Arata was at Urahara's shop, training with the owner and Yoruichi once again. After sometime walking around, the executioner thought it best to get some exercise before heading back to Orihime.
At the moment, he was training with Yoruichi who was currently sitting on his back as he was doing push-ups.
The purple-haired woman was decently surprised to see Arata pushing through with little difficulty. "So how have things been for you Arata?" asked the woman.
"Fine" Arata said.
Yoruichi pouts and say, "That doesn't tell me much. C'mon, open up alittle. What did you do today?".
Arata sighs, knowing that the woman was just trying to be nice and listen but he had little interest in conversing with the werecat, only interested in getting his training in. "I barely slept last night trying to find my inner-world but with no luck. I then walked around the neighbor before I met a girl"
"Oh?" Yoruichi said, her interest piqued. "What did you and this girl do?" she then asks, wanting to know more, to see if he did anything... naughty.
"Just talked. We then walked around together talking. We also went to an arcade. Then we encounters thugs" he said reaching his 184th push-up.
"Let me guess? You took care of them" Yoruichi said with a smirk on her face.
"Yep" Arata answers simply.
Funny you didn't say you killed them.
'I took care of them by killing them' Arata thought nonchalantly.
*Flashback*
After some talking on the bench, Candice and Arata got up to explore the neighborhood. The two held steady conversation with each other and by that, it was mostly Candice doing the talking, asking the masked-man questions and after he gave a reply, she goes off talking his ear off.
Not that Arata gave a damn about her word rabble. It still confused him as of why she approached him. At first he thought she was a whore, probably to ask if he wanted to share her bed with him for a price like many other women before as they had thought him as an easy cash-grab. He might have been a killer but he was still a man. A man that got the coin.
He rejected them all though. He had no time nor interest to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh. He had only been intimate a few times. One of them was with a female shinobi he had to work with on a job.
That assumption quickly went out the window as soon as she started talking about anything that she thought of with the topic of sex being not one of them.
"So what brings you to town?" she then asks.
"Family. I have... a cousin here and thought she needed company" he said, lying. She didn't need to know he came from a different dimension and even if he did tell her, she wouldn't believe him so why bother. Her eyes narrow slightly at him but returns to normal shortly after.
"I just came here from Germany. Thought a change of scenery was needed and thought 'Why not Japan?'" she said. "The guys here though have been all over me. It's like they've never seen a hot babe before in their life" she then chuckled.
"That's a pretty vain statement" Arata comments.
Candice shrugs her shoulder before replying, "Well, what can I say. I look good. Ain't nothing to it"
"I don't understand people who focus so much on their appearance. It seems like a waste of time to me" he said.
"Hey!" Candice then yells. "Girls like me take a hell of a lot of time to look as good as we do. You should respect that!"
"Whatever" Arata replies uncaringly
Candice frowns, feeling slightly insulted and the two walk in silence before it was pierced by Candice's gasp of happiness. Arata looks at her before looking in the same direction as her. He looks up to see a neon sign that spelled out "ARCADE". He then feels Candice pull on his arm.
"C'mon big guy! Let's have some fun!"
Arata was about to pull away until the voice stepped in, stopping him.
Just go. Let loose and have fun.
'This isn't really my idea of a fun time'
Really? And you've been to enough of these "arcades" to determine they are not for you?
'And aren't you suppose to be my zanpakuto? Aren't you suppose to agree with me?'
I'm meant to help you get stronger and be there for you. I never said I had to agree with EVERYTHING you say or do. Just do it okay? It's not like the place with hurt you. Or you are just chicken?
Arata breathes out a drawn out sigh before letting Candice continue to take his arm and entered the arcade. The building was occupied with various machines and games, all to provide entertainment for the paying occupants.
The two spent their time playing all the games, with the expenses paid by Candice considering Arata did not bring his wallet. Candice got them alot of tokens, about 200 for each of them. They started off with playing arcade machine games like Pac-man, Mario, Street Fighter, and Mortal Kombat. While fighting in the virtual world and the real world are two entirely different things, Arata managed, eventually getting the feel of the games. Mortal Kombat was Arata's personal favorite.
They then went on to the other games that required more physical contact like shoting basketball hops, skee ball, and dancing games that required you to step on various pads according to the screen. Paper were spat out out of them, giving them a certain amount by how many points they earned or by their performance. They played until they reached the end of their tokens and reaching to an estimate of about 2,500 tickets.
Eventually, Arata grew curious as to their purpose and asked Candice about them. Said girl just stood there, stupefied that there was someone who didn't know about how arcades worked. After shaking off her initial shock she begins to explain to him about the working of arcades and that certain games give tickets and that you can exchange those tickets for prizes.
"Is that what that mess of a wall is used for?" he asked pointing to the prize area that held the numerous awards that can be earned.
"Pretty much, yeah" she replies.
"What prize do you want then?" he then asks making the green-haired girl bat an eyebrow at him.
"You don't want anything?" she asks confused. He won them basically most of their tickets and he isn't even gonna get something himself? Not even for a souvenir?
The executioner shakes his head. "I have no use for plushy bears"
Candice shrugs before looking over prizes. Nothing really caught her eye as she didn't like the look of them, thinking they were tacky. She then looks over at the plush toys area but most didn't suit her taste as well. There were a select few in the form of a black bear with a cape, a skinny yellow cat, a black creepy-looking cat with a twisted smile on its face, and big pink bear with hearts over its eyes.
She internally chuckles, smirking at the resemblance.
Her eyes then focus in on one last plushy, one that she liked the most out of all the prizes: a large green bear. It was slightly bigger than the pink bear, about a few inches taller. It's fake fur matched her hair, adding to its appeal to the woman. But the factor that led to her wanting this certain bear was its face. While the other plushies had happy faces or smug faces, this green one had a neutral expression on its artificial face, looking neither happy nor sad.
"That one" she exclaims pointing towards the bear. Arata looks at it before looking back at Candice.
"Why?" he questions, curious as to why she picked that green one than the others.
"I thought it was my choice?" she replies back.
"Just curious as to why you choose that one while there are multiple others"
"I like the color" she said shrugging before she dons a teasing smile on her face. "Plus it reminds me of you"
Not understanding her logic, he asks, "How?"
She giggles before addressing his question. "Your mask. Your mask has no expression. And I bet even without it, your face would look exactly like the bears'".
He looks back at the bear. He would be lying if he said she was wrong.
Candice goes and picks out the bear. She returns back to Arata with her prize in hand, the toy bigger than he thought. It was just as big as her torso.
"I know you said you didn't want anything but I got like 500 more tickets. Just pick something out" she tells him. He was about to refuse but then remembers the girl he's staying with. He had a feeling that she would appreciate the gift.
He takes the remaining tickets and returns back with a simple brown bear with the words "You're special!" on its chest.
"Thought you had no use for plushy bears" comments Candice.
"It's for my roommate. Let's go" and he leaves the arcade with Candice in tow.
The two walk out into the hot street before taking a random direction and walking that way. Candice continues to talk while Arata for the most part stay silent, listening. He listens as she talks about her friends in Germany but as she did, a part of him sparked, feeling distrustful of the girl next to him.
'Why does it seem like I always encounter people with secrets?' he asks himself.
Birds of a feather stick together.
Arata mentally shrugs. 'I'll tell someone eventually. I can't hide my origins forever'.
Are you going to tell that Orihime girl first?
Arata raises an eyebrow at that. 'Why would you think that?'
Because for the most part, you're comfortable with her. You don't completely trust her but she's nice enough. Plus... she reminds you of your mother.
Arata's face underneath his mask remains emotionless and stoic, the memory of his mother no longer bothering him. But still... the mention of her tingles. It is small, almost nonexistent but it's there.
Arata lets out a small sigh. 'The likeness in character is uncanny' he mentally comments.
The voice chuckles. She's just missing that assertiveness. I swear that girl can't be intimidating even if she tried.
Arata agrees, shaking his head in disappointment at Orihime's too kind nature. Why can't she see reality as it is, cruel and unfair, and toughen up? The sight of her innocence is like a beautiful but fragile piece of pottery. It wouldn't take much to break it into smithereens.
"Arata" Candice softly calls out. He looks up to see a group of thugs surround them. They were similar to the boys Arata encountered his first day but older and nastier. They stood before him, looking at him like a small bug ready to be crushed. Ironic thought Arata. They were also looking at Candice but with a much more lecherous and perverted way, unclothing her with their eyes.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" said a man as he circled Arata and Candice. "Some freak-show and a hot babe. It seems to be our lucky day! Ain't that right boys?" he then said, making the other cronies in the group obnoxiously laugh at, what Arata thought as, the ring leader's statement.
The executioner looks down at Candice, expecting to see her quiver in fear but to his surprise, she wasn't quivering at all. She was actually smiling, chuckling at the group's intentions.
"You boys want me? Sorry but I'm with my man right now. If you want a night with me, then you gotta take care of this guy right here!" she said patting Arata in the back. While the declaration would have garnered the fear of being ganged up, Arata thought otherwise, thanking Candice in his mind for the chance to let loose.
"Damn. Cold hearted bitch aren't you! I guess your personality is just ugly as your hair!" one of the thugs said. A tick mark appears on Candice's head as her looks were just attacked.
"Arata," she said "You can have most of them. I'll take on a few" she said sporting a sadistic smile.
Arata looks at the green-haired girl and her smile. He couldn't help but feel alittle impressed, seeing that the vain girl have a fighter's heart.
You just like a girl who can kick ass don't you? said the voice, teasing.
'Those types of women can take care of themselves. I like that' Arata thought as he faced off the thugs in front of him.
"Ha! You think you two squirts can take us on? Fat chance-!" one thug exclaimed arrogantly before a resounding punch in the face from the executioner shut him up for good. The thugs, attack the two, most of them going after Arata. One of them tries to punch him but he is easily dispatched with a dodge before a powerful knee was sent to his unprotected gut, sending him to the ground groaning in pain. He turns to the others to see some of them wielding small knives. He approaches them and they try to stab or cut him but the executioner grabbed their hands and using great strength, swings them into a nearby wall, no doubt breaking bones.
The other thugs rush him, hoping to use numbers to overpower him but this only serves to fuel Arata's thrill. He grabs one of the thugs by the neck and squeezes painfully making the man choke in agony before Arata used his body as a weapon, throwing him into his friends.
Candice meanwhile was dealing with a smaller group, about 4 thugs. While not as strong as Arata, the woman dealt with her opponents with flexibility and swiftness. One of the thugs attempted to grabs her from behind but got a back kick to the groin. He lets out a silent scream before he sees Candice back flip over him and punches him in the back of the head, sending him to the ground unconscious. The three remaining rush her with a flurry of punches but the green-haired woman dodged them before kicking them in the throats and sending to the group in pain. before they got their barring back, Candice slams her foot down on each their heads, crushing their noses into the ground. She flicks her hair, satisfied that she didn't get anything on her green locks.
Back to Arata, he took down the remaining with just his brute strength before he reached their leader. To Arata's pleasant surprise, the leader stood his ground but still shook in fear. He couldn't blame him though. The man just witnessed his group get beaten down with terrifying ease.
Adding to Arata's surprise, the man fought like a martial artist, implementing kicks and punches. Arata, amused, humors his efforts and allows him to put some pressure on him, letting the man hope before he'll send it crashing down on him.
"Not so tough now huh?!" he exclaims cockily.
Candice watches as she leans near the alley entrance with their toys, smiling at the amusing display but soon found herself bored and yawning. "Arata... how much longer are you going to toy around? I'm getting bored"
"Not much longer" he said before he catches the man's foot in his hand and pushes him off him. He stumbles but continues to stand.
Arata starts his own assault, closing the distance between them and switches tactic. He used little finesse against the other cronies. Now he will use what his mentor taught him.
He starts off palm striking him in the chest, pushing him back before he jabs him with quick punches to the chest and face. The man tries to fight back, flying his fist at the masked man but Arata dodges before he kicks him in the head and spinning. Using the momentum, he then delivers a shining kick to his head once more, cracking his skull. His body slammed against a wall, landing head first and further breaking his cranium.
The two stand over the beaten bodies victorious. The thrilling feeling of battle still surged in their veins. They calm themselves down before Candice offered for them to leave. "Let's get out of here. This place is too dirty for my-"
The sound of blood gargling in a throat stops her mid sentence and she looks in the direction of Arata. Her eyes widen slightly at the sight. Arata was sticking a knife into a thug's throat. He wasn't done however as he moved to the next.
He looks up at her as he stabs another. "Problem?" he questions.
Candice shakes off her surprise. "No. These guys were scum anyway. No one will miss them. Still, I'm surprised"
"Why?"
"I pegged you as the fighter type and that's why I provoked them before. Because I knew you could handles these guys. I'm just surprised you're really finishing them" she explains.
Arata nods in understanding. "I kill criminals" he said simply before stabbing another in the throat. That one was conscious and tried fighting back, putting his hand on Arata's mask in the attempt to push him off. Arata twisted the knife in his throat for more pain.
"Out of a sense of justice?" she asks.
"No. I like killing. Criminals are just the most accessible and fight back. And like you said, no one will miss them"
He said those words so coldly, without pause. He truly had little regard for human life. A true killer with some boundaries.
Candice shrugs and gathers their plushies, waiting for Arata to finish off the thugs. She didn't wait too long as he comes to her after killing every last one of them. Candice looks him up and down before she frowns at the amount of dirt and blood that was on him.
"You're filthy. C'mon," she said taking Arata's hand. "My house is nearby. You can wash up there"
Oh ho. A girl is bringing you back to her place. What are you going to do? the voice teased.
'Wash up before training' he answered, not catching the voice's tone of voice.
the voice sighs. Not even one perverted thought
