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Post by Yukari Aihara on Aug 11, 2020 1:43:36 GMT -5
On the beach of the main island of Hawaii:  Yukari finished up her routine of surfing the waves after school, attaching her black and white striped surfboard to her parked bicycle on the side of the road across from the sandy beach, and changed into an extra set of clothes to wear over her black bikini. After putting on a pair of red shorts and a black hooded terry lined sweatshirt she walked over to the shaved ice vendor. “Ujikintoki Green Tea , please.” Yukari spoke with little enthusiasm in her voice. “Ah, it has been a while.” The old man with lightly faded Kākau tattoos prepared her order, while he served delicious ice treats daily at the beach, Yukari would only order his stall once in a while, and she always ordered the same item making it difficult to forget her as a routine customer. After the shaved ice was completely prepared in a paper cup, he offered her a long biodegradable spoon, with a built in straw on the handle. “My parents are strict with my diet, I have been allowed one of these treats twice a month, and I must practice restraint.” With a solemn expression she was quick to take a single bite with the spoon first before placing money on the counter then turning to leave. “Thank you.”It was obvious that she had enjoyed this dessert even if she strained to hold a serious expression while tasting it which made the old man chuckle as she turned to leave. After a few minutes Yukari finished the matcha flavored shaved ice. A bell on buoy sounded off suddenly, she slipped out her cellphone from her sweatshirt front pocket, a single line of text read ‘Aihara’ glowed on the outside. It was her parents, she flipped her phone open, to read the message, and it was instructions to pick up a pizza order at the local parlor on her way back home. Ordering out was a once a month occurrence in her household, so she smiled, it seemed today was a rather lucky day if she got to enjoy two items that teenagers like herself have the opportunity to have all the time. Tossing the empty ice cup into a nearby bin, she kept the spoon in her mouth, and unchained her bicycle. Living on the coast had its merits, she began pedaling slowly down the mostly empty road at first, but in her buried excitement, she felt energized to go faster. As she neared the pizza restaurant, she suddenly stopped the bicycle, she was being followed, and while she spent her entire lifetime being surrounded by fullbringers whatever was approaching was something else entirely. It felt like gravity was pulling her down to the ground from the pressure of this entity. In the distance, as the sun began to set in a deep orange and purple hue, she saw him. A man in a black Shihakusho running across telephone lines with precise agility, it was different from seeing a ghost, and while she learned a brief introduction of shinigami she had never seen one in her life before. So what was there to be afraid of? No amount of martial arts training and education of shinigami could have prepared her for this chance encounter. While Hollows, Ghosts, and Shinigami were common enemies she never did learn how they may have possibly felt about her own kind. At no point in her clan’s history did they ever mention whether both parties were neutral with one another, as she continued to stare, he noticed her, and the next thing she did was to turn away to enter the restaurant as usual in a restrained panic. The pizza was ready for her, she proceeded to pay for it, with her eyes on her peripheral with no sight of the shinigami but she could still sense him drawing close. Yukari felt nervous, biting the plastic spoon hard inside her mouth, as she stepped back outside again securing the pizza with bungee hook cables on the back of her bike. Without taking the opportunity to look around, she got on her bike, and stormed down the road as quickly as possible. Even if she did carry her sword everywhere, which was attached to her surfboard rack, she would never dare to be the first to attack in this situation. It could start a fight that could end her life, she could only suspect that whoever that shinigami was, would not follow her after all as long as she maintained her distance. Yukari turned down a narrow stairway, taking the back alley of coastal homes that descended into the cliffside, the roads were kept well enough that she knew her way around these back streets, since taking the main hwy road was out of the question in order to avoid leading the shinigami to the Aihara household. [805] |
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PLAYER
Fraccion 84 - Espada Noveno
Honestly, people don't know how to have fun anymore
hanako
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Post by hanako on Aug 12, 2020 8:57:32 GMT -5
Ahh, Hawaii. Hanako had read about this place before. Seen postcards, heard people gossiping about it in the mortal realm. But being here... that was a completely new experience all on it's own. Endless beaches, the sun bathing everything in a gentle, golden colour one could feel on their skin. Not too harsh, Just perfect
In reality, the arrancar was here to feed. There was a particular gang of criminals she wanted to hunt here, and thus had to gather information in her soldified form. Luckily, the placement of her hole and mask made it easy to blend in, looking just like another clueless japanese tourist. It was kind of refreshing, being able to interact with the living world like that. Yes, being an all-powerful demigod of evil did have it's moments, but it was points like this that reminded her the joy of being alive... Man, way to bring the mood down
As Hanako was wondering wether she should try her hand at surfing or no, she noticed two peculiar energy signatures approaching her. One was... hollow?. Probably, but something was definitely off there. As for the other... Oh, that was baaad. Shinigami, and a particularly strong one at that, probably third seat. Well. The good new were that he was already preoccupied hunting the hollow. Which would mean she was on the clear... if the two signatures were not currently heading straight for her
Without missing a beat, she reverted back to her spiritual form. If she broke into a full sprint while visible, the sheer speed would cause confusion and panic. Sadly, that resulted in her immaterialising and for the smoothe she was holding to spill all over the floor "Awww man" But now wasn't the time for regrets. She noticed the hollow signature getting closer, revealed to belong to... a girl?. Hmm, another arrancar?. No... fullbringer. Man, she must be having the worst day of her life right now
As the girl dashed past her on the bike, she decided it would be wise to follow suit, and started running besides her "Hey, good day for a little cardio, don't 'cha think?" she asked in a surprisingly playful tone for the situation, especially considering how odd the fact of her keeping up with the bike on foot was... and the malicious spiritual energy radiating from this seemingly innocuous girl
[393]
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Post by Yukari Aihara on Aug 12, 2020 11:01:17 GMT -5
After a few minutes of high speed peddling, Yukari broke sweat, the Shinigami was closer than before still heading in the same direction. Hazel eyes squinted as she focused ahead, she used every bit of muscle she burned through her martial arts classes at school and the surfing she did right after. The shaved ice had helped her, as far being hydrated enough for additional cardio, and just as the thought crossed her mind a voice with a peculiar accent agreed with her.
A raven haired young woman was running at the same speed as her on a bike, even stranger still was that Yukari did not sense her at first, until she looked right at her and swerved down the narrow road before righting herself back on track just in time to avoid a lamp post that lit up as the sun disappeared into the horizon. It was an indicator at how late she was getting home, especially since she already passed the Aihara residence the minute she was accompanied by this strange woman with an accent, forget about it being a lucky day, this was the worst day of her life.
“You’re not…” Yukari said softly, she was still in a panic mode, struggling to catch her breath which was the dead give away to being an extraordinary human that could see Hanako in the first place, “You’re a hollow.”
There was a reason for all of these chance encounters, after all this time of being safe from trouble, she wondered if her heightened spiritual energy was the cause, and there was little time to think in this situation while she strained her muscles in an attempt to escape. If the hollow wanted to consume her, it would have already, and maybe she needed more time to do that without a shinigami close on their tail. The enemy of her enemy was a friend after all, that was one thing she learned from school, it was mostly between rival clans but it still applied in this instance.
“Do you want to find out who he is really after? We should split up ahead, there is a fork at the end of this back alley ahead, the road to the left is towards the mountain side, and to the right continues along the coast line. Which one do you want to take?”
The fork on the road appeared before them, without waiting for the mysterious young woman to answer, Yukari took the road to the left towards the mountain road, she switched gears on her bike to scale the road, she was going to feel sore tomorrow for sure. It would pay off, on her way back to her home, as soon as she could get rid of the shinigami. The pizza was cold by now, she could hear her cell phone going off, she was late returning home, and her parents were concerned about her whereabouts. After reaching the top of the road, she slowed down to a stop to look over her shoulder, wondering who the shinigami was after. [512] Rolling 1d2. 1 is Yukari. 2 is Hanako rjnewJHe1d21d2 |
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PLAYER
Fraccion 84 - Espada Noveno
Honestly, people don't know how to have fun anymore
hanako
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Post by hanako on Aug 12, 2020 11:39:01 GMT -5
Hanako had enough time to take a good look at the girl as she spoke, seemingly not that amused with the situation they found themselves in "Well, Arrancar. But that's just semantics now isn't it?". Hanako herself was on the contrary quite thrilled. An encounter with both a shinigami and a fullbringer on the same day, it seemed Hawaii was not only beutiful, but exciting to boot "Hmm. I guess that would be beneficial for both of us. Very well, i'll take..." she wasn't able to finish her sentence before the girl split off from her anyway "Hmph, killjoy" she said and looked backwards, towards the shinigami. She was expecting full well for him to swoop down and swing at her, but as he charged ahead, he completely ignored her, jumping on the roof of a building and slashing at a huge black figure peeking from the rooftop
"Menos Grande..." Hanako murmured, finally realising that neither her, nor the fullbringer girl were the soul reaper's target. The irony of the whole situation would have her laughing her ass off if that didn't mean giving her position away. Well, at least that meant she was in the clear, getting out of sensing range for the shinigami and looking around "Ok, now that that's taken care of, let's see..." she said, catching a feint glimpse of the girl, looking back towards the alley from the top of a cliff. Well, she seemed pleasant enough to speak to. While Hanako was not proficient enough with Sonido to use it in battle, she could still travel with it like most arrancar, allowing her to basically teleport over to yukari's position "phew, that was quite the workout, don't 'cha think?" she asked cheerfully, completely oblivious to the absurdity of her appearing seemingly out of thin air. After all, this was normal for her
[308]
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Post by Yukari Aihara on Aug 12, 2020 13:54:02 GMT -5
The shinigami passed her in a flash, he went after an entity emerging through space and time, a menos grande which she recognized right away, in one fell swoop the gigantic creature was sent asunder before it could step foot on the island. If someone was strong enough to push back a behemoth like that, it was worth avoiding, and as soon as she turned to look down incline of the road to the bottom of the hill, the mysterious woman teleported before her hazel eyes.
“Well if you had an ability like that, why do you need to run?” Yukari offered an indignant expression, “My clan has no knowledge on hollows apart from the ones that take on obvious appearances, like the menos grande, so I never heard of an arrancar, at least not on this island, not for the past one hundred and eighty years since the Soma Clan settled in Hawaii. “
A sudden silence forced her to think about what exactly she was divulging to this woman, humans who survived being in the presence of a hollow were the root of her clan’s fullbring power, so what was this Arrancar following her around for? The only thing she knew at this point was that Hanako was different from a Hollow, that was the only piece of knowledge the minor clans even knew for the past five generations of an education the Soma Clan authorized, and now she was having doubts about what exactly she was learning at her specialized school if there was so much more to uncover.
“So, what now? I need to go back home, my parents are worried, good luck avoiding that shinigami. I am hoping he gets to you first before he comes after me if he still has unfinished business.”
Yukari was crude, despite this woman being friendly from the start, the platinum blonde teenage girl was defensive in the sense that she knew nothing about her or the danger involved with being near Haruko. Splitting up earlier was just a precaution to avoid a common enemy and now she had to return home with the very cold pizza. The appearance of the menos grande was also of great concern, those types of hollows in particular were often drawn to earth for a reason, it was far enough away that she did not have to encounter it personally but the truth was it was simply a roll of a dice. It was chance that caused the massive hollow to appear, the reason the Shinigami went after it, and now she had no reason to stick around without the protection of her clan.
With a sigh, she pushed off the ground, gravity pulled her the rest of the way down the hill, faster than she could pedal after being exhausted from avoiding the shinigami. Once she reached the bottom she continued down a few blocks, then turned into the back alley again, hoping that the darkness was enough cover to avoid anyone else as she took precaution on the route to her japanese style home. All the buildings in this particular area were of similar design with dark colored shingles to make up the roofs, the entirety was divided by walls, each wall was a section that belonged to the minor clans, and directly across the sea was an island that belonged to the Soma clan.
Under her breath, she felt at ease arriving home in one piece, she opened the shinto inari gate that had a plaque for the Aihara clan, past the gate were four houses, and a sand stone garden in the courtyard. Following a rock path she pushed her bike to the back of the smallest house in the walled section of homes. The pizza box was removed from the back, as well as her sword which was wrapped in a silk wrap with strap that she placed over her shoulder, and she swallowed the lump in her throat to enter her home.
The odachi blade was larger than the doorway to her house, she lowered herself enough to open the door, and get inside. Her parents were quick to get up from the living room to greet their daughter, asking her myriad of questions, dropping the pizza on the wooden floor, the box remained closed which meant she would still be able to eat it after heating it up again.
“I had quite an eventful day...first it was a shinigami, an arrancar, and a menos grande. I am here now, so hopefully no one dares to cross our neighborhood of fullbringers, I am actually worn from trying to avoid everything. I am going to my room to change out of my surfing clothes and I will be right back okay?”
The stairwell leading to the second floor was narrow, again she had to lower herself enough to allow her long blade to avoid hitting the walls of her house, and the first thing she did was stretch out over bed to collapse in. With a drowsy expression, the room was rather humid due to all the indoor plants she kept in it, enough to fill a greenhouse, and she opened the window to let the sea breeze in.
[871] |
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PLAYER
Fraccion 84 - Espada Noveno
Honestly, people don't know how to have fun anymore
hanako
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Post by hanako on Aug 12, 2020 14:27:56 GMT -5
Hanako heard the girl's words and shook her head "Ah, sonido is not that simple to use. It needs intense concentration. Of course, some arrancar can use it in combat. But sadly, i ain't one of them" she shrugged, seeming to be met with the girl's crude remark "Oh, but how could you say that to a young, innocent lady" she putnon a mock-up cutesy face, which went ignored "Yup... truly a killjoy" she sighed
"Now, i just need to find my way out of this neighborhood... that's being patrolled by a shinigami... Who killed a menos grande in one hit... Welp, looks like my vacation has been extended for the forseeable future. But where to hide... Ohhh, Hanako, you're a genius!" She said, immediately covering her mouth by fear of raising her voice a bit too high. But then, it was plan time. She reverted to her physical form, manipulating it to imitate the student garb some other young people in this neighborhood seemed to wear, taking a deep breath as she finished "This is either gonna get me killed, or save my life... nothing ventured i guess" she said, starting to walk up the hill with a brisk step. She walked up the door she saw the platinum-haired girl seemed to enter and ringed the doorbell
As she waited she rehersed her lines again and again, suddenly stopping and righing herself as a voice came from the gate which no doubt also had a camera on it "who is it?" a dignified, female voice asked "A-ah, yes. My name is... Kaede Ryo, i a a tranfer student from a small Japanese "clan" and was told that my roomate while i'd be staying here lived in this house. Have you perhaps seen her?. Platinum hair, about this tall..." Soul king did she hope this worked
[301]
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Post by Yukari Aihara on Aug 12, 2020 23:49:54 GMT -5
Yukari washed her face and changed into a track outfit which is what she wore as loungewear at her home. As she dried up her face with a bamboo fiber towel, a familiar spiritual aura was approaching her home, she looked outside the window to see the arrancar wearing a familiar school uniform approaching her house, and ringing the bell which her mother answered. That raven haired woman was a fool if she thought stealing a uniform and passing off as fullbringer would trick her parents into accepting her as a guest. The more she contemplated the thought, the more she realized that she never lied to her parents, who did this girl think she is just showing up here with that get up. The platinum haired teen leaped out the window, landing behind Hanako as she announced herself at the door through, and she tugged her shoulder.
“What in the gates of hell are you doing here?” Yukari questioned her sternly, “I never lie to my honorable parents, how dare you--”
Her elderly mother answered the door, “ Ryō 龍 Clan in japan? My my, it has been nearly two hundred years since I heard of that surname, ah look at you already dressed in your uniform. We did not receive a message of your arrival from the Soma clan, but come right in, you must be tired from your travels from Japan. We have traditional dishes in the Aihara household but today we have pizza which I heated up.”
To her surprise a minor clan with the name existed according to her own mother, Yukari pushed past Hanako towards the entryway of the house. In her attempt to confront the arrancar, she got her slippers dirty by landing outside, she tossed them in the stone entry way before climbing the single step to the wooden foyer and rushed over to pick up an old japanese book on a shelf in the living room with all the minor houses listed in it, and particularly opened the page for the clans that lived in Japan. Hazel eyes widened as it was a minor branch of the Ryōma Clan who were samurai in the late Edo period. Was it just a coincidence? How much did this arrancar know about the Soma minor clans? What angle was she playing at, she was not human. All these questions would remain unanswered unless she played along with the rouse, she found it difficult to live with herself by suppressing her knowledge of this woman to her own parents, and Hanako was led to the dining area of the small house towards a red seat cushion on the tatami flooring.
The pizza was ricotta cheese and basil centered at the low dining table, the aroma was tempting Yukari’s teenage tastebuds more than the truth, she placed the book back, and sat down next to her elderly father who seemed rather upset.
“It is so unlike the Soma clan to delay a message as important as a transfer student, but if what Yukari says is true, they were occupied with the sudden arrival of the Shinigami and The menos grande. I am sure they would have arrived in person to deliver the message...what did you say about an arrancar?” He wondered.
“I overheard the Shinigami mention it, I do not understand what they are, but they seem like a different kind of Hollow.” Yukari lied.
“Well it’s a school night, let's eat, and our guest can stay the night due to all the commotion that took place. We can sort out the details in the morning. Itadakimasu.”
Yukari repeated after her father and began eating a pizza slice with a wooden pair of chopsticks, with tears streaming down her face while she held a solemn expression of displeasure, the pizza was good but the situation was not.
“Yukari, restrain yourself, we have a guest. I understand that these chance encounters may instill fear in you but you have been training your whole life to fight and protect our neighborhood.” The elder woman tsked through her teeth in disappointment before facing Hanako with a smile, “We have a spare guest room upstairs, I am sure you can borrow my daughters clothes to sleep in since the airline misplaced your luggage during your flight. The Aihara clan has diminished over the past five generations, the other houses on our lot are empty, if you have nowhere else to stay, you can stay in the house next to ours in exchange for being its housekeeper. It has been rather difficult for me to keep all the houses clean on my own and it would be an honor if you would make your stay in Hawaii in our estate.”
Curse this arrancar woman, for preying on her innocent elderly parents, who she dishonored with her lies, and forcing her to go along with the act. [815] |
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PLAYER
Fraccion 84 - Espada Noveno
Honestly, people don't know how to have fun anymore
hanako
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Post by hanako on Aug 13, 2020 10:07:22 GMT -5
Hanako froze on the spot once Yukari jumped behind her. For a moment, she thought it was all over. The commotion would attract the shinigami and then... then Yukari's mother accepted her in as an esteemed guest. It turned out there was, in fact, a fullbringert clan over in Japan named Ryo. Well, that sure was a relief. The rest of the girl's ranting fell on deaf ears as Hanako walked in, greeting her parents with all the politeness a real Japanese student would display. In reality, a lot of gratitude was genuine. These people did inadvertently save her life after all. After the pleasantries were out of the way, she looked around in awe. She'd never seen a mansion this huge before
But the bewilderment could wait. After all, it was pizza time. Hanako grinned and went to sit with the rest of the family, exhilarated that her plan worked perfectly. And then the discussion about Arrancar began. But rather than shy away from it, she decided to double down, trying to seem as innocuous as possible "ohh. You have Arrancar here too?. Back in Japan hollow and shinigami sightings are pretty frequent. Though I have to admit, today's was something else. I could feel that shinigami's presence from a mile away" she said, seeming a bit unnerved by it because, well... she was
But that was neither here nor there, as the dinner ended, Yukari's mother arranged Hanako's living conditions. crashing in with them today, and getting a house all to her own tomorrow... honestly, this couldn't have gone better. A house she could tend to and live in on her own would minimise the number of nosy people to near-zero. "Thank you, Miss Aihara, your hospitality is truly humbling," she said, turning to Yukari and offering a bow "and thank you too Yukari-chan, for agreeing to take me in" she was truly grateful to the girl... if a bit giddy at the whole situation they found themselves in
[331]
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