Zerg Rush (W/Shinku)

Shinku was in a bit of a bind at the moment, and she was starting to have difficulty forming her thoughts. The Hollow was normally the one who was able to keep a level head, no matter what, and use her intelligence to think her way out of a situation, but this was something else entirely she couldn’t quite say she understood. She had just eaten… why was her… did she even have a proper stomach? Regardless, why was it hurting so much? She couldn’t possibly be hungry. There was something wrong, and she had no idea what it was, but it was causing her a rather tremendous amount of pain. Her Brood, distressed and lacking her normal snappy coordination, had become a bit disoriented, and scattered for a time, and in the middle of the day too. This was bound to draw unwanted attention, and she needed to amend this firsthand or risk luring annihilation to her doorstep.

Her purple eyes flared for a moment as she gave the order. All her forced were to retreat to the Hive which was just outside of town and hide themselves in the tunnels. Once they were there, they would await further orders, and protect her until whatever this pain was had passed or she had figured out a remedy. Even in her weakened state, though, she could sense that one of her Okami was being followed, but she couldn’t delegate the creature to have it diverted. It would have to come back to them, and she would need to deal with the one chasing it. It was about as powerful as she was… but her senses were muddled, and it was possible that wasn’t accurate. Damnit… of course it would happen now… and if she was to show weakness, she could easily be trampled and killed...

She couldn’t let that happen. She had more than her own life to worry about. She had the entire Brood.

So, she swallowed her pain, collected herself, and on her many legs slowly made it out of the cave, continuing suppressing her Reiatsu as she went. If the person chasing her Okami underestimated her, she would have a much higher chance of defeating them quickly and while minimizing damage to herself, her Brood, and even the enemy. Her entire decade alive as a Hollow, and while she couldn’t account for the time when she was nothing more than a beast, she could safely say since then she hadn’t killed a single Shinigami, Quincy, or even an intelligent and reasonable Hollow. The last was rare and not easily encountered, but none-the-less, if they could be taught how to survive better than attacking everyone indiscriminately, she didn’t kill them. She only killed those that were either too early on to have conscious thought and were a threat to anyone and everyone around them, or those who were so twisted that they were beyond redemption.

Standing at the mouth of her cave, just tucked away into the shadows and only her glowing purple eyes lurking out of the darkness, she saw the last Okami running at full tilt towards her, trying to get away from the pursuer. It was roughly the size of a tiger, and still, it was dwarfed by Shinku’s body, over ten feet in height, she nearly filled the cave and had to shift her legs to let the Okami slide by. The moment that the Quincy was in view, she spoke, hoping to keep this part simple, her voice feminine and with an alien chittering undertone like night insects, but there was very real firmness to the demand.

“Stay you weapons, Quincy. I have no desire to fight you.”

615/615

Well, this had turned from an odd coincidence into a paradigm shift far too good to be true: after stalking the weird zergling hollow bug creature thing for about... whatever the radius of Karakura Town was, Azuma found himself on the outskirts of this bastion of human society. In fact, one could say that he was on the border of an alien society, one run by said bug-zerg creatures. "Why would you think that?", one might ask. Well, probably because there was a large network of tunnels forming some societal structure rather deep into the caves in the woods outside of the town. Standing in front of this...colony was... well, a zerg queen. 

For those wondering, Azuma was quite the avid Starcraft player during his younger days. It had functioned as a way to vent his anger after his family's...untimely demise, and beforehand, it had been something of a way for him to evade schoolwork, many times at his parent's disapproval. Now back to the story!

Okay, okay, maybe it was time he started to work out what these things actually were, because the Starcraft parallels he kept drawing were on the verge of making him laugh: that wasn't something many people or jokes could accomplish. The smaller, minion-type bug scurried away into the colony by slipping beneath the insectoid behemoth's legs. Azuma then stopped running, doubting that those legs would remain parted for him to enter... the hive.

Yes, the hive...colony-thing. That was what I meant.

ANYWAY! Back to the story. God, I really do suck at this whole narration thing...

Azuma had stopped and was staring at the massive bug-like creature, unsure of what to surmise. It was clearly a hollow: that much was obvious, judging by the trademark bone-like mask covering the being's face. On it's sides were two appendages that looked like arm-swords.

Best not get close to those. 

Yeah, no shit, idiot. Ugh, again, I'm bad at this. Regardless, the thing had little stabby things for arms, sort of like a praying mantis. It also had six legs, something which Azuma tried to ignore, as he quite disliked things with any more than four limbs of any kind. They just disturbed him. He didn't know why, and honestly, neither do I, so we'll keep moving. 

Oh. It could also talk. That meant that it was at least somewhat intelligent, and judging by how it had spoken, it was more than just "somewhat" intelligent. The hollow could form complex and complete sentences, and could also apparently identify that Azuma was a Quincy, a fact that visibly surprised him in the form of a look upwards from the ground, where his eyes generally situated themselves during a conversation. Said eyes met those of the beast in front of him, locking in a stare with them as if they were engaging in some battle of wits. 

It was during that stare that Azuma prepared and finally released his reply. It came in a disinterested, or no, almost disappointed tone, displaying how much Azuma really didn't care for fighting or harming things. 

"Oh. I mean... I don't really want to fight you either, but you're a hollow, so I have to. Kind of my job, y'know? Also, before I attack you, I do want to ask: why do you look so much like a zerg queen?"

It was only after the words left his mouth that he realized that a hollow probably wouldn't know what a zerg queen was. His correction to this came immediately, this time in a mellow, and almost embarrassed tone.

"Shoot, sorry. You probably don't know what that is... um, what I meant was, you remind me of a creature depicted in a work of fiction I... read. They were called the 'zerg', and they were sort of like a hive-mind bug society. So... yeah. Oh, and are those things in your hive also hollows? They give of a spiritual signature almost identical to your own, as if they're constantly resonating with you. What are they?"

Surely this thing didn't predate books, right? He had adjusted the origin of this fictional species to fit the explanation better, although he still had no idea why he was even giving said explanation. Eh, why did it matter. 

...Oh, it probably didn't, did it?


Words: 716

He seemed rather unsure of himself, but neither was he drawing back in horror or approaching like some idiot, but instead considering what he saw before him. An interesting reaction, sure enough, but he also didn’t show any signs of relaxing either, which was both expected and disappointing. So far, every Quincy that she had run into she had managed to talk out of a confrontation directly, and even had managed to gain some trust and information from them. Shinku hoped that she could do the same here, because she knew better than most that those Quincy Arrows were capable of doing some pretty serious damage, and didn’t want to find out first hand. She even had hope when his reply started, but quickly it grew to concern as he stated that it was ‘his job’… and then a question that had her confused beyond anything else.

Zerg Queen? The hell? No, she couldn’t get sidetracked… he had basically just threatened her, and even if it had sounded reluctant, it was still there, and needed to be addressed. “I have managed peace with your kind before, and from the sounds of things, you don’t seem like you want to fight. Instead… perhaps we can discuss a few things instead. What is you Job? Exterminating Hollow or Protecting People? I realize most of the time they come hand in hand, but with myself, it is a reason I do no not hunt anything but fellow Hollow.” Hopefully that would be enough to make him consider the idea of non-hostile activity… but then there was another aspect of this that she hadn’t considered… non-hostility could result in him getting in trouble.

“If there is no other option… I suggest we make due with a feint confrontation in order to uphold appearances, if that is your worry.” She didn’t like the idea, too many ways it could go wrong, but if it was what was needed, then so be it. Shinku would do anything she had to in order to survive, but she understood too that others must be able to perform their jobs. But with that offer on the table, hopefully now she could address the other question that had been gnawing at her after hearing all the information about it.

“Zerg Queen? I’m curious about your reference… and as far as my pets, they are a part of me. I simply offer them guidance, and we work as a collaborative whole to ensure our survival. I would be interested to hear more about this Zerg, or even more about what is defined as your ‘job’ as a Quincy. So what will it be? Are we going to have a nice chat, or must we fight?” Offers were on the table, and even if it wasn’t meant to be a serious fight, she wasn’t about to be caught off guard either. He could just as easily turn the tables and engage her directly, and as the worst case scenario, she was prepared to fight like her life depended on it.

Shinku had survived quite a bit, and a lot had happened in the past couple of months… she needed to remain vigilant, and never grow complacent. Even during those peaceful talks she had with other Quincy and Hollow, she always had her minions close by in case of emergency, because it was when you let your guard down in this world of Eat or be Eaten that you were often swallowed whole. Life wasn’t fair, it was cruel and vicious. Shinku was probably one of the kindest types of people a soul could run into, even having saved Plus Souls before, but she was a Hollow, a contemptable creature that, by no reason other than her species, was often hunted and killed in mass. The worst part was that she understood the mentality, as most of her kind was nothing more than monsters, eating anything that even remotely seemed worth the trouble and tearing apart families and friends without a second thought.

It was why she hunted her own kind, after all. She didn’t care for Hollow either, even if she was one.

691/1306

This was highly unusual: generally hollows tended to attack him on first sight, or begin a battle by threatening them with some method of torture that would conclude in Azuma's devouring and untimely demise. Obviously, the quip-bearing hollows and headstrong warriors who thought themselves stronger than anybody hadn't succeeded. Azuma was still here, and in one piece at that. Unfortunately for him though, it wasn't as if each of the fights he went through with hollow-kind ended well for him. He had generally taken a beating: that meant the fights had been close. Not lethal-level close, but close nonetheless.

The issue here was that this being was stronger than any hollow he'd encountered directly in the past. Obviously he wasn't the most powerful Quincy around, Azuma was fully aware of that. This hollow, however, had both raw energy equivalent to his own, as well as what could well be an army of minions. Minions did not bode well for a hand to hand combat specialist. 

But why did any of that matter? He had just been given an offer far better than any angle taken on a fight could be: a simple conversation. Now, Azuma did have to admit...

This feels like a trap. It's probably a trap... totally a trap.

So, with his doubts confirmed in mind, he decide-

Ah, screw it. Honestly, if a hollow is intelligent enough to want to know something about Starcraft, I might as well talk to it.

Oh. Well then. Maybe not. It appears that Azuma decided to converse with the hollow, or at least give whatever "conversation" the thing had in mind something of a try. The problem was, he wasn't really sure where to start. Maybe the question about his job. Yeah, that was simple enough! Or, it should have been, but as I'm sure you know, Azuma was never really the best at conversation with people, new or old.

"O-oh. You... don't want to fight?"

Yes, that much had been established, smart one. At least by some turn of luck, Azuma corrected himself and actually got some decent replies out after that verbal mishap.

"Oh! Yes, of course... well, anyway: I'm a Quincy whenever a hollow appears. Essentially, we have to destroy them for the sake of protecting people. Most hollows have to eat humans... that's not something we tend to like have happen. I'm not sure about you of course, but regardless, that isn't actually my... my job. I'm actually a designer of clothes. It pays all of the bills and then some... but it's not really what I'd call my calling."

Waiting for a reaction to this before he continued, Azuma figured it was best to not overload the hollow with information: the Zerg would be mentioned after they addressed the likely confusion surrounding his profession as a designer.


Words: 471

Shinku might have laughed at the young Quincy’s statement of the obvious that she didn’t want to fight if she could avoid it, but she knew all too well that her laughter in this form, it was absolutely terrifying for most, and unable to contain the humor. She would just bide her time for now and listen, glad that, for the moment anyway, he wasn’t trying to destroy her utterly. Standing there at the mouth of her cave, she continued to scan the nearby areas, trying like anything to see if there was any other threat that she needed to be worried about. Her own spiritual pressure was greatly suppressed to the best of her ability, but she was uncertain about his own, and hopeful that it wouldn’t lure any attention from possible enemies.

She listened to him carefully, and was very interested in what he was talking about, a single clawed hand reaching up to her chin in a very human expression of thought. “I see. Is it normal for a Quincy to have an occupation that is considered ‘normal’ in society? Seems plausible unless there was some sort of organized faction that your kind could use as a means to make your way through the world. And if clothing design isn’t your calling, may I ask what you prefer?” Any time she seemed to get some answers about something, it only sprung more questions, and being an intellectual that was in a situation to get some actual answers, she couldn’t simply let the opportunity go to waste.

While she didn’t know the more in depth information about what he claimed as his profession, she too wasn’t completely ignorant of it either. While waiting for prey to appear, she had many times simply listened to humans talking about different topics that were important to them as they went about their day, and clothing design was often spoken about by different girls. It had always been something she didn’t delve too deeply into since she would never be able to wear such things, but like most all information, she retained it. It was both a gift and a curse, being able to recall facts and information like this on demand, which was what made it so frustrating that she was unable to recall information about her time alive. She had little snippets of images she could muster and feelings associated with them, but that was all.

Back in the here and now, she was starting to feel very exposed standing out here in the open, and turned ever so slightly with her upper body. “There is a cavern within that would make for a better place to speak. I tend to draw… hostile attention, if I am noticed. I implore you to join me within so we may continue to learn about one another.” Without any more hesitation, however, she would slowly retreat into the darkness. Should he choose to join her, the cave was relatively spacious and had light filtering in from moss covered holes from above, but for the most part was completely hidden from the outside world, with several seat sized stones within.

---

Post Word Count: 526
Thread Word Count: 1832

So very formal. Of course, Azuma had expected (or come close to expecting) this much: after all, if a hollow spoke english as well as this one did, there had to be some downside to the advantage of communication. The first and most common one would probably be the generally shared desire to murder any other being with an ounce of spiritual energy: of course, this didn't apply to the case he was experiencing at the moment. In this case, Azuma was lucky enough to deal with a disadvantage that many would call "British Syndrome": sounding smart when you speak.

There was, alas, another problem. Azuma wasn't sure if he could even answer the question this hollow had for him! After all, he only really had met a few Quincy in passing and had yet to make his journey to the northern parts of the world so that he could speak with the Order. This left him in a dilemma: should he come clean in regards to his lack of knowledge surrounding his own people and risk being seen as an uninformed fool, or lie to gain better standing with this beast? 

It took him about 10 seconds of thinking (represented by the long and likely confusing "hmmmm" sound emitting from his mouth) to remember that the question was literally a simple inquiry into human careers. Why was he stressing over this? Oh, wait: he was Azuma Kinnosuke, a man riddled with doubt and various assorted issues. Thus, finally, after those seconds of contemplation passed along with a few more, Azuma carefully responded, still dubious of his own response. The classic "Azumelancholy" tone was indicative of this.

"Oh... I suppose it is sort of normal, but I don't have much of a sample size in regards to this question. Sorry... I don't really know much about many other Quincy, if I'm being honest. As for my profession... I guess it was just something I had a talent for: if I had to choose something else to do for a living... sleeping, I suppose? I mean, it's not that I hate clothing design or anything... I just don't find much fun in anything really."

After his words left his mouth, Azuma felt a rush intense relief. Even the lightest bodies of vocal text were burdens he struggled to carry. Such was the life of somebody who didn't talk nearly as much as any normal human should. Of course, as life tended to treat him, things went south quickly after they had seemed fine. Yet another stressful situation had come about: Azuma had just been invited into this hollow's... cave-hive thing. By any standards, he should have been terrified, but as we've already established, this being didn't really scare him... or at least not in a horrific type of way. It only scared him as conversation did: subtly but with depth. The idea itself was still disconcerting though, which left him with a decision.

He could decide to do the smart thing.

Or, I could follow this giant zerg - spider - alien - hollow thing into a cave.

Sighing, Azuma made his decision.

As he followed the massive beast into its home, a thought ran through his head.

I really need to get out more. Talking to giant alien bug ghosts isn't really gonna cut it in a while.


Words: 553

Shinku moved inside the cavern, a large, hollowed out space under the ground roughly thirty feet in length and fifteen feet tall in a dome shape, there were spots in the ceiling where moss growing there allowed light to filter inside and given them a means in which to see. Shinku was very used to the darkness, and adjusted to it quickly, while part of her yearned to be able to simply lounge and bask in the sun, absorb its warmth without fear of being cut down simply because of what she was. She had a deeper understanding of the ‘why’ for Shinigami and Quincy, and while their individual motivations were certainly different, the overall design was something that she too practiced.

The Hollows were monsters that killed without mercy or discrimination. Simply because she had chosen a different path than most didn’t mean that they wouldn’t try to handle her the same as all the others.

Moving to a large rock, she allowed her legs to flatten a bit, ‘sitting’ on the large stone and letting herself relax to some degree. Her senses were still on alert, as always, searching for signs of treachery, danger or even a shift that could be important, but for now she felt at least somewhat comfortable continuing their conversation. Before she spoke, she considered what he had said and all relevant factors; he was relatively new to his powers, and didn’t have much in the way of Knowledge about the breed of Humans that he shared those powers with. He also lacked a distinct interest in most things, even his career in which he had talent was no more than a means to an end. What could she learn from him? There was only one way to find out.

“If I am understanding you correctly, perhaps I should rephrase my questions. What do you know about the Quincy that you would be willing to share? And more so, tell me about yourself. You claim to enjoy sleep, but is there anything else that does draw your interest?” Learning more about who this young man was at as a person might have seemed a waste of time or perhaps insignificant, but Shinku was always one who looked beyond the normal scope of things, able to see the bigger picture. Perhaps she could find similarities about him and the other Quincy she had encountered, a common denominator that others might have missed that she could better understand them with. Until she figured it out, it truly was nothing more than simple conversation, hoping to learn more about something she knew little. That hunger that most Hollow felt was not the appropriate sensation to compare her thirst for knowledge, but it was close in regards to intensity.

---

(P) 461
(T) 2293

Well, I haven't died yet, so that's a clear indication that this wasn't a completely terrible decision... sort of.

Azuma's thoughts were still conflicting with his decision to an extent, but that was to be expected. He had literally just entered some sort of hive inhabited by a completely foreign type of hollow to him. To not be afraid would be ridiculous and quite possibly a sign of idiocy. However, he couldn't say he felt completely at risk. This unique variety of the beast he so often encountered seemed to be more... comforting, than scary. That in itself was the scary thing, actually: the fact that he wasn't scared, or even disturbed by it's presence.

After forcing himself not to laugh as he watched the giant hollow attempt to do what Azuma could only describe as "sit", he was confronted with an extension to his already difficult first question from the beast. Once again, he wasn't really sure if he could answer this question. It was honestly quite pitiful how little Azuma knew about his fellow Quincy, but, alas, as he had accepted an invitation for a conversation, he decided it was best that he gave what little information he had. After all, a hollow with no desire to kill humans clearly wasn't much of a risk when speaking about information... right? Yeah, we'll go with that. Azuma spoke in his usual, unsure, somber tone, looking slightly downwards as he spoke.

"Well... to be honest with you, I-I don't know all that much about other Quincy. What I do know... well, I can give you the basics. For example, if a Quincy kills you with their bow, your soul is destroyed in its entirety, so you won't be reincarnated as a human or a rukon soul. Most Quincy disregard this, but my family has always raised our Quincy to consider every option, even if violence seems to be the easiest path. Oh... I guess I should mention that most Quincy come from specific families. We're all over the world, but most of us are located in Northern Europe... despite the 'proper' pretense we put up, a lot of us are just religious ghost-hating freaks. I-it's kind of sad, really. My family is Japanese and wasn't super religious either, so we've got different beliefs when compared to the majority I suppose. I don't like shini... shinigami, much."

He had to stop himself on that last word. The soul reapers were not a positive topic of conversation for him. In fact, as soon as he started thinking about them, his breathing sharpened and his shoulders tensed: this was the usual stress-related reaction. Having been dealing with issues like this for years, Azuma did what he had been doing for those same many years. His palms instinctually lit up with a soft green light, forming the shape of a rune in a language he neither understood nor cared to. All the lights meant to him was one thing. 

Comfort.

Pressing his right palm to his chest, Azuma felt his breathing slowly calm down and his posture normalize: this was a good day. That was important. 

At least I don't have to half sedate myself today... I really need to lose my tolerance for.. whatever this ability is.

After this brief moment of silence, he glanced back up towards the behemoth, wondering what to say, as if words would fill the physical gap between them. Settling on something simple, Azuma asked a common question, hoping the shift in dynamic didn't prove jarring to the hollow.

"So... what's your name? What kind of things do you spend your day doing?"

That was an interesting question. What did hollows do when they weren't eating?



Words: 615

Shinku listened carefully as he talked about, again, what he didn’t know at first, but then moved on to describe what he knew as the ‘basics’. The information about the soul being Destroyed rather than ‘Purified’ like the Shinigami was interesting in and of itself, and that his family tried to avoid violence, which was something she could relate to. She hated coming into conflict, but it was something she was coming to accept simply because her race was the cause of so much pain and suffering it had earned her kind the title of ‘monsters’. It made every race, to include her own, consider them as a threat or prey, and summarily felt driven for one reason or another to hunt them down and destroy them. Apparently he was one of the exceptions, his particular family being one that isn’t like the rest, and Shinku would nod her head. “In that respect, we are similar. I too am different from most of my kind, attempt to avoid violence when possible… and dislike Shinigami.” Her mind flashed to a time when she watched her Legion get pinned down and butchered like sheep, and her spiritual pressure, although repressed, seemed to emanate the pain of that memory for a moment.

She noticed that he had a bad reaction to the topic, and made a point to not bring it up again, but couldn’t help but relate to that feeling herself, having literally just gone through her own relapse of pain. The glow of his hand and his actions that followed was interesting though, and she watched with interest both with her eyes and senses, trying to figure out what it was that he was doing. A part of her wanted to wrap him in her arms protectively, but she knew, as it was right now, that was not an option on the table; she was simply not physically capable of providing the comfort with the action that she desired to show him. Instead, she allowed her energy to flow out from her eyes, an invisible and gentle blanket of warmth and comfort, and should he allow it, place that bit of energy around the young man in an attempt to do what her body could not.

The question came, and Shinku realized with a start that she had indeed not introduced herself yet, and that at the least she could provide that much to someone she was peacefully able to speak to. “I am Shinku, Queen of the Red Legion… and mostly, I spend my days in hiding, using my senses to search for beastial Hollow in which to hunt, and attempting to stay alive as much as I can.” It was said factually, and as someone who was certainly more intelligent than the normal Hollow, the transition in conversation hadn’t been that difficult to do. But now it was her turn to ask a question, or rather, inquire further on something he had said.

“Family is something that is very important to me… my Legion is the closest thing I have to such a thing… tell me of your family, if you would? I am curious how the dynamic is different between what I have seen from the humans and a Quincy family would be.” It was, after all, probably the most important thing to the great base Hollow.

---

(P) 559
(T) 2852

Comparisons to other people... or in this case, giant hollows, were always nice. Azuma had never really seen much of himself in anybody around him, especially after... that night. No, he had to avoid letting his mind slip to that place: lest he'd probably have to knock himself out with his ability. That was never fun even in a normal area, and it would probably (definitely) be worse if he collapsed in a cave system ruled by sentient alien hollow insect things. 

Okay, so he had banished those thoughts... what was next again? He had practically forgotten what the question he had asked was until the hollow, Shinku, as he know knew it to be called, had answered said question. Thus was a side effect of his ability: drowsiness and lapses in memory. Of course, Azuma had known this much, and had, thus, prepared for it and developed a fail save in case this happened... right?

Wow, I really need to figure out how to keep my wits about me when I give myself that "system shock" of sorts.

Sigh. Okay, so he didn't have a fail save, but that was fine: as long as the other person answered the forgotten question (assuming a question was involved) then he would be fine... if not, god help him when doing long division. Regardless of Azuma's faults and lack of resistance to his power's negative effects, he still managed to listen intently to Shinku's answer. It was both intriguing and somewhat touching: he had, after all, never heard of a hollow that treated anything like 'family'. Perhaps it was because of his own powerful attachment to the concept that Azuma found it so hard to comprehend that something like a hollow, something which had at least some negativity attached to it's title, could even understand family. Of course, he had just been proven wrong: it did make sense, seeing as how he'd drawn those Zerg Queen analogies earlier, but as we've already established, Azuma didn't have the best short term memory after using his power on himself.

The bit that the hollow mentioned about hiding was almost sad to Azuma: sure, he didn't display any physical signs of such an emotional response, but the impact was there. It came to mind only now how terrifying life must have been for weaker hollows... how terrifying it was when he put an arrow into their white, bony masks.

Azuma jittered at the thought. Unfortunately, these unsettling self-reflective revelations weren't the worst of what was to come. You see, Shinku had made the mistake of asking about Azuma's family. Now, it wasn't the hollow's fault, no, that was unreasonable: even Azuma could understand that much as the words hit him like a proverbial truck. It was merely his own weakness, his own insecurity, that made talking or even thinking about his family so difficult. He was unable to move on, and this was exactly why Azuma acted the way he did.

All color drained from his face and he let out a quick but deep breath, his knees beginning to buckle before breaking under the weight of his crowded brain. Hyperventilation started to become him, and as usual, his left hand began to shake steadily but uncontrollably. Knowing exactly how to deal with this scenario (in a poor, but effective manner), Azuma once again lit up his palms with green light tracing the shape of an ancient rune on each of them. Pressing both to his chest this time, Azuma felt the stress leave his body almost instantly, along with any requisite emotion. This both rendered him no longer unhappy, but entirely without joy or interest anymore. Now, his hitched breathing simply halted and resumed it's normal pace. Mirroring this, Azuma was able to stand up, and of course, answer (though not without difficulty as soon as the related thoughts reentered his head) Shinku's question. The tone was riddled nothing more than his usual Azumelancholy. 

"Um... oh... my family.... is for the mos-most part...no longer with me."

Azuma paused for a second, realizing how futile his usage of his power had been: he could feel tears building up, although he refused to let them loose in front of a possible adversary... at least by his own decision. Taking a deep breath, he continued.

"Now it's j-just me and m-my mother... although she's s-sick. When the rest were around, we functioned l-like any normal family: love, discipline, and c-culture were ripe among us. I had a b...brother and a s-sis....sis...sist.... I'm not going to be able to finish that sentence."

And with that, Azuma's right eye let a single tear out: he would curse the damn thing for it's betrayal at some point. For now though, he had to relish in the value that one tear held to him. It felt good to cry even a little after so long.

I wish I could cry for you... then maybe I would be able to forgive myself and those who brought this fate upon our family.


Words: 839

Shinku knew she had made a mistake the instant the question she asked about Family had hit the ears of Azuma, his expression darkening instantly and the blood fleeing his face, leaving him looking much like a ghost. She had been foolish, asking a question that so many, in this type of life, took as something that was far less than the comforting thing that most hoped for. Some had horrible upbringings, others abandoned, so much so in this side of the spiritual spectrum that more people had negative aspects to the idea of family than positive ones. Even herself, being unable to bear children and start her own family, was sensitive on the subject, and here she was, trying to use the topic to learn more about the young man before her, and likely dredging up pain and anguish rather than positivity. He went to his knees, and began to breath rapidly before plunging more of the green light into his chest, and Shinku wanted to be able to help him, but was uncertain what she could do, and thus, hesitated.

The effect of the power was interesting in its own right, like it had reset his emotional clock and brought him back to a perfect neutral, but the problem was that it didn’t last very long. Certainly, it had worked on the surface, but it appeared that it only masked it, like a band aid on a deep wound, and quickly it was metaphorically bled through and washed away. He did manage to muster a response, even stuttering a bit and trying to fight the tears, and she couldn’t help but nod, understanding that he too was alone in this world. She wanted to tell him to stop trying to talk, to stop attempting to describe his life at home, but with how hard the young Quincy was trying, Shinku couldn’t bring herself to do it. He stated that his mother was ill, and that his brother and sister were, she assumed, gone. When the tear was shed, she moved without thinking, her body seeming to have a mind of its own as her instincts took full control for a moment, and she moved directly in front of him, bending her front legs downward so she was on his level, and both her arms wrapped around him in an embrace.

Normally, there would have been nothing but horror at this action, but her spiritual pressure, which was wrapping around him as well, was nothing short of exactly how he described his family. Compassion, love, concern, care… all the things that made a mother feel like a mother were there, and her embrace, while snug, was also warm and loose, allowing him at any point to gesture or shake loose. She hoped, for a moment anyway, that he would allow himself to let those feelings loose, to open that jar of repressed emotion and let it flow through him. It is alright… I promise… she whispered, using the physical contact to project her voice directly into his mind, the ungodly chitter gone completely and her true voice coming forth, which was very much human. She would continue the embrace for as long as he liked or as short, either way was fine with her… she simply couldn’t let the child be in so much pain and not act.

“Perhaps I can be of some help. I have skill when it comes to healing others. If I may ask, what ails your mother?” The offer was completely genuine, and wouldn’t be rescinded, no matter what happened between them. Certainly there was some levels of trust that would be needed for such information, let alone to allow it to actually occur, but for now, she would simply allow herself to ask the question, and see where it led.

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(T) 3489

If there was one thing that Azuma... or really anybody, for that matter, would have expected out of the situation he found himself in, it certainly was not whatever this was. He would be lying if he said the... hug-type (it was hard to tell) gesture hadn't shocked him on contact, his own body briefly jolting with a few emotions. Fear, worry... the usual stuff you'd expect from somebody being hugged by a giant hollow. Oddly enough though, these negative feelings soon fell away: the pain of the memories associated to his family was still there, but along with the shock, they seemed to fade into the backdrop of Azuma's mind, all because of this embrace.

It was both confusing and calming. If his mother had hugged him, Azuma was sure he would have felt the same way: especially when he could swear he heard a human rendition of Shinku's voice move into his head, as if he could hear her thoughts. The single tear had evolved into a slow, small, but steady stream running from both eyes. It pained him that all he could do for his departed family was cry: they deserved better. Something better than him, at least: somebody who could have saved them.

Once again, his thoughts went out to his brother, his father... his sister, wherever they were. He shuddered at the thought that they may have gone on to become shinigami, or worse yet, hollows. 

On second thought, I shouldn't generalize.

It was unfair to call the generic group of several species that were "hollows" a worse alternative to becoming a shinigami. After all, every shinigami Azuma had met had either been nasty to him, or in recent months, attacked him. On the other hand, hollows would almost always attack him, but at the same time, he was having a conversastion - no, being HUGGED by one of them right now. If his family had gone on to become anything with a heart... or in their case, soul, as kind as this being, then Azuma could find it inside of him to say he was... sad, but happy, for them.

The even greater possibility that they had gone on to be mindless beasts or simple Rukon folk was one that he passively allowed to slip his mind this one time. His brain deserved some time to cool off. Because of this, as the hug of sorts ended, Azuma found himself no longer crying. he certainly wasn't happy, but then, when was he happy in the first place? Oh, how about when some spiritual beast tells you they have advanced healing capabilities? Yeah, that would be great cause for happiness.

Azuma tried not to get excited at the thought of a cure or aid for his mother's mysterious illness, but upon hearing the offer from Shinku, he couldn't help but leap onto it without hesitation. His tone had returned to normal, or maybe even something a tad above normal for him on the "joy spectrum". It was, for all intensive purposes, a positive tone.

"Ah. My mother... she's a t-tad sick from... well, we don't really know. Her symptoms are a consistent high or feverish temperature, full body aches, and, most worryingly, a lack of interest in really even trying to live her life. It's been like this, slowly getting worse since... you know."

It was about then that Azuma's phone began to buzz. In this one moment, he cursed Apple for having a reminder system that didn't require cloud access and by extension, cell service. Pulling out his phone quickly, Azuma read the notification on his phone's unlock screen. It read, 'Meeting: 1:00 PM'. It had taken about 45 minutes to get here at a steady pace: the time was now 12:20, as he had spent about 20 minutes talking to Shinku. This event was, to say the least, rather jarring. Unfortunately, as much as he wished he could simply drop everything and just not attend the meeting, he couldn't. The shareholders in his company would get mad: this was not good for his wallet, and his wallet was what kept his mother fed and his fridge stocked.


Recognizing this, Azuma suddenly turned heel, moving towards the entrance of the cave, only to stop briefly to utter a farewell.

"I actually have a meeting that I can't miss! Ah, I'm so useless. Damn, I should be able to make it: regardless... bye. I'll be back sometime, and we can talk more about my mother, if your offer still stands."

In his haste, Azuma almost forgot the final thing he needed to say: luckily, he caught himself this time.

"Oh... and um... Shinku: thank you."

Then off into the... hole that led from the cave back to the surface he went. Yeah sure, it doesn't sound as appealing as "into the sunlight", but hey, the sentiment was still there. It would only be well after his meeting that Azuma's mind would jump back to his encounter earlier that day: probably because he found himself playing the Zerg on Starcraft that evening.


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