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Post by Methuselah on May 14, 2016 10:16:19 GMT -6
"What We Really Are":Methuselah sat on the edge of a chair in front of the fireplace. He scratched against the grain of his beard as he hummed lowly. His eyes shifted to a blade resting on the mantle above the fireplace. Sighing, he rose from his seat.
Taking the blade from the mantle, Methuselah looked over its sheath. He ran his fingers over the etchings along the sheath."Are you going to tell me why?" questioned Sadow. "Or, how?""Where would I begin?" asked Methuselah, his voice low. He looked over his shoulder to Sadow, as she leaned against the chair beside his. "It is a long story, my dear. Are you sure you have the time?"
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Post by Sadow Aiga on May 14, 2016 20:55:58 GMT -6
"Hm..." hummed Sadow, a sly grin sliding across her lips as she fell into the seat of the chair. "Help clean what remains of this forsaken town. Or, listen to you reminisce of your golden years? Hm..." She raised a brow as he she looked to Methuselah.
"Let's be serious, Imai. Helping is something I'm just now going to do. So," Sadow waved a hand, as her grin grew. "Tell me. Tell me."
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Post by Methuselah on May 14, 2016 21:43:30 GMT -6
Methuselah shook he head as he turned to face the warmth of the fire before him. "What am I going to do with you?" he muttered.
"You're going to quit mumbling like old men do, and tell me."
"Fine." Methuselah fell back into his chair with a thump. And, rested the weathered blade across his lap. "I will tell you. I will tell you..." Methuselah sighed as he stared into the flickering flames.
"It begins with my days-"
"You're going to start at the beginning?!" grunted Sadow, crossing her arms of her chest. "Well, shit."
Methuselah raised a brow. "Will you hush, woman!" He rested against the back of the chair as he continued.
My days as part of the Shino Academy were far from kind. Even then I had my secrets. Even then, I appeared as something I was not."
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Post by Sadow Aiga on May 15, 2016 9:25:19 GMT -6
Sadow slumped down in her chair further. "This is going to take all day, isn't it?" she huffed. She looked to Methuselah as he paused in his reminiscing. She sighed as he continued to run his fingers over the sheath in his lap.
Eyes growing wide, Sadow sat up. "This isn't just about how your power works? You're starting from the very beginning, aren't you? How Imai Kamlyn became Methuselah." Sadow rose from her chair and walked over to Methuselah. She sat down on the floor in front of him.
"Continue, please."
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Post by Methuselah on May 15, 2016 12:00:47 GMT -6
Imai sat silently by himself, away from the crowd that watched a sparring pair of students. A sleepy eyes blonde had bested his opponent the match before. But, in this match, his opponent had gotten the best of him. They were tied in matches, before his next opponent stepped up.
Shaking his head, Imai turned his attention back to the book that rested in his lap. A piece of charcoal sat between the blank pages of his book. He sighed, closing his book as a shadow loomed over him.
"Come now," a kind voice spoke softly. "Loneliness has never suited anyone. Come spar with me." Green eyes smiled brightly at him."
"No, thank you." replied Imai. Rising from his seat on the ground, Imai waved a hand dismissing the white hair young man.
"No. No. I insist. I've had the privilege of sparring with nearly everyone here. Except you, Imai-kun. Please."
Imai nodded after a few moments of silence. He walked to the center of the training area and waited for his opponent. As the white hair young man took his stance in front of Imai. Begin! yelled their sensei. His opponent was the first to release his shikai.
Imai raised his blade as his opponent shunpo'd toward him. He dodged quickly, parrying the blade pointed at him. A clenched fist slammed into his opponents chest. As his opponents knees buckled and he coughed, Imai circled behind him and punched him in his side.
Imai's blade tapped his opponents shoulder. "Match." he grunted. "Please, do not get up, Ukitake." Green eyes narrowed at Imai, as his opponent turned and pointed his blade at him. A fury of wind and lightning whipped around them. Imai sighed and raised his sword, pointing his blade toward the sky. With his other hand, he brought his hand to the blade then pulled back as if pulling back on something.
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Post by Sadow Aiga on May 15, 2016 13:08:29 GMT -6
Sadow placed a hand to Methuselah's knee when he paused. "You knew Captain Ukitake?" Methuselah nodded. "And, the two in the beginning - the blonde and his opponent -"
"Kisuke Urahara and Sousuke Aizen."
"Damn it!" Sadow began to laugh. "How old are you, Imai? IF that is your real name!" Sadow crossed her arms over her chest. "Carry on, old man."
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Post by Methuselah on May 15, 2016 15:27:55 GMT -6
Green eyes smiled at him again, as the crowd thickened. The young men and women of the academy surrounded the two as Ukitake rose to his feet.
"A sparring match would mean very little, if we ended it at just one match." Ukitake smiled at Imai as he raised his blade. "Best of three, Iami-kun."
Imai lowered his hand and blade with a nod. "They will end quickly."
"Then, perhaps it would be best if neither of us held back."
Again, Imai nodded as he raised his sword. His blade pointed toward the sky, as he raised a hand to his blade and pulled back again. As with the first time, nothing happened, drawing a boo from the crowd around them.
"Try again, Imai-kun."
Imai's eyes narrowed, as he performed the motion again. This time, his blade glowed a bright blue and shifted in form. "Kyuushi!" And, arrow formed, as bright as the bow in his hand. Imai pulled on the bow, holding his breath to steady his hand.
"Now, that's enough!" A olive skinned, long haired student appeared between Ukitake and Imai. "This hardly seems fair, hm." He stroked his chin as a hand rested to the hit of his blade. "Lower your..." his head tilted to the side. "Your bow."
"Imai Kazuya!" A gruff demanding voice shouted his name. "You will cease this action at once!"
Imai lower his bow, turning his sight from the Commander. Sheathing his blade, he turned away from the crowd, returning to the place where his books lay.
"I told your father that your admittance into this academy was contingent on you never using your Quincy abilities here in the Soul Society. How dare you ignore the terms of this arrangement!"
"It is the only power I know how to use!" argued Imai. "Your terms were made out of fear and nothing else. But, if those are the terms, I do not wish to be here."
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Post by Sadow Aiga on May 15, 2016 15:42:29 GMT -6
Sadow's eyes narrowed as she slid away from Methuselah. She rose slowly, and wrapped her arms around herself. "Gemischt..."
Methusalah sighed as he rose from his chair, returning his blade to it place above the fireplace. "Please, Sadow."
"Please Sadow, what?!" she shouted. "You've lied to me for so many years, Imai Kazuya. I abandoned my family for you. You! Under the assumption that you would find a way to redeem the Quincy. But, how could you do that? You're not a real Quincy."
Sadow shook her head, turning away from Imai. "What else are you hiding?"
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Post by Methuselah on May 15, 2016 17:37:05 GMT -6
"I have my secrets." shouted Methuselah. "And I have them for a reason, Sadow. You have to understand."
"What do I have to understand?" questioned Sadow. "What do I have to understand, Imai?" Tears flowed down her face as she turned back to face him. "What else have you not told me?"
Methuselah shook his head. "There is plenty, Sadow. After I was removed from the academy, I renounced my Shinigami heritage. I have not used this blade since then. From there, my father trained me to use my Quincy abilities. And, only my Quincy abilities."
"What is its name?" asked Sadow.
"Furainken." answer Methuselah with a chuckle. "I am surprised I remember his name."
"Did your wife know?"
"My wife and Takai's mother...They both knew. Naito's mother...She was beautiful. And, a Shinigami. She died...During a training exercise. Takai's mother, she was Quincy. She left me after she and I had this very same conversation."
Methuselah looked to Sadow before lowering his gaze. "I asked you to join me here, because I believed I could make a difference. But, my family proved to fair worse than the world around us. So, I focused on my power rather than what I set out to do."
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Post by Sadow Aiga on May 15, 2016 18:22:15 GMT -6
"Methuselah, why do they call you that?" asked Sadow. "I assume that it is because you are...old."
"Far older than I seem. I was one of the first students of the Shino Academy. By Shinigami standards, I am well over one thousand years old. About the same age as the current Captain Commander, give or take a few months. By, human standards, I look to be in my forties."
"That would put Naito in his late twenties and Takai in her early twenties. Okay." Sadow shook her head, wiping her face free of her tears. "Do you...Do you even love me, Imai? Is that one of your secrets? If not, I will go home to our dau- My daughter. You remember Rin, don't you? Or, have you forgotten her among all of your secrets?!"
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Post by Methuselah on May 15, 2016 18:50:48 GMT -6
"Leave her out of this, Sadow." growled Methuselah. He sat down in his chair with a thud. "Let Rin remain innocent in all of this." He ran his fingers through his hair, and sat back in the chair. "I will not apologize for having my secrets, Sadow."
"Of course, you won't. You never will. You've had them for far too long." Sadow looked to Methuselah. "As for Rin's innocence...You have no idea what he's done to her."
"My father is not a wicked man, Sadow!"
"Oh, please!"
"She is safest with him. So, with him she will stay. I don't regret letting him take her. I regret not letting him take Takai. But, my father...My father is not a wicked man."
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Post by Sadow Aiga on May 15, 2016 19:19:18 GMT -6
Sadow was silent, feeling the fluctuating reiatsu of Takai. As the young girl entered the library, Sadow looked only to Methuselah. "Does she know?" she whispered. He nodded. Sadow sighed, clenching her fists.
"Father." said Takai. "He's...I don't understand..."
"You don't understand what, Takai?" asked Methuselah, rising from his chair and walking over to his daughter. He cupped her cheeks in his hands, forcing her to look at him. "What is the matter, dear?"
"He's back." she whispered. "He's alive."
"Who?"
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Post by Naito Kazuya on May 15, 2016 19:45:02 GMT -6
Naito appeared behind his father, a grin on his lips. "Me!" He reached up, wrapping his arm around his father's neck, placing him in a choke hold. "Did you miss me, Dad?" Naito was forced backward, as his father threw his weight on him.
Methuselah spun around, a clenched fist connecting with Naito's face. "Who...What the hell are you?"
"Don't you recognize me, Father?" Naito grinned as he wiped the blood from his face. "Hello, Sadow."
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Post by Methuselah on May 15, 2016 20:11:49 GMT -6
Methuselah grabbed Naito by the throat, slamming his other fist into his face. "I buried my son!" As Naito laughed in his grasp, Methuselah slammed his fist into Naito's face again. "You are not Naito!"
"Oh yes I am!" Naito grinned, catching his father's fist in his hand. He twisted his father's arm until it broke. "In the flesh!" Naito kicked his father in the chest, while still holding onto his arm. "Better. Than. Ever."
Methuselah grunted, grabbing Naito by the face with his good hand. "I think not!" Methuselah lifted Naito from the ground and threw him across the room. "This is another one of Sousuke Aizen's games. And, I will end it!"
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Post by Takai Kazuya on May 15, 2016 20:37:26 GMT -6
Takai drew her blade, as she ran toward her father. "Stay down, father. I can handle him on my own." He blade began to glow as she focused on her brother. He rose slowly, grinning as he looked their direction.
"No, Takai." grunted Methuselah. "Something is different about him."
An arc of light shot toward Naito, as Takai swung her blade. "I don't care, father. This isn't Naito. But, he will die just the same!" Takai sent another arc of light toward Naito.
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