AWAKE

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The bakery remained quiet for a moment, save an unusual commotion in the back, past the kitchen. Hidane was almost inclined to go investigate, but figured it would be best to wait here. When he’d entered he’d wondered if the place had still belonged to Caesar, but along with the commotion came a rush of Reiatsu from the back room, a mix of Shinigami and Hollow… strangely leaning towards the Hollow side, much as his own had been recently. He wondered… perhaps his condition wasn’t entirely unique? He couldn’t say he’d ever heard of someone in his situation before, but if he’d come to this point, it couldn’t be entirely impossible for others to as well, right? And so it seemed to be the case… though, if Cae’s situation was anything like his own, it was likely as not that he wouldn’t want to talk about it. The sudden burst of Reiatsu only reinforced this idea; so, whatever happened, he would keep quiet about it. But still, even with the Reiatsu and commotion, nothing seemed to happen.

“Hel~”

Suddenly the door to the back room, beyond the kitchen, burst open, and the white-haired Visored he’d once been fairly familiar with came rushing out, his gun already trailed on Hidane. The black-haired Visored took a step back, holding his arms up, showing no hostility. Not exactly the greeting he’d expected, but a fair one, considering Hidane hadn’t been doing much to hide his own Reiatsu, also taken over considerably by the Hollow portion.

“It’s been quite some time, Caesar,” Hidane said, his tone light and friendly, “though if you ask me this greeting seems a little harsh.” He tried to make sure his tone suggested that he didn’t really take offense, before lowering his hands and approaching the counter casually. “It’s been ages since I’ve been here, hasn’t it? I hope that time’s been better to you than it has been for me.” For the first time in the past day or two, he thought about it; the meeting that had ultimately resulted in the Alliance breaking up… he couldn’t remember how exactly the meeting had gone, but he knew he’d left on bad terms with several people there, and possibly others had as well. He hadn’t seen any of them since then, until Seran the past days, and now Caesar. He remembered Tiru’s death, and Ryogi losing her memory, and when Kurosenkou and Enadih fused, the three events coming together all at once to begin the last two decades of guilt and fear that Hidane had experienced.

But those times were behind him now. Things were beginning to look like they were not so bad as he’d imagined, and now he only sought to find closure where there was none.

“If only I couldn’t say the same,” Hidane replied to Caesar’s comment on a recent run-in with an envoy from Soul Society, relaxing as his fellow Visored put the gun away and seemed to settle back into a more relaxed attitude. He’d had a run-in with the head of the Kido Corps himself only days ago, and had confronted her in a… less than satisfactory state. Perhaps things would’ve gone different if he hadn’t been drunk, or hadn’t been so lost in his own thoughts and despair. But that was a thing of the past; if she yet lived, he would have to apologize someday, should they ever meet again, with a level head. “I had a bit of a… confrontation… with a strong member of the Kido Corps a few days ago myself.” He preferred leaving out the fact that it had only escalated as far as it had due to his drunken rage; he wondered if he’d heard of any damages. He was never quite sure how effective the Soul Society’s recovery methods were in covering up Hollow-related damages.

“But enough of that for now, let’s not dwell on such dark thoughts just yet. It’s been too long since I’ve had one of your croissants. And water would be fine, I’ve been living on alcohol for the past decade or two and could use a change of pace.” He sat at the counter, memories flooding back of the first time he’d come here; if he recalled correctly, night had just begun to set on the town that time as well, though that time there had been some festival going on in this neighborhood. He’d followed the scent that time as well, not expecting to find a fellow Visored here, but they’d identified each other well enough. At the time he’d been wandering, trying to gather like-minded individuals into his coalition of sorts; Furisubeta, had it been called? It had hardly gotten off the ground before things fell apart. He remembered that part clearly, anyway.

He would wait at the counter, not initiating any conversation but open to it; he was still recovering from his experiences the last few days, and hadn’t been entirely sure he’d even still find Caesar here once he’d remembered this place. He was glad that he had. Caesar had been one of the especially like-minded members of his fledgling group, so it would be a nice contrast to speak with him after having left Seran’s company… or should it be called custody? Once the croissants were ready and presented, he would grab one and take a bite, just as last time, then finally continue.

“I hope things have been better off for you in the time since we last spoke than they have for me,” he said calmly, whereas even beginning to talk about what happened two decades ago would set him over the edge only a week ago. “How have you been?”

For a moment the Visored had thought he’d genuinely offended his old friend, and would’ve shrunk back from the feigned lash back if he were not still resigned to any fortune, good or bad, that fate decided to throw at him this day. It was a new dawn, and whether the path that lay before him was one to lift or sink his spirits in the end, he would take it as it came. But it only took a moment to be shown that Caesar wasn’t actually upset, other than perhaps at underestimating his hospitality. The fellow Visored quickly disappeared back into the kitchen to get the food and drink ready, and it wasn’t until he disappeared from the front room that Hidane’s shoulders slumped as he relaxed again, a mild grin crossing his face. It had been a while since he’d been in the company of another of his kind, and particularly someone he had so much in common with. It was… a pleasant experience, much more so than being bound to one of Seran’s prison slabs, as interesting as part of that experience had been.

When Cae returned with the plate of croissants and tea, Hidane wasted no time in taking a bite out of one. It wasn’t until the plate was in front of him that he realized how incredibly hungry he was, having not been spared anything to eat or drink for at least two days. He sipped down some of the hot tea and then set the cup and croissant down on the plate and took a deep breath. While he’d been indulging himself, he’d barely heard Cae talking of his life as of late, though had caught a word here and there and gotten the gist of it; he wondered how long it had been since he’d gone on a patrol himself? Well, one where he hadn’t gotten drunk first and ended up causing more trouble than he prevented.

But those days were gone now. Among other things, he doubted he would be touching alcohol again any time soon. Memories flooded back of a time when’d he’d blown out the windows of a bar in one of the neighboring towns after having a particularly bad experience in Hueco Mundo. Of course, nobody had ever figured out quite what had happened, other than him. But it still shamed him to think of it.

He shook his head, as if it would clear his mind of thinking of times like those once more. As he did so, Caesar had pulled a chair up to the counter, and had uncovered his left arm, revealing it to be wholly Hollowfied. It gave off an sinister aura, much as he’d felt from himself not long ago. So it seemed that perhaps Cae had, in fact, gone through a similar ordeal to Hidane, though the onyx-haired Visored had no permanent physical markings to show for it… not yet, at least. He wondered if perhaps Kurosenkou was not done with him in that regard, after all. He had considered not bringing it up, but if Caesar was making a point of uncovering the arm, he figured it probably wasn’t that far out of line to speak of it. But before he could, Cae spoke up once more, this time recalling Theocelese, a mutual acquaintance and Arrancar. Hidane had almost forgotten that the fellow Visored had been part of that group, before it had fallen apart.

“I haven’t seen or heard from Theo since the last time we were all gathered in Las Noches,” Hidane said almost mournfully. It was just another open-ended part of his past that he’d never gotten closure for, one of very few it seemed now. “It seems a lifetime ago now. I remember there being some efforts to organize a search for him… but as I recall, that never got very far off the ground.” Splitting off from that group, and Theocelese’s disappearance, had seemingly been the spark that had ignited a raging inferno of things going wrong in Hidane’s life, or so he’d thought at least. “I actually had a run-in with Seran, however, just over the past few days. I hadn’t exactly left on good terms with him before, though, so I didn’t bother to ask him anything of it.” The Mod Soul’s methods had always disconcerted the Visored, though he’d never bothered to voice his opinion of it directly before. Perhaps that day would come soon, but he was glad he hadn’t made a scene while being imprisoned at least.

He took another bite of the croissant, letting the luscious chocolate melt in his mouth before swallowing and taking another sip of the tea. It was like heaven, and was exactly as he’d remembered it.

“I’ve been… here, really. Around this town, as always. Laying low, to the best of my ability.” He paused for a moment. “I haven’t been particularly well. After Theo disappeared, things kept going wrong for me for a while. Friends and allies disappearing or dying, and… well, let’s just say my Hollowfication has become a bit more… complicated.” He nodded his head towards Cae’s Hollowfied arm. “It would seem you probably understand that part better than most would.” He decided to let out more than he’d intended coming here, but it felt good to get it off his chest to someone he felt he could actually trust. “At first, I didn’t take it well at all. I was angry, and I dealt with it by drinking and seeking out Hollow to kill. That went on for a good while, until my encounter with the Kidoshu Shinigami and Seran. Things got out of hand, and… I’m just glad they were there to stop me. That experience really got me back into my own head, and I’ve taken steps towards taking control over my Hollow’s powers once again. It isn’t perfect, but it’s far better than it’s been in a long time.” He let out a deep sigh, having said his piece.

“Just when it seems we have everything under control, is when everything seems to fall apart, eh?” He took another sip of the tea. “All that’s left for us to do is push forward and do what we can to take control of our lives once again.”

“I have no doubt about that.” Hidane said after moving the cup of tea from his mouth from another sip. He was certain… or rather, almost certain… that Theo was still alive somewhere. He had to be. He was one of, if not the single strongest person he’d ever met. He’d confronted the Arrancar that had stolen his Zanpakuto once and had damn near made the man shit his pants, throwing around a level of power that Hidane was sure he still had yet to achieve himself, despite all of his hard work and training. “I just wonder where he ended up going, or what has become of him.” It had been quite some time since that meeting; to his knowledge, nobody had ever gotten an explanation of where he’d gone or why. For all he knew, maybe he’d been overtaken by his Hollow nature and was completely different now. Perhaps the same would one day happen to him now; perhaps it was already starting to happen to Cae.

He threw such negative thoughts out of his head and took another bite out of one of the croissants.

The night was stirring outside now, a hush fallen over the streets as people walked by occasionally. The night air was cold but it was warm and cozy in the bakery nonetheless. Hidane hadn’t even noticed that he’d turned the sign to close the place. He looked around, taking in the familiar place in full. It was nice, being back here. He turned back to the plate before him as Cae continued to talk, suggesting a vacation… and adventure of sorts, to find Theo, or just in general.

“That… actually sounds great. I could use a pick-me-up, and what better way than to escape the every-day routine of things, eh?” He took a long sip of the tea, setting the empty cup down and eyeing the croissants. He thought about the adventure of sorts; things seemed to be slowly falling back into place, and that could be the last piece he needed; to finally find out what happened, and to see what had become of the Arrancar that had opened his eyes to the world as it was, and had lead him to the path he had chosen to lead, whether Theo was aware of it or not. “When do you suggest we go? I’ve got nothing but free time.”

He picked up another croissant and took a large bite out of it. Even while talking about something so exciting, and so important, it still felt like his stomach was empty and these croissants were too good to resist.

“Perhaps we’ll finally get some answers.”

So, that was it. It was settled then. Hidane’s mind raced, he was getting rather excited even just at the thought of this adventure. He’d been wanting to find some way to break out of the regular routine, before everything had gone to shit, but had never quite thought of how. How his life was in the world of the living had simply been all he’d known how to do. But times had changed; in the two decades he’d been letting his losses overtake him, he’d abandoned his double life as a “human”. He was pretty sure he’d faked his living death in some car crash caused by a Hollow some twelve years back, and had never been back to the convenience store he’d worked at since. That part of his life was behind him, for better or worse; now he could focus on moving forward once more.

However, the movement wouldn’t come as soon as he had hoped. Of course, Caesar had the bakery to worry about, he would need time to prepare for a trip like this. All Hidane had to worry about was a small apartment and letting the old man in charge know he’d be gone for a while. Maybe he would even bring Dane-san along for the trip, though he wasn’t sure whether it would be dangerous or not.

“And all I need are these.” Hidane said casually, gesturing towards the two Zanpakuto sheathed at his sides, one being Kurosenkou and the other being a now Asauchi he’d picked up off of a rather troublesome Shinigami long ago. Part of him regretted the incident, but he couldn’t say the guy hadn’t had it coming. “The end of the week sounds fine. Though I don’t have as much to take care of as you might, I should probably sort a few things out myself before we go.” He would let the old man know so he wouldn’t assume he was killed for some time yet; he would visit the bar, though not to drink, in order to let the rogue working there that he’d befriended know he was alright after the incident that had happened mere days ago; other than that, he had little to do, though he already had a perfectly good idea for what to do during that time.

Kurosenkou said they needed to talk? Then they would talk. This confrontation was two decades in the making, and he’d been putting it off far too long. He needed to do it now, before the Hollow’s hold on him became even worse.

“Thanks,” he said simply when Cae told him he didn’t need to hold back with the croissants. The hunger he felt came through in full now, and he dug in. In only moments the remains were gone. He felt full, for the first time in ages. It felt good. “As always, they were spectacular. I really should come here more often.” Even before the long years he’d spent avoiding all traces of his past, he hadn’t visited this place near as often as he felt he should’ve. But that was in the past now. “It certainly brings back good memories, which is better than my encounter with Seran did.”

Time seemed to have been getting out of hand, but at least this time it wasn’t due to an alcohol-induced haze. When Hidane glanced back to the windows of the bakery, it was clear that the sun had long set behind the horizon and the street lights were on. He spotted someone walking across the street and turned back, his hand resting on the lump that was his stomach after shoving so many sweets down his throat. It was nice, settling back into life like this. He almost felt… human, again… which was a bittersweet thought, considering how much he had come to loath how much he had settled into a mostly mundane, human life. He doubted he would wear his Gigai again any time soon, except maybe to make contact with some particularly interesting humans, should he find any, more comfortable.

Just as soon as he’d begun thinking about moving forward again, he could feel the Hollow inside pressing forward. He clenched his fist, fighting the darkness down. He couldn’t feel Kurosenkou fighting back with him, like she once had. Was she gone now, too? No… he thought back to his visit to his inner world, the only part of the incident a few days ago that he could remember. He had seen Kurosenkou, though in a new form. She was there, just… something was different. He had to find out what.

“On second thought, there is one rather… important matter I should settle before our little trip this weekend,” Hidane said, standing, but not letting his tone tell that he was not sure he would come out of this matter the same, or at all. “It may take some time, so I should probably go take care of it as soon as possible.” Every fiber of his being seemed to throb and ache; it was like the Hollow was egging him on to just come reignite their conflict at that very moment.

But this was a fight they would have on Hidane’s terms. This time, he would be calling the shots.

“It was good seeing you again, Caesar,” Hidane said, walking towards the door and looking back, waving casually. “See you then.” He opened the door, stepping out into the cold air of the night, and began walking the streets, winding through the labyrinth of a town towards the abandoned warehouse once occupied by the exiled Visored, the only place he could think of where it might actually be safe to do what he needed to do.