Daytime Distress [Closed/Marshal]

A plume of fog raised high into the air as the fullbringer heaved a heavy sigh. The world weighed on his mind and it would seem that quite soon another problem would be added to the lengthy grocery list already in his mind. Somewhere nearby another mortal was experiencing distress, the kind he knew all too well. He should have been ecstatic to find someone to help. Should have. Instead he found his footsteps to be heavier than the sigh as he began to redirect himself in the person's direction.

Marshal took note as he walked how rare it was for him to find someone spiritually aware in town. As the bustle of he inner city faded away, he began to feel his heartbeat quicken. It was almost always in some isolated spot that he found them. People like him. People who were hurting, either spiritually or physically. He stopped walking just on the edge of where he could feel the other person's presence beginning to actually thicken into something tangible.The fullbringer gently raised a hand into where he could feel the presence of the other person's soul, letting his own begin to trickle in and intermingle. It was a slow, subtle nudge to let the person know that he was there and that he meant no harm.

"Hello?" the call was soft and lacked urgency. The last thing he wanted to do was scare the person away. Ever so gently he let himself slip further into the space that the person's soul occupied, keeping his own tightly wrapped around himself save for the little bit he used to convey his message. In the time it took for the other person to respond little could be heard aside from the crunching of dry leaves and a thin veil of snow underfoot as he walked. "What's wrong?"

He'd felt them tense up before he'd approached. There was no doubt whoever the person was had a better understanding of sensing others than most. If they hadn't there would have been no chance of them sensing him. He kept his own mental wards up, after all he had no idea who this person was. The most he could tell without prying, he didn't want to go there if he didn't have to, was that the person was a distressed mortal. And he knew better than anyone what a mortal who was in distress was capable of. 

[WC: 403][TWC: 403]

It was there… No, someone was there approaching from the edges of his senses, moving towards him. He’d tried to make himself ready, but as this person approached, he could only feel himself shrink back. He’d been through a ton of shit in his life so far, but this was arguably some of the worst shit he’d been through. He had survived through the attack on Karakura, and escaped relatively unscathed, had been forced to become a quincy… But this? What had happened to Janus’ place…and the lack of any witnesses…and her… Everything was awful…

Oh come on, it’s not that bad!
‘Who are you? What are you?’
I’m in here!
‘Where?’
Find a mirror or something… You’ll see.

He got up and walked slowly over to a nearby pond and looked down into it. He looked a little beat up, nose was a bit black, but he looked…younger, somehow. His face had less of those worry lines he heard women talking about, and even the bags from lack of sleep had disappeared. What on Earth was going on? What had happened? What…

Lemme go ahead and just refresh your memory really quick. There was a sudden burst of memory, and he saw everything. Janus’ bed and breakfast exploding the fiery tornado, and the cero…and at the center of it all…stood Raphael. But…he was wearing the white of the arrancar…and…and had half of a mask… He looked like an arrancar except… He had no hole! What…what did that mean…?

A voice, soft and calm called out to him. Slowly, Raphael took a cautious step forward. Every step was practically fraught with worry. Would this person push him over the edge? N-No… They sounded concerned. And they felt mortal, this wasn’t a Shinigami… This wasn’t an arrancar.

Raphael slowly walked forward, dressed still in the hospital gown, he willed it into a robe, that draped over and around his form. He approached the voice and saw a blonde haired man and stepped forward, a slightly worried grimace on his face.

“Greetings…” Raphael said slowly, still partially delirious. He hadn’t recovered yet, despite how youthful his face looked. “I’ve… Just used up too much energy recently…” he said smiling at the man. “What are you doing out here? I’m don’t often see many people out here on the mountain.”

Words: 396

He'd felt something in the other soul just before the other man had appeared. A feeling of recognition... of remembering. Marshal, obviously, was not the other man and so he could not say what it was the man remembered. Whatever it was, though, the recollection was foggy and brought with it a sense of confusion. The blonde wouldn't say anything about it. Not yet.

"Often?" a fair brow rose toward the sky as the fullbringer carelessly tossed his arm toward the clearly unpopulated woods around them. "You... live here?"

The idea was doubtful but he couldn't help the words from falling from his lips. The other man's hair was as disheveled as his own tended to be, though his was a warm shade of brown and considerably longer. His eyes were hard to make out from the distance between them. Given the hospital gown he, rather unfashionably, sported it was possible he'd been sick. The softer fleshes of the face tended to recede during illness, so that could explain his seeming sunken eyes and hollowed cheeks.

"Which hospital did you come from?" this time the fullbringer more directly motioned toward the gown around the other man's frame. "Whichever it was, I'm going to guess you weren't dismissed."

A sigh pressed itself from his lungs once more. Clouds of his breath rose into the frigid air, his eyes following them as he racked his brain on what to do with the man. In the end, he supposed, the simplest solution was to do what was done to him but he lacked the skills. But, he thought, just because he lacked the skills didn't mean he was without resources to help the man. 

"My name is Marshal." he turned both palms toward the other man, arms outstretched and began to move closer toward him. It wasn't unlike how one would approach a wild animal. "I'm what people in our world would call a fullbringer. Unfortunately I don't have the kind of skills you need to be treated. I do, however, have friends that do have those skills. It's been a while since I've spoken to some of them but I'm sure they'd be happy to help. They're not far from here either. Would you like to meet them?"

He was already working the soul of the shitty disposable phone in his pocket to find a number. Sekai's, Alex's, Angeni's, he didn't care. Someone's phone number that would be able to help. His prayers that they would answer were silent but that didn't make them any less real.

[WC: 424][TWC: 827]

Raphael smirked and chuckled, realizing how what he’d said would’ve confused the man. A raised brow, hands gesturing to the woods. Yep… He’d said the wrong thing again. Given the wrong impression.

“No,” he replied with a grin. “I meant Karakura. I’ve been all over this city many times and never…” Did he know this man? He could’ve sworn he had seen someone like this walking around the Vigilance building. But that couldn’t have been possible, could it? Had he met this man…back in the past? He seemed familiar, yet not familiar.

The hospital comment made him look down and frown in annoyance and with a few seconds of concentration, the gown closed in the back and lengthened turning into an actual robe, color altering to a deep purple.

“Apologies. I was hoping to correct that before someone saw me. And you are correct, I was not dismissed. I left.” He could feel his strength slowly returning to him, even as the memories kept pushing through his head.

There was a brief pause. “Marshal…” The man began explained that he was a fullbring, which made Raphael chuckle a bit and then he mentioned friends that had abilities to help him. He approached the man still rather slowly, trying to regain his posture and put a hand on the man’s phone, pulling it down.

“This is going to sound strange… But were you ever in the organization called Vigilance? You seem a bit familiar…” He watched the man still trying to place his face. “I don’t think that we ever had any formal introductions or affiliation. I don’t know if you’d remember who I am, given how long its been.”

He placed a hand over his chest and bowed, keeping his eyes on the man. “My name is Raphael Laurent. Former acting leader of Vigilance. It seems that in my “leave of absence”, the organization has fallen into disrepair. I had hoped that someone would’ve stepped in to take over when I disappeared…” He cast his gaze at the tower.

“I’ve gotten a bit…weaker in terms of raw capability… But I’m still fairly proficient in my skills at least. And learning some new ones…” He looked back at the man. He touched his face. “I… probably looked a bit older when you saw me last, huh?” And he smiled. “Regardless it’s a pleasure to meet you, for the first time, Marshal.” He extended a hand, a gesture of complete faith and friendship.

Words: 413

A soft chuckle came from the fullbringer at the mention of the organization he'd briefly joined. It felt like a lifetime ago that he'd even heard the name, much less met someone who had also once been a part of it. "I was, briefly, a part of that organization. Not much seemed to happen with it so I let myself drift from it."

"It's a shame that happened to it. The organization I mean. My time as a part of it wasn't long, as I mentioned, but" he followed Raphael's gaze toward the tower "I had had high hopes for it. I'd wanted something to unite those of us here on Earth. Though we haven't done too bad for ourselves in spite of it."

"I can't say I remember you especially, though my mental state while I was there wasn't the best. You may have been in a hallway I'd walked through one time or another but I don't believe your face rings too many bells. My apologies." Marshal let his head slowly swivel back toward the other man, his dark eyes roaming the body of the other man. He wasn't someone the fullbringer would have pegged as a leader of such an organization. He was too small in stature, too unassuming, too normal. Too much like himself. He struggled to remember the former leader's name, the one who'd saved him years ago. Adimus, if he wasn't mistaken, was the man's name. Perhaps he'd seen something in the man before him that he was simply missing. "Those friends I mentioned, I believe the leader of the Vigilance before you was among them if I'm not mistaken, they've helped me more than I thought I'd even needed. As a species, we've done as we always have. We've persisted."

"That business aside, really, how are you feeling? You weren't admitted to the hospital for no reason." he could feel the faintest sensations of Raphael's pain, like a bruise just beginning to form under his own skin. He could press at it, and the other man's soul, or he could simply ask. There was no reason to ruin a potential friendship so soon. Especially one where they'd, apparently, shared some sort of history. "My fullbring isn't of use in terms of healing and I don't really have any other medicinal skill, but I'll do what I can. I didn't mind the hospital gown, there was no need to hide it. If anything, it would have helped me find and address your injuries." 

[WC: 419][TWC: 1,246]

He nodded, while clutching the robe tighter to keep from getting too cold. He could understand leaving Vigilance, not much had happened with it after all. Shortly after the disappearance of everyone but him, Raphael had left. He couldn’t handle the responsibility of leading that organization on his own. The building now sat, half finished and unused, a vestige for their folly. They’d spread too far too quickly, they hadn’t gotten a stable framework on the ground, no inheriting of command… He’d only got it cuz there was no one else around.

He shook his head as the man looked back at him. “I can understand. I’m not exactly the most…memorable.” He smiled. “I always prided myself on being quite forgettable.” Then nodded again, staring wistfully into the air. “Adimus, the Iron Knight…” He chuckled. “He bowed out of the limelight some time ago and never came back. Nor do I believe he has any intent on returning.” Raph frowned though with the end of the man’s sentence. “I suppose. But what is the use of persistence without progress?”

Then came the question that he was expecting but wasn’t looking forward to, the hospital. He smiled watching the man genteelly.

“I changed it because I was getting cold,” he replied with that smile. “It is true that I was admitted to a hospital but it was more due to exhaustion. There was an explosion at an inn up on the hill. It was completely demolished, but I managed to save the proprietor, though not without some damage to her. I was fortunate enough to escape relatively unscathed. A bit of a hit on my ankle, but that’s about it.”

He watched the man. “You don’t need to worry about me, my friend. Not on the front of my health at least. I won’t lie to you, I miss Adimus… I miss Weylin, and Sekai Fujimura… Miss Kohaku as well…” He paused for a moment. “I can’t wait to get back to Frey…” he muttered.

Words: 334

"You and I both pride ourselves on that, then." the corner of his mouth curved gently upward as he smirked. They were too similar. "Sometimes it's nice to be forgotten."

He nodded as the man explained what had happened to Adimus. It would seem he'd missed his own opportunity to get to know the 'Iron Knight' as he was apparently called. In any case the fullbinger was more than grateful for the second lease on life he was given at the man's hands. His nimble fingers folded themselves before him as he listened to the man explain his hospital stay. There was something else. Something missing. It was a feeling he knew well. Guilt, perhaps?

Before he could question Raphael about it, his words caught in his throat at the mention of a name he hadn't heard in months. After Adimus had saved him, Marshal had wondered the world in a broken state of mind. Unable, or unwilling, to deal with what he'd done he let his mind degrade to a state of something near feral. A man living on instincts and in alleyways. Slowly, somehow, he'd made his way back to Karakura. Once he'd come to the city a woman, an angel in his eyes, had saved him. He'd followed her call into the realm of the undead. When he'd come back he hadn't heard anything of her.

"Sekai." the name fell between them a brittle, frail thing. Marshal fixed his gaze on the other man's face, his eyes hard and unmoving. "Do you know what happened to her?"

The name of the quincy now rumored to be queen was stored at the back of his mind, his focus for the time being on the woman who'd saved him. How on Earth could it be that somehow the man before him knew almost all of the same people as himself? How could they have walked the same city for at the very least months on end and yet they'd not run into one another? How could their lives have run so parallel without intersecting until now?

"How did you know her?" his eyes softened some as he braced himself for the news he'd silently already accepted. At the very least, if it was a worst case scenario, he could find out what she meant to the other man. He could find out who she was before him and maybe he could carry on in an attempt to honor what she'd done for him.

[WC: 414][TWC: 1,660]

A soft smile graced Raphael’s lips. It was sometimes better to be forgotten, indeed… But at the same time he was now in the mindset that some people…he wanted them to remember him. But it seemed that this man and Raphael had walked a road so similar in life…he wondered where their paths had been so different. Where had things diverged between the two to make them so similar and yet so different? It didn’t matter now.

The mention of Sekai’s name brought the same reaction that the thought of her had for Raphael. He pondered as to how to answer, but couldn’t think of a good way to do so. It didn’t matter, in the end.

Raphael looked at the man and shrugged. “I don’t know what happened to her, to be honest. I ran into her a few months back, we talked for a little while…and then she was gone like a puff of smoke. As for how I knew her… I’d had an old friend named Koku Munashii, and he’d arranged a meeting of other spiritualists at the time. I met Sekai Fujimura, Yamane Kohaku and Koku himself.”

He sighed thinking about the past. “I wish that I had better news for you. I wish that I could tell you that I knew where she was, or that I knew what had happened to her… It’s a shame, unfortunately, that I don’t. If I did I would visit her more. The last time that I met with her… It had been in the middle of the destroyed district as I was exploring it. She was a little worse for wear when I found her, so I took her to get breakfast…” He shook his head. “I still wonder, even now, if I did what was right. It felt so at the time.”

He chuckled, though in a way it seemed almost cruel. Time had screwed the both of them out of so many things, but perhaps the worst was a friendship that he felt they both desperately needed. People lost from life, friends gone, either dead or simply missing…

Suppressing his fear for now, he stepped towards the man slowly. “I feel almost as if you and I have been cheated, in a way.” He smiled warmly. “You and I are not so different. I feel an almost kinship, and in a way, I’d say that we’re both missing a few things… Though the most important is friendship.” He stopped about a foot and a half away and extended his hand. “There’s something that we share.” He knew that the other man could sense him, but kept his own energy wrapped around him as tightly as the robe he wore.

Words: 456

"I'd first met her when I-" he paused. He didn't owe the man before him anything. It's not that the fullbringer was angry at the man. He'd simply bore his own burden for so long that to finally unload at least some of it felt strange. The part that wanted to keep it to himself was vast, in fact it was almost all of him but some small part of who he was wanted to move forward with life. To improve himself. "-I was broken. She'd found me and healed my mind. Put me back on the right track, you know? She'd finished the job Adimus had started."

"And the last time," it felt like ages ago. His time there was brief and the memories of it were foggy. He remembered a few hollows he'd encountered but mostly he remembered running. There was so much of that in his past. "I'd answered her call to a meeting. I, along with many others, had followed her into the Shinigami's realm.  There was something awful going on that we were supposed to be trying to help stop."

A soft, almost sad smile spread across Marshal's lips in response to Raphael's words. He was right. Perhaps on some level he'd also sensed the parallel between them. He was still guarded though, which was to be expected given what they'd both been through. The fullbringer didn't know exactly what he'd been through but given who he'd met, it was surely more than enough to justify the desire to keep himself at least a little closed off. Even to someone he wanted to be friends with.

"Friendship is just the beginning of what we need." he laughed a little before he reached out and took the other man's hand to shake it. "I think you, mostly, need a place to get cleaned up and some clothes. I've got a place where you can get cleaned up and get some rest, at the very least."

Eyeing the man up now that he was closer, the fullbringer could see that he was a bit taller than himself. Though the robe obscured a lot of the other man's form, Marshal guessed that they had roughly the same build. Raphael certainly didn't seem to weigh more than he did, though if the man did it wasn't likely enough to make the clothes he had in mind ill fitting.

"I even have some clothes you can have to get you out of that." done with the handshake, he gestured with the hand closest to Raph at the robe. "What do you say?"

[WC: 432][TWC: 2,092]

“She has a habit of doing that,” he said, smiling after it.

Or in your case, breaking you, huh? Who would’ve guessed she would’ve become a substitute Shinigami? Then it laughed, a piercing sound that grated at the edge of his nerves.
‘shut up, I don’t need this right now’
No, you simply need to wallow in a bit more self-pity until the point that you think Frey can actually put you together. Or… No?
‘just shut the hell up, seriously, I don’t need this. can’t I just have one day where this shit doesn’t happen?’

Raph thought about what he was doing about that time and then…he suddenly remembered what had been going on about then… He could still recall those days of lucidity when he had shivered in the cold…when he had.

“I stopped getting involved with the Shinigami and their useless world a long time ago. It really isn’t worth the headache anymore.” There was more to that story and the man could ask if he really wanted to know, but Raph didn’t know how…much would go from there.

The man took his hand in response, and was right in his words. They did need more than just basic friendship, there was a companionship that even Raph missed. A kind of kinship. And Raphael laughed, realizing that he couldn’t deny that the man was wrong. He was still covered in a bit of dust and grime.

“Yeah… I won’t deny that I should at least get a shower. Some clothes wouldn’t be bad either but as for rest, I promise that I’m fine. If it isn’t too much trouble, would you like to grab a bite to eat?” He scratched the back of his head, “I…haven’t eaten in quite a few hours and I would really love to grab a bite.”

Yep… You haven’t eaten since even before what I did! You didn’t even have anything nice to eat. Had a nice glass of wine though, didn’t you?
‘i’m serious, i don’t need any of this, not right now and not from you’
Oh, c’mon. Don’t be such a stingy dick!

He shook his head. “Maybe a bit of aspirin if you have it.” Then he smiled. “But if you’re certain that I won’t be imposing, then I wouldn’t mind washing up a bit and getting into some actual clothes.”

Words: 393

"You won't be imposing at all. It's not like I had anything going on today anyway." he returned the other man's smile as he turned to head back toward civilization. As the pair neared the more inhabited buildings, the fullbringer tossed a glance back toward Raphael to make sure he hadn't gotten lost. He could have just felt for the other man's soul to see if he'd been close behind but something about turning to see was almost like a reflex. It almost felt like the situation was more real, more uplifting if he saw the man with his own eyes. Sure enough the other man was right on his heels. The smile deepened, becoming more heartfelt. It made sense the man was so close behind. After all, he'd said he walked the city many times over just as much as Marshal himself had.

Nameless faces that the pair had probably passed countless times separately now passed the fullbringer and spiritualist. They were a pair but they were both equally unremarkable to the passing mortal eyes. Their strength and, while still growing, camaraderie was something one had to fell more than see. It occurred to the blonde as they walked that he didn't even think the two of them could properly explain it to one another even if they tried, much less an outside party.

"Sorry, I know you're hungry but my place was actually a bit closer than any other decent place to eat." his voice broke the relative silence of their walk. The fullbringer hadn't realized he'd been so enthralled in his own thoughts about himself and his companion until the squat, unassuming building that he'd come to call home had come into view. The building was an ugly beige in comparison to the glittering skyscrapers of various colors only a few blocks away, not to mention it was only a mere two stories tall and literally fell in the 'scrapers shadow. All in all the building was as forgettable as the two men approaching it. "This is it. Sorry it's not more to look at."

His steps up to the door were fast paced and the numbers punched in to the lock followed suit. Holding the door open for Raph, he waved the man in and followed in behind him. Once they were inside he gently let himself around his friend, making the first right and walking down to the third door. As he was about half way down the hall, he flexed the soul inside the door's wood and it swung open without so much as a squeak. As he welcomed Raphael into his apartment, it struck Marshal how sparse it was. The apartment was, essentially, a studio. A single kitchen table sat across from the door covered in junk mail but with no chairs, a mattress lay on the floor across the room from it, and the small kitchen was positioned in the corner to the right of the door. A door to the bathroom was briefly hidden until the door to the hall was closed behind them.

"That door there is the bathroom, if you'd like to shower first. The towel hanging up is the one I've been using but I know there's at least one other clean one and a washcloth on the rack above the toilet. Feel free to use those." he gestured toward the door as he made his way to the dresser that sat between the table and his unmade bed. After a bit of searching he produced a dark green t-shirt and a pair of bluejeans that he guessed would fit. Setting those atop the dresser he went about trying to find a pair of matching socks. Finally procuring those, he offered the small pile to Raphael. "I think these should work for you. And, uh, I'm a boxer-brief kinda guy so that's all I really had. They're clean, I swear, I just hope you don't mind too much."

[WC: 660][TWC: 2,762]

Raphael smiled broadly, as he followed the man back towards Karakura proper, and away from the forest, the safe haven that he'd run to. He'd wanted to be away from this whole place. To be certain the two men were an odd pair. In a way it was almost like the blind leading the blind. Both had been in this world of spirits, but there was a lot more to learn even between the two of them.

They passed multitudes, people without a face, people with normal fates and destinies, the faceless masses. They were of no consequence in the end, not to most. The lowest of hollow would try to feed on them, the lowest of shinigami would be dispatched to take care of them. In a way, Raphael felt for them. He oftentimes drew parallels. Unlike the shinigami and the hollows, people were weak and couldn't take nearly as much punishment.

"No, that's quite alright," he said as they approached the man's home. The building was a rather unsightly beige color, but otherwise was fine. It made sense. "As I said, that's more than alright!" He followed through and was made quickly aware as the man did something to the door in front of him, causing it to swing open without a sound. Immediately he was reminded of Alexandria Dewis... Except without the more heavy hollow influence. No that was in Raphael himself now.

It reminded him of samller version of his own apartment, being more of the studio kind. His oldest one had been a standard apartment. Once upon a time, he'd thought about downgrading to something like this, but he hadn't wanted to do something like that at the time. Now though? Yeah, now he was starting to consider it. Well...if he could ever get money enough to get an apartment again...

He accepted the clothes from the man. "I believe you about them being clean. I shouldn't be long."

He turned the water on as hot as he could stand, and let the robe fall away. He felt happy to get into the shower, happy to just let the water rush over him for a few minutes. It felt so good to just let his fears go for a few minutes. He was in for probably ten minutes before he turned off the water, and put on the clothes he'd been given. It made him pretty happy, to get into some new clothes and he exited with a smile.

"They're a perfect fit," he said laughing. "Are you sure that you aren't my long lost brother, twice removed?" he said chuckling.

Words: 436

After Raphael had gone into the bathroom to shower, the fullbringer lowered himself onto his bed. It was still unmade from earlier in the morning when he'd awoken. As he wrapped the far side of the blanket over himself he was struck by a waft of musty air. He wrinkled his nose to himself, thinking it was more than time to wash the comforter but not caring enough about it to free himself from its folds. He almost could have drifted off to sleep listening to the shower run. It reminded him so much of home, of listening to his mother getting ready for work in the wee hours of the morning as he lay in his bed somewhere between awake and asleep. It was in that same lull between worlds that he woke from as he heard the bathroom door open once more. 

"Oh? Good, I'm glad they fit okay." he lifted his head to look at the other man. The corners of his mouth lifted into a small smile as he saw how much better he looked. Much of the wear on Raph seemed to have gone down the drain with the filth washed from his body. The clothes did fit nicely and only further added to the improved image. "And no, it's a nice thought but I've only ever had one sibling."

Pushing himself up from the mattress, he let the blanket fall back onto it in a heap. He'd come back in a few hours and get around to doing the laundry. Maybe. A few steps took him closer to the brunette and in those he could smell the faintest scent of the soap he kept in the shower. It fit the other man, complimenting the natural scent of his body. Up close he could see more clearly how well the jeans had fit him, not much more than a couple of centimeters here or there that could be touched up to make them 'perfect'. "Ready to eat, then?"

Marshal was already reaching for the door as he asked, the deadbolt turning itself as his hand gripped the knob. He let Raphael out first and made sure the door locked itself behind them as they left. Another couple had been leaving their apartment down the hall, so the pair had to wait for a moment before they could pass and get to the building's front door.

"What are you hungry for, Raphael? There are a couple of places close by that I can think of going to but none of them really sound all that appetizing to me. So it's your choice, I can find something anywhere we go." the blonde pulled up his hood and shoved his hands in the large pouch pocket in the front of his hoodie while he waited for his friend to make a decision. 

[WC: 474][TWC: 3,236]