Never heard of ya [Social/Luca]

[Raphael Laurent]

Of the many different things that Raph had experienced in his life, this whole spiritual shit that was going on was, without a doubt, the strangest. He was pretty sure that it would be the same for just about anyone, but there were some people that he knew would just make light of the whole thing and go on about nothing. But he knew that most of his friends would want to just get stronger, learn how to use the most basic aspects of their abilities and try to become as strong as they could to fight against whatever. Raphael, though, wasn't like them and he wanted to learn the nuances of these abilities, the deeper ins and outs of them. But it was slow going; for the first time in his life, not having someone to teach him was starting to get on Raphael's last nerve. 

He stood on the edge of a roof, looking down at the street below and, more importantly at the enormous gap between the roof that he was standing on and the roof that he planned on going to. Looking down he could see the cars far down below, and people walking below him, going about their day. It was one of those things that he couldn't simply understand, looking down at the ground. With a gulp, he took about ten steps back, stretched out his neck and shook out his hands, before charging at the very edge of the roof and focused. There was a moment of hesitation before, right at the edge of the roof, he caused the cement to bow inwards and then launch him forwards like a slingshot, launching him over the gap.

The moment that his feet landed on the other roof, he skidded to a stop as best as he could, while also causing the roof to bow upwards in front of him to stop himself. When he did finally stop, he looked back at the gap, heart beating incredibly quickly with both fear and elation. Manipulating objects by pulling on the souls inside of them to achieve various effects made him laugh and smile and nearly freakout practically each and every time, but he had to get over that. If he was going to use such a thing in any kind of difficult or dangerous situation, then he would have to be able to use such an ability without losing himself to his own laughter and excitement. 

Yet Raphael wasn't attempting to hide his experimentation of these abilities, occasionally even doing them in broad daylight when people could easily see him. Such was the case today and, looking over the smaller gap, he then attempted the technique that he'd seen Lucien use, the air-ground technique. Concentrating, he put a foot out into the empty air and felt his foot hit something solid and slowly, surely, he walked over the gap, WALKED! Once more, reaching the other roof on the other side of the gap, he began to laugh a bit, while sweating. He hadn't been prepared for how much concentration this would take, and sat down against the wall of a roof access and pulled out a protein bar. But, for once, he was not paying much attention to his surroundings so anyone could've realistically found him. He only hoped that no one had seen him as he'd gone.

[Akira Hinosai]

If there was one thing Luca had learned since graduating, it was that there were a great many hours in the day. Sure, he could catch up on his sleep, but that usually only carried him to 12:00, and the days were only growing longer. Luca was bold, but he wasn't going to go using his powers in the day. He knew full well that would put him on the fast track to prison and deportation. At first, he was content to read, play video games, or prance around the empty apartment fighting imaginary foes, but those could only shave a few hours off his boredom. As he lay sprawled out on the couch staring at some TV show he didn't recognize, the idea popped into his head. Why not head out for like...fun? 

Of course he left the house for fun sometimes. Every now and then, he would take Akira to an Arcade he read about online. I mean, I'm not a complete loser who stays at home all day. Though even a glimpse at the early afternoon light told Luca he would need to prepare himself for a venture outside. The coming of spring meant the sun was becoming irritatingly bright. Before long, it would paint the whole world an irritating shade of blinding. For such occasions, he had his handy-dandy sunglasses. Luca didn't know where exactly he was going to go, not even as he started walking. There was little foot traffic to slow his trek to...well he'd figure it out later. Crossing some intersection, he spotted it. A cafe. There were plenty like it back in California, but Luca hoped this one wouldn't be full of self-important assholes with stupid Apple products. 

Luca ordered a frappe and took his seat. Doubtless, it wouldn't be as good as the ones made at that other place, but he sure as shit wasn't going back there. They know I stiffed him with the bill. Fucking assholes.  As angry as his memories of Abaddon usually made him, it was funny to imagine a framed picture of himself above a sign reading "do not serve this man".  As Luca finished his ice cold drink, he figured he'd wait around a bit longer. this place did look nice enough to kick back until they kicked him out. Though before he tested their patience, he grew as dreadfully bored here as he was at home. Why can't I just will the sun to set? Suddenly an idea burst into his head. Why not hang out on the roofs? No one could bother him up there, and climbing up a wall would be a subtle way to practice his soul command!

It wasn't as simple as finding a building with a dark enough alleyway. He had to make sure he had a reasonable explanation the mere mortals could cling to if he got caught. Though he was certain of one thing. He wasn't going to get caught. When he found a suitable candidate, he willed the walls to become sticky enough for him to grab onto it and lift himself up like spiderman. What was going to do then, he wasn't quite sure. He climbed, sat down next to the little roof access door that was on whatever the heck building this was. Yet he barely had time to blink before he heard it. Someone running, he peaked at the source of the noise in disbelief as he saw someone walk on air. Showoff... Luca realized quickly this was another fullbringer and a stupid one at that.

"Yeah, real subtle. REAL subtle." Luca decided he'd make himself known. "What, is this your first day having superpowers, pal?" Luca snickered at his own comment. As he approached, Luca could tell he had the height advantage. He had that on most people. When Luca was a comfortable distance he'd enter an exaggerated slouch so the two might be eye-level. "So, what are you up to today, dork?"  His voice wasn't threatening, but Luca did have to assert dominance, after all. If nothing else, this joker might alleviate boredom. 

[Raphael Laurent]

So caught up and preoccupied in experimenting with his new abilities and finding out just what could be done, Raphael hadn’t even bothered to attempt to hide himself. It therefore, came as little surprise that someone quickly found where he was, what surprised him, however was that someone actually came to see him. The man was quick to point out how much stealth Raphael had lacked, in his experimentation, which obviously hadn’t been the point in what he’d been doing. At least, he hadn’t been actively trying to avoid people seeing him. But the guy…was just being rude about this lack of stealth. No hollows or Shinigami had been attracted, who gave a fuck, right? This guy, apparently. Raphael took another bite of his protein bar, stretching.

“One, dork? The 90’s called, man, it wants its word back. And two, as a matter of fact yeah this is pretty much my first time having superpowers, buddy.” Raph lied a little bit though he was still getting used to them. He’d never been able to take such a run that his jump would propel him over a gap between rooves, or been able to walk on the air. “Until recently, I hadn’t been able to run nearly as fast or jump nearly as far, and I CERTAINLY haven’t been able to manipulate solid matter to make myself do so better.”

Watching the man a bit closer, he frowned. “So who do you work for? Xcution? Or maybe…” He shook his head. “No…” Raphael sat down on the wall nearby, pondering and pondering. “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m not exactly all that…knowledgeable about the spiritual world and its dealings yet. I only recently came into my abilities.” He frowned for a second at what felt like inadequacy. “Regardless, my name is Raphael. Might I inquire as to your name?”

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca listened to the dork's rebuttal. He supposed the insult was a little dated, but Luca couldn't help himself. The word fit this man more than anyone he could care to remember. Luca could smell the inexperience on him, but he supposed it might be nice to talk to someone who knew less than him. Though when he asked for Luca's affiliation, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. The last time he revealed his loyalties, he almost got fed to a demon shark. No...this one is different. If this one was new to it all, he likely wouldn't care. If he did, Luca could send this guy to the hospital so fast his head would spin.

"Huh, you're not Japanese either? Name's Luca, by the way. Charmed, I'm sure. I'm just waiting for the sun to set so I can kick hollow ass. Kinda hard to do that in the day with all these witnesses, you know? So what, you wanna do something together? Cuz I'm bored out of my mind, and I might be inclined to give you the rundown on Karakura if you help me kill time..." He supposed he'd have to bargain. He'd look like an idiot if he got rejected by this dweeb.

[Raphael Laurent]

Raph nodded at the fact that neither of them were Japanese, but it only made him wonder more what this man was doing here. It was when the man introduced himself as Luca that Raphael realized that in all of his startledness about having been followed that he’d neglected his introductions. “Right, sorry about that… My name is Raphael, but you can call me Raph.” The man offered to give him a rundown on Karakura Town if Raph helped him to kill some time, which was a fascinating prospect, to be sure.

“I mean, it depends on what exactly you had in mind, but I’m pretty much up for just about anything. I was just experimenting up here, trying to get used to…well all of this.” He just held up his hands a bit, gesturing at the world to show how much bigger, and stranger, the world got up where they were. He’d walked on air a second ago, for christ’s sake, and if he could do that, then who knew what other weird shit they could do. The dude kinda rubbed Raph the wrong way, but Raphael HAD been the rude one first. “But like I said, depending on what ya wanted to do, I’m more than able to help kill some time.”

In his own mind, Raphael was wondering what exactly the man wanted. He wasn’t exactly expecting anyone to have followed him to the rooftops, at least not without wanting to scold him, and that was something he’d expect a Shinigami to do, or at least a quincy. This guy, though? He seemed bored to Raph, but at the same time like he wanted to prove something to someone, maybe even just to himself. Regardless, any experience was a chance to learn something new, and Raphael was not a person to dismiss an experience when it offered itself.

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca laughed at Raph. "What, you think I'm some kinda bad guy?" Luca figured maybe he did give off that sort of impression, but it was Raph's fault for being so presumptuous. A dweeb this one might have been, Luca was not without mercy. "Though I wouldn't be bored if I knew what I wanted to do, would I?" Luca corrected his posture, and placed his pointer finger on his chin as he thought. "Well we got two people here... Luca tried to think what normal people did together, but none of it appealed to him. Every so often he looked back at Raph to make sure he hadn't pulled a knife or something. Suddenly, an idea hit Luca like a lightning bolt. 

"Ok, I've got it. I know a bookstore that's like kinda near here. You wanna hang out there and not actually buy anything? They've got cool chairs and stuff." Luca figured he was sounding too positive. "Besides, it'll get us out of this infernal sunlight. Well, come along then!" Luca practically slid down the wall into the alleyway he'd come up from. When or if Raph followed him, Luca would continue talking. "So, you wanna tell me about yourself?" Luca felt obliged to ask, but he was certain this dweeb didn't have a cooler backstory than him. When they reached the little book store, Luca would plop himself in an arm chair towards the back of the store. The sitting area was as empty as the store was. 

For once, Luca was the one holding all the cards, and this dork was playing catch-up. That was a nice feeling, but Luca had little intention of exploiting it. "Ok, I didn't think this through, but this seems pretty private. Like people aren't going to hear us if we keep out voices down. So, how bout I just give you the rundown like right now? Go on, ask your questions about...you know."

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael watched Luca as he laughed a bit and asked if Raphael believed Luca was a bad guy. “Not really, no. I don’t think you’re a bad guy, I just have trust issues.” Raph did have to vive the man credit, though, that if he wouldn’t be bored if he knew what he wanted to do. It made sense, and he watched as the other man tapped his chin in thought. He even noticed that Luca kept glancing at him now and again, but why? Was he wanting to make sure that Raph wasn’t going to pull anything? What on Earth could Raph possibly do?



Without any effort, Luca seemed to slide down the alley wall he’d come from; Raphael slowly made his way down using this odd ability of all fullbringers and followed rather swiftly behind. “Just a guy that was adopted. Worked in IT for a little while.” Raph replied with a bit of a shrug. It wasn’t much that he exactly knew about, and wasn’t that much that really effected Luca, but some information was better than nothing. Raphael followed Luca to the small book store, and watched as the man flopped down into an arm chair at the isolated back of the store.



It was quiet at the back of the store, Raph had to agree, and the chairs that they were in were pretty soft and cushiony. “Ask my questions, huh?” Raphael watched the man sternly. This lack of information that he had was a problem and one that, hopefully, this Luca could assist with rectifying. “Alright, I’ll start with a few easy ones: First, I’m fairly certain of the answer, but what are you? And second, more importantly, who do you work for? I think we’ve established that I’m not a threat to you and knowing these little bits wouldn’t hurt either of us.”

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca supposed he owed Raph an explanation. If he wanted to pick a fight, he would have done so, and surely a new fullbringer wouldn't threaten him over working at UE. "Alright, fair enough. I'm a fullbringer, same as you. As for affiliation... I'm working with Uzaki Enterprises at the moment. You've heard of them, I imagine?" of course, if that answer was no, Luca would give him the rundown. "I suppose they're the good guys, or as close to it as you'll find here. They keep the streets safe and all that." This was a nice distraction. He had thought he'd have to wait another few hours before he could do something related to spirits. "Well, now that we've got introductions out of the way, anything else you wanna know?"

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael watched the man as he shamelessly explained that he was part of Uzaki Enterprises, something that vividly recalled Ms. Taka mention. They were the group that worked closely with the shinigami, the people that he planned on avoiding, where he could, and ignoring where he couldn’t. He hid his annoyance with the name Uzaki Enterprises as well as he could but, if asked, wouldn’t deny that he didn’t agree with the thought of them being the “good guys”.

“Honestly, Luca, as much as I know what you mean when you say that the people you work for are “good”, that’s a bit of an opinion. Regardless, the fact that you have such confidence in who you work for is an admirable thing. I’ve never been able to be nearly as convinced that who I work for is trying to be any kind of good version of themselves. Most places, and people, put on excellent masks, after all.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone for a second, checking over the screen. No texts, yet. Good. Then he returned it to his pocket.

“As for additional questions, there are far too many of them.” He leaned forward, hands clasped together. “Obviously we two are fullbringers and, as such, have the ability to manipulate objects to varying degrees. But what are the nuances of that? What is the reason that we are able to pull on these objects to momentarily alter their properties? What is the depth that one can manipulate these objects and is there a point that one can reach where they can alter the very physical properties that we deal with?” He stopped for a moment, watching Luca closely. “And, to satisfy my own curiosity, how closely does Uzaki Enterprises work and/or cooperate with shinigami forces?”

[Akira Hinosai]

Luca found that almost funny. "Right, masks. Thanks for the insight. Well if you're looking for better organizations you've got the soul reapers who want nothing to do with us, the hollows who want to eat us, a bunch of assassins, and don't get me started on those Quincy bastards." Luca folded his arms as he realized he was sounding too devoted to Uzaki and his gang. "Our little arrangement benefits me at the moment, so I stick around." 

"Well, I assume you know about how fullbringers are made. When a hollow attacks a woman, some spirit energy lays dormant inside her. Now, if she's pregnant at the time, or becomes pregnant, the child is exposed to that stuff. So even though they still come out human, they're spiritually aware and become fullbringers. As for why their abilities are centered around objects...I can't really say for sure, but I've got my own theories on that. We're physically human and different from souls living in the soul society. This little plane of existence is kind of different from the soul society, in that it isn't really made of spirit energy. So living here, it only makes sense that we ultimately developed powers around manipulating physical matter."

"As for the depth, it depends on what you mean by physical properties. I can make the ground pliable as to jump higher or make a wall sticky as to climb up it. That's all really basic stuff. I have reason to believe it can go much farther, but there are limits to it. Command of objects can use reiatsu to do things thought otherwise impossible, but it doesn't really violate any scientific law. It just uses forces humans haven't studied in the same detail. So, you can't will matter to destroy itself without a trace or create it from nothing. Same with energy, but I'm sure you don't want a science lecture. So the short answer? Anything up to breaking the laws of reality is fair game, at least in theory." Luca felt cool relaying his findings and his interpretation of them to someone, though the last question he had to answer was significantly less pleasing to him. "Too close, as it so happens. That's what I hear anyway. It's common knowledge, so don't go blathering about me being a traitor or some crap."

By the time Luca was done, he couldn't bear looking at Raph. Luca knew he got a little carried away, and he wasn't about to suffer any looks that said: "wow you're a total nerd!" 

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael listened, rather silently, as Luca began going on about the different things that either disliked them or were trying to kill them, as if Raphael wasn’t already aware. Many of these Raphael even held a rather strong distaste for. Ironically enough, Luca’s last statement made it sound as if he was specifically trying to distance himself from the organization itself, and that could’ve indeed been the purpose. Sounded a bit…mercenary for Raph’s taste, but in this whole game that wasn’t bad in his eyes.



Luca’s theory held water, to a degree, and Raph didn’t exactly have an argument against it, yet. But it seemed to lack a certain grace and finesse. Yes, it made sense that they were humans and of a more material world than the Shinigami so obviously their powers would be focused on the material world. There was something more to it, though and, while Raph wouldn’t shoot down the man’s theory, he felt that it was only half-right, or rather half-complete. There were parts of the truth missing from it and that made him only more annoyed. It was like having half of the pieces of a puzzle and not knowing where the rest were.



And yet as he explained what he knew so far, which was about the same as what Raph knew, he nodded. Luca understood a bit more about these fullbring powers, especially given that he’d been at it a bit longer, but there were things that Raph still wanted to know. The fact that there were limits, mostly from physical laws, made him wonder if these limitations were as pliable as the laws themselves were. After all, humans were constantly discovering exceptions to most natural laws that they had known of before which caused a shift in how the world was viewed and even understood. How long would it be before a fullbring found something odd about the world that even others didn’t know?



“I get what you mean, Luca.” Raph’s statement came after the man looked away from him. Had he felt the science bit was too much? Or was it that Luca was embarrassed at how far he’d gone in his explanation? Yet Raphael’s gaze never wavered. “It makes sense. Have you pondered how far you could take the manipulation of the physical world, though? Thought of ways to apply the ability that others might not have considered?” Though the question of the association between the two made Raph look at Luca bit confused. “Why would I think you’re a traitor? For one thing, it’s the organization’s way not yours. And second, even if it was yours, I’m not in a position to judge whom you associate with. I simply don’t have a good view of the Shinigami, is all. I often go out of my way to avoid them, or ignore them, if that’s not possible. Interaction I view as a means to collect information, and even then only if they’re not performing duties, but how you handle them is your own business. I just want to learn how to utilize this ‘fullbringer’ thing properly. And for that, I’m constantly experimenting.” He paused for a moment. “On that note, I’m sorry about my brazen use of my ability that you saw earlier. I’m still getting used to it.”

[Akira Hinosai]

"Right..." Luca figured he was in the clear for getting called a nerd by Raph. "Yeah, I guess it's not the biggest deal. The Soul Reapers do a pretty good job mind wiping any schmuck who sees a masquerade violation." Luca took a lock of his hair and began twirling it around his pointer finger. Raph was certainly no threat. Luca was almost glad to have someone to talk to, but every so often, Raph would say something that irked Luca. His continued questions of if Luca knew anything about finer manipulation of matter was one such thing. It was innocuous enough for Luca to take his time deciding if he should dignify it with a response. I guess he meant nothing by it. Still, if not mockery, it reeked of someone who was completely misguided and naive. 

"About the object thing...I'm as good with it as anyone, but you're going about this fullbringer thing the wrong way. Jumping higher, and walking on air are cool, and they can be invaluable in combat, but they're not the be all end all of our powerset. What you ought to be focusing on is something like this." Luca took his lighter from his pocket, and activated his fullbring. Suddenly, in a puff of green smoke, his lighter extende into a magnificent brass spear. "Now THIS is what you want. The primary fullbring. If you develop a close enough bond to an object, it becomes the focus for your special, innate power." Luca made little attempt to hide his joy on the subject. It was perhaps the coolest thing ever. It was proof Luca was everything he said he was, and so much more. It was his, and it was cool. "If you know about soul reapers, you know about zampakutos. The object you're closest to will become that for you. Whatever you can do with regular objects is cool, but you can do some real crazy shit once you get one of these. Laser beams, explosions, sharks. It varies wildly person to person. Fight, win, and eventually yours will reveal itself." He didn't mind telling Raph all this. There was room for more than one on the path to power. Besides, as a fellow fullbringer, Luca had to help him. There were too many inhuman fucks who thought themselves superior to the lowly human freaks of nature. Maybe it was time they started to see fullbringers weren't to be cast aside so easily.

[Raphael Laurent]

Raphael frowned a bit as he watched the man; there was something that seemed to be bothering him, but instead of voicing them, he was just pushing them down. It wasn’t good and it made him worry about his overall efficacy in his work. While knowing when to voice one’s annoyances was an admirable enough trait, getting such steam off was necessary in order to perform one’s best. He wanted to voice such a concern, hoping to assist Luca in some way, but the man continued, saying that Raphael was going about it the wrong way. For some reason he explained that the walking on air, and manipulation of everyday elements was only the cusp.



Once more Raphael was about to ask what he meant when the man suddenly took a lighter from his coat pocket and with a bit of focus seemed to transform it into a brass spear. As the man spoke about an object that one held a special affinity for, Raphael couldn’t help but allow his hand to drift to the ring that still sat on his neck, the one that he’d had since childhood. But he’d sworn never to wear it… Would he have to break that vow one day? As the man went on, Raphael retracted his hand from where it had been at his chest and nodded, showing his familiarity with the zanpakuto of Shinigami. He knew about them, at least the most cursory of information. He wasn’t an expert on the subject to any capacity. Yet the fact that Luca likened the object to a zanpakuto upset Raphael, somewhat. He disliked the analogy, to a degree.



He watched Luca induldge himself in his pride for a moment. “I understand where you’re coming from, to a degree. I haven’t been a fullbringer but a few months, so I don’t fully know what it means.” Once more he reached up to the ring around his neck unconsciously. “What does yours do?” he asked, without thinking. “And can it be any kind of object, so long as it has…sentimental value?” Slowly, Raphael reached into his shirt, and pulled out a gold ring with a sapphire in the middle of it. “Even something like this?” Raphael seemed to stare at the ring itself with a kind of wistful longing, as though he was looking years into his own past. Then, he suddenly snapped back to reality, and pushed the ring back into his shirt. “S-Sorry about that. Didn’t meant to get all…” He waved his hands. “Not really something that I like to do.”

[Akira Hinosai]

"Yeah, any object. Even that ring, yeah." Luca grabbed onto the question. It was easier than having to answer what his fullbring did. At the moment, it possesses the powerful ability to stab people. Luca's fullbring was by no means complete yet. At least, he hoped it wasn't. He wanted Raph to think he was an amazing and powerful person, the kind he'd look up to. His spear being just that might complicate things. Luca stared back at Raph as he blanked out into the ring. It was clear after a second what was going on. That ring had more than enough sentimental value. Luca wanted to say something, but the words didn't come. Any emotion could be a source of attachment to an object, even pain and sadness. Luca knew what Raph was feeling too well, though he didn't like to think of it. It was a price I had to pay for power, for greatness.  Luca had turned the initial despair into pride and strength. Those were easier to deal with than thinking of the close friend he lost all those years ago. If Luca didn't think of him, it was like he never lost him.  

Raph snapped back to the present. Luca was just fine with that. He wished circumstance hadn't put a damper on an otherwise fun conversation. Luca decided to just move past it as quick as possible. If he didn't think about it, it would be like it didn't happen. "What do you like to do, I mean like, for fun?" Luca blurted. Something that wasn't depressing to talk about. Luca had to keep this conversation going as it had been. Luca deactivated his fullbring and ran a hand through his hair. As soon as Raph answered, things would be cool again, and not sad. 

[Raphael Laurent]

As he’d snapped back to reality, Raphael nodded a few times; the fact that even a thing like his ring had such potential, well that changed the game further now. The world didn’t stop changing, not matter what he did. He kept working, and pushing himself. He would get strong, it was inevitable that he would, but he wondered now what in the world would happen when he got to the same point. What would the weapon become? What would it be capable of doing?

The truth of the matter, though, was if it really mattered what it looked like or what it did? It would allow him to truly fight back, and it seemed that mastering this next step was the important aspect for the road to power of a fullbringer. Thankfully, Luca seemed very quick to try and change the subject when he’d seen how morose Raphael’s mood was becoming as he quickly asked what Raph liked to do for fun.

He raised a hand to his chin and stroked it in thought. “Well, it really depends on what kind of mood I’m in. Sometimes my friend Mike and go out for drinks and sometimes my three friends, Mike, Donny Leo and I go for drinks. Sometimes I go home, watch something on tv and work on my latest project and sometimes I go home, sit down and play a video game for a few hours. If I’m out and about…drinking or going to the arcade are my usual go to’s. Though, I’ve been experimenting more with these abilities recently and my friends are busy with work so it’s been a bit different than my usual routine, which isn’t necessarily bad.” He put his hands behind his head and relaxed back. “What about yourself, Luca? Whadda you like to do in your free time? Maybe we can find some common ground.”