Needful Things [Yaksha/Seran]

As the strange reptilian hollow tested the front door of the Red Dog Pawn Shop, a small black and purple butterfly quietly observed. The small creature was perched on a bush, confined within one of the raised garden boxes separating the sidewalk from the street. As the hollow rounded the corner, the tiny insect fluttered into the air and followed, its compound eye keeping careful watch on the would be burglar.

Inside the shop, in the back behind the counter sat Seran, lazily staring at the ceiling from his worn out recliner. When he had originally opened the shop it had been little more then a front, but he had to admit that some of the junk the humans brought in (mainly his chair) was quite wonderful. They were weak, clueless, and often rude, but they had perfected relaxation down to damn near and art form, and Seran approved. His eyes flickered as he began to slip back into meditation.

Seran. Possible Intruder Detected.

Huh?

Monitor's voice in his head roused the mod soul for a moment, one eye opening to scan the empty room around him. He saw nothing, and his sensory field was also unperturbed. His eye closed as he waited for the biological computer to speak again, yet there was no followup.

Should I take your lack of urgency to mean its not a threat?

Affirmative. Subject Identified: Unclassified Hollow. Probability Of Danger Minimal.

So its just wandering around nearby? or.....

Negative. Attempt Made To Access Front Door. Countermeasures Prevent Accidental Hollow Access. Subject Now Appears To Be Examining Building For Additional Access Point.

Seran raised an eyebrow at the mention of a hollow trying to open the front door.

It tried to open the door..... and then gave up when it realized it was locked?

Affirmative.

Seran's eyes opened and he sat up. Of things capable of arousing his suspicions, a hollow attempting to use a door knob and then not attempting to break the door down was fairly high on the list.

Show me.

He closed one eye, and suddenly he was fluttering just above the store, looking down at strange, reptilian creature that was examining the small hatch that led to the shop's sewer system. It displayed intelligence beyond what Seran had come to expect from the random unclassified hollows that were common to Karakura Town, slowly and carefully unlocking and opening the hatch like a practiced burglar. What was it doing exactly? That hatch was barely large enough for a large rat and..... His thought trailed off as the hollower began to force its arms into the pipe, the its head, and the.....

What the hell..........

Seran's vision returned to his body, and he sat for a moment in stunned silence. A few moments later a wet slap echoed out from across the room; like someone had dropped numerous soaked towels on the bathroom floor. Seran once again raised his eyebrow as the handle on the door to the bathroom rattled and then twisted around, opening into the store.

"Ever heard the one about sewer gators?"

Intruder Appears To Have Breached Defenses.

"Huh........."

From his seat Seran stretched out both and hands and brought them together. Two halves a sphere would materialize on either side of the hollow and quickly close, trapping it within a transparent ball of energy. With his hand Seran guided the ball slowly across the room, stopping it a couple meters away to get a better look at the creature that had so easily slunk its way inside.

SPOILER: Click to show

Name: Quarantine Sphere
Class: Reiryoku
Tier: V-VII
Type: Binding
Range: Medium
Description: Seran extends both hands perpendicular to one another in the direction of the chosen target, sending reiryoku above and below them at the speed of Cero, creating two halves of a hollow sphere. The hands are then closed together and the fingers interlocked, causing the two halves of the sphere to close around the target and lock. The victim is then trapped within the barrier sphere and is incapable of interacting with anything outside of the sphere until the technique is released by Seran or broken by force (though they can speak to those outside the sphere if Seran allows it), and Seran can also control the sphere's movement. This technique’s cooldown depends on tier used. This technique can last indefinitely (until broken) so long as Seran focuses on maintaining it, but if he chooses to do so he cannot use other activated reiryoku, or release techniques (unless specifically designed to be used with Quarantine sphere) and cannot step. He also must have one of his hands devoted to maintaining the technique (pointed in the general direction of the sphere and not used for other actions like blocking).

"I mean, I'm certain it must be quite hard on you, having to acknowledge your defenses were so easily bypassed."

He was a cheeky individual that that much was clear. But he did have a point, the sewer line was one place Seran had neglected necessary defensive measures, mainly because he had completely forgotten it existed. He had half a mind to just dispose of this creature now, but the mention of "next meeting" intrigued him slightly. He maintained the barrier for the moment, seeing no reason to release the hollow as of yet.

"It's quite unusual for a hollow to be so eloquent. But apparently you neglected the manners section of normal human interaction, otherwise you would've just knocked."

Seran stood, and the orb slowly lowered to the ground, setting the two of them at opposite sides of the counter. Seran rested his free arm on the glass surface, the other pointing towards the orb in order to maintain it. He yawned slightly, despite the situation, he had just awoken from his nap a minute or so ago.

"You've proven your point, so how about you tell me what exactly you came here for. I assume it wasn't just to break into my store and then brag about it."

Seran almost rolled his eyes at the hollow's speech, almost laughing at the absurdity of such a spiel coming from the mouth of a creature who had, less then a minute previous, clambered it's way out of his toilet. He couldn't tell if Yaksha was just mindbogglingly overconfident, or just didn't understand his situation; trapped here in a bubble by a being made for the sole purpose of wiping out beings such as himself. Seran pushed the programmed feelings of dislike to the back of his mind as he had done so many times before. While not overjoyed at the situation, a customer was a customer, and this one's particular skills could certainly be useful in the future.

"Spare me your long winded explanation of the world's workings. We aren't well enough acquainted to discuss such things."

With a flick of his hand Seran dismissed the technique surrounding the hollow, it was clear enough he presented no threat at present. He paused, giving the reptilian another once over now that the orb no longer separated them.

"I suppose its fair to assume that you don't have anything of material value to pay with, or at least nothing that I would be interested in. But for someone with abilities like your I can think of other payment methods. So how about it? A contract of services in exchange for whatever it is you want and more. Stick around and you'll find I take good care of my people."

“Good to hear. Follow me and we’ll get you sorted.”

Seran waved his hand, and the brick the made up the wall behind him rippled then faded, revealing a set of black doors similar to an elevator. Then slid silently open, and he stepped inside, waiting a moment for the hollow to join him. The room was obviously storage, as could easily be determined by a number of items with identical copies stored neatly on the shelves and countertop. The room looked to be made mostly of stainless steel, and had the feeling of a military installation. A far cry from the slightly rundown pawnshop in which it was concealed. In the right back corner a number of hangers held what looked to be plain, black jumpsuits, in the other a large box filled with metallic black orbs. The counter on the right held a number of basic weapons, and the shelving opposite held several smartphones and a glass terrarium containing several black butterflies.

“There are a number of things here that I give to everyone that works for me. Things to make getting in contact easier, and for personal protection and transportation. But you also wanted something specific, so tell me the details before I let you take what you want from here.”

Seran glanced down at the bleeding stump of a arm. He had initially assumed the gesture to be one of minimal significance, however it seemed Yaksha was not one capable of regeneration at his current evolutionary state. Perhaps this creature would prove more useful than he had initially assumed, best to gain control of him now lest that loyalty be given to someone else. He listened as the hollow spoke, the end of his speech cutting somewhat deep, though Seran remained stoic.

The hollow that wished to be human. How poetic.

“Let me see that.”

He motioned towards the severed hand, taking it gingerly from its owner. He looked it over, testing the joints of the clawed fingers. He spoke again, eyes occupied by the mangled flesh.

“A body will be easy enough. Several associates of mine use a gigai that I made specifically for hollows and arrancar.”

His thought drifted away slightly, his mind occupied with the limb in his hand.

“Pain, it seems, often leads to opportunity if the initiative is taken.”

Black, metallic tendrils extended from Seran’s hand, flowing into the mangled flesh at the end Yaksha’s severed hand. The hand twitched, the fingers moving and stretching as though they were being flexed after falling asleep. Then the movement stopped, and black veins began to appear on the scaly surface of the skin, converting the flesh to the same metallic hue as the material that flowed from his fingertips.

“But the vessel cannot be entered as you are. Damage is transferred between the bodies. This may cause some discomfort.”

The severed hand jumped from Seran’s hand as though on cue, darting back to the stump it had previously occupied. It positioned itself, and numerous black threads jumped to the still dripping gore, attaching to it and cause the same black veins that had overtaken the hand to climb up the hollow’s arm, changing it to the same color as the hand all the way to the elbow. Seran stepped forward and touched the arm near the wrist. His energy flowed into the black iron, connecting the tissue to complete the attachment of the new limb. Once he was finished he stepped back to admire his handy work.

“Try moving your fingers.”