Bleach Hereafter RPG

^{First day in the real world and already I am lost,} thought Shuhei. Being new to the Gotei 13, he wasn’t sure how long before he was sent to the world of the living, but here he was on week 1. He had nothing against it, it was just…different. The sky felt further away, and the smell was off-putting. The sound of his footsteps was dulled by the snow that was upon the rooftops, the area of town he was in was eerily quiet due to the this. Shuhei was already accustomed to wearing layers, being that he preferred a sweatshirt even over his Gi, so he was quite prepared for the cold that barely seemed to touch him as is.


Shuhei made one final push off of the last building in this row, and as he became airborne, he saw his destination. He grasped the tag in his pocket to make sure it was still there, the number ‘45’ boldly announcing the package number he was responsible for. His mission statement was a little more lighthearted than he was expecting, to deliver presents for kiddos who were otherwise not going to get them in time. This of course did come with a caveat, to avoid any troublesome hollows which have been seemingly making a move on those who were a part of this task. It seemed to just be coincidence, but either he got to rid the world of some hollows, or he got to deliver some gifts to kids…seemed like either way it was going to be a good holiday season.


Shuhei walked up to the cart, his sweatshirt not doing anything to hinder the Zanpakutou he had sheathed at his side, he wasn’t about to go anywhere without it. There was another gentleman standing there, an apt description at that, given the man was so well dressed. His spirit pressure was different than anyone from the soul society, who was this man?


Shuhei’s face widened with a smile that caused his eyes to close up. He rubbed his head as he spoke, “well hi there, I am guessing we are going to be working together?"

Gifts for children! What a wonderful practice humans embraced! A perfect excuse to socialize as well!

So thought Calysto as she approached a cart with a lot of her own, labeled 48. For a moment, she fumbled through a bag slung over her shoulder, fishing out a tiny (by her stature) card with her number printed on it. It actually took over a minute of digging to locate the card, as it was small enough relative to her fingers that she thought for a moment it had fallen out at some point in the last day or so.

Imagine for a moment the stares this mountainous woman recieved as she mumbled and chastized herself for losing the card. "It's 48, I'm sure of it. Oh, wherever could it be?" All eight feet of height hunched over a bag that looked fit to carry a small child, occupying space what ought not be occupied and wasting time that ought not be wasted. It had been the same the previous day when she went shopping for vegetables and caught sight of the announcement. "Presents for the Poor" it had said or so she recalled.

With a booming "Aha! Here you are, you rascal!", she held aloft the card, well above the heads of two other individuals at the cart. Then, noticing the company, she went beet-red with embarrassment and tried desperately not to be Just So Large. "Goodness, I'm so sorry. Here I am causing a ruckus. I'm Cal," she said, bowing somewhat, which only served to bring her large head and larger body closer to the other two.

The woman was towering and imposing, her reiatsu, which was mostly suppressed-- it was clear she wasn't very powerful at all-- radiated warmth and smelled faintly of the sands of Hueco Mundo but with a strange hint of spice. Was that... cinnamon? Today she was bundled tightly in layers of soft gauzy fabrics over woolen hand-knits. Her hair, too, flowed down in showering waterfalls over her shoulders, masking most of her appearance, but it was clear from her darker skin and the peppering of small scars on her face that she wasn't local.

These other two... they smelled different than herself. Cal could discern... hollow-ish from one. The other clearly reaper. Not that she minded, of course. A few miles trek into the forest lay her own home where she welcomed all who entered if they bore no ill will. Besides, these two smelled... safe, like freshly cleaned linens, like fired bricks. They would be no trouble at all!

Firo was busy beneath a haze a thoughts while the others arrived, one at a time they appeared. A white haired lad with a sweater and a...sword? His eyebrow raised and he could vaguely remember stories of katana wielding heroes from his grandmother. He had a myriad of questions, but none he would bother to ask right now, it was likely invasive or inappropriate to be so involved so quickly. Although his head was already tilted with a clear look of curiosity as he fixated on the man's attire. Firo was always overdressed it seemed.

He raised a hand curiously to begin a dialogue only for a behemoth of a woman to show up, standing a clear few feet above him, and shout something about someone being a rascal. Firo's eyes scaled up her being as if he was registering the fact someone of this size existed in the city and he had never even heard of them. His finger fell defeated as he let a few moments pass in silence.

"I haven't been called a rascal since I was 13..." He responded slightly under his breath, his face resting on his knuckle as he observed her rather striking appearance before responding in kind. "Firo, but you can call me 47, i suppose." He lazily reached into a pocket and waved card in the air with the number printed on it. He rose up, stretching as a brief jingle followed the movement of his feet, "Looks like one of us will have to help 46 then."

Hiding his care for the children, he instead wished to mask his nature as finishing the job, work oriented and diligent or something. He grabbed the handle of the trolley and gave it a tug to check it's weight, damn this thing was heavy. The crunching of the snow confirmed it, and the wheels squeaked for a moment as he got it going. "No wonder people keep getting caught, you could probably hear this thing from a block over..."

Firo's voiced strained as he got it over the hump and sighed while it lined up with the parking lot. "My stop is three blocks over, anyone have a closer stop?" He asked, assuming a minor leadership position, but assumed the larger woman would be much more comfortable taking control here seeing as she seemed more confident and outgoing.

Shuhei had just finished his sentence when a shadow came from over his shoulder. ^{What the?} He turned around to find a tall woman standing above him, she was not paying much attention however as she fumbled through her small bag, well maybe it wasn’t that the bag was small, but the woman who was big. Shuhei wondered if he would ever get used to the oddities that existed in the world of the living. ^{Wait…that isn’t a human smell, or even whatever the other guy is, that is a hollow.} Shuhei gripped his sword familiarly, for a blink before releasing. The woman found her card, it was the same as his, though with a different number. She introduced herself and bowed, her tall physique leaning into the center between them all. I mean I guess we are all working together, maybe he was sensing something else?

Shuhei was so busy with this interaction, he only barely caught the man eyeing his weapon. Did he see me grab at it, no, just curiosity maybe? “If you insist, Mr. 47,” said Shuhei as he smiled that big grin again. “My name is Shuhei Grimmrose, and I am here to spread holiday cheer. It is good to meet you both” Shuhei laughed.

Shuhei grabbed his cart and helped the other man, by pushing the extra cart from behind, nodding in agreement with 47 as he spoke about the noise from the cart. Shuhei had hoped more for the gift giving part but knew that there was also a risk of attack to consider.

“I think mine is the closest,” the small street map on the tag was not easy to determine given Shuhei’s limited knowledge of the area, however he recognized the fountain on the map from when he jumped off the building earlier, it was in sight from above, just one block over.

“I wonder if they are in order of distance from pick up to drop off by the numbers, would make sense to me.” If that was the case, they may not have much distance to cover with the loud wagons.

47? What an odd name. “You really don’t want to be called Firo?” she inquired, peering over him at the trolley. Was he struggling with it? It seemed rusted. It squealed something awful. She was tempted to reach out to push, to help just a bit, but maybe that would make the work somehow less dignified? This Firo-- or 47, she supposed-- whatever he wanted to be called, struck her as the sort of person to take great stock in his personal efforts. She smiled, amused at the attitude. There wasn’t any harm in asking for help. Maybe he would.

But if he didn’t? Well, we all make our own way, don’t we?

To that point, Cal noticed she didn’t have very many packages. They were just large and unwieldy. Maybe it would make the cart less bothersome if she simply... removed her load from the top? As they made progress towards the first stop, she idly plucked one package at first, then two, holding them in her massive arms like stacked firewood. To a normal-sized person, maybe they were too bulky to carry, but it was like stacking books to Calysto. She made a fun game of trying to see the best way to carry them.

“Mine are... oh, I think you might be right,” she said, eyeing the map over Shuhei’s shoulder. She grunted in a rather unladylike manner as she shunted the weight of the packages onto her right arm so she could gesture with the left. Her finger wagged directly into Shuhei’s view, finding purchase on the map on the tag in his hand. “We’re here... and yours are here... and mine are all the way over here. How do they expect anyone to read such a tiny map anyway?”

Feeling a little more cheery and warm now that they were moving and underway, she tried to make small talk. “Are either of your from around here? I don’t live in this town but I come from time to time. There’s a lovely young woman who does handknits here. She sold me this last month when the frosts started coming in the morning.”

Firo simply figured the number was easier, less personal and would help him avoid any unnecessary trailing from any opposition they find during this little shin dig. "Thanks, Shuhei." His words coming from a rather dull expression, despite his genuine thanks for the assistance. Shuhei did actually raise a good point, their numbers likely did mean the distance they had to travel to deliver their gifts. That placed Firo dead center for the little trio. Thinking for a moment about the fact he would have to lug this trolley around brought him to consider whether or not he could consider this a workout for his calorie consumption.

Further evidence from the map indicated that Shuhei was in fact correct. However Firo did not verify, he instead continued to scout ahead, looking for anything strange in the horizon. Momentarily, almost as if something had breathed down the back of his neck he felt his hairs stand up, the feeling of this reiatsu was not exactly pleasant and it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. He was sure the others felt something similar. Shaking the feeling Firo shoved a hand in his pocket and faced the duo, "I'll let you guys lead I guess. especially since I'm not up first." As a small point of agreeance he spoke again, "I also think we should work on these 'tiny' maps." Hoping he wouldn't be taken sarcastically, figured Cal being her size might need someone to help her out once in awhile.

Waiting patiently for one of them to step ahead Firo would begin walking in the group shortly behind, his response to Cal's question was a bit brief. "My family owns some rice fields in the country, so I'm not from here either. Where are you guys from?" He questioned, curious to see how they might respond.

Before they did however, a large footprint was visible under a street lamp, 4 toed, spiky and big enough to fit a little more than Cal's hand. Firo didn't speak but he did pause and observe it. Seems like it was purposeful and whatever left it here was playing a game. First the pressure, now this? Maybe it wouldn't be a peaceful night after all.

Shuhei was even more impressed with Cal’s size with her looking over his shoulder, her hand passing right in front of his face as it pointed at the map. They drop offs were definitely in an order, which was going to make this a bit easier and hopefully meant for a clean delivery. Shuhei had just finished that thought when another feeling shivered up his spine. ^{What is that spirit pressure?} There was a spike somewhere in the area, and it was not pleasant, and while it was dark, it also had this twisted faint gleefulness. It did not last long, but it spelled trouble.


Shuhei took 47’s request, though this meant leaving Firo to pull both carts by himself. Maybe it was not a bad idea to have only one person a little more burdened to allow for two of us to be more on guard if something were to happen. Shuhei shook his head a little as he moved to the front and smiled, “I am not from around here either,” he said, though he was not sure how forthcoming he was meant to be, “I am from the soul society.” Shuhei decided to leave it at that, and let their minds wonder where exactly he was from in the soul society. ^{Wait, does everyone know where that is?} Shuhei was in his head again, though quickly brought out by the sight of the footprint he stumbled upon.


“Well, this is quite unpleasant,” Shuhei said plainly. His face was straight and he was on guard. Whatever made that footprint, was not from around here, he could say that much, the pressure lingering from the impression felt similar to the spirit pressure he just felt. “Like I said I am not from around here, and I am going to hazard a guess whatever left this footprint is also not from around here.” Shuhei was now searching his surroundings. There were a lot of buildings above two stories and many alleyways he did have mapped in his mind, so an attacker had a lot of opportunities to work with here. Hearing that Firo was not from here, made that a little more troublesome and he only could hope Cal had more knowledge of the area.


Shuhei motioned to keep going towards their destinations, “It would be good to stay on task, however maybe best for us to keep our focus on the area around us, I heard we may have to protect ourselves, though I wasn’t expecting something that as big as that.” Shuhei pulled his cart with one hand and kept the other free to move towards his Zanpakutou if need be.


Shuhei could see his first stop, a little one-story red building with a green door. Decorations glittered the outside of the home and created a peaceful scene that was a stark contrast to the mood that had just been set. The smell of boiled chocolate filled his nostrils as they came closer, the delectable sensation overcoming any other sense. Shuhei grabbed a package of his cart and as he looked up to match the house numbers, he saw that the door was ever so cracked. ^{Why did they leave their door open? Seems unusual given that everyone else around had their closed.}

If she noticed the spirit pressure in the air, Cal said nothing. Indeed, with a cheery smile on her face, she happily picked up one of the carts as Shuhei stepped away to deposit one of his charges on a doorstep ahead. All so there would be no extra strain on their third companion. “Firo, I’ll take this one. Not to worry,” she said, placing her packages back on as she continued behind the other two. The way she used his name sounded like she was avoiding the number on purpose as she put extra emphasis on his name, elongating the initial syllable playfully.

Her eyes flicked ever so slightly over the footprint on the street, however brief, but similar to the pressure, if she connected the mark to some greater danger, she didn’t admit it. Best to keep a smile around threats and not blow things out of proportion.

“Lots of sand where I’m from. Though I live wherever Deneb wanders now. I like meeting lovely people like yourselves.” With a mischievous grin, she let the answer hang there, ambiguous as to what it meant. Continue the game. This Firo had asked with purpose, and she was surprised to hear Shuhei’s plainspoken answer. She smelled right on him, then. The other probably human of some sort. No telltale signs of former hollowhood, just the faint smell of sand on the air.

And... there was something else. As the group approached the red-brick house, the smells in the air masked something slightly more sour. Burning? Had something burned inside? No, that wasn’t it. But it was similar. The smell of... coal? Acrid, smokey, painful. There it was. Coal.

And now she admitted noticing, eyes flicking to the door and smile wavering ever so slightly. “There is something besides magic in the air, boys. Don’t be caught off-guard.”

Firo had pressed his weight into the trolleys as Shuhei ran up, a puzzling look at away at the normally aloof expression. Soul Society? huh? Where the heck was that? He searched the recesses of his mind for anything similar to that place but only vaguely remembered some children story Grandma had told him about those black robed warriors again. He pressed his fingers into his head momentarily what were they called...Shinigami, right? This man was not what he expected to see meeting one himself. He dressed like a college student. Though he was incredibly wary, his actions seemed trained and he didn't seem as laid back as someone of his style. 

Kind of felt like an undercover cop.

Firo couldn't make heads or tails of why a shinigami was here to deliver gifts nor could he determine where this sandy area or a Deneb was. "Deneb is a...unique name." He said, trying to figure out how to draw a bit more from her, "I use to have a cat with a weird name too." He added, hoping his assumption would work. Most likely not, Cal seemed just as intelligent as he. Even carrying a similar layer of ease on top of it, he hoped she stayed an ally, he didn't know if he could fit 10ft enemies into his list of rivals. He was also not too curious as to what the other side of her was like at all. Their reiatsu washed over him, they seemed to be relatively as powerful as one another, except Cal, but if his estimate was correct she was likely not revealing her hand. Hiding his expression beneath his hat, he pretended to clean his nails as they waited, eyeing the large woman. "Just what are you?" His thoughts running slightly away from the objective as Shuhei called their attention back to their objective.

Tuning back in the man looked at both of his allies only to see Shuhei had made his way to the door already, noting that they should all likely stay on guard, Cal giving a similar expression as she also noticed something was a little different about them as well.

Firo seemed to be the odd one out. "Aye, Aye Captain." He continued to lean on the sole cart under his possession now, closing his eyes and letting the various energies around him caress him. He could feel an unusual connection to Cal, something about her felt similar, but Shuhei felt safe. While conceptually their reiatsu felt the same, Firo's was a more cold feeling of security in comparison, while Cal was similar to him less in feeling but composition. Maybe she knew more about the origin of his powers.

Before he could even continue to process he could hear the creaking of the door, it was troubling to say the least but from the festive household came a single small girl who seemed a little confused. Before she could speak what seemed to be her mother rushed forward and pulled her backwards. "Elizabeth!" She said barely loud enough for the boy in black to detect. "Sorry, who are you? Why are you knocking so loud and why are you coercing my daughter into opening the door for you?"

The woman fired accusations off one at a time, but in the background was the sound of creaking. Being so distant the smaller man could not tell what the source of the sound was. Was it the roof? Was it a cupboard within the house? Or was it the door? Maybe those two, mother and daughter weren't actually what they seemed. The sound of cracking, almost like rigid bones like something coming out of it's shell. Uncertain of what was going on, Firo stood up and moved his hand closer to his tie clip should he need to summon a small blade. There were too many possibilities. He wasn't sure if he saw movement on the side of the house, if the house it self was moving, or something managed to shake it mildly. What he did know was he couldn't leave Shuhei there alone but he also couldn't leave the gifts alone with whatever the heck was running around out here.

Shuhei was not sure who Deneb was, though with Firo’s comment, he seemed just as confused. What he did know, was Cal had to be from Hueco Mundo. I mean her horn was clear as to what she was, but everyone in the academy knew about the sands of Hueco Mundo. This caused Shuhei to be even more nervous not only was she some kind of hollow, perhaps even an arrancar, she was straight from the desert, however…she was also very kind and friendly, and unless she was a master of disguising her emotions, it all felt genuine to him. In that case, Shuhei decided to go with trusting as a place to start from, besides she is out here delivering gifts to little ones. Shuhei also felt kindness from Firo as well, though it seemed as though he was held back on his emotions, his straight short responses felt more mission focused, but ^{maybe humans just took Christmas more seriously?}


Shuhei was nearing the door as he heard Cal’s heads up, that comment added to the open door as bad signs. *Creak* the sound was coming from the door, ^{or perhaps inside the house}, thought Shuhei. He slowed his pace with calculated hesitation, everything slowed around him, his breathing becoming louder and steadier. He began shifting the weight of the package to make sure he could reach his weapon while keeping it safe. He neared his hand to his Zanpakutou, while letting his muscles from the shoulder down ready up for activation...*Boom* the door swung open and out came a little girl and her mother, who pulled her back before Shuhei even realized he had begun unsheathing his weapon. She shouted her daughter's name and then began accusing Shuhei of causing a raucous on the door and trying to trick her daughter into opening up.


“Well say something, will ya,” the woman spoke aloud, she was holding her daughter to her body and the little girl looked confused, she seemed almost disappointed at him being on the other side of the door. ^{Who was she expecting?} He thought to himself.


“Sorry, Miss. I am here to deliver a gift for your child and-“ Shuhei stopped midsentence as the woman gave a start, both of them, all of them, had to hear the loud snap which felt like a climax to the creaking that had been in the background since he approached the door. The patters of footsteps whispering at a roar as they approached.


“Innocent Victim, lie within this amicable cage. The stem of protecting that grows from this shield will lie you to your healing rest.” The woman was squinting as though trying to understand Shuhei as he spoke seriously and quietly under his breath. I hope the others are hearing what he is hearing, and either way he had one goal, to remove these two from danger. Shuhei lunged forward and pulled the two out of the home, quickly enough neither of them could disagree with the movement. “BAKUDŌ #41: KYŌMON” Shuhei placed his palm flat towards the doorway, the barrier filled the doorway, materializing just as a body slammed into it and shuffled back, the slight façade making it hard to see the details of the green coat and pointed hat the man wore, and a green face mask shading the bottom half of his face with a- what looked like-painted smile on it.

Cal continued to smile warmly at Firo’s response. “Deneb is my son,” she said cheerily, resting a hand beneath her chin, fingers resting against the bottom of her mask fragment, as if inviting his gaze up onto it. She didn’t try to hide her nature. If the reaper next to them thought she’d be trouble, he’d have long since drawn his sword, and so there was no reason to disguise the truth from this human with hollow smell.

The reaction from the woman at the door caught her off-guard, however, and her warm expression dropped for a moment. She seemed unusually hostile for a Christmas season, but then again, the smell was growing more intense. She could feel it bearing down on her mood, a sinking, grabbing feeling that sucked the warmth from the air. The noises of cheer seemed to disappear in its presence, and then suddenly, it was upon them, a grinning, green creature. She could smell a familiar hunger on it. Hollow? That seemed right. But why was it so curiously adorned? Could hollows manifest in response to a holiday celebration like this?

Stiffening, she saw its hideous gaze shift to the carts she loomed over. She saw its nostrils flare, as if it could smell food ahead. “I think it followed us because of the packages,” Cal called to the others. “I will stand guard. I will leave cleansing the creature to the appropriate person.”

With the statement, she nodded to Shuhei. She knew what his job was, and with the protective spell he cast, he was clearly willing to do it. For her part, she wasn’t carrying her weapon, though she hardly needed it. Her massive stature suggested she was more than weapon enough for most threats, and indeed, as her fists curled, she assumed a stance visibly like a lurching bear, shoulders forward, arms loose, fists at her side, daring the creature to approach.

This seemed to cow it somewhat, as it shrunk back from the obvious threat of three such powers, the reaper, the hollow, and the human. It knew better than to fight in the open street and slunk back towards the alley. Cal’s eyes flicked over to the doorway. The humans inside seemed to not have noticed everything that was happening. They weren’t spiritually aware, clearly, but they could certainly tell something was wrong and went to shut the door in protection.

The loud crash accompanying the sound of the creature flying into the barrier the 'shinigami' had created was enough for Firo to acknowledge that the man was indeed a 'Narc'. He nodded confidently as the family ran off and carried the gift with them, they seemed clearly unaware and unsettled by the situation at hand, disappearing into the night leaving some of the gifts delivered. Firo threw a thumbs up as the beast also disappeared, he had no idea where it went but the green coat was enough to raise a brow. The tattered material caused a brow to raise as Firo noticed the outfit was vaguely festive. Just what exactly was going on here? Raising a hand to brush the hair from his face, he removed his hand from his tie clip and slipped both hands into his pocket, oddly chill despite the situation.

"I take it that's not Denab." His voice made the jest obvious, however he would flash a blank and somewhat innocent look as his mouth slipped slightly ajar turning his head to her. He looked back to the shinigami with a more serious demeanor. "You got the best view, Shuhei. The mission said to avoid the conflict, gifts come first. We might need one of us to run distraction while we get the other gifts delivered." His voice became dull again, raising a hand lazily from his pocket, fingers slightly curled. "I don't mind running it, might make the most sense to Cal watch everything, she's the strongest and the gifts hinder her movement the least it seems." He looked back to her, this time turning his entire body and facing the side of his body between both of them, allowing him to turn his head to face either or more easily. "We'll stick close, run off, make noise whatever but the priority is delivering those gifts."

Firo was a slacker, but his confidence was always beaming. He had no problem risking himself, he didn't think he'd even be in any serious threat from the hollow.

Shuhei was thankful his team was quick to find a role in the situation, he focused on defense for the family’s sake, however they now were running away from the scene. Shuhei had to remind himself other humans couldn’t see every hollow like he could, this was something his superior told him when he left. Shuhei was exerting spiritual pressure in order to interact with those that could not see spirits as they are. Shuhei removed his barrier, now with the beings gone and the family away, no reason for him to have it up.


“Yeah, it is looking like it might be best to have defense running while we go about our mission, if you two can hand off my gifts, I can do what I can to make sure you have a perimeter to be clear for such a task, and I will also conceal from any onlookers.” Shuhei was not sure the others could shift out of sight from humans, so for now it made sense for him to be the defense.

“I will watch from above…here.” Shuhei threw his list over to Cal and disappeared onto the roof of the building, he nodded that he was ready and began scanning for others. Surprisingly all seemed clear, as if they weren’t just attacked by something. ^{What in the world are we dealing with here?}