Petals of My Choice [Closed]

Levi walked down a random street in Japan, hands in the pockets of his khaki pants and a slight slump. He had found himself like this quite a bit lately. He wasn’t sure if he had lost something or gained something. At one time, not long ago, putting on his gigai and galivanting around earth had been his favorite thing to do. Lately however, it had lost its luster. He spent hours upon hours there, even more than he had before, trying to rekindle that flame of delight, but it all just felt hollow and dull. Had he lost some human part of himself that had enjoyed it? Or had he gained some form of ambition that made him want so much more? Neither made sense. There was no humanity in him to lose, and there was no point to any ambition. Right?

Levi was distracted from his questions by the approach of an unruly brat of a hollow. The youngster had sensed Levi’s suppressed reiatsu and thought it was just strong enough to provide a delicious snack. It had no patience, no intellect, and no manners. The overgrown snake just charged him from behind in the middle of the street, passing through mortals and making them think a strong wind was blowing. A few even fell down.

It must have felt so sure of itself. Until an invisible force slammed its face into the pavement. Levi was the only one on the street who didn’t react to the sidewalk suddenly exploding. While everyone around him backed away, stared in fear, gasped and screamed, Levi just looked over his shoulder and glared at the arrogant hollow. On a better day, he probably would have just thrown it to the side and went on his way. On this day however, he was in a bad mood. He turned around slowly as his phantom limb keeping the hollow pressed into the dirt. He continued glaring at it while he took out his glasses, and when they were out of the way, he widened his eyes and blasted the offender with a pair of cero fired from his pupils. Once again the sidewalk exploded, and once again Levi was the only calm man on the street; putting his glasses back on and brushing the white dust of the concrete off of his black polo shirt, as the people around him backed away, mumbled about god, and in some cases even running for their lives.

Was that the answer to his recent funk? The fact that the mortal world was filled with clearly inferior beings? Did he just need more company on his own level?

If he believed in such things as providence, he would have given it the credit for his sensing an uncommon reiatsu at the exactly moment that thought went through his head. Maybe that’s what he needed, some mortal acquaintances that were more on his level. At the very least it would be more interesting than what he had been doing before. Besides, he had just made a mess that he had no intention of cleaning up. Without another thought, Levi disappeared in a burst of Sonido, leaving whatever people were still paying attention with one more question.

He stopped using sonido while he was still a good distance from his new acquaintance. He didn’t want to give away his hollow nature just yet. He wasn’t looking for a fight, and this person didn’t really feel like they could provide a satisfactory one anyway.
He found her behind some random hotel. She was a rather average looking girl with brown hair, green eyes, and a distinctly confused expression on her face.

“You seem lost.” Levi said as he walked up to her, a friendly smile on his face. “I could show you around if you want.” He offered, extending his hand as he spoke. “I’m Levi. What’s your name?”

WC: 649

No Hollow, no way of getting home.. Nobody to call to in order to come pick her up either. At times like these she really missed being back home where every crook of the city was hers. Yet, she was here, in Japan, chasing things she wasn’t even sure were worth it in the end. Not that there was much else to be done about the situation than simply embracing it. Whining about her new predicament wouldn’t help her forward, and so she sighed, turned around and decided to find a cab, or someone to help her to get one.

It was then that she heard a male voice, a pleasant one at that. Somewhat startled by his sudden approach, she turned around with widening eyes. Her fingers curled into a fist, unsure if the stranger planned to harass her in any way. Fortunately, the smile on his face looked quite genuine and he didn’t reek of alcohol as he came somewhat closer.

“Hello,” she spoke, cautiously. Green eyes studied his messy hair and thin frame. “I’m Alexandra,” she added somewhat hesitantly. This was an odd place to get to know someone, but perhaps it was fate for him to show up at the right time. Worst case she would have to punch him and run, not anything new going by the things she’s been up to lately.

“It’s a bit late for showing around, but I would appreciate it if you would lead me to a nearby station.” Placing her hands in her jacket’s pockets, she weakly smiled back. With the Hollow out of sight – and probably gone – there wasn’t much she could do. Above that, she wouldn’t want to endanger a human by dragging them into some sort of fight.

“I’ve been trying to get to know the city a bit, but it’s a large space to explore.” Sasha added as a way of explanation for the reason of her wandering around these darker alleyways on her own. Perhaps it would still come across as odd, but they didn’t know each other, so there was no way for him to tell if she was lying or not. People often went on nightly escapades, even if they were slightly risky.

Moving to the side a little, she stepped over the previously kicked can and waited for him to move. She didn’t mind heading back from where she came from or exploring a different path to the more crowded area, as long as they would get there without too much trouble.


421

It was only when he heard the anxious edge to her hello that Levi realized that behind a random hotel was an odd place to meet a random stranger. If he had been more focused he probably would have let her wander to a more public place before meeting her, but it was too late for that. Besides, she still seemed willing to follow him, if within certain limits, so it wasn’t a disaster. She was probably relying on her own strength to get her out of any possible trouble. If only she knew.

“Station, huh? I know just the place.” He said as he turned toward the road, motioning her to follow. “The Tokyo ghoul gets its name because it runs all hours of the night. It can be a bit slow though. Luckily, there’s a coffee shop right next to it. I’ll treat you if you want.” He walked toward the street as he made his offer in the friendliest tone he could muster. He passed a handful of alleys that would have made it a much quicker trip, but he wasn’t interested in hurrying things up. Besides, she was already suspicious of him. Leading her down a dark alley probably wasn’t the best way to proceed.

“To tell you the truth, I’ve only been here a few months myself. I’m going for a medical degree at Karakura U.” Hopefully she wouldn’t dig too deeply into his cover story. He hadn’t spent a lot of time around the university, and if she probed deep enough she could probably bust him. He doubted she would though. Judging from her unfamiliarity with the town, she probably hadn’t been there even as long as he had. It was unlikely that she was connected with the college enough to know the kind of details that could get him busted. Though that did beg an important question.

“So, what brings you here? You going to the college too?”

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TWC: 974

A polite smile graced her lips as she nodded in agreement to some coffee. While she rarely drank it Sasha did appreciate the gesture. More importantly, it would help both against the cold and the sleepiness creeping up on her. “That would be nice, thank you.” Gentle and slightly stiff, the reply still came out genuinely enough.

Perhaps it was silly to panic before he gave her any reason to. She wanted to believe in the best possible outcome. Not that hoping allowed her to relax entirely while following him through the street; she wasn’t stupid, just optimistic.

“Oh, a medical degree, huh?” She laughed softly, the sound travelled happily across the empty street; it was a sign of life. Alongside with their footsteps and the distant roaring of a car it created a certain atmosphere. She almost felt as if she was heading home with some friends after a night out. The only thing to disturb the illusion was one of the signs in the corner of her eye which was far from anything Flemish.

“Sounds nice. You must be quite smart and set on saving lives then?” A teasing remark, but a question of sorts anyway. She smiled. “Yes, I’m a student as well. I’ve gotten the chance to transfer here and continue to study journalism. I quite like it.” She wasn’t sure if she was talking about the studies or the town, the fact that it was so spiritually loaded was, of course, the main reason of her transfer. He didn’t have to know that. Making friends by coming across as a crazy lady was.. not a good plan.

Speaking of which, she could sense the dreadful feeling of one of those monsters being nearby. Shivers ran down her spine at the thought of it appearing closer. She had to make sure that Levi wouldn’t get hurt should the beast decide to come closer. It would be horrible.. she already felt slightly guilty for having accepted his help. If it wasn’t for her energy then the thing probably wouldn’t have appeared.

Every step caused her to feel less and less at ease. The idea of being watched from one of those buildings or little alleyways had the hair at the back of her neck stand up as if she was being electrocuted. The air grew slightly heavier, she knew it didn’t really – it were the thoughts that put the pressure on her shoulders. Her heartbeat quickened, and so did her pace.

“I’m getting a bit cold, if you don’t mind it would be nice to hmm walk a bit faster,” she tried, shyly and with another laugh. Flashing her white teeth in hopes to hide her distress, Sasha really wanted for him to agree so they could get to safety fast.


464

Saving lives? Wasn’t that a riot.

“Well, I mean, not to brag or anything...” he replied with a comical grin and a shrug “... buuuut, I’m probably the smartest guy you’ll ever meet.” He winked at her and chuckled. All was in good humor. It was true, but it was in good humor. “Maybe the humblest too.” Now that was a flat-out lie.

Once upon a time it had been true what she said. He had been all about saving lives, saving the world. That foolish, vulnerable time was long behind him, however. Now he cared only for himself. He worked for his own pleasures and his own ambitions. His knowledge, his intellect, his power; it was all for him now.

“Journalism, eh? That’s some fun stuff.” He acknowledged. “You gonna dig up all the politicians’ dirty little secrets and reveal the truth to the world?” He teased. In truth though, a reporter with quincy powers could probably do it if she put her mind to it. Unfortunately, she might also dig up his dirty little secrets. On the other hand, once her idealism had been inevitably broken, she could also bury dirt and twist the truth. Or if he played his cards right he might even be able to simply use her to expose his enemies. She might be very useful one day.

A hollow’s reiatsu appeared in the distance, and a frosty shiver of fear ran through the quincy’s reiatsu a moment later.

“Cold?” he questioned. It was hardly a cold night, although the temperature was dropping a bit after the sun set. Could she actually be trying to protect him from that hollow? Coming up with an excuse to herd him toward the safety of the café and away from the hunter that was stalking them? Oh, that was adorable.

What to do about it, though? It would be a shame to cut the conversation short because of some dumb animal. Maybe it was time for a slight dose of honesty. And oh, happy day, the hollow was making it easy!

“Sure thing. I know a shortcut if it’s not too spooky for you.” He teased as he turned into the dark, filth ridden alleyway that the hollow had just dashed into, no doubt planning an ambush. Too bad it hadn’t accounted for Pesquisa. Amateur. The alley wasn’t actually faster, of course. In fact it would add a few minutes to their walk. It would also force them to deal with the hollow first. He wondered what she would make of his power. Would she be able to guess he was a hollow? Probably not, as long as he didn’t use bala or cero.

“Anyway, Karakura is a great place. It does have a few problems though...” He continued their conversation as if nothing was amiss, even as they got closer and closer to the hollow hiding in the shadows half-way through. He stayed in the middle of the alley, making sure Sasha had no way to politely get between him and the monster ahead. If she hadn’t figured out he had power already, it was probably driving her insane.

“Annoying mutts for example.” As if on cue, the hollow decided to pounce. It even looked like a canine, albeit the size of a bear and with what looked like an exposed spine and ribcage. “Bad dog!” Levi yelled as he grabbed its shoulders with his Manos Fantasmales. The hollow gnashed its teeth once before Levi slammed it into the ground. “Lay down!” He ordered mockingly. Of course, it tried to stand back up and keep fighting as soon as Levi let go. “Roll over.” He chuckled as he caught it square in its masked jaw with an invisible uppercut, causing it to roll backwards on the asphalt before coming to a rest. Still the beast flailed about and got back on its feet. Stubborn thing. “Play dead.” He commanded one last time, before one ghostly hand came down on its head with a brutal chop.

Mask and skull both caved under the force of Levi’s strike, making a gruesome mess. One last, gurgling growl escaped the creature’s lungs as its body slumped to the ground.

“With pests like that all over the place...” Levi joked as he turned back to his quincy companion. “...We really need more exterminators in this town, don’t you think?”

WC: 727
TWC: 1,701

Oh my god, she thought to herself while Levi turned toward the alley. She was convinced that she had seen the Hollow-breed slide into it just now. This was bad to say the least. Inwardly hitting herself for coming up with something so stupid like being cold, she nervously stared past the man in hope to see the creature. Not that she would be able to do much about it by staring at it. Her fists helplessly tightened.

In her panic she played with a couple of silly thoughts. Perhaps she could hit Levi on the head and use the time of him being unconscious to fight the beast. That way, when he would wake up, he could curse her for attempted robbery or whatever it would look like but be safe, if she won that is. Feeling guilty already she hesitated too long and by the time she had brought up her hand to hit on the side of his head he was already dealing with the Hollow?

Trying to hide her surprise proved to be impossible. Half of the words he was saying didn’t register as she stared at him in confusion. Meanwhile the beast was growling, twisting, and eventually whimpering before its mask got cracked like an egg.

“What-” she whispered while her brain was trying to catch up with everything that’s transpired. Blinking didn’t help. A slow breath was the only indication of her still being alive because she didn’t move an inch. Wide-eyed Sasha absorbed the reality. Then the emotions came. Relief and happiness because they were now safe, some pity for the crushed creature on the ground and a certain amount of awe toward the power shown to her by Levi.

“Woah.” Was the next thing she managed when the events had sunk in. Able to move, she slowly made her way to the place where the Hollow was fading. Bits and pieces of the creature dissolved like sand drawing beneath the wind’s touch.

“That’s..” She looked for the right words, but couldn’t come up with anything less praiseful than “quite impressive.”

It wasn’t a lie. His quick reaction and seemingly effortless way of dealing with the Hollow was beyond of what she was capable of. Secretly hoping that one day her arrows would finish off their opponents as quickly as Levi had destroyed his, Sasha kept quiet about the desire and decided to pose a couple of questions instead.

“Are you.. eh a Quincy too?” Cautiously watching him, she wondered if he knew what he was. Judging by his control over the power he had she assumed that he was more familiar with the world of the dead than she was, so he was probably aware of whatever ‘group’ he was a part of.

“I’m glad that you’ve..” she took a deep breath. Soon a nervous laughter escaped her lips. She really had been slowly dying inside because of the upcoming panic. It felt so good to know that neither of them were going to die tonight.

The laughing briefly intensified, then calmed down to a warm“Thanks.”

“For a moment I had thought that this would have a really bad ending.”


529

“You should see your face right now.” Levi couldn’t help but snicker when he saw Sasha frozen with awe. It spoke to her youth that she thought his display of power had been impressive.

“What, that? It was nothing.” If he had done that to an adjuchas, or a shinigami lieutenant, that would have been impressive. That battle had been nothing. Or perhaps he had grown stronger than he had realized?

“Small fries like that are barely more than dogs.” He walked over to her, watching the corpse dissolve with visible disdain. He didn’t actually feel disdain, or anything else, toward the hollow, but a mortal probably would. “Trust me, there are much scarier things out there.” He dripped a bit of caution into his voice and looked over at Sasha. How would she react to such a statement? Did she already understand? Would it shock her that there were worse things than the monstrous hollows? Would she want to get stronger? Would she want him to help her get stronger?

“Quincy? Nah. There are other mortals with powers you know.” He wasn’t one of them, but they did exist. It would be too hard to fake quincy powers. Pretending to be a random empowered mortal would be much easier. “Some of us just get lucky. Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it.” He shrugged and smiled at her. “Personally, I’d rather be horribly aware than blissfully ignorant.”

The stress finally caught up wither her. She must have been really concerned that he would get hurt. Or concerned that she would get hurt afterwards. Or concerned that she would have to deal with a man mysteriously dying after walking into an alley with her. Whatever the source of her anxiety was, it seemed to have finally released itself.

“Never gonna happen. Not while I’m around.” Levi responded to her worries with a softer smile. “I guess I should’ve said something about the hollow.” He rubbed the back of his neck in faux embarrassment as a form of apology. He had purposefully led her on to believe he was in danger after all. He wasn’t actually sorry of course. If he had to do it again, the only thing he would do differently is have a camera ready for the face she made at the end. She would be more malleable if she believed he cared about her feelings though. “But what kind of man would I be if I let a pretty girl like you fight the monster?” He winked and grinned again. All in good humor.

“Let me ask you something, Sasha.” They would start walking again soon, strolling toward the bus and the coffee shop, and all the people that would be there. Some things were better discussed away from such company. “Your quincy powers are a great gift. You can see what others cannot, destroy what others fear, and with enough training you could rival the greatest of heroes or the cruelest of monsters.” His smile thinned, though he didn’t drop it completely. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he stared into Sasha’s eyes with an uncharacteristically somber expression. “So. What do you want to do with that power?”

This question would decide how they moved forward. From this he would know how he could tempt her. He would know how he could use her. That is if course, assuming she answered honestly.

WC: 567
TWC: 2,268

He was so.. so confident in the fact that nothing would happen to either of them. And honestly she couldn’t blame him for that after having witnessed his skills. It almost seemed as if the Hollow had been made from nothing more than pure paper. Effortlessly, quickly. Those were the words that came to mind when she thought of describing Levi’s actions when dealing with the enemy.

Another nervous chuckle escaped her lips together with a soft sigh. The adrenaline was still rushing through her body and she would need another moment or two to relax. Unlike him --she judged by his almost professional performance-- Sasha wasn’t used to dealing with bloodthirsty beasts on average basis. They still scared her. Even if no scars were left from her encounter with the witch.

She shivered. The memory was too fresh even after these couple of months, the lingering pain very real in the back of her mind. She dropped the thoughts regarding that night. Clenching her fists she knew that she had to. With every step she became less worked up, and as they crossed the street she finally managed to relax. Only then did she leave the memories lying on the dirty alley floor.

They walked away from the pile of misfortune. It felt good.

“Hmm?” she hummed, eyes no longer panicky.

The question came out of nowhere but she assumed that it shouldn’t be a surprise. Now that they both knew about the other’s ability it was only natural to talk about what some considered myths and nightmares.

“I guess that I’m not quite sure about it yet. For one, I’m not that strong.” laughing, she playfully bumped his shoulder with her fist. “you’re like a superhero. And I’m just really new to this stuff.” Half-shrugging she hummed again, this time she wondered about what she would want to do should she become as strong as her was.

“Help people out when I can is something I certainly wouldn’t mind doing, but aside from that..” she didn’t know. It was too soon to know what she would be doing if she had the strength; Sasha didn’t like to assume what the future would bring.

“If I grow stronger then I might get a better idea, but at the moment it’s just me getting used to all of” Gesturing at her surroundings with open arms she grinned. “this.”

“What about you? You’re strong!”


403

Fresh clay. Perfect. She was a tad idealistic, but “still getting used to all this” meant still forming her ideals and opinions. It was the perfect time to mold them, to mold her, into his own frame of mind. If only he could break that super-hero syndrome.

First, he had to answer his own question. The truth would not work, at least not the full truth. “Whatever I want” would label him as selfish and shallow in her mind, and she would never listen to him after that. Pretending to be a hero would only cement the values, and backfire in the long run. So, what middle ground would work best?

He shrugged. “Well, I would hardly call myself a super hero.” A little bit of truth would buy him some time. “Saving the world isn’t really something I’m into. Or rather, it’s just not possible. The world is too big, and full of too much evil to ever be eliminated.” The words came to him with surprising ease and he only had to look down and to the side with a bit of somberness to sell the illusion of a jaded heart. It was almost natural. “I suppose...” He looked up at the sky, the innumerable stars in the infinite void, and stared at a single speck of light. “I just want to protect my own. Build my own world, and keep it safe.”

Levi was shocked to realize how true that was. He made it sound sickeningly noble, but maybe that was what he was missing. Maybe he wanted to build something. Maybe what he needed to replace the thrill that his freedom had once given him was a goal. A project of some sort. Perhaps he could make people like Sasha part of that project.

“Anyway, I’m not as strong as you think, really.” He looked back at her with a warning in his eyes. “The truth is I’m not even a heavyweight in this world. There are those who could do to me what I did to that animal. Menos Grande, Sternritter, those rare independents; and the worst of them all are the shinigami captains.” Levi shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and frowned at the horizon as if remembering some past evil. “Those hypocrites who claim to protect this world, but they really just want control. They kill hollows that prey on humanity, sure, but they’ll also kill anyone that they think is a threat to that control.”

Levi looked back at Sasha with a serious expression. “They’ve gotten even worse lately. Have you heard about the new decree regarding quincy? If a hollow attacks you and they catch you killing it, they’ll kill you. That’s some guardianship, isn’t it?”


WC: 456
TWC: 2,724

His words made quite some sense to her. The way he had put it was perfect. At the moment it was something she could go along with without too much trouble. Having no real idea of what she wanted to do with her developing powers, keeping those around her safe was an interesting enough concept. She could explore that because it didn’t involve creating some sort of utopia. To change the whole world was nonsense. People had to change first, they had to be ready to live another type of life, and apparently that didn’t only go for the people. Shinigami.. Hollow-breeds. Some fought and killed for survival, others to protect, or to rule. In the end it came to clashing ideologies and habits. There really was only one way to deal with that if it would have to be done right now, with everything left unchanged. The world would need to have an all-powerful dictator to keep everyone, and thus every action ever done by them, in line. But, you had to keep things realistic, that wouldn’t happen. So.. what Levi spoke about was the closest thing to ‘perfection’ that they could get to.
“That’s actually.. really.. I’m not sure how to put it. I think that it’s a good way to look at things.” Nodding to give strength to her words, Sasha followed his gaze toward the stars. Space was something she found fascinating, and had wished to explore, but it seemed that she was bound to earth even more than she had thought to be.

“What’s a Menos Grande?” Picking the things most unfamiliar to her, she hoped that she had pronounced it well.

Silently thinking about the next part, she wondered what was so bad about control if it was to help people. Weren’t those trying to disturb them helping the Hollow-breeds? And while it might not be as black and white – and she was still unsure who was ‘right’ and if anyone could be right at all – the Hollow-breeds did seem to be the less attractive side from her point of view.

“Hmm, I don’t know..” she hummed, thinking about the time she was saved by a Shinigami. The man did say that she should stay away from them, perhaps that had to do with this ‘decree’ Levi was speaking of. Honestly, she wondered how people even knew about it.

“Where did you hear that from? I mean.. is there some sort of communication source between us and them?” Were there those who warned the Quincy? Did the Quincy assume it? Were they a danger? Was it only a bitter memory from the past that was getting blown out of proportion?

So many question she would have to research before being able to understand the situation. Context was always important, and Sasha didn’t plan to forget about it this time.


475/

She agreed with the philosophy. More than that, she sounded impressed by it. That was good. The more she looked up to him, the more she would listen to him. With any luck, he could have her completely turned to his way of thinking before she found out the truth about him.

“Menos Grande are an evolved form of hollows; literally hundreds of hollow souls fused into one monster. You know that hollows eat humans to fill an endless hunger, and I’m sure you know that they prefer humans with strong spiritual power. The more they eat the stronger they get, the stronger they get, the stronger their hunger gets. Eventually humans don’t do it for them anymore, and they start hunting other hollows. That’s when they go to Hueco Mundo, the hollow desert. There they just hunt each other. Eventually a bunch of them end up in one big bloody battle, and somehow fuse into one big hollow. Thing is, their souls are still fighting inside the body, so it has no real brain. It’s just one big lumbering tower of killing instinct.” Levi shivered.

“Now I’ve never seen one of those big bastards myself, but they say they look like skyscrapers wearing black robes and hollow masks with long pointy noses. Those are Gillian, the weakest form of Menos Grande. They are a hundred times as powerful as any hollow you’re likely to find on these streets.” Except for me of course, Levi thought smugly.

“They only get worse from there though. Remember how I said the souls are all fighting inside the Gillian? Well sometimes one of them wins. A Gillian with a brain is a scary thing. The fact that they start eating other gillian and evolve again? Well that’s fuckin terrifying. They turn into adjuchas from there. Smaller than some ordinary hollow. Smarter than any of them. About a thousand times as strong. They are about equal to a shinigami lieutenant. And that’s not the end. They have one more evolution. The Vasto Lorde. I only know about them from people that know about them from books, but those people are pretty reliable. They are supposed to be the size of a human and just as smart. They are also said to be stronger than most captains.”

Levi smiled and shrugged, wiping away some of the tension that had built around the tales of hollows with monstrous power, a power that was in sharp decline. He decided to leave out the existence or arrancar for the time being. “Good news is they never really come to the human world. You’ll probably never see one unless you get really involved in spiritual matters.” Which Levi intended to ensure.

“Communication?” Levi chuckled and shook his head at the ground. “Heh, they communicate their intent to kill pretty well.” He looked back at Sasha with the same warning gaze he had held when explaining how hollows evolved. “They’ve told quincy themselves. And they’ve proved it. The ones who obeyed, or won, told everyone else. Make no mistake Sasha, the shinigami are as much your enemy as the hollows.”

WC: 520
TWC: 3,244