Silent And Colorless [Jimen and Akio]

[Akio Naito]

Name: [Silent and Colorless]
Location: [by the western branch of the river, out on the edge of Karakura]
Plotline:[/u] [Healing faster than expected, Akio regenerates enough of his lost qualities to use Hanami again, this of course leads to someone catching him practicing.]

[Akio Naito]

Sitting by the river was a place for him to think. That was exactly why he kept coming back here, more often than ever before. There was a particular set of questions Akio persistently returned to. Why was the ability that coiled up around his soul so different than the last one? Why had it been in the dragon stream? Should he even use it at all? Who would he give them to when he was done with it? He couldn't exactly sell it without causing himself more trouble than that could have been worth. The shop didn't allow weapons, and even if they did... No, he couldn't exactly consider that. Though there would probably be quite a line for that sale, if he did. There were definately people who craved supernatural abilities out there, and the included bloodline might be seen as a bonus by some of them. The easy solution would be to give it to someone who already knew about everything, but didn't have an ability of their own. That sounded best.

He'd probably still see the Asura clearly, after he gave it to someone else. Which is why he needed to master a few on the spells he'd been reading before that. That was why he'd come to the far branch of the river, where there was less chance of being interrupted. Laying a palm to the grass, he quietly intoned. "Earthly serpent, flow to the mountain peak." Then watched as a pillar of water rose from the far bank. He would repeat the process once more, leaving a stone pillar. he could already feel the difference after two. And that meant that his limit of about eight in a single day hadn't increased since he learned how, all this was doing was working on his aim.

Standing, Akio closed his eyes, and slowly went through the motions, as if drawing an arrow, twirling it, intercepting attacks and launching his own. With a final flourish, he reaches for the quiver again, nocks an imaginary arrow, and releases. There's a ripple, and deep blue strings of reiatsu begin to trail up from the ground. They gently in the breeze, interweaving to form ribbons of light, the tips of each giving off a stream of shining particles. This was Hanami, the technique he held closest to his heart. Unfortunate that it was also quite the light show for people to walk in on.

[jimbureka]

Movement is life.

This is a mantra ingrained to Jim's being ever since she started on her path as a Quincy. From the short missions tagging along with her Master Quincy in her early days, or taking in odd jobs as a mercenary in the present, she is often found never lingering too long. In a way, this sates her desire for travel, always being on the move. She might stay for an hour before hitching a train ride to the other side of town, or perhaps going from one rundown motel to another. For her, it was never wise to stay put, or settle.

But of course there are ocassions where she takes a fond of a tea shop in some district she came in passing, or she would hole herself up in a room for days, never leaving until it was in the middle of the night and she craved for convenience store bought munchies and noodles. There was a normalcy she craved, but knew she couldn't attain. At least, not yet. Not with her restless soul working to get her on her feet and out on the road again. She was never specific with her destination, but rather was in it for the journey and exploration. She never really favored any terrain, be it the urban jungle, the forests, or the rugged mountains. To her, she simply needed to move.

As with her fixation on movement, there never goes a day where she misses her routine runs and spars. She aimed to keep herself in an optimal state with her physique and abilities. In a way, her restlessness contributed to a fear (that she of course, won't openly admit to) that she would become more limited than she already is. Not moving is death, which is probably why her sleeps are few and far inbetween.

Before the sun even rose, Jim already packed her things and checked out of a motel she stayed in. She began her brisk walks westward, coming across some tree thickets in a nearby stream. Shame she can't hear the water run, as everything to her, was muted. The irony never was really lost on her, especially now that she placed headphones on her ears. Silence was another factor to her anxiety, always being on alert for anything and everything. As the sun began to peak through the horizon, so did her routine began, starting with meditation, with her forearms supporting her weight and her legs up in the air. She tried to keep still, tried, but of course, it only lasted for half a minute before she dropped her legs and got to her feet quickly, to which she began her motions with her Baji Quan techniques.

She takes in a breath, moving her one palm forward, before making a quick thrust on the other side with her elbow. She then elevates her knee in a quick flicking motion before lunging, both arms tucked and folded on both sides, her fists held loosely before making a quick turn, and she raises her knee once more and spreading her arms eagle like, this time attempting to stay in position for as long as she can before---

A spiritual influx.

Her piercing green eyes immediately darted towards the general direction of the reiatsu that caught her attention. It seemed to be by the river, to which she wasn't too far off from. Something, someone was there. She couldn't hear, but that didn't stop her. What she lost in hearing, she made up for everywhere else, with her eyes like a hawk and her tactile senses working overtime on her behalf.

She cautiously made her way towards the river, careful to make her footsteps light as she attempted to approach the source undetected. She was good at being silent, effortlessly maneuvering the area, avoiding dead piles of leaves and sticks, and stepping on patches of dirt whenever possible. She goes behind one of the trees facing the river, as her eyes scanning through the area quickly, and caught a figure in her sights, and instinctively hid.

Well, the man seemed to look rather... normal. Typical dark hair. She could only see the back of his head so far, and he could've passed as any random fellow who happened to be by the river, but there's no doubt in her mind that he was the source. Especially seeing him make a pillar of water out of the river.

She watched, wary, not making any moves and simply observing the creature. Jim then sees the young man through his motions, practicing what seemed to be archery, as he gestured shooting arrows in the battle of the mind. Then, soft thin strings of blue lights form as the reiatsu twirls around the man, who remained deep in his maneuver. And Jim simply watched, transfixed, and she couldn't help but be amazed at the technique the man was practicing, as this was something she's never seen before.

| West Karakura, by the river. | → | A mysterious man. | → | Restless, wary, then amazed. | → | Initially going through her morning routine of Baji Quan and meditation, but stealthily goes over to a source of reiatsu she sensed. |

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[Akio Naito]

Not having noticed the stranger's arrival, Akio continued moving slowly, taking a few steps in the field of blue light. New ribbons growing to replace those that dissolved, a beautiful garden that revolved around him. He has a stillness to him, the sense that things just happen, and the young man merely happens to be there at the time. A bandaged hand trails lazily through the air, open palm running up against one of the blue ribbons as it dissolves, fingers gently closing as if to capture the wind-borne lights it gave off as it faded out of view. The ongoing effects of Hanami kept the area much better lit than it normally would have been, while also washing out the colors into a monotone shade of blue.

Maintaining Hanami was both easier and more difficult than it appeared from outside. It was easier, because no reiatsu was being expended at all. It as harder, because he had to keep hold of the three basic principles behind his work with environmental reishi, the spiritual particles that were constantly flowing though the world's systems. Keeping his stance in terms of how it displaced the atmosphere around him, keeping track of his breath not in terms of air, but how much of the spirit particle content he was attracting and repelling, in addition to just what the natural currents in the area actually were.

Using effort and understanding to avoid costs was natural to Akio, in that way. Every technique he both knew and was capable of using was one that he developed himself, using the natural flows of spiritual matter and energy to make up for his shortcomings. Hashira drew particle flows from the dragon steam up to the surface, where they became earth and water, and Hanami used the principles of wind and water to tune the immediate space into a garden for enlightenment. Eventually, he would write down his work, and then somebody else would take over his research. Or nobody would. He had no way of actually knowing what would happen in the future. He doubted anyone actually did.

He turns on his heel, looking out at what he's created. The effect of Hanami reached out five meters out from where he stood, in every direction. The blue light spilled out over the edges of that, but not the reishi ribbons, or the effects of the technique itself. Nonetheless, the sight was calming. He completes the rotation, back at his starting position as if he hadn't even moved. He took a deep breath, and walked down to the edge of the water. He raises an arm, and curls each gauze wrapped finger one by one to make a fist, then reverses the process, open palm facing out.

A deep breath. Eyes slipping closed, he envisioned the flows of spirit particles he was already interacting with. "Heavenly serpent, descend to the sacred tree!" He incanted, and nothing happened. He exhaled heavily, turned on his heel to face away from the river, and began to ascend the bank again, taking the center of the field of lights along with him. Purely by random chance, this also meant he was walking in Jim's direction. He still had yet to actually notice that he was being watched at that time.

[jimbureka]

The blue lights continued to go on with its display as the young man continued his craft of it. The lights grew brighter and lingered in the area, painting the leaves and grass around them their own shade of blue. It was like having waves of light wash over the area, with the water like substance clinging to everything it touches.

It was soothing yes, perceptively so. It gave her a sense of calm that her restless soul would never come up with at this time in her life. But at the back of Jim's mind, the presence of this reiatsu made her question this peace, this calm she felt. Was this a trickery of the mind? Undoubtedly. But she didn't know what to make of it. Does this make the man a threat for instilling something that isn't there, or perhaps his powers were doing something in a general sense of good, a feel good?

Her thoughts fought against the stillness brought upon by this phenomenon, and wondered what course of action she should take. Surely she had the element of surprise here; she was seemingly undetected by the man, who continued his exercise, unaware of her watching. But what reason does she have to engage? The man wasn't hurting anyone, at least, not yet. The ability he possessed was not of normal humans, yes, but not a grounds to point her bowgun at. But a lingering dread manifested at the thought of the man not taking kindly to her seeing his technique. He went out of his way, out of prying curious eyes, to work on this. This was not meant for show. How would this fiend react to someone who witnessed his rather secret manipulation of spiritual energy?

And another scenario presents itself with that dread: she cannot speak. She can, but this would give her disability away clearly, and she does not want to be seen as weak in this venture. A sign of weakness may have the man use it against her.

Her thoughts are cut off as the light began to grow much brighter, turning her attention from her thoughts to the now approaching man. Did he sense her? She wasn't sure, but the man was heading rather close to where she is. Instinctively she recoils, crouching down and moving around the trunk of the tree as the young man passed by. She manuevered around it, the tree providing cover and blockings from him being able to spot her. It was a rather odd sense of hide-and-seek, with the it not aware of the game. Her heart beat rather fast as she was tense, and for a moment she waited for the storm to pass.

Please let him not find me here, please let him not find me here...

| West Karakura, by the river. | → | A mysterious man. | → | A mix of calm, wary, tense. | → | Unsure how to go about the situation, and hiding from the man that came rather close. |

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[Akio Naito]

Mid-step in the ascent to the top of the riverbank, the ribbons and light rapidly faded to nothing, leaving the moon as the dominant source of lighting once again. Akio had simply dropped the effort that went into maintaining Hanami for the simple reason of not getting much of a benefit from keeping it that long. He look back over to the river, the spiritual stone pillar left behind when he had cast Hashira for the second time had already slumped onto its side. That was the drawback of his work, environmental reishi and reiatsu seemed to prefer itself a certain way.

He continued walking in the direction he started. His physical senses of vision and touch had mostly healed over the past several nights, but they were still a bit short of what they started out as, and so his eyes would take longer to adjust to the loss of lighting. Because of this, he could not, in fact, notice the hiding figure behind the tree. His spiritual senses were further behind, as well, and were just as unhelpful in noticing. Jimen would have had to draw a bit more attention if they were going to get caught. Barring that, luck was the other major factor.

He would continue past the hiding quincy. Walking only to stop facing eastward, out towards Karakura proper. He looks back again, checking his pockets to be sure he hadn't left anything behind without meaning to. The night seemed surprisingly uneventful compared to the others he had experienced of late. And he didn't mind that at all, if anything, it had been a refreshing moment to himself. In addition to proving that he actually was healing, both body and soul. There was no way he would have been able to accomplish what he had just otherwise. And proving that to himself helped bring back the sense of normality he had been missing ever since he got back into the deep end of things.

He lingered in that spot, unsure of where to go next. There was always home, but he wasn't quite ready for that. And going anywhere else risked running into something that he shouldn't, like the chain wielder he'd encountered in the park, or any of the other, much smaller incidents that had come before and after it. Even if not all the Asura were hostile to him, he knew them by that name for a reason. They were 'violent gods', and even the well meaning ones were a threat on that front. Besides them were the various humans who used strange equipment or summoned creatures...

Maybe it was for the best that he stayed a while longer? Just long enough to enjoy the cool night air a bit more, to stare up at the moon, the stars, and the clouds. It wasn't like he had anywhere to be in the early morning, anyways. And with that in mind, he stayed.

[jimbureka]

The man, from what she observed, was oblivious for her. And that gave her some sense of relief. But she was not out of the woods yet. He seemed to be heading towards the town proper, but began to look around, as if he missed something. Was this a ploy perhaps? A trickery she missed? She hasn't been very trusting, but it's more on the fact that humans tend to have a similar reaction to her after finding out about her, her deafness, her appearance, limiting her to what they assume of her. And that, to her, simply did not sit well. But it's something she cannot avoid, as truths are often based on perception. The only thing she can do is avoid anything that would make others think her weak.

She turns her eyes once more to the young man, who was now staring at the sky, with the moon looking down on them. Jim shakes her head. What was she doing thinking of the man that way? That won't make her any different from the humans that judge and pity her. The young man hasn't done anything, and so he should be innocent until proven otherwise. Pretending to not see her? She knew she was good at hiding, and kept it rather well, to the point she's a ghost. She should've expected this, despite the man's abilities.

She brought this upon herself, she supposed, that no one sees her. She never gives them the chance to, and perhaps it's for the best. Connections are risks, and she'snot sure if she's ready to take it.

She then takes a step back, her heel pressing on a dry branch, a moment of unawareness, deep in thought. It happened quick. She didn't have time to lift her foot off, as the wood gave way to her weight and snapped clean. She felt it, on her soles, which also reverberated on her very soul. Her heart dropped, and instinct came in.

Move.

Immediately without waiting for a reaction, she bolted, moving from her crouching position and got into her feet as she broke into a run. She needed to move, she needed to get away. She may not have heard the snapping of the branch but she knew she messed up somehow. She blew her cover. And now, she was going to get as far away from the river, the lights, the calm, young man as possible. She wasn't taking any chances.

Her mind was buzzing as she ran, avoiding the trees and branches, and realized she left her bag up ahead. She wasn't going to leave evidence, or leave her things, period. She darted into the forest and headed back to the open area where moments ago she was doing her routine. Well, she's getting her cardio now, so she hasn't ruined the routine. She immediately stops, skidding from how fast she was, and went down to grab her bag. Her heart was racing, she felt on edge. Hopefully she got enough headstart to get away.

| West Karakura, by the river. | → | A mysterious man. | → | Contemplative, bordering on melancholic, then sudden anxiety. | → | Runs off after she felt her foot break a dry branch, and goes to retrieve the things she left nearby. |

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[Akio Naito]

The sense of hesitation he was caught up in was broken by the sudden crunching sound of a branch. "Is there someone there?" He asked as he turned towards the source of the sound, more expecting to see wild animal than to hear a response. So, of course, it took him the extra few seconds to process what he was seeing as something other than what he had been anticipating. A person. Someone was fleeing, from him? Akio took additional time to process that information, simply because it was so contrary to usual dynamics of running he had participated in. Being chased made sense, but being ran away from was almost laughable in a way. He supposed he could chase after them, for the full reversal of the norm.

Although, chasing someone would be impolite, and was usually unpleasant. Besides that, they were clearly much faster that he was, even with the unhealed portions of his injuries disregarded. He gave a few token steps, waving at the stranger and calling to them. "Wait, why are you running‽" He braced for the possibility he was about to regret saying that, immediately afterwards. Though nothing humanoid had ever attacked him without a few words first, people were always capable of lashing out without explaining their reasons for it first. Maybe even more so than anything else.

A few more steps, specifically not running as he followed them. The goal was never to catch up, only to try and apologize for whatever he did to scare them. Once the stranger had reached all the way to the treeline of the forest, he stopped, and turned back. There was very little motivation in him to go that far over a small incident. They clearly wanted to get away, and he wouldn't even recognize them after that both fleeting and poorly lit glimpse he had of whoever they were. He'd write it down in a note later, for when he visited someone who might have answers. He still had that business card to try, if his boss didn't know.

The first few steps carry him back over grass that had already been trampled twice, then over his own tracks, leaving a trail that thinned out to a stop in the general direction of the city proper. This time he was committed to going all the way back. It is a sad walk, but not by much. Individual footsteps blurred together into a repeating cycle, and that was all it took to keep going without thinking about it. His train of thought diverged tracks from what happened, to directions on his way, and then back to what he had seen. It would be a long walk, plenty of time to consider what might have been.

[jimbureka]

Jim had no way in hearing the words and confused tone of the man, who seemed just as wary as she was. She made record time in zipping up her satchel, moving with military precision to get her shit together. There seemed to be no signs of her being followed. Good. She got to her feet, ready to move, but stops, her head flicking towards the other direction of the forest.

Another spiritual influx. And it was a familiar one.

Jim's expression darkened, as there was no doubt in her mind that a Hollow was wandering close by. She hated those things with a passion, but she curbed her urge to go after it, given that the last time she did, she took a lot more than she bargained for. She kept her reiatsu ridiculously low, and she can sneak up to it, but she wasn't going to go off Hollow hunting alone. Not yet. Not until she's proven herself good enough to control herself.

And the spiritual presence felt like it was a big one, and sure enough, about 500 meters where she was, trees shuddered and fell, the tremors she could feel intensely at the soles of her feet. Not good. Best she run while---

Wait.

Her mind remembered another creature on the otherside, her being caught in the middle. A mysterious young man she ran away from, and a fairly strong Hollow on the other. If the man couldn't detect her, there's a strong chance he might be caught unaware if the Hollow makes its way there by the river. She felt the tremor grow stronger, and her mind buzzing with analysis and calculations, it won't be long before it gets to where she is, and not much longer with the young man with the calming lights.

She was faced with a dilemma now: is she going to leave the man here, alone? Knowing what she knows? The man was a stranger, and she was not indebted to him in any way.

What is Jim going to do?

An internal struggle, but the tremors she felt coming she knew she wasn't going to leave him there.

She runs back now, satchel on her back, swift on her feet as she rushed past the trees and it wasn't long before she was back to the river. Her eyes dart around the area, quickly looking for the young man, to which she spots taking a path out of the river. He seemed unaware of the approaching Hollow, and without catching her breath she runs towards him, his back facing her. The slight incline was difficult, the desire to get the man out of harm's way gave her enough push to get to him, to which she grabbed his wrist and gave him a pull back.

Both eyes would lock for a moment, the greenish-blue to brown. Her eyes were intense, but enough to tell a message of urgency as she runs again, dragging the man with her, her grip a tell-tale sign for him to follow quickly, no questions.

| West Karakura, by the river. | → | A mysterious man. | → | On edge. | → | Senses a strong Hollow approaching, runs back to the man who may be unaware of the incoming Hollow. |

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[Akio Naito]

This was not what he expected. Already having started towards the town, there was no reason to prepare for being charged at from behind. That left him open to being grabbed without much more thought towards it than, the most basic process of noticing the event and the immediate reaction of displeasure it brought. More exactly, he was now being dragged at a highly uncomfortable pace. Too fast for his legs to keep up with adequately. Regardless, complaining without a minimum amount of context would have been rude to whoever that was.

And while Jimen's grip had no questions in mind, Akio was not going to forgo them by this part. "Could you please explain first?" He wasn't likely to get an answer, given his attempted rescuer's disability, but he wasn't aware of that yet. As he was pulled along, he got a better chance to see them, and also gauge their abilities besides the impressive running skills. They were definitely much faster than he was, but based on what he was feeling through the wrapping of his mostly-healed wrist, there wasn't actually that much of a difference in strength between them. He might even have been able to wriggle away if he actually needed to. The reason he hadn't tried to yet being that he didn't notice any hostility, just a sudden change in behavior.

They had been running away, and only doubled back now, so he knew that something happened after he had lost sight of them. And the stranger's eyes showed enough emotion he could tell they were caught up in something. Fear made the most sense to the young man, based on the amount of running that was going on, that would mean they had some reason to try and include him in their fleeing... Something. He took the silence while waiting for an answer to confront the alternative emotions. There were enough alternative theories that he should at least examine all of them, after all.

Whatever it was, it was fairly intense. This was not anger, in any form he was used to observing. Anger would've had them dragging him more forcefully than this, an angry person would have tried words first, or perhaps whatever branch of the universal art of violence they were more comfortable with. Happiness made more sense as an alternative possibility, though that would most likely mean the running was trying to take him somewhere specific. He would rather not continue that without a reply, more likely a conversation. Grief would have tears to it, and loathing or vigilance would look different. The same stood for acceptance. That brought the viable emotions to explain this back to fear and happiness.

Having considered those options, he quickly made an amendment to the question he had asked only a fraction of the moment ago. "Is this running towards or away from something? Some context would be appreciated." He remained formal to a fault, even when trying to keep up with the speed he's being pulled at. Each step devoted to staying close enough to the this other person's pace to keep from falling over, and being dragged in an even less pleasant way. Even so, running in that way was tiring him even faster than it would have on his own. "Slowing down would also be welcome." Another amendment.

[jimbureka]

Jim didn't hear the man's string of questions and comments. How would she to begin with, given her disability. Her hands tighten around his wrapped wrist, feeling the rough texture of mispatterned layered gauze. He was injured, she didn't notice the first time she saw him. She only saw the lights, the hands, the back of his head, his mundane clothes, and nothing pretty much stood out. But she knew well enough that this man was not exactly normal, no, otherwise he would not have done what he did by the river.

The presence of the other reiatsu was growing stronger, making her tense. Shit. There wasn't enough time to get out of the area without encountering the Hollow that was coming in pretty quick. She stops suddenly in her tracks, her eyes darting around the area. The man was slow, and seemed to have a hard time keeping up with her pace. She turns to face him, annoyed, seeing his lips move. Oh shit, was he talking to her this whole time? Her eyes tried to catch the words he said, and she got something about running away, something, context, appreciated. She only looks up to him with a deadpan stare.

"Yes." One word left her mouth, and it sounded flat but firm. Her attention was then shifted to her feet, that was feeling the tremors on the forest floor, signalling how close the entity was to them. She makes an annoyed tsk sound, and spots an old sunken tree with a deep crevice on the ground. Hollow enough to crawl into and hide. Without any warning to her captive, she moves quickly, and goes to pull him in front of her to make him fall into the ditch-like hole under the trunk, before moving in herself, legs first, kicking some of the dirt and roots before pressing the man's back against the huge tree roots with her outstretched arm. She turns to him, raising her free hand to press a finger on her lips, giving him a warning gesture if he dared make a sound.

And the tremors grew stronger, and there were sounds of snapping tree trunks as the monster finally caught up with them, its huge footsteps shaking the very ground it stepped on. But then, the tremors stopped. The Hollow seemed to stop in its path, as if looking for something, or perhaps noticing something amiss in the area. Jim's gaze turned to the crevice that leveled with the forest floor, her greenish blue eyes unblinking, until the Hollow's foot dropped right in front of her line of sight, and the dirt, the worms and bits of tree fell on both Jim and the man from the tremor the creature's step caused.

| West Karakura, under an old sunken tree. | → | A mysterious man. | → | On edge. | → | Tries to communicate with the man, hides under a tree as the Hollow got to their area. |

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[Akio Naito]

For all that Akio was aggressively nondescript, he was fairly passive about being dragged along for the ride. More concerned that he had only received a single-word answer than he was still being pulled somewhere. The discomfort of it continued to increase as he was forced into a hole, pinned against tree roots. After mentally consigning his shirt to future disposal, he stared inquisitively at his captor, still waiting for a better reply, and not getting one as they jumped down into the hole after him. The additional contact of a silencing gesture was similarly unwelcome, but less protested.

While no stranger to silence at various degrees of stiltedness, he found the current silence to be particularly so. To such a degree that the appearance of one of the less-human-like souls was not able to justify it to him, in itself. While his reikaku had healed enough to sense there was something there where his eyes saw it, that particular sense was mainly oriented towards the earth. Although his new location lacked the same ideal conditions as by the river, he could still the feel the stream beneath him. Deeper, harder to work with, but no less there.

He brushed off the worms and earth, somewhat annoyed, and then shifted focus to more serious matter of holding down the edge of his free-hand's sleeve, and pressing his arm against his ace, more forcefully than any of his earlier actions had been. The pushing proceeded to loosen something, which then slid down to hang loosely around his wrist, a small, charred black bangle, left caught between the layers of gauze and the cuff of his sleeve. Without delaying, he pushed it back up, and twisted it slightly, which left it firmly in place again. Much more comfortable to have it out of his way, even as awkwardly as he'd had to manage the task. And with that, he waited, expecting a reaction from the mysterious stranger he was stuck with.

[jimbureka]

Jim was tense, all her attention now on the Hollow in proximity. The creature continued its search, or it seemed to, as its footsteps stilled, but the soft gutteral growl reverberated as it twisted its form, scanning the area. It knows something it can swallow whole is here. Or something with spiritual pressure, even if it was muffled and muted.

Jim's jaw tightened, tense. There was the urge to release her Koudo. Something told her the choice to hide was a slim chance for undetected slips. The boy, his dancing stream of lights, the reiatsu from it must've attracted this thing here. There's no doubt about it. She wonders if the boy turned off his reiatsu. The boy went out of his way to a secluded place to practice, perhaps he was still learning, or making sense of his---

Her eyes make a quick flickering glance at the man with her in this odd predicament, but it wasn't his look of annoyance that she took notice (again, he just looked too ordinary for any part him to garner her attention).

His wrists.

A momentary slip. A show of... well, burns, that's all she could make of it, and a bangle seared into his skin? It was something the man was keen on hiding, as he made quick adjustments to keep it out of the way.

Oh no. Did she grip on him tightly? Was his commentaries earlier related to him telling him of his wounds that she mishandled as she dragged him to this makeshift cover? Guilt panged her, and her green-blue eyes shined as it flicked on his gaze, her face stoic, but her eyes looking apologetic. There was so much she didn't know about this man, and she wasn't sure if it was safe to know him. Or have him know her. She didn't know what to do.

Until a blood curdling roar reverberated and calling attention back to the threat nearby. She could not hear the roar, but she felt it; it sends a vibration through her being, as did most large Hollows like this. The creature began to grab nearby trees and yank them out, apparently sensing something in the ground. Underneath. It knew something was there. And it was going to find it.

Kst! Was a sound that escaped Jim, as the ground shook, and more of the soil fell apart. She could feel the ground violently trembling from the force of the creature tearing shit apart, and she had to think fast. The ground wasn't going to hold, and there was a huge risk of being buried alive, or for the Hollow to dig right where they are. It's already tearing the opposite side, it won't be long before it goes for the tree they're under.

With a deep inhale, she stretched out both hands, looking as if she was holding a huge airgun, and with intense concentration in her face, it wasn't long before her hands vibrated, and from it, the invisible force, but something felt, a bowgun of sorts materialized. She made a quick turn against the hole where they came in, and aimed at the tree trunk in front of her. She held her breath, focusing intensely, aware that her actions would attract the Hollow to their area. The bowgun began to vibrate, as if having a life of its own, but Jim kept her hold, and as she exhaled, a bolt was shot from the contraption in her hand. The bolt was unseen, as it was made by the sheer amount of vibrations happening around her forming into a compact shot. With that one shot, it blasted a hole through the tree and made a straight shot that created a rather gaping tunnel.

She turns her head to the man, her eyes once more deadpan and serious, telling of urgency like it did earlier. Without a thought, she spoke with the same flat monotonous tone. "Move."

| West Karakura, under an old sunken tree. | → | A mysterious man. | → | Alert. | → | Notices man's wrist, and when the Hollow started to wreck things she went and shot a hole and made a makeshift tunnel as a means of escape. |

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}

[Akio Naito]

Hearing the scream, and finally noticing the hollow's presence by extension, did a lot for Akio. With the awareness that there was an actual enemy presence, he could put off trying to get actual communication across with the... he'd assumed that 'overprotective' was the correct adjective to describe the stranger for the moment. At the very least, they seemed to regret dragging him, and that made up for most of the first impression.

He could empathize with that, though his expression was more fearful than anything else with the bestial soul roaring and rampaging not that far away. Finishing up his adjustments, he turned his focus to the immediate threat, hoping to get a clear view of the thing. Regardless of whether he could or not, his focus inevitably shifted to something new in the hands of the girl with pale-green hair. A weapon?

He ran the usual checklist for such things in his head. Form implied ranged combat, but the item's behavior was abnormal. He couldn't make out the projectile, and assumed it to be a high-speed attack. He had less luck in making out what kind of weapon it was. He hadn't seen them using the material focus like people who learned the full manifestation art did. The next guess would be condensation and hardening of environmental souls. If that was the case, then he was dealing with what most of the people he'd encountered, though not the books he'd read, called a 'Quincy'.

If that were true, he could stand to benefit from a chance to communicate later, if he could do it safely. The legitimate version of the ability he was keeping on hand for a while, was worth looking into after all the incidents he'd gone through. If nothing else, he would be able to learn more about one of his options for a simple, repeatable path to enlightenment. That would all have to wait, though. He shouldn't have followed that train of thought so far as he did, with the ongoing situation.

Stumbling into the freshly-carved tunnel, he quickly adjusted his footing. "Thank you." He whispered, already facing away to start taking steps, and then made a token beckoning motion, before running away properly. Not fast by any means, but better than nothing. And easily overlooked, the basics of muffling his spiritual presence came naturally, reiatsu masked by default when not in use, and not having spent any at all that night put him in a better position than he could have been in.

[jimbureka]

The tunnel she created from her aptly named power, "Drill Hole", burrowed long and deep into the earth. It gave her relief that the man seemed to finally realize the gravity of their situation and somehow didn't ask further to explain why she went and dragged him along to safety. She made a firm clutch to her bowgun as they darted towards the unknown path. Sure, her being a Quincy is out in the open, but that's the least of her problems.

As soon as they got in a good few meters in, another roar was heard, echoing through the narrow passage. A sudden quake was felt, to which Jim stopped to prevent herself from falling forward, almost bumping into the man behind her. She turned her head quick as the tunnel she created had some of its soil fall awake, showing the structure to be very vulnerable for a cave in. The dim light from where they came from that barely lit their path suddenly grew bright, as the monster from the outside noticed the spike of spiritual pressure and began to rip out the tree that they were just under. The aged tree groaned and made sickening snaps as the deep roots where pulled away from the sheer force of strength from the Hollow. The place slowly began to fall apart, and Jim knew they were in a dangerous spot. They had to move fast, before the Hollow or a cave in caught up with them. Her body tensed. No, not a cave in. Not again.

She started to move once more, concentrating on where her bolt was, and she noticed it was a good 200 or so meters. The bolt she shot acted like a tuning fork, but not for sound; it was for tremors that bounced around the solid compacted earth surrounding them, making her feel the particles of ground that were falling through, the subtle spider cracks spreading quickly on he caked up soil, and the Hollow now throwing the tree away, which fell in a sickening thud.

Jim's breathing was labored, as she was not just running for her life, but as flashbacks of her childhood came to her mind in flickers. She remembered the smell of metal clinging in the air, the stern glare of her father as she walked beside him and she looked up, just as she felt the familiar tremors radiating on the mine. Suddenly, the ground falls beneath her, and she instinctively bolts, moving quick, her heartbeat so fast she could feel her heart being pushed out of her chest. She feels falling rocks fall on her helmet, she feels more things falling, until it gets too overwhelming, her sights seeing a copper colored mesh that suddenly turned into black. She breathed, and choked and gagged with the sand and dirt that poured endlessly...

She gasps, fighting back the tears in her eyes, panic creeping up on her. She pushes hard against her thoughts, focusing on movement. She feels the vibrations from her bolt getting close, somehow a good 20 meters away. She takes in a sharp inhale, propping up her bowgun once more and aiming towards the front. The area was trembling harder, both from the cave in and something attempting to dig through, to which it makes itself known with another high pitched roar, erratically digging as it was eager for highly spirited meals.

A tear streaks down Jim's face, her breathing fast as if she was going through a panic attack and she's trying to suppress it. Her bowgun trembles under her grasp, and she makes another shot. The shot wasn't measured or calculated as much as she tried, and it gave her a pushback, making her collide into the young man. Her shot made a beamline straight into the path, quickly colliding on to the crater created by the first shot and burrowing once more. But due to her distractions with her fears of being underground, she did not realize she shot towards the directions of the strong river bend. The shot went through mud and clay, and with a weakened silt, the water pressure pushed against the now hollowed soil.

It won't be long before the wall caves, pouring in harsh water currents and sandwiching them between the river and Hollow.

| West Karakura, under an old sunken tree. | → | A mysterious man. | → | Panicked. | → | Runs through the burrowed tunnel and experiences a flashback induced by her trauma of being buried alive as a child. Shoots another bolt and weakens the silt river bend from within. |

SPOILER: Click to show

{OOC}