AN: I felt a rush of inspiration and ended up writing this chapter. Also, this chapter is the reason I'm gonna have to classify this story as M-rated due to 'Graphic Imagery'. You have been warned, so don't go crying about it in the reviews. Now on with the story!
A New Player
Chapter 11
Ururu preformed the closest thing she could to a grumble as the late morning sunlight pierced through her eyelids, waking her from the land of sleep and pulling her into the waking world. Sitting up from her futon, the young girl stretched out her arms before rubbing her eyes, a yawn escaping her mouth as she did so.
Finally bringing her consciousness to an acceptable standard, Ururu turned her head to peer around the room, her gaze eventually making her way to her pillow, where there was a second indention next to where her head had been. As she stared at the valley in her pillow, the fog in her mind began to disperse as realization dawned on her.
"…Kuroashi?"
XxxxXxxxX
Five minutes later
XxxxXxxxX
"Well, I have to give credit where credit is due. That was one smart cat. He managed to open the sliding door by stabbing his claws into the frame and pulling on it until he had a large enough space to squeeze through to the backyard, then climbed the unused boxes we keep next the fence like stairs." Urahara told us as we stood in the aforementioned yard. "Sorry Ururu, but Kuroashi being that proficient at using sliding doors likely means he was someone's pet. I did warn you that was a possibility."
Ururu's eyes widened at Urahara's last statement, before clamping together as she began to cry, causing everyone including Tessai of all people to turn and glare at the clog wearing shop keeper, who took a comedic step back in fear and he brought up his fan to cover his mouth as it seemed even the very earth and air seemed to glare at him. "Of course, he seemed to like it here and he might just be a really smart alley cat who went looking for breakfast and will come back after he's eaten."
Ururu looked up at the shopkeeper, oblivious to the glares the other residents and the world itself were giving the man, hope apparent in her eyes. "Y-you think so?"
"Of course! Why, I bet he's coming back as we speak, so why don't you go and get a few things to make him more comfortable, Hm?" Urahara franticly told the girl as she nodded and ran back into the shop before he turned to the rest of the group. "Can you please stop glaring at me now? It's rather uncomfortable."
Everyone held their glare for a moment longer before they relented. "Thank you. Now then, Jinta, the front of the store still needs sweeping and Kyle, there are a few more deliveries to make, but the addresses are printed on the packages so you shouldn't have too much trouble."
Jinta grumbled a bit as he followed Kyle back into the house, leaving the three adults in the yard.
XxxxXxxxX
Kyle's POV
Front of shop
XxxxXxxxX
I had just slipped the last of the packages into my inventory when a new box popped in front of me.
A new Quest has been created.
Delivery boy!
Objectives:
Deliver the package to the warehouse on 18th Street
Deliver the package to the temple on Shōrai Hill
Deliver the package to the construction site on 32nd Ave
Deliver the package to the warehouse on 45th Street
Success: 800 Exp
Failure: 100 Exp
No Bonus Objectives
Not exactly a big reward, but it gave me a good reason to work on my Shunpo and it helped to kill time before Shrieker showed up. I ignored Jinta as he started to whine about his chores as I shunpo'd on top of the building across the street and began making my way across the rooftops. I always enjoyed running across the rooftops, it allowed me time to think about my current situation. My new spell might have been pretty useless for combat at the moment, but it provided me an opportunity. Now it was just a matter of making sure not to let it slip through my fingers.
XxxxXxxxX
One hour later
XxxxXxxxX
I flashed into an unoccupied alleyway near the entrance to Shōrai Hill, though the 'entrance' was really just a single red arch with an old-fashioned sign on top, leading into a stone walkway that turned into stone steps that climbed up a reasonably large hill, upon which sat Shōrai Temple, a single story building with a golden roof and red paint. A pristine image of a beautiful temple.
At least, that's how it might have, looked once upon a time. Now though, just from a glance I could see the red paint was chipped and cracked, the golden roof now little more than a dull yellow. Walking up the stairs, I entered through the open doors of the temple. The inside was even worse than the outside; the offering box was broken in several places, there were noticeable cobwebs on all over the place, and scent of dust was completely overpowering.
Yet I could sense…something. It wasn't power, or even danger. It was just there, like the sky; untouchable but existing nonetheless.
"Ho ho, it isn't everyday this place gets a visitor. To what do I owe the pleasure?" My head snapped to the side to find an elderly woman wearing a shrine maiden's outfit sitting at a small table. On the table there was a small, handle-less black rimmed mirror.
"I have a delivery for you, from the Urahara Shop." I told her as I reached behind myself and secretly called up my inventory, pulling out the package that had been marked for the temple and turning back to the woman. It was the smallest package, barely bigger then my hand and less than an inch thick, and that was just the box.
"Oh yes, I almost thought it wasn't going to show up." I brought the package over and was about to pull out the receipt when she removed the wrapping and took off the lid of the box, revealing what could have been the white rimmed twin to the mirror on the table, save for one other difference.
Instead of a reflective mirror, there was only a pitch black space with no reflective sheen anywhere on the surface.
"You shouldn't stare so much, or you might not be able to stop." The cheery tone of the woman snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Sorry, it's just it was too interesting not to Observe." I replied as I made sure to keep both the mirrors and the woman in my sights.
Kako Genzai
Title: Head Shōrai Priestess (+75% effectiveness towards Space/Time Magic and Items)
Lv: 10 Exp: 0.00%
HP: 100/100
MP: ?
RP: ?
STR: 4
VIT: 4
DEX: 7
INT: ?
WIS: ?
LUK: ?
Status: Level up 'Observe' in order to view other beings Status, Attribute Buffs, Equipment Buffs, and to see exactly how much Exp is needed before target levels up.
Observe Leveled up.
Observe is Lv: 15 Exp: 10.50%
Ataete No Me [1]
The white rimmed half of the Subete Saito No Me [2], it gives to its viewer what its counterpart receives.
Jushin No Me [3]
The black rimmed half of the Subete Saito No Me, what it receives from its viewer it gives to its counterpart.
Observe Leveled up.
Observe is Lv: 16 Exp: 5.00%
Okay, I'm happy about Observe leveling up, but I'm both worried and wondering about those mirrors.
"Would you like to know a piece of your future?" Kako asked me as I snapped out of my musings.
"Just a piece? Not the whole thing?" I grinned as my eyebrow rose.
"I could tell you the whole thing, but then we'd be stuck here until my heart finally gave out." Kako chuckled as she picked up the Jushin No Me and handed it to me. "Just look into the mirror, and don't look away until I am done. But remember this; what I tell you, you might not like."
I nodded as I took hold of the mirror and looked at my reflection, my onyx eyes staring right back as Kako picked up the Ataete No Me. As she looked into her mirror, I looked back into mine.
"I see…an all-consuming inferno that swallows even that which cannot be swallowed, the blazing flames surrounding an all-encompassing tempest that could tear apart existence itself. I see the world slowly being consumed and replaced by them…" As the words left her mouth I found my vision being filled with the image she spoke of, the temple vanishing from view.
"I see…an all-consuming inferno that swallows even that which cannot be swallowed, the blazing flames surrounding an all-encompassing tempest that could tear apart existence itself. I see the world slowly being consumed and replaced by them…" As the words left her mouth I found my vision being filled with the image she spoke of, the temple vanishing from view as the fire and wind circled around me, causing me to close my eyes for a brief moment. When I reopened them, I found myself in a valley, surrounded on all sides by distant snow-capped mountains.
Looking up, I saw a pitch black sky, yet it was not night. Actually, it couldn't really be called a 'sky', it was just a black void, the light that allowed me to see coming solely from the solar eclipse that hovered in the center of the 'sky'. I continued to stare at it, even though I had been told all my life not to stare directly at an eclipse. But even as the thought passed through my head, I didn't feel the need to care. In fact, I couldn't feel...anything.
It wasn't that I felt hollow, just...dazed; like I was caught between a dream and consciousness. I could see just fine, but I didn't focus on anything. For a moment more, I stared at the void above me, when without warning something shot down and landed beside me with a loud crunch. Taking a glance, I saw that the object was...a small stone grave marker. What caught my attention next was the small pool of crimson liquid that seeped out from the marker, slowly making its outward in a perfect circle. A small glint caught the corner of my eye as a silvery flash shot down from the black 'sky', this time farther away but still close enough that I could hear a hollow thud that signaled its impact with the ground. Twisting my neck to get a better view, I saw that it was a wooden cross; another kind of grave marker, the same crimson liquid pooling from it's center just like the previous one.
Before I could even grasp what all this could mean, another object fell from the void, followed by two more, and then three, then six, and then a dozen, and the a hundred, then countless more began raining down around me in all different sizes and materials; metal crosses, tombstones, wooden alters, all of them accompanied by there own ever-expanding pool of red.
Within moments the barren ground was swallowed by the red tides, leaving nothing but a red sea covered in graves. Driven by an unknown force, I looked down and saw my uncaring crimson reflection staring right back. A moment passed, when suddenly I fell into the water with a splash, as if the ground I had previously been standing on ceased to exist. Sinking further into the ocean of red, I looked down into the abyss that hid the bottom of the crimson sea from my sight.
What was that old saying again? 'Stare long enough into the abyss and you'll find the abyss staring back at you'? That saying had always confused me. It never mentions the abyss itself being a bad thing, just that it was an abyss, something unknown, something that remained hidden from view. That didn't make it evil, yet people assumed it be because they didn't know what it was. Personally, I wanted to dive into the abyss, to see what it hid, regardless if it was good or evil, both or neither; it wouldn't matter to me, I would be fine either way. I left my internal musings as a shape drifted up from the darkness. Looking closer, I saw that it was a body, the corpse of the tiki-masked hollow I killed on my first day in this world.
And then more shapes rose.
At first it was the zombies of my ID, the hollow centipede, the legion zombie, the ghosts and triumvirate ghosts from the ghost ID; familiar sights. But before long, new bodies started to appear, gaining in frequency and amount as the moments ticked by. Angels, demons, humans, things that I couldn't place, all of them rising from the depths. Some wearing faces of joy and happiness, others had faces frozen in terror or rage. Despite all this I felt...content, even at ease, as disturbing as the thought sounded.
Looking straight down into the abyss, I continued to sink until I found myself in front of a rimless oval mirror that, despite its current whereabouts, offered a perfect reflection. Reaching out to my reflection, instead of stopping against the surface of the object my hand phased right through it, my body following suit. As my face met the surface of the mirror, I closed my eyes on sheer instinct. When I opened them, I found myself on the surface, surrounded once again by endless grave markers within a crimson sea.
For a moment, nothing happened, before a large hand slowly rose from beneath the surface next to a grave marker and pressed flat against the surface of the sea as if it was solid, raising itself up to reveal the soaked form of the tiki-masked hollow, who stood just like when I first met it. But it did not move towards me, or make any attempts to attack. Soon others appeared from the depths, dripping crimson water from their frames as they rose to stand around me. They did not attack. They did not move. It was as if they were waiting for something. In some small, distant part of my mind I felt like I knew what it was, but I couldn't think for to long as a burst of static clouded my vision and my hearing for a single moment.
And just like that, I was back in the temple, the mirror still in my hand.
"I did warn you that you might not like what you see." Kako said as she reached out and took the mirror from my hand, her eyes now carrying a glimmer of an emotion I couldn't pin down. "Now, I suggest you hurry on out, I'm sure you have other business to attend to."
I don't know how, but in the next moment I found myself hunched over outside the temple. What was I supposed to think?
What I saw, it had to be a trick, right? But then, why did it feel so wrong to think that? That hellish image, a normal person would have thrown up by now. But I didn't, not only because of my Gamer's Mind, but because I refused to break like so many others would.
Lifting my hand, I wiped off some of the sweat from my forehead and straightened out my back, my footsteps heavy on the stone steps of the temple.
XxxxXxxxX
Two hours later
XxxxXxxxX
I dropped off the last of the packages and closed the quest complete screen that popped up before beginning my trek back to Urahara's, my mind still occupied by what Kako had shown me. The feeling of disgust had been replaced by my Gamer's Mind with a desire to analyze what I had been told, starting with the first part about the inferno and tempest.
The fire was more than likely about me, but what did the 'all-consuming' mean? Cliché as the thought may be, was I going to destroy this world? Or did it mean I couldn't die because I just 'consumed' anything that tried to hurt me?
But if I was all-consuming, why was there an 'all-encompassing tempest'? Kako described the flames as 'surrounding' the tempest, so was the tempest fueling the fire? Or was the fire protecting the tempest in some way?
I stopped walking as a new thought occurred to me. My Shunko took the form of fire and was composed of my Reiryoku, which surrounded my Mana. So if I used my Mana instead of my Reiryoku to activate my Shunko, would it look like Soi-Fon's, or would it be a new technique all together? Damn it, it was a sound theory, but I needed more information!
Kako had also said that the inferno and tempest slowly consumed and replaced the world. I don't even know where to begin on that one. What, was I going to replace the Soul King or something? Yeah, I'll pass on that; I like having my limbs.
I shivered as I thought of the last part of my 'future'.
I wanted to convince myself that what I saw was a trick, that it wasn't real, that I had nothing to do with it. But I knew that I did, and if that was my future, then I wouldn't look away, no matter how much my brain told me to do so, no matter how much it wanted me to close my eyes and pretend that it wasn't there, I would see and accept it all. I was too stubborn not to.
I shook my head free of my thoughts. Look at me, getting worked up over something that might not even happen. I needed something to take my mind off this, and I knew just what to do.
XxxxXxxxX
3rd person POV
Three hours later
Urahara Shop
XxxxXxxxX
Ururu fiddled with her fingers as she waited out front, desperately hoping Kuroashi would show up. She was just about to give up when she felt something soft and fluffy rub against her hand. Looking down she found the very kitten she had been looking for.
"Kuroashi!" Ururu happily gasped as the kitten crawled onto her lap and looked up at the dark haired girl with a small meow. Reaching into her back pocket, Ururu pulled out a little cat toy she had found in Yoruichi's room and began moving it in front of the kitten, who looked at it for a moment before his head perked up and he began to swat at it with clumsy paw swipes. The pair continued on like that for nearly half an hour until Tessai came to inform Ururu that it was time to eat. Ururu turned to pick up her friend when she saw him jump onto the porch and follow Tessai inside. The appearance of Kuroashi at dinner was…interesting.
"See Ururu, I told you he would come back." Kisuke laughed behind his fan as the aforementioned girl scratched Kuroashi behind the ear.
"I don't see what the big deal is. If you wanted a cat so badly, why didn't you just ask Yoruichi to stay as one?" Jinta asked as he put his face in front of the kitten, which reached out and placed a black-haired paw on his forehead. And then the claws came out.
"YAAH!" Jinta yelped as he reared back and smacked the back of his head against the wall, knocking him out cold. Kuroashi seemed to purr in delight at the red-head's actions before he felt himself being picked up as Yoruichi hugged him in between her breasts.
"Aww, he's so cute. I'm jealous of you Ururu." Yoruichi cooed as pressed the cat further into her bosom.
"Yoruichi, I think you're suffocating him." Tessai told her as he finished healing Jinta's head.
Yoruichi looked up in surprise at the man's suggestion before pulling the unmoving kitten out from between her chest, who started gasping for breathe as Jinta woke up from his short trip to unconsciousness and sent a glare towards the cat as Yoruichi hugged him a bit more lightly before giving him back to Ururu. Growling a bit as he returned to his food, the boy spoke up. "Hey, does anyone know where Big Bro is?"
"Big Bro?" the adults in the room looked towards Jinta in confusion.
"He means Kyle." Ururu answered as she scratched the top Kuroashi's head.
"Ah. I sensed his Reiatsu vanish a while ago, so he must have gone into one of his barriers." Urahara told the boy.
"You mean he can't be sensed when he's in a dungeon?" Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at Urahara's words.
"Not by someone on the outside, and you can't get in unless you have Kyle's permission or you happen to be able to resist the barrier as it's formed. I tried to enter into it after he took Ururu and Jinta in one to train, but I only went through the barrier instead of going inside. It seems once it's fully formed it won't allow outside interference. I've figured out part of what happens inside the barriers when the creatures it creates are made, but I can't figure out how the actual barriers work." Urahara tapped his fan against his chin in irritation. He didn't like not knowing things; it made him feel vulnerable, as if the smallest bit of missed information could be the key to a problem he hadn't yet come across.
As the adults began speaking about Kyle's abilities, no one noticed the glint that flashed through Kuroashi's eye.
XxxxXxxxX
Shōrai Temple
XxxxXxxxX
Kako sat outside the temple, sipping a cup of tea under the star filled sky. Her final self-appointed task was finished, and she could now rest easy. Setting down her now finished tea, she looked up at the night sky as her heart beat began to slow.
"Heh, he was even more interesting than I expected him to be. I wonder what kind of face he'll make when he figures out what I meant"
"Ne, Gaia?"
And with that last breath, Kako Genzai whispered a question to someone that no one else could see, a smile present on her face as her heart ceased to beat anymore.
AN: Chapter 11, done! I thought about putting the battle with Shrieker in here, but no matter what I did it just wouldn't come out right, so I eventually just scrapped it all together. Now for the markers.
[1] Pronounced Ata-ee-tey no me, it means 'Eye Of Giving'
[2] Pronounced Suu-be-te sai-to no me, it means 'Eyes Of True Sight'
[3] Pronounced Ju-shin no me, it means 'Eye Of Receiving'
