Looking for a New Life (Social)

[Colina Conejita]

Colina found herself slinking around the shopping district of Karakure town, going on a hunch and a dream. Plus, she had been given a pretty good tip from a random little hellion she got her hands on. The hours of torture she put them through were definitely worth what she got in return. Even if the little bastard didn't taste that good. Colina spit a little piece she found between her teeth, still sticking around in annoyance. The piece bounced against the ground for a moment before seeming to shimmer out of existence. "Blegh." Colina stuck out her tongue as she voiced her distaste for the piece of Hellion. 

She rounded the corner quickly, following the information she had earned and learned from the torture session she had put the Hellion through, finding herself among the bustle of people wandering about the district. They were mindlessly looking at shops, completely unable to see the five foot and four-inch-tall girl with solid white bunny ears of bone on her head. She was walking around in her long white robes with her dark black hair in opposing color against the robes. She was currently searching for a shop that she had been told she could find a way to become stronger. And she needed to be stronger if she was going to find all of the soul enriched fruits and vegetables in the three worlds.

She was specifically looking for a Hellion that she actually had met before, finding this out through her torture session. Kitai, the hellion she once fought for a short time in the Menos Forest, was her target. She knew that he had something, but what it was was a mystery to her. And she was going to get what she wanted from him. Even if it meant flattening this shopping district to a plain to be admired and marveled for the next century, becoming a mystery to the humans. This was all if Kitai refused her, she mused to herself as her eyes found the target.

The gas station-esque shop with a giant bay window and glass door with metal grates outside attached to all of the glass they protected was an oddity for sure. "Kitai shop...?" Colina said aloud as she approached, studying the gun on the sign as well with little amusement. "Whatever floats your jolly roger." And with that Colina pushed the door open, setting off the small alarm bell to allow a representative of the shop to know a customer had come in.

[Kitai Yoru]

This year had been a good one for the Kitai shop. Marik had spent so much money at his humble shop, that he was overflowing with money. That meant he could indulge himself in his favorite hobby; making more weapons! He sat at the wooden counter that sat five feet from the walls, the counter that held display cases filled with all sorts of guns, swords, knives, all sorts of fantastical weapons that would probably get Kitai in a lot of trouble if he could actually be arrested. He didn't know when it happened, but at some point, he became quite the scary individual to fight.

He was currently fiddling with a prototype weapon, the first for a series of weapons he was planning on making. A sword that would embody the element of fire. He took a moment to appreciate the mental image for the final product, when he heard his door chime ring out. Snapping out of the pleasant thoughts, he turned to the front door. "Welcome to the Kitai-" He then registered who it was who paid his shop a visit. "-Shop... Well well well, look who it is!" He said, gesturing to the rabbit arrancar with a screwdriver.

He waved it around once. Then a second time. "...Jessica Rabbit?" He guessed, not remembering if she had actually told him her name. If she had, he couldn't remember it over the hoards of rabbits she had thrown at him. You don't forget having to outrun killer bunnies, it just isn't done. "Anyway, what do I owe the pleasure? Are you here to buy a weapon to beat me? Might I suggest a Beatstick?" He said, gesturing to a sword on the wall behind him. It was a plain looking silver sword, that looked distinctly powerful.

He was grinning his usual semi-deranged smile, but he was on edge. If this hollow thought she could start something in his shop, she would be in for a rude awakening. This shop was his home and livelihood, not that he truly needed money, but it was more than that. This was his hobby, and one of the only real things that made him happy. He wasn't going to take threats against it lying down. He would defend it in any way necessary. He would give her the benifit of the doubt, but if she tried her little head-grab trick from last time, she would find her own head rolling.

[Colina Conejita]

Colina smiled politely as she entered the shop and saw the illusive and powerful man she had met in the previous confrontation they shared in the Menos Forest. Although he had been without a doubt very powerful, she had gotten the jump on him before and to think that he had something she wanted made her a bit giddy. But she also felt something inside of her, the memory her clone gave her of being torn to absolute shreds gave her, that seemed akin to fear. She wasn't used to this feeling. She was usually more wrapped up in the hole inside of her, the one that gnawed at her for every waking moment of her existence. The need to feed.

"Oh, my dear Kitai, if I wanted to start thrashing you around in your shop, I wouldn't be so easily noticed," Colina replied with a coy grin and her right hand, covered in her robe's long sleeve, over her mouth. Her eyes showed genuine innocence as she blinked up at him from the other side of the countertop. "And I certainly wouldn't do it with one of your creations. That's bad etiquette. I never have bad etiquette at the dinner table..." Her grin widened a bit before she raised both hands to show that the threat was very empty and more for jest than actual physical harm. "My name is Colina by the way, Jessica rabbit is definitely more endowed than I." Colina dipped a little forward as if to indicate her lack of a large chest while winking up at Kitai's assumedly embarrassed face.

"I need something from you, as much as it pains me to say..." Colina spoke slowly as she leaned back to her usual standing position, looking off to the side and seemingly studying the floor in her embarrassment. It wasn't often that Colina went to others for assistance in finding things she needed. She had the snooping and collecting skills necessary to uncover most things, but in this instance she didn't have an exact knowledge of what it was she needed. "I... Need to fill this hole." She motioned her left hand over her stomach and her eyes followed her hand as she spoke. "Something doesn't feel right. It never did. Everyone I've asked that... became like me say they lost this feeling. They felt whole. But I... Something is definitely wrong."

Colina looked up at Kitai, her brow furrowed in an uncomfortable need and frustration. "I'm hungry all the time. As if I never got my fill. And I feel weak compared to other Arrancar, like I missed something along the way to where I am. Do you have anything that might help me. Please..." Her eyes dipped into the territory of pleading, and any observer would see how painful and embarrassed Colina was with this whole interaction. But she also knew that if you really needed something from someone more powerful than you, you only had two options ahead. You sucked it up and spoke plainly, laying it out on the table. Or you stole from them in the night to barter with them in a way they couldn't refuse. And Colina respected Kitai from his power. Plus, he did give her a fun fight, which was worth something in her book.

"So... Do you have anything that might fit the cure? A remedy to my hunger? I have no idea what the cause might be, but I know if I go much longer like this, I might begin to attack all around me. And although most of my kind would see that as a positive I..." Her voice trailed for a moment before she met eyes with Kitai, a determined look in her that might shake most. "I am not a monster." She finished her speech there, looking at Kitai with ferocity in her eyes, not the threatening kind. It was rather a ferocity of determination that spoke to her plight and what she was willing to do to resolve the pain inside her. Anything that might cure her affliction was open to suggestion.

[Kitai Yoru]

Kitai placed his tools down, steepled his hands together, and listened to the story of the woman before him. He listened in total silence, nodding his head on occasion. And all he had to say in response to that seemingly heartfelt plea for help was; "You have got to work on your phrasing, lady." He told her plainly. But before she could retort, he turned around and walked towards a doorway that had a curtain in place of a door. "Yeah, I might have something that can help. I've never used it, but if you're willing to test it, be my guest."

It would take another minute or two before Kitai returned with a steel box, one that was covered in numerous deep scars and gashes. "Once upon a time, I was testing the properties of this item to see if I could remove the Chains of Hell without changing myself." He set the box onto the counter, slamming against it from the heft of the metal. "It didn't work, sadly, but it did give me some insight into how the item functions." He flipped the lid open, and reached into its metallic depths.

He gingerly pulled out a white mask, holding it like it were made of glass. "This is called 'Mask On', and can change one into a Hollow. If you're saying something went wrong with whatever process you undergo from Hollow to Arrancar, maybe going back to start will let you set the record straight." He said, presenting the mask. It had a bone-like texture to it, two eyeholes, a toothy grin, and an indent for the nose to fit comfortably for the wearer. Before she could try to grab it, however, he would pull it back.

"Of course, you realize what will happen to you if you put this on, right?" He asked, not denying her, like he was tempted to, but warning her. Was he growing soft? This was the same person who ripped his head off in the Menos Forests, and he had every right to deny her and let her suffer. On the other hand, he got to finally use this item to see how exactly it works. He gave her a warning because... he didn't quite know why. Because it made him sound more villainous? Probably for dramatic effect.

"There might be the chance you revert back into a mindless beast, and I'd have to kill you before you ruin my shop. Sure, you might just turn back into a hollow with all your memories intact, but are you that desperate? Are you willing to risk yourself to satiate your hunger?" He asked, a cruel grin on his face. He held the mask by its chin, slowly waving it back and forth, almost like a pendulum. "I won't stop you from trying, as I'm planning on using it at some point, but still, I have to wonder, how determined are you?"

[Colina Conejita]

'There's no going back,' Colina thought to herself as she absorbed all Kitai had to say. Her eyes stared with fascination and possible hope at the bone white mask in front of her as her right hand reached out gingerly. "There's nothing I want more than to escape my fate. And I'm willing to go as far as the horizon to do so." Colina raised her eyes up to Kitai's with determination still burning in them. "Let's do this." She spoke confidently as she reached out to grab the mask from Kitai Yoru's hands and accept the new path that lay before her. "I understand the risks. I would only ask one thing. If I do go berserk would you... Would you take care of my garden? Atleast bring the vegetables back here and replant them."

After asking for a final request Colina would look down at the mask in her hands and take a deep breath. It was like looking into an ocean, not sure of how far down the depths of possibilities went and how many dangers lay down there for her. Colina gulped and closed her eyes before making one last final breath, putting her hands over both halves of the front of the mask and leaning down her head just a bit. She then pressed the mask against her face, determined to see the future that awaited her. She did not know what to feel or how this object would initially react to her placing it upon her visage, but she did know one thing. The hunger was worse than never finding out.

[Kitai Yoru]

As the mask was placed upon her face, nothing happened for a moment. It wasn't until Kitai pressed the palm of his hand against it, flooding the item with reiatsu, did something happen. A flash of dull white light flashed from behind the mask, through the eyes and mouth, and the air began to vibrate with a supernatural intensity. The building shook as Kitai pulled the mask away, watching as Colina underwent a transformation. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a regression, as her body reverted back to what it once was.

Her face was covered in liquid-bone substance, looking like the skull of a rabbit, screaming in utter agony as her body snapped and broke, rebuilding itself in a matter of minutes. It was grotesque and hideous, but Kitai couldn't look away. not only did he need to watch to see what he would be going through, but it was also like watching a train wreck. It was difficult to look away as she was changed into something... lesser. Black fur grew over her skin until it was completely hidden. Whatever facial features she once had were completely masked by the skull, which still had those ears growing out of it.

The minutes passed, as she no longer resembled a human, and looked more like an overgrown rabbit. She looked exhausted, but stable. He couldn't see her eyes, so it was hard to tell if there was any intelligence to her still, but at least his shop wasn't the center for a rampaging hollow, which she well and truly was now. She turned and looked around, new senses overwhelming her. She turned to look at him, growling at him, taking a step forward. He glared down at her, unleashing a portion of his spiritual pressure. The animal yelped in shock, as she opened a garganta to escape back to Hueco Mundo. And like that, his shop had fallen back into silence. He picked up his tools, and got back to work.

[Ludwig Verrlicht]

I shall be grading this.

Colina: 10% TP gain from your next thread with Kitai. (11 paragraphs total)

Kitai: 10% TP gain from your next thread with Colina (12 paragraphs total)