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Post by Urahara Kisuke on Nov 1, 2024 18:05:15 GMT -6
Kisuke gave a casual chuckle, though there was a sharpness in his gaze that cut through the lighthearted air he often carried. "Your father’s impatience has always been legendary. However, I don’t think I need to remind you that ‘the goddess’—" he inclined his head in the direction of the shop's inner rooms, "—has made her stance very clear. She’s not a resource to be tapped, nor a tool for Captain Kurotsuchi’s whims."
Nemu remained composed, her expression unchanging. “My father believes the benefits of harnessing her powers could be limitless. The results would lead to substantial advancements, not only for him but for all of Soul Society.”
Kisuke took a slow step forward, his hand toying with the edge of his hat. “Ah, yes, the benefits of wielding someone else’s life to gain what one desires. But if Mayuri has really failed to grasp the danger involved, perhaps it’s better that he stays uninformed.”
He tapped a finger on his chin thoughtfully, looking down at Nemu. "Even if your father managed to secure the goddess’s ‘vessel,’ do you think she would be cooperative? She’s already decided her answer, and I trust her judgment in this far more than Mayuri’s scientific ambitions."
Nemu’s gaze lowered, but she held her ground. “Then, I am to return with nothing? That will only increase his irritation.”
Kisuke offered her a lopsided grin, a hint of mischief flashing in his eyes. “Let your father be irritated. It might do him some good. If he’s that eager to risk the lives of those around him, maybe he should be reminded of the risks that follow. Trust me, Soul Society will thank us later."
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Post by Lt. Nemu Kurotsuchi on Nov 1, 2024 18:19:56 GMT -6
Nemu made no indication that she was disappointed. She offered no nod of understanding nor any gesture that she accepted what Kisuke Urahara was saying. She methodically thought through her next course of action. Her orders were clear. If the shopkeep refused to allow the vessel to help them, then she was to go to Hueco Mundo herself and return with his work. She was not to return until she had it. All of it.
There was no denying her father. The shopkeep and the vessel might refuse him, but she had no will of her own. Her orders from her father were absolute. She had gone against him before, but only in the interest of saving his life.
And even then she had paid for her insolence. She did not regret it. No matter how many times he hit her and experimented on her. Her father was alive.
Nemu started her way back through the shop, walking past Urahara. "Then I am left with no choice." She didn't elaborate on what that choice was. She made her way to the front door to exit the shop.
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Post by Urahara Kisuke on Nov 1, 2024 18:58:00 GMT -6
Kisuke watched her pass, his gaze sharp but unreadable. He knew better than to underestimate Nemu, especially when bound by the iron-clad orders of Mayuri. With a sigh, he spoke up just as her hand touched the door.
"You know," he called after her, "I'm pretty sure I know where you're off to next." He paused. "If you walk into Hueco Mundo, it’ll be less of a mission and more of a... death wish."
Nemu paused, her back still to him, but her shoulders shifted, just slightly. It was a subtle sign, but Kisuke didn’t miss it. He adjusted his hat, a touch of genuine concern flickering in his eyes.
"I wonder, Nemu," he continued, his voice gentler now, "when you’ve completed these orders, and you bring back whatever it is he wants, will you be any closer to... satisfaction? Or will it just be more of the same?" He shrugged nonchalantly as if the answer didn’t affect him. "After all, Mayuri’s demands are rarely ever met—just replaced with new ones, don't you think?"
There was silence for a long moment, and he could see her weighing her response. She was, after all, a creature of duty. But perhaps, deep down, she wondered too.
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Post by Lt. Nemu Kurotsuchi on Nov 1, 2024 22:23:07 GMT -6
Nemu resisted the sharp inhale of breath that caught in her lungs. Her life didn't matter. What she wanted, her own fulfillment, didn't matter. All that mattered was what her father demanded of her. She was made--built--to obey him. To carry out his orders. She was his assistant. He called her his daughter. He created her. And in exchange for that life she was bound to him.
"You speak from your own perspective. I do not need you to plant seeds of doubt in my mind. My life belongs to my master. I live to serve him. His wishes are my own. If you will not lend your aid, then you are of no use to my master."
Nemu left, walking out the door and disappearing. She didn't let herself think about what would be waiting for her in Hueco Mundo. She didn't let herself recall what had happened to her the last time she was there. Her orders were clear.
Do not return until she had all of his work.
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Post by Urahara Kisuke on Nov 1, 2024 22:31:33 GMT -6
Kisuke sighed as the door swung shut behind her, the sound punctuating a strange, quiet sadness that settled in the shop. He watched the spot where she’d stood just a moment ago, her unwavering resolve leaving a trace of something heavy in the air.
“Poor girl,” he muttered softly, his voice barely a whisper. “Bound to the man who made her and chained by his vision—a vision that doesn’t even see her.” He tightened his grip on his cane, frustration flashing across his features. If Mayuri could just see what a miracle he’d created beyond her utility... if he could only see her for who she truly was, maybe Nemu could breathe freely, experience a life that wasn’t measured by orders and experiments.
Turning toward the shop’s inner rooms, he closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts. It wasn’t his place to interfere—he knew better than most that Nemu wouldn’t, or maybe couldn’t, accept such an offer. She’d been made to serve; everything she was, everything she’d been taught, led her to believe her life was little more than a tool in Mayuri’s hands. But still, the way she’d hesitated—just for a breath, just long enough to reveal the smallest crack in her armor—left him with the faint hope that one day, she might find herself despite it all.
“Well, Kita,” he said softly as he made his way back through the shop, “it seems Captain Kurotsuchi has left us both with more questions than answers this time.” And with a final shake of his head, Kisuke returned to the work at hand, resolved that, if he could, he’d find a way to keep her from slipping too far down the path that Mayuri laid before her.Moved
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