Post by Munemasa Iroka on Jun 6, 2023 17:36:13 GMT -5
It was a rather cold evening out in Rukongai, even though the winter was past. Perhaps it was the fact that there had been a number of cloud-covered days, when the sun seemed to have a lot of difficulty shining, or maybe it was simply cold because it was. Iroka, on a different day, would have tried to think up as many reasons for the uncharacteristically frigid weather, but she could not bring herself to do so today. There was a lot on her mind that needed sorting. And even though she tried to distract herself with work, it didn't seem to be as effective as in other days.
A lot had changed since her last meeting with Kimyou, her parent. It had been a rather bittersweet experience. Of course, she had Fuuko to thank for the change of events; Iroka had not expected such a thing to happen. A more conniving person would have assumed that Iroka had brought Kimyou to see her parent because the carrot-top intended for the blonde Shinigami to fight for her. But if Iroka was anything, she wasn't the sort to attempt to get others to do her work for her. Quite the opposite, Iroka preferred to not have to rely on anyone to help her, though she was rather willing to help others instead.
In any case, Fuuko's presence had uncovered so much more than Iroka had expected. But not only had secrets been revealed, one of her major aspirations and desires had been met. The fulfilment of this desire had not been as satisfying as Iroka had hoped, perhaps because her parent being in the Nest of Maggots would mean that she would perhaps not experience the true effect of what had happened, unless she went visiting her parent again. And there was only so many times that one could go traipsing into the Nest of Maggots. She would make do with what she had.
Of course, Iroka wasn't ungrateful. Her parent, for the first time in her life, had embraced her. For the first time in her life, Iroka had realized that many of the things for which she had blamed herself were not her fault. There was something liberating about that. But then, she had also received the shocking revelation that she was tainted with a hollow. Automatically, without any effort on her part, Iroka was an abomination to the order of Seireitei. That was, for all intents and purposes, a sort of death sentence for a Shinigami.
The good news was, it was only a death sentence if it was revealed. There were only three people that knew of this, herself being the first of them. Iroka was many things, heck, she was even considered stupid, but she was much more levelheaded than she let on. She would not jeopardize her own life by revealing this secret. Iroka was quite good at keeping secrets, after all, and even though she was not naturally inclined to be selfish, self-preservation was a thing that even she had.
The second person who knew was Satoshi Fuuko. But Iroka was almost certain that Fuuko would be les likely than Iroka to reveal such a secret. The blonde was quite devoted to her, and Iroka suspected that Fuuko would probably choose death over betraying what she had learned about the orange-haired Shinigami. No better friend could be wished for, as far as Iroka was concerned. The carrot-top wondered if she was as good a friend to Fuuko as the latter was to her, though.
The third person in on the secret was none other than the one responsible for it, the one whom Iroka called 'Mother'. As a matter of fact, Kimyou had known this long before the two Yonbantai Shinigami were made aware of Iroka's condition. And of the three of them, Kimyou was the most likely to reveal this secret. Yet Iroka was sure that they wouldn't. For starters, their revelation of their own crime would call down the same punishment facing Iroka on themselves, and Iroka was sure that Kimyou did not yet wish to die. The second reason was that she sensed somehow that Kimyou's contrition was honest, and so trusted that her parent would not attempt to betray her.
But even if none of those who knew the secret would reveal it, things were not so simple. A Shinigami tainted by a hollow could not just go living their life without a care in the world. The fear that the hollow would one day break loose and reveal what had so long been kept hidden was a well-founded fear of its own. Many of the stories, actually all of them, which Iroka had read about that involved a tainted Shinigami, had the hollow one day attempting to take over their bodies. Iroka had no idea about the mechanisms of such, but she suspected that it would not be different in her case.
Therefore, the way forward was simple. Information, it was said, was a very useful weapon. Even if the enemy did not use deception as a tactic, those who were less informed were always at the disadvantage. Iroka suspected that she needed all the advantages she could get, regarding this new discovery that she had made, and so she had hit the books. The information about the ones whom had been designated 'Vizards' was scarce, but there were documents. And even though they did not inform her in detail about what she wished to know, having informed assumptions was better than walking blind.
The next thing Iroka decided she would do was to attempt to gain knowledge through interaction. While this seemed like a rather dangerous thing to do, Iroka surmised that attempting to gain information about the hollow within her would have to involve interacting with it. There seemed to be no other way to do so. And thus she had traveled out into Rukongai, away from Seireitei, to do this, because she could not take any chances. Hopefully there would be no mishaps, but even if there was any, such would be easier to conceal if they occurred far away from prying eyes.
A lot had changed since her last meeting with Kimyou, her parent. It had been a rather bittersweet experience. Of course, she had Fuuko to thank for the change of events; Iroka had not expected such a thing to happen. A more conniving person would have assumed that Iroka had brought Kimyou to see her parent because the carrot-top intended for the blonde Shinigami to fight for her. But if Iroka was anything, she wasn't the sort to attempt to get others to do her work for her. Quite the opposite, Iroka preferred to not have to rely on anyone to help her, though she was rather willing to help others instead.
In any case, Fuuko's presence had uncovered so much more than Iroka had expected. But not only had secrets been revealed, one of her major aspirations and desires had been met. The fulfilment of this desire had not been as satisfying as Iroka had hoped, perhaps because her parent being in the Nest of Maggots would mean that she would perhaps not experience the true effect of what had happened, unless she went visiting her parent again. And there was only so many times that one could go traipsing into the Nest of Maggots. She would make do with what she had.
Of course, Iroka wasn't ungrateful. Her parent, for the first time in her life, had embraced her. For the first time in her life, Iroka had realized that many of the things for which she had blamed herself were not her fault. There was something liberating about that. But then, she had also received the shocking revelation that she was tainted with a hollow. Automatically, without any effort on her part, Iroka was an abomination to the order of Seireitei. That was, for all intents and purposes, a sort of death sentence for a Shinigami.
The good news was, it was only a death sentence if it was revealed. There were only three people that knew of this, herself being the first of them. Iroka was many things, heck, she was even considered stupid, but she was much more levelheaded than she let on. She would not jeopardize her own life by revealing this secret. Iroka was quite good at keeping secrets, after all, and even though she was not naturally inclined to be selfish, self-preservation was a thing that even she had.
The second person who knew was Satoshi Fuuko. But Iroka was almost certain that Fuuko would be les likely than Iroka to reveal such a secret. The blonde was quite devoted to her, and Iroka suspected that Fuuko would probably choose death over betraying what she had learned about the orange-haired Shinigami. No better friend could be wished for, as far as Iroka was concerned. The carrot-top wondered if she was as good a friend to Fuuko as the latter was to her, though.
The third person in on the secret was none other than the one responsible for it, the one whom Iroka called 'Mother'. As a matter of fact, Kimyou had known this long before the two Yonbantai Shinigami were made aware of Iroka's condition. And of the three of them, Kimyou was the most likely to reveal this secret. Yet Iroka was sure that they wouldn't. For starters, their revelation of their own crime would call down the same punishment facing Iroka on themselves, and Iroka was sure that Kimyou did not yet wish to die. The second reason was that she sensed somehow that Kimyou's contrition was honest, and so trusted that her parent would not attempt to betray her.
But even if none of those who knew the secret would reveal it, things were not so simple. A Shinigami tainted by a hollow could not just go living their life without a care in the world. The fear that the hollow would one day break loose and reveal what had so long been kept hidden was a well-founded fear of its own. Many of the stories, actually all of them, which Iroka had read about that involved a tainted Shinigami, had the hollow one day attempting to take over their bodies. Iroka had no idea about the mechanisms of such, but she suspected that it would not be different in her case.
Therefore, the way forward was simple. Information, it was said, was a very useful weapon. Even if the enemy did not use deception as a tactic, those who were less informed were always at the disadvantage. Iroka suspected that she needed all the advantages she could get, regarding this new discovery that she had made, and so she had hit the books. The information about the ones whom had been designated 'Vizards' was scarce, but there were documents. And even though they did not inform her in detail about what she wished to know, having informed assumptions was better than walking blind.
The next thing Iroka decided she would do was to attempt to gain knowledge through interaction. While this seemed like a rather dangerous thing to do, Iroka surmised that attempting to gain information about the hollow within her would have to involve interacting with it. There seemed to be no other way to do so. And thus she had traveled out into Rukongai, away from Seireitei, to do this, because she could not take any chances. Hopefully there would be no mishaps, but even if there was any, such would be easier to conceal if they occurred far away from prying eyes.
