>>41869639
But thankfully, that's when Naoko comes in. Humans are 'logical' and their influence is not out of place in the world, meaning that to Paul, they are not a viable target for his abilities. And Naoko is an absolute powerhouse, so hopefully, she'll be able to ensure a quick detainment of your brother before he manages to turn you into a pincushion; he's awfully fast when he's in that form, so it might require some tricky and preplanned footwork or a few traps to slow Paul down and allow Naoko to capture him.

And after that, it's Ren's turn. Her role is simple. All she needs is a touch, and maybe a little time.

And that's the rough outline of your plan so far. What you've gotten a little stumped on is the location. Your friends have made several propositions, but you need to settle on one, and then you need to figure out how to lure Paul there.

...

>Karakura Community Park. Wide open area with lots of room to maneuver in. Bystanders might be difficult to avoid, but the problem of witnesses is possible to fix with your ability.
>The remains of an abandoned building. A much more confined, smaller area; no presence of people. The room for error during the execution of the plan is small, both for Paul and for your team.
>Karakura High Stadium, after-school and after-club hours. A wide open area, minimal presence of people. Requires a little pre-planning to lure Paul in; will only be a plausible option tomorrow at the earliest.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41869660
Alright, time to Buriichi!
>The remains of an abandoned building. A much more confined, smaller area; no presence of people. The room for error during the execution of the plan is small, both for Paul and for your team.

>>41869639
>The remains of an abandoned building. A much more confined, smaller area; no presence of people. The room for error during the execution of the plan is small, both for Paul and for your team.
Seems like the best plan

>>41869660
Stadium sounds good.

>>41869660
>The remains of an abandoned building. A much more confined, smaller area; no presence of people. The room for error during the execution of the plan is small, both for Paul and for your team.

>>41869660
Voting over, writing!

>>41870086
Glad we're keeping away from people at least!

>>41869717
>>41869721
>>41869773
"There's an abandoned, old ass building in the southern part of Kinogaya. People think it's haunted so they stay the hell away from it. We should do it there. It's about as wide as a, like, a sports hall, I guess? It's pretty big." You tell your friends.

"I-is it haunted, though?" Ren asks nervously. You shake your head.

"I checked it out a few years back and didn't see any ghosts. But like, who cares either way. Ghosts aren't scary at all. If some idiot's hanging out there, we'll tell him to stay clear."

"The building might seem relatively big at a glance, but that's probably not the case, not for someone as quick as you and Paul. It'll be easier for me to catch him because there's nowhere to run, but... Clarissa, you'll need to be on your toes, too. It's dangerous to let him get close. If you or I make a mistake, it'll be hard for you to get away. We'll need to finish it as soon as we begin." Naoko says, and you nod.

"High risk high reward, pretty much. And no bystanders to worry about. I think we should go for it," You say and then glance at your phone, checking the time. It's 5 in the evening. Plenty of time to pull it off today if you wanted to. "So, we gotta lure him in there somehow. I'll try to come up with an excuse and do it on my own, unless you guys have better ideas. Besides that, anything else?"

"Well, uh... are we doing it today? Do we have to?" Ren mutters uncertainly, making you frown. She notices that and immediately elaborates. "It's not that I'm trying to back out of it, it's just that... I don't know. Maybe we can somehow set the place up? Like, traps or something?"

(1/2)

>>41870658
"Do you know how to set up traps, Ren?" You fold your arms over your chest. It'd help, for sure, but that's not exactly a skill that everybody just knows or can easily learn.

"I mean, not really... but one of our friends might. I can ask, but I doubt I can get anything done by today," Ren says, shrugging a bit. "And besides that, I guess I could get ready. Like, train my ability a little bit... I dunno."

...

>"No delays. We can get it done today, so we'll do it. No reason to give Paul a chance to get even worse."
>"If you're sure you can get something ready in a day, we can wait if it improves our chances."
>"...Are you sure you're up for this, Ren?"
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41870684
>"...Are you sure you're up for this, Ren?"
>"We'll give you however much time you need. But if it's more than a day or maybe two, it'd probably better to try and think of something else. We're on a bit of a clock."

>>41870684
>"If you're sure you can get something ready in a day, we can wait if it improves our chances."

>>41870684
Voting over, writing!

>>41871026
Wouldn't blame Ren for chickening out for sure, sounds really dangerous.

>>41871077
As long as she's up for it, it's alright. If we think she isn't though, we should veto it. Can't ask her to walk into that much danger for him if not.

>>41870684
One thing I could really use an explanation from is that when Ren takes an injury or fatigue she feels it herself. Paul's condition is a fugue state characterized by murderous hatred for anything seen as supernatural. If Ren takes that mental defect, wouldn't she be in the trance instead?

>>41871361
I believe what she's trying to take are his powers, which would remove his murdering abilities but wouldn't affect either of their mental states in theory besides probably clear his head. Of course if the powers directly cause his mental state outright, rather than simply reacting to his natural disbelief in the supernatural and amplifying/protecting that belief, that might still be a problem yeah.

>>41871361
I think Ren said that it's okay for her to have those powers as she already believes in the supernatural, so exposure to them may not act as a trigger for denial!

>>41870726
>>41870855
"Are you sure you're up for this, Ren? If you're nervous and need some time to get ready, then that's alright, you know." You say, which makes her frown irritably.

"Of course I'm nervous! You said it might get dangerous, so it's perfectly normal for me to get nervous. It's not going to just go away no matter how long I spend sitting around and not doing this. You asked if there was anything else, so... I'm suggesting some things. That's all. I said I'm not backing out of it, and I'm not going to," Ren pauses, swallowing heavily, after which she seems to calm down. "I'll just... look it up, and if it can't be done in a day, then we'll continue as usual."

"Alright, alright. It's decided, then. Tell us how it goes tomorrow, and we'll get to it right after school," You say, and your two friends nod. "Let's check out the building."

You lead your friends to the less lively and orderly part of Karakura, where the aforementioned abandoned building, the name of which escapes you at the moment, is located. The building in question is about as wide as you've claimed it to be. The structure resembles a warehouse, and is old and in poor enough of a condition to have crumbled in some places, littering the spacious interior with large bits of the walls and ceiling, providing obstruction and cover. Naoko and Ren can hide behind one of those and spring on Paul whenever you need them to. You'll just yell at them when your brother flips. Simple enough.

There's enough sunlight pouring into the building to keep things clearly visible, and while the ground is a little treacherous, covered in trash and cracks, it shouldn't be a problem unless your luck decides to have an episode.

...

>Head home and rest for tomorrow.
>Speak to your friends about something. (Write-in).
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41871699
>Speak to your friends about something. (Write-in).
Tell them if things start going off the rails tomorrow, we should just abandon the plan and ask Urahara for advice/help instead. It's not worth risking their lives for.

>>41871699
Voting over, writing!

>>41871984
Guess Fridays are slow as usual, huh.

>>41872057
sometimes, people are still working

>>41872116
Only the Murricans!

And people with night shifts I guess.

>>41871744
"Well..." You mutter after your finish the brief 'tour' around the soon-to-be battlefield. "Remember not to overdo it, guys. If things go tits up, we stop. Let's not risk our lives over this, okay? I mean, no more than we should. If we really get stumped, we'll ask Urahara for help. I'm not really a fan of the idea, either, but we won't have much of a choice at that point."

They understand what you're saying and nod. "It might be difficult to stop after we begin, though..." Naoko mutters in response. Once Paul starts going crazy, it might be hard to get him to calm down.

After that, you split up with your friends and head on home. You have nothing to worry about besides your regular everyday chores, and you feel a little guilty for essentially 'slacking off' instead of helping improve your chances at tomorrow's op somehow. There's nothing you can really do about it, though.

...Honestly, the only thing you can think of doing is consulting goldie about this, but you get the feeling that you won't like his ideas, as you tend to usually do. To make things worse, you can't contribute even by getting a full night's rest because of the girl haunting your dreams. She still wants something from you. Just what does she want? It's bothersome and clogs up your head. It's annoying because even if you make a million guesses, it's pointless unless she tells you the answer; it won't mean anything even if one of them is correct. They'll still be guesses, no matter how close to the truth they actually are, at least until she tells you that you're right.

(1/2)

>>41872403
What a pain. And does she plan to hurt you again, too? Maybe you... shouldn't let her. At least not tonight. Should you fight back? Can you fight back? So what if she said that she isn't Aiko; she still looks exactly like her. Speaking of which, what does her 'not being Aiko' and 'recalling what Naoko told you' have to do with each other?

As you think about those things, you go through your homework absentmindedly. You're done with it before it's even time for dinner, surprisingly. After the meal and a little later into the evening, you think about how you'll be spending the night.

...

>Go consult goldie.
>Sleep normally.
>Stay up all night. Sleeping is going to leave you even more tired than the alternative. There's just no point.
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41872445
>Go consult goldie.
Maybe he can tie the Naoko thing together!

>>41872445
>sleep normally
I think Naoko said that Aiko was the only person whose forgiveness we needed and had no choice but to accept, so that might extend to not letting the girl of our dreams torture us. Though I'm a bit hesitant to start out aiming to kill, because that seems like it would make the girl a cheap effigy.

>>41872445
>Go consult goldie.

>>41872445
Voting over, writing!

>>41872606
She's probably her own entity at this point. I dunno what we can do about her other than find out what her grudge is about.

>>41872468
>>41872621
Once again you end up in the lavish castle of your inner world, the last remaining structure made of materials which are firmer than the barren bluish sand spanning the entirety of it all. The golden 'king' sits on his throne, looking on at your arrival without showing interest. You don't really need to greet one another, just like you don't say 'hello' and 'goodbye' to yourself in the mirror, so you get straight to the business relating to Paul. He hears you out patiently, rests his chin on his knuckles, and, after a brief, thoughtful pause, speaks.

"In an all-out battle, you'll come out on top without a doubt. You can attack and defend at the same time, and the scale of both, thanks to your nigh limitless amounts of spiritual power, is immense. A single man simply doesn't stand a chance, no matter how strong of a warrior he might be. Essentially, you have nothing to worry about. Even if you do nothing but defend yourself, it's only a matter of time before his meager reserves run out."

"But going all-out isn't an option," You say, crossing your arms. "And don't start with your usual thing. It's not just about me being scared, or whatever it is you're about to say - if I go balls to the walls, Karakura will drown in Hollows."

He sighs, which is enough to immediately cause you annoyance. "If you weren't so concerned with being as rigid as your poor twin, then by now, you'd know how to control your power. But I understand that particular concern of yours. And yet, still, you shouldn't worry and go all-out if the situation calls for it, regardless," He says, making you lift a brow. "His very presence erases all traces of the spiritual. I think that it will be enough to diminish the side effects of your full strength, at least until he runs out spiritual energy himself, in which case you'll have to halt yourself immediately if you wish to avoid collateral damage."

(1/2)

>>41873489
"You said it yourself, though - I'm not that good at controlling it." You shake your head.

"It's better than dying. If you mess up and put your life at risk, then do it." He immediately counters.

"Is it better than dying, though? It's just one life if it's me. If Hollows attack Karakura, thousands might end up in danger."

"How heroic of you," He wryly states, gesturing with a hand for sarcastic emphasis. "Just keep it in mind as an option. I know that I can't convince you to do anything, but... just remember it."

The conversation pauses. Besides that specific thought, he does not seem to have any other ideas of improving the op. He seems to have a tendency to not think too hard about things, not when there's already one solution available. What a pain, though.

"You still haven't found anyone to keep you company at night, did you?" He suddenly speaks up again, souring your expression with the unpleasantness of the new subject. "Or do you wish to go through yet another nightmare? You should really stop hurting yourself like that. Are you going to spend the night here again? You can do that if you like, but remember that it leaves your mind restless."

...

>"Speaking of which... that girl told me a few things."
>"I have nothing to do all night. Might as well hang out here. Time seems to go faster here."
>"...Nah, I'm leaving."
>Ask him something else. (Write-in).
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41873521
>"Last time wasn't that bad, actually. Well, ended on an unpleasant note, but all in all an improvement."
>"Speaking of which... that girl told me a few things."

>>41873521
>"Speaking of which... that girl told me a few things."
"More importantly, she -didn't- tell me some things, and it didn't seem like it was because she didn't want to, it seemed like she 'couldn't'. Unfortunately, sleep deprivation isn't great for solving riddles, so the best I could come up with is that she wants me to fight back?"

>>41873521
"Just out of idle curiosity, way back when this started and I met Clay Bone, what would have happened if Kimiko wasn't there? Would you have started copying hollows instead, or would that have just been it?"

>>41873521
>"...Nah, I'm leaving."
After the first time, I'm feeling hesitant about speaking with Gil about her. At least after last time indicating we might be able to solve it in a healthy way, which I struggle to see Gil suggesting.

>>41873577
>so the best I could come up with is that she wants me to fight back?
Sounds kinky.
Maybe Gil's solution for getting rest works when having brutal dream-sex with our imaginary dead girlfriend too!

For real though, yeah it's tough to say exactly what she meant.

>>41873521
>"...Nah, I'm leaving."
Lets try sleeping again?

>>41873808
I hope we do even if we talk to him about her first. I'm interested in seeing if it'd follow last time's pattern of some chatting followed by an almost polite murder, or just go straight to nightmare-town.

>>41873521
We have a bit of a tie here!

I'll keep the vote up for about ten more minutes before rolling!

>>41874078
I figure maybe we talk to Gil a bit first, and then test our luck with sleeping again?

>>41874136
One of the voters voted for leaving the inner world with the intention of not talking about her, and I believe the other one did the same.

>>41874179
Guess other anon isn't around to clarify.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>41873521
Voting over, rolling to split the tie!

If 1-3:
>Talk to him about the girl.

If 4-6:
>Leave without talking.

Writing!

>>41874409
Alright, chatting it is!

>>41873577
"Well, it... wasn't that bad last night. We even talked, or, well, tried to. She... seemed to want something from me. Like, she knew something that I didn't, and she wanted me to figure it out. Unfortunately, it seems that she can't actually say it for some reason." As you're about to delve deeper into your explanation, you can't help but notice how the Hogyoku's expression clouded over with unpleasantness; rather than curious, which you actually expected him to be, he seems to be disgusted.

He shakes his head in disappointment as looks on at you, speaking with words laden with the same disgust contained in his crimson eyes. "Didn't I tell you what I think about that girl? Honestly, I get that you're a beacon of all the kindness and goodness in this world, but don't you at least feel a speck of disdain for something that's using the corpse of your most precious loved one as a sock puppet to torment you at your most vulnerable and helpless, within the sanctity of your dreams?

I'm baffled that despite the torture you went through over the course of those few nights - and trust me, I'm well aware of the strain you've endured, as we are, for better or worse, connected in ways that made it more than clear for me - you had the compassion to listen to a 'person' such as that wrathful ghost of a girl, the foolish naivette to consider her words seriously and apparently at face value, the thick headedness to miss out on a chance for a peaceful night by escaping her vile presence, and the audacity to bring her up within earshot of me - me, who had also suffered gravely on her evil behalf."

You struggle to put a word in, finding yourself completely dumbfounded. It's as if he's unloading the stress of a long-endured grudge, even though it couldn't have been that long. His frown deepens, but he gestures at you to continue. "You've already brought her up. This unpleasantness might still have been worth it if the rest of your story can remedy it in some way."

>>41875161
You... try to continue your explanation, but you ultimately end up just repeating what you've said at the beginning. Before you can muster up your wits enough to add more, he's already inspired enough to continue with the verbal abuse.

"Have you never thought that she's merely fooling you? You've threatened to leave her behind after the first few nights, and she got frightened to lose her only target of torment and decided to make up a big lie of some grand nonexistent riddle, with which she intended to incite you into coming back every night? After all, she could threaten you as much as she likes, but you simply have to stop coming back to nullify the threats of that little girl. But if she offered you the chance to receive something grand - the answer to some mysterious and mystical riddle encompassing the deranged depths of your own psyche - you'd come back, and you'd do so willingly, wouldn't you? Come now, didn't I already make it sound interesting, like an adventure in and of itself? And it took me no effort at all to do so."

You plant a hand on your hip, mulling over his words as you stare out of the window and at the bluish sands that were once buildings.

"And of course, I won't contribute to solving this farce of a riddle, as it obviously cannot have an answer, and would be a waste of effort on my part. If you wish to get rid of that vixen, I've already told you how. And my role ends there; unless, of course you still intend to continue 'speaking' with intentions other than delaying the torture she no doubt intends to deliver unto you, in which case I'll point out the obvious for you like a parrot and urge you to disbelieve her lies."

...

>"...Well. I guess we're done here, then. I'll go."
>Tell him something. (Write-in).
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41875204
>"Alright, just don't expect me to care about your suffering since you're clearly so far above this whole thing."

>>41875204
>"...Well. I guess we're done here, then. I'll go."

>>41875204
>"That's nonsense. We both know she's not Aiko, so the best approach is finding out what she IS. Maybe a figment of my imagination I conjured to torture myself about it, maybe some kind of magical attack on my mental health, maybe even some effect of, well, you. Ignoring her would just leave me in the dark even if I WAS willing to use your method to sleep nice and tight."

>>41875362
Pretty much this.

>>41875204
Voting over, writing!

>>41875666
Running late, huh.

>>41875362
You let out a bit of a sigh. He seems to be calming down, so you speak up.

"Look, we both know she's not Aiko, so we need to find out what she really is. She might be a figment of my imagination I conjured to punish myself for my crime, maybe some kind of magical attack on my mental health, maybe even some effect of, well, you," The last part makes him raise an eyebrow in something resembling irritation. You continue. "Either way, ignoring her is going to leave me in the dark even if I did do as you're telling me to and made her go away like that."

He makes a shrug with his shoulders, but for once speaks with without the emphasized malice. "Of course she 'isn't' Aiko - your lover is no longer among the living or even the dead, but that mental phantom is trying to take up her role and her name. And of course that girl is something you've created with your own guilty subconscious, as a way to receive punishment when there was none. Perhaps it's been enhanced by your abilities in a way you didn't mean to, but that still doesn't mean anything. It's just your guilt. It has no hidden meaning to it."

"She explicitly told me that she isn't Aiko. If she was trying to 'take her role', she wouldn't have said that. Instead, she'd tell me that she IS Aiko."

The 'king' shakes his blond head. "Who knows where she's trying to lead you with her lies? Don't tell me you miss your loved one so much that it doesn't matter to you whether she torments and lies to you, not as long as you get to see at least that distorted parody of hers?" He pauses for a bit, smirking.

...

>"You'll just keep denying everything I say, won't you? Then there's no point in talking about this."
>"But if she isn't Aiko, she can't be something I made to punish myself."
>"She came to this world of her own will, and your sword didn't kill her. She's a threat that you should start taking seriously. What even makes you think that your 'method' will get rid of her?"
>Other. (Write-in).

>>41876377
>"You'll just keep denying everything I say, won't you? Then there's no point in talking about this."
Feeling the third one, but don't want to argue it with him.

>>41876377
"She told me she has a name. To me, that's as important as you not having one. And don't worry about me putting up with her torment and lies, I'm gonna see what happens when I don't just lie back and take it."

Then leave and try to sleep normally.

>>41876377
>>41876470
Yeah, I'll support that. It's not like I believe her 100% but since we don't have any way to get rid of her we're willing to take, we might as well play ball and see what we can find out.

File: i thought id finish this (...).png (319 KB, 817x817)

319 KB PNG

>>41876377
Ending thread for tonight, it's getting really late!

Next thread tomorrow, but watch out for the unexpected on twitter:
https://twitter.com/Mushroomgami

If you have any feedback or questions, shoot them my way!

Thanks for reading!

>>41876696
Thanks for running! Looking forward to seeing what happens with our sleep for sure.

>>41876696
Alright, night.
Why is Gil so abrasive? Also, do you expect anons to archive-binge for clues WRT Naoko?

>>41876752
It'll be dreamy.

>>41876861
Not really! I might sound like a smartass here, but I think it's possible to link the relevant bits even without that right now!

>>41876861
And there's only one thing/person Gilgil cares about, so he doesn't really feel like being nice to anything else!

>>41876899
Probably but I honestly couldn't tell you a single thing she's said verbatim, and nothing more than 'Urahara is untrustworthy' and 'notice me sempai*' (implied) in general.


*Clarissa is sempai for sure!

>>41876945
Well, it's a recent thing!

*Isn't it senpai with an 'n'?

>>41876989
Both m and n is correct.

>>41876989
We'll just have to think about it then!