onto a plate for us, otherwise they'd probably sell out.”

“Okay,” Tatsuki shrugs. “What're they cooking?”

“I'm certain they saved you some as well,” Halibel smiles knowingly. “You'll learn soon enough.”

After weaving their way through the crowds, Tatsuki and Ichigo manage to find the stall that the arrancar were talking about... again, absolutely inundated. Though this time, the crowds seem to be dispersing somewhat.

“Sorry, we're out of ingredients!” a familiar voice calls out. “These ones are saved for organizers who've already paid!”

“Aw, man... one of the students strolling away from the stall grumbles. “Nishizawa got some early, it looked like he was gonna have an accident when he got to the dumplings.”

“Now I gotta go back to packed lunches,” another sighs wistfully.

“Pack it in, boys and girls,” a third jokes, “might as well give up food altogether after this. It's not gonna get better.”

“Ah, here they are!” Riku breathes a sigh of relief as Yoruichi practically sprawls out in a nearby chair. “The four boxes in these bags are for the ladies upstairs, and these are for you.”

“Thanks,” Ichigo nods, taking the food. “I was listening to some of the students leaving just now... this stuff really that good?”

Yoruichi glares sidelong at her living newphew. “It's a point of pride.”

“Well then, I'm sure we'll both enjoy them,” Arisawa nods politely.

Once out of earshot, Ichigo chuckles. “Come on. Can't be that good.”

He opens his own box to find an array of steamed buns and gyoza that don't look all that different from what you'd buy in a convenience store, then takes a bite. His eyes widen, and he practically inhales the rest of the box.

“Can't be that good, huh?”

“Shuddhup...”

Meanwhile, after the crowd around the stall has cleared, Yoruichi sighs contentedly. "So, what do you think?"

Her wife settles in the chair next to her, leaning against her shoulder. "We're definitely bringing this idea back with us..."
>3/3

>>1425630
Uryu be jelly and amazed
>>1425215
Oh my.
>What kind of wool accessories did you sell? >Which clothing was the biggest seller?
>Did you sell any copies of your shinigami/Arrancar uniforms you girls wear in Seireitei at the festival?
>So how did the Tia and the Tres' Wool shop color the student's social perception?
>Did the Tres eventually find their niche in School club hunting?
>>1425070
Nice job, Riku and Yoruichi. Although it might be hard to ask, can you do a bit of quality control on the food? I know it's nice that the food tastes "divine", but you can't make it too good to the point the kids will refuse any other food not made by you two to the point of starvation.

>>1425139
Funny thing is I can see it happening if Ichigo decides to shed his mortal coil and be a full time Shinigami.

>>1425630
Thanks king these were great

>>1425630
Nice way to tie the all previous omake together that ends in a positive note man.

Reckon Orihime's and Chizuru's side character friends were their most frequent and satisfied customers?

Also, you a sneaky QM. Berry boy is tripping up some flags here.

>>1426293
Please explain your spoiler for sleep deprived members of the community, I see not these flags.

>>1426365
>"You wanna go together, get caught up?"
>It's most definitely, totally not a date!

... is what Ichigo and Tatsuki will probably yell to any passersby that so much as looks at the pair in inquiry.

For real though, a glare from both would be more than enough.

>>1426293
eh, i'm still hoping in vain for either Ichigo/rukia or for all three of them to be a thing

>>1426707
I like Rukia much more than Tatsuki, not that King hasn't been trying to change that opinion

http://missstormcaller.tumblr.com/post/160279800132/cant-fear-your-own-world-part-1-full-translation

Hallibel survived

>>1427449
>Halibel is alive
>Grimmjow and Nel did their jobs and survived
>Aizen continues to be a best
Acceptable.

I wonder how Yoruichi would react to Orihime and Sung-sun's Unfood...

>>1428062
Newspaper smack

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>>1428062
>Hey, brat. You weren't thinking of actually feeding that to me, right?

>>1428409
Feeding implies a deliberate traceable act.
Hoping for said circumstance to unfold, whilst remaining a bystander, however makes you completely innocent of whatever hilarity that may occur.
And it would be hilarious.

>>1428512
I think you're forgetting that Yoruichi basically has a license to kill.

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So I found som new fan art, and this one shows a scene new novel

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>>1429680
And some cat...

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>>1429683
..and Shark..

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>>1429684
..and this woman that I sadly have forgotten the name off.

>>1429688
I don't think she actually had a name?

>>1429944
You're probably right, but I was thinking of the name she was called in this quest

>>1430520
Tenri, Riku's celestial servant?

>>1430520
Tenri. And I don't think it was ever explained what that woman was or where she came from, I just used her image.

>>1430592
Well I only recognized her because you used her picture

>>1430590
Celestial personal assistant, we're progressive damnit!

>will start a new thread in about half an hour