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The moment this weird ‘rollcall’ is over, you continue your duties at the 5th Division, before heading out to continue the Wailing Forest restoration efforts. It’s going quite well, after you figured out to use Drianni’s own roots as an energy source for the new growth as you mediate the flow of reiryoku. This saves you hours of work, but exhausts you each time enough that you can’t really think about any training.

Speaking of training, Asato-senpai still owes you. He’s one of the few you could ask to help with figuring out hollow powers, given that he has them himself. On the other hand, keeping it all to the Wailing Forest doesn’t sound that bad either, except that you wouldn’t have Asato’s expertise. Perhaps… perhaps it would make sense to bring him there? Or would that be extremely foolish?

You spend some time each day with your captain and mentor as well. After Aizen taught you ‘Go’ you’ve been playing it, and you must say, either you’re still not good at this game despite your keen memory, or Aizen is a monster.

These games however are always accompanied by discussions, of the philosophical kind. It really opens your mind to things you haven’t thought about before, and clearly Aizen values your own thoughts and deduction, despite your inexperience.

It all feels especially surreal, given that you highly suspect Aizen being the primary conspirator that Urahara sent you to find out.

“How do you see Soul Society, Koharu?” he asks, breaking your train of thought just at the right time.

“Come again?”

“The Seireitei, the Gotei 13, the Rukongai, what you’ve seen so far. How would you describe it yourself?”

“The whole afterlife?” you blink.

“No,” Aizen shakes his head. “Just what you’ve seen and what you’ve experienced.”

>2/2

>”It’s not how I expected the afterlife to be.”
>”To be honest? Dull, broken, and miserable.”
>”It has its flaws, but it all somehow works well enough to protect the innocent.”
>Other?

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Welcome to a new thread of Advent Soul Quest!

>What is this?
A quest based on the setting of Bleach. Deviation from canon depends on the MC’s influence, and some other additions are to be expected as well.
>Who are we?
Nakashiri Koharu, a former 10th grade (high schooler) trap that has just freshly joined the ranks of the Gotei 13 in the 5th Division.
>When are we?
Currently it is the start of Autumn 1982, ~19 years prior to the events of canon.
>Dice? Challenge?
Prompted after deciding on an action. Usually 3d10, best of 3 (Bo3), against a set DC and sometimes a crit-DC. Write-ins may affect the DC as well. If a character stat (in the char sheet) is directly related to the action, it will substitute the lowest die in rolls if it is higher (will be always explained when prompted to roll).
>Updates?
So far it’s been 20 minutes per post at best. Generally I promise an update per hour at the very least. I post whenever I start writing, or if I’m held up for some reason. My timezone is UTC+2.
>I have questions!
Ask away and I’ll do my best to answer.
>What do?
Have fun, vote on what feels the best, roll some dice and chill.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/QmTrippy
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=advent+soul+quest
Char Sheets: https://pastebin.com/6FkNTn8

>>4632442
>”It’s not how I expected the afterlife to be.”

>>4632442
>It’s not how I expected the afterlife to be.”

>>4632442
>”It’s not how I expected the afterlife to be.”
On the surface it appears the strong run things as Shinigami, but then you find out they’re errand boys for hand-rubbing nobles half the time.
And what’s up with the standard of living? I mean come on even the living world has it better and people don’t even need to eat here. Has no one attempted adapting modern technology to here?

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>>4632457
>>4632461
>>4632462
>Writing

There's lots of snow, so much snow. Got to walk on the sea ice too.

>>4632442
>It has its flaws, but it all somehow works well enough to protect the innocent.”

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“To be honest?” you say with a sigh as you place your next stone on the board, “It’s not how I expected the afterlife to be.”

“First off I didn’t expect for it to be a travel through time into Japan’s feudal era. This is supposed to be the afterlife, right?”

You scratch your hair, and groan some more. “The Rukongai is an impoverished mess, forced to do tiring and endless work in order to pay the shinigami their racket money to come save them when hollows attack. And that’s not even mentioning how the shinigami treat the rukongai people.”

You take a deep breath. “And the Seireitei… it’s… how do I put it… On the surface it appears the strong run things as shinigami, but then you find out they’re errand boys for hand-rubbing nobles half the time. It just seems to be that the role of a shinigami is not to fight hollows and protect lives, but to lick the butts of nobles and keep their afterlife as luxurious as possible.”

“Most shinigami come from within the Seireitei or the single-digit districts of the Rukongai,” Aizen nods as he casually places his pieces. Shit, how does he always find a way to utterly break your plans?

“Only few shinigami truly know what it’s like to live in the deeper parts of the Rukongai, and those who are sent there rarely care about it.”

“Yeah, I noticed that,” you frown. “So what’s up with the standard of living anyways? I mean, even the living world has it better and people don’t even need to eat here, though I bet people would enjoy tasting proper food. Has no one attempted adapting modern technology to this place?”

Aizen raises his eyes for a moment to meet yours, and then back to the game. “A person that has never experienced nor knows anything better than what they have will not demand it. But show them what is possible, and they will demand it.”

“Let me ask you this, Koharu. How many people here remember anything about the living realm?”

Your eyes slowly widen as you pick up on the implication.

>1/2

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“Is… is it intentional?” you ask with your eyebrows furrowed.

Aizen just closes his eyes. “Whether it’s intentional or not, there’s no effort to educate neither the Rukongai citizen, nor the students at the Shin’ō academy about modern technology and the possibilities.”

He places a stone once again. “You’ve become a retainer for the Shiraka. Perhaps one day you’ll see how they live with your own eyes.”

You gulp. You suspect it’s much better, even closer to the modern age state of living, and don’t know whether you’d be able to resist the urge to burn everything down at that point.

“I-I..” you stumble on your words. “I can’t stand it. It’s all a big lie, exploitation. The people without spiritual potential suffer to provide the elite with food, and the shinigami die to protect others, especially the nobles, while they only sit around and reap the rewards.”

“It’s.. it’s unfair,” you clench your fist.

Aizen folds his arms and looks right at you.

“If that is the current state of the world, Koharu, then tell me: How should it be instead?”

“How it should be?” you blink.

Aizen nods, keeping his eyes fixed on you, awaiting your response.

>2/2

>”One thing’s for sure: the nobles, they would have to go.”
>”Modernization. The Rukongai especially needs to become a better place.”
>”I.. I don’t know. I would need more knowledge and wisdom to answer that.”
>Other?

>>4632553
>”Modernization. The Rukongai especially needs to become a better place.”
And discreet information dispersal may be one of the best ways to start...
No need to make things a carbon copy of the living world but there’s obviously room for improvement.

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>”One thing’s for sure: the nobles, they would have to go.”
The weak should fear the strong

>>4632553
>”Modernization. The Rukongai especially needs to become a better place.”

>>4632567
>>4632572
>>4632607
>Writing

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You continue with the game, trying to think of new strategies, one’s that you haven’t seen Aizen use yet.

“Modernization, for sure,” you say, “The Rukongai especially needs to become a better place. In general, if the Gotei 13 should be protecting both living and deceased souls, shouldn’t it be more in touch with the current state of the living realm?”

Aizen’s eyes fall back to the board, as he places his next stone. “And how would you go about doing that?”

You sigh. Right away you’ve hit a wall. “It’d have to be done systematically,” you say with some distraught. “And the current system wouldn’t accept that. Not while the nobles are in charge.”

“Let’s assume you do succeed in raising the living conditions of the Rukongai, and the shinigami are truly in charge of the Seireitei. What then?”

“I…” you start, but can’t think of anything, but either pessimism or realism takes hold of you. “Those in power, they… they will still push down the weak, won’t they?”

Aizen closes his eyes. “Your experiences in Soul Society should be enough to answer that question.”

“Shit…” you curse quietly.

>”Even if it’s idealistic, I want to change the system. Even if it takes a long time.”
>”If it’s the strong that decide how the world is, that just means I have to become strong.”
>Other?

>>4632688
>Even if it’s idealistic, I want to change the system
Modernization can't be restricted to just the Rukongai. The leadership would need to be changed from the old, outdated one

>>4632688
>Even if it’s idealistic, I want to change the system. Even if it takes a long time.”
Keikaku man really knows what strings to pull to get us going

>>4632688
>”Even if it’s idealistic, I want to change the system. Even if it takes a long time.”

>>4632704
>>4632733
>>4632740
Taking the slow changer approach.
>Writing

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>>4632772
Actually, I'm going to need... a social check.
>Roll 3d10, Bo3, DC 19, crit 29, Social (6) may replace lowest die.

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

>>4632789
With a failure, he will teleport behind us in a preemptive strike

Rolled 6, 1, 5 = 12 (3d10)

>>4632789

Rolled 4, 3, 1 = 8 (3d10)

>>4632789
Witness me!

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>>4632791
>21(22)
>>4632793
>12(17)
>>4632794
>8(13)

It's a pass, and that's already significant.
That crit threshold may have been stupid high, but it would have caused something incredibly significant.

Rolled 2, 6, 3 = 11 (3d10)

>>4632794
Rolling to witness.

>>4632797
Don't tell me a crit would have gotten Aizen to actually be on our side?

>>4632797
Considering we were talking to Aizen I'd say it's valid

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“I know I will sound idealistic, but… I’d like to change the system, bit by bit, however long it takes. It’s better to take what works and extend that, while discarding what does not.”

You set a piece down on the board, using a move that makes Aizen raise an eyebrow.

“Why rebel and fight the machine, when one can change how it works, and… who it targets?”

Aizen’s eyes linger on you for a moment longer than what you’ve found to be normal for him. It’s enough to make you sweat a little. Did you go overboard?

Finally, his eyes set back down on the board, and he makes a decisive move, once again securing a critical battle that you would have needed to have a chance at keeping an important group alive.

“Arrghh!” you groan as you realize this, while Aizen gives you a pleasant but understanding smile.

“You did well, Koharu, and you’re learning really quickly.”

“I… thanks?” you blush just ever so slightly. “I mean, thank you, Aizen-san.”

>1/2

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With only a few more days left to go until your deadline with the forest, you find yourself mostly preoccupied with the boring paperwork that seated officers have to deal with related to the day-to-day bureaucracy of the 5th Division. While patrolling empty grounds where surely nobody would ever even want to intrude is boring as well, it’s at least refreshing to take a walk there.

At first you were honored to take a seated position, but now it feels like you got it simply because you can both read and write. Seriously, that modernization better start with that, or else you’ll drown in this paperwork.

“Screw this,” you slam your hands on the table, as you can’t stand it. “Time for some fresh air.”

Looking up you see the same old blue sky of Soul Society, with weird webs of clouds that sometimes don't feel quite natural. “Reiō, would it kill you to send down some rain here sometimes?”

“...Please? Ah, it was worth a shot,” you mumble as you make way through the labyrinth of walls and buildings.

The shinigami of the 5th Division generally wave to you as they see you, some even come to talk, and some even try to hit on you. You reject each one, of course, but by the looks of how their eyes turn to hearts, you doubt it’ll be the end of it.

Sigh, how did you get into this situation again?

“Having trouble?” you hear a voice behind you. Damn, you were distracted long enough that you didn’t even sense his presence.

“H-Hisashi?” you blink as you turn around. “You startled me.”

“Me? Startle YOU? Wow, I didn’t know old age was getting to you already,” he grins.

“Why.. you..” you start fuming as you get ready to strangle him.

“H-Hey, easy there, it was just a joke! Anyway, I uh, came to check up on you. We haven’t gotten a chance to really talk one on one since… you know, that time. Wanna go somewhere?”

Well, he certainly came by at a time when you’re feeling like not doing any work. Wait a moment… you recognize that look on his face, especially because of the other shinigami just now.

>2/2

>”Sure, I could use a distraction from work.”
>”...Are you asking me on a date, Hisashi?”
>”Sounds good, I was just about to go on a killing spree from all these love confessions.”
>Other?

>>4632836
>Aizen’s eyes linger on you for a moment longer than what you’ve found to be normal for him
Congrats boys we were this close to slaughtering the C46

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>>4632827
>>4632831
It... would have possibly changed Aizen's actions later down the line, regarding SS.
The possibility isn't completely out of the picture though

>>4632837
>..Are you asking me on a date, Hisashi?
Tease mode engaged

>”Sure, I could use a distraction from work.”
>Will Asato be there? I've been meaning to talk to him for a while now
I'll play along only to bust his balls

>>4632837
>”...Are you asking me on a date, Hisashi?”

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>>4632843
>>4632845
>>4632848
>Writing

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“Hisashi?” you close your eyes for a moment.

“Y-Yes?” he asks nervously as your tone changes.

“Are you… asking me on a date?” you open your eyes again, and stare at Hisashi’s face.

“And if I were to say yes?” he gets a bit more serious than usual, swallowing the nervousness you heard in his voice before.

“I might say yes too,” you say, feeling a little odd yourself. Akane would be teasing you to hell and back at this point if she ever saw this, after how you answered her own questions about you going out with other guys. You push your focus back to the present to avoid getting sad and homesick.

Well, doing this once shouldn’t hurt, right? Hisashi doesn’t know anyway, so it kind of doesn’t count.

“W-Well,” Hisashi glances away and scratches the back of his hair, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet, I really did want to catch up with you, you know.”

“Then let’s go,” you exhale, “I’ve had enough paperwork for one lifetime already.”

With a quick series of shunpo, Hisashi opts out for taking you to the 2nd district of Northern Rukongai.

“This is the Shirosōbien District,” as you land on one of the roofs. The place is quite beautiful for Rukongai, much thanks to the many small gardens with white roses growing out of them, looking quite nice with the slowly setting sun.

“Wow, it really does live up to its name,” you whistle. “Since you led me here, I assume you have a plan?”

Hisashi nods. “Follow me.”

>1/4

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You find yourself at a donburi food stall, and Hisashi pays for both of your meals as you set out to find a nice spot. Apparently, a lot of shinigami come to the nearest Rukongai districts to trade and buy stuff, since it’s cheaper than the ‘premium’ stuff right inside the Seireitei.

Just enough away from the rich center, but not too far away to be a poor area.

The two of you finally settle on a rooftop where you can see best all around you, which also happens to be a hard spot for that pesky spy to get close enough to eavesdrop.

But it does turn out to be quite romantic too, thanks to the sunset.

“This stuff is the best,” Hisashi speaks as he fills his mouth with the donburi. “So, how have you been since I… sent you here?”

You roughly recount your story, omitting of course some details that relate to hollows or your powers. From when you entered the Rukongai, when the Wailing Forest disaster happened, how you found your adoptive brothers and sisters, how you cared for them for six months, and finally went to join the Shin’ō academy. It was no easy path, but you made it, and even graduated within one year despite problematic relations with the noble brats.

“Junichi told me about what happened at the camp,” he explains, “It must’ve been rough. Makes me feel like utter shit that I didn’t manage to kill that mosquito bastard when I had the chance.”

“Yeah,” you sigh as you pause with your own food. “Don’t blame yourself though, neither of us could’ve predicted him becoming both so strong, and so obsessed with me.”

Well, technically you did predict it, but…

“What matters is that you’re safe now,” Hisashi gives a confident smile, as he sets his bowl down. “I’m glad to be back here too, and that you’re still in one piece.”

You bring your own bowl near your face as you scoop the last of the rice with your chopsticks, but also to hide the light blushing.

>2/4

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“How did things go on your side though, after you sent me off?”

Hisashi looks far towards the horizon. “Things went back to what it was, I guess. I kept looking after your friends for a while too.”

“Akane and Chie?” you raise your voice a little as he mentions them. “Are they okay?”

Hisashi smiles. “I knew you’d be worried about them. Yeah, they should be safe. Chie, she could walk and returned to school by the time I left.”

“That’s a relief,” you deeply exhale. Just remembering her state, being in a wheelchair… it still breaks your heart.

He looks at you, contemplating something. “She visits you at the hospital every day, you know.”

You drop the bowl as you hear this. It clatters down the roof, and onto the street. “S-She does?! T-That’s-”

“Pretty rough I bet, I know. She remembers you, that’s for sure, Koharu.”

“And… Akane?”

At this point, Hisashi takes a deep breath himself. “She… well, she found her own… spiritual powers,” he explains. “Hat’n’clogs called it a ‘fullbring’ or something when I asked. I tried to have her stay away, but she always insisted on fighting.”

“Akane is fighting hollows..?” you put your hands to your head.

“I don’t really know, but… I think after what happened, she wanted to make sure herself that the monsters responsible for your.... departure would have trouble doing anything like that again.”

“She always was and always will be a stubborn girl,” you look upwards towards the sky.

God how you miss them.

>3/4

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“If you’re worried about them, remember that they’re probably in the safest place they can be. Other shinigami replaced me, hat’n’clogs is there too, and that kid, Jun, also checks up on them, for you.”

You nod. “Thank you, Hisashi, that… does help me a little bit. I just hope I get to see them as soon as possible. I even asked Aizen-taichō if I could be stationed there anytime soon, but that area is still under your division’s jurisdiction.”

“I could ask Ukitake-taichō about it, I’m sure he can figure something out. He’s a really understanding Captain.”

“That’d be great, Hisashi.”

“Anytime,” he nods.

For a moment, the two of you simply watch the horizon and the sun that’s already dipping below the horizon, while listening to the ambient chitter chatter and clatter of the Rukongai citizen and shinigami going about their business on the streets. It really feels good to have a moment detached from all the craziness that you’ve been pulled into. With Urahara, with Aizen… and yet, you can’t really tell anybody.

“Koharu?”

“Y-Yes?”

He turns and leans slowly towards you, an all serious face, causing your heart to beat a lot faster suddenly. He isn’t going to… is he?

His face turns to a grin though as he stops moving, and turns to look at the horizon again. “How’s this for a date? I hope it passed your expectations, heh.”

You also turn towards the horizon, and realize you had stopped breathing for a moment. Slowly exhaling, you respond to him.

“Y-Yeah, it’s… alright, I suppose.”

“Alright? I’ll take that.”

“Let’s see if Asato does better.”

…

“WAIT WHAT?!”

>4/4

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And we’re gonna pause here. Hope you enjoyed it y’all, and we’ll continue tomorrow at same time, 16:00 UTC!

>>4632962
Hah. He's big gay and a cuck!

Thanks for the run boss

>>4632963
Thanks for the run Trippy

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So does Koharu not correct people on assuming he's a girl because it'd be too much of a nuisance to have to bring it up constantly, or does he not do it because women are treated better than men?

>>4632963
RIP Hisashi. Hopefully that doesn't tank our chances of visiting our human frens.
>>4633008
>palpable smug

>>4633317
I'd guess the former. I know we're a trap because we come from a line of girls and we're raised that way, so I guess Koharu just rolls with the assumption because it's been happening for his entire life.

>>4633317
Like the other guy said Koharu’s been a trap since the beginning so he’s probably just too used to it. I mean if he wanted to stop being mistaken for a girl he could try and look more manly but that’d probably lead to comedic situations where Koharu’s mistaken as a tomboy instead of a boy.

what happened to the char sheets?

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>>4634248
I just checked, apparently the pastebin got nuked. Well I'll fucking be, time to just abandon that shit.

Have some new links.
>Character Sheets
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DQUOuJbOgzrjIKQLjMFxdmsQh3WIKMMFJQ8fO5-biYM/edit?usp=sharing
>Social Links
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HXWo1bA7rplcTIJSkE850qzEE55b-W36tuL_qtT0b00/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks for the headsup, anon!

>>4633317
It's totally not because he enjoys it. And it doesn't make him happy at all when people call him cute or give him attention. No sir.

I'm still looking forward to meeting Yuushiro and being traps together

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You return to the Seireitei with Hisashi all well, despite your little joke that got him all rattled up. You feel a little bad for him, so you do permit a peck on his cheek before leaving back to your division.

Hisashi lingers there for a while before he himself leaves.

The night passes rather peacefully, more than before. Knowledge of your friends, however much homesickness it brings you, also brings you joy, knowing that they are alive and well. It’s also relieving to unload some of the frustrations you’ve been keeping inside yourself to somebody you can trust… at least to some degree.

In the morning you find yourself once again in the middle of work that you never thought you’d be doing as a shinigami. Today marks the last day of your work on the forest, and you hope that it’s going to be enough to pardon you for your, or rather, Zilya’s rampage.

“I did want to get something for her as a gift possibly,” you look up at the ceiling from your desk. “But what would somebody like her even like? She’s literally hundreds of years old if I understood right..”

You shake your head, and push that responsibility to a future you. As much as you joked about Asato yesterday, you do need to find him in order to determine how to go about his promise for training.

You probably have some other things that you wanted to get done, but they elude you right now.

>Try to find a gift for Drianni anyway. (what kind of gift?)
>Look for Asato, the sooner you figure out a time for training, the better.
>Other?

>>4634346
>Try to find a gift for Drianni anyway. (what kind of gift?)
A rare plant

>>4634346
>Try to find a gift for Drianni anyway. (what kind of gift?)
Either some kind of plant, or something anybody would like but that you couldn't find as a Hollow living in a forest - a nice cushion to relax on or something like that. I dunno, I'm not good at this kind of stuff..

>>4634373
>>4634387
A rare plant or a cushion, hmm. I can work with this.
>Roll 1d100, Bo3, to determine how good of a gift you find.

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>4634416

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>4634416
Quiet day, huh

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>4634416
I thought she might like a book but this is probably ok too.

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>>4634421
>>4634422
>>4634426
>81
Pretty good.
>Writing

>>4634422
>Quiet day, huh
I noticed activity picks up usually in around one or two hours based on previous sessions. No idea why yesterday was different, but I'll take what I can get!

>>4634426
>book
Oh, I think I might know just the right thing in combination with the plants.

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You get up from the pillow on the floor, and decide to focus on Drianni first. You probably have years and years ahead of you for training, but you’ll be seeing Drianni today after wrapping up the growth.

“What would she even like though?” you scratch your head, but after going through a few ideas, such as cushions, figurines and other stuff that a hollow might not have access to, you figure something out, and it’ll require the help of a friend of yours:

Izumi.

Making your way to the Shin’ō academy, you dive straight to the disorganized library, where surely enough you find the shinigami otaku. She’s reading the few volumes of Cutie Honey that you asked (or rather, blackmailed) Konuma-sensei to get you.

“Hey there Izumi!” you call out to her, startling her.

“K-Koharu!” she drops the manga and begins moving towards you, only to trip and slide over the book pile on which she was sitting. You wince as you watch her tumble down, but fortunately she’s unhurt, physically at least.

“I see you’re still reading that one?” you ask, just as she tackles you for a hug. With starry eyes, she looks at you after releasing her hold.

“I can’t get enough of it! I’ve read it 847 times now!”

“Y-You WHAT? N-Nevermind that…”

The two of you exchange news and thoughts, and you don’t know how she manages to do it, or if you just slipped up, but Izumi ends up learning about your ‘date’ with Hisashi.

“Oh. My. REIŌ!”

It takes almost all of your effort to suppress her gushing and pushing for fujoshi fantasies, so you can get to asking what you came for.

“A-Alright, Izumi, can you find me something? A book or two, on plant life in the living realm or Soul Society. I kind of need them.”

Izumi blinks. “I-I didn’t take you for a b-botanist, but… I-I’ll try!”

You nod. “Thanks, I’ll be grateful.”

She won’t find it right away probably, but since you’re here at the academy, you could visit some more people.

>Visit Emika, you can’t not see her if you’re here.
>Visit Konuma-sensei, you did bond with him the most out of the instructors.
>Visit Heizo. Now that you think about it, you haven’t seen him since the camp.
>Visit Yukiko. It’s probably a mistake, but you are her retainer too now.
>Other?

>>4634460
>play with your salamander
we havent had time to do it for a while, and we seem fairly free

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>>4634461
I'll include this with whichever other option you choose. You are right, we mustn't forget Lizzy.

>>4634460
>Visit Emika, you can’t not see her if you’re here.

>>4634470
then
>Visit Emiko

>>4634460
>Visit Emika, you can’t not see her if you’re here.
This might be forbidden info I'm asking Trippy, but how nice is Kohaku's butt?

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>>4634475
>>4634485
>>4634489
Emika it is!
>Writing

>>4634489
>but how nice is Kohaku's butt?
Quite nice, possibly exquisite. Only one way to find out.

>>4634510
I-I won't fall for your temptations Trippy...

>>4634510
we cant we arent 18 yet

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You take a moment to just find a nice and comfortable corner of the library, and have Lizzy climb out of your sleeve. That little bugger has been sticking to you more and more like glue since Zilya’s rampage…

Wait a moment. Now that you think about it, every time you’ve released hollow reiatsu through Zilya and Jorōgumo, Lizzy has become more and more attached to you. Sure, she’s still a lizard and acts like one, but it’s like…

“Are you feeding off of my reiatsu?” you narrow your eyes, as you hold Lizzy on your palm and in front of your face. She moves one of its legs slightly towards you and keeps opening and closing her mouth. You start sweating a little as you draw her closer, as if expecting words, but end up just giving Lizzy the opportunity…

...to nab at your nose.

“Listen here you little-” you say as your eye twitches, and grab Lizzy by her tail and back onto your palm, ending up playing with her for quite a bit as she does her best to escape getting caught again by scurrying around your arm and inside your clothing, tickling you in the process.

“B-Bastard..!” you whisper as you try to keep in the laughter. “W-Wait..! Not there!”

>1/2

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After you deal with Lizzy and get her to just nap in your sleeve, you use reiraku to manifest the thousands of ribbons from various reiatsu sources, and pick out Emika’s familiar one.

She’s just about done with one of Ise-sensei’s kidō classes. Looking over at their training, you see the class practicing surprisingly high level kidō, meaning this must be, at minimum, the 5th level class, possibly 6th. You don’t recognize anyone else in the class except Emika, though it’s not like you knew that many people to begin with. The other noble brats always ostracized you.

“K-Koharu? Koharu! It is you!” Emika waves and shouts over to you as the class is dismissed, running to you and tackling you with a hug just like Izumi.

“E-Emi-chan, carefuuuUUUL!” you shout as you both fall on the grass.

“Heh, sorry!” Emika sticks out her tongue as she’s on top of you, before getting up and helping you as well.

“Jeez, both you and Izumi are so energetic, I wish I had that too.”

“Well, it has been a while since you visited us, Koharu!” she smiles. “You did promise to visit us now and then, but I didn’t expect it to be this of a rare event!”

“Neither did I,” you sigh, “I’ve had my hands full with work, you know. It’s not like I don’t want to visit.”

“Oh well. But you’re here now! So I’m happy.”

You take a stroll through the large garden with a lake. It takes you back, since any spot overseeing the lake and the small island there was your favorite, possibly due to the resemblance to your own inner world.

“You must be doing quite well at kidō to be in that class,” you compliment her. “Was it the fifth or sixth?”

“The sixth actually!” Emika smiles. “Once this year is over, I’ll try to join the Kidō Corps and Katsuragi-shochō!”

You remember that time when Grand Kidō Chief Katsuragi Aneyoshi visited the academy to look for potential recruits, and how she took an interest in both you and Emika. It clearly left an impression on her, though you can’t help but wonder if Emika is admiring her too much.

You’re slightly worried too, since the Kidō Corps are hardly ever present in public, except for the Senkaimon and some other routines. In fact, you hardly know about their duties beyond that.

>2/2

>”The Kidō Corps would suit you quite well, Emi-chan.”
>”That sounds nice, but you should look at other options too, see what’s really best.”
>”To be honest, I think another division would suit you better.” (Which?)
>Other?

>>4634545
>”That sounds nice, but you should look at other options too, see what’s really best.”

>>4634545
>That sounds nice, but you should look at other options too, see what’s really best.”
Worse thing in life is pigeonholing yourself only to be dissatisfied

>>4634545
>>”The Kidō Corps would suit you quite well, Emi-chan.”

>>4634545
>That sounds nice, but you should look at other options too, see what’s really best.”
I recall her leaning towards Kido for a while so don't wanna kill her dreams that hard

>>4634554
>>4634583
>>4634589
>>4634597
>Writing

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>>4634606
>Gonna take a bit longer, gonna quickly eat something

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“That sounds nice,” you nod, “but just be careful not to pigeonhole yourself. Look at other options too, see what really is the best for you.”

“I will, Koharu, I promise,” Emika smiles. “I did consider the fourth and thirteenth divisions too, but I don’t feel about them as strongly, you know?”

You nod. “Follow what your heart tells you, Emi-chan.”

You walk and talk with Emika about various topics and things. Classes, foods, jokes, stupid things that have happened at the academy, Heizo. In fact, so much, that you end up with her all the way at the library building, where you find Izumi with a few of the books you asked her to find.

“Are you studying botany, Koharu?” Emika asks curiously.

“Err, kind of,” you give an awkward smile. “The fifth division has a lot of gardens, Aizen-sa- taichō likes them, so I just thought… I’d study a bit?”

“Aizen… san?” Emika blinks, and she exchanges looks with Izumi, their expressions turning into a smug grin.

“W-What?” you ask nervously.

“Oh, nothing.”

“A-Anyway, here’s your books!”

You thank Izumi and take them off your hands. “Hopefully I’ll have more time on my hands sooner or later and we can go out and do something again!”

Both of them nod.

“That’d be nice!”
“T-That’d be nice!”

>1/3

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After leaving your tail at Aizen’s place once more and getting some white roses from the Shirosōbien district which you visited yesterday, you make your way to the Wailing Forest. You pass the various districts and look over them, thinking about your discussions with Aizen.

About modernization.

As much as you’d like to do big things and fix all problems, the reality is, you’re essentially sixteen. You lack knowledge, experience, and wisdom to pull it off. But fortunately, you have Aizen by your side. You’re sure that as long as you’re with him, you’ll learn really fast. Despite knowing that you probably shouldn’t, you grow more and more attached to him. Even if he is a traitor and possibly much more that he just doesn’t let you in on, he has kept you going forward, and thanks to him, you keep learning more and more.

Entering the Wailing Forest you find just like before. Funny how such a dangerous and ominous location could feel so homely to you by now, despite hollows lurking here and there. Though, technically, you did make it safer that one time when you caused the disaster by spooking hundreds of hollows.

“Well, best not to dwell on that,” you shake your head, and arrive at the location which Zilya’s rampage incinerated. Now in its place is already a young and blooming patch of forest, and you use your zanpakutō to push it all one last time to grow and entwine through Drianni’s roots.

You find Lahela on your way to Drianni, and chat a little bit, though mostly it’s just you describing the world outside to her. This situation feels familiar, when you were the one locked up in a shrine, asking about the outside world.

Finally, you get to the center of the forest, where Drianni’s ambient reiatsu is the strongest, and sure enough, you hear her voice.

“You’ve returned.”

>2/3

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“The ten days are over, and as promised, we’ve helped the forest heal. I know it’s.. not like before it got burned, but, it should grow back a lot easier now.”

One of the large, thick, dark trees splits apart, revealing a pristine white interior, and Drianni’s form seems to grow out of it, revealing that familiar white-bone-clad body.

“It does feel alive now, rather than dead,” she notes. “I see you used my roots.”

“I did,” you nod. “That’s how you help the forest and make it harder for the shinigami to sense anyone here, right?”

“Correct. I don’t know how to feel about you using my reiryoku, but I’ll let it pass, for now.”

You gulp.

“Now that your debt has been settled, I won’t force you to leave. But… if you harm the forest again, I will devour you without a warning. Am I clear?”

You gulp again. “Crystal.”

“Good. Now go.”

“Actually… I, uh, got something for you, a present,” you say, and take out two books and some of the white roses. “I don’t know when would have been the last time you left the forest, but I’m sure you’re curious. Especially about the plants.”

Drianni takes the books and glances over them, before flipping through some pages.

“And these roses… you can probably have them grow roots and make a garden of your own, if you’d like?”

There’s a few minutes of silence, and you and Lahela exchange looks, hoping that the gifts are to her liking.

“...Thank you,” Drianni finally says. “I will read them.”

>3/3

>Ask her if she has decided in any way about becoming an arrancar.
>Ask her about Hueco Mundo.
>You’ve done what you needed to, it’s time to go.
>Other?

>>4634733
>>Ask her about Hueco Mundo.

>>4634733
>>Ask her about Hueco Mundo

>>4634733
>Ask her about Hueco Mondo

>>4634733
>Ask her about Hueco Mundo.

>>4634750
>>4634753
>>4634779
Getting info
>Roll 3d10, Bo3, DC 16, crit 24, Social (6) may replace lowest die
If you have any specific questions you'd like to ask about ghost mexico, post 'em

Rolled 1, 3, 2 = 6 (3d10)

>>4634792
Hmm, maybe we can ask her what the order is like over there? We're interested in seeing if hollows can function in their own sorta society right?

Rolled 10, 4, 10 = 24 (3d10)

>>4634792

Rolled 6, 3, 5 = 14 (3d10)

>>4634792

>>4634792
How long it’s been around?

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>>4634802
>6(11)
>>4634808
>24(26)
>>4634811
>14(16)
And it's a crit! Nice one!
>Writing

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You try to find the right words to approach Drianni, but it seems you linger long enough for her to notice and ask about it herself.

“If you wish to speak, then speak.”

“Well, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” you sigh, “about Kage no Sekai, Hueco Mundo. I know you do not have fond memories of that place, but… I’d like to know.”

Drianni faces you in silence, before sitting down on a part of a tree, and gestures to you and Lahela to do the same.

“Very well. I suppose I can entertain your curiosity. What would you like to know?”

You sigh in relief. “W-Well, after realizing that my view on hollows was quite skewed and I actually saw social behavior among them, I.. I can’t help but wonder, what it’s really like. Especially in Hueco Mundo, which I’ve been taught is the home realm for them.”

“If you’re seeking proof that hollows can work as a society, burn that idea to the ground.”

“W-What?” you blink, while Lahela looks to the side with some sadness in her eyes.

“Hollows are vile, dangerous, vicious creatures, most of whom won’t think twice about eating each other.”

You can clearly hear revulsion in her voice. “Drianni, what.. what have you seen in Hueco Mundo? What’s the… order there?”

Drianni remains silent for a moment. “The strong rule the weak. Always has been, and always will be. Back… back when I was there, it was different. Lush with vegetation, just the right kind, with fruit that would satiate the hellish hunger that hollows felt.”

“That can't be.. didn’t you say Hueco Mundo is a desert wasteland?”

“It is now, thanks to the self-proclaimed King, the Defiler, one of the ‘Barons’ of Hueco Mundo.”

“The what now?” you blink in confusion.

>1/2

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“The order of things… you asked about that. There are certain individuals of power who rule that realm. The Defiler is one of these Barons, and his powers… I did not stand a chance. My home, my jungle, my underlings, all perished the day he unleashed his terrible power on the realm and turned it into sand.”

Drianni looks at her hand. “I… fled. To the living realm.”

“W-When did this all happen?”

“Over two thousand years ago, I’ve lost track.”

“Y-YOU’RE OVER TWO THOUSAND YEARS OLD?” your jaw drops to the ground.

“Yes. But there are… others, far older than me. Such as the Cruel One, and the Tyrant.” As she mentions the latter one, you swear you see her shudder. “Those are the ones at least I know survived the Defiler’s aftermath. Surely there’s fresh monstrosities too.”

This is definitely a lot to take in. Events and individual hollows that you hear for the first time, possibly on a mythological scale. “Hueco Mundo… just how old is it?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Drianni shakes her head. “Much older than this place. Curious I was when this realm appeared around one and a half thousand years ago. The forest was much larger back then too.”

“Thousand and a half.. years? Created?” you blink. This is not at all what you expected to learn today.

“What, you shinigami don’t even know your own history?” Drianni asks, almost smugly.

>2/2

>”Have you heard about one called... the Ruin?”
>”I think I learned enough for today. Thank you.”
>Other?

>>4634880
>>”Have you heard about one called... the Ruin?”

>>4634880
>”Have you heard about one called... the Ruin?”

>>4634880
>>”Have you heard about one called... the Ruin?

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Rolled 7, 8, 7, 9 = 31 (4d10)

>>4634897
>>4634898
>>4634919
Interesting. This means I get to roll the dice for a change.
>Writing

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“This is a lot to take in at once,” you say as you take a deep breath.

“Don’t tell me you regret asking?” Drianni asks.

“No, I don’t, I just… didn’t expect this all.” You think for a moment and wonder. These barons, the titles she called them. The Cruel One. The Tyrant. The Defiler.

The Ruin.

You contemplate whether you should ask about it, and in the end succumb to your need to know.

“Have you heard about one called… the Ruin?”

You see Drianni’s slight movements stop, like she freezes up, and you just know she knows something.

“Yes, I’ve heard of the Ruin. Encountered some of her abominable spider children. A truly foul example of hollow viciousness. Why? How do you know of her?”

“Errr, I…” you stumble on your words, “I heard it somewhere…”

Drianni raises up and slowly walks up to you, the atmosphere around her changing to a rather menacing one, enough to have both you and Lahela almost fall behind from the tree root you are sitting on.

“I thought I felt wrong, but the more I remember it… the more the reiatsu I felt from your rampage feels familiar.”

“D-Drianni?” you swallow hard.

“I hope I am wrong, shinigami… no, I don’t think I can call you that anymore. For your sake, I truly hope I am wrong.” Drianni stares at you for a moment in silence, before asking her own question.

“What does your master want with us?”

“Master? Y-You mean Aizen-san?”

“Yes. I have seen his type before. A cold, smart, conqueror. He takes no step uncalculated. He’s not dealing with us for the goodness of his heart. So what does he want with me, and with you?”

>”He…” (write-in)
>”I.. I don’t know, but I need him.”
>Other?

>>4634972
>>”I.. I don’t know, but I need him.”

>>4634972
>He…” (write-in)
He just wants to study hollow behavior and educate the shinigami about them. It might not stop us hunting your kind, but the way we view hollows is very basic and built on fear instead of facts.

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>>4634972
I'll actually leave the vote open for the night and go to sleep. Tomorrow I'll wrap up the thread once you've had time to vote and discuss.

Night anons, and thank you for your participation and reading as always!

>>4635001
Goodnight Trippy

>>4635001
Night Trippy thanks for the run

>>4634972
>>”He…” (write-in)
“seems to want change, that’s as much as I can say without a doubt but anything else would just be me guessing.”

>>4635035
Actually changing my write-in a little
“seems to want change, both to change the way shinigami see hollows and to change society but that’s as much as I can say without a doubt, anything else would just be me guessing.”

>>4634972
Honestly, I like Drianni more than Hat’n’Clogs or Keikaku-man. I say we levelset with her about what we know vs. what we fear instead of giving her a feel-good answer. We can draw on our experiences with Aizen has shown us, our experience with Central, the Quincy/Shinigami/Monk rivalries, and our former life.

>I know he’s looking for change, and I can see why. I’ve seen for myself that we serve lords who care little about us and think nothing of the people lower than us. I have seen how stagnant this world has remained compared to the living world, and suspect it is kept that way on purpose. You are my enemy because you have always been my enemy, the nobles rule because they have always ruled, don’t question, don’t think, don’t ever believe things could be anything but worse if you were to change.

>My fear is that he’ll cause a revolution. I know he’s targeting a broken system, but I don’t know with what or how it’ll be replaced. His views, my views, on your kind alone would mark us for immediate execution, yet he has continued to dig, to learn, to understand, no doubt for far longer than I know. If he didn’t see a way he could use this knowledge for his goal, I don’t think he’d have learned so much. And that worries me, because it’d be easier to use hollows to destroy the rot at our core than it would be to build a partnership with them and displace the nobles, especially with what you’ve said about the hollows in Hueco Mundo. I don’t want to think he’d do that, but I can’t say he wouldn’t see it as a means to an end. I just don’t know him well enough.

>I... want things to be better. For me, for you, for the soul society, and even hollows at large. My life felt much like the cage we’re in now. Follow the rites and rituals of my ancestors, for fear an old enemy devastates everything. Trade away my feelings, my thoughts, my hopes for a better future and just do what is expected of me because it’s safer for everyone. But we’re proof that things *can* be different, if we can just figure out how to make that difference at large.

>...sorry for springing all that on you. I know, I’m young and dumb. And I’m sure you *don’t* want to get dragged into our politics. Just, know that I don’t want to hurt you. And if I thought you would be hurt, I would try to stop it. Even if it meant standing up to Aizen. I probably wouldn’t make a difference, but I know you can’t make people change course by staying out of their way. Still hope it makes a difference.

>>4634972
>”He…” (write-in)
>"hasn't really opened up to me about his larger plan. From what I can tell he has some dispute with the Soul Society's governing nobility, who seem to use the Soul King as a figurehead rather than a real authority above them. What this has to do with you hollows is anyone's guess, but he does seem to know a lot about arrancars as he knew how to assist me when I altered Lahela. Oh, and then there's someone equipping hollows with stealth-camouflage to attack Shinigami training camps, but unfortunately there isn't any evidence to identify the culprit. It could be Aizen-taicho, a different shinigami, a hollow-warlord from Hueco Mundo, or something completely different for all I know."
>"Anyway, Aizen-taicho hasn't given me any orders on dealing with you aside from periodically checking to see that you're still around, so take from that what you will."

>>4635312
>>4635320
Do we really want to just spill almost everything we know to her just like that? It might be pretty sad that she's probably treated us better than anyone in the SS other than Aizen and a few others, but I'm not sure about opening up this much to her after such a simple question. At best she's a neutral in all of this, and we really don't have a reason to believe that hearing our problems with a system she isn't involved in would suddenly make her leap to our support.

One part of the write caught my attention though: What exactly is Kohaku's stance on hollows? Do we really want to try for a peaceful future between them and the shinigami? We've met a few good ones sure, but we've also seen some of the worst that hollows can do, including crippling our body and our friend and mentally scaring two of our comrades. Just because Drianni and Lahela are cool, does that mean we look past the ones that she just warned us about in Hueco Mundo?

>>4635494
Drianni is very unlikely to stab is in the back thanks to her neutrality. Which, as you said, is a pretty sad state of things but that’s the SS for you.

Ultimately, I think she’s just gauging threat levels right now. She suspects Aizen, and wants to know how much to suspect us. Appearing to be a bundle of stress that just wants to do right seems in-character and should put us firmly in the “not a threat” category. That level of openess is also a starting point for further friendliness and favors. While I think it’s way too early for it, having her as a potential trainer for our hollow powers (this area would be excellent for disguising such training) may be something we can angle towards over time.

As for supporting hollows, I’d think Kohaku would feel supportive of at least creating a space where some hollows could connect with the SS, especially ones like Lahela. It fits with his theme of mediating between two disparate halves, even more so since he’s sharing soul space with a hollow. It’d be nice to not have that hanging around his neck as a noose waiting to tighten, y’know?

Definitely not going to save all of Hueco Mundo. But we have to start small, with hollows we know can be part of a solution. Making sure these two are safe is the right place to start if we really want to make that part of Kohaku’s goals.

And when Aizen somehow finds out about this anyway, it shouldn’t ding us. It’d make sense for someone who has only been here a couple years to have mixed feelings about all of this, and he has plenty of time to harden us against the soul society.

>>4635494
I don't mind blabbing with regards to what I wrote, it's just letting her know Aizen thinks the government is a sham built on a lie, reminding her that he knows all about arrancars, and is a possible suspect in mobilizing enhanced hollows against Soul Society. Can't speak for >>4635312.
I do think that it'd be in character for Koharu to be open with her since she's been straightforward in her demands, mostly reasonable, and (compared to Urahara and Aizen) not manipulative. And since she's apparently older than this dimension she'd probably be a handy mentor-figure if we remain on friendly terms with her.
In fact we should ask her for redpills, she might find it amusing to blow our mind with her 0% propaganda perspective.

On the topic of how to deal with hollows, I don't think Koharu has any qualms with killing the ones that are mindless or malevolent and a danger to other souls, but he'd probably prefer to talk down the (reasonable) sapient ones and figure out a way to ease or remove their hunger without killing them. In a roundabout way it'd be doing the thing zanpakuto normally do, but skipping the step of making the hollow's soul get reincarnated by just reverting it to a non-predatory state [we're not there yet in terms of ability though].

>>4635619
I'm on board with lowering our threat level and trying to get the door open to turn to Drianni in the future. However I still feel like we're spilling too much in the write-in. Not trusting Aizen fully and being wary of Urahara is normal, but even if she's a neutral I'm not sure about putting all our trust in Drianni either.

>>4635655
OOC, I boil it down to risk management. Drianni’s isolation (and Lahela’s as well) make the risks from of tipping too much info to them minimal and the potential gains from the ongoing trust to be acceptable. My main concerns would be poisoning her too much against Aizen (I avoided the specific mentions of stealth hollows so she’d avoid that leap of logic) since he could check in still, and he may figure out some way of duping either Lahela or Drianni to spill what we told them.

I imagine he’d view this as a net positive, since we got closer to the hollows and he can leverage us to have them assist him indirectly if needed. Our concerns aren’t anything he wouldn’t already suspect either. On the other hand, knowing we tried pinning things like the training camp attack on him would indicate a deeper distrust on our part, especially to share it with others, and that would be dangerous for him to think. It’d also make him devalue the hollows as tools and consider them more as threats since this place could be a temporary base of operations for us if we turned against him during his rebellion and had to escape the SS.

IC, I like to imagine Koharu is getting sick of this spy shit. Venting at the equivalent of a witch who lives alone in the forest because she will actually eat children who tick her off is the closest he can get to getting this off his chest without getting someone killed. Which he should find both highly amusing and depressing.

Holy shit that wall of text
>>4635494
Honestly? Yes. Maybe not to this extreme extent but we need frens
Koharu made friends but up until now he's been alone playing covert operative. And even though he clearly likes Aizen our trap is slowly realizing he's being used as a pawn in a game of chess played between two sociopaths.
Even if we ignore the Keikakumen who do we have? A bunch of nobodies in the grand scheme of things we call friends and a shit system that the people in power actively maintain, ignore or are too powerlesss to change (the bullshit with nobles and the poverty coming to mind)

Out of the actually powerful people only Driani and Aizen were nice to us, the rest are dicks. And Aizen is a schemung rat. Driani on the other hand could've killed, raped, ate our ass and bonemarrow in any order she wanted and we could've done nothing about it. But she didn't. Even when we massively fucked up she was willing to give us a chance and I feel like she would've let us go even if we failed but clearly tried our best. And she's literally one of the only 2 people (both hollows funnily enough) that we could vent our frustration to without worrying about saying the wrong thing and attracting the attention of C46

In exchange for making her our therapeutic hollow we can confirm her suspicion about Aizen. Win-win

>>4635776
Maybe I'm just too defensive about it then? If the majority wants to go through with this then I'll throw my support as well. We just gotta pick which write-in we're going with.

>>4634880
>the Tyrant.” As she mentions the latter one, you swear you see her shudder.
Oh...

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cdmhyEqCINM

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>waking up
>enjoying some nice tea
>open thread on phone
>"what's happening in this thre-HOLY SHIT"

You have no idea how happy it made me to see all of this, anons. I'll reread these a few times and then write up the post (or if something needs a concrete vote, prompt it). This might take a while though since I need to do some stuff first. Any new posts/write-in's will be taken into consideration too..

But if I'm getting this right the rough consensus so far is
>Tell Drianni about the state of affairs of you, Aizen and SS
>Don't mention reiatsu-hiding hollows (?)
>Vent our frustrations to her

>>4635923
>making her our therapeutic hollow
I dig it

>>4636042
Huh, well glad to hear you like the discussion Trippy.

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>>4636042
Actually, I think I'll just leave it here until next session, since after I started writing, I realized this scene might continue for longer than I thought. Next session will be on Monday (8.2.) at 16:00!

I'll update all the sheets after next session, so no updates this time.

>>4636159
With everything thrown into the write-ins that’s hardly a surprise! I just wish I could attend more of these so I could make Koharu spill more spaghetti for maximum profit.

>>4636159
I'm willing to wait if it means an extra thick update later

>>4636042
Thinking over it, I’m willing to recant my opposition to mentioning stealth hollows. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with pinning it on Aizen since he’s still been nothing but a bro to Koharu even if we know better, but it’d be good for these two to know hostile hollows may be able to slip in without alerting anyone.

Thoughts from others?

>>4636250
Mentioning those would draw attention to Aizen yes. But we don't have any actual proof that points to him. So I think we should skip mentioning those even if Koharu thinks that was him.
It'd be baseless accusation at best

>>4636263
Well, we have enough material to deflect from him while still asking for them to take precautions.
>We had some powerful hollows breach our defenses at a training camp recently. Menos-grande, if that means anything to you. They had some reiatsu-hiding trick that helped them get through, and we don't know how that happened. Just letting you know since one of them getting here could cause problems. Forest damage, bringing shinigami in here, taking power from your roots. May be dumb enough to pick a fight with you directly and lose, but that'd lead to those first two problems.

If pressed on how we think it happened (AKA the "did Aizen do this" question):
>I don't know. Could be some new power in Hueco Mundo getting some greedy, arrogant hollows to try attacking us. Testing our defenses to see what they can do and if any hollows come back. No shortage of assholes who would want a piece of us, I'm sure.

Ultimately, things are changing. I don't want Drianni to consider Aizen a threat to her personally, but I'd like her primed enough to consider circumstances may mean she needs to relocate again. She'd make for a good base of operations if we ever have a falling-out with both Aizen and the SS.

>>4636844
I approve of this approach to the topic. In character Koharu doesn't want to believe Aizen would put people's lives in danger for some unscrutable reason so he probably wouldn't bring it up with the intention of implicating Aizen so much as bringing a potential threat to their attention.

File: Thread007b.jpg (166 KB, 1000x700)

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You are Nakashiri Koharu, an average shinigami at first glance. Inside, however, there’s nothing average nor simple. You are in the middle of something big, a large plan, and clearly a chess piece that others are trying to control. Among them, your first mentor Urahara Kisuke and your current mentor Aizen Sōsuke are clearly up to something that you don’t understand just yet, your intuition tells you to be wary.

“So what does he want with me, and with you?” Drianni asks, her eyes behind the hollow mask piercing your soul as she does so. Your gaze remains locked with hers, until yours slowly drifts downwards with a sigh.

“To be honest? I don’t know what to tell you. I know he’s looking for change, and I can see why. I’ve seen for myself that we serve lords who care little about us and think nothing of the people lower than us. I have seen how stagnant this world has remained compared to the living world, and suspect it is kept that way on purpose.”

Your gaze once more shifts to face Drianni. “You are my enemy because you have always been my enemy, the nobles rule because they have always ruled, don’t question, don’t think, don’t ever believe things could be anything but worse if you were to change.”

For a moment, you think about how much this reminds you of your time at Kasuga-taisha, where your caretakers dictated what you could and couldn’t do.

“He hasn't really opened up to me about his larger plan. From what I can tell he has bad blood with the Soul Society's governing nobility, who seem to use the Soul King as a figurehead rather than a real authority above them. My fear is that he’ll cause a revolution. I know he’s targeting a broken system, but I don’t know how or with what it’ll be replaced. His views, my views, on your kind alone would mark us for immediate execution, yet he has continued to dig, to learn, to understand, no doubt for far longer than I know. If he didn’t see a way he could use this knowledge for his goal, I don’t think he’d have learned so much.”

As much as you don’t want to think like that, don’t want to think this of Aizen, you know better.

“And that worries me, because it’d be easier to use hollows to destroy the rot at our core than it would be to build a partnership with them and displace the nobles, especially with what you’ve said about the hollows in Hueco Mundo. I don’t want to think he’d do that, but I can’t say he wouldn’t see it as a means to an end. I just don’t know him well enough.”

>1/4

File: DrianniHollow_closeup.png (1.39 MB, 917x637)

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Both Drianni and Lahela listen to you quietly, but you can see only Lahela’s facial expressions, and she clearly feels sorry for you. To your surprise, she even grabs your forearm.

“I… see. And what about you? What do you want?” Drianni asks.

“I... want things to be better. For me, for you, for the Soul Society, and even other hollows to some degree. My life felt much like the cage we’re in now. Follow the rites and rituals of my ancestors, for fear an old enemy devastates everything. Trade away my feelings, my thoughts, my hopes for a better future and just do what is expected of me because it’s safer for everyone.”

You raise your eyes once more to meet Drianni’s. “But we’re proof that things can be different, if we can just figure out how to make that difference at large. I guess… that’s the thing. I want to make a difference, on my own terms.”

A short silence follows as the three of you stare at the ground, feeling like you’re utterly exhausted. Somehow, it felt good though to let all of this out, your suspicions and fears.

“...Sorry for springing all that on you. I know, I’m young and dumb. And I’m sure you don’t want to get dragged into our politics. Just, know that I don’t want to hurt you. And if I thought you would get hurt, I would try to stop it.”

The last statement gets a visible reaction out of Drianni, who looks away from you.

“I believe I understand you,” she speaks, “and I appreciate you saying that... but why tell me all this?”

You sigh. “Because the two of you are the ones I can trust the most about this all.” The irony of the situation is not lost upon you nor Drianni.

“Don’t underestimate your own intelligence and instincts… Koharu. You are not as foolish as you believe.”

You feel a little surprised.

“I-I won’t letss you get hurt either…!” Lahela speaks up beside you, holding back her own tears. “I-I promiss!”

You can’t help but let out a little laugh.

“Thank you. Both of you.”

>2/4

File: Lahela 1.jpg (86 KB, 322x447)

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After Drianni brings some fruit for you and Lahela to eat, you continue with telling some more to Drianni.

“I don’t know just how much Aizen knows, but his understanding of hollows is undeniably broad. He even knows about arrancars as he knew how to assist me when I altered Lahela.”

“H-He assissted?” Lahela asks, to which you nod.

“He guided me through the process.”

Drianni raises her head to look upwards at the forest canopy, that gives the forest its dim atmosphere, and mutters. “Arrancars… huh? So the beast isn’t the only one?”

“What do you mean?” you ask.

“Think nothing of it,” she dismisses you. “Who knows, maybe… maybe one day I’ll take up your offer. To become an arrancar. To regain my humanity… if such a thing exists anymore.”

You can see she’s clearly troubled with something underneath all that white wood-like bone exoskeleton. You open your mouth to say something, but decide not to.

“Once you feel comfortable with it, just let me know,” you say, referring to both things at once. Drianni gives you a short nod.

Once you and Lahela finish eating the fruit Drianni brought you, you decide it’s time to go back. Your duty is fulfilled, and you still have paperwork to do that you’ve had to pile up for ten days. You can already see that it’s going to be a nightmare.

You suppress your need to groan loudly for now.

“Before I leave,” you turn your head slightly as you face away from Drianni, “We had some powerful hollows breach our defenses at a training camp recently. Menos-grande class. They had some reiatsu-hiding trick that helped them get through, and we don't know how that happened.”

“That’s not possible,” Drianni responds. “Hollows can’t hide their reiatsu just like that, especially Menos.”

“I’m just telling you what I saw, and that’s with my heightened senses. In case they appear here too.”

>3/4

File: Eishi_Paperwork.jpg (50 KB, 620x349)

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It takes a week or so to crunch through the paperwork, but fortunately Aiko-san came to help you out once she found out you were struggling. The Shiraka still don’t really ask you to do anything other than report way too early in the morning, leaving you to wonder as to why they even made you a retainer at this point.

Otherwise there’s largely the same routines: Go-games and philosophical discussions with Aizen, some kidō training with Hinamori, more struggles with your unofficial fan club and their love confessions.

You swear, this is high school all over again. Maybe you should just spill the beans that you’re a boy? Would that perhaps drive them off?

But, now that you’ve cleared the paperwork debt, you have again time to deal with things you’ve been wanting to do. Such as bugging Asato finally to get the training he promised you. You’ve also been thinking a lot ever since that talk with Drianni, things that you’d like to ask your inner duo about.

>4/4

>It’s finally time to find Asato. Otherwise you’ll never collect his debt.
>It’s been a while since you did Jinzen. You have some questions too for your 'tenants'.
>Other?

>>4642440
>It’s finally time to find Asato. Otherwise you’ll never collect his debt.

File: astolfocake.jpg (172 KB, 1200x1700)

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I tried my best to gather your write-in's and thoughts together, I hope you guys like it. A big chunk of it though was based off of >>4635312 and >>4635320, then modified. Now I'll go make a taco. Made some good guacamole and pulled oat in chunky salsa.

Yumyum!

>It’s finally time to find Asato. Otherwise you’ll never collect his debt.

>>4642440
>It’s finally time to find Asato. Otherwise you’ll never collect his debt.

>>4642445
>>4642480
>>4642489
It's Asato time!
>Writing

>>4642493
I read that to the tune of "It's Hamtaro time"

File: HamtaroN.png (84 KB, 2300x3100)

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>>4642497
>Kushi-kushi-ticky-ticky WOO!

File: deep_pit.png (98 KB, 640x480)

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This time, you’ll find Asato and figure out how and when to do the training. You won’t let anything else stand in your way now, nor should there be any errands to deal with.

Finding him, however, proves difficult.

It’s like, for some reason, he’s fallen off the face of Seireitei, though that can’t be right.

“Is he on an assignment?” you mutter, but then, finally with the use of reiraku, you manage to get the faintest hint of his reiatsu. Locked on it, you make your way to the 11th division grounds of all places.

If you thought that the 5th is a maze, this… is beyond absurdity. Walls, pits, more walls… it’s like whoever constructed this place intended to make it without purpose.

It is in one of these pits that you find something odd. There’s clearly a barrier set up, its function to prevent reiatsu from leaking out, but it’s just not strong enough to completely stop it. With a shrug, you drop down into the seeming abyss with a little bit of nervousness, and instantly feel some very weird reiatsu all around you.

“QUICK, STOP!” you hear Asato’s voice, and just as you land on the bottom of the pit, the malevolent mix of reiatsus disappear, leaving Asato’s usual reiatsu, and some others that you’re unfamiliar with.

“Asato-senpai?” you call out, as your eyes adjust to the place, and you start to see him, and two others.

“Koharu? How the- why- uh, is that you?” Asato blinks as he walks closer to you with a ball of light hovering above him to illuminate the room now. Then, you hear the two other speak up.

“HEH, your barrier fucked up, Yumichika!”

“Shut up baldy! I never said it would be perfect!”

You blink.

>”So, I felt all that, you know. Mind telling me what this is all about?”
>”You were training your hollow powers here, weren’t you?”
>Other?

>>4642458
I’m looking forward to pulling a similar stunt with Yukiko and/or Aizen. The “caged bird” stuff should resonate with Yukiko if we play it alongside our legacy as a shrine maiden and how we abandoned it while still being a success (showing Yukiko doesn’t need her family to have a successful/fulfilling life), and Aizen/SS probably underestimate the social upheaval that modernization causes. If he played his cards right, he could have the nobles institute improvements that improve their QoL but also expose the populace to more ideas and knowledge to maintain said enhancements.

All of that can come later though!

>>4642519
>>”So, I felt all that, you know. Mind telling me what this is all about?”
>Also, I’m calling that training favor. Should we do it here or elsewhere?
Not sure how in-the-know the others are. We can give Asato the opportunity to bring us into the training with them or discreetly wave us off from serious talks.

>>4642519
>”So, I felt all that, you know. Mind telling me what this is all about?”

>>4642531
Honestly this

>>4642531
>>4642538
>>4642547
Loud and clear. Now to see how well you can talk him around.
>Roll 3d10, Bo3, DC 14, crit 23, Social (6) may replace lowest die

Rolled 4, 9, 10 = 23 (3d10)

>>4642548
If he refuses
>But I thought you were cool

Rolled 4, 2, 2 = 8 (3d10)

>>4642548

Rolled 6, 3, 5 = 14 (3d10)

>>4642548

File: astolfowink3.jpg (103 KB, 1080x1080)

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>>4642553
>23(25)
>>4642554
>8(12)
>>4642559
>14(17)
It's a crit!
>Writing

File: Asato Junichi 2.jpg (88 KB, 1000x1500)

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“So, I felt all that, you know. Mind telling me what this is all about? Also, I’m calling that training favor. Should we do it here or elsewhere?” you say as you put your arms to your hips, awaiting Asato's response.

“Well, I.. ugh, fine. Ikkaku, Yumichika, come here,” he says, and the two come closer. You see that Asato and the baldy have their zanpakutō released, but baldy’s in particular makes you look a little bit closer. It’s in two parts, a nunchaku and a machete of sorts… but then you notice that both of them have broken chains dangling from them.

His zanpakutō, it’s broken.

“This is Koharu, a…” Asato introduces you, but finds himself stuck as to how to introduce you.

“New shinigami, 5th Division. Buy me dinner first, until then, it’s Nakashiri for you.”

“Nakashiri, huh? Rukongai? Fuck yeah. I’m Ikkaku, and this guy here is Yumichika. 11th Division, ready to fuck shit up at a moment’s notice.”

You and Yumichika look at each other, and you can practically see him squint his eyes for a moment, and then his smile curls into a smug smile. “Oooh, would you look at that. I didn’t know there were others too.”

Both Ikkaku and Asato look at him utterly confused, while you yourself feel a heartbeat skip as you realize just what he means. “Yeah, yeah. Let them figure it out on their own,” you respond with a wink.

“Well, then, Asato-sen~pai~?” you fold your arms as you tap the ground.

“We’re.. training,” Asato diverts his eyes and scratches his hair.

“Aaand?” you press on. “Come on, that’s rude and you know it. Maybe I’ll just go to Hisashi instead, then.”

“W-What? Ugh! Fine. We’re training THAT too.”

>1/2

File: Ikkaku & Yumichika.jpg (73 KB, 720x707)

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You tap his cheek. “See? It wasn’t that hard, was it?” Meanwhile, Yumichika is trying to contain his laughter. You glare at him, and then go back to your polite smile as you face Asato. “Is there room for one more?”

“Are you sure about this, Koharu? This… what we’re doing is really dangerous.”

You look at his and Ikkaku’s tattered and bloodied clothing. They haven’t gone easy on each other, that’s for sure.

“I won’t learn anything otherwise, will I?”

Asato sighs. “That’s true. Just don’t cry if it gets too rough.”

You feign a blush. “Aren’t you being a forward guy..” Asato struggles to find a response, while Yumichika laughs openly now.

“Are you sure about this, Junichi?” Ikkaku puts a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t give a shit, but this ain’t-”

“She’s in the same boat as us, Ikkaku,” Asato explains as he looks at you. Ikkaku’s eyes change as he hears this, and he glances at you with even more interest, but mostly bloodlust. It’s really unnerving, and you swallow hard.

“Is that so? She a victim of that lizard too?”

Asato shakes his head. “Not as far as I know.”

“Hey, I’m right over here,” you grumble as they talk about you.

“In any case, we’re gonna be at each other’s throats. Are you really sure you want to join in this?”

>2/2

>”I won’t learn otherwise. Treat me like you treat each other.”
>”I’ll watch you two first. Maybe surprise you to keep you on your toes.”
>”On a second thought, I think it’s better if we train some other time, just the two of us.”
>Other?

>>4642593
>”I won’t learn otherwise. Treat me like you treat each other.”
Sink or swim I guess

>>4642593
>”I’ll watch you two first. Maybe surprise you to keep you on your toes.”

>>4642593
>>”I won’t learn otherwise. Treat me like you treat each other.”

>>4642593
>”I won’t learn otherwise. Treat me like you treat each other.”
In this setting, it's "nothing ventured nothing gained"

>>4642602
>>4642612
>>4642619
>>4642637
Into the fire you go.
>Writing

File: Madarame Ikkaku Rapeface.jpg (14 KB, 375x375)

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You close your eyes and fold your arms, and give a resolute nod as you bring your gaze back to Asato. “I won’t learn otherwise. Treat me like you treat each other, only then will I really get stronger.”

“Ha! I like this kid,” Ikkaku grins wide. “You got spunk, I’ll tell you that!”

“Fine! Just don’t come crying if you get hurt!” Asato grumbles as he puts his released zanpakutō, Oiran, over his shoulder. “I won’t go easy on you.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way, senpai!”

Asato and Ikkaku move apart and further into the darkness as the hovering light slowly fades away, leaving only the distant opening of this pit to bounce some light down here. It’s like you have to completely rely on senses other than sight down here.

What a nice coincidence that reikaku happens to be your strong suit.

Ikkaku starts swinging around his nunchaku part of his zanpakutō, and twirling his other part, which you by now recognized to be the pointy end of a spear originally. Asato’s bringing his hand closer to his face, for some unknown reason.

That leaves you to figure out your own tactics before all hell breaks loose.

Releasing Naimen no Daiza is a no brainer, but which second release?

Do you make use of them clashing with each other, avoiding direct fights, or even go as far as to make the first move?

Choice #1
>Release Jorōgumo, you came to train that.
>Release Kaishigome, use your homing kidō in actual battle.
>Don’t release just yet

Choice #2
>Go after Asato
>Go after Ikkaku
>Avoid at first, look for opportunities
>Other?

>>4642675
>Release Jorōgumo, you came to train that.
>Go after Ikkaku

>>4642675
>Release Jorōgumo, you came to train that.
>Avoid at first, look for opportunities
We came to pick a tough fight and they are clearly going strong right from the start.
We do the same but fight smart

>>4642675
>Release Jorōgumo, you came to train that
>Avoid at first, look for opportunities
Would want to avoid head-on clashes if possible, these guys are pretty powerful in comparison.

>>4642675
>>Release Jorōgumo, you came to train that.
>Try going after both.
I’m wondering what happens if we try and hit both with Jorōgumo. Do we get to control both, or only the last one? Does that make things much harder because we have two people or simpler because we can beat them against each other mentally and then take control?

After those initial hits, I’d just roll with whatever. If we control both we can keep them fighting each other, if we control one then we tagteam on the other.

>>4642675
>>Release Kaishigome, use your homing kidō in actual battle.

We use spider sloot a lot recently.

>>4642678
>>4642687
>>4642690
>>4642692
>>4642698
Jorogumo and staying back wins. Since you're on the defensive, and Asato will aim for Ikkaku rather than you for reasons...
>Roll 3d10, Bo3, DC 16, crit 25, Defense (3) may replace lowest die

Rolled 5, 4, 4 = 13 (3d10)

>>4642705
No Ikkaku-san yamete!

Rolled 4, 10, 10 = 24 (3d10)

>>4642705
Let’s see if I remember how dice work...

Rolled 6, 1, 3 = 10 (3d10)

>>4642705

>>4642709
>one off from crit

File: astolfosurprised.jpg (16 KB, 235x230)

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>>4642707
>13
>>4642709
>24
>>4642709
>10(12)

>1 off crit
The return of the meme. But at least it's a pass!

File: Jorogumo.jpg (73 KB, 790x630)

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You decide on staying a little more back for now. Those two have been fighting each other, possibly for a long time, and know each other’s fighting. You however, are completely in the blind right now, even if you know how Oiran works.

Given that you will most likely see Asato’s hollow powers, and possibly Ikkaku’s if you understood the situation correctly, you decide that Jorōgumo has to be the tool of choice.

As you release Naimen no Daiza, you feel a sudden surge of reiatsu, this time not your own. Asato’s reiatsu turns more and more foul, and you can see something resembling a… hollow mask over his face?

Meanwhile, Ikkaku’s reiatsu doesn’t change much, but oh god the bloodlust. You feel like a knife is held right up your throat as you try to continue with your release sequence. Asato and Ikkaku both move however before you can get that done.

Fortunately, they clash with each other with Ikkaku’s machete grinding against Oiran, while his nunchaku flings around, aiming for his head.

“Defile and Devour, Jorōgumo!”

Your own reiatsu now bursts much stronger than with Naimen no Daiza, surprising all three in this pit. From translucent white to dark purple, and hollowlike in nature, you ready the spider leg & fang blade towards the duo.

A kick to the stomach from Asato forces Ikkaku to disengage, but this means his eyes now shift towards you with a grin that you would imagine belonging to an absolute maniac.

“Two releases? Hollow reiatsu? Ah FUUUUCK YEEAAAH!”

With an incredible leap in speed, he flings himself at you. You narrowly avoid him piercing your lung, and block his nunchaku with Jorōgumo, and thus the deed is done. Ikkaku even keeps it chained around your blade as he twirls the machete, intentionally telegraphing his next move.

Jorōgumo fills with his reiatsu, and you slip out of his nunchaku as well as dodge his incoming blow just in time with a flash step, as Asato rejoins the fray, attempting to slice through both you and Ikkaku. Throughout this, despite your lowered senses due to Zilya’s influence, you can sense the gas that Oiran is constantly emitting.

>Use Fushibi to light the gas while Asato is himself in a vulnerable spot.
>You have Ikkaku’s reiatsu. Time to see how Hanran will affect him.
>Charge into the fray, see if you can also get Asato’s reiatsu.
>Other?

File: Jorogumo Shape.jpg (11 KB, 480x321)

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>>4642745
I actually found a better picture for the *shape* of Jorogumo, but imagine it more black and both like the leg and mandible of a spider.

>>4642745
>Charge into the fray, see if you can also get Asato’s reiatsu.

>>4642745
>>Charge into the fray, see if you can also get Asato’s reiatsu.

>>4642592
>New shinigami, 5th Division. Buy me dinner first, until then, it’s Nakashiri for you.
We're one sassy trap

>>4642745
>>Charge into the fray, see if you can also get Asato’s reiatsu.

>Charge into the fray, see if you can also get Asato’s reiatsu.
Fuck it. Double or nothing

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>>4642750
>>4642754
>>4642761
>>4642762
Anons turn the trap card into attack mode.
>Roll 3d10, Bo3, DC 19, crit 26, Offense (4) may replace lowest die

Rolled 8, 9, 8 = 25 (3d10)

>>4642765

Rolled 6, 2, 1 = 9 (3d10)

>>4642765
It’s time for science!

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

>>4642765

>>4642776
That is advent soul quest for you.

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>>4642776
>25
>>4642777
>9(12)
>>4642779
>19

Christ what is this meme? 1-off crit again? Oh boy, it's pass though!
>Writing

File: explosion2.jpg (143 KB, 1147x647)

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The heat really starts to pick up, as Asato and Ikkaku engage in a brutal display of swordsmanship. Asato’s swings are ruthless, giving Ikkaku multiple cuts that he can’t perfectly dodge or block, which instantly burst into flames. The madman doesn’t even care, letting the fire burn his skin and sizzle the wounds close. Ikkaku in turn uses all of his attacks available: the machete, the nunchaku, even his legs to deliver as many varied attacks to Asato that he can’t keep up with them all.

What scares you however, is how this all affects everything around them. Every single parried or missed attack cracks and shatters the already broken stone underneath them. It’s only now that you realize the floor isn’t supposed to be like gravel.

With a swallow, you take a flash step into the fight just as Ikkaku lands a headbutt on Asato’s mask, partially cracking it. You swing Jorōgumo at Asato, who predictably counters with Oiran, just like how you want it. However, it’s not enough time for you to take in his reiatsu, as Asato aims his free hand, with an open palm, right at your face.

“En Tesshō!” his dark, malicious, twinned voice roars, and pushes back with both Oiran and his hand against your face. You slip out just quickly enough with a flash step away, only to see that his hand obliterates the ground and bursts it into fire.

And that fire, combusts all the gas around this deep arena, engulfing it in an inferno.

You find yourself struggling to breathe, and sweat drips down your face not just because of the heat, but because of the realization.

“H-He was about to kill me..!” you struggle to speak, but as Ikkaku throws himself out of the fire with mad laughter, you are forced to react and parry his kick with your own kick, while you block his machete with Jorōgumo.

“What’s wrong, kid?! Scared already?!”

“I-I’m not scared!” you lie, as you use another flash step to avoid the nunchaku he swung outside your vision.

“Tch. Where’s the fun in that?”

>1/2

File: Madarame Ikkaku Crazy.png (645 KB, 1067x723)

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Ikkaku’s reiatsu is still stored in Jorōgumo without problem, you note, so you swallow your fear and go for Asato again. This time you manage to get the drop on him, and after three separate exchanges of swordsmanship, you manage to distract him with your own hakuda long enough for Jorōgumo to stay in contact with Oiran, and absorb his reiatsu.

Your eyes widen however as you get the feel that Asato knows what’s happening. You see crimson-orange energy gather at the mouth of his mask as he kicks your legs, sweeping you off balance. The immense energy is about to release, as Ikkaku lands a blow with his nunchaku directly on Asato’s head, turning him just enough to the side that the ridiculous energy erupts and incinerates a fifty meter hole into the ground.

Of course, the rubble around starts to instantly flow down to fill this hole, and you find yourself getting partially buried by the debris.

“T-This isn’t good..!” you whimper at this point, and struggle to do a proper flash step to escape getting entombed in the hole Asato created.

“This isn’t training, this… this is madness..!”

“YES! MADNESS! AHAHAHAH, THERE’S NO BETTER TEACHER THAN MADNESS!” Ikkaku roars as he once again targets you with his full ferocity.

“No mercy!” he shouts as he hits your ribs with his nunchaku.

“No kindness!” he screams as he cuts your forearm.

“Only kill or be killed on the battlefield, and be fucking HAPPY about it! AHAHAHA!”

After two feints with his legs and the nunchaku, he pushes the machete at an angle that would pierce your heart, and for a moment in panic you don’t think you can avoid it. Ikkaku is however flung to the side with the blue lightning energy of Byakurai.

As your panic subsides and you do your best to get a hold of yourself, you try to figure out what to do.

“What are you waiting for? USE MY POWER!” you hear Zilya, as if commanding you. You feel out the reiatsu in Jorōgumo, and sense that it’s mostly Asato’s. Whatever it had of Ikkaku seems to have flushed out.

>2/2

>You have to make use of this now. Hanran on Asato, make him focus on Ikkaku.
>Not yet. Continue as you are on the defensive, they must have some kind of a limit.
>Other?

>>4642842
>>You have to make use of this now. Hanran on Asato, make him focus on Ikkaku.

>>4642842
>Not yet. Continue as you are on the defensive, they must have some kind of a limit.

I think it's too risky to try and control Asato's mind when Ikkaku can attack us we don't want him going crazy after all, or whatever happens if we lose focus inside someone's mind.

>>4642842
I wonder if we're at the level where we can control someone like Asato? Then again, we did agree to this high pressure training session. Where better to test than a life or death scenario?
>>You have to make use of this now. Hanran on Asato, make him focus on Ikkaku.

>>4642842
>Other
>Hanran on Asato, make him focus on protecting you.
Probably safer than telling him to go after Ikkaku. Our Hanran skills aren’t well fleshed-out, so we may not be able to stop Asato in time if he ends up going for the kill.

>>4642842
Yeah I’ll support >>4642861

>>4642850
Well we are practicing it here so there won't be a better time to find out.
>>4642861
Instead of directing the explosion this is trying to contain it. A much more difficult feat.

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There's a tie and it's getting late, so I'll leave this vote up for the night and come back to it tomorrow. Keep you in suspense for a little longer, but also give you guys time to think and strategize some more. Probably around same time as usual, 16:00 UTC. Perhaps even earlier.

Good night folks, hope you've been enjoying the fight so far. If you have any feedback on how I write battles, I'll take them. I'm still a little unsure of myself when writing them.

>>4642873
I imagined it along the lines of “doesn’t anyone who hurts me just make you want to hit them until they stop”, which is still really unpredictable as a mentality to put someone in but gives the slightly possibility that they’ll stop at just crippling instead of killing.

Hanran is playing with fire anyway, unless we can maintain a true connection to Asato throughout. We’ve never truly mind-controlled a person with it before so I’m not sure any of these precautions would matter.

I have a very important lore related question about Kohaku does he paint his fingernails?

>>4642912
>If yes, we need to get with Yumichika. He probably knows where to get a variety of colors.

>>4642912
If he doesn’t I vote that he starts painting them and paints little designs on them

>>4642883
As for the battle feedback I think you handle them well enough, very seldom do I find myself getting lost when reading it

>>4643656
>tiny spiders
>tiny deers
>tiny traps

>>4642842
>You have to make use of this now. Hanran on Asato, make him focus on Ikkaku.

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>>4642843
>>4642850
>>4642856
>>4642861
>>4642865
>>4643939
Offensive option locked in. Let's get some rolls out of the way, and we'll have a good start at 16:00 UTC.
>Roll 3d10, Bo3, Mental (7) may replace lowest die
>DC 17 to avoid a problem
>DC 22 to do it right
>crit 26 to assume control

>>4642912
>>4642943
>>4643656
>>4643902
I'd say he did during free time with Akane and Chie. Jap schools don't allow it, so it'd be a free time activity. In Soul Society it hasn't been a priority nor are there easy places to get it.

But Yumichika for sure knows where and how to get some in SS.
He's probably already waiting to get his hands on you and include you in his prettiness activities.

>>4643811
Thanks, I appreciate it!

Rolled 6, 4, 7 = 17 (3d10)

>>4643941

Rolled 5, 7, 6 = 18 (3d10)

>>4643941

Rolled 1, 1, 8 = 10 (3d10)

>>4643941

Rolled 6, 8, 6 = 20 (3d10)

>>4643941
Rolling just because

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>>4643946
>17(20)
>>4643950
>18(20)
>>4644000
>10(16)

It won't go exactly right, but this won't blow up in your face either.
>Writing

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At this rate, you will really die.

You thought this would be training, but this is just them trying to outright murder each other and you.

What the hell?

“I think you’re right,” you whisper as sweat drips down your forehead, and you concentrate on Jorōgumo, specifically the reiatsu within it.

Asato’s reiatsu.

It’s quite familiar to you, given that you’ve visited his mindscape before. For a moment, Oiran’s words echo in your mind.

“No! No more intruders! No more changes!”

But if you don’t do this, with that mask of his… he’ll kill you! As will Ikkaku!

“Hanran!” you channel your dark reiatsu through Jorōgumo and push your command into his mind. You can feel him resisting, very hard, enough that you wince back from the connection. It alarms you however of his intentions, as he uses his own shunpo to get right next to you, and attempts to slice your head clean off.

“You fool! What did I TELL you about hesitating!” Zilya’s voice reprimands you.

You narrowly avoid it, and begin making a run for it.

Asato’s mind is clearly under your effect, riled up and chaotic, but instead of Ikkaku being the target…

It’s you.

“G-GO AWAY!” you scream as Asato launches fiery projectiles at you as well as tries to cut you into pieces, while the gas he’s constantly emitting from Oiran combusts at certain periods of time. It’s getting much harder to breathe down here and you find yourself coughing more and more. Ash and dust shouldn’t make it this hard though.

The air… all this fire and explosions are using up the oxygen!

>1/2

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Ikkaku returns to the fray with bloodshot eyes and that crazy grin of his by planting a devastating kick to Asato’s head, and crushing the ground with it. It gives you the ample opportunity to flash step away to get your bearings back.

But the coughing just keeps getting worse.

“D-Damn it! These guys… they’re monsters..! W-What the hell..!”

Your rest is short however, as your senses pick up a familiar chaotic energy about to be sent your way. You dodge the beam of pure fiery destruction, and try to make sense of the battle situation.

“The fuck is wrong with you?! FIGHT ME YOU BITCH!” you can hear Ikkaku, and see that he’s exchanging blows and hits with Asato, who only sticks to the defensive as his eyes are focused on you. Both of them look bloodied and charred, hurt beyond what you’d find acceptable for just training.

“I have t-to put a stop to this!” you realize, “before it’s too late!”

But how? You’ve never really undone the effects of Hanran, usually once you stopped concentrating the effect ended. But this is the first time you use it with Jorōgumo. Would getting rid of his reiatsu do the trick? How do you do that anyway? Reverting to Naimen no Daiza is an option, but that would leave you vulnerable, especially if it doesn’t stop this.

Then there’s that mask of his. There’s no denying it, it’s a hollow mask. If it’s broken, would he return to his normal self?

Fortunately you have some time to think, as Ikkaku’s giving his all to get the attention he’s craving.

>2/2

>Revert to Naimen no Daiza.
>Join the fight, try to destroy the mask.
>Other?

>>4644108
>Join the fight, try to destroy the mask.
Panic time?

>>4644108
Can we ask Zilya if she has any idea on how to snap the connection? I think we should join the fight, but right now we'd have to act as the bait while Ikkaku has to be the one going to wreck the mask.

>Join the fight, try to destroy the mask
If we lower our power we are toast, if we run we expose our back and we're toast. Gotta fight our way out
And do we have a way to expell all that energy at once? Maybe use it for a big kido spell?

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>>4644128
This can be attempted if there's votes for it.

>>4644129
Kido uses your own energy reserves. Naimen no Daiza / Kaishigome / Jorogumo more or less attune to reiatsu of others. Kinda like radio transmitters in a way?

>>4644126
>>4644128
>>4644129
Gonna lock the votes now then. No rolling required this time.
>Writing

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“Zilya, can I undo this?” you ask as you ready your sword towards the battling pair.

“If you mean Hanran, you’re not doing anything right now, dear. His behavior? That’s all on him.”

“W-What?! You mean I changed something in him?!” you panic.

“Changed? No, you give yourself too much credit. But agitated? That’s for sure.”

“Great,” you tighten your grip on Jorōgumo, as you search for the courage to leap once more into this battle. Your legs tremble, as do your arms. Finally, it’s time to move. With a flash step once more you close the distance between you and Asato & Ikkaku, using a common tactic when it’s two on one: attack from the opposite side.

Naturally, Asato blocks it with Oiran right after he forces Ikkaku to block his kick.

“Ikkaku! W-We have to stop this!” you shout to him as Asato pushes your sword back.

“Yeah, somethin’s wrong,” Ikkaku responds while he doubles down on his attacks, forcing Asato to focus on him or get wrecked. “I’ll keep ‘im occupied!”

Despite all the damage you can see on his body, despite the fact that he must be in a lot of pain right now, his grin never fades.

“R-Right!” you respond, and hastily think of a strategy. You want to break that mask of his, and for that you need him restrained… bakudō?

You’ll have to use the highest one you know.

“Three sacred treasures, divine retribution! Come and cast down the damned! Bring forth thy justice!”

“Bakudō #30: Shitotsu Sansen!” you proclaim, and form three yellow fang-like projectiles in a triangle, about to launch them, as you see Ikkaku do something rash.

He lets Asato stab him in the stomach, and then forces him around, leaving him wide open so that the three yellow projectiles hit true. Two to his shoulders, forcing him to the ground and leaving Oiran in Ikkaku’s torso, while the third one hits him straight to the head, shattering the mask to bits.

Your heartbeat stops as you realize what just happened, and the fact that Asato’s head could be gone. Your bakudō dissolves rather quickly, and you run up to Ikkaku, who casually removes the sword from his stomach. It clatters to the ground, going back to its sealed form.

Blood spills out from both the front and back of Ikkaku’s wound.

>1/2

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“A-A-Are you alright?!” you ask as you hold back tears, and turn to look at Asato’s bloodied body, and most importantly, face. Thankfully, it doesn’t look like you killed him.

“I had quite a blast, and I’m fucking happy, thank you for asking.”

“T-THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” you cough, and move your hands to the wound, using what little you are able with kaidō. If anything, at least you should be able to stop the bleeding.. right?

“Jeez, calm the fuck down, squint, you’re killin’ the mood.”

You don’t respond, but after you make sure he’s not bleeding anymore, you move to check on Asato.

“He’ll be alright. This ain’t the worst we’ve done down here, so quit worrying.”

“Shut up. I need to get him and you to the hospital. You’re both wounded.”

“No way! Fuck tha-” before Ikkaku manages to finish his sentence, he gets hit to the head by Yumichika, making him fall over in an absurd pose and a weird face.

“They’re pretty wild, aren’t they?” he smiles as he picks up Ikkaku. “Really, not pretty at all.”

“I-I.. guess?” You say while struggling to pick up Asato. Especially now you realize just how much you exerted yourself as your knees threaten to give out.

“Want help?” he offers, but you shake your head.

“Asato’s my mess to deal with. If I can't even do this, I won't be able to look at myself in the mirror.”

“Suit yourself, pretty boy. Let’s go get some of that fresh air.”

>2/2

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I’ll have to stop here. I have a growing stomach ache which is drawing away my focus, I don't feel confident enough to run more. Sorry!

Hope you enjoyed this session, and I hope I’ll get even better with writing battles in the future. Going to update the sheets at some point this week, as well as perhaps a post-session update of you checking up on Asato once he wakes up, and nail painting with Yumichika.

I’ll be around for a while though for comments and questions!

>>4644232
Hope you feel better soon Trippy, thanks for the session. Don't have any questions for now, just gonna comment that I picture Kohaku with a beauty mark thanks to a reference pic you posted.

>>4644232
Hope you feel better soon.

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>>4644254
...You know what, I realized it's there just now. How did I not see it before?

It kinda fits though

>>4644254
>>4644257
Thanks, frens

>>4644271
We'll be Ms. Soul Society in no time at all. Also this is a bit of an offhand comment but I like that there is little waifufagging in this quest so far
That's more of a personal opinion by me though.

>>4644274
>No good waifus yet
But I'm almost certain there will be husbandofagging instead

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>>4644274
>>4644282
I am rather surprised too, positively. But I'll keep watching and listening to you guys and provide choices from time to time to either just tease others, or actually make advances.

Extended teasing may push some to make their advances though

I'm shamelessly team husbando.

>>4644282
Agreed on both counts. I’ll be team waifufag, but I don’t recall many teasing opportunities with any women in our options. It also feels wrong to do a write-in solely for shipping.

That said, I’ll be up for teasing whoever given enough pokes in that direction. Messing with love interests is where all the fun is!

Finally caught up loving hour work qm

>>4644232
Take care Trippy
>>4644274
That’s cause Koharu is the waifu. In all seriousness though I think it’s cause we don’t interact with most of the girls that Koharu knows on a semi-daily bases and the ones we do are either his gal pals, are antagonistic to him, or are a plant milf hollow that we always have pretty serious talks with

I’m curious, how many anons want Koharu to end up with a girl and how many want him to end up with a guy?

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>>4644463
>>4644467
>I don’t recall many teasing opportunities with any women in our options
>it’s cause we don’t interact with most of the girls that Koharu knows on a semi-daily bases
Guess I have my work cut out for me then. There's Lahela at least who waits for your visit like a puppy.

>>4644465
Welcome along anon, I'm glad you enjoy it!

>>4644274
I would be waifufagging hard if the canon Bleach girls were around but they aren'twhich is a good idea honestly, I imagine the waifufagging would be loud. So far the besties are for nakama. Lahela DOES have tentacles...
Slowly warming up to the male options.

>>4644479
I will only accept a boy if it is best boy Aizen and only accept a girl if it is best girl Isane. I will now redirect any complaints to the local landfill so they can take your trash opinions.

Honestly though Rangiku would probably lead to the funniest interactions. She'd be super down for causing shenanigans with traps. But she has eyes only for squinty. Who is also super down for massive trappy shenanigans. Unfortunately Gin also only has eyes only for cowtits. What a world.

>>4644479
I’ll answer my own question since I didn’t put my own answer in the post but I’d go for Koharu ending up with whoever ends up getting the closest to him but I’d prefer a girl. I’d waifufag for any milf though, I’d also go for the stereotypical mean popular bitch with a nicer hidden side but the only one we’ve met hated are guts so hard that her family threatened our little siblings so that’s not likely to happen any time soon

>>4644512
>I’d also go for the stereotypical mean popular bitch with a nicer hidden side
Nah fuck that noise
Let's get Kukkaku! Biggest rack in the setting. Will kick your ass and not even apologize

>>4644514
Shit I almost forgot about her, how would she react to our pretty trappy ass I wonder

>>4644512
Honestly I could still see that working, we’d just need to keikaku things until she declares war on her mom.

We’re more like her than she realizes.We have an impressive history of mikos going back centuries, a legacy that should rival that of at least a minor noble family. We were just strong enough to walk away from it and choose our own path, and we’ve been pretty damn good at it regardless!

All that said, dunno if I’d write for waifu purposes. I like Lahela the most, but she does owe her current existence to us so hooking up with her feels skeevy.

>>4644230
>Yumichika called us pretty
Damn, now there's a big compliment. Should definitely ask him where a good place to get make-up and nail polish would be, maybe he'll make Koharu embrace his girliness even more.

>>4644371
I'm still for the best of both worlds in terms of waifu / husbando, and with that I mean Yuushiro. You would have pretty free reign in terms of character as well since he didn't get much development in the series. I'm just sad how little art there is of him.

What about kaien?

>>4644788
Seems like an okay guy, but he has a dead wife. Would he really want a trap boy?

>>4644479
It actually doesn't matter to me since I'm cool with both girls and guys. But overall I'm pretty happy with how we've guided and developed Kohaku. He's a bit of a tease at times but he's a good friend and a hard worker on top of that. Sort of makes sense too that we wouldn't be too focused on romantic stuff at the moment with everything else we have on our plate. I'm for the teasing trap route.

>>4644140
>attune to reiatsu of others
Hmm, I wonder then if we could use our abilities to buff others in a way besides playing soul therapist.

>>4644790
This is true. Forgot that honestly

>>4644854
I’ve wondered if we could channel either of our spirit’s powers forsomeone to use while in their inner world, or if we could pull the pedestal into their world so their zanpakuto could touch it instead of our spirits (or the reverse and pull them into our inner world).

So many possibilities. Not enough time to SCIENCE them all.

Definitely want to see kyoraku's reaction