I need a Hero (DE HARD) ❷✗

[Deleted]

Name:



Participants: [anyone say for akki]



Location: [Karakura town]



Difficulty Level: [Hard]



Setting: [DE]



Plotline: [A strange woman has appeared in the middle of Karakura town. While Karakura town wasn't exactly a stranger to odd people, this woman is glowing and has a high level of radiation coming off of her. Arriving in town she started to scream out for help and she needed a hero.



Estimated Enemy Strength: [Unknown]



Estimated Time Until Completion: [5 pages]



Starts: [July 1st]



Special Conditions:

1:Spiritual radiation: The place that the woman will take you will have a powerful radiation that flocks to those that have spiritual power. Simply killing the lucky ones, while mutating the less fortunate into horrific monstrosities that plague the land. The more reiatsu you use or draw in, the higher the chance for a mutation and radiation burns.



2: To combat the threat of spiritual radiation the folks will receive a pill that will seal away their spiritual stats and abilities for a time to keep them from being poisoned.

[Ranth]

I'll throw my hat in the ring for this one

[Deleted]

ah what the hell. Asuka's in!

[Deleted]

The woman sat in the jail cell looking around at this place, it was so different than how her home looked. The walls were cool, the ceiling was intact, the bed was soft, well at least to what she had known. However she didn't have time to waste, she had been sent on a mission and simply sitting here in a jail cell wouldn't help her mission whatsoever however how exactly had she had gotten here? It depended on if someone wanted the short version or the long version. The short one, well they thought that she was crazy and dragged her here to make sure she wasn't going to hurt anyone. The long version is that she isn't crazy.

Samantha had been a solider for her entire life, she had been trained to fight, to kill, to survive in the world that she had been a part of. Now there was a chance for a better life, not for just her, but for everyone in her compound. They could all have a better life if only she had been successful in finding individuals of this world who still had the power that had been lost in theirs. However Samantha had been born to a world very different than this one, everything she saw was new and different, a lot of it didn't make sense and as such in her confusion she started to rattle on and act as if she was crazed. Police offers quickly grabbed her and dragged her away from the road none of them knowing that Sam was leaking radiation that seemed to get stronger the more reiatsu was near it.

It didn't take long for soul soceity to pick up on this as the radiation had a very odd and unique signature that triggered their detectors. Knowing that this was strange they sent out shingami to investigate. One of them would find their way to the police station and eventually to the jail cell that held Samantha. However Samantha wouldn't be the only strange thing in the jail, no around the entirety of the jail there were tons of snakes crawling all around and in one cell what seemed to be an arrancar.

[Deleted]

A series of unfortunate events would be the best way to describe it. At least, that's how she'd describe it...

Asuka’s day had been eventful in the wrong sense. It started out with her going to the Human World to make new friends and recruit for new fraccion. She just wanted to make friends. The bubbly girl was so excited to start her day. She smiled at every soul she passed and bounced happily up and down the streets of Karakura just as she’d done many times before. @ TheSun was shining, the temperature was about as spicy as a jalapeño and she wore her gigai with cutest outfit only because it looked so pretty outside. Asuka just knew she was going to bring in lots of customers today! Yay! Excitement!

The Segunda set up shop smack dab in the middle of town with a sign she worked too hard on, put out a plate of cookies and a pitcher of her famous (only to one so far) lemonade, and sat patiently. Her eyes followed each passerby and she made sure her smile was as bright and welcoming as can be. She was the equivalent of an excitable kitten in a box, waiting desperately to be adopted. Time would pass and although no one would stop by her strange little lemonadé stand (the accent over the e because being exotic was all the rage), she found ways to occupy herself. Like whistling and singling and talking to the old guy in the shade who had his eyes closed. She figured he was closing his eyes because the sun was so bright even though he was in the shade but hey! Who was she to judge? He was a little smelly and smelled like liquor, but boy, was he a great listener!

Asuka hoped she could be that great too at one point. One day!

While she wasn’t making quite the commotion she attracted the attention of a man in blue. The officer walked over, curious about her stand. Asuka panicked. She started to freak out. Hueco Mundo was different! The sprightly girl never had a human customer before! It was a hot summery day! Perhaps he was just extra hot and needed a refresher! He was a man of the law! He had to function, dammit! How can he function if his mouth was as dry as a desert!?!? Her mind raced as she’d try to think of a solution for the hard working man and by god! Did she think of one!

Asuka quickly got out one of her paper cups and grabbed her pitcher. She would be there to help him! To help him while in heat! To help him hydrate and quench his thirst! Asuka would be there for him! Gosh, she had it all thought out in her mind. She would pour him a glass of lemonade and look like all the heroes she’d seen on T.V. who saved whoever was in distress. In Asuka’s mind, she was convinced that she was going to be as cool as a cucumber. As she got up from her seat and moved to offer the officer a cup of her finest lemon squeeze, her foot caught on the legs of her table and like a tree, she was going down and nobody was yelling timber.

She crashed into the officer who was offbalanced by her and pushed back. The next thing Asuka knew, from the next down, the poor cop was covered with lemonade. When she looked at the pitcher? Ah. Yeah. Scratch that. An ENTIRE pitcher of Lemonade. The officer’s face turned red with anger and Asuka had that face where she knew she was in for it. At least, she thought she was. Asuka scrambled to her feet and apologized about fifty times with tears in her eyes but the officer merely walked off, cursing up a storm and going back to the precinct. Asuka, feeling entirely ashamed and feeling as though she deserved punishment, ran after him.

Asuka felt crushed by what she did. Embarrassed and just all around horrible. There was no way she could get off this easy!! It wasn’t right! She deserved justice dammit! She wandered in and found her way to the officer who she’d continue to apologize to but he simply told her to go home. She couldn’t do that! “Well, go to jail then! It’s downstairs! Just leave me alone!!” He yelled, frustrated. The officer didn’t actually mean it but it was a brilliant idea. The best idea! God! He was so smart!! "Yessir!" Asuka nodded and made her way downstairs. There she found an empty cell. closed the door and sat on the best.

“You can leave.”

“No! I did a bad thing! I’m sorry!!”

“WHAT? IT’S NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. LEAVE.”

At his shouts and screams the poor Segunda started to cry and he’d leave her. Nope! She wasn’t having any of it. Asuka deserved some hard time and if no one was going to give it to her then dammit it, she had to rise to occasion and be the responsible one! There, she’d sit for hours, crouched up and hugging her knees in a saddened daze. Before she knew it, snakes started pouring in slowly to the basement and she could hear screams from upstairs. “I’m so sorry mister! Aha!” But nada. Nothin’. Just yells and screams. Asuka figured that since she was in jail, she had to get in the mood and start singing old school jail songs. This was her life now after all. Asuka had to get used to it!

She’d pick up a harmless ball python and throw it around her neck like feather boa. There, she’d start to belt out an Elvis song. Elvis was in jail, right? Was that why he always wore white? “Well, since my baby left me, I found a new place to dwell! Down at the end of Lonely Street at Heartbrea—“ But suddenly, a voice from upstairs! “GO HOME ALREADY. This place is infested with snakes!! PLEASE just go home!” At that, Asuka immediately shut up and laid back in her prison bed. Today was awful and she felt entirely defeated. In an attempt to shake it off, Asuka figured she'd just take a nap and try to forget it. Asuka relaxed back in her prison bed and tried to settle in as best as she could. She turned her head and noticed a woman who looked awfully anxious. Was she there the whole time? Asuka would gently wave the snake in her hands to the woman, trying to get her attention. It was important to make friends in jail y’know. “Hiya~ Whatcha in for?”

[Ranth]

"Why do I have to go? You made me go last time and-"
"Last time you made a wonderful new friend. From what I hear, you're about the only person in all of Soul Society that can stomach being in the same room as Rin Miniamoto and by all accoutns she seems to tolerate you more than anyone else outside of her own squad"
"It's Minamimoto, actually, and she's really not as bad as everyone s-"
"Woah, Ranth, did you just correct me!?"
"Oh! I'm so sorry I-"
"I'm so proud! You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment!"
"F-for me to correct you?"
"Well, no, but you stood up for yourself! Now pack your things, you're going."
"...Yes sir"

An hour later

Ranth stepped out of the Senkaimon that deposited him in the heart of Karakura town. He'd tried his best to avoid this mission, even having gone so far as to argue with Artorius, the defacto leader of the Kido Corps in the absence of any other authority figures. It was a bright and sunny day and as Ranth looked around he spotted a large billboard with an enormous sheep depicted with sunglasses and a giving a massive thumbs up to anyone watching. He had no idea what the billboard was meant to be advertising, but if he knew, Ranth would definitely buy whatever that sheep was selling.

Weather and ambiguous billboards aside however, Ranth had a job to do and his reluctance for coming had nothing to do with any of that. The truth was that he was scared of Karakura Town. Not the straightforward kind of fear either, but the kind of repressed, deep seated fear born of PTSD. For the last time Ranth had been in this city, he'd encountered an Arrancar and not only did Ranth nearly perish, but his mentor at the time- Senshi Odayakama- had suffered terrible wounds as a result of coming to his aid. He knew that it was a silly thing to be afraid of- what were the chances of running into an Arrancar twice in two visits to the same city after all?

Drawing in a deep breath to reassure himself that this time everything would be fine, Ranth drew out a small device that he'd been given for this mission and pressed a button on the side- causing the screen to flicker to life and reveal a neon green interface. This device was custom build just for this mission and it would lead him to the source of the reason for coming here in the first place. For a bizarre reading had been detected in Karakura Town. It wasn't a reiatsu signature exactly, but it wasn't quite like anything else the technicians in Squad 12 had ever seen before either. So naturally someone had to check it and... and Ranth had drawn the short straw.

Guided by the device and its incessant beeping, Ranth moved down the street. He was wearing a gigai, but this was a specially made gigai that was embedded with technology that was designed to measure and record data when Ranth encountered the source of the unusual radiation. It didn't change his appearance or make him feel any different- it was just one of several new prototypes created by the 12th division to make surveillance missions easier and more efficient.

At first, the streets were crowded with people going about their business, but as Ranth got closer and closer to the source of the radiation, he realised that the crowds began to thin- almost as though they were subconsciously aware that something wasn't right and they steered clear of the area unless they had pressing business in the area. The closer he got to the source, the more and more scarce the people became until eventually he found himself standing in front of a police station of all places.

Ranth might have thought he was in the wrong place, except that the devices beeping spiked sharply when pointed towards the entrance. But there was something else unusual as well... as Ranth approached the front door, it burst open and several men in blue uniforms burst out and fled down the street. Bemused, but now on alert, Ranth continued cautiously over the threshold and almost immediately he foudn the cause for the men's panicked retreat. Snakes. There were dozens of them and they filled the air with a gentle hissing sound as they slithered inexorably towards the back of the room where the door to the holding cells could be seen.

Unafraid of something as mundane as snakes- especially when he realised that they really were ordinary snakes indigenous to the area and thus weren't poisonous- Ranth proceeded carefully, shuffling his feet in places in order to avoid stepping on any of the reptiles. To his surprise, the snakes seemed unusually placid, as though they were in some kind of trance. They seemed content to ignore him for the most part- their attention apparently focused on making their way into the holding cells.

Puzzled, but with no choice other than to proceed towards the holding cells as well thanks to the guidance of his device, Ranth made his way down the stairs to find even more snakes. But over the deafening hiss of at least a hundred snakes, Ranth realised he could hear something else... a voice... was that... someone singing? Sure enough, as Ranth carefully picked his way down the isle- dodging lethargic snakes as he went- Ranth found that the voice became louder and clearer as he got closer until eventually he came to two cells- one open and one closed.

In the open cell, a young woman was sitting on the edge of her bed and singing forlornly... and yet somehow the lyrics didn't seem forlorn but rather oddly enthusiastic. Ranth had no idea who this woman was, but she was certainly a distinctive individual with long teal coloured hair, incredibly short denim jeans that Ranth felt barely covered the parts that any piece of clothing was inherently designed to cover, so he quickly averted his gaze from her entire lower body and focused on her tank top that revealed the kind of flat stomach that most women- human or otherwise- would kill for and an 'innie' belly button. But as his eyes roamed upwards, her most striking feature of all... an adorable winking sheep printed on the front of her shirt.

As for Ranth himself, he was wearing a blue coat that was open at the front to reveal a grey and red t-shirt underneath with long checkered pants and brown shoes. (Second from the right) "Uh, excuse me miss, I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's not safe here. For your own safety, it would be best if you left". She didn't seem bothered by all the snakes and Ranth had already seen that they weren't aggressive, so if she was careful then she should be able to escape without injury.

Then there was the second cell, the one that was closed and at this point the device in his hand not only started to blip faster than he'd ever heard before, but a small digital display that had been tracking the level of radiation suddenly began ticking upwards at an incredible rate. The last number Ranth managed to make out was 9001 before the device simple exploded in his hands. Well... looks like I found the source, Ranth thought as he regarded the cells lone occupant... a woman who was regarding him with a mix of emotions so varied he couldn't name just one. In the end, Ranth was the one to break the silence. "Who are you?" He had wanted to say what are you given the circumstances, but that just seemed rude.

[Deleted]

In her thoughts Samantha had totally missed the fact that someone had been singing in the cell right next to hers. In fact she had totally missed the fact that the songbird had even spoken to her asking why she was in here. If it wasn't for the fact that as she was thinking a snake crawled up her leg she wouldn't' have even noticed that this entire place was filled now with the slithering creatures. Obviously she let out a shreek of panic as she noticed that this place was now a den of snakes, how could so many be here, it's not like 'that' could exist here could it......? No there had to be another reason as for the massive amount of snakes here.

That wasn't her issue though as she finally noticed the girl sitting next to her in a cell. She seemed to be friendly, but there was something almost familiar about her. Was it that her teal green hair seemed to be the same shade as the radioactive wasteland? Or was it the kind innocence in her eyes that she saw with the children who hadn't learned the truth of the world? No, it didn't matter even with her pitiful senses she could tell that this girl was spiritually aware, which meant that everything she did wasn't a total loss.

Before she could even speak another person interrupted her and spoke out. Samantha didn't need much to know exactly what he was. The way he stood, his attitude, but most of all his sword. He was a shingami. She stood up from where she had been sitting and lunged at the man trying to grab him by his collar. “This is all your fault, why couldn't you let things just be like they were.” She screamed at him it was clear that she was angry at the man, but this marked the second spiritual being that she had found and it was a good thing that the two of them were there when they were.

It wouldn't matter if Samantha actually grabbed Ranth by his collar because moments after she would fall backwards in the cell screaming out in pain. It was happening, her time here was up and sadly she hadn't had a chance to tell these two what was going on. Though as she fell back she looked at Ranth and held a smile. “looks like you get to see the hell you made you bastard.” As she spoke a green light shined out from here enveloping both Asuka and Ranth. Suddenly the two of them would find themselves feeling a bit nauseous and sick.

The light would fade just as quickly as it came, it would take a few moments for everyone's eyes to readjust to the light, but as they did Ranth's device would start freaking out showing signs of high level radiation everywhere. When all three could open their eyes they would notice that the world was very different. The bars of the cells had become rusted, most of the cells looked like they had been either torn off of their hinges or were no longer working. The walls seemed to be caked with dust and grim, but the most noticeable feature was that the ceiling that was above them, the floor to the actual police station was now missing a massive chunk.

Samantha would stand up with a sigh knowing that the only two she was able to bring was a shingami and someone who was spiritually aware. She had no clue as to what the girl was, but it was clear that she was able to make the trip. Turning to Asuka she spoke “hey sorry about this, but there was no time to explain, I had to get help from people, people before the blast that they did.” As she spoke she looked over at Ranth a tone of anger in her voice over seeing that he was still here. “But we don't have too much time, you need to eat this, I'm sorry but it will make you weaker, but you won't die.”

It was at this point that both Ranth and Asuka should have felt the pain from the radiation in the area around them. For the both of them it would feel as if their entire body was on fire while their insides were being repetitively stabbed over and over again. Samantha would give Asuka a pill placing it in her hand and even helping her swallow it if she needed help. For Ranth she would drop the pill on the dirt and slime covered ground near his face. If he was able to take it or not she really didn't care too much.

There would be plenty of time for questions later, but for now they were in an abandon police station in a strange place. Eventually the pain would stop for the two of them, but they would find themselves without the spiritual power that they normally had. Their abilities stripped, and their reiatsu gone, a thud could be heard upstairs as a voice speaking crudely screamed out. “WHERE ARE YOU HUMAN.” Samantha would turn back to the other two and say shhhhhh.

[Deleted]

"Uh, excuse me miss, I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's not safe here. For your own safety, it would be best if you left"

Asuka sat up instantly at the sound of his voice and blinked multiple times. Not safe? Best if she left? Oh no! What was happening!? Asuka tilted her head at the man, wide eyed and giving him a worrisome look. “W-Wha..?” she asked slightly panicked. He had hair as white as snow and pretty eyes and he was super tall! Wow! Look at how he was dressed! So fashion forward! He looked like one those ultra cool boyband super stars! The ones that dance and sing!! The mystified Segunda’s lips parted in excitement as she’d attempt to say something but nothing! She couldn’t manage words or sentences. God, Asuka! Way to get tongue tied in front of the super cool Backstreet Boy!! Today was really embarrassing! Ugh!

What he said didn’t make sense though. She looked around her cell but didn’t feel anything particularly dangerous. He was spiritually aware and so was the lady in the other cell over. Curiously, Asuka got up from her prison bed and quietly made her way over to the super cool boyband superstar. What would someone that cool be doing down here? In a prison? It didn’t make any sense. Asuka knew she wasn’t the shiniest tool in the toolshed but she at least knew that that much didn’t make any sense. She made her way over to her new prison friend’s cell, listening in on the conversation. For the most part, Asuka couldn’t sense any danger and rather than leave, she decided to stick around.

Not cause of any cool boy band members or anything….

Anyway! It suddenly became Orange is the New Black because her prison friend suddenly went ham and Asuka’s brain went bologna because she didn’t know what the heck to do next! When the girl lurched over to grab him by the collar, Asuka instinctively reached out, gently shoving Mr. Superstar back and holding her hand out, trying to separate the two. “H-Hey! Let’s not fight! W-We can talk it out guys! Aha!” She attempted to insert herself between the two, seriously alarmed by the escalation of events. “This is all your fault, why couldn't you let things just be like they were.” What she was saying was interesting. Asuka studied the woman for a moment with a blank expression. Maybe something did happen… What though? Why was she so mad at the pop idol guy behind her? Did he break her heart or something?

However, before she could properly calm her down, the woman screamed in what seemed to be immense pain. Asuka’s eyes widened with fear and she moved to the cell, clutching the bars as she tried to get to her as she fell back and let out pained cries. “Are you alright?! What’s wrong!? T-Tell me how I can help!” Just like that, Asuka would rise to the occasion and put herself on the line for those who needed it. Her voice was urgent and she’d tuck her hair behind her ears as if it would help her concentrate more. Poor Asuka and her big heart. To see her in such agony made Asuka feel equally as hurt. She didn’t know who this woman was but this Segunda Espada felt, with every fiber in her being, that she needed to help her. What was frustrating was that she didn’t have a single clue how to help her.

But then she smiled and everything suddenly got way too bright… and green. Everything was happening so fast and she couldn’t process a single word of it. “Turn that down! It’s too bright!” She squeaked out loud, shielding her eyes with her elbow and closing them. When she was finally able to look, Asuka felt her stomach turn and she keeled over, bringing a hand over her mouth trying to hold on to anything that was within arms reach while she tried to stabilize herself. Everything around them was… much scarier. The world was darker and the atmosphere felt heavy. Sickening almost. Rust painted anything metallic around them and all she could get from this was decay. A crazy amount of it. Was this the police station? It looked like it but it also looked like it was just rotting away. Asuka looked to the taller male to see if he knew anything at all.

“hey sorry about this, but there was no time to explain, I had to get help from people, people before the blast that they did. But we don't have too much time, you need to eat this, I'm sorry but it will make you weaker, but you won't die.”

Asuka spun around to the girl, looking at her intently. Oh boy! Oh gosh! She sure looked a lot better! That was good! She would nod happily until the end of the sentence where she got super angry and looked at the superstar. The smaller teal haired girl froze and glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. Especially at the word die. Yikes. No thanks. No sir. Nope. She wanted none of that, thank you very much. “ ‘They did’. Hm… ”. Asuka knew that he had to be spiritually aware but didn’t have the chance to really interact with him. Darn. She really wanted to ask him if he sung and did really cool celebrity stuff. She also wanted to ask him about all those celebrity secrets they keep sharing in those magazines in the super markets!

“..Ah!” Asuka's body jolted considerably at the sudden sensation. The pain was unexpected. Not unusual as she was used to the sensation of stabbing thanks to Kuroi. Her body felt hot and it felt like it wasn’t stopping. What… What the hell was going on with her body!? Asuka knew what it all felt like but it just came out of nowhere. Giving a second, Asuka could tolerate the pain a little bit. She was an Espada after all. She knew it all too well. Stabbing and burning sensations was something she was used to. She didn’t want to feel that way but Asuka could handle it. The Espada did her best to show a brave face, her body somewhat trembling from trying to tolerate the pain and her breathing becoming labored.

To Asuka’s surprise, the girl would place a pill in her hand. Supposedly it was supposed to take the pain away and Asuka, thinking she had no choice would nod, letting her know she got it from there. This girl sure was nice! Asuka thought she was cool too... but also angry! She was so helpful! ....But also really angry. Just as she was going to put the pill in her mouth, she saw another one fall on the floor in front of Mr. Superstar and Asuka moved quickly. Well that was no good! Superstars can't deal with that! Even worse, Asuka figured he must've been in tremendous pain while she could probably endure it for a second longer. Without hesitation, she took the pill she was handed and quickly pushed in his mouth while she quickly got the one off the floor. For the selfless Segunda, it was without a second thought. She wiped it off quickly on some and swallowed the floor pill like a champ, shaking her head in an attempt to not even think about whatever was on it. Asuka looked at the girl earnestly and her lips would curve, revealing a sincere, genuine smile. This stuff happened all the time! Asuka could understand that. She’s done stuff like that before. “Accidents happen. Aha~. I’m pretty clumsy myself. Everyone’s ok, rig—”

“WHERE ARE YOU HUMAN.”

Silence. Asuka’s mouth immediately clamped shut and she bit her lip, looking around. She tried to get a sense for whatever it was but Asuka didn’t have a clue. Wide eyed and tense she looked around at both her new stranger friends and then focused on the decaying ceiling. She had a mind to start charing up a cero but found that she couldn’t. Not even a sonido. Not even a release despite having her zanpakuto with her. She was powerless. Asuka heard the thudding and her eyes followed the sound, watching carefully to see if whatever was up there was going to attack.

[Ranth]

Ranth was taken aback by the unknown woman's obvious hostility towards him and all he could do was stare blankly in response to her vehement accusation. Each word was spat at him like a bullet and each one only served to make him more and more confused. All his fault? Let things be? None of it made any sense and his blank stare continued as she tried to lunge at him through the bars. Thankfully, he'd been standing three paces from the bars and given that the woman wasn't equipped with freakishly long arms, her grasping fingers fell short of reaching him.

That didn't stop Ranth from taking a step back from the crazy woman though, but even as he did so he was reminded that they weren't alone down here as the teal haired woman with the sheep crop top stepped between them, urging them with heartbreaking sincerity not to fight. It almost made Ranth feel guilty, despite the fact that he'd done literally nothing to this woman- heck, he was positive that he'd never so much as laid eyes on her.

As if he needed any more proof that the woman was unstable, she began to scram and writhe and Ranth watched with barely contained indignation as the oddly sincere woman immediately rushed to her side. Or at least, as close to her side as she could get with the steel bars separating them. Ranth's indignation didn't last for long however, as he clearly understood that this woman was clearly unwell and couldn't be held accountable for her mad ravings and nonsensical ranting as she shouted at him- spraying flecks of spittle as she did- about showing dragging him to hell or some-such nonsense.

In the next moment there was a blinding flash and Ranth could only shield his eyes as the world seemed to shift around them- giving him a nauseating sense of vertigo in the process. When the world stopped swirling like a kaleidoscope, Ranth clenched his eyes closed as he waited for the nausea to stop... but it didn't. In fact, the feeling only seemed to be growing with each passing moment and he opened his eyes to find that things had changed. A lot.

At a glance, everything seemed to be the same as before, but that illusion lasted for only a moment before Ranth was able to spot that everything was worn down and rusted in a way that he'd never seen before. For starters, the jail cells were all crumbling and the bars looked to have long since rusted away- which was almost as large a concern to Ranth due to the simple fact that the insane woman could now lunge at him if she so chose- but not quite as much as the growing sense of nausea which was actually starting to transition into legitimate pain that began in his chest and started to spread outwards into his extremities.

Through the haze of pain, sickness and disorientation, Ranth became aware that the woman was speaking- more rationally this time, though that wasn't a hard feat to achieve- but Ranth couldn't decipher the meaning behind her words. She was sorry? She needed help? he almost barked a laugh, but instead groaned as he felt his stomach lurch violently and threaten to empty itself right there and then. This woman was unhinged. If she wanted help, she wasn't doing anything to make Ranth feel inclined to lend his aid with the completely unjustified way she'd been abusing him to this point. At this point, he'd have been more than happy for her too have left him out of whatever this was.

As far as the pills she mentioned, Ranth was going to be damned if he put anything this psychopath tried to feed him- especially not when she dropped 'his' pill on the ground at his feet. Unfortunately, nothing could have prepared Ranth for the moment that the other woman who seemed to have been dragged into this placed one of her delicate fingers against his lips and Ranth's eyes widened as he felt something on his tongue and he instinctively swallowed the pill that she'd just pushed between his lips.

What made it worse however, was that the woman then bent and retrieved the pill the woman had dropped, wiped it on her jeans and then cheerfully swallowed it- declaring that accidents happen and apparently believing that the fact that the pill meant for Ranth had bene dropped by accident. "Actually, I don't think that was an acc-", Ranth began to say- intending to dispel the illusion that this poor girl was apparently under that their 'host' was anything other than a vindictive lunatic. Unfortunately though, he was interrupted by a deafening shout that almost made him jump out of his skin.

Acting entirely through instinct, Ranth seized Asuka by the wrist and dragged her towards the back of the cell away from the gaping hole in the ceiling above. Whatever was up there, it clearly wasn't friendly judging from the fact that even the woman who was seemingly responsible for this entire situation had decided it was a good time to shut up and had taken a similar tactic of moving away from where anything could get a direct line of sight from the surface.

In all the excitement, Ranth almost didn't notice that the nauseous feeling he'd been suffering upon arrival in this strange, deteriorated mirror of the world he knew had subsided substantially. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing that had subsided... he felt his powers slipping away and any attempt to 'reach' for them resulting in the chillingly unfamiliar sensation of them slipping through his fingers. It would seem that whatever was waiting for them on the surface, they would have to face without any powers if it came to a fight... a prospect that Ranth absolutely did not relish.

[Deleted]

In the slight darkness again they heard the voice cry outwards. “COME OUT HUMAN I CAN SMELL YOU.” The loud thuds from above continued as it seemed that whatever was screaming out at them was walking back and forth above them, in the police station. As each moment passed the thudding became louder and louder as well as the screams from whatever was up there got louder and louder. It seemed that the creature was getting closer and closer to the blocked off stairway. Then as it seemed it couldn't get worse another voice as deep and forbidding screamed out “I'M GOING TO EAT YOU ALIVE AFTER I KILL YOU.”

It seemed that the thing above wasn't alone as another set of thumping footsteps would start up. Samantha backed away from the stairwell entirely knowing that if there was more than one of those things here, it was likely that they were close to one of it's hideouts. She had no idea where they were, while the worlds did line up exactly the vast difference between the two of them made it so she wasn't exactly sure as to where in her world they had landed, but it was clear that they weren't in a good spot and they had to act quickly if they wanted to get out alive.

It would be by this time that Ranth and Asuka would start to smell 'that'. It was a foul odor that seemed to hang in the air, pungent and heavy. In all the confusion of getting here and taking the pills they hadn't noticed the smell, why would they? The first few moments were filled with pain, followed by a massive sense of terror. Yet now that they had a moment to think, the smell started to linger into their nose and fill their lungs. The foul odor would be a mix of rotting flesh and copper. This smell was followed by the soft sounds of buzzing nearby.

It wouldn't take long for them to see, well rather feel what was the source of that smell. In Ranth's noble action to pull back Asuka away from the stairway he had moved backwards into something. He would feel something wet and sticky upon his back. Turing around he would find the source of the smell. Behind him was what one could only describe as a ball of meat and blood wrapped up in a chain mail net. This ball of flesh had small flies buzzing around it and inside Ranth could see a human arm that had bite marks on it before it was tossed back into the net.

By this time Samantha had already stepped to the back area of the former holding cells noticing something that made her let out a sigh of relief. The destruction had caused the back corner of the roof to lead right into the open street. The hole wasn't that large, but large enough for her slender body to fit through it, Asuka wouldn't have an issue, but depending on how much muscle Ranth would have could cause an issue. Either way they had their way out and she was going to take it even if it meant leaving behind him.

She grabbed both Asuka and Ranth by their arms, not caring if they were freaking out over the meatbag they had to move. As she pointed out the hole in the roof. “Let's go, hurry up.” Samantha would then make her way over to the hole helping get Asuka out first. Everything was going smoothly, they hadn't been spotted yet and at this rate they would all be able to escape and make it to base camp without issues. Then as she started to push up Ranth upwards to reach the edge the thumping became louder and the locked off stairway had been forced open.

”I FOUND YOU.” Those words screamed out as the beast started to charged towards Samantha and Ranth. Ranth by this time would be up and out of the police station and in the street. Asuka and Ranth would only see a large green hand reach out and grab Samantha by her shoulder dragging her back into the darkness of the jail cell. They could hear her scream as it dragged her away, however instead of pleading for help she called out. “The mayors office, go! Tell them I'm sorry.” Then suddenly the sounds of teeth biting into raw flesh was heard as her screamed stopped. Ranth and Asuka would be able to only hear those sounds as if they stayed around they would be met with whatever was down there.

If they looked around they would see that they were in Karakura town, however a very different one, the sky seemed brown and bleek, the buildings were mostly destroyed showing signs of a battle taking place. Puddles of water seemed to have a slight green hue to them, but most of all the city seemed empty and desolate. If either of them knew about karakura town they would know that the building Samantha spoke about was roughly an hour away walking north of their position.

[Deleted]

“COME OUT HUMAN I CAN SMELL YOU.”

“I'M GOING TO EAT YOU ALIVE AFTER I KILL YOU.”

Their voices. Their voices were terrifying. Asuka was prepared to leave her gigai and bring her weapons out. Despite disliking battle, The Segunda was more than prepared to fight tooth and nail if it meant protecting others. She watched the other girl quietly back away from the stairway where one of the voices was the loudest. The familiar smell of iron assaulted Asuka’s senses and she immediately knew what that was. Judging by the intensity of it, it meant there was copious amounts of blood and carcasses. Perhaps fresh and not so fresh.

Asuka felt herself being tugged away from the stairwell by Ranth. She made sure her steps were quiet as she let him pull her along. She turned her head for a moment to look back at him but saw something more horrific. The girl had to do a double take before her other hand snapped out to grab at his jacket in an attempt to get him to notice the thing behind them and pull him off. Oh no, did Mr. Superstar ruin his jacket? Worst of all, what… What was that? What the hell was that!? “THAT’S NOT PIZZA OR SPAGHETTI…” It oozed blood and there were chunks and flies all balled up in a giant floating meat ball. It was here the smell was the strongest. Asuka was freaking out mentally and instinctively moved away from the dripping meatball.

Asuka surmised it must have been body parts. Human body parts at least. Something was eating them in such a vicious fashion and she immediately knew that she wanted no part of that. Sorry, no breakfast, lunch, brunch, linner, dinner or dessert. That dessert part was the hardest to decide on. Asuka loved dessert with all her heart. “Let's go, hurry up.” And then Asuka was being tugged away by the not-for-dinner-meatball. It was like tug of war here! One of her favorite games to play with animals! In one corner you have the super fashionable Mr. Superstar and in the other you have Prison friend!

Asuka didn’t really feel like she was getting the chance to catch her breath. All this tugging and pushing and pulling around was a lot for the smaller teal-haired girl. She looked quite helpless in all this commotion, eyes wide and pleading. Looking to Mr. Superstar and the prison girl, wondering if any of it would be over. As she looked at the hole that they would be escaping from, she was ready. She could go through that thing no problem! Her lithe body pulling herself up and out of the hole with ease before turning around to help Mr. Superstar out. She’d pull with all her strength, digging her heels into the pavement as she’d pull and pull.

”I FOUND YOU.” Oh no. No no no no no..! They were too late! As soon as he was ok, Asuka moved forward to attempt to help her but from the moment she saw that green claw, she backed off. Altruism was very much in Asuka’s nature but now was not the time. She had no reiatsu and couldn’t get out of her gigai in time to do anything. Breathe before you help others to breathe unfortunately. Her life was forfeit unfortunately and she knew that from her screams. Asuka heard her final message and grabbed the superstar’s hand and booked it, running as fast as she could from the station.

Asuka’s eyes scanned the area. Dilapidated structures and rotting objects scattered about. This place was once beautiful. She knew the shortest way and the scenic route. The latter she definitely isn’t taking. She turned a corner with pop idol in tow. It was going to take them about an hour to get there unfortunately. “I know this town like the back of my hand. We’ll be there in no time!” She looked at him, nodding and trying to offer him her best reassuring smile. This superstar guy probably had no idea what was going on! What would a pop idol know about monsters and balls of flesh? Unless he was into that kinda stuff then… Well, wait! Let’s not judge! It could be like…. Well he’s…. Maybe he’s just different! It’s ok! Asuka knew she was different in a weird way too! She liked pineapples on her pizza. Now that’s some pretty wacky stuff!

When Asuka figured they were a safe distance away, she’d slow down and let go, pointing to his jacket. “I know it looks really good but y-you should take that off. What if they can smell the blood and track us..?” She didn’t know what that thing was but it definitely liked blood and guts. That was what big scary predators liked to eat and who knows what they’re capable of. Asuka only wished she could fight to the fullest extent right now. Nothing was safe. All she had was… well, she didn’t know. She just knew that Mr. Superstar came with her and now they’re stuck in this scary situation. There weren’t even any creatures of the night and it was scary! Maybe they’re secretly in a scary movie where they’re being chased by horrific creatures that eat you like pudding. There’s a celebrity and a heroine and already a victim! It made perfect sense in the excitable arrancar’s mind. Maybe, it’s called ‘Night of the Living Werecow!’ . Hmm..

This movie sucks.

“U-Uhm… I’m Asuka by the way~! Aha!” She stammered with nervous excitement as she realized that she was talking to pop culture royalty! She also couldn’t find it within herself to be as cheery as she usually was given what just happened but that wasn’t going to stop her from making a brand, spankin’ new best friend!! She tried to put on her bestest most bravest face. “Nice to meetcha and greet ya~” She made a point to keep her voice on the lower side so she wouldn’t attract anything unwanted. Her lighthearted expression would gradually fade at the realization of where they were. As she continued to guide him towards the mayor’s office, she’d see that there wasn’t a place untouched of this destruction. The water was as green of her hair which was super unusual for water. The sky wasn’t blue. It was polluted and inky. “This place used to be so pretty. Wish we didn’t have to meet like this. Aha..” The smaller Espada continued to walk briskly. She kept her eyes peeled for anything that might want to come out and attack the pair. She was ready to leave her gigai if necessary. She could see the familiar clocktower of the building they needed to go to in the distance.

[Ranth]

Everything was just happening too fast for poor Ranth to keep up with and as a result, he ruined the jacket he'd been wearing by packing into a literal bag of literal body parts literally suspended from the ceiling. Literally. He didn't even have time to discard the ruined garment before whoever -or whatever- was making all that noise and smelling them without permission made it known that they knew that they were there. Thus, with the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, the trio made their way through a narrow gap that their 'guide' drew their attention to.

Ranth could only thank his lucky stars for his relatively slender build and healthy weight range as he just barely managed to squeeze through the gap with nary a moment to spare before whatever it was that was hunting them could be heard stepping out of the stairwell and into the room they had been in only seconds earlier. Ranth's heart was hammering now, he didn't know if it was because he didn't know what he was dealing with or because he doubted he had the strength to deal with it in the first place thanks to the pill he'd taken, but his flight or fight response had definitively chosen 'flight'.

Unfortunately, he was only the second person to squeeze through the gap and although both he and the teal haired girl reached down to help pull her up, there was to be no happy ending here. For just before they could take the woman's hand, an even larger hand emerged from behind her and dragged her back down into the darkness of the cells below. Under different circumstances, Ranth would have jumped down after her. In circumstances where he had access to his powers and the vaguest inkling of what he was dealing with that is.

However, he had neither of those things and so the only thing he could do was stagger away from the hole in the ground that they had escaped from as the sounds of tearing flesh and crunching bone and screams that sharply cut off rose up to meet their ears. "We... we need to get out of here", Ranth muttered, feeling shocked by the sudden violence that had claimed their former companion. She'd been a bitch and a psychopath, but she hadn't deserved that.

Thankfully, the unquenchable cheerfulness that his remaining companion possessed was undaunted by what had just happened to them and that cheerfulness became like a lighthouse on a stormy night for the Shinigami. "I'm glad to hear it, please lead the way", Ranth replied gratefully- as he had no idea where the Mayor's office was located within Karakura Town- if they were truly even in Karakura Town any longer. There were no signs of life and so far there was no sign of the creature that had nearly caught them. Her suggestion was a good one though and Ranth promptly shrugged off the jacket and tossed it into a trash can that they happened to walk past and closed the lid.

"It's nice to meet you Asuka, despite the circumstances. My name is Ranth, Ranth smiled back at his companion. Their lives were in danger and they were possibly being hunted by god only know what and yet she could still smile and laugh as though it were just another day in the park. Ranth had no idea who Asuka was, but she possessed a kind of inner strength that seemed to defy the situation and spat in the face of despair. "Yeah, when we find our way back, lets get ice cream", he smiled faintly as he tried to emulate her carefree attitude as they made their way through the ruins of the city en-route to the Mayors office. "I wonder what we'll find when we get there..."

[Deleted]

Everything seemed calm as they made their way towards the mayor's office. Asuka luckily had remembered the right way to the office and wasn't leading them away from the office. Which was a good thing. The worst thing that they could do at the moment was wander around in this land going the wrong way without any sort of protection. As the two rounded a corner they would be face to face with a massive crater in the middle of the city. It spanned at least three city blocks and in the center there was a puddle of bright green ooze that seemed to glow and appeared to have a heartbeat to it.

Around the crater they would see a dead body, but next to it, there would be a single hand pistol. It would be the first time they would see a weapon that they could use say for their blades. The body it's self was rather fresh, it seemed that the person had died recently. There was blood spilled all over the ground. Getting closer they could see that there was a bullet hole right in the head of the man. If either Asuka or Ranth picked up the gun they would find that inside there were two bullets left. On the dead man there was a bit of road leather armor that was too big for either of them, that and a bunch of bottle caps in a pouch.

No matter what they did suddenly the ground started to rumble a bit and shake in various places. Without warning a large set of rodent teeth spewed upwards from the ground trying to bite at Ranth's leg. If he wasn't quick to act Ranth would find himself being bitten on by a strange creature. That wasn't the only one that had come out from the ground. A few more of the creatures came out of the ground. Now fully out of the ground both of them could see what was attacking them. It was a dog sized naked mole rat with mutated skin and teeth sharper than what they should have been. These strange and bizarre creatures screamed out before rushing the two they were out numbered easily four to one.

If either Ranth or Asuka tried to escape from their gigai they would find themselves unable to do so. Their souls stuck in the body. The naked mole rats while strong, weren't as fast on land as one would expect. Some rushed right at them moving somewhat fast, while others started to dig underground rapidly burying themselves underground themselves waiting to attack from underneath them and willing to bite down on fresh food. While one went after the corpse and started to drag it under the earth never to be seen again. If Rant or Asuka didn't grab the gun before they would lose it to the earth.

SPOILER: Click to show

{stats for the mole rats}

Strength – [100] Points
Speed – [40] Points
Spiritual Pressure – [0] Points
Reiatsu Strength – [0] Points
Instinct – [100] Points
Senses – [150] Points
Energy sensory – [50] Points
Healing Expertise - [0] Points 

[Deleted]

"It's nice to meet you Asuka, despite the circumstances. My name is Ranth

“Ranth…” She said his name out loud, pressing a finger over her lips as if in thought. It was like she was doing mathematics in her head and when she got there, she smiled at her realization. “Ranthy~!” She chirped, smiling at him. Asuka would be lying if she thought he would be super nice right off the bad. She was partially nervous that he would blow her off and tell her mean stuff because he was a super cool. They always did say never meet your idols and while Ranth wasn’t her idol, he looked like at least ten of them from T.V.

Despite what happened, Asuka learned from a very, very young age that she couldn’t succumb to the despair around her. Kuroi was Despair personified and did his best to drown her in it. However, she refused to be consumed by it. For Kuroi who brought Despair wherever he went, Asuka trailed behind him, spreading Hope. For wherever there was shadow, there was light. Asuka was the only sliver of good in all of Hueco Mundo. Although she didn’t like her situation, this was a cakewalk. She had to be strong for others.

At the sound of fun plans and sweet treats, the bubbly teal-haired girl beamed at the taller male. Her heart swelled with joy and just when you thought she couldn’t get any happier, she did. “R-Really!?” asked excited as she clung to his arm and bounced up and down excitedly. “You really mean it, Ranth!?” She looked at him expectantly, half worried he was just messing with her and wanting to really hear if he was serious. Oh boy oh boy oh boy~! Ice cream! She was the happiest girl in the world! Now her head was filled of all the combinations of scoops she wanted! “I can’t wait! I’m so excited! What’s your favorite flavor? Mines is salted caramel… and cookies and cream… and chocolate… and strawberry~! Aha~!”

She watched him discard his jacket neatly and Asuka merely picked up the metallic trashcan lid and took it with her and dexterously started twirling it with her fingers. It was like a fun shield that she could hide behind. Maybe if she hid behind objects these creepy monster things wouldn’t find her. Why didn’t they just do that in the police station!? Ugh! If only she used her brain back then! Rats! She turned the corner with him and stopped dead in her tracks. “Whoa. What. Uh…” Her eyes looked over the giant crater which was… uhm… giant. Huge. Humongous. GaRanth-tuan! Is that how you say that? That hole was a big boy and Asuka didn’t wanna fall in that.

She would cautiously and swiftly walk around it. “We’ve gotta go through here if we wanna get to the mayor’s. Watch your step.” As she moved, she’d keep an eye on Ranth incase he slipped. Looking at that water, she knew it would be a bad idea to fall in. It looked like glowing Kool Aid and you know what they say! Don’t drink the Kool Aid! Because it’s high in cholesterol and it’ll give you diabetes! It’s just really bad and unhealthy for you! You have to go to the doctor right away and get a lollipop if you do which admittedly isn’t terrible. Doctors can be fun and playing Doctor too is fun! Aha~

Wait…

Whatever! As she neared the end, she saw a dead body and Asuka ran towards him. “Oh no…” She didn’t notice the gun right away. “I think we can use this stuff…” Rather, she noticed the leather armor and some of the bottle caps which she’d quickly pocket. Asuka knew this was grave robbing and it was wrong. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry…” She said in a soft voice, feeling quite guilty as she took his stuff. It would be then, the ground shook and she stood up immediately and looked around and then at Ranth, trying to discern what was happening. “What..”

Out of nowhere these mutant dog rats jumped out! They had no clothes like all the old ladies dogs did. Weren’t they cold? Those poor things. Maybe all they wanted was tender love, warmth and food? Oh god. Not that kind of food. She saw it burrow from the ground and on instinct, Asuka took the trash can lid in her hand and used the edge to knock its face away from Ranth. “Run!” She ranth as fast as she could away from the naked dog things and glanced back to see if Ranth was still there. Using the trash can lid, she flung it like a frisbee at the other rats chasing them in hopes of it smacking them in the face and slowing them down as she continued to run. She made sure he wasn’t in her line of sight when doing this. “Oh my god. Oh my god. Find something else to eat!”

[Ranth]

Ranth didn't know how to respond to being called 'Ranthy'. He wasn't offended by the nickname, not at all. In fact, he'd never actually had a nickname before and so to suddenly be given one by what was essentially a perfect stranger out of the blue like this caught him by surprise. Ultimately, it didn't even matter what the nickname was but rather there mere fact that he'd been given one with such innocent enthusiasm and all he could do was smile stupidly in response.

He wasn't game to try and give Asuka a nickname, it would simply be far too embarrassing if he messed it up and came up with something lame or creepy. Nothing could be so mortifying as that and he cringed inwardly just thinking about such a nightmarish scenario. he didn't have long to ponder the notion of nicknames however, as Asuka's enthusiasm towards Ranth's nickname was quickly overshadowed by her unexpected explosion of sheer joy at his mention of ice cream.

"Er, yes, I promise. Um, I like Hokey Pokey if you've ever tried that", Ranth admitted without thinking about how ridiculous his favourite flavour of ice cream sounded. In reality, it was just vanilla with butter scotch chunks strewn through it, but calling it by the name he'd first heard it referred to as a child was a habit he'd never been able to shake and now he'd actually said it out loud in front of a grown woman. It was all he could do not to groan out loud as he wished there was room in the trash can for him to fit as well.

Thankfully, Ranth didn't have to suffer for too long after his embarrassing confession as they rounded the very next corner and found themselves looking down into a large crater. The cause of the impact was unclear and if something had fallen from the sky - like a meteor for example- it looked to have long since been taken away. However, only a few steps away right before the edge of the crater Ranth spotted a corpse and some scattered equipment.

Ordinarily, the idea of taking mundane equipment such as weapons and clothing would have seemed ridiculous to a Shinigami, but trapped within his gigai as he was, Ranth comically found himself needing to rely on those very same materials that once looked down on. Asuka, for her part, didn't hesitate at all as she picked up the little satchel of bottle caps and the large piece of leather clothing. This left Ranth to pick up the gun, which he was rather disappointed to find only held two bullets. Honestly, any weapon that actually required ammunition and couldn't generate its own ammunition was like a bad joke!

Following Asuka around the crater, Ranth was thinking very much along the same lines as her as he warily eyed the glowing stuff that had pooled at the very bottom. He wanted nothing to do with that. Nothing at all. They hadn't gone far though before the ground began vibrate and Ranth quickly realised that there was something moving underneath the ground. Whatever it was, it wasn't huge as the vibrations couldn't be described as tremors, but as the vibrations grew more pronounced, it became obvious that something was approaching them from below.

Thus, as the hideous looking creature burst from the ground, Ranth had already stepped back to allow Asuka as much room as possible to smack it senseless with her makeshift trash-lid weapon. Pleasantly, the attack took the creature squarely in the face and knocked it to the ground with a squeal, but it was far from dead and to make matters worse... it had friends. "Running, running, running", Ranth answered back to Asuka's call for them to flee as he followed close behind her as she took the lead. behind them, the mole rats gave chase, but it soon became clear that they were woefully ill equipped to chasing anything over land and the pair quickly left them in the dust as they skirted the edge of the crater- taking great care to keep away from the pool at the bottom- and made their continued on their way with Asuka as their guide.

Under different circumstances, Ranth might have tried to fight and kill them but without his powers that simply wasn't a viable option. Who knew how many of the hairless creatures there were and if they stayed in one place too long they ran the risk of being overwhelmed, or worse, attracting the attention of whatever it was that had taken their short-lived companion. Given that some of the moles had burrowed underground, it stood to reason that they couldn't take a break just because they'd gotten a lead on the giant rats. "Don't stop running, we have to get to the Mayor's house as soon as possible and who knows how far those things will chase us. Maybe we can find other people there and some answers about where we are and what happened to make everything like... this", he said to Asuka as they ran alongside one another.