Too Bright to See [Closed]

There were an awful lot of visitors these days. Of course Las Noches didn't have the most stable population even most of the time- Arrancar could leave at any time using Garganta if they wanted to, some were wanderers that usually kept themselves in the desert but came by when they wanted a safe bed. But it weren't those kinds of visitors, not this time. No, these were Shinigami...and there were far more of them now. Some of these were clearly Shinigami who were trying to become Vaizard. Takua had a lot of problems with those, but for now he was still waiting on confronting Evelynn about those.
 
There were others though. One of whom was standing on the dome of Las Noches right now. He was decently strong, strong enough that most of the other Arrancar kept away. Or perhaps that was because this man had some other circumstance...maybe he had met with the King? That didn't make sense though, because then Takua probably would have felt it. Unless he was on Earth at the time, of course. He might have amazing abilities of perception, but even he couldn't feel who was in Las Noches from the World of the Living. If someone had that kind of ability, it'd be a Transcendental, and the Arrancar certainly didn't belong to that class of being.
 
For whatever reason though, the Shinigami stood there. Buffeted by wind and his own emotions, a storm of fear and exhilaration that never stopped. What was he doing up there? Just enjoying the sight of the massive drop that awaited him with that delicious mixture of fear and excitement, or was there an actual purpose for his visit to this land of Hollows? Takua was curious...but more than just merely being randomly curious, he wanted to know if this was in fact connected to the King. Things were moving forward, and the Primera wanted to know more about Obsession's aim. It was entirely possible that this otherwise somewhat strange man could help him with that.
 
Or at the very least, he could find out what a Reaper was doing in the land of the lost.
 
It took some time to get to one of the gates that led out of Los Noches, and then more time to run up to the very top of the dome. But the man was still there, almost dancing in the wind as a particularly violent gust threatened to send him flying off the lip. It took but the work of a moment for the Primera to dash up the rest of the way, body flipping once before sticking a landing on the edge just as this unknown man was. “I hope I don't alarm you, but it's not every day that you see a Shinigami on the dome of Las Noches. What brings you to this part of reality?” And, of course, did he want to leave it. It would be the work of a moment to open a Garganta and let the man depart.
 
WC: 505 | GP: 10 | Total: 10

Ironically, as a desert, Hueco Mundo was a decently chilly place. It might have something to do with the endless night that blanketed the endless sands or the fact that it was a lifeless void of lost souls. Whatever the reason, the winds whipping around Walkren were tinged with a figidity that seeped into his bones. It didn’t help that he was being buffeted from all sides by the erratic winds that called the upper sky of Hueco Mundo home. So it came as a lovely shock when a wave of warmth washed over him as an Arrancar flipped up the wall and landed beside him.

Walkren wavered from the sudden addition to his party of one, but was able to keep his balance with plenty of grace. He looked over at the man as he rebalanced himself. The man was pretty frail given the immense power Walkren felt oozing out of him. It almost nearly took Walkren’s breath away. Thankfully, the man seemed to be in control of his impressive reiatsu. The most striking feature of the man was his Hollow fragment: A visor on his face that covered the man’s eyes.

The visor sparked Walkren’s curiosity and he quietly mused over if the man was blind or saw through a different method. Obviously, he could see somehow. It wasn’t a blind man who made his way up the side of the sheer cliff that was Las Noches and deftly flipped onto the edge. He didn’t have more time to think before the man broke the silence through the wind and it prompted a quick retort from Walkren, “At the moment? I’m deciding whether or not to jump.”

He flashed the man a smile to convey that he was joking. Walkren faltered a bit when he remembered the man could probably not see from his- It’s not worth worrying about. His smile held as it rounded out the bottom of his face. It was pleasant seeing another face in the desolation that was Hueco Mundo. The face was a nice one, too. It wasn’t the hard, serious faces of Evelynn or Erasmus. He relaxed himself and turned out from the edge. No sense in having a conversation while they yelled over the wind. Hoping the Arrancar would follow, he started walking over the seemingly endless dome of Las Noches.

“...but you’re talking about a Shinigami being in the heart of Hueco Mundo,” Walkren smoothly followed up his sarcastic remark transitioning into an actual conversation. “I suppose it is quite an oddity...”

He hesitated for a moment, still wary of trusting others so openly, even with such simple information. Oh, hey I work for your King. He thought that was being pretty open. Giving away too much information before you’ve taken enough first. The game was something that you played slowly. If you showed your hand, then the game would be over. Walkren chuckled and shook his head. It sounded almost foolish...yet...

“I’m here because of your King.”

That was perfect. Not too much, not too little.

He sighed.

Was he getting tired of the game?

No.

That was impossible.

Maybe he was just exhausted. The last time he had slept was...before seeing Ichiro for the last time. A hand went up and ran itself through his hair. The other idly played with his dagger’s handle, a habit he had thought he had broken long ago. A sharp blink refocused his eyes and he looked back over to the man, a smile still on his face, “We both know what brought you here...but the curious would ask why?”

“I’ve been here for...a few days at least and I haven’t seen another Arrancar anywhere,” Walkren spoke with a laugh in his throat. He would be jovial with the Arrancar as long as he stayed peaceful...He didn’t doubt there were Arrancar that would attack him on sight. He had met one already. “You’d think that I would have at least met one of them!”

A chuckle rumbled to life from within his gut as he finished his turn.

He would never tire of the game.

[688] [13] [23]

“Ah,” Takua said with wry sarcasm, “The choice between whether to look like you’re committing suicide until the last second or not.  Yes, most interesting.”  A faint smile crossed his face at that.  The man’s somewhat sarcastic, silly response was amusing.  Jumping, if a spirit intended it, mostly ended up doing nothing.  You could always run on air except in the Seireitei.  Of course, if you actually did nothing to catch your fall…then the rules changed.  It was entirely possible for a soul to die of impact, just like a human, but normally you had to be fairly weak.  Most often you were just injured by it.  A strong enough soul, like the Primera, could fall from this height and walk away with a broken leg.  If he were more durable like Hatred had been, it might not even be a scratch.
 
Surprise had flowed over and through him, a hardly subtle waver through the man’s reiatsu.  So too did the far harder to detect wave that followed the man’s recognition of Takua’s reiatsu.  So he had someone who was, at the very least, good at using his reiatsu perception  when he met someone new.
 
The Shinigami turned and began to walk at a pace that invited company, and the Primera went with him.  He had intended to ask another question, but the man clearly felt letting it drag out wasn’t in his best interest.  The main topic was broached with relative ease, and accepted the same way.  He didn’t falter, didn’t let any reaction show on his face which remained as a pleasant smile.  At the very least it explained why this man was so confident to be standing on the dome of Las Noches.  To have been here to see the King…
 
Well, there weren’t many Arrancar who would attack a Shinigami who was here on the King’s express invitation.  Plus, the only ones who could likely attack him and survive would be the Espada.  If he’d still been a Fraccion to Amaya he might have been able to do it, but his relative power was low Espada even at that time so the point still stood.  His voice was even and genial, showing no emotional reaction to that news, “I see.  Well that’d indeed be a good reason for why you’re here.”  The roottop rolled past him as he walked along its length, plumbing the man’s reiatsu for hints and information as he did so. 
 
Takua didn’t show it, but when the Shinigami was playing with the dagger at his side, he was being watched.  There was no ill intent coming from the man, but the Primera didn’t feel like being careless.  Fortunately all he seemed to be doing right now was playing with it.
 
Takua chuckled, a low and warm sound, at the question that launched right back at him.  So, this was the kind of game that was going to be played then?  “Usually Shinigami that find themselves in Las Noches don’t want to remain here.  I like to offer my services to help them leave if they want.  It helps avoid needless killing.”  Which was all absolutely true.  But it was also true that he wanted to make sure he knew what Obsession was doing.  They were two completely compatible truths, and he was only going to mention the first.
 
The rest of the man’s sentence, of course, was interesting as well.  He hadn’t met with any Arrancar.  Then, had he not been inside of Las Noches yet?  That would definitely put a bit of a crimp on his second hope, but that was okay.  “Well of course not.  You’re powerful enough to waste most of them all on your own, they can’t effectively gang up on you either.  So you’re a rogue element, one they hope will be taken care of by one of their Espada or the King.  Tasty as you might be, most Arrancar know better.  Hollows, on the other hand…well, the desert is filled with ‘em.  Plus, Arrancar aren’t usually found outside of Las Noches.  “  And if he had been here, up on the roof for a few days now, then Takua desperately needed to spend more time here because he was missing so much.
 
Well, now he’d asked a question and been asked for a few in return.  It struck him that now he was free to ask another few questions right on back.  “So they’re afraid.  Besides, if you’re a favorite of the King then most of them won’t come close anyways.”  Which neatly solved that.  Would he mention anything else about Obesssion now?
 
They continued to walk, and Takua smiled faintly,  “So what’s my charming King done to get you to come to Las Noches?  It isn’t often we have Shinigami stay, but it does happen.  Some don’t stay long.  Don’t like the atmosphere or something.”  Or the hordes of hungry Arrancar that wanted to devour their soul.  Really now, it was the little things in life that put people off.
 
WC: 835 | GP: 16 | Total: 26

“Oh, really?” Walkren flashed a smile at the masked man, his body was relaxed as they continued walking. A hand still rested on his dagger. Walkren didn’t take the hand away. There was something about it that helped him set himself at ease. The overbearing reiatsu of the Arrancar wasn’t something you just got over. Being at the ready, even if it would do nothing for him, took the edge off. The dome they walked on would make an excellent battlefield. The idle playing with the dagger continued as he spoke with sarcasm lacing his lips, “I dunno, I was thinking about getting a timeshare.”

A chuckle transitioned his thoughts to the true question the Arrancar had presented to him. How was he suppose to answer it? He had made a deal with the devil? He has sold his soul into servitude? He had wished for the wrong thing from a Djinn? It hadn’t been entirely his fault, but he had been the one to voluntarily come to Las Noches with Evelynn. He had been the one who had accepted Erasmus’ deal. The fruit had tasted so sweet. The knowledge he had been given in exchange for his service had been music to his ears.

He wanted more.

“Without knowing who you are or where your allegiances lie, all I can say is that I sought knowledge and that knowledge came with a price,” He spoke with some severity compared to the jovial tones that had danced their way from his throat moments before. Walkren knew what he had done and he couldn’t really talk of it without the weight of what he held inside of him pushing against him. Kutsu reveled in this place. Something about the moon and her complexion. Each passing hour that passed had him feeling the weight more and more. He felt the truth lying in his throat. It squeezed itself out of him, his words barely a whisper.

“I am part Hollow.”

The words were spoken more for him than the Arrancar. It felt strange to say. He hadn’t really admitted it out loud since he had come to Las Noches. Those words were more truth now than they had ever been. He was in the service to Erasmus. It made him more Hollow than some of the Arrancar. Even if it was a serious matter, he still had a smile on his face. The truth was that he hadn’t really decided how he felt about it just yet. If he had taken that next step that Tokiyo had talked about, then maybe this was a good thing. Maybe one day he could actually do some good.

He wasn’t planning on staying chained to Erasmus forever anyway.

[453] [9] [32]

The reply hinted at things Takua technically wasn't happy about. Yes it was up to his choice to stay here, so long as he wasn't being hurt by staying here, but a Shinigami choosing to stay in Las Noches was rarely a good thing even if it wasn't all the time. At least, not for the Shinigami. Miki hadn't been here long before she'd vanished without a trace, and now there were more Shinigami coming...and staying. Who wanted to stay here instead of Seireitei. Why? There was one obvious answer to that, but then Takua had to ask why so many Vaizards were cropping up now. He knew the answer to that question, it was a single name. For how long? She couldn't have been doing this for a short period of time then, not when it took time for most Inner Hollow to find solid purchase and grow. How many months then?
 
“A timeshare huh? Sort of like your vacation home then? You'll pardon me if I don't give a riveting review of the scenery, and I'm afraid that some of your new neighbors have odd tastes.” This was fun, twisting sarcasm and truth into a wholesome blend. Good for the body, good for the soul and all that. Somehow though Takua didn't really think that staying here would be good for either of those things in Walkren's case.
 
Especially not with what he said next, abandoning their dance to give actual answers. Along with one whispered response that he might have thought Takua wouldn't hear.
 
Or perhaps not. Maybe he himself was just coming to terms with what now lurked in his soul.
 
Which left the burden of the response on the shoulders of the Espada who walked alongside him. Interesting, and potentially a boon for Takua depending on what the man could agree to. For a long moment, he said nothing, and then finally spoke. The smile had gone away, a flat, serious look had replaced it instead. “I see. A Vaizard then. That was the price for knowledge? Was it Evelynn or Erasmus himself who did that?” The voice was similarly low, but not a whisper. Takua stared out across the roof for another second as he thought of how to continue. What could he say to a man who clearly didn't know how he felt about the darkness growing inside of him?
 
How pissed was he that this had been forced into someone who hadn't made up his mind and wasn't in any position to consent to such a thing? Fairly, actually. But he pushed aside his anger in the face of practicality. He needed to find things out, but the man didn't trust him. With good reason. “Pardon me though, I should introduce myself first. I am Takua Megiddo. Primera Espada. But not a mindless sword for the King.” That covered enough of who he was and what his allegiances were. Not to the man on the throne, not really. His actual allegiances lay elsewhere. With the people of Earth, as it happened.
 
“You're right though, knowledge often comes with a price. Was the knowledge worth the price though? I hear that cost can be too hard to bear. My own King is one of them after all. A former Shinigami who lost the inner fight.” He hadn't ever made a Vaizard, but Takua had heard enough theory from Amaya. Studied enough on his own and theorized even more. A large part of him wanted to look inside this man, see what he could discover...his own quest for knowledge, as it were. But if he were going to ask something like that it'd be later.
 
WC: 611 | GP: 12 | Total: 38