Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jul 26, 2022 10:55:43 GMT -5
It had been nearly a month since Niji had been back to meditate in the underground forest she had made under the frozen Antarctic soil. There had not been an excess of energy she needed to expel, what with fighting Val, then Hibano, then…all the rest of the nonsense that occurred after that. She had almost forgotten about her last visit and making the lab for the Shinigami scientist until a text had arrived from him asking if he could transport him and another to his lab.
Part of her couldn’t even really remember if the meeting with Takano was a real memory or one of the false lives forced upon her. But therapy had been helping her clarify her real and fake memories, and if she had any lingering doubts, the text had confirmed reality.
That had been a few days ago, and she had been very busy since then trying to catch up on all the work she had missed while being out for a few weeks dealing with spiritual issues. But things had calmed down on the spiritual front, and while she had set some gears in motion, they did not require much energy, and it began to build up again.
She stepped out onto her back yard, and a moment later had moved through the earth to her haven. Immediately, she could tell that something had happened; and she moved from her arrival location in the center of the forest towards Takano’s lab. She no longer suppressed her energy, and it flooded out of her, the forest becoming brighter and more vibrant in the light of her golden reiatsu. The spirits, of course, were eager to use the leaking energy, and as she walked, flowers blossomed, trees put out new branches and leaves. A few minutes later, she was in no particular hurry, she arrived at several large scars in the earth and the more jungle-like area around the lab. Clear signs of a fight; but they were several weeks old. She let out a small huff; the ground began to reknit itself, limbs of plants sprouting from where they appeared to have been cleanly severed from some sort of energy blast.
The woman sensed the presence of at least one person through the thick stone that separated the natural beauty from Takano’s lab. Perhaps she would get some answers as to what happened.
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PLAYER
Shinigami - 12th Division
Don't kill me please.
Takano Hirai
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Post by Takano Hirai on Jul 26, 2022 12:03:59 GMT -5
A few days had passed since Takano’s meeting with the Arrancar known as Nezuel. What had begun as wishful thinking was finally coming to pass. Not only had he befriended both an Arrancar and Hollow, he was coming closer to uncovering a means to forge peace. Or, at the very least, provide the Shinigami with tools for it. Simply figuring out a method for stabilizing a Hollow’s Hunger would not be enough. He’d need to convince an entire society predicated on combat to stop fighting… A heavy Reiryoku followed by the loud crunch of shifting stone signaled that Gaia was back. Takano leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. Glancing down at his scattered paperwork, Takano couldn’t help but notice his vision was getting a bit blurry. Perhaps a break would be for the best. He’d get to work organizing the papers, grabbing a few for Gaia to read. A few dissertations on Asura’s abilities, a few observations from Nezuel, and a few theories he had regarding Hollow Physiology. “Hey, Gaia!” Takano shouted over the crunching and molding of stone. Last he had checked, the area had been the site of some kind of violent remodeling. The fact she was repairing it with a less than pleased look was worrying. “I, uh, got some research papers I thought you’d be interested in reading over. A Few things on Arrancar physiology. I seem to recall you being interested in them.” He’d hold out the papers for her to take. “Managed to convince an Arrancar named Nezuel to work with us. I think he’s around here somewhere.” nezuel |
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Player
Continuing to slaughter, kill, take. Life is to constantly sin. Life is evil itself.
nezuel
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Post by nezuel on Jul 26, 2022 16:22:49 GMT -5
"My, my" Nez would say as he stepped into the clearing and into view of the two, shinigami and fullbringer. "Arrancar physiology...and here I thought you wern't interested in my body." he made a small laugh as he nodded at Gaia and Takano. "Though you can hardly blame a doctor for being thorough, I still have the holes in me from where he jammed in his needles." The arrancar finally joined the two, making the third point of a triangle as he looked around. He had been lounging nearby, the underground forest almost reminding him of the forest of menos back in Hueco Mundo. His attention had been stolen when he noticed the plants come to life, shifting ever so subtly. He had followed the trail of change leading him...here.
"I do admit I find the name Gaia more fitting now." he smiled, "Although if the bloom comes only when you do then perhaps dread Persephone is more correct?" he would shrug as he looked at the shinigami, inspecting him head to toe. He looked...bad, ragged, tired? The man seemed rather busy as of late with his new research project, being so willing to be poked and prodded. The blood samples had been the worst, the man's low riatsu and inability to pierce his heirro a problem, it wasn't like he could turn off his skin.
"To be fair, you did promise to help me with something in exchange with my cooperation...though to be fair this place is rather impressive and I might have said yes if you had rejected it." he snaps his finger as a thought cross his mind. "Before I forget, I noticed there was no quincy here, I might have someone in mind if you need someone to experiment with at the opposite spectrum as a hollow."
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Jul 28, 2022 15:20:10 GMT -5
As if on queue, the seams of reality split, square ribbons pulling away from one another as the sight of a red haired individual emerged from the opening. Well emerged wasn't the right way to put it, more so launched at an odd angle, tumbling three or four times before skidding to a halt just before his back would have met with the truck of a tree. Not entirely aware of his location or who all was in the area with him, the crimson maned man stood up and dusted himself off, his normally white clothing now letting off small puffs of dirt. It wasn't until he looked up that he realized a number of things, first and foremost, that Nezuel was already here. Second, and close to the level of importance as number one, there were two other individuals here, and they were of different races than himself and the hollow aquintence. While this did set off several mental red alerts, he'd keep himself calm, offering up some information about himself, though he wondered of the risks in doing so.
"Apologies for the entrance, I was unceremoniously thrown through a 'garganta', whatever that is. My name is Lazarus Jeager, and Nezuel had mentioned an interesting place where races happened to be meeting in relative peace. I was curious about and it well...here we are."
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jul 28, 2022 19:22:20 GMT -5
Niji nodded to Takano as she took the files from him, she hadn’t asked for regular reports, but she appreciated the man’s diligence either way. The woman reduced her output to a reasonable level, lest she plaster the man down to the ground with raw spiritual pressure. She flipped through the files, they weren’t at the state where they were about to be accepted by any scientific journal, but she supposed it was a private study, not a dissertation. The fullbringer looked over the wreckage the spirits were repairing, then glanced back to the scientist, ”Seeing as how you are still alive, I take it this was a friendly demonstration from …" she glanced down at the notes, ”Asura?”
It was somewhat irritating, she had meant for Takano to use just the lab; not the entire biosphere. But she identified her irritation as irrational; the entire underground area was just a place for her to expend excess energy, repairing took less than creating; and it was not even like she had guided the creation all that delicately. Her eyebrows lifted ever so slightly at the mention of the Arrancar she had met within the last week. She had expected to meet him again, but not so soon.
Niji shrugged at his comment regarding her alias, ”Again, I did not select the name; but either way, this area was created to be sufficient without me. There is a basic food web, and the sunmoss functionally is reverse photosynthesis using ambient reishi; which gives an effective day-night cycle to account for–” She remembered the Arrancar was several centuries old, and even somewhat basic biology was probably beyond him. She shook her head, ”Nevermind, long story short; this area would continue to live and grow without me, though it could not expand.”
And in turn, apparently this Arrancar has brought in a Quincy. What exactly had Takano told this Arrancar? While it was a positive thing that there was a Shinigami, a Quincy, a Fullbringer, and an Arrancar in the same room conversing peacefully, it was a bit unnerving that now all of them also knew the location she came release energy and let her guard down. She had fallen asleep here a few times, that was now out of the question; who knows what enemies or allies these men might have.
The arrival of the Quincy did not appear to cause her any particular angst, and she nodded to him, ”Good morning, Mr. Jaeger You may call me Gaia.”
The woman glanced back to Takano, a faint hint of amusement in her voice, ”It seems I will need to expand your facility; perhaps even adding a barracks at this rate. Maybe an arena or training facility so you do not wreak more havoc on the biosphere?”
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PLAYER
Shinigami - 12th Division
Don't kill me please.
Takano Hirai
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Post by Takano Hirai on Jul 30, 2022 10:00:03 GMT -5
“Ah, there he is,” Takano remarked as Nezuel attempted his dramatic entrance. The man’s flamboyance seemed to grow proportionally to his comfort with the group. He’d make a few comments on Gaia’s name, of which Takano did not know was an alias. That, however, was not the most concerning realization the young Shinigami had just made.
“You brought what to this lab?” Takano instinctively reached for the hilt of his blade. The Quincy had been the antithesis to the Shinigami for several hundred years. They had nearly obliterated the Soul Cycle and downright sought the extermination of the Hollows. Nezuel had possibly just led them into their doom!
“Uh…” Takano muttered as said Quincy tumbled along the canopy of the cave fauna, stopping just short of being impaled. “Huh… I was expecting something worse.” Takano said, still slightly high off his adrenaline. “Nezuel, we need to set some ground rules. Try not to invite people without asking me or Gaia first please. We can’t take in every stray.”
Approaching the man, Takano quickly examined him to make sure nothing was off. Thankfully everything seemed in order. Takano had never seen a Quincy up close, nor had he any desire to. He cared about Hollows and sought to help them. The Quincy undermined that cause with their very existence. Yet, he knew better than to group all of a single race into one basket. This one didn’t seem to be a part of any singular group. Perhaps he could help them after all.
“I apologize for the destruction, Gaia. It was a spar between Yoshinori and Asura. I had nothing to do with it. If you think expanding the facilities would be for the best, I will concede to that opinion.” Takano said still looking over the Quincy. “As for you, Jeager, please don’t mess with anything. If you see a man with pink hair, stay as far away from him as possible. And try to refrain from raising your Reiryoku. We have many Hollow samples here and I do not wish for you to accidentally destroy them.”
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Player
Continuing to slaughter, kill, take. Life is to constantly sin. Life is evil itself.
nezuel
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Post by nezuel on Jul 30, 2022 16:15:32 GMT -5
Nezuel was happy to see the quincy and for the fact that he managed to make it through the garganta he had tossed him into unharmed. The way between words was rather perilous for someone unaccustomed to it but it seemed that the quincy had at least enough know how to create a reishi platform through the garganta to get him here. He had expected him earlier, however, having thrown the quincy into the garganta at least an hour ago...perhaps he'd gotten lost down here?
Nezuel noticed Gaia's mention of another member of the group, or at least someone who had been here, this Asura person. Perhaps they were busy, perhaps they had been kicked out for the damage to the area that smelled vaguely of hollow activity. He had to admit that even though he had been tutuored in the science when he was a child and into adulthood much of what Gaia had said had gone into one ear and out the other. While he might be able to determine some of her meaning from the context of her words, this place would keep to its current size and was sustainable...if left alone atleast.
Nezuel's eyes drifted to Takano and his movements betrayed his thoughts...to say nothing of his tone of voice. While he liked the shinigami if he were to hard Lazarus he'd squish him like the fly he way, research or no...although as his eyes moved to Gaia still standing near the two of them he had to rethink that decision. She'd likly do the same to him immediately after...if not before if she was fast enough.
"Your research deals with hollows, to understand them better it might be good to study a quincy...or are you going to deny that studying one of every race within the spiritual world wouldn't be helpful. The difference between a missing piece and the whole of the picture can be quite...vast." He sighed but then nodded as he looked to Gaia. "I had assumed there was little hierarchy here, no official leader...but if that is the case, since I have you and Takano here...I would like to invite Ishiwara Irisa of the first division here." he turned to look at the shinigami present, raising an eyebrow as he dropped the lie he'd sold him earlier. "My Kido teacher."
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Jul 30, 2022 19:18:17 GMT -5
A third realization came crashing down on him almost instantaneously, he was surrounded by three, if not more, individuals who could maim or kill him without so much has a second though. He didn't think Nezuel would, at least not for the time being, but the other two regarded him with little to no fear at all. As much as he'd like to assume it was that they were nice people, the fact that he was all but dismissed by the one named Gaia, his suspicions were on the former. The biggest threat in the room at the moment would be the shinigami, Lazarus was honestly shocked there wasn't a blade at his throat already, but then again the description of the people occupying this place was that of ones who wanted peace. Noticing the examination, he'd keep himself still during, not wanting to get anyone riled up over a misunderstanding. Hearing his words of hollow specimen, Lazarus would pull his reiryoku close to himself, lowering it to nearly that of a normal human, again not wanting to get thrown out or killed before he even got started here. He'd nod to what Nezuel had said, waving to the Arrancar with a smile before following up on the first topic the hollow had spoken of.
"If it helps build trust I've no issue being studied, as long as I can leave in one piece that is. I'm of the opinion that the countless fights, wars, and tragedies between the races is one that, given the right set of individuals, could be ended in a much more peaceful manner. Too that end I've come to see what, if anything, I can bring to the table. I've never been one for fighting anyways, though there are times when its unavoidable..."
He kept a mental note to stay away from any pink haired entities that might be roaming this...whatever it was they were in. Come to think of it, he had no clue where he was, if this was even on the same plane as the human realm, or if it was it's own realm altogether. questions he'd keep for when he hopefully made a better impression on the people here. For the time being he would keep his opinions and thought to himself unless asked, and offer up what he can to what he assumed was the scientist of the group/
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jul 30, 2022 20:01:09 GMT -5
She raised an eyebrow at Takano as he reached for his blade, the man was ballsy, she’d give him that. But she knew that from their previous encounter. Perhaps he thought she would save him from the Quincy if he got into trouble.
”Did you say Yoshinori?” Niji thought back to the battle of the broken sky, ”White hair, appearing to be in their late teens, illusion-based attacks?”
She shrugged at Nezuel’s request, ”I have no problem with that, but I also have no particular risk when it comes to Mister Hirai’s experiments. I believe I mentioned to you when we met that there are very few people who seek knowledge about the nature of the spiritual world. He is one such individual, and as such, I have provided him a location where he can conduct research away from the eyes of Soul Society.”
The fullbringer nodded to Takano, ”On that note, the destruction is of no significance, but one of the reasons I made the lab separate from the biosphere is so your activities would not be detected. The lab has a stronger variation of sunmoss which should fully prevent any detection from outside sources. I would put similar protection on the arenas, if more spars are desired, they should not do it here; I would not be surprised if their demonstration registered on the scanners of the Gotei 13.”
She shook her head, ”My area, that is to say, the biosphere we now stand in, has no such protection. No one will stumble upon this place randomly, but anyone looking for me specifically could find me. While none of you put out enough energy in your sealed states to permeate the weaker sunmoss out here, that might not be the case if you begin fighting.”
The woman shrugged at the Quincy, ”If this is evolving to some mission to build peace between the races, there are others I may wish to involve. For now, though, clear any invitations with Mister Hirai, I am not here often; once a week for a few hours if I have not had another cause to expend my energy.”
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PLAYER
Shinigami - 12th Division
Don't kill me please.
Takano Hirai
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Post by Takano Hirai on Jul 30, 2022 20:16:23 GMT -5
There was a phrase that Takano had learned from the Living World: It was a small world. This was not a small world. This was a microscopic, anxiety inducing world which seemed hell bent on ruining his work. Was this all planned by Irisa, or some complicated coincidence? One thing was for certain, she could not be permitted into this lab. He knew what she thought of his experiments, and bringing her into the fold would result in hindrance at best. Gotei 13 interference at worst…
"No. She is too involved with the Gotei 13 and far too against my work to be permitted in this cave. I will not have the Gotei 13 endanger my work, or those who are working here at my behest." Takano responded with surprising harshness. “She was my teacher as well. I allowed her a hint as to what I may be doing. Suffice to say she did not approve. And while I’m sure she does not wish us harm, she is very likely to report this to the Gotei 13.” Takano took a step back. “That means informing my Captain. A man who is known to be less than kind to his subordinates without good reason. Giving him said reason would result in my demise, and you two becoming his next experiments.”
Takano glanced back at Gaia, taking a softer tone. “And yes, I meant Yoshinori. He’s been assisting me with this experiment of mine. I’ll be sure to keep them inside the lab until you get that arena built.” Takano placed a hand over his forehead and sighed. “I’m beginning to think the soul king himself has it out for my work. Hmph…”
Finally turning his gaze back to the duo, Takano rested his weary eyes on Jeager. “I appreciate your eagerness to assist. But to clarify, the goal of this place is not to ‘Unify All Races’. I seek to free Hollows from their eternal hunger, so we may finally cease fighting them. If you wish to continue helping despite your own race's predisposition towards them, I would be happily surprised.”
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Player
Continuing to slaughter, kill, take. Life is to constantly sin. Life is evil itself.
nezuel
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Post by nezuel on Jul 30, 2022 21:18:47 GMT -5
"It is quite possible that I might make my own section of this place," he'd look at Gaia. " with your permission, of course. I was thinking either some sort of castle...or something similar to Hueco Mundo, simply to give any hollows we invite a place that feels like home." he looked around the area, thinking. "While you said it is unlikely for someone to find it without knowing where to look...and I don't know what defenses you have for this place, how would you feel about me setting up some kido barriers and false trails. I'm thinking I could bend light around it to make it appear invisible and hide the runoff even more...perhaps even make people subconsciously avoid it." It was higher level bakudo work and perhaps he could figure it out, put his own spin on it....or ask his teacher for some tips.
"And perhaps now you see why I kept her name a secret, a small world and you knew her name readily enough." he shruged. "I need not invite her here but if you think that of her then why am I still breathing, so to speak? If she had reported my existence to her captain, would I not be dead? I can broach the subject with her carefully, not revealing much...and don't forget the terms of our agreement, perhaps if you know her well enough it might even be easy for you if you know her mind so much."
He looked at the quincy. "True...you did go out rather easily...but it was fun watching you struggle like that." he laughed. "As for stopping the hunger...It might not be possible but I will help what little I can."
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Post by Lazarus Jeager on Jul 31, 2022 9:11:12 GMT -5
There was a long pause from Lazarus, his mind going over what the scientist had just said, his mouth moving before his brain had a chance to stop it.
"That's...something I'd never considered possible, it would definitely provide a valid solution to the problem at hand with shinigami and hollows. Though I imagine it would become a life long mission, as with every new hollow created you'd have to find them and cure them. Then there is the possibility that the evolution chain of hollows is naturally disrupted by the fact that they would no longer desire the souls, but if they desire power they'd still need eat souls. Unless they kept exclusively to hollows, but then its just canniblism in their realm, maybe their numbers dwindle lower as a result..."
He continued to ramble, mostly to himself, though he was looking at Nezuel as he was the only hollow in the room. One hand was on his chin, the other resting under the arm of that hand, his rambling turning to mumblings, and then to silence. Lazarus looked to the scientist again, offering likely the biggest and most dangerous piece of information to a scientist shinigami.
"There still lies the problem of them roaming into the human realm, hollows are literal poison to Quincy, it's why my kind wanted to exterminate them to begin with. Even if you do find a cure, if they start causing issues for other reasons like boredom or a desire for power, the shinigami or Quincy may still find reason enough to continue to slaughter them. I'll help in any way I can, I believe your goal solves more problems than it may create, but the possibilities are still there..."
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Player
Fullbringer
I have nothing to say.
Niji
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Post by Niji on Jul 31, 2022 9:54:11 GMT -5
So she had a way to get in touch with Yoshinori; that could be useful, it was safe to assume the two Shinigami that had been there to face Val were not involved in Tendo’s plans.
Turning to Nezuel first, she gave a slight shrug, ”Even if you had mastered kidō; additional protections would create more suspicion, not less. I do occasionally bring visitors here myself; and all they sense is my energy.”
The woman glanced towards the former swath of destruction; the scar in the ground was gone, and plants were already growing there. In a few moments the damage would probably be near impossible to find under the foliage. Her own reiatsu had already overwhelmed the residual aura of the spar between Asura and Yoshinori. ”If they sense kidō protection, or the reiatsu of another, it would cause more questions. If you wish to add additional protections to the lab, work with the others to make sure they are effective.”
She shook her head, ”But other than what is needed for Mister Hirai’s experiments, please leave releases of reiatsu to a minimum, especially when you are outside of the laboratories.”
The information about Quincy and Hollow reiatsu was interesting; perhaps that was an angle that Takano could approach. Maybe that ‘poison’ was linked to the hunger somehow; she still had to finish reading the Shinigami’s initial reports.
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PLAYER
Shinigami - 12th Division
Don't kill me please.
Takano Hirai
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Post by Takano Hirai on Aug 1, 2022 10:35:39 GMT -5
“The issue is not Irisa,” Takano would stress. “She is not a malicious person. And I would have enjoyed her assistance on this. But there is a higher than average probability of her reporting this entire endeavor. That is when we get issues. Yoshinori was someone who had little regard for the rules as well, and had a distinct morality which paired nicely with my project. I could trust him to keep it a secret. He is an exception, not the norm.” Takano said, leaning against a nearby wall and reaching for a cigarette. “There is a very good reason I have so few Shinigami working with me. The Gotei 13 is our biggest threat right now. Some would view my research as an affront to science. More ruthless individuals may see it as an opportunity to commit more horrendous deeds built off the back of my work. And others would view it as a threat to their very way of life. Warriors need combat to remain relevant…”
Finally finding a loose cigarette in his pocket, Takano would quickly light it and take a deep inhale. “You’ve evidently developed feelings for her. She is smarter than you, to be frank.” Takano said with an exhale. “If you piqued her curiosity, she could easily manipulate you to find out everything. If you wish to continue this, I’m afraid I will not be able to reveal the true location of this base to you. As for building barriers and the like, do as Gaia asks. This is her Haven, we are simply borrowing it for the time being.”
Takano glanced at the Quincy, taking another drag of his cigarette. “I’ve accepted the fact that my experiments are simply a stepping stone. Peace is not achieved through science, only assisted by it.” He said, scratching his chin in thought. “That being said, Hollows hunt your kind due to hunger. Without that, I very much doubt they would continue to hunt Hollows. It would provide them with ample opportunity to rebuild… It may pose a threat to the Gotei 13 in the long term. Something I’ll have to take into consideration moving forward.”
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Player
Continuing to slaughter, kill, take. Life is to constantly sin. Life is evil itself.
nezuel
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Post by nezuel on Aug 1, 2022 16:17:10 GMT -5
"Hollows can hunt for a variety of reasons, the hunger is but one of them. It is true that that reason is a hug one but there also exists the need to repress their human memories, the pain and guilt the mask represents. Besides that Hollows are still predatory in nature and only the smallest are able to survive by drawing upon the reishi in the air. If you do manage to stop said hunger, it would be a large step...but cultural systems already set in place would need to change. A human doesn't need to eat or drink expensive foods, but you will certainly find some who will flaunt their wealth. Besides that...hollows keep their population down by self culling, I wonder what would happen if that natural infighting would vanish."
He sighed. It seemed that bringing up Irisa had been the wrong move. Besides that it was becoming very clear there was nothing for the arrancar to do here but talk and that talk was quickly turning against him. "But all in all that is a future matter as it stands" he would look at Takano. "It is obvious that you don't trust my judgment if you think I would tell her about this place despite asking you about it first. Yes, I understand I brought a quincy here and it upsets you, if you'd like I could take him away and you could erase his memory of this exchange. Besides that, have you gotten the samples you require of me?" his hand would move to the air as he ripped the sky open. "I assume you have some way of finding me if you need more?"
He waited, curious if the others would stop him from leaving.
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