A Girl's Time in Naruki [OPEN, ND/NM]

Gopher duty... it was the one title that made Mitsuoki raise an eyebrow when he originally heard it, half a decade ago. He had pictured them trying to force him into a rodent costume, but that imagery was quickly corrected. The title for the task meant that the individual's job was to go and get things, or 'Go 'fer something' as Haruka had explained to him.

Today, he was told that his duty would be to go to the world of the living and venture to their markets to obtain replacement sheets. The fact that his combat talents were being wasted on gathering a luxury that could easily be obtained from squad four had made Mitsuoki's eyebrow twitch in frustration, even though his facial expression remained neutral. There was a short argument between himself and his superior that ended in them agreeing to let Mitsuoki purchase one item for himself. In exchange for that, he had to agree to tell no one of this impromptu mission.

Wearing his gigai so he could blend in with the humans, Mitsuoki had left Urahara's shop with a freshly loaded soul candy pack and some of the money that humans used. He looked at the slips of paper apathetically before gently tucking them inside one of the pockets of his coat. He didn't understand why humans used paper money, but he figured that there would have to be some sort of reason for it that was better than 'just because.'

Mitsuoki had spent a matter of time getting from Karakura to Naruki, and then continued wandering aimlessly for a deal of time further. He looked at the touch screen phone in his hand with his eyebrow twitching in frustration. "These infernal devices can sense the weakest spirit energy signatures, but cannot provide an adequate map of the area? Squad twelve has spent far too much time giving themselves horns, and not enough time doing their jobs." he said in a hushed, but clearly aggravated tone whilst walking forward.

He had turned the corner just in time to see a human walking out of a rift in space, something that one didn't often get to say about humans. Mitsuoki had elected to pretend he hadn't seen it at all and noted that she seemed to be slightly distracted, possibly in deeper thought. He walked up to her wearing a dark blue coat with a white shirt underneath. The overcoat had gold buttons and trimming at the collar, and the sleeves were rolled up to around the middle of his forearm. His pants and tie were the same color as his shirt. His hair was tied up in a pony tail at the back with his bangs covering the contours of his face. Around his neck was a string with a small, gold, heart shaped locket with an aquamarine heart in the middle, attached to it. His eyes were somewhat cold and aloof, but at the same time held the distinct arrogance and elegance that the nobles of the soul society had. It was the source of a great deal of frustration for him.

Mitsuoki cupped his hand over his mouth and cleared his throat to get her attention before saying "Excuse me, miss." he said before giving a respectful bow "I apologize for disturbing you when you were clearly in the midst of thinking about something. I am somewhat lost and was wondering if by chance you may be able to assist me? I was asked by some colleagues to get some sheets; but..." He looked around at the giant school and lack of places to buy things. "... I seem to be somewhere that is certainly not the shopping district." Despite his words implying a degree of embarrassment, Mitsuoki's tone had lacked any traces of it. Much like his eyes, the way he spoke matched the nobles as well. No matter the situation, his tone was calm, level, and loud enough to be heard without being overpowering.

He said "I thank you, miss. I would be honored to accompany you." Mitsuoki watched the human approached the fence and comment that she was heading there at the moment before climbing it. When she turned around to descend the fence, Mitsuoki was unable to not notice, or look away from, her day's choice of underwear color. His eyes physically remained locked on where Shiro's were supposed to be, but his peripherals weren't so honest. He had seen other men viewing those particular things. When they were caught, or if they dared to comment on such a thing, they were normally sent flying with supernatural strength. It was more amusing when the female who hit them was particularly small and meak looking. From that, he gathered that it was indecent to look at it; but, something was preventing him from looking away from it. When the angle of viewing was no longer conducive to seeing that particular item, he was able to stop thinking about it.

Once she came down, she began straightening her skirt that had recently failed at the only task it was created to perform, while commenting on Mitsuoki's physicality. She had asked if he was 'physical' which was indeed a strange question to ask a normal human, and Mitsuoki was about as much a fool as he was a normal human. She knew about the soul reapers, and had likely sensed Urahara's residual spirit pressure on him. His Gigai had lowered his signature considerably, and he was actively trying to lower his spirit pressure to prevent attracting any hollows that may be nearby. He didn't even skip a beat, it was a premeditated response that was prepared out of expectation of this exact thing... especially after meeting the fullbringer. "Quite a curious question, miss. Were I not physical, I would not exist at all." he said. Again, he was calm, with a level and unchanging tone that had nothing but cold arrogance in it. Mitsuoki's only hope was that she didn't outright expose him, and that she didn't confuse his tone for being judgemental.

Mitsuoki used his hand to gesture to the path ahead, saying "I shall follow your lead." He paused and then added "By the way, I am Kumagai, Mitsuoki. You may address me by my first name, please." If Shiro had introduced herself, Mitsuoki would give a respectful bow and say "Well met." It was an older term that was the same as saying 'It's good to meet you' in modern speech, but it was shorter, which Mitsuoki preferred.

Mitsuoki had let the name sink in and properly stick, Shiro Inazuma. Shiro was the word for white, and Inazuma was, to the best of his knowledge, a name that roughly translated to Flash of Lightning. It was a good name. Mitsuoki's translated roughly to "Light Bear's Valley" which, to him, made absolutely no sense.

After their introductions, Shiro had said that having a physical body wasn't all that there was to existence. It was another push at the fact that Mitsuoki was actually the soul of a supernatural samurai stuffed in a false body with fully working organs, made by the most brilliant evil mastermind to ever set foot in the seireitei, mister Urahara 'hat and clogs' Kisuke. "If one is not physically present, then how would they exist?" Mitsuoki had asked as a reply. Some would think it insulting for him to fake ignorance like that, but, he didn't want to drag humans into a conflict that isn't their own. He believed that since they were alive, their place in the world was enjoying that time while they could. Soul Reapers were already dead, so it was their place to fight the other things that were also dead. The two of them talking at all was a slight, but acceptable, breach of his belief that the two should remain separate at all times.

Shiro had asked what kinds of sheets the two were looking for, which had reminded Mitsuoki that it wasn't specified, which gave him a completely out of character, and devilish idea. In his mind, he heard Akatsuki tell him to lace their sheets with acid. Tasogare had told him to get the most opulent sheets he could afford and forego getting something for himself. Both were valid options, but not quite what Mitsuoki had in mind. "Well, my colleagues were quite adamant about keeping this under the radar... So I would assume that they did something deplorable to their last set, since they do not wish to put in a formal request and explain to our supervisor what happened to the last. They also failed to specify the type of sheets they wish for me to return with... No, it would be cruel for me to assume they were circumventing the system for nefarious purposes. Do you know somewhere I can find something cute, Shiro? I am sure that their secrecy is related to having alternative preferences to the standard white, and they would much rather avoid the formal request for fear of having their sexual preferences called into question. Something with frills, perhaps?" Mitsuoki said, originally thinking out loud, but quickly transitioning to actually answering the question.

Mitsuoki had been looking at Shiro's eyes the entire time, even when she was in front him, before, but he did notice the phone from his peripherals. It seemed that they were going to get some clothes for her, as well. She had mentioned that she was going to do some shopping, herself; so, it didn't come as much of a surprise. "It would seem that your phone is more up to date than mine, Shiro. My map is severely dated and getting it updated requires replacing this overpriced, infernal device altogether." he said and held up his phone, which looked like a modern phone instead of being the old flip phones that the soul society used to dish out, but had the exact same limitations. All of the modern look, none of the modern utility... lovely. The screen looked like your average map, just missing a few streets. It also showed no signs of being a spirit pressure detector, but, if Shiro could sense it, was caked in spiritual energy from constant use. Even when complaining about the device and insulting it, his voice lacked the corresponding emotions to give it true weight.

Shiro's response was expected and true, but at the same time, he hadn't expected to come across someone who was spiritually aware that would also press him to say what they already knew. "I will applaud you for believing in something, but there is no scientific or medicinal evidence to support the existence of such a thing in this world. So I cannot say that I agree, based on that." he said. It wasn't a lie at all. There really was no evidence in the world of the living to support the existence of a soul. The human mind had no areas reserved for such a thing, and no tools could measure it. As far as science went, the soul was nonexistent. As far as medicinal science went, it was a placebo.

She had mentioned that she knew where she could get something frilly for Mitsuoki's fellow kidosho members, which made him smile on the inside at the thought of them spending the rest of their time in shame for having such a thing on their bed. Of course, he remained straight faced on the outside. She had mentioned that she could buy him a new phone, using a very odd word 'too' as if to imply she were already getting him something. He didn't pay it any mind since he doubted she actually said it on purpose. The two of them had just met, so exchanging gifts was completely absurd. "That won't be necessary. I'll just have a talk with the manufacturer about an upgrade." he said.

They had arrived at a reasonably sized store with a great deal of clothes and Shiro had said that she wanted to get some different apparel. "Please, take your time. I have no reason to rush." he replied. His original plan was to wait outside, but he was signaled to enter with her, which he followed behind. His eye caught the nodding gesture as well as a thumbs up from the old man in the shop, a thing that he hadn't fully understood and didn't think about for long. The old woman had whispered to her other half "She seems like she'd go for his type" which had also gone entirely over Mitsuoki's head. In his head, he heard the sound of Akatsuki saying "Come to think of it, that human's helping you... You should reward her, Mitsy!" the name had made Mitsuoki's eyebrow twitch in frustration. "Indeed. You were allowed to purchase something for yourself. You should use it on her." Tasogare commented. It was by far the least eccentric thing he'd ever recommended, right up until he said "Buy her an island. She will forever be your ally, afterwards." If not for that, it would be completely normal. "No, no, Taso-dummy! Give her a one-off! Next time you see her, you won't kill her!" Mitsuoki could only mentally reply 'I'm not killing anyone!' while forcing his expression to remain unchanged.

His eyes had stopped on something on the far side of store that gave him an idea. Mitsuoki walked away from Shiro and over to a white coat with a crimson scarf that looked quite nice. Nearby, he had seen several white berets, and had grabbed one. He had quickly pinged his spiritual pressure just enough to get a more accurate reading on her dimensions, so she would feel a wave of negative emotions for a second before it vanished, if she could sense his spiritual pressure at all. Mitsuoki had grabbed the only one they had left, which conveniently was Shiro's size, and took it to the cashier and placing a finger over his lips to signal her to keep quiet about it. The cashier had remembered who he walked in with and gave him a sly wink, acknowledging that she won't tell.

To make things look more normal, the outfit was placed inside a briefcase that matched Mitsuoki's current attire. If Shiro had asked about it, Mitsuoki would simply say he needed one and he liked the way the briefcase looked. After paying for it, he quickly tried looking for Shiro but realized that the aisles were taller than she was. It took him a few moments to find her, meanwhile he had taken time to grab a black dress with a hat that had a black ribbon around the top that he thought looked nice. When he did find her, he had said "Shiro." to get her attention. "I found this outfit. Among many others here, I believe it would look good on you." while holding them towards her.

Mitsuoki looked at the pile of garments in Shiro's hands and contemplated the potential consequences of adding another set of clothes. The thought of her tipping and falling had quickly come and gone, so he said "I will simply pass them to you over the curtain." She was mostly hidden behind the existing pile of clothes and with her undeniably small frame he couldn't bring himself to just chuck the other pieces on. Shiro had said that she had enough clothes to begin trying them and Mitsuoki had taken a moment to eye the variety of colors and styles, and reply with a very simple "Indeed." while hiding the level of surprise he was feeling. He knew the world of the living had a great deal more variety in attire than the soul society, but in a single store, he had seen more than five times that variety. It really brought things into perspective for him. He followed her to the changing rooms and let her put the pile down before giving her the dress and hat.

Several hours had passed with Mitsuoki confirming that each outfit was good. None were particularly revealing or skimpy, and they all matched. When she finally got to the dress and hat, Mitsuoki had no reaction. He just stared and blinked a couple times while his brain tried to recalculate. Nothing... Mitsuoki.exe has stopped responding, loading reboot sequence. One of the store workers had come by to find out why the edgy guy was sitting on a stool, staring. She peeked into the booth and went silent for a few seconds before slowly pulling her phone up and taking a picture. "I'm keeping this." she said before walking away. Reboot sequence complete, Mitsuoki.exe back online. "It looks good." Mitsuoki had said before getting up, since that was the last article of clothing to approve.

While in line, Mitsuoki had picked up a nearby magazine and began flipping through it. The piece of lingerie had passed the chashier, who was the same girl who took the picture, and she looked at Shiro with a raised eyebrow. Her eyes quickly darted to Mitsuoki as if implying something, though, she said nothing. Mitsuoki continued looking at the various cooking recipes in the book. The cashier would wink before scanning the item and continuing with the rest of Shiro's things. "Shiro, let me carry these. Aside from having more arm space, you also have the map... and I have more arm space." he mentioned the arm space a second time since that was his primary reason. If she refused, Mitsuoki would insist.

Exiting the store, a man wearing a black kimono that was holding an unrealeased zanpakuto flew past him and hit the ground, bouncing and rolling a few times. Mitsuoki didn't even react to it at all, not even the hollow that was twice as large as a human that had thrown him. He turned and began walking down the street when the man got up and said "Hey, it's you! Useless prison guard, guy!" Still, no acknowledgement from Mitsuoki at all. "Dammit, what was your freakin' name... Mit... Mit... Mittens... Mustard... Mistle... Mit-Mitsu! Mitsu... Mitsuyuri... Mitsuyaki... Mitsuoki! I know it's not your area, but I could use some help with this giant ass hollow!" he babbled while Mitsuoki was passing him with an apathetic expression, as though he never saw him at all. "Hey, I know you can see me asshole!" he shouted with a clearly irritated tone. The hollow had stopped moving and sat back to watch the show, a hollow trying to get the attention of a human, it was funny to him. "Come on, Noble, I can't take this thing on by-" the loud cracking sound of Mitsuoki's forehead slamming against the soul reaper's nose echoed through the world, along with a cold, but annoyed look that echoed through the soul reaper's spine. "That's Kumagai, to you." he said in a cold and threatening tone. The soul reaper reeled back while holding his nose that wasn't even bleeding... tough bastard. "Fine, if you're not gonna help, I'll handle it myself!" he shouted before charging the hollow again and being sent flying into a nearby building and being knocked out. "... And he called me useless." Mitsuoki said under his breath.

If Shiro was patting him down or began doing so, Mitsuoki would say "If you're looking for the gikon, it's in a place where no one will ever try to remove it from. Under my tongue." and immediately swallow it. His soul reaper form would immediately come out of its Gigai and be replaced by a different personality. The soul inside him looked down at the bags in his arm and looked back at Mitsuoki. "These are heavy." he would say plainly. "Don't drop them, those don't belong to me." Mitsuoki would say in his standard tone. Meanwhile the hollow would be approaching the downed soul reaper at a slow and intimidating pace, with Mitsuoki looking at the same soul reaper with his arms crossed and a cold expression. He was waiting to see if the man was truly down, or if he had the will to get up and keep going.

The modified soul candy had looked down to Shiro and blinked, finding it strange for a human to be so...... tiny. He knew less about the world of the living than Mitsuoki, so he had assumed all humans were between a certain set of sizes. "Not exactly." he said while Mitsuoki continued staring at the other soul reaper. He saw the hollow beginning to reel its arm back, preparing to strike and immediately vanished from his position and reappeared less than a second later between the hollow and other soul reaper. "Kyomon." he said calmly with his arms still crossed, and when the hollow struck, its hand hit an invisible wall that was strong enough to stop it. "What...?" the hollow asked with its yellow eyes narrowing on Mitsuoki. Mitsuoki didn't bother with explaining, he grabbed his zanpakuto and tore it from its sheath, cutting the hand of the hollow and making it take a few steps back while cursing Mitsuoki with all manner of obscenities.

Mitsuoki watched as the damage healed and the hollow said in a devious tone "Syke." to let his shinigami foe know that it was all a rouse. "Instant Regeneration and a thicker skin." Mitsuoki said in a calm tone. The hollow let out a distinct "Hmmmm..." before saying "You're not the average tool they send if you noticed both of those." To which Mitsuoki said "Kumagai, Mitsuoki... Kidoshu. And you are?" with a very focused look. It was still cold and emotionless, but considerably more focused than his usual demeanor. "Mikoto, Shen." the hollow had become much less arrogant, knowing that Mitsuoki was going to come at him a lot harder than the reaper he just knocked out. The gikon had said "Show time..." with a gentle smile on his face.

"Push and Pull!" Mitsuoki declared with his zanpakuto taking on a black and white glow before splitting into two swords. They had double edged blades and at the hilt was a circle with a glowing orb. One blade was black, the other was pure white. Mitsuoki had announced the name of the two swords at the same time that his gigai had said them in a much calmer tone "Akatsuki to Tasogare" and Mitsuoki charged right into battle.

"It's far from the most powerful blade in the soul society; but, it very well may be the most chaotic." the gigai said just as Mitsuoki entered a forward roll, going under the hollow's hand. He spun while getting up, cutting the hollow's leg before flash stepping to a safer distance to dodge a kick. In place of the cut was a small eclipse tattoo. "Each time the blades hit something, it leaves a mark. The effect of the sword on the things marked is random for the most part, and switches constantly. The more marks you have, the worse the effect gets... It's impossible to adapt to." Mitsuoki had flash stepped back into the hollow's range, appearing in the air behind it while spinning like a top. As he dropped, the swords hit the hollow's back and let out sparks from the armor back there. As Mitsuoki felt his foot touch the ground, he flash stepped back out to leave another ten marks. "After the fifth mark, your body begins being effected in a much worse way." the gigai said.

"Your attacks are weak, Kumagai!" the hollow shouted while looking at the shinigami and feeling nothing at all from his attacks. "Are they...?" Mitsuoki replied with a smirk on his face, the only facial expression he'd made all day. He then pointed at the hollow's leg, where he had cut earlier. The hollow looked down and noticed that the leg was still bleeding. It looked to its back and noticed the small cuts were also bleeding, and not healing. "I made it so your blood never clots, and you can't absorb spirit energy to heal your body, anymore. Also, this is a penalty round." Mitsuoki had informed the hollow. When he mentioned that it was a punishment round, the amount of tattoos on the hollow's back had doubled to become twenty marks. The gigai said "That was Akatsuki's doing. She always aims to add tattoos, and Tasogare removes them at a price."

The hollow had used the same stepping technique as Mitsuoki to get over top him, dropping down his fist on the shinigami's position. "Kyomon." Mitsuoki said, forming the invisible wall above him. A loud crash was heard as the hollow and barrier collided. Dust and debris were thrown into the air that, when settled, revealed Mitsuoki kneeled down with crossed blades above his head, blocking a fist. The hollow was only using one fist, and the other came around and hit the entirety of Mitsuoki's side, sending him flying into the side of the store they'd just came out. He hit the overhead sign and cratered, bounced out of the crater and hit the floor. The impact was enough to make him drop his zanpakuto back where he and the hollow originally clashed, which didn't seem to bother him when he got up from the ground after a second. "Oh dear, it seems that this was a penalty round for me." he said, sporting a brand new tattoo on his arm, where he was hit the hardest.

"Bakudo sixty two..." Mitsuoki said and held his hands out, forming two steel rods in them. Each were around six feet tall, a little shorter than he was. "...Hyapporankan!" Normally, they were immediately thrown to fully cast the spell, but Mitsuoki had charged in, wielding them as a pair of javelins instead. The hollow and Mitsuoki began exchanging attacks. Mitsuoki swung one of the rods and the hollow used its arm to block. The hollow tried to counter attack with its other arm and Mitsuoki used his other rod to block. It was a way of using kido that would only be deployed by a fool or a madman. The hollow tried to punch the ground near Mitsuoki and the shinigami slammed one of the rods on the floor and jumped into the air to avoid the shockwave attack. He left the rod in place and flash stepped a little further down the street before throwing the second one. The second one split into many more rods that flew towards the hollow. They all began glowing bright red and Mitsuoki had held up one of his hands as though he were going to snap his fingers. "Hado sixty two, Hyapporankan Bakuhatsu." he said and snapped his fingers just as the rods were about to hit the hollow. The one on the ground and the ones barely touching the hollow's skin all exploded, sending the hollow flying back with quite a few burn marks.

The force of the explosion had also knocked Mitsuoki's swords into the air, spinning as they flew towards him. He extended his hands and grabbed the both by the grip and flash stepped back into the hollow's attack range. "He's a member of the kido corps, one of the weaker ones, actually... Well, he's weak according to himself." the gigai commented. The hollow had thrown a punch that connected with Mitsuoki's side perfectly, but it lacked any power at all, so it didn't even make the shinigami flinch. The hollow's eyes grew wide in its mask at the realization that its strength was drastically lower. Mitsuoki had grabbed the hollow's finger, which was almost as big as Mitsuoki's hand, and pulled to flip the hollow. The hollow was tossed to its back and turned over to stand up and try to punch Mitsuoki's again, each time being blocked by the broad side of his zanpakuto, each time getting another tattoo. The gigai pointed to the hollows back to reveal half of those markings were now gone, leaving ten remaining. "Tasogare reduced its strength and speed, proportionate to the amount of tattoos taken away. Ten tattoos total, so that hollow's now at the same level as an average one." he explained to Shiro, if she was listening.

Suddenly, a white glow emanated from the hollow's back, where the old tattoos used to be. Then, the tattoos returned. "Akatsuki doesn't like it when Tasogare removes them, so she put them back." the gigai commented. At the same time, the hollow's next punch was back at full power and Akatsuki had decided to not notify Mitsuoki of the change, so he took the full force of the attack. Mitsuoki was sent flying back again, this time gripping his blades tightly. He slammed them in the ground to slow himself down and kept sliding for quite a distance before stopping. Mitsuoki was breathing heavily, he had used a good bit of energy with his previous kido, and dual wielding a kido was no easy task, so that didn't do him many favors in terms of conserving energy.

The hollow held up its hand to show Mitsuoki that it was growing more of that bone-like shell over its hand, forming a large spike. Its other hand had a shield forming over the fist that functioned similar to a buckler. The hollow pointed its spiked hand towards Shiro and the gigai and began charging energy in it. Mitsuoki dropped his swords and used a flash step to get between the three of them. The cero was fired and Mitsuoki quickly said "Hado thirty three, sokatsui!" The spell hit the cero and exploded, causing the cero to explode as well and send Mitsuoki to the ground, sliding till his head was at his gigai's feet. "You okay?" the gigai asked while looking down on him. He had several bruises and his kimono top had been torn from the blast, revealing his torso. Mitsuoki's eyes had changed from focused to completely annoyed and considerably unhappy. His spirit pressure began increasing, washing the area over in feelings of anger, despair, loneliness, sorrow, and intense fear. He turned over and pushed himself off the ground while the hollow said "Your reaction time's pretty damn good. You used that soul reaper magic to reduce the damage of my cero... clever."

Mitsuoki glared at the hollow, no longer enjoying the fight. It targeted someone completely uninvolved just to get a cheap shot on him. Mitsuoki didn't dignify the hollow with any response. "Drink from the overflowing cup. Sate your thirst on the cursed wine of the gods..." he began chanting. At the same time, Mitsuoki had began forming a triangle in front him with two of his fingers. The hollow watched as silver energy began swirling around him and coming together to form a while orb above his head. He looked up and noticed there was another one dangling above his own and knew it would be some form of binding technique. The hollow pointed its spike arm at Mitsuoki and began charging energy for another cero. The triangle Mitsuoki formed shot three projectiles that hit the pointed arm and pinned it to the hollow's body. It was a dual cast, mixing the incantation for one kido with another. The one Mitsuoki had mixed with the one he was chanting had no incantation at all, so it was even easier to mix. "...and blanket yourself in white funeral chrysanthemums." Mitsuoki finished the chant and said "Bakudo Eight, Bakudo Fifty Seven-- Shitotsu Sansen, Kitai Rakka."

White petals began falling from the orb over the hollow's body and the first one hit its shield arm, which immediately dropped to the ground after being touched. "What!?" the hollow said while looking at its arm. More petals hit it, each causing the hollow to stoop lower and lower, unable to support its own weight, the hollow was crushed to the ground where it began sinking through the concrete. "What is this!? What did you do, soul reaper!?" it shouted. "I was kind enough to ensure that man was out of the fight entirely before stepping in. I didn't want to get a hit on you simply because you were too busy blocking him. You, however, did the exact opposite in targeting someone else. I am going to punish you, hollow." Mitsuoki said in a grim tone, his eyes completely cold and lacking even the slightest bit of mercy in it.

Mitsuoki flash stepped to his swords and picked them up before walking to the hollow's mask. He held the white sword up as though ready to strike. "Akatsuki, I request control for one round." Mitsuoki said before striking the hollow, slashing it deep. The hollow let out a loud, horrid bellow that was soaking with pain. The gigai said "He increased the hollow's pain reception. An extra multiplier for each of those fifty-ish tattoos." Mitsuoki left the sword embedded in the hollow's shoulder blade and flash stepped above it, turning in the air while forming the metal rod again and saying "Bakudo sixty two, Hyapporankan!" before throwing it and letting it split off into dozens of other rods, each impaling the hollow. The hollow let out another cry of pain and said "Damn you, soul reapers!"

Mitsuoki landed, standing on one of the rails and stepped down to the hollow's back to begin walking up it and grabbing Akatsuki's blade on the way. "Hado sixty two, Hyapporankan Bakuhatsu." he said and the rails all began heating up, causing the hollow more pain before finally exploding. Mitsuoki didn't bother looking, he continued walking towards his gigai. The dust settled to reveal the hollow standing, breathing heavily while grabbing one of the rails that were sticking out the front of its chest. "I'm... not dead... soul reaper." it said through pained breathing. Mitsuoki had simply said "Tasogare, I request control for one round." and the tattoos decorating the hollow began glowing. Mitsuoki turned his head and looked at the hollow with a cold, heartless glare. "Die." he said, and the tattoos all exploded. This time, when the dust settled, it only showed the hollow as it was dissipating into black dust, completely dead.

Mitsuoki had flicked both of his swords, giving them a light twirl out of habit before both of them vanished and his katana appeared at his side again. The gigai looked at Mitsuoki and asked "Hey, you okay? Seriously." Mitsuoki replied "It went from fun to irritating quite rapidly." His tone had reverted to the one he had before, that he was using with Shiro the whole time, as though he wasn't in any way still irritated from the fight. "Is my briefcase undamaged?" Mitsuoki asked. The gigai looked at him and said "Is... that really a priority?" to which Mitsuoki said "Yes. It's a very exquisite case and was not cheap." the gigai said "Yeah. It's okay... What about that guy?" it gestured with a head tilt to the still downed soul reaper. Mitsuoki glared in his direction and pointed at him with two fingers. "Hidenkō." he said and a bolt of red lightning shot from his fingers and hit the wall next to the soul reaper's head. The soul reaper immediately got up to dodge it with a terrified look on his face. "WHAT THE HELL, ARE YOU INSANE!?" Mitsuoki looked at him and said "The next time you call me by 'that' name, I won't miss." the other man nodded rapidly before running off before another one was shot. "Alright thirty seven, tag out." Mitsuoki said and the gigai nodded. When Mitsuoki had stepped back in his body the pill went back up into his mouth where he tucked it back under his tongue. "To answer your question from earlier, I serve under one of the Hirashi's."

Mitsuoki had let out a breath of air to get the rest of his frustration out before looking at Shiro again and asking "Are you unharmed, Shiro?" Once again, his expression didn't match his words. The question implied concern, his expression did not. If Shiro said that she was okay, Mitsuoki would recommend they keep going, before another hollow shows up.

Mitsuoki had waited for Shiro to grab her hat and begin moving on before answering any of her questions. "I take orders from one of the Hirashi's. She is the captain. I do not know her, I have no desire to know her. As for what 'this guy' is..." Mitsuoki had gestured to his gigai, which he was currently inside, mimicking the fact that Shiro had pointed to it earlier when asking "This is me... More specifically, this is my physical body." He knew it would rub her the wrong way, he just liked messing with her. Naturally, Mitsuoki would never once admit to being a trickster and would always keep his facial expression static. If she pressed, or told Mitsuoki that he knew what she was talking about, Mitsuoki would give her a serious answer. "Your kind does not react particularly well to other humans randomly losing consciousness. It would also be problematic if one of us were to leave our gigai and return to find it missing or damaged. So, to circumvent the issue, we have an item that takes our place in the gigai while we fight. There are various ones to choose from, all eccentric and disturbing in nature. Thirty seven is mine. Please refrain from asking me about his choice of name, I am yet to receive an answer from when I did."

While walking, Mitsuoki said "I suppose it is my turn to ask a question. Why are you interested in any capacity in my kind?"

Mitsuoki had listened to Shiro's tale about how a soul reaper had helped her preserve her memories and, after confirming there were no prying eyes around, aided in developing her powers. She had demonstrated her stepping ability, something that released a fairly loud sound that sounded like a static shock discharging. She told Mitsuoki that she wanted to thank the soul reaper, who Mitsuoki had assumed was Eiji Hirashi, brother of Yuki Hirashi. She didn't feel like dying just to meet him, so she was hoping that there was a way to get to the soul society without having to be a plus beforehand. "There are various ways of getting to the soul society without forfeiting your life. However, I am not at liberty to tell you those methods. Since I am not a noble, I lack the political clout to make bold moves such as that. Since I am not a captain or similar rank, I lack the authority to provision such information. There are certain scenarios where I would be allowed to, but none of those are presently applicable."

They had arrived to a store that was labeled for selling bedroom and bathroom furnishings, the perfect place to get a nice set of bedsheets for Mitsuoki's fellow squadmates. Mitsuoki had taken a cart and placed the bags and his briefcase inside it, leaving very little room for the sheets he had come to get in the first place. The whole time they had been walking together, Mitsuoki had questioned why Shiro had been in hueco mundo at all. It was hardly hospitable, even for its native species, and very much not the place for humans. There was the spirit pressure of a very specific arrancar on her that was pretty thick, so it was obvious that the two were well acquainted. It was possible that they had some sort of arrangement, but he didn't want to make any guesses on what they were since he didn't really know either of them. He didn't say anything about it either, it wasn't his business or his concern. Something had made a skittering sound that had caught Mitsuoki's attention, but was gone so quickly that he couldn't get a look at it properly. "Did you hear that, Shiro?" he asked while looking at the direction it came from.

Shiro had asked about the soul society just before Mitsuoki had noticed the sound. When he asked if she, too, had heard it, she gave a small tease, asking if he were skittish. Mitsuoki hadn't responded since he never once felt a need to 'defend his pride as a man,' and even now, he didn't feel that need. If it was indeed a small animal, then Mitsuoki felt as though there was only one, single, logical reaction to hearing it scurrying about. He had to find the animal. He had to capture the animal. He had to pet the animal. It was one of many weaknesses that Mitsuoki refused to acknowledge, the love of all things small, cute, and those two things combined.

Shiro had grabbed a second cart to hold the sheets, likely because she realized that Mitsuoki's lacked much room for them, and began walking. She asked what size sheets he was needing. "Hmmm... Our beds are made to house single individuals, but to get a sheet that's just large enough for the bed would be absurd. The size of the sheet would need to be slightly larger so my colleagues can proudly boast of the variety of color their beds have, and let everyone admire their fabulous sense of style. I will require sheets measuring two hundred, thirty centimeters in width and two hundred, seventy centimeters in length." Mitsuoki said calmly, not even putting emphasis on the word 'fabulous' when describing the sheets. He also failed to convert the sheet sizes to the ones used in the world of the living --Twin, Full, Queen, and King-- since he didn't actually know that the humans had given those sizes names. Of course, the size dimensions he used were for Full sized sheets, which were just a step up from the actual size of the beds.

The skittering sound was head again and Mitsuoki turned his head in its direction, his eyes narrowing on the place it came from. This time, he had gotten a glimpse of its shadow. It was some sort of linear creature with an elongated tail, and was, indeed, quite small. "Hmmm..." Mitsuoki had begun contemplating strategies by which to accomplish his goal of capturing this animal. The shadowy figure he saw was much too small to use kido on, so that option was out. While perusing the store, he would have to come up with a better, less damaging, plan of attack. While doing so, he also decided to answer Shiro's question. "You had asked what the soul society was like. There are no laws in place that prevent me from telling you specific details, but I cannot give you an in depth without permission from someone of higher rank." Mitsuoki stated. "The soul society is a place similar to this world in geological attributes. There are hills, mountains, rivers, and it seems to be virtually endless in land. Technologically and socially, I cannot speak on. There is an obvious hierarchy with our political leader at the top, military organizations below them, and civilian citizens below them. Among each of those three tiers is their own hierarchy, just as in this world. There are many differences between our worlds, more of them than similarities. There are some things that I like about each world, and a great deal of things I am not so fond of. That is the limit of the information I am of sufficient rank to disclose. I apologize for my vagueness."