>>1650489
“So how likely is it that these events are all linked?”

“Hm?” you ask, glancing up at your fellow Captains.

“I asked how likely you believe it is that these events are all linked,” Head Captain Kyōraku repeats, looking at you with a trace of concern.

“Sorry, my mind was somewhere else,” you shake your head. “It's not what you'd call a 'smoking gun', but you have a wealthy and powerful Clan of weaponsmiths whose retainers are dropping like flies, the attempted theft of my swords and miss Yadōmaru's, and a blatant attack on myself and Captain Shihōin after visiting the Kasumiōji.”

“So what are we supposed to think? If this is meant to set the Kasumiōji up it's a damn good set up.”

“What was it you were thinkin' about?” Gin asks, turning slightly to glance at you. His face is still masked as ever by that onmipresent, slightly off-putting smile of his, but you can tell he's genuinely curious. “You don't tend towards goin' all absent-minded.”

“He makes a fair point,” Shiba Kaoru agrees. “Your swords were nearly stolen and someone tried to have you assassinated, normally you'd be on a warpath right now.”

>I was just trying to assess the various threats in my head, weigh them against each other.
>We still have no idea how Aizen caused several of us to hollowfy in the first place.
>Something's been bothering me, and I have to speak with the Royal Guard to sort it out.
>It's not important. So how do we proceed from here, when we have no solid leads?
>Other?

And there you go. I'll be heading out to do something else for a few hours and I'll be off the grid, but as soon as I get back this evening I'll get started writing.

I'm shooting for 7pm PST, so feel free to vote/discuss until then. May be a bit earlier, may be a bit later.

>>1650493
>We still have no idea how Aizen caused several of us to hollowfy in the first place.
>Something's been bothering me, and I have to speak with the Royal Guard to sort it out.

>>1650493
>>Something's been bothering me, and I have to speak with the Royal Guard to sort it out

>>1650493
>We still have no idea how Aizen caused several of us to hollowfy in the first place.
>I was just trying to assess the various threats in my head, weigh them against each other.

>>1650493
>>We still have no idea how Aizen caused several of us to hollowfy in the first place.
>>Something's been bothering me, and I have to speak with the Royal Guard to sort it out.

>>1650493
>>We still have no idea how Aizen caused several of us to hollowfy in the first place.

>>1650493
>>I was just trying to assess the various threats in my head, weigh them against each other.

>>1650493
We still have no idea how Aizen caused several of us to hollowfy in the first place.
>Something's been bothering me, and I have to speak with the Royal Guard to sort it out.

>>1650742
That reminds me. IC, how much do we know exactly? I remember we know about the disappearing redshirts that were Aizen's preliminary experiments, and we know about Issin's circumstances since he's our bro, but do we know the two incidents were closely related, and did Sandalhat figure out enough to have a pretty good idea?

>>1650493
>I was just trying to assess the various threats in my head, weigh them against each other.
>We still have no idea how Aizen caused several of us to hollowfy in the first place.

>>1650493
>Something's been bothering me, and I have to speak with the Royal Guard to sort it out.

Okay, I got away from the prerelease in good order. I'll start writing and see if I can't push out an update before dinner. if not it should be right on track for 7pm.

1-3 btw. Real mixed bag.

>>1651619
>finally back from washing an entire house worth of dishes and crockery, writing

>>1651852
“Something's been bothering me,” you admit carefully, “and the near-loss of my zanpakuto only served to reemphasize it. We still don't actually know how Aizen caused all of us to hollowfy in the first place: most of the victims were exiled before anyone got a chance to study it in any detail.”

“I don't have a clear answer for you,” Kisuke admits with a frown. “I'd hoped I could learn more, but I was in such a rush to save the others' lives that I missed the chance. You and Lady Yoruichi both had the vector out of your system long before I got an opportunity to even look for it.”

“It makes sense that it'd be short-lived. Otherwise it'd be difficult to control,” Yoruichi agrees. “It may never have been possible to get a sample in the first place.”

Captain Unohana, who has until this point been following along patiently, chooses this moment to join in. “So you feel that this is important enough to warrant further investigation?”

“I do,” you nod resolutely. “If we can figure out what they thought they stood to gain by stealing those zanpakuto then their motivations will be revealed.”

“And what leads do you believe exist to be pursued?” Unohana presses, more curious than accusatory. She seems to assume that you have a plan already.

“There is little I can do myself. Injuries of the body I can easily diagnose and and treat. This however seems far more... unusual.”

“I do have a plan,” you admit with a nod. “If we want to know what happens to a zanpakuto when its wielder is hollowfied...”

“Then go to the guy who forges the asauchi,” Yoruichi completes the thought. “It makes sense if what you're trying to do is reconstruct the details of a process.”

“If you can get me those details I can do the rest,” Kisuke offers. “I must admit I'm quite curious myself.”

“Do you plan to go now?” Shunsui asks.

“Yes,” you nod. “And I'll be going alone. Shouldn't take long.”

>Find Ichibē, the one who's supposedly the wisest and most experienced.
>Find Ōetsu, the one who knows each zanpakuto from before it's 'born'.
>Find Hikifune, the consummate scientist of the Royal Guard.
>Find Shutara, the one who seems well-rounded and inclined to help you.

>>1651921
>>Find Ōetsu, the one who knows each zanpakuto from before it's 'born'.

>>1651921
>Find Ōetsu, the one who knows each zanpakuto from before it's 'born'.

>>1651921
>>Find Ōetsu, the one who knows each zanpakuto from before it's 'born'.
inb4kirinji

>>1651921
>Find Ōetsu, the one who knows each zanpakuto from before it's 'born'

>>1651921
>>Find Ōetsu, the one who knows each zanpakuto from before it's 'born'.
I reckon we could also ask him how he feels about zanpakutou being forged by anyone other than himself and how the Kasumiōji factors into this. Along with the extent of leeway being given to their clan to continue doing so.

>>1651975
They aren't zanpakuto.

>3d10, DC 16, Crit 21, best of four

Rolled 3, 7, 3 = 13 (3d10)

>>1651996

Rolled 10, 3, 6 = 19 (3d10)

>>1651996
Rollin'

>>1651982
My bad then. Weapons it is.

The elder Feng did mention that besides Sword God, they are the only other people in Seireitei that forge weapons so I thought an arrangement was done beforehand to allow them to do so.

Rolled 13, 13, 11 = 37 (3d20)

>>1651996
Oh lawd

Rolled 3, 4, 8 = 15 (3d10)

>>1652014
Shit wrong dice
>>1651996
Sorry

Rolled 3, 7, 5 = 15 (3d10)

>>1651996

>writing

>>1652054
“I'll be heading out now,” you sigh, reaching out towards nothing in particular.

“What, from here?” Shunsui asks, bemused.

You nod as your fingers press against the fabric of the universe and tear it asunder. “Yeah, why bother waiting.”

Once the aperture is wide enough for you to step through you do so, striding confidently through the space between worlds on a cushion of reishi of your own making. It takes a few moments to locate the spot where it'll be easiest to push through into the Royal Realm, but when you do the sensation is clear.

“Bankai: Higeki no Ōjo!” you call out, releasing all of Tenkotsuki's divine power and pushing against the outside of the Soul King's realm. Space yields like a bubble popping, whereupon you arrive in the Royal Realm with a massive crash and the usual pall of smoke and dust.

Coughing, you look around to see how close you ended up to Ōetsu: you figure that it'd be best to start by speaking with the man who knows every zanpakuto from even before it's 'born' and who knows the most about the process behind forging them.

Unfortunately it seems you're nowhere close. But you are close to...

>1d12, taking second roll

Rolled 7 (1d12)

>>1652075

Rolled 6 (1d12)

>>1652075

Rolled 7 (1d12)

>>1652075
>the monk's dragon dildo collection

Okay then, give me another round of rolls.
>3d10, as usual: DC 18, Crit 24
>Best of four

Rolled 7, 4, 9 = 20 (3d10)

>>1652095

Rolled 7, 10, 8 = 25 (3d10)

>>1652095

Rolled 2, 1, 8 = 11 (3d10)

>>1652095

Rolled 8, 1, 8 = 17 (3d10)

>>1652095

File: -279713524.jpg (568 KB, 1590x1166)

568 KB JPG

>>1652100
Ayy, nicely done. Have a Yoshiteru.

>>1652095
“Behind!” Tenkotsuki barks, but you honestly felt the shift in the reiatsu being released by your own body mere moments before you would have been struck.

You sidestep, grabbing your attacker by her wrist and throwing her over your shoulder and pivoting on your front foot to kick Suí Fēng in the back for her trouble with your left. She rolls well with the blow, immediately following up with a shunpo and a powerful attack. She actually executes kazaguruma perfectly, lifting her whole body and landing a powerful shearing kick. The blow would have knocked you back from its overwhelming power.

However you're in peak form yourself, leaning back and grabbing Captain Fēng by the back of her ankle and blocking her back foot with the sole of your right foot. Having executed takigoi perfectly you ready your free hand and flick at Suí Fēng to send her crashing to the ground.

“Your skills have improved, Little Bee,” you admit with a smile, feeling your opponent standing behind you. “You used utsusemi even while I had you pinned with takigoi.”

“You didn't try to dodge?” Suí Fēng asks.

“I'm not here to see how your training is going,” you shrug. “Though if you keep up that pace I might be tempted to set aside my own business for a while.”

“I see. So what has you so busy, Captain Kusajishi?”

“I'm here to speak with Ōetsu,” you explain. “Someone had the great idea to steal my swords, along with former Lieutenant Yadōmaru's.”

“I assume that this fool is dead?” Little Bee asks with a wry grin.

“Nah, blew his arm off though,” you shrug. “Mostly I just want to know more about what they wanted to gain from such a stupid plan.”

“I see,” she nods thoughtfully. “I have been training under Kirinji, but I suppose I could point you in the Tōshin's direction. On one condition...”

>No guarantees.
>I don't think I have time, sorry.
>Name it.
>Other?

>>1652188
>*raise eyebrow* And that is...?

>>1652188
>No guarantees.
Being a Captain's busy business, after all.

>>1652197
>>1652188
supporting

>>1652188
>>No guarantees.
Depends on the condition, though I don't think Sui Feng will be unreasonable about it.

>>1652188
>>No guarantees.

>>1652188
>No guarantees.

>>1652188
This is surprisingly....maverick, for lack of a better word, for Soi Fon. Close to derelict of duty, considering Riku is acting in pursuit of her own duties.

File: 58888703_p11_master1200.jpg (475 KB, 900x955)

475 KB JPG

>>1652188
“Okay, and that is?” you ask. “No promises of course, but I'll see what I can do.”

“What I want to say,” Suí Fēng grins, “is that I want you to do something to ruin Captain Urahara Kisuke's day.”

“You're still on his case?”

“I like to see him squirm a little,” Captain Fēng admits. “He can be a bit of a layabout, and spends too much of his time on his hobbies rather than his duties as a Captain... and don't try to tell me the SRDI isn't more indulgent than productive.

“He... gets passionate about his work,” you shrug.

“But as I said, that is not what I want you to do,” Suí Fēng continues. “No, I want you to do something even more dangerous.”

“I'm still listening.”

“What I want you to do is surreptitiously arrange for me to be alone with Lord Shihōin Yūshiro,” your fellow Captain tells you, her voice lowered slightly.

“And why's that?” you ask playfully. “Yoruichi will want to know what you want to inflict upon her precious little brother.”

“That Captain,” Little Bee responds with a furrowed brow, “is private.”

“And I think that will tell Yoruichi all she needs to know,” you sigh. “Alright, I'll see what I can do once you're back.”

“Thank you,” Suí Fēng bows slightly, a trace of a smile creeping across her face. “You can find Ōetsu Tōshin to the north, that way. He recently was obliged to move his forge... there was a bit of an accident.”

You look in the direction she's pointing, and thank her before taking off.
>1d10, second roll

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>1652332

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>1652332
>do something to ruin Captain Urahara Kisuke's day
... but we already ruin his day merely by existing.

>>1652332
Along the way, you're nearly blown off your feet from a blast wave... that has to be Komamura's technique, and he's between you and where you're trying to get.

“Captain Kusajishi,” you hear the Captain's familiar boom. “Interesting that you have found a way into the royal realm. I take it you are busy, but could you spare the time to speak with me for a moment?”

>That's rare. Sure, I can take a moment or two.
>Come with me. I could use the escort, so I won't be diverted again.
>Sorry, I don't have the time now. Try and catch me later.
>Other?

>>1652377
>That's rare. Sure, I can take a moment or two.
>How's progress? Learn a new trick or two?

>>1652377
>>That's rare. Sure, I can take a moment or two.

>>1652377
>>Come with me. I could use the escort, so I won't be diverted again.
>Other?
And what's this about Oetsu and an accident?

>>1652391
This.

>>1652377
>>1652391
Supporting.

>>1652391
Backing. I will be pleasantly surprised if he's learned to be not useless

>writing

File: Ep215SajinKomamura.png (878 KB, 1022x628)

878 KB PNG

>>1652377
“Sure,” you nod, coming to a stop. “It's rare that you actually want to have a conversation. How have thing been?”

“Strained,” the imposing wolf-man chuckles. “Lord Ichibē had me fighting Captain Zaraki, under the notion that it would improve both our kenjutsu capabilities.”

“I take it that's when Ōetsu's forge was destroyed,” you sigh. “Whose fault was it?”

“Does it matter?” Komamura shrugs. “But if you must know it was Zaraki who went overboard.”

“Why am I not surprised,” you shake your head. “So I trust you've learned a few new tricks and techniques?”

“I have,” Komamura confirms. “In fact that is what I wish to discuss with you.”

“Oh?”

Komamura nods grimly. “Indeed. Tell me, are you familiar with my clan?”

“Not particularly,” you shake your head. “In fact wasn't totally aware there was more than one person... well, with your peculiar characteristics.”

“A diplomatic way to phrase it,” your fellow Captain admits, shutting his eyes in thought and taking a seat on a nearby rock, set amid the wide field he's been practicing in. “But yes, I do hail from a small clan and yes, all of them are like me to some degree.”

“I know the history of the Shihōin and the roots of their unusual abilities,” you tell him, moving the conversation along. “Was it a similar situation?”

Komamura shakes his big, furry head. “It was a curse, related to the sins of our clan in life.”

“That's unbelievable,” you admit. “A clan whose slate wasn't wiped clean by the wheel of reincarnation... is there any precedent for such a thing?”

“To my knowledge, no,” Komamura admits. “But it does leave our clan with a few unusual techniques regarding our... humanity.”

“I know little of these techniques, being somewhat divorced from my clan. I wanted to hear your opinion.”

>Why is that? What makes my opinion valuable here?
>Having a clan is important... if for no other reason, I'd pursue such techniques for that purpose.
>Hang on, you were punished harshly but not sent to Hell?
>Other?

>>1652574
>>Why is that? What makes my opinion valuable here?
>Hang on, you were punished harshly but not sent to Hell?

>>1652574
>>Why is that? What makes my opinion valuable here?

>>1652574
>Why is that? What makes my opinion valuable here?
>Other?
We need all the tricks up our sleeves for what's coming, so anything that gives us an advantage (and doesn't make us the same as Aizen) is on the table.

>>1652574
>>Why is that? What makes my opinion valuable here?

>>1652574
>Hang on, you were punished harshly but not sent to Hell?
>Since when does Hell take exceptions to the damned? And I've been to hell. And was Queen of Hell for 10 minutes.
>If it's a clan technique that came from a clan that's been wiped from the cycle of reincarnation, then there must be a good reason behind it. Sure you can have my opinion on it.

>3d10, best of three

Rolled 8, 10, 3 = 21 (3d10)

>>1652669

Rolled 1, 10, 5 = 16 (3d10)

>>1652669

Rolled 1, 3, 4 = 8 (3d10)

>>1652669

>>1652670
So Captain Shibe is going to be fairly open with you.

>>1652669
“Shelving for a moment how ridiculous the situation is,” you say, shaking your head. “Why is it that you're asking me? What makes my opinion worth hearing to you?”

“Because, for lack of a better way to explain it, you have been on ground where I have yet to tread,” Komamura relates to you. “As your hollowfication should by all accounts lessen your humanity, my own background is something I have striven to overcome. However in confronting those parts of yourself, which should have been your darkest and most base, you have become something more instead of less. You and Captain Shihōin both.”

“I wish to hear your opinion because I myself am not certain I can replicate your success.”

You remain silent for a few moments, contemplating what Komamura has admitted to you. And it does make some sense: a background laden with such sins as he believes are his and possessing a hollow aspect are likely not much different in his mind, and where he has rejected his demons you came to terms with yours. As natural as it seemed to you at the time it can't be that way for most people, especially for those whose entire lives have been spent doing the opposite with almost religious fervor.

“I was Queen of Hell for a little while,” you chuckle, remembering the ludicrous outfit the Guardians of Hell saddled you with for a while when you went to rescue Lisa. “And while I was there, I learned a lot about how it works from my contact with the sinners and with their jailers. You want to know the difference between you and them?”

“You mean, the reason for our curse as opposed to our damnation?” Komamura asks, peering down at you with his ears alert and eyes focused. “I would have you speak, Captain.”

“The difference is that the sinners need to be disciplined, to be broken down both mentally and physically over many decades or even centuries to purge them of the weight of their sins,” you explain, “to extract repentance from fundamentally impenitent souls. The entire realm is less of a prison and more of a torture chamber to that end.”
>1/2

>>1652726
“But you, who can't possibly even know what sins you're supposedly being punished for, are penitent,” you explain. “You wish to make amends for whatever it is that's in your clan's past, and so Hell has no business holding you and the Soul Society has given you the opportunity.”

“That is your understanding of it?” Komamura asks. “So simple a thing is the difference between damnation and a chance at redemption?”

“It may be simple, but your intentions are never a small thing Sajin,” you observe. “We may be shaped by the world, but ultimately it's the way we try to shape the world in turn that counts... if you understand my meaning.”

“I believe I do,” Komamura nods. “And I do not disagree. However, that still leaves the question unanswered: how do I deal with my clan?”

“I'd face it, head on,” you advise. “Ultimately your decisions are nobody's but your own, but if I were you I would want as much information as I could get before making those decisions.”

“Your senses of duty and moral obligation are strong. While some introspection is always healthy, doubting your ability to make the right decision here is unwarranted. At least that's what I think.”

Komamura's eyes widen slightly...
>3d10, higher is better

Rolled 4, 3, 7 = 14 (3d10)

>>1652772

Rolled 8, 1, 7 = 16 (3d10)

>>1652772

Rolled 6, 7, 6 = 19 (3d10)

>>1652772

>>1652796
dc 18 bare minimum?

>>1652772
… and he rises to his feet, offering you a careful bow.

“When the time comes,” he explains in a low growl, “you can expect my loyalty.”

“And... what exactly does that mean?”

Komamura's back straightens, and he chuckles as he turns to return to his training. “Nothing. Don't worry about it... I believe you were in a hurry to meet someone?”

With a quick, shallow bow of your own you take your leave of Captain Komamura, and finally arrive near a large body of water. It's an artificial lake, no doubt used to cool Ōetsus works as they come out of the forge. Sure enough you spy a ramshackle set of structures on the far side, which two hirenkyaku in quick succession carry you towards.

There you find the Tōshin bickering with those zanpakuto spirits he keeps around, like some sort of bizarre harem where the girls themselves are actually priceless works of art.

“And I'm saying you can't really call it a sword!” Ōetsu insists to his red-haired assistant, whose name you've only heard once years ago.

“And I'm telling you it's a silly distinction to make!” she huffs. “Really, just because you can't sheath it doesn't mean it's not a sword, dummy.”

“What do you think, Captain?” Tōshin asks without turning to face you. Instead he holds a simple katana out at his side... you can tell from here that its edge is far beyond ordinary concepts of 'sharpness'. “Can you call this a sword if it's so sharp that no sheath can hold it, hm? Or is it somethin' else entirely?”

>A sword's a sword. Sheaths are part of the furniture, different thing.
>You may have a point. Something which can't be treated as a sword isn't.
>What's a sword, anyway? Who gets to define such things?
>Other?

>>1652895
>>Other?
Well it certainly isn't a knife.

>>1652895
>Is a person not a person if they can't wear clothes?

>>1652895
>What's a sword, anyway? Who gets to define such things?
Honestly, the distinction gets a bit fuzzy if you look at everything thats been called a sword. If being too sharp disqualifies one, what about one thats so blunt it cannot cut at all? Its probably more to do with how its used.

>>1652895
>How can a sheath do it's job of protecting the cutting edge of a sword if the sword keeps on cutting through the sheathe?
>So then what makes a sheath so sturdy that the sword it holds never loses it's edge? Is it a sheath or is it a container for the sharpest iron bar? Or something else entirely?

>>1652895
>>What's a sword, anyway? Who gets to define such things?
On the other end of the spectrum, if it's dull up to a certain point, is it merely a bludgeon then?

>>1652895
>Other: How many times did you fold that sword? 1000+ times with glorious nippon steel?
memes aside the only appropriate answer to a koan of a question is another koan.
>Other: Have you made a sword so dull that it can't cut anything?

>>1652895
>>1652895
>>Other?
A sword is a high enough concept that any given object's swordiness depends on the individual beholding it.

I mean, F/sn stuck three tubes and a cap in a basket hilt and I totally bought it as the sword before swords, so who is anyone to say what anyone else decides is a sword or not?

>>1652895
>Nothing. Don't worry about it
Why do I feel like there's some royal guard bullshit going on here?

>>1652908
I like this, backing

>>1652908
>>1652895
I'll back this analogy question.

>3d10, DC 14, crit 17
Riku SHOULD be aware of this even if nobody picked up on it, though of course there's always a chance she'd miss it due to distraction or impatience.

Rolled 8, 5, 5 = 18 (3d10)

>>1652952

Rolled 2, 2, 3 = 7 (3d10)

>>1652952

Rolled 8, 9, 8 = 25 (3d10)

>>1652952

Rolled 3, 4, 7 = 14 (3d10)

>>1652952
Sorry for disappointing you, sensei

>>1652964
Okay, she got it, damn.

>>1652964
I like how we get the super amazing roll on such an easy DC.

>Have you tried asking it?

>>1652952
“Ridiculous,” you sigh. “Ōetsu, you should know better.”

“Oh?” he muses with a knowing smile. “And what is it I should know, missy?”

“If a sword cuts its own sheath, then it's the fault of the fittings and not the blade,” you frown. “Mounted properly the katana floats freely within the saya, held in place by tension between collar and mouth. A proper draw ensures that there is no incidental contact.”

“Exactly right,” Ōetsu nods.

“So why is it you wanted to draw me into that discussion?” you ask, eyebrow arching in suspicion. “It can't be to teach your zanpakuto anything, and you wouldn't just be jerking them around like that I'd guess. So you wanted me to weigh in on what a sword is?”

“And do you have an answer?” the Tōshin asks.

“Why do I feel like there's been a sudden tonal shift here?” the red-haired zanpakuto demands, resting her hands impatiently on her hips. “Someone explain this shit to me!”

“A sword is a tool,” you reply, considering your words carefully. “A zanpakuto begins life as an especially adaptable tool... at least when one is forged from an asauchi. What it becomes is more than a tool, more complicated than a partner, a reflection of self that is not a perfect mirror. It emphasizes some traits of its wielder, lessens others. A reinterpretation of a fragment made into a whole being, incomplete without its wielder but never truly subordinate to the whole.”

“And for all their endless variations?”

“A sword so dull it can't cut anything is still technically a sword,” you reply. “Same as with a sword that can't not cut anything, or that has no fittings. A zanpakuto is more than even the union of its form and function.”

“Very good,” Ōetsu smiles. “Yeah... I like the way you think, kid.”

CHOOSE ONE:
>What defines an asauchi as different from any other spiritual weapon?
>How did shinigami manifest swords before the asauchi?
>How do zanpakuto grown and evolve once they've been given definite form?
>Other?

>>1653022
>>How did shinigami manifest swords before the asauch

>>1653022
>How did shinigami manifest swords before the asauchi?

>>1653022
>What defines an asauchi as different from any other spiritual weapon?

>>1653022
>Other?
What would happen if you gave a god an asauchi?

>>1653022
>>How do zanpakuto grown and evolve once they've been given definite form?

>writing

>>1653022
Torn between the first two options.

>How did shinigami manifest swords before the asauchi?
I guess this won out by a margin because of idle speculation on whether two different shinigami manifesting the same sword was prevalent before asauchi. And whether Toshin's method stemmed its occurrence somewhat.

First option feels like it invites comparisons with, say, what the arrancar or quincy wield. Certainly interesting too.

File: TheFirstGotei.jpg (88 KB, 761x467)

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>>1653022
“How did shinigami used to manifest their weapons,” you ask, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the so-called Sword God. “And how did the asauchi change that?”

“Now there's an interestin' question!” Ōetsu declares loudly, actually going so far as to slap his knee in excitement. “Hot damn, hardly though anyone'd work up the balls, but here you are!”

“What makes it interesting?” you ask.

Ōetsu's expression darkens, and he removes the big, silly sunglasses you've seen him wear nearly every other time you've met ever since the first, right after you helped Apacci become an arrancar. The look in his eyes... for the first time, you're forcibly reminded how old this man is, how much he's experienced both good and bad. He's a living relic from the very beginning of the Soul Society, so long ago that hardly anyone alive would even recognize it.

“Used to be we just used plain swords, or created them the same way quincy do, or imprinted on regular old weapons and armor,” he explains in a low voice. “Never was a regulated process, got wildly variable results. No rhyme or reason to it, everyone just seemed to do it slightly differently. Lotta the more successful attempts are held by that cool cat Yoruichi's family, they call 'em 'bogū' now. Some very potent and dangerous stuff, and they don't much care who picks 'em up and tries to use 'em so long as they do it right.”

“Which meant that after a wielder died those dangerous weapons could fall into anyone's hands,” you carry out the thought to its logical conclusion. “And some people probably tried collecting them to gain power.”

Ōetsu raises his finger, then points it straight at you with a wicked grin. “That's exactly right! Some real headhunter kinda shit used to go down between shinigami, individuals and clans alike. That's why the noble houses banded together the way they did, each house had its own ties and alliances to keep its treasured bogū from falling into their rivals' hands.”

“And the asauchi were meant to change that?” you ask. “How?”

“Well, we had to make the process more... regular,” Ōetsu recounts. “Tie it to a wielder's soul so it'd grow with them, based on them, and ultimately die alongside them. And we had to do it en masse.”

“The zanpakuto became the approved tool of the shinigami, and the bogū were handed into the Shihōin's protective custody a few at a time. Shortly thereafter the most capable shinigami were organized into the predecessors of the Gotei 13."
>1/2

>>1653177
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJbMsNAVXWc

“And what made the asauchi so successful?” you press.

“They were more reliable than the competing concepts of the day,” Ōetsu tells you. “It's really just that simple, when you got somethin' that works you stick with it. You invest time and energy into makin' it keep on workin'.”

“Competition? First I've heard of that, and my sword-lore's better than most living shinigami,” you frown, wondering if there's an obvious connection to the Kasumiōji there and to what they may be doing within the closed-off confines of their manor.

The Tōshin shrugs, as if what he's revealed should be old news to you. As if the details are totally unimportant. “Yeah, well, it's kinda something you'd expect to be forgotten. Oh sure there were holdouts, people who tried doin' it other ways, but it never quite worked out ya see. That's why I got the job of forgin' asauchi for the Gotei 13... all the thousands of shinigami alive today use my work. All the thousands before them too. And I know the names of all of 'em.”

“And what is your work? You're dancing around that part of the question, what did the invention of the asauchi change?” you ask, not really liking the evasiveness you're getting here. Normally this is a man who can't help but brag a little, and now he's talking around the question at hand?

“You see, for this process to work reliably, to draw out a shinigami's full potential, can't just be a regular old sword,” Ōetsu explains with a frown. “There's not really much... affinity there. A sword and a person aren't anythin' alike you know. Even a baby knows the difference. So how can there be an affinity? How can a sword take an imprint off its wielder's presence and character and potential if it has none of those things itself?”
>3d10, DC 18
>best of four

Rolled 8, 4, 3 = 15 (3d10)

>>1653212

Rolled 8, 7, 4 = 19 (3d10)

>>1653212
Put something in it or make it out of something that can.
They're hollows, aren't they?

Rolled 6, 5, 3 = 14 (3d10)

>>1653212

Rolled 1, 10, 6 = 17 (3d10)

Asauchi are PEOPLE!
>>1653212

>>1653236
Of course, you make a sword more than a sword, obviously you need to start with an empty shell. And a hollow is the perfect empty shell.

I wonder if a blank would be a suitable replacement for soylent green...

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>>1653212
“It can't...” you realize aloud, feeling your own eyes slowly widening in alarm at the ramifications. “An asauchi should be impossible as a feat of smithing. No metal is that sensitive to spiritual presence, none of the bogū are even remotely like a zanpakuto. They simply couldn't be.”

Ōetsu's grin widens menacingly. “Now you're getting' it.”

“How?” you demand, your throat dry and scratchy. “What did you do?”

“Steel would never cut it,” Ōetsu explains. “So to promote an affinity between weapon and wielder, one had to be made like the other. And since forgin' a shinigami out of swords would just be a painfully stupid idea...”

“You forged a sword out of shinigami...”

“Precisely,” Ōetsu nods, his smile giving way to a grim glare. “Those two lovely swords at your waist, the swords that work my forge with me, Ichibē's silly brush, the Old Geezer's stick, your lovely wife's knives, your kids' weapons... every single shinigami you've ever known carries a blade originally made from other shinigami.”

“That's my work, Captain Kusajishi.”

>>1653280
And on that note, it's midnight here and even later on the east coast, so I'm going to have to say goodnight. Archive is up, and thanks for stopping by. Hope you had a good time!

I'll probably be doing SoZ tomorrow, with a continuation of SSQ Monday night. Past that point I have no idea, so keep an eye on twitter. As always, it's @QMKingofHearts.

>>1653280
Was it here that I called this ages ago or some other bleach quest? I can't recall. But someone told me I was dumb and that my idea was dumb. All I gotta say is somewhere, someone has been told so.

RIP, shiggydiggies. See y'all next time.

>>1653303
thanks for running

I think I would have preferred if the swords where hollows this is kinda more fucked up

>>1653280
many mindfucks abound.

>>1653309
>>1653315
It's actually canon, Chapter 540 in the manga, just not widely known in-universe because people hardly ever ask the question.
Riku learning about it in this context may cast quite a few things in a different light.

>>1653303
Thanks for running.

I wonder why shinigami souls don't pass on like other souls though. And how the RG and/or Soul King keep this going - since every new shinigami requires there to be a pre-existing, dead shinigami, is there just one less on the total cap of possible shinigami every time one gets eaten by a hollow or destroyed by a Quincy (since both their zanpakuto and their soul would essentially be lost to Oetsu's forging process) or do they have some way of raising the cap?

>>1653338
I have an answer for that, which I'll get into next time.

>>1653338
well think about it. How do you make a shinigami in the first place? By having a spiritually aware human with potential. Next you gotta have that human shed their mortal coil and take up the job of being a shinigami (minus the sword) while dead.

>>1653334
Oh. Well. Shit. I stopped reading after Ichigo lost his powers when he beat Aizen. Was told that was the best part to stop if i didn't want to get upset over how dumb it gets.

>>1653315

Here's a thought, if a Hollow eats a Shinigami, then it's soul can't be used until the hollow is killed... so there is a potential for a sword being made from a soul that had been part of a Hollow for hundreds/thousands of years to have something akin to imperfections in it, which should Oetsu be overly distracted or having an 'off day' could end up creating what could turn out to be a non-standard Asauchi...

Then again, I may be trying to apply a logic chain that is too flimsy and tries to hard... take it as you will.

>>1653338
Actually I previously assumed a shinigami was just a regular old resident of SS who happened to have lots of juice and who happened to appky for a job as a death god, but apparently they differ from souls somehow on a fundamental level.

>>1653349
Mostly I feel that's because for every additional character and plot point Kubo added it felt like there were two or three corresponding holes or unanswered questions.

Being a mangaka is hard. Just when you think you have something worthwhile, the best work you've ever done, every part of it perfect beyond what you thought you could accomplish,

you could told to do it again in 1/10th the time. And again. No pause, no break. Keep going. Meet the deadline. Meet it or you disappoint your fans. Get it out on time or you're cancelled.

Getting worn down like that, exposes all your flaws over time. Kubo's backgrounds all seem to disappear. Kishimoto was never that great at character design in the first place, but it got real repetitive towards the end. Toriyama just straight up forgot about certain characters, and what their deal was. All of them wound using tired tropes and repeating narrative structures. Why wouldn't they? It's easy. They probably did it without even noticing.

I think by the time the Soul Society arc started, Kubo had bitten off more than he could actually chew. The cast of characters by the time he'd introduced all the Captains and Lieutenants alone was more than his fans could actually properly follow. Trying to write for all of them must've been absurd. You notice after that arc everyone's outfits become much more simple and the backgrounds start disappearing on a regular basis. By the time you get to Aizen's big confrontation, it barely makes any sense. Everything after is just...he stops trying as hard.

Reading Bleach is watching the slow erosion of a man.

>>1653338
It was already answered. When the shinigami dies so does his sword. So what really moves into reincarnation is the former sword since that soul cannot be forget into a sword yet again.

Before that shinigami souls just reincarnated like normal.

>>1653280
HOLY FUCK SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE

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>>1653576
((Picture unrelated I just wanted to post miss under-boobs. She is great.)

Not only that but the main character was lacking, it started off good (which is a common theme when criticizing bleach) Ichigo started off as a jerk with a heart of gold who kicked people in the face and made friends with ghosts, but after a while he just became sort of a somber grump who only desired to fight to help/save his friends.

This is a huge problem because it turns into a cycle where Ichigo merely reacts to things happening to him. Compare that to certain other shonen mangas at the time said main characters had a overarching goals ambitions which in turn made those characters have are self motivating and thus making their journey. self perpetuating. Ichigo lacks that, I mean what would he do if the supernatural world stopped interfering with his life? It doesn't seem like he enjoys the battles nor really dislikes them either...

In the end I watched the anime which is hundreds of episodes and pieces of the manga and I STILL can't answer WHO Ichigo is... Nothing about his hopes and dreams and motivations.

>>1653576
>>1653705

Me again, forgot to add that yes Manga industry is nightmarish hard. Way I've heard it Kubo's main drive is to draw cool shit and that he never really wanted to do a long overarching story and that there were...Disagreements with the editorial staff even from early on.

>>1653710
If Kubo just wanted to draw coll shit he should have left writing the script to someone else.

>>1653705
>after a while he just became sort of a somber grump who only desired to fight to help/save his friends
To be fair that's always a risk with any story that ends up broken into "arcs". With Riku the way I tried to fight that is to have her motivations be fairly simple and consistent: she found a place where she belonged, a family to love and be loved by, and a purpose in life to protect them and to ensure that others have a fair chance at finding what she has. Instead it's her perspective that's slowly been changing, and her interpretation of what "protecting" actually involves has changed along with her expanded duties and insights into the world's mechanics. If I had to fault myself for one thing in SSQ it'd be not conveying that as clearly as I could.

As for SoZ I've tried making Carya's position more explicit: she had a direct hand in ushering in what should be humanity's golden era, where it's rising to become an interstellar community. But instead what she sees is the same tribalism and corruption that plagued the "old world", her participation in which during the War she's been struggling to atone for. Keeping newtypes like her from being used by the various governments as weapons against each other is one way she's dealt with her disillusionment, the other has been to excise the remnants and terror cells left behind in the wake of "progress" wherever she finds them. It's a deeply personal drive for her, and that's why she fights with a prejudice that Rossweisse (a non One-Year-War veteran who shares many of her other social and political views) lacks.

>>1653812
I can sense a growing crisis in Riku after hearing what Oetsu really does behind the scenes when he's working on another sword. As mind shattering the revelation can be, Oetsu still hasn't answered our original question we're gonna ask him in the first place: What happens to a zampakuto when the wielder hollowfies? And taken into context of the revelation of Riku forging a asauchi/zampakuto straight out of an Inner Hollow, what does it change?

On second thought Oetsu did answer Riku's original question in a round-about way. Taking the history of how Shinigami do their stuff way back before the G13 was formed, there was basically an arms race on which spiritual tool is the most reliable/strongest with many shinigami killing each other in that conflict. Oetsu's method of forging Asauchi was widely accepted due to it's reliability which wiped out the rest of the competition save for a few holdouts like the Katsumoji who lack the political influence in the C-46 and out of a job as weaponsmiths. So they sought to gain influence by stealing Zampakuto (to study what makes them tick) and killing those within the clan who are against going against Seireitei to further their agenda. If they do successfully figure out the trick behind the Asauchi (the fact that it's made out of dead shinigami), they'll get enough political leverage through eithical pull to for a mass recall and dismantling of the Asauchi/Zampakuto system and try to sell their own spiritual weapon as a better alternative which as far as Riku and Yoruichi have seen is an even worse alternative than the current system.

>>1653914
He doesn't need to kill any Shinigami, just collect their souls. Still evil but less than Mayuri.

...What happens when a soul as powerful as ours or yamamoto's is forged into an asauchi?

>>1654163
Nothing, the swords are blanks.

>>1654177
No, we've seen that swords themselves can be stronger or weaker, even if they have similar abilities and wielders, some swords are... special.

There's no way the quality of the shinigami it's forged from wouldn't affect the power of the sword. A part of the shinigami's soul is imprinted upon it, but they are their own living beings, they have their own will, their own personalities and powers. That makes sense given how they're created.

Tenkotsuki is the same, she was a goddess, and she became an incredibly powerful and flexible sword. Rosa was a powerful hollow that formed inside of us, yet remained a separate being. She took on the qualities of rosa, the remnants of our past life, that of a woman who died with regrets, someone with the strong negative emotions required to become a hollow in the first place, and when we forged her into a sword, her abilities reflected who she was.

The swords might be called blanks, but they aren't truly blank.
They are who they were made from. The shinigami then connects with them, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Like a good friend, or a lover. They learn to help eachother like we would with yoruichi, in the form of moral support, in the form of increasing eachother's power or whatever else.

I'm not really sure how to feel about it, or what it all really means, but... i don't think i hate it.

If you were to die in battle, only to be given a second chance of sorts, to be able to go back into battle and to bond with someone like that. To fight alongside and protect them. Just another way to serve, right?
There's no quitting being a shinigami, after all.

>>1654214
Other than the fact they lose all sense of self and instead become a facet of the individual wielding the sword. If a shinigami dies, they're dead. If their soul matter gets made into a sword, they aren't a sword, the sword was just made from them. And the examples you just gave were of two incredibly non-standard spirits being made into swords. Tenkotsuki occupied the zanpakto from Riku's soul. Rosa was made into a sword from Riku's soul. It's not like someone killed a captain and made them into an asauchi and that sword turned into the meanest fucking sword.

OMG's sword could have been made from a boring unseated shinigami-tier soul, just his super badass fiery nature took it over. Likewise Renji could have a sword made from a dead captain, and he's kind of shit and his sword is kind of shit. These are all hypothetical situations because we can't possibly know. Only Oetsu knows.

It does make much more sense to me though that the wielder influences the sword more than the other way around. But there is obviously a deeper connection in how the soul and the sword interact. I mean, if it was just "Higher quality soul = higher quality sword" then every captain would be swinging around WMDs because if they had a captain class soul in their sword they'd clearly make it to captain level, right? The swords aren't measurable like that. Kenny made captain without his sword being special. Unohana's sword isn't especially great, either, Komamura's is kind of embarrassing, and Toshiro's despite being considered the strongest ice-type is still able to be rather easily defeated by his foes in most cases. The Captains all have very niche swords.

I don't think there is a measurable correlation between whose soul it was and how the sword turns out. After all, does that mean Shunsui's sword was a single asauchi made from two souls? I doubt it. But again, I don't know. It's all weird soul science.

>>1654281
I don't think that's true.
When rosa died and became riku, she lost her sense of self, she was turned into a "blank" of sorts, but riku still keps aspects of rosa, because she was an extraordinary individual. Riku should use blut, hirenkyaku and other quincy techniques on instinct, because even though she died and lost her sense of self, she is still the same soul, and those abilities were imprinted upon her in life. It's the same for the asauchi, i think.

There could easily be "captain-class asauchi" in the hands of someone pathetic who could never use it, or likewise no-name swords in the hands of people who could otherwise be captain class.
Or perhaps oetsu gives certain swords to certain people, knowing what kind of person the sword was made from, what special properties it might have once imprinted upon, and knowing who might best benefit from it. It could be that on the rare occasion someone receives a lieutenant or captain class asauchi, it's because that someone who stands out above the rest.

That also makes me wonder what happens when you make an asauchi out of something besides a shinigami, like a human, an animal, a quincy, a hollow or something else entirely, like a blank mod soul.
It's all speculation, but interesting nonetheless. I want to see where kind goes with it.

>>1654855
This is another topic I'll get to Monday evening.

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>>1654865
wew lad

>>1654865
Since you're here anyways, an omake suggestion
Riku and friends find out that their world is just a story written by beings from another world, and speak directly to the chantards who control their actions and the outcome of their world. And with "The King" who created their world. and maybe kubo

>>1654855
One wrench in your theory.

Way back in thread 2, Yoruichi gave Riku an Asauchi. It had to have been made out of someone, and I doubt that even Oetsu had access to leftover Tamamo-no-Mae bits.

So who was it?

>>1655304
or it could be that the "blanks" are literally Blank Shinigami soul templates.

>>1655304
>>1655369
That too is something I plan to touch on.

>>1655304
What about the asauchi we stole from the "god of flash" before even that?
The one which stayed put around our little shack for like a century?

>>1655304
Also, what happens when an asauchi is used to make an arrancar, when they literally break off a part of their body and physically shove it into the sword?
It doesn't act like a normal asauchi anymore.

And apacci refers to it as the "hollowy" part of her... would it be kind of like putting a hollow mask on a shinigami?
Could that be part of the reason our arrancar have slowly started to become more human? Because they put the "hollowy" part of them inside the body of a shinigami?
this has a lot of implications

>>1656328
>accidentally purify hollows through swording hard enough.

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>will continue at 6pm PST

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>>1656979
>not posting the full resolution version

>1hr 15 minutes
>may be slow at first due to dinner

>>1657685
“To be fair, you've made things harder on me,” Ōetsu admits while you're still working out what to even say. “You and miss Yoruichi both. Like I toldja, swords gotta be like their wielders... the swords I've given both of you were from my private collection, you see.”

“I can forge anythin' into anythin'... so long as the vessel matches.”

“You imbued a forge...” you realize aloud. “You imbued a forge the same way the hōgu and bugu were, and it gained the ability to... to distill living spiritual beings into a form that can be used to make swords.”

“That's kinda right, if a little spare on the details,” Ōetsu nods. “This forge of mine had to be linked to the cycle of reincarnation by the Soul King himself. I capture the reiryoku of shinigami who die and gotta be reborn, pulverize it, and forge it into each sword: that's how an asauchi's made. Each one's got the same basic potential unless I wanna do somethin' different... which I rarely feel like doin' since I don't usually get a say in who gets what sword when.”

“So that's why so few humans are born with spiritual potential,” you guess. “Except for that Don Kanonji character and the quincy, who are a totally different matter.”

“Accidents happen,” Ōetsu shrugs with a wry grin. “They may call me a 'god', but I'm only human.”

“And the Ise family heirloom?” you ask, racking your brain for exceptions to the apparent rules to better test their limits. “How is it that one zanpakuto is apparently exempt, and can be passed down between generations?”

“That was another accident,” the Tōshin's smile fades somewhat in the admission. “A sword that disperses divine power can't have its reiryoku reclaimed by my forge, since my forge kinda borrows a divine power to work.”
>1/2

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>>1657780
“So you declared it a 'treasured artifact' and put a special guard on it?”

Ōetsu shrugs. “Gives those nobles somethin' to do and gets it outta my hair. I'd call that a win-win, wouldn't you?"

“You said we made things hard on you,” you repeat the phrase that Ōetsu himself seems to have forgotten he used. “What do you mean? Hard in what way?”

“Oh, that,” Ōetsu pauses thoughtfully. “Well, you're not totally shinigami anymore, right? So your replacement blade for Tenkotsuki had to have some shinreiryoku in it, Raijūsenkō had to be made from an adjuchas, and Kobara no Tachi, you call it? That was a real head-scratcher, admit I kinda ended up gambling a bit there. But damn did it ever pay off!”

PICK ONE:
>How did you get quincy reiryoku into a sword?
>What about arrancar? I ripped off Apacci's face, how did THAT work?
>You got quincy and hollow reiryoku to coexist in a sword?
>Other?

>dinner in progress later than expected, will be back as soon as I can

>>1657786
>>You got quincy and hollow reiryoku to coexist in a sword?

>>1657786
>What about arrancar? I ripped off Apacci's face, how did THAT work?

>>1657786
>You got quincy and hollow reiryoku to coexist in a sword?

That is honestly really impressive. Anyway got pt at 0500 tomorrow so I'll catch this in the arhcives. Thanks for running King

>>1657796
By all means.

>>1657786
>>You got quincy and hollow reiryoku to coexist in a sword?

>>1657786
>>How did you get quincy reiryoku into a sword?

>>1657786
>You got quincy and hollow reiryoku to coexist in a sword

>writing
>3d10, DC 18, Crit 21, best of four

Rolled 5, 7, 8 = 20 (3d10)

>>1657843

Rolled 1, 3, 7 = 11 (3d10)

>>1657843

Rolled 18, 8, 12, 13 = 51 (4d20)

>>1657843

>>1657853
Argh I miss clicked! Well... RIP now I'm gonna go commit sudoku

Rolled 5, 1, 3 = 9 (3d10)

>>1657843

Rolled 7, 3, 5 = 15 (3d10)

>>1657843

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>>1657843
“You got hollow and quincy reiryoku to coexist?” you ask, the possibility of answering the old problem of the quincy and hollow essentially being antithetical to each other taking precedence over your other concerns at the moment. “How did you manage it? Did you take notes? Can it be replicated?”

“Slow down,” Tōshin sighs, raising his hands as defense against the interrogatory deluge. “That's not what I said I did at all... though you're not gonna like what I did do.”

“What do you mean?” you demand. “If you didn't mix hollow and quincy reiatsu, and a sword has to match Rosa's reiryoku, then how the hell can she exist?”

“Well, I got the idea from the early experiments with blood transfusions in Edinburgh,” he explains carefully, offering a suspicious amount of contextualization. “See, Shutara was especially interested in it. Reasoned that if you took a patient's own blood and stored it, you'd have a lower chance of rejection...”

In an instant Kobara no Tachi, the very sword Ōetsu's been alluding to, leaps from its scabbard and presses lightly against his neck. His eyes widen slightly in surprise at the speed of the movement as well as how quickly you managed to check it.

“Rosa, not the time,” you growl as the muscles in your right arm strain against each other. Your voice echoes menacingly, telling you that somehow you even managed to release the blade in that same instant.

“This bastard's been snatching samples of quincy reiryoku,” she answers, manifesting at your side with her blade in hand and forcing you to grab her around the wrist to prevent her from launching a second attack. “You get what he's saying, Riku? He's saying he stole our reiryoku! That's how he got a sword for you to forge me into, he had one waiting in a fucking closet somewhere with our own fucking spiritual powers in it!”

“Is that true?” you growl, glaring hard at the so-called Sword God.

“It's totally true,” he admits with an almost casual indifference. “I also took Kuchiki Ginrei's when he died. I take a lotta people's reiryoku and forge 'em into swords, but I didn't hear anyone complainin' about that a few seconds ago.”

>I was going to get to that when I got my bearings straight. This is flat-out sick.
>You were keeping spiritual power you took from a shinigami who was active-duty. That's a difference.
>You have a point, and you returned it eventually. I'll let you speak but I better like what I hear.
>Tenkotsuki. I want your opinion on this before I make any decisions.
>Other?

>>1657
>Tenkotsuki. I want your opinion on this before I make any decisions.890

>>You were keeping spiritual power you took from a shinigami who was active-duty. That's a difference.

>>1657890
>I was going to get to that when I got my bearings straight. This is flat-out sick.
>Tenkotsuki. I want your opinion on this before I make any decisions.

>>1657890
>>You have a point, and you returned it eventually. I'll let you speak but I better like what I hear.

>>1657890
>You have a point, and you returned it eventually. I'll let you speak but I better like what I hear.

>>1657890
>Tenkotsuki. I want your opinion on this before I make any decisions.890

>You were keeping spiritual power you took from a shinigami who was active-duty. That's a difference.

>>1657890
>Tenkotsuki. I want your opinion on this before I make any decisions.
>You were keeping spiritual power you took from a shinigami who was active-duty. That's a difference.
Since the way he said he gets the reiyoku earlier implies the person he gets it from has to die/be dying, does he just sucks up reiryoku from random spiritually powerful people when they die and makes it into swords for fun? Because there has to be no way he expected Riku to ever use it when he made it.

>>1657890
>Tenkotsuki. I want your opinion on this before I make any decisions.
>You were keeping spiritual power you took from a shinigami who was active-duty. That's a difference.

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>>1657890
“Tenkotsuki, I want to hear your opinion on the matter before I make any decisions,” you declare, eyes still fixed on Ōetsu even as you take Kobara no Tachi out of Rosa's hand and return it to its sheath. “As for what happens after that... let's say I'd sure as hell better like what I hear out of you, Tōshin.”

“I have been considering the implications, Lady Riku,” Tenkotsuki tells you as she manifests at your left side, opposite Rosa. Her nine tails glow faintly... she's angry. Angrier than you can recall having ever seen her. “And they are numerous.”

“What implications do you mean?” you ask, mustering all the self-control at your disposal.

“When I was killed I should have slowly reconstituted myself, as most divinities do under regular circumstances if seriously harmed,” she explains in a carefully controlled tone. “However, I did not. Instead I was reduced, becoming the vengeful spirit known as Hōji, and I have no doubts as to the reason why.”

“He took your reiryoku too?” Rosa guesses. “Holy shit, is there such a thing as a 'bridge too far' for you? Or have you forgotten the difference between can and should?”

“I wasn't about to pass up that opportunity,” Ōetsu admits frankly. “So I tapped a bit of your shinreiryoku to forge a sword... not all of it of course. I may take risks but I'm not exactly bangin' rocks together up here. I know when to quit while I'm ahead.”

“And how did our first sword work?” you demand. “Speak directly or not at all. No more deflecting or dancing around the issue.”

“Normally it'd be a problem,” Ōetsu explains. “But since you are a shintai instead of your sword it wasn't. You just had issues controllin' Tamamo no Mae's reiatsu that you might notta had otherwise.”

“And when I had to reforge her blade...”

“I gave the blade back to you,” Ōetsu nods in confirmation. “Yeah. Your control's been getting' better since then right? You've been improvin' faster?”

“That's the reason.”

PICK ONE
>And what would have happened had you not meddled in the first place?
>Let's move on... what about the Arrancar? How did their swords work?
>I'm here to know about some swords we found in the Seireitei recently.
>Other?

>>1657956
>>I'm here to know about some swords we found in the Seireitei recently.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>1657956
I can't decide what I want to ask

1
>Let's move on... what about the Arrancar? How did their swords work?

2
>I'm here to know about some swords we found in the Seireitei recently.

>>1657956
>I'm here to know about some swords we found in the Seireitei recently.

>>1657956
>>Let's move on... what about the Arrancar? How did their swords work?

>>1657956
>>1657956
"When you die certain goddess will take a claim on your soul, and no one will defend you. You helped to kill her daughter and you stole from her. I hope you enjoy whatever time you have left because Amaterasu-ōmikami will get you when your time comes."

*Even in Japanese mythos those who have greatly angered the gods don't have a happy afterlife in they are not punished while alive.

>>1657956
>And what would have happened had you not meddled in the first place?

>>1657980
Riku would not exist.

>>1657984
Besides that.

>>1658005
Certain fox brat would be living with her mother by now.

>>1657980
Probably would've gotten the hollow Rosa omake as canon

>>1657956
You shut your eyes briefly, considering the obvious routes you can take and the possible long-term results of what you've heard here today. And instead of deciding to pursue the admittedly disturbing details of how you've come to be where you are as a shinigami and as a person, from the very genesis of what would eventually become 'Kusajishi Riku', you return to the topic which brought you here.

But not without first offering a warning.

“I hope you've enjoyed your long life Ōetsu,” you begin, slowly opening your eyes and locking them with the Sword God's. “Because I literally don't have the perspective to judge you for what I've learned today. I know of no punishment that can fit your actions were it to come to punishment. So instead, I'm going to leave it to Inari-ōkami to decide what should be done.”

“Does that sound fair to you?”

“Yeah, surprisingly fair given the circumstances,” Ōetsu nods in agreement.

You simply shake your head. “I wasn't talking to you.”

“I shall abide by your judgment,” Tenkotsuki inclines her head. “But I will say this: you should not sell yourself short, my dear.”

Then Tenkotsuki returns to your inner world, just as quickly as she appeared in the first place. Rosa however isn't fully swayed yet.

“How many more?” she demands.

“A handful,” Ōetsu admits. “I wanted to have a few on hand, just in case they became useful.”

“Destroying them would do no good, not now anyway,” Rosa sighs, turning and staring sullenly at the swords on your waist. “We're already a dying race. The damage has been done... just remember your part in this, Tōshin. And if you forget what you've done after the last of us is gone I'll come back and butcher you myself.”

“Next time you piss her off that bad I'm not gonna stop her,” you add as Rosa joins Tenkotsuki, offering you a faint but clearly approving smile as she hears your words.
>3d10, DC 18, best of three

Rolled 4, 2, 4 = 10 (3d10)

>>1658023

Rolled 9, 5, 4 = 18 (3d10)

>>1658023

Rolled 1, 3, 7 = 11 (3d10)

>>1658023

>>1658023
“I'm guessing the reason I can help arrancars unmask has to do with shinreiryoku?” you muse.

“That's right,” Tōshin nods. He looks like he's about to add some long-winded and loud explanation, but the look in your eyes makes him reconsider. “Near as I can tell.”

“Then I won't push that too hard,” you sigh as the menacing reverberation leaves your voice. “Wouldn't tell me anything helpful anyway, wouldn't let me apply it or help other people do the same. So tell me, what do you know about those... 'competitors' of yours?”

“A fair amount,” Ōetsu admits, his expression shifting to one of curiosity. “Why're you askin' about that... unless you think it's suddenly relevant again?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” you tell him honestly. “Yoruichi and I were attacked by assassins wielding weapons like I've never seen before. More like living parasites than zanpakuto.”

“Like living parasites you say?” he frowns. “What can you tell me 'bout em other than that?”

>Describe your fight to Ōetsu in detail.
>Offer to bring him a sample.
>Offer to bring him Yoruichi to relay the details.
>Other?

>>1658054
>Describe your fight to Ōetsu in detail.
>Offer to bring him a sample.

>>1658054
>Describe your fight to Ōetsu in detail.
>If you want more details, come down to Kisuke's Science Division where they've got it under Secure Containment Protocols.
>Normally I'd send a sample to you but considering what you do for a living and what I've seen what that 'thing' does in action... I'll set up a video call with Kisuke so you can see the sample from your forge. Wouldn't want our sword god to have any accidents.

>>1658054
>>Describe your fight to Ōetsu in detail.
The octopus motif hand guard might ring some bells.

If that ain't enough...
>Offer to bring him a sample.

>>1658054
Why not all three?

>Describe your fight to Ōetsu in detail.
>Offer to bring him a sample.
>Offer to bring him Yoruichi to relay the details

"As far as I can tell it reminds me a lot to something Mayuri could have invented. His tech tends to be quite... organic. But it doesn't quite fit. Maybe there is a leak in that section? Hat and glasses is not gonna be happy that he has more spies that he knows about." You pause for a moment. "The spy he knows about is of course Mayuri's artificial daughter."

>>1658054
>Describe your fight to Ōetsu in detail.
>Offer to bring him a sample.

>>1658054
>From what I know from my investigation, the fight happened when I was heading back home after a trip to the Katsumoji clan estate. There was a shakedown in C-46 and I went to the mentioned clan to investigate. From what I've heard from the noble society, the Katsumoji were supposedly famed for being weaponsmiths forging weapons alternative to your brand of spiritual tools.
>Does the name Katsumoji ring a bell?

>>1658054
>>Describe your fight to Ōetsu in detail.

>writing

>>1658098
“I can tell you what I saw when I was fighting against those assassins,” you offer.

You explain to him that as you fought your enemies gradually seemed to grow in strength as their weapons seemed to slowly consume their sword-arms and shoulders. You also explain that you had almost certainly 'killed' several of them at least once without impacting their ability to keep fighting you until you totally destroyed their bodies. You recount the gradual loss of any sense of cognizance on the part of the lead assassin.

“That's when I severed the weapon and destroyed the body,” you conclude. “Yoruichi killed the hell out of hers not long after.”

“And you recovered the thing?” Ōetsu asks.

You nod in confirmation. “Yeah, we got it back without touching it. Kisuke's got it secured and started examining it. I can get him to share his findings.”

“That's be the best way to do it,” he quickly agrees. “Don't want it exposed to anythin'... and definitely don't want it around here.”

“So what is it?” you press. “I find it hard to believe you don't know anything.”

Ōetsu sighs, an uncharacteristic gesture of exhaustion. “You probably never heard of it, but one of the failed alternatives was called a bakkotō...”

>>1658165
And here's my stopping point for the night. Thanks for dropping by, and hope you had a good time!

SoZ continues tomorrow night, and from here I'll be doing omakes for SSQ until next weekend.

>>1658171
Thanks for running.

My back was tired from carrying the rolls anyway.

>>1658173
Take a rest, you earned it.

>>1658171
Thanks for running Queen.

>>1658204
Also it seems I have a new ID already.

>>1658247
…Okay.

>welcoming Omake suggestions
>would prefer something other than an alternate timeline if possible

>>1659066
whatever stupid trolly shit Gin is up too these days since we haven't seen him in a little while.

>>1659066
Halibel and co playing tennis

>>1659066
Orihime remembers how Riku knows the proprietor of the Inari shrine, so Ichigo, Tatsuki, and the rest of the gang go to check it out. Yuzu and Karin overhear Ichigo, decide they want to find out as well, and tag along.
This time, the proprietor is in.
>If Riku is your aunt, wouldn’t that make me your great aunt?

>>1659143
That sounds particularly FUN

>>1659216
What do you mean by FUN? Because it can mean different things.
Do you into dorf fort?

>>1659219
F.U.N.
F is for fire that burns down the whole town!
U is for uranium--BOMBS!
N is for no survivors!

>>1659221
F is for failing your driver's test every time you take it.
U is for underpaid working for Mr. Krabs.
N is for No, this is Patrick.

>>1659143
holy shit this.

>>1658171

Hang on, let me run somethings by you. I want to make sure I am picking up what you are trying to put down.

In the soul cycle, when a shinigami passes and is up for reincarnation, Oetsu interposes somehow and obtains something integral to the departing shinigami's reiryoku that he then uses to forge asauchi. This is given as part of the explanation why living humans with spiritual ability are so rare: any powers they had in prior life as a soul are removed before they are reborn. Have I got that right so far?

Each normal asauchi is devoid of distinguishing characteristics and does not in fact inherit any individual properties from the soul that it was forged from. The asauchi themselves, by design, are all as uniform and consistent as possible. Still good?


Also, and this is just my own speculation, who says Oetsu can only make one asauchi from each deceased shinigami? Trying to make asauchi on a 1 to 1 basis from each soul sounds like a flat out impossibility given the varying nature and magnitude of souls involved--at least if he wants to be consistent. Someone brought up using something like a captain's soul to make an asauchi, and, by my reckoning, something like that would be good to make a whole huge batch of blades.

So without getting too metaphysical, Oetsu doesn't use the entire soul to make an asauchi, correct? Just enough to make a weapon that will be especially compatible and synergize well with a "living" shinigami.

>>1661074
I think what's going on is that the entire shinigami soul is reforged. Only non-shinigami members of SS are reincarnated. So unless they're quincy or the rare unrecruited soul with high power, they don't get to be reborn at all. Hence the high amount of nobles among powerful shinigami.

>>1661074
You're spot-on for all counts, although with a caveat. The comparatively low number of asauchi that can be produced relative to the sum power of the Gotei 13 is due to inefficiencies in the process and to the longevity of Captain and Lieutenant-class shinigami. Though the last war with the quincy clan accounts for something of a surplus of blades at the moment.

When Riku helps them, the implication is that a menos "hollowfies" their asauchi. This is possible because Tamamo no Mae's shinreiryoku possesses a very specific but flexible conceptual power that has yet to be defined in-character, which makes both suppressing opposed sources of reiatsu and transplanting hollow reiatsu into an otherwise incompatible zanpakuto possible even if the menos is doing all the hard work.
It's a single word that's been clearly defined in my notes from the beginning, chosen VERY specifically from a list of near-interchangeable synonyms: probably worse to guess than your average "SAT-word".

The real problem here, particularly in Tenkotsuki and Rosa's courts, is that Oetsu can take (and has taken) reiryoku from humans, quincy, and even deities. In Rosa's case it's the reason she started to hollowfy despite that being theoretically impossible. In Tenkotsuki's case, the partial theft of Tamamo-no-Mae's shinreiryoku made it impossible for her to reconstitute herself properly, leading to five hundred years of torment before a kindly priest helped her regain her senses. On the other hand, Oetsu unwittingly put all the pieces in place for Riku to exist, and returning the two appropriate asauchi to her made it possible to reach her full potential. That's actually the reason Oetsu's been unusually helpful: he realized that he's actually to fault not only for Riku's current situation but for her entire existence.

>>1659066
>Omake suggestions

Well, going to be tough to top the Inari shrine one. That does sound interesting.

I still would like to see more of Riku's Arrancar friends, especially Apacci. Anything from their daily lives would be welcome. I suggested showing what their patrols through Hueco Mundo were like last thread.

Here's a thought: Apacci was the only arrancar in the bunch for quite a few years. Remember: it took awhile before Riku went back and helped out Halibel and the rest. What must life have been like during that time period? Mila Rose and Sung Sun must have been pretty grumpy about it. Did Apacci figure out the whole making clothes thing on her own? How did she find adapting to her new body? Was she interested at all in learning how to use her sword?

Lastly, call me a sentimental suck-up, but I would love to see anything involving the pseudo filial ties in the Arrancar crew. Halibel and her 3 fraccion, Starrk and Lilynette: they make for one big dysfunctional family. If they were a sitcom, I'd watch it.

Apacci: Riku's favorite fluffy pillow

Oh yea, I wonder how their Segunda Etapa is coming along.

Keep up the good work, Queen.

>>1661077
No, all souls in the Seireitei move on when they "die". But on the topic of "unrecruited" souls they do exist, and they're more numerous than you might realize. It's important for the forging of asauchi however that they remain unrecruited, because their deaths and the recovery of their potential is part of how you can support a standing force in the first place: again, because shinigami are long-lived and only tend to live longer the stronger they are.

>>1661077

I was curious about that. It wasn't completely clear so I thought I'd ask.

Your interpretation wouldn't surprise me in the least if it were true, but

>>1661094

sounds like I was pretty close.

>>1661096
Shrine visit's locked in, but I also like the idea of Apacci/Halibel&co's life. So I'll do my best to crank that out as well before Saturday's thread. If not it'll be an omake for that one, but either way it'll get done.

>>1661107
Awesome. Looking forward to it.

Another thought: nothing I want you to confirm or deny, just something that occurred to me for some reason. Food for thought, in other words.

I was pretty impressed with what you came up with for Rangiku's bankai. A neat concept mechanically and thematically. And now Renji is working on completing his bankai's perfect form and Rukia may very well be there soon herself. In light of these developments, another character comes to mind for whom it might be appropriate for you to come up with a bankai who doesn't specifically get one in canon (but should have one, technically.)

I doubt you will guess who I am thinking of, so let me lay it on you: Isane Kotetsu. By the end of canon she is a captain, and you know what that means. In the context of SSQ's story, she might very well have the motivation and guidance to step her game up along with everyone else. I don't know if you have any plans for her, but might be worth considering for down the line.

>>1661107
Nice, something to look forward to

>>1661094
>It's a single word that's been clearly defined in my notes from the beginning, chosen VERY specifically from a list of near-interchangeable synonyms: probably worse to guess than your average "SAT-word".

Here's my guess on your specified keyword. It's the same word as Tenkotsuki's calling word when entering Shikai isn't it? "Prohibit". Prohibiting certain qualities of opposing reiatsu from interacting with each other. It's flexible, simple, and can be applied to many things with varying degrees of strength from prohibiting a small aspect of a process to make things proceed more smoothly to flat out preventing an entire consequence from happening when it should have started. It also has some interchangeable synonyms that I've somewhat started to notice you keep on including in your writing.

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- Omake: The Visit -

“Inoue, where are you going?”

Ichigo glances up from the book he's been reading as he walks, trying desperately to get caught up between his training sessions. Kendō with the kendō club, judō with some of Tatsuki's old friends at the dojo, kyūdō with his mother, and even some deeply unsuccessful kidō training with his old man who reasons that he can use hakuda and zanjutsu well enough already without needing it explained to him. It's unsurprising that he's walked into more than one lightpost in the last few weeks with his nose buried in some textbook or other.

But Orihime... well, the poor girl's always been a different kind of 'distracted'. Takes it to a new level in fact.

“Your house is the other way, you dummy!” one of the girls in Ichigo's class reminds her with a playful taunt.

“Oh, I know that!” Orihime replies with an excited grin. “I've just got something to do this afternoon, so it's fine!”

“Since when are you so cryptic, Inoue?”

“I'm not trying to be,” she pouts for a moment before that smile returns in an instant. “I was just going to go visit that old Inari shrine, that's all.”

Ichigo stops in his tracks.

“You mean the one where Kusajishi stays?” the other girl muses. “I mean, when she's here at all?”

“Ya-huh!” Orihime replies cheerfully. “I'm just curious, that's all.”

“Well, try not to sprain your ankle or anything... the path up that hill's not exactly easy.”

“Don't worry about me!” Orihime grins, flexing one bicep. “According to Tatsuki at least, I'm like the second-strongest girl in Japan!”

“I... don't really see how that's relevant...”

As Orihime hurries off from Karakura High, her tall, conspicuous shadow hurries along after her trying and failing to make himself look unconcerned. A sharp glare from behind his book silences a round of confused whispers as he passes.
>1/?

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>>1661136
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQwCOBBLXEI

True enough it's kind of a long walk up the hill to the Inari shrine, especially in the late-summer heat. The cicadas are making a racket too for that matter, their constant droning made all the more aggravating for their sheer overwhelming numbers. But as Orihime reaches the top of the hill she finds it oddly silent.

The shrine is fairly small, or rather it's large for the size of the town it's near. Situated at the top of the hill around a rocky outcropping and several apparently-sacred trees, it could be supposed that the striking and immaculately-kept white and vermilion buildings are at once just small enough to be considered a small shrine but more numerous than you might expect. Stopping at the front gate, Orihime looks it over with an expression of absolute delight.

“Isn't this lovely, Kurosaki?” she muses aloud.

Her classmate nearly falls over in surprise before recollecting himself. “Um... yeah, I guess. How did you know I was here?”

“I can tell,” she replies simply. “It's beautiful up here, so shady, and quiet, and peaceful. I'm surprised people don't come up here more often.”

“I didn't know you were into this kind of thing,” Ichigo admits, cocking his head at the shrine buildings in bemusement.

“Oh, I'm not really religious!” Orihime admits hurriedly. “But... sometimes places like this just feel special, you know?”

“I know the feeling precisely,” a stranger offers, wearing the teal and white robes of the Shinto priesthood.

“Ah, the kamunushi!” Orihime realizes, bowing politely in a gesture Ichigo half-heartedly mirrors.

“Um, isn't it 'kannushi' though?” Ichigo asks quietly.

“No need to lower your voice on my account,” the black-haired woman insists with a warm smile. Now that Ichigo gets a look at her, she's beautiful... a perfect complexion without a single feature anything less than stunning in its appearance, with a sort of absurd grace to every movement and sound she makes.

“And technically, kamunushi was the correct pronunciation in old Japanese,” she informs the duo. “Welcome to my shrine... it is a rare treat to welcome visitors.”
>2/?

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>>1661149
The kannushi waves Orihime into the shrine, past a special gate and into a back garden normally the province of the priests and priestesses rather than guests. Ichigo however hesitates, realizing the fact that this woman did not return their bow even just to maintain the appearances of polite company: given her apparent station and her refined, dignified manners, that strokes him as odd.

And yet, when offered a chance to see the “business end” of a shrine he couldn't help but admit his curiosity.

Along a low wooden patio running opposite the perimeter fence there is a tray with three deep bowls and three small treats, seemingly of folded rice dough and some kind of filling. The garden itself is something of a hybrid, with a small sea of white-grey gravel and several mossy stones positioned carefully about. Along the perimeter are plantings of green ground cover and a variety of trees and shrubs, doubtless following the Japanese fashion of ensuring something to look at regardless of season.

“I was about to have tea,” the kannushi continues to smile, sitting at the edge of the patio with the poise of five hundred years of constant practice. “Please join me.”

Orhime is quick to oblige, before patting the wood next to her. “Kurosaki, it would be rude to say no.”

Ichigo obliges his classmate in turn.

“Mmmm,” Orihime makes a contented sound as she bites into her treat. “Broccoli and bacon wagashi!”

Ichigo stares at his own treat in disbelief, and takes a nibble off the corner. “It's just normal. A little cinnamon in the dough and anko paste.”

“To each their own,” the kannushi shrugs, finishing her own snack and sipping carefully from the bowl of thick green tea. “So tell me, why have you visited my shrine this fine morning?”

Ichigo seems almost alarmed at the question, but Orihime is absolutely unconcerned. “Oh, I know that Kusajishi Riku works here when she's in the human world, so I wanted to visit!”

“Oh, so you know my daughter?”

Ichigo, already aghast at Orihime's nonchalant attitude with the stranger, finds that yes in fact his jaw could drop further. “Say what!?”

“Or more precisely,” the woman corrects herself calmly after her last of three sips of tea. “I am the mother of her zanpakuto.”

“In your tongue, I am Inari Ōkami. Pleased to make your acquaintances Kurosaki-san, Inoue-san.”
>3/?

>>1661168
>strokes
Should be "strikes" of course, but I'd rather continue on instead of trying to fix it.

>>1661168
dote on him Inari. Dote on him and make him fluster. Tease the little great nephew to your hearts content.

>>1661172
I somewhat like "strokes him as odd". It gives the impression that instead of hitting him on the head, it's more subtle and just nags at the back of his mind.

>>1661168
“I... how... why were my wagashi plain!?” Ichigo struggles with the implications, finally settling on asking a far more basic but equally baffling question.

Inari turns her head to stare at him in obvious disbelief. “Of all the questions to pose to a literal goddess you ask about the snacks?”

“Kurosaki, it's a living goddess!” Orihime practically squeals in delight at the revelation. “She's so pretty! And we had tea, and we have the same taste in wagashi!”

“Cute,” Inari states, as if that declaration could stand alone, eternal and immutable, as fact. “Is this what mortals would call your “girl-friend”, Ichigo?”

Orihime's facial expression doesn't change at all as Ichigo nearly chokes on his tea, though her face slowly turns beet-red and she starts muttering incoherently. “No, no,” he insists dramatically, some color creeping into his own cheeks. “We're friends from school, that's all!”

Inari raises one perfectly slender eyebrow in disbelief. “Too bad. I could have had a great-great nephew if she were.”

“That's not how babies work!” Ichigo insists incredulously.

Inari raises her other eyebrow as well, rolling her eyes ever so slightly as she shrugs. “Please, dear. I could make you pregnant if I had half a mind to just by waving my fingers and thinking about it. It would be no more difficult than making your tea was.”

“Speaking of which, help yourself.”

Ichigo glances down at his plate and bowl to find the tea and treat replaced. “Why is mine still plain!?”

“Because you have such plain tastes, my dear,” Inari explains with a smug grin. “Though they may take her to some bizarre conclusions, at least Orihime here has more adventurous tastes.”

Ichigo quickly drinks the tea to try and calm down while Orihime continues to mutter to herself quietly.

“Humans are such strange people,” Inari decides in an amused tone. “Why, I hardly understand why you insist on making this so dramatic.”

“This is insane,” Ichigo mutters to himself. “I've hit my head and this is some insane dream I'm having.”
>4/?

>>1661183
>“This is insane,” Ichigo mutters to himself. “I've hit my head and this is some insane dream I'm having.”
Ichigo pls. Your dad is a shinigami and your mom is a Quincy. You have shinigami powers. you can see ghosts. And now you're talking to a shinto god. And you say this is insane? Please, your Aunt Riku has it worse.

>>1661183
“Hardly,” Inari scoffs. “If this were a dream, I would imagine it would hardly be so ordinary as meeting over tea.”

“I... okay, yeah,” Ichigo admits as he continues to try and grasp the significance of the events unfolding. “I guess. But if you are here, why?”

“Because I can be anywhere one of my shrines is,” Inari explains carefully, “so at this moment I chose to manifest myself here.”

“...why?” Ichigo repeats himself.

“Because the two of you are here,” Inari replies. “And because my dear daughter is convinced of the cosmic importance of Karakura town much of my attention has been here of late.”

“You keep saying Aunt Riku's your daughter?” Ichigo presses. “Or her sword is? What do you even mean?”

“It is a complicated story. My guess is it would take somewhere approaching two and a half years to explain it in full detail,” Inari sighs. “But the ultimate point is that the zanpakuto known as 'Tenkotsuki' is the soul of my daughter Tamamo-no-Mae, and Tenkotsuki is in turn a part of Captain Kusajishi Riku's soul making her my daughter as well.”

“In a way,” Ichigo contends.

“In the only way that matters,” Inari retorts. “She believes, or they believe if you so insist, quite correctly that Karakura town is the present location of the jūreichi, a region of land highly enriched by concentrated reishi. Thus the Karakura shrine is my most important holding after Fushimi Inari Taisha, my 'main' shrine, and affords me an ability to monitor the situation which most other gods lack after the destruction of their respective shrines in the growth of Karakura itself.”

“Because it's on a hill that can't be leveled or developed,” Ichigo guesses. “I get it. So you're keeping watch on the place.”

“Watching, yes,” Inari confirms, “though I cannot interfere directly. Making a little harmless mischief here and there and teasing the two of you is about the limit of my freedom in the world of the living.”

“So I must sincerely thank you for your reactions.”
>5/?

>>1661197
>have to take a brief break here

>>1661197
“So you came here just to tease us?” Orihime asks, having finally gotten her thoughts into what passes for order for her.

“Not at all,” Inari waves dismissively. “I truly agree, this shrine is a relaxing one to spend one's time at. However I also came to present you with these.”

The fox-goddess reaches into the folds of her kimono, causing Ichigo to instinctively glance away, but producing from her breast only a pair of small trinkets. Charms, he realize, not unlike the ones his old man and mom keep around.

“These will offer your physical bodies some small manner of protection,” she explains, passing them first to Orihime who passes one in turn to Ichigo. “They will also allow me to sense events with a little greater precision, making it easier for me or for another deity to intervene if it should come to that. So please, do me the kindness and the favor of keeping them on your person at all times.”

“Not like we can say no to a goddess,” Ichigo grumbles, pocketing the trinket. “I assume they don't have to be openly displayed?”

“Those are no mere trinkets I have given you,” Inari replies sternly to the implication that her boon would be so slipshod an effort as to have such a requirement. “They are tokens of Inari Ōkami, a goddess of the first rank whose divine presence would kill the both of you if brought fully into the mortal realm, and I give them to you out of generosity not only towards yourselves but towards all of humanity.”

“Carry them hidden if you must, boy, but I would have you instead carry yours with pride.”

Ichigo nods silently, hanging his for the time being from one of his belt loops.

Inari's expression softens. “There now, very reasonable of you. I can see why my daughter took such a liking to mortals... unlike ourselves you make decisions quickly. Such a dynamism is both a curse as well as a blessing, would you not agree?”

“Maybe,” Ichigo admits. “Either way it's not like we have much choice, so why worry about it like that? Humans will be humans.”

“All too true of course,” Inari agrees, rising to her feet to show her human guests out. As Ichigo passes her by to step out the gate she places herself before him, stopping him in place. With a calm, somewhat distant look in her eyes, she gently caresses her great-great nephew's cheek with the back of her hand. Just the once, then her hand falls to her side.

“Take care. We will not meet again, Kurosaki Ichigo.”

Then Inari is suddenly absent: as if she was never there in the first place.
>6/?

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>>1661261
“What do you think she meant by that, Kurosaki?”

Orihime and Ichigo have been walking towards home for nearly fifteen minutes before she speaks up about what they both just experienced.

“I have no idea,” Ichigo admits. “Probably just what she said, that we're not going to see her again before I... well, we're mortals. She's not.”

“Or maybe she was just messing with us again, how the hell should I know...”

“But hey, you're related to a shinto goddess!” Orihime declares. “That's so cool, Kurosaki! I'm amazed!”

“Yeah, but there's an adoption in there someplace,” Ichigo points out, “so I'm not really...”

“She said it herself, that sort of thing doesn't matter!” Orihime lectures him. “You should really be carrying yourself better, Kurosaki. It's like a family obligation... though I don't think you'd look good with a shaved head.”

“Hang on, a what now?”

“Still,” Orihime ponders, clearly not listening, “you could grow a goatee to make up for it!”

“Goatee!?”

“You'd be like one of those warrior-monks in all the tv period-dramas!” Orihime exclaims before realizing that Ichigo's taken off in a dead sprint “Hey Ichigo, wait up! I just need to shave your head a little bit! I promise it won't hurt!”

“You keep away from my hair!” Ichigo shouts over his shoulder. “It's my most distinctive feature! Without it people'd probably mistake me for Madarame... NO! WAIT! ANYTHING BUT THAT!”

“WHY DOES ALL THIS CRAZY STUFF KEEP HAPPENING TO ME!?”

>Name: Kurosaki Ichigo
>Age: 16
>Occupation: Student and
Spiritualist Warrior-Monk

>>1661272
That punchline at the end. Way to call back to chapter 1 of Canon Bleach and mess with it.

>>1661272
And a fun time was had by most!
Not the direction I’d thought of, but very fun to read.

>>1661272
Did Ichigo keep his hair or did Orihime manage to shave it?

>>1661317
>Okay, I’m going to sneak over to Kurosaki-kun’s house tonight, find an open window, and then looHey! Nato and tomato sauce are on sale! And here I’d spent all morning wondering what to put on my pancakes tomorrow.

>>1659143
3rding this scene. Or anything else that comes to mind with the world of the living cast.

How's Ishida doing?

>>1661348
read right above you m8 there is a version of it up.

>>1661348
>How's Ishida doing
Not dead yet.
>working on an Apacci story.

>>1661567
Why is Apacci so great?

>>1661582
Because she’s deer to our hearts.

>>1661625
>not harts

One job anon

>>1661731
Sorry, I missed that one.
Fifth ID this thread. Wonder how high I can go.

>>1661272

Oh that sly Inari, she definitely picked some good ones to keep an eye on.

Ichigo is practically a lightning rod for drama, not to mention he may well be Karakura Town's best straight-man.

And Inoue? She is a one-woman perpetual high jink.

Sure they are good individuals to monitor due to their involvement with the towns spiritual happenings, but I fully expect Inari is going to get her money's worth in entertainment value as well.

Keeping tabs on the two of them, to borrow a turn of phrase, should be more amusing than an amorous armadillo in a bowling alley.

>>1661567
>Not dead yet.

You know, at first I thought that was just a sarcastic statement of the obvious . . .

. . . then I remembered that Bambietta was training him and that his continued health is by no means guaranteed.

>>1661987
To be fair he learned how to dodge, so he should be good.

>>1662413
>tfw fighting an enemy light years beyond his ability to fight but he still isn't getting hit because he can still hear Bambi screaming at him

>>1662419
>PTSD intensifies

>>1662419
The worst part is that she doesn't shout.
>Too slow. Again.
>You hesitated. Again.
>That was a feint. Again.
>Where were you even aiming.
>It's only one finger. Quit complaining.
>You've had four hours. Wake up.
>You dodged. Now you get breakfast.
>I can't believe I sacrificed my humanity for this.

>>1662558
Uryu: Are you starting to regret agreeing to train under Bambietta yet?

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>>1662592
>"What do you mean, 'starting' to regret?"

>>1662600
Uryu: …Let me rephrase that. When did you start to regret agreeing to train under Bambietta?

>>1662625
>"To be fair, she's not actually a sociopath. It's just hard to remember that sometimes."
>"She cares quite a bit about certain individuals, and about our people, but she doesn't often show it and can be harsh when she's trying to prove a point."