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Post by Kenji Urahara on Nov 24, 2024 13:49:18 GMT -6
Kenji's heart began to pound in his chest. Seto had brought him along to protect him. So it was strange that he was now challenging Koga to a fight. "What...What happened to talking?! You can just ask! Ask!"
Koga turned on his heels, stepping toward Tetsuya. "Just...Ask." sang Koga, his smile widening. "Ask."
Seto narrowed his eyes. He lowered his blade. "When....When does this get better?"
Koga continued closer to the Shinigami. He stopped and leaned forward, his arms still folded behind his back. "After it gets worse."
Seto's eyes grew wide. His anger peaked...Quickly. He hated this version of Koga. This new emboldened attitude reminded him a bit of Grimmjow...If that cat had been domesticated. Seto's eyes darted to Kenji. All the concern the boy could muster was on his face. And for good reason.
Kenji widened his stance. "Kitty roar..." he whispered, calling on a portion of his power. This was going to be bad. Really bad. Seto was mad. That's why he was here. Seto was awful when it came to managing his emotions. And, this...This wasn't Seto. He could feel the difference...
This was Vale.
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Nov 24, 2024 15:22:45 GMT -6
Seto inhaled deeply then put on a grin of his own. "Fine...I'll play your game!" He tapped the end of Chinmoku's hilt to his thigh. The black cloud that formed behind him was much smaller than usual. It's hissing and hum was different. Deeper. Angrier. Seto smiled. "Let's...play your game."
Swinging the partial blade, the black mass moved quickly, swarming Koga. But, with ease, Koga dodged the cloud. Seto moved forward. Koga moved back. "Come now, Koga! Fight back!"
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Post by Kenji Urahara on Nov 24, 2024 16:26:18 GMT -6
Kenji appeared between Koga and Seto. "Stop!" he yelled at Seto. "No games! You came here to find an answer. He doesn't want to answer. Let's go." Kenji pointed his Tekko Kagi at the hollow. "Please...Let us go."
Seto looked at Kenji. Then, past him at Koga. His grin didn't waver. "Move out of the way, Kenji." he grunted.
Kenji stepped closer, placing a hand on Seto's chest. "You, yourself, said that you wouldn't win if you got into a fight." Kenji's voice was low. "Don't be stupid. Let's go home."
Looking down at the boy's hand on his chest, Seto sighed. "Go without me." he said. "If this is the end of me," Seto looked at the smiling Koga. "Then it's the end of me. But, birds for brains here has pretty much implied that I live beyond this day. So, I am going to have some fun."
"Kita will beat the hell out of both of us if she finds out that I came with you and that you got your ass handed to you by Koga." Kenji shook his head. "Let's go."
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Nov 24, 2024 16:53:57 GMT -6
"Kita will be fine." Seto stepped away from Kenji. "If you're so eager to go back then-" Seto's smile disappeared. Koga was gone. He was there just a second before. And, now... "Yeah...Our bird's gotten stealthy."
"Stealthy..." Kenji turned toward where Koga had been. "Maybe he's just gone. Maybe he got tired of your shit...I know I am." There was a loud crack. Something like thunder. Both Kenji and Seto looked up and around. There wasn't a cloud in sight. "Seto...Let's go."
Seto sighed. "Fucking hell, boy...Fine." Seto recalled Chinmoku and tethered his blade by his side. "Let's go." Another loud crack. Seto looked up again, his eyes narrowing. "What..." Another crack. Then another. "Kenji..."
"Seto...I don't like this..."
"Go...Go!" As both Seto and Kenji turned to make their exit, they were met with the sight of Koga.
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Post by Eisaku Koga on Nov 26, 2024 18:11:26 GMT -6
Koga stood a few feet away, his arms folded behind his back and a smile on his face. He said nothing. He did not move. He just stood there, smiling.
Kenji shuddered at another loud crack on the wind. "What is that?!" he moaned. The cracking sound fluctuated between sounding far away and sounding as if if were happening beneath their feet. The closer it was, the more it seemed to be the sound of breaking glass. Perhaps a new sound in the realm created by Seto burning a hole in it. There is was again, another crack.
"Koga...I'm not in the fucking mood." growled Seto. "You can tell, can't you?" he asked mockingly. "Why. don't you just fuck off now? And, we'll be our merry way."
Koga tilted his head to the side. "No...No no." he chuckled. "You came for answers. You were willing to shed my blood for them. So...Shed blood."
Seto chuckled. "You have a cero. And, become a big ass fucking bird. That's a hard fight. But...Come on, Koga. Do you think it's actually wise to fight me?"
"If you're so confident in your ability to beat me..." Koga bowed his head. "Fight."
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Nov 26, 2024 18:24:03 GMT -6
Seto sighed. His ears twitched at the sound of more cracks, near and far. "Kenji...I want you to go."
"You said-"
"I know what I fucking said, boy!" grunted Seto. This was stupid. It was all stupid. He shouldn't have had Kenji come with him. Why did he even ask him to come? "Fuck..." he whispered. "Kenji...Just go..."
Kenji inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. His eyes focused on the hollow. "No. If Koga wants a fight...Then, he'll have to fight both of us."
"That's what's bothering me..." mumbled Seto.
"What?"
"Since when does Koga want to fight...?" Seto narrowed his eyes at Koga. And, he had the same though that bounced around in his head earlier...Evolution had changed the former Espada. It seemed he was no longer avoiding conflict. He was ready for it. But, if ever there was a hollow without an offensive...It was Koga. "Alright, Koga. Just leave the kid out of this..."
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Post by Eisaku Koga on Nov 30, 2024 17:58:12 GMT -6
Arms still folded behind his back, Koga smiled. The Shinigami could not see the turning of his hands so that his palms faced outward with his fingers spreads wide before relaxing against his back. Koga's smile grew wide as the index finger of his right hand twitched slightly.
"How curious," Aizen mused, emerging with an air of calculated grace behind the stunned man. "That someone like Vale Tervaden would concern himself with an Urahara. Especially considering you've not only sought to extinguish his father but his sister as well. You truly never cease to amuse me."
Seto stared in confusion at the sight of the man. His hand tightened around his blade. "Teruo?" he asked with a half hearted grin on his face. "Since when are you bold enough to mimic Aizen?"
Kenji shunpo'd back and away from Aizen. The sight of the man made his heart race. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tight. Kenji opened his to find himself when he stood before he moved. He looked, finding the marks of his movements still in the sand. "Huh..."
"Is something troubling you, Kenji?" Aizen's voice was calm and measured, his faint smile betraying an unsettling amusement as he gazed down at the boy. "Tell me… what is it that stirs such fear within you? Is it the realization of how powerless you truly are? Or perhaps… the weight of understanding that your efforts to change were doomed from the very beginning?" He stepped closer, his presence oppressive, though his tone remained maddeningly gentle. "Fear is such a fragile thing, Kenji—so easily manipulated, so effortlessly exploited."
Kenji felt small...Very small. He pictured himself a child looking up at the enormous figure that was Sousuke Aizen. No...He wasn't picturing it. He was seeing it. Standing in front of him was himself...But as a child. Aizen looming over him. "Se-...Se-...Seto..."
Seto didn't want to take his eyes off of Aizen. Teruo...Whoever he was. The ass was quick and crafty. And...Also standing in front of Kenji? "What..." Seto blinked wildly trying to understand what he was seeing. Aizen standing in front of him...And, Aizen standing in front of Kenji. Kenji as a boy. "What the fuck..."
Koga's fingers twitched again, tugging on the invisible thread attached to the memory from the boy. Now, for the elder Shinigami...What would he have Tetsuya see?
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Nov 30, 2024 18:29:12 GMT -6
Seto's eyes narrowed at the sight of two Aizen's. Two Aizen's and younger Kenji. His hand tightened around his blade. "Oh...Fuck you!" Seto shunpo'd forward, jagged blade out in front of him. The blade struck its target, tearing into the flesh of....Yumiko? Seto's eyes grew wide as he stumbled back.
"Yum-...Yumiko...?" Seto stepped back and released the blade, leaving it in her chest. But how? It was Aizen. Now...Oh right...Teruo. "Fuck you, Sada!" But...Was it Sada? This felt different. Even when he mimicked others, Teruo was still very much himself. A horrible creature with his power on full display. This was something else.
"Vale..."
Yumiko whispered his name...then moaned as a pair of hands wrapped themselves around her from behind. The hands moved to her hips. Then...The face belonging to the hands appeared over her shoulder.
"And, I know just how to tame you..."
That was his face...His voice...He remembered that moment. "A beautiful disaster..." whispered Seto. "No...No..." He closed his eyes and turned away. "So...That's your game? You evolved and got some stupid ability to make people relive memories?" Seto opened his eyes. Koga's visions were gone. He looked to Kenji, who was on his knees in the sand. He wanted to do the same. The memory of that day began to naw at his mind.
"Is that it? That's Koga's new trick?" He was shaking and he jolted a little as another loud crack echoed on the air.
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Post by Eisaku Koga on Nov 30, 2024 20:23:36 GMT -6
Koga chuckled. "Is that it?" Koga stretched his hands out in front him, palms out and fingers fanned wide. "Not at all." He winked. With the wink, silver threads appeared at his fingertips. Their length was unknown. They appeared to go on for a great distance. They fractured and moved, creating frames and irregular grids around them.
"Se-...Se-..."
Seto sighed, hearing Kenji stammer through his name. "This was a mistake..." he whispered. He looked at the boy who was now lying on his side. "Kenji..." Seto shook his head before looking at the lines created by Koga. His eyes narrowed as he looked closer. "What is this...?" he asked, unsure of what he was looking at. In between the threads played Koga's visions. But, they couldn't be visions. Seto moved from frame to frame. Some of the moments he didn't recognize. Others, he remembered but details were off...
Koga watched as Seto focused on a small moment.
"Riddles, ripples, visions… meaningless fragments to most. But to me? They’re everything. Now, I stand as more than I was—more than anyone could be. All that was, all that is, all that will be… it’s mine to command. I can reveal the life rewritten by a single decision. And with just one pull of my thread, I can shape, twist, or break reality itself. This is the power I wield."
Koga's words made Seto feel uneasy. He had underestimated the hollow. He hadn't even seen the totality of Koga's new ability and still felt the weight of losing to him. He looked to the blade in his hand. He remembered letting that go... "Koga..."
"Echoes of Fate..." Koga's voice low. "Be written." Koga closed his fists, pulling on the threads attached to his fingertips. The sounds of shattering glass - the loud cracking both Seto and Kenji had been hearing - filled the air around them. The lines drawn by his threads, sliced through the reality before the Shinigami's eyes...Making ready for a new vision for Koga to create.
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Post by Kenji Urahara on Dec 1, 2024 17:23:08 GMT -6
Kenji curled up into the fetal position, trying his best to avoid what looked like huge chunks of falling glass. The sound of shattered glass was loud then...Nothing. Kenji opened an eye and peeked through his fingers. "Huh..." He sat up quickly finding himself in a familiar place...
His room in Las Noches.
Kenji immediately slid across the floor and backed himself up against a wall. "No. Not here. No." He began taking deep breathes and clutching at his shirt. "Not here. Not here. This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real."
"What's not real?" asked Kisuke. He knelt down by his son's side, placing a gentle hand to his back. "Are you okay?"
"Dad?" Kenji shook his head.
"Yeah?" Kisuke reached under his hat and scratched. "You're making me worry, son. We don't have to do this, if you don't want to."
"Do...Do what?" Kenji cleared his throat. He didn't recognize his own voice. It was higher pitched than normal. As his father stood, so did he. He followed him over to the other side of the room. As he was walking, he passed a mirror. He was a kid again. Maybe twelve or thirteen. "Dad..." he hurried to his father quickly, grabbing at his shirt. "What are we doing?"
"Well, remember we talked about this, Kenji. We want to help Kita as much as we can. And, that means you have to train. I hate to do it. But, the stronger you are, the more you can do. And, the less he asks of Kita."
I don't remember this... thought Kenji. This didn't happened... Kenji stepped away from his father. "You said training me makes me target..." he shook his head. "What would you change your mind? This isn't for me...It's for her..." Kenji felt a tug from behind. "You've always done more for her..." He turned around. Now he was somewhere different. He didn't know this place.
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Post by Eisaku Koga on Dec 3, 2024 18:29:31 GMT -6
Koga's fingers bent and curled as he a manipulated the thread wrapped around Kenji. He watched as the Shinigami began to sink into the thick sand as he gave into the visions playing out in his mind.
He was older. Not too much older. But...older. Kenji looked at the image of himself, confused. He gave a half-hearted smile. He looked so much like his father. The goatee. The semi-unkempt hair. He was his father's son. Except...Except the right arm. It was gone below the elbow. Kenji looked around. He was in the First Division. There was his mother.
"I know an Urahara when I see one." smiled Yoruichi.
Kenji turned around as his mother walked pass the older version of himself. She stopped in front of a younger lady carrying a child.
"A baby?" Kenji smiled.
"Mom, this is Ryoku. And, our little one's name is Keiji."
Koga's smile grew wide as he watched the boy get lost in the vision. The moment the Shinigami reached for the child, he pulled him from the moment. In reality, the Shinigami was sinking deep into the sands of Hueco Mundo. Koga's smile faded, just a little. He was becoming bored with the boy. He turned his attention to Tetsuya.
Like the Urahara Boy, Tetsuya was sinking into the sands. But unlike Urahara, he had the will and strength to fight Koga's visions. Some of the first visions shown to him were of moments between Tetsuya and Ryouma...Tetsuya and the Vessel...Even Tetsuya and Azayaka. But, none of them had the desired effect on the Shinigami. He needed to break him.
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Post by Seto Tetsuya on Dec 3, 2024 19:14:54 GMT -6
Koga's visions were making his head hurt. He tried his best to stay tethered to the present; thinking of his sons Kadaj and Ide. He thought of there mother's. He thought about his wife and his time as a Captain. He thought of his time wandering Hueco Mundo then his time at Las Noches. But, the longer Koga's visions played, the harder it become to stay grounded. Seto tried to look passed the visions. And for a quick moment, he saw Kenji.
The boy wasn't fairing as well as he was, and by all accounts he was losing. Kenji was little more than finger tips above the sand. "Shit!" shouted Seto. "Kenji! Get the fuck up and fight!" The boy's fingers twitched but nothing more. "Shit. Shit. Shit!" Seto closed his eyes.
"Captain..."
There's a familiar voice. Muffled but familiar. One he hadn't heard in years. Seto opened his eyes. Ah...yes...The helmet clad Captain. "...Komamura." Seto's throat burned. The air was dry. And, filled with smoke. He looked around. "Oh no..." In an instant, Seto remember the moment. He felt the weight of it. He could smell the burning wood of the barracks around him. He could taste the blood in his mouth. Seto looked down at his hands. They were shaking...Just as they had done all those years ago.
"That is enough, Captain Tetsuya."
Another familiar voice. Captain Ukitake. Seto squeezed his eyes shut. This was different from Koga's previous visions. Before he was simply watching. This...This was a memory. And, it felt as though Koga was going to make him relive it.
"I don't want to kill you, Juushiro..." Seto looked up at the ailing Captain to his left. He turned his head to look at Komamura on his right. "But, I will kill the both of you, if you get in my way."
"Please, stand down. Lower your weapon and surrender peacefully. There is no honor, no purpose, in continuing this senseless bloodshed. Let us resolve this without further harm."
Seto could hear the tension shift in Komamura's armor. "No purpose? No purpose?" Seto turned his attention back to Ukitake. "All I hold dear has been taken from me. And easily so...Why not rid myself of the rest of this bullshit?! It's as simple as removing a head..." Seto laughed. Why are you laughing?! "Which of you wants to die first? Or..." he looked around at the dead Soul Reapers of his division. "Oh fuck it...How many have I actually killed so far?!"
"Enough! There has been more than enough blood shed, tonight. I will not stand by and let this go on any longer!" Tenken appeared behind Sajin, as he stared at the damned Captain through the visor of his helmet. The heat from the fires was unbearable. He looked to the ailing Captain. Tetsuya had done his worse before he arrive. Captain Ukitake had put up a fight. But, how much longer could he last? "Will you stand down?!"
"Fuck off!" Wait...Seto turned his head taking the sharp edge of Ukitake's blade to the eye. He remembered this...The pain. The pain then the panic of being unable to see. Seto felt a wave a furry wash over him. He tapped the jagged blade to his thigh, calling forth Chinmoku. The massive dampened the light from the fires as it began to swallow the area. "Choushi-"
"No!!"
Chinmoku disappeared completely leaving the Captains at a lose of what was happening. But Seto knew. He remembered this moment...Very well. This was the moment he first lost connection with Chinmoku.
Seto looked down at his blade. "What are you doing?! Lend me your power. Let me end this!"
"No!"
"Chinmoku!"
"NO!!"
Chinmoku unleashed his power...But, on Seto. The pain was unreal. Seto shunpo'd away, again and again, until he was no longer in the Gotei. His own zanpakuto had forced him away from battle. Away from the Gotei...Away from home and into Hueco Mundo. Chinmoku recalled his power. And, went silent.
Seto found himself in the Forest of Menos, hiding in a hollow trunk of a massive tree. He remembered throwing Chinmoku...Throwing it away in anger. Watching as the years ticked away, slowly covering the zanpakuto in sand.
"Chinmoku...I'm so sorry..." he felt the warmth of tears run down his face. And, that was enough for him to ground himself. "I never apologized..." Seto looked down at the zanpakuto in his hand. "But, I should have..."
"Koga...Enough...Please..."
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Post by Eisaku Koga on Dec 3, 2024 20:03:04 GMT -6
Koga opened his hands, releasing the Shinigami, for a moment, from his visions and memories. "Now, Seto Tetsuya...I know what you'e going to say. I know what you are going to do. Why waste the time?"
"Because..." Seto fell to his knees. He was emotionally and physically drained. He looked down at his hands. They were still shaking. Slowly, he reached for his eye. The wound was fresh...as if it had just happened. "How?"
"Must I repeat myself, Tetsuya?"
Seto looked up at Koga. Then, remembering that Kenji was sinking beneath the sand, he ran over to where the boy was. He began digging until he saw the tips of his fingers. he grabbed at the boy's hand and pulled him free of the sand. "Kenji."
Kenji gasped for air and clawed at the sand. "Se-Se-....Seto..." He looked at the bloodied man in front of him. "No! No! You're not real! Get away from me!"
"Stop it!" shouted Seto. "I'm real, Kenji. This is real." Despite his protests, the boy wouldn't calm down. So, Seto did what he does best when he is frustrated and people won't stop yelling. He punched Kenji in the face.
"Ow! What the fuck, Seto!" Kenji wanted to hit the man back. But, he didn't have the energy. "What the fuck happened to you."
Seto sighed. "My past..." Seto rose to his feet and turned to face Koga who was standing a few feet away. "Can you get yourself out?"
"I can try..." As he attempted to dig himself, he slowed then stopped. He looked up at Seto...He looked as he did when he was locked away in Las Noches. Kenji's eyes grew wide as he looked away. After a few seconds, he looked back at the man. His appearance changed again. He looked as he did right before they came here.
"Hurry up and get out of there....Then go." Seto looked over his shoulder at the boy. Do not go to Kita or your parents. Go home. And, stay there until I come back."
"You and I both know," Koga folded his arms behind his back. "He isn't going to do that." Koga smiled and began to walk toward the Shinigami. "Not because he does not know how to handle the situation without them. But, because you are feeling what he is...The weight of all you've seen. It will linger. It will challenge your perception of reality. You will always wonder if your peace is real."
Koga chuckled. "Yes, Tetsuya. I will grant you this one request."
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