Best Friends!

[Kitai Yoru]

Kitai stared at the shinigami was a blank stare, that was slowly twisting into a nervous expression with every word the man said. How long has it been since the Saika has had a prolonged conversation with another person? He could talk at people just fine, but this? This!? How did humans interact again? He could feel his eye twitching, struggling to think of a decent response to his companion. It would have been one thing if the artist had belittled of mocked Kitai for his seemingly impossible goals... but no. Instead of that, he had played along with his delusions, and given him a real answer. It was... a novel experience, to say the very least. A warm feeling bubbled in his chest. This was nice. Was this what 'nice' felt like? He couldn't really remember, having been alone well before he died and went to and through Hell.

He didn't think it was wrong to be good to avoid evil either. He could be lying out his ass, but Kitai didn't particularly care at the moment. He did listen intently at what he said about the Chains of Hell, not letting this swelling of emotion interrupt his focus. So, this Squad Twelve is his next target, hmm? He was hoping that there was some sort of grand library in the Soul Society, and this place seemed to be it, though from what Ludwig described, it was much more than just some simple archive of information. A look of distain crossed his face when he said the Chains were akin to a fundamental law of the universe, despite how apt a description that was. He had tried a great many thing to break theses accursed chains, and nothing had yielded any results. Nothing he did even so much as scratched them, so he didn't comment.

Kitai rolled his eyes at the destruction bit. "I appreciate the advice and just for that, if I do attack it again, I'll be a bit 'quieter' about it. But honestly, I thought you Heretical Gods would appreciate some action for once. You lot have an entire army big enough to populate a city, and all you lazy bastards do is sit around in those ivory towers of yours." He was flippant about the attacks. In his mind, he saw the Soul Reapers as a bunch of lazy cowards. Obviously Ludwig was an exception, at least having the gall to battle him, even if he had to use his cartoon creatures to fight for him. He might have used his own Black Fog Beasts to wage war on an army, but that was just having fodder attack the fodder. He couldn't be bothered to fight a swarm of flies, when he had objectives to reach. And that new objective would be this 'Squad Twelve' library.

"You lot have the numbers and power to change the entirety of Earth-er, the 'World of the Living' as you call it, and yet you don't. You wield power beyond anything mortal science could ever hope to match, and yet you all sit on your hands in the afterlife. Hell, your own world looks like something ripped out of the dark-ages, and don't tell me it isn't. I've taken my time exploring that 'Rukongai' around the shiny walls of your city. Heaven my skinny pale ass." He spit to the side. He was enjoying this conversation, but he was also very bad at being a people person, so his default settings came back into place, and he started to berate the poor man. He was also scratching at the place where that dart struck him again, clawing at it through the fabric of his shirt, almost subconsciously.

"The real reason I don't feel bad about attacking your people, is because I see them as lazy. Incompetent. Hoarding power for themselves, which on that point I don't blame them. But to not use that power for anything is what really gets to me. What is the point of having the power to change the world if you never use it? At least make the Soul Society into a paradise for everyone, not just those blessed with spiritual power. Or cursed, in my case. Your organization is evil from inaction." He told him, tone firm. Originally he had invaded with the intention of pissing them off to the point of killing him in some permanent manner, but now? Now he was going to piss off an army of self proclaimed death gods in order for them to finally do something.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

It felt like a small eternity had passed given what Ludwig had said and how he noticed the various emotions and thoughts going through kitai’s head. If the saika ever thought he was good at hiding them, then at least during this discussion he was lying to himself because some of them were clear as day. Such as his avid disdain for Ludwig’s remark on how unbreakable the chains were. Still he actually managed to not try and suplex or shank him with the chains he had so there was no doubt the two were already making at least minor progress towards working together. Or it was simply he’d gotten over the fact he was stuck around Ludwig for the time being. Whatever the reason Ludwig could breathe a sigh of relief only to look over at Kitai in minor shock as the words that came from him next surprised him.

An agreement to be a bit less destructive upon his next invasion. Now if that wasn’t something at least mildly earth shattering Ludwig didn’t know what was. However what came after that caused any smile that Ludwig could have shown to slowly hide behind a frown. There was clearly some misinformation about the current state of the Seireitei but the fundamental parts were not incorrect. They did sit on their laurels, they did not in fact change the Runkongai for the better, and he was correct in that the Gotei 13 did in fact have the means to do such. Assuming the squads could get together and actually start some of the changes. But the sad reality was despite the appearance of a “strong” army with as many individuals as Kitai thought there were, the Gotei 13 had actually been in a serious decline up until only just recently.

Not to mention there was always more damage to the Seireitei than anyone ever thought there was. Whether from a Tyrannosaurus Rex like hollow coming in and smashing its way through the walls or Kitai coming in and knocking down the front door with his own army things like that continued to happen every few months. And the ability to sustain themselves and the casualties that followed after was an incredibly hard feat to manage. Ludwig knew from first hand experience, he’d seen a few instances of where their men were slaughtered and large portions of the Seireitei alongside the Rukongai were obliterated. By his hands and the hands of their enemies. There wasn’t a good answer in how to fix the issue let alone how to deal with the aftermath. And Ludwig had to admit that responsibility was on his hands as a captain. He was expected to come up with an answer and his own lack of response was an answer in and of itself.

When Ludwig looked back over at Kitai he held a firmer gaze, not aggressive but he wasn’t simply going to roll over either. “You have a fair point. Inaction is something the Gotei suffer from immensely and though there are some valid reasons for it the end result is still wrong. I won’t come up with excuses for my squad’s inaction but for what it’s worth I can and will push to do more, at least for the Rukongai. The problem of our inaction however lies in how recent events have been regarding our “army”. In truth we’ve been on the decline more than outside entities realize and it’s hindered our own attempts to recover from our losses in the recent events. Hell my own squad when I took over was barely more than a collection of 20 individuals, and they didn’t even try to look after one another like a squad should.”

Ludwig shook his head as he remembered back to the days when he’d first arrived. Their squad was a wreck. Their captain had been killed. Their vice captain had vanished. And most of the upper leadership had resigned or been killed prior to his arrival or in the days to come. No one had wanted to step up for fear of what could happen to themselves let alone to what remained. It was only in the recent years that the squad had grown to something really resembling a cohesive unit and that was because they’d finally gotten something to cling to. Some hope that their lives wouldn’t be thrown to the wayside meaninglessly. Though Ludwig never mentioned it openly he liked to think it was his bankai that inspired some of that comfort given it’s peculiar abilities. Still he couldn’t lose himself too deeply in his own thoughts lest Kitai rip him from them. Besides Ludwig had a question for Kitai given he’d mentioned they had no goal outside of maintaining themselves.

Looking back over at Kitai Ludwig started to speak again, “I’m curious though. Were you in my position with a squad of men under your command what would you do Kitai? What is worth leading those you're responsible for into the thick of? I cannot speak for the other captains but I hesitate to ensure that their lives are not wasted. You can’t truly measure the worth of a single life and thus I’d rather not waste any of them if I can help it.” Ludwig looked up to the trees, a feeling of disappointment settling in his stomach. Kitai was right at the end of the day no matter Ludwig’s argument. There was a grain of truth but there became a point at which Ludwig had used it as an excuse to remain rather than a reason to move on and push himself as well as his squad to new endeavors. Endeavors that could at least make some part of the Soul Society better. He needed to spend some serious time and effort into giving the squad a new goal. Something to reach for and something that could help others. It was on his shoulders to figure it out once he and Kitai were finished with this killer candy land.

Speaking of though the conversation was actually surprisingly pleasant the two needed to get back on track. There was an island to explore and they still had several tasks ahead of them. Not to mention some insane and disgustingly colored individual who wanted both of their heads on what he could only assume to be a gingerbread platter. The sooner he was dealt with the better so that the two could go back to their individual lives but first they needed some sort of plan. It couldn’t just be as easy as avoiding a sour patch kid. There was no doubt worse candy monsters to deal with. And that’s assuming they didn’t outright deal with other individuals. . . like the bartender that had been clearly on the same page as their disgruntled patron. “As much as I’ve enjoyed our conversation thus far we need to decide our next move. So far we’ve only seen one humanoid gummy man and we didn’t even kill it properly. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were not only more of them in this forest but other things here we’ve been lucky to not deal with yet. What do you think?”

[Kitai Yoru]

This was not a conversation Kitai had expected to have with the cartoonish captain. He would begrudgingly admit that he was not an expert on all things shinigami. In life, he had been told that their name meant 'God of Death', and in his grief fueled insanity, he had brushed them all off as Heretics. He used them as an outlet for his rage, and attacked them for the fun of it. But in death, he had been forced to face the fact that, at the end of the day, they might just be normal humans who had died. This thought sickened him, if only for they fact that he might be considered a killer of man in that case.

He had never killed a human, and until recently, never another sentient being before, and even then not directly. The Black Fog was something that shaped ambient reiatsu into forms that he decided, molded by the mind of the user, given only the sin of Wrath. By bringing these monsters to life, he was directly responsible for their actions. So, yes, he did in fact kill all those shinigami, even if he hadn't been the one to actually end their lives. The thought actually made him sick. If he considered the Shinigami as actual humans... No. NO! They weren't human! They were...

The expressions on Kitai's face bounced back and forth, dancing between emotions at a breakneck pace. "If I were in your shoes..." He started, hunched over, clutching his stomach and shoulder. "I would have started to make peace with other factions. If you aren't strong enough to take on the entire world, then you have to gather power with those who share your ideology. Given how long you live, and how short the lives of humans are, I would have started recruiting regular humans to train them up. That way, even if they're still laughably weak while alive, they'll have a stronger start while Shinigami."

The idea was a variation of the idea he had at the end of his life. If he could make one government stronger than another, give the people power and technology to overthrow their rulers, he could cause chaos. He could keep tipping the scales of power and create pandemonium, eventually starting a war of super powered beings from all sides, breaking the veil, and either wiping out a large portion of that disgusting world, or force them to grow further beyond to survive. Either way, if he could make everyone 'special', there wouldn't be much that the existing spiritual factions could do to stop it.

But, if they took small groups of humans, gave their spiritual powers a kick-start, when they finally died, the shinigami forces would be bolstered. "Either that, or copy the ideas of the humans. Set up factories in the Rukongai, offer the souls there incentive to work, like providing them with creature comforts, or anything that would take them out of looking like a third world country. It shouldn't be difficult to convince them." Kitai was sweating, and in more pain than he should have been. "Why is my shoulder so itchy!?" He said in a rage, as he ripped off his shirt.

His body was remarkably plain, if not extremely pale. He was more skinny than he was fit, hardly any muscle to him. His strength was given to him solely through spiritual means. No scars, no blemishes, just a stock standard body. Except, on his back, right where he had been hit by the dart, a small patch of red, with a snowy white color. The strong scent of peppermint permeated the air. The smell grew stronger the more he scratched the spot, along with the patch growing. "What is that? It itches like a motherfucker!" He said in frustration.

It was roughly the size of a quarter, looking like a peppermint candy. Kitai was unable to see it, due to where it was positioned on his back. Similarly, Ludwig would feel the begin to feel something itch on his back as well. In the same spot that was on Kitai's back. It was a weak feeling right now, but he would be able to feel the intensity increasing soon. The urge to scratch it was calling to him. The patch of candy skin thumped like a vein, and it grew just a little bit more. "AGH! THERE! There it is again! Why is it so itchy!?" He said, clawing at it.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

Kitai had a lot of good points. In fact he'd even come to the same conclusion that Ludwig had awhile back. The Soul Society needed allies. They needed to extend outwards past themselves and look towards the other groups like UE. Something he'd forgotten about given everything going on around him. Even more curious was the idea that Kitai proposed by giving humans more spiritual power. If he could help them grow more powerful then they could transition to being a shinigami once they died. Assuming a couple things happened such as but not including, going to hell, getting erased by a quincy, eaten by hollows, and a few other things he could think of off the top of his head. It was a long play move but one that honestly warranted quite a bit of thought after all this was said and done.





Ludwig admittedly got lost in his own thoughts the more he continued to persue this idea of empowering humans and helping them defend themselves. Let alone applying the idea to the Rukongai that he didn't realize Kitai was scratching at himself like he'd gained fleas. Not until he suddenly stripped and there the cause of the issue was before him. A candy tumor? Made of peppermint? You know I shouldn't be even half as surprised at this point that the body can be turned into candy. However I must say this "candy man" really has outdone himself with how many different ways he can apply candy to others. I'll need to take notes. For now though I need to think up a way to get rid of this.



Ludwig had only just begun to think on this when his own shoulder was starting to show that he too was going to deal with a candy tumor on his back. Thankfully he could deal with the pain and need to itch for a bit longer through sheer willpower. But give it enough time and even he'd have to give it the attention it so desired. "Kitai stay as still as you can. I'm going to get rid of this thing. Apologies in advance for the pain." He quickly moved Kitai's hand from the tumor, grabbed his dagger and placed it on the skin pushing it's flat side against his skin and a bit further down to make sure he'd remove at least move of the tumor when he was cutting it off. Once his dagger was placed where he wanted he simply casted Sho mentally to not alert Kitai to what he was doing.



Instead of the force blast being large and encompass the tumor Ludwig instead made it small and had it hit the back of his hand. This would allow his hand to move at 400 speed and add in a significant amount of extra force behind the cut. This would be unfortunately bloody. Ludwig try as he might to have a spell for the situation just didn't have a low enough kido to utilize for this. Hell he couldn't even risk using his shikai because there was no doubt that it'd alert everything and everyone on this island to his presence. And that was not the game plan thus far for the two escapees. So putting his feelings aside Ludwig would glance back at Kitai's, hopefully removed, tumor and make sure he got rid of all the peppermint portions of it. He wasn't a doctor but he did know that this sorta thing needed to be removed in it's entirity before it could get better. If it wasn't he was going to try again to carve it out as best he could without digging into Kitai's shoulder. How well that would go was up for debate but hopefully that wouldn't need to be discovered.



When the tumor was fully out, regardless of if it needed a second more precise strike or it had just been removed in the initial hit he'd look at the fallen peppermint tumor. Without a second glance he'd cast Sho on it again and eradicate it. Then he'd quickly cast Sajosabuku on Kitai but like his initial Sho editted some. It wasn't massive and constricting, instead it was like a massive bandage wrap and it was tightening down considerably on his back to staunch the blood flow. Thankfully it was a thick cloth so even if he would bleed through it wouldn't be for a hot minute. With everything said and done he'd turn his back to Kitai and take off his Haori and shikasho to reveal his own now throbbing tumor.



God this thing is actually immensely aggrivating. And with it still doing whatever the hell it's trying to do it's not going to get any better if Kitai doesn't quickly take care of it. He took a deep breath using the last of his willpower to ignore the tumor for as long as he could manage. "I'm sorry about earlier but lucky for you I've got one as well. So consider it your turn for revenge for the way I took off your candy tumor. But for the love of whatever gods exist please remove this thing sooner than later. I'm nearing the end of my rope with the aggravating pain and itchiness. Let alone if it's doing something else now."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu}-50 for Sho x2
-150 for Sajosabuku

total reiatsu used: 200 reiatsu

2,750 - 200 = 2,550 reiatsu remaining