thefarshore | HEAVEN'S BBS

[The skill is all there. The powers, the abilities... All of them are within his grasp. And unlike his former wielder, he doesn't let silly things like thinking get in his way. He was all about instinct. Always was, always would be.

All it took was a moment to settle in, to focus, to visualize paths of energy, specks of light on dark horizons. He just had to find the right one.

It takes him a good two hours to find and track the proper thread. He follows a few reiatsu for a while before getting closer to them and realizing, no, this is not the woman.

But finally he tracks down the right feeling, the right "scent", and it only gets stronger and more clear as he gets closer.

He likes to think he's being sneaky, but his own unrestrained reiatsu would betray him from a mile off. Both the cold, eerie feeling of being watched from his Hollow side, and the burning nuclear furnace of spirit energy that he had shared with Ichigo.

When he finally does arrive, his white clothes have plenty of dirt on them, and there's a whole variety of sticks and leaves stuck in his long white hair. He doesn't seem to give a damn]

Ha HA! I did it! I found you! Now you have to answer my questions!

[While Zangetsu runs back and forth across the Far Shore, Yoruichi has had a leisurely meal, trained a bit to see if she can find out what her new power is (no luck) and argued with her water buffalo about eating the magnolias that grow next to the house.

But as she senses him growing closer, she comes through the house to meet him in the front yard, not wanting there to be an incident between him and the water buffalo. For now, the animal grazes about 50 yards away, giving Zangetsu the sideeye, but not approaching him.

Yoruichi can't help but snicker at him; he looks like he's been dragged through a thicket, but it doesn't dim the triumphant expression he wears.]

It took you long enough, but a deal is a deal.

[She's not worried; Ichigo's always been a fast learner, and she's sure that's a trait he shares with his Hollow.]

So what do you want to know first?

[Well, he at least got a good feel for the layout of the place, this "Far Shore". In truth it was more like a patchwork, a strange and confusing collection of locations seemingly plucked from wherever and placed in situ. A beach villa is hardly the weirdest thing he's come across.

In fact, it's pretty pleasant, with the breeze and the smell of the sea.

He takes a moment to pick a stick out of his hair and then points at Yoruichi]

You! I wanna know what you know... about... [there's a pause. He's just caught sight of something out of place. Something... large. And smelly]

.... Is that a cow.

Water buffalo. She came with the house. [The buffalo flicks her tail, still staring at Zangetsu suspiciously.]

She doesn't like anyone, so stay over here. [The buffalo eats Yoruichi's favorite flowers, shits all over the yard and kicks clots of dirt at people just because. Why couldn't Oya have liked cats instead?]

[he gives the animal a gaping, bewildered look lifted straight out of Ichigo's expression playbook]

It... came with the house...

[BUT!! HE'S GETTING DISTRACTED. He waves a clawed hand frantically, bringing himself back to the task at hand] Ok a buffalo or something whatever!! That's not what I came here for! I want to know what you know about me! Why I look like I do! Why I have this annoying goddamn thing! [he pulls down the neck of his white shihakushou top and shows off the softball sized hole right through his chest, radiating black markings around it] It hurts and it pisses me off!

[The expression is so Ichigo, so stubborn and perplexed and borderline petulant that she wants to ruffle his hair just to watch him squawk about it.

But here's the part where she needs to be careful. He's died once, and she's not going to be party to it happening again.]

You look like what's called a Hollow. The hole hurts because your heart is missing.

[the first time she tries to ruffle his hair, she might get away with it, just by surprising him.

Thereafter, her fingers may be forfeit.]

My... heart?

[he puts his hand over the hole. Well. It IS in the right location for that. And if he was dead, he certainly didn't need one of those. It made sense, now... that acute and painful feeling of something missing, something that should be there and isn't.]

... So do Hollows look like monsters?

They take all kinds of shapes. Some of them are as big as skyscrapers, some look like animals, some look a lot like humans.

[She pauses, then goes on. She's not necessarily worried about his feelings, but she doesn't want to make this explanation harder on him than it needs to be. It's not everyday someone is told they're a corrupted spirit, after all.]

When a human dies, their spirit is supposed to pass on. When it doesn't, because of fear or anger or some other negative emotion, they can turn into a Hollow.

As tall as buildings? [Zangetsu imagines a creature that looks just like him, except the size of a skyscraper. Why did that sound so familiar? God... something. Zillow? Jira? Vague memories of some kind of movie where a big lizard smashed cities.

Oh well. It wasn't important.

He frowns, thinking now about the second part of her statement. Fear, anger...]

You'd think I'd remember somethin' like that. I don't get it, though... aren't all Shinki human spirits that ain't passed on? Or... is this where we're s'posed to pass on to? None of this shit makes a lick of sense.

They must have done something to all of you to wipe your memories. Unless you die as a baby, spirits back home remember being alive.

[Her eyes flash with anger, and more than a little of it creeps into her voice. Her reiatsu, initially calm and warm, pulses, sharp and seething.]

No. This is not where you should have gone after dying. They've ripped you out of our reincarnation cycle.

[Bad enough this kid had to spend his last months almost getting killed again and again as he saved the world, but now he can't even have his proper afterlife? Ichigo should have gone to Soul Society, where he could have become a full-time shinigami with his friends. It would have been sad, but he'd have at least had Rukia and Renji and the others around. Ukitake would have welcomed him into the 13th with open arms.

If Yoruichi ever meets Amaterasu in person, she's going to have a hard time not snapping that bitch's neck.]

They took my memories?! What the fuck! THOSE ARE MINE! [wow that REALLY pisses him off. Enough to make him flare his own reishi, though not consciously. Alas, the poor plants in his immediate vicinity; they wilt under the pressure. He growls low in his throat, a completely inhuman sound]

Now I want to find the idiot responsible for this even more...!

Watch the plants, brat.

[But it's said absently, and with no real heat. The plants would recover, she's sure.

But Zangetsu running off half-cocked is more of an issue.]

You're in no shape to take on the people running this place. I doubt any of us are--they were strong enough to bring us here against our will.

[So that means they need to bide their time, build their strength, and wait for a likely opportunity to strike. Yoruichi has no love for cages, but she's not going to make a move unless she's sure it has a chance of working.]

I don't care about plants!!

[AND HE DOESN'T. Plants are pointless, especially in the face of his memories being taken. Those are precious, they're part of what makes you... you!

He starts to protest. "In no shape"?! He was strong! He was going to be the strongest! ... But... she had a point. There was no point in rushing headlong into certain defeat. He may fight like someone with nothing to lose, but there is one thing that Zangetsu has on Ichigo, and that's survival instinct.

But it was utterly frustrating, the idea of having to sit around and do nothing. He curls his hand into a claw and slashes angrily at a nearby palm tree, leaving deep, parallel gashes in the trunk. His tail lashes behind him]

... Jin. Jin said something about... not telling me about my past, even if he knew it. Why? If someone knows me from before, why can't they say anything?

[Zangetsu continues to lash out, but he's demanding answers, not blood, so it's something she can deal with. (The latter will almost certainly come up as well, but hey--why borrow trouble before it gets to that point.)]

Because it's a danger to you. [Her voice is even, but firm.] If someone knew you before--cared about you--they're not going to take the chance. You've already died and had your memories wiped--if I knew one of the shinki here, I wouldn't want to do anything to make their condition worse.

[She's tipped her hand a bit here, but there's not much help for it. Yoruichi figures he can at least get a hint after having already lost so much.]

[not blood, not yet anyway. For now? Answers. Yes. Answers and the sap of this damn tree that had the gall to be next to him. Danger. What did he care about danger?! He wanted his answers! He wanted to know! He wanted his life back!

He let's out a distinctive Hollow's roar, loud and reverberating, and wails on the poor tree, until it is so gashed that it can no longer support itself. It breaks at the level of the claw damage, and falls with a loud crash; thankfully, not on any buildings or bovines. He whirls on her, his anger still unsated]

Worse?! WORSE? How could it get any worse?! I... you.... rrrrrrrRRRRAAGGHH!

[he throws a very short tantrum, kicking the dirt and thrashing mindlessly for a moment before seemingly losing his balance and landing square on his ass. He laces his fingers through his hair, digging his claws into his scalp with enough force to draw blood. Blood that's sticky and thick, more like pen ink than anything else; an ichor with a foul metallic smell and a blue color]

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