Meeting in the Morning

[Scarlet]

Jogging in the early morning was something that Hikari had done for years now and while she had taken a brief break after sustaining injuries at the hands of the first Hollow she faced off against that brief pause for only a few days. Since then it’d been two weeks and she was back in her routine, the only thing that was different now with her day to day life was the fact she couldn't return to her job just yet. Her right arm was still in a medical sling as the holes in the back of her right shoulder hadn;t healed up completely. She’d seen that Hollow cast out energy like it was from an anime or a movie and yet that energy hadn’t hurt her more than its claws. Something so much simpler had caused such a bigger problem and all Hikari could hope for now was for the wounds to heal soon.

She’d learned quite a lot though in the last two weeks and one thing she was certain about now was she had to step up her training even more. The physical requirements to reach her goal was already something she’d been struggling with, now though it seemed more dire than just stressful. She wasn’t just trying to accomplish what she’d always viewed as her dream now, learning about the existence of Hollows and other spiritual species along with what they stood for, it was overwhelming.

The biggest thing that she’d taken to heart though were Hollows attacked people. It didn’t matter if they had powers or not although those with powers were more likely to be attacked. Hikari knew based on that she was going to be dealing with them more from now on. She could see them, interact with them, hurt them which meant she could save not just herself, but others that were attacked. Saving someone from a fire was something a hero would do, saving someone from a Hollow didn’t seem any different to her after some thought.

She’d ramped up her physical training because of all this and now was working out al no st all the time only giving her muscles enough time to rest so they wouldn’t rip. She was exhausted by the evening and even in the afternoon sometimes, but she could already feel a difference. Her arms especially felt denser and lifting up her ax didn’t take nearly as much effort. Right now it was early in the morning with the sun coming over the horizon and Hikari moved through the park enjoying the smell of the grass as she saw someone else coming in the opposite direction towards her.

[Amare Mori]

Haha! Life as the hero of Karakura Town was a difficult one! But it's one that Amare took seriously! Okay, so technically he was the only one who called himself that, and nobody at Uzaki Enterprises really took that seriously. But he was! He was the hero of Karakura Town! Really! He got up early every morning, stayed up late every night, and vigilantly patrolled the streets of the city, valiantly battling the horrible Hollows and Werecows and the occasional villainous Sparkle Wizard, Brocolli Person, and Amare would swear he once fought a Vamtortoise! It was busy work defending Karakura Town from all the creatures of the night!

And part of staying in shape to defend Karakura was... well. Staying in shape. Daily runs, some basic weight lifting in his little apartment that Kazura financed, and constant sword training (plus posing of course!) It was tough work! But Amare was willing to do it! He stepped out of his apartment, adjusted his fingerless gloves, made sure his Heroic Scarf^TM was properly wound around his neck in such a fashion that his movements would make it billow dramatically (far too many hours had been spent in front of the mirror with fans running in every conceivable direction to guarantee this), a black T-shirt and running shoes and track pants, and Amare was out the door, leaping and bounding his way through Karakura Town (gonna have to give this guy Skillpoints in Parkour at this rate, he does this in like... every thread he's in).

Amare didn't have any kind of set jogging route. Just an amount of time going-- that plus fatigue. He didn't stop until he was tired, and if he was tired and hadn't been running for at least an hour, he just... kept going until he hit that hour. He reasoned that this was a surefire way to make sure he was at least meeting his objective from the previous days, if not exceeding it. If he wasn't tired at an hour it meant he was getting more stamina! If he got tired before an hour it meant he was running harder than usual! That made sense right!?

Anyways, off to the park where hopefully there'd be no Hollows or attacking werecows today! Amare sprinted through the park, attracting a fair few confused admiring looks from ordinary civilians the grateful citizens of Karakura Town, as he mixed flipping, horizontal leaps off of nearby trees to rapidly change his trajectory and route. Bounding off a tree was faster, and less predictable than just turning afterall! Either way, Amare pushed himself as hard as he could, borderline sprinting and-- wait was he leaving afterimages?

He kind of was. Though it was hard to tell, due to the colossal dust cloud that Amare was kicking up behind him as he ran through the park. Such as it was, Scarlett would likely notice the dust cloud, long before the man himself, as Amare came charging down the park trail-- freezing ever so briefly at the sight of Scarlett, stopping on a dime, turning and giving a short bow of greeting to her. "Good morning miss! You look amazing today!" He said to Scarlett, before turning to resume his sprinting!

[Scarlet]

The morning was starting off like one that she had just a month ago, normal. It didn’t take long for that fact to change though as she heard the approach of something moving at an incredible clip. It didn’t take her more than a glance to find the cloud of dust that was being knocked up into the air from a sprinting maniace coming down the trail. “How in the world did I never find any of them before I became one of them?” Hikari asked herself while continuing to just jog at her own clip believing that this guy would just pass by her. He didn’t have any reason to believe that she was special, she wasn’t going fast enough to make anyone think that unlike him.

There wasn't anything else to note until the guy opened his mouth and spoke to her. Her arm reaching out and grabbing the back of his shirt in order to keep him from moving on. Hikari wasn’t sure why it bothered her so much when what he said was basically told to her multiple times everyday that she worked. Perhaps it was simply due to that fact, she wasn’t at the cafe right now. When she was just herself she wasn’t ever treated like that, growing up she’d always been treated in a negative manner and now it felt like this guy was making fun of her instead of being honest.

“Not the best way to greet someone new huh. You got a problem with how I look? What’s your game? Why’re you running around without a care in the world about hiding what you are?”

Hikari, now set in a state of action and not thinking, was guided by the immediate instincts of her personality. Although truly a good person right now she was doing exactly what she’d accused this man of doing. Making perhaps a horrible first impression due to a potential misunderstanding while making it plainly aware that she knew he was more than a typical human. Someone brand new to the spiritual community that just had a lot of bad experiences with other people. Hikari wasn't really coming off as someone that plays well with others, but what would this guy do though?

[Amare Mori]

Oh! This was a good day! Not only had Amare encountered a lovely and gorgeous woman on his training venture, but she had actually responded to him! Most of the time they only gave him confused awed silence! And she seemed aggressively upset at something Amare had said! How strange! Ah, but that must be it! "I'm terribly sorry miss! I must have been a touch out of breath and slurred my words. I'm horribly embarrassed! I said you look amazing today! I'm sorry if you heard any demeaning comment come from my mouth, I assure you it was completely unintentional!" He replied with a gleaming, knightly smile.

"As for why I am running, I am the defender of Karakura Town." Amare proclaimed, planting both hands on his hips and puffing out his chest in a rather heroic pose-- and it was, Amare could certainly pose well enough after the amount of time he spent practicing in front of the mirror he ought to be. "My duties require me to be in perfect physical shape you see! So I must push myself to my limits each and every day, so that I can protect this fine piece of the world and all the wonderful people in it from nefarious villains! They lurk in all places you know, so I must be ever vigilant! You can rest easily knowing that I stand guard though! I haven't met my match yet with the sole exception of my mentors!" He proclaimed proudly.

"And even then, I shall surpass my teachers as well one day, though I know that will be difficult, for they are among the greatest in their fields! But it only means that when I have surpassed them I will be all the greater for overcoming such an obstacle!" He added, sounding quite pleased with his own logic. "So fear not miss. So long as Amare Mori stands guard, none in Karakura Town need fear!" He turned again as if to leave, but froze for a split second. Shoot, I almost left without properly addressing her! That would have been so uncool!

"If you'll excuse me, I need to return to my routine. If I miss even one day, it could have catastrophic consequences! Imagine failing to stop a beast because I decided to be lazy once! I couldn't live with myself!"

[Scarlet]

This just wasn’t what Hikari was expecting nor something that had happened to her before, this loud goofball, doubled down saying the same thing. A response given to his remark about her physical appearance now was just nothing more than blush rushing to her face. Somehow this felt more embarrassing than wearing the maid uniform at work while having a bunch of men stare at her. Perhaps it was the emotion she was feeling at the moment, but his smile was irritating. Letting go of his shirt Hikari was ready to just leave him be now but wanted to learn more about another human with powers.

What she heard though was something that completely obliterated everything she’d been feeling internally. The embarrassment and irritation just fizzled out in a single moment replacing the both though was disbelief and anger. Right away after Amare declared himself the defender of Karakura, Hikari’s posture switched to more aggressive. His hands balled into fists while she trembled hearing this guy explain the exact same thing she was doing. Literally the same exact thing she decided she was going to do and had started doing.

By the time Amare revealed his name and moved into his posture, Hikari was fuming mad. “No you’ve gotta be joking. You’re making fun of me! You can’t be the defender of this town cause that’s what I am!” Hikari shouted at him, not giving him the chance to turn and begin his routine once again. A situation that neither of the spiritual aware humans likely would have ever expected to happen yet now it was underway. Hikari, just like getting a compliment on her appearance, couldn't accept nor comprehend someone else doing the same thing as her to such a degree. Especially not after she’d been told so much from Shimada-sama.

Pointing an accusing finger out at Amare with a look of stern rage in her gray eyes Hikari speaks in a slow harsh tone. “Tell me the truth, stop making fun of me. Who told you to come here and make fun of my goals?”

[Amare Mori]

Oh! She was blushing! That was understandable, Amare was a dashing specimen after-all! Oh! And it seemed her blush was grower more and more pronounced! If Amare wasn't mistaken, Scarlet was matching her namesake as she made her exclamations at him. Somewhere in Amare's mind he recognized the anger she was directing at him, and he momentarily paused in contemplation. Why would she be upset about that? He was just doing his civic duty after all! And then she exclaimed that he was making fun of her!? Because she was the defender of the town?

"There can always be more than one!" Amare replied quickly and pridefully. "In fact there are many of us! I know a lot of them! So there's no reason you can't be a defender of Karakura Town too!" He proclaimed. "In fact I have learned from one of the best of them! Kazura Uzaki! He's not the only one, but he's one of them!" Amare added, beaming at Hikari.

"I am not making fun of your goals! They're admirable! I'm sure Karakura citizens would feel much safer with you looking out for them too! Then we can both be defenders of Karakura Town! Defeating Hollows, and fending off werecow attacks, side by side with the other Broccoli People!" There wasn't a trace of deception or mockery in Amare's tone. He.... legitimately seemed to believe what he was saying. Including the bit about the werecows and the Broccoli people.

"So I've introduced myself, but as a fellow aspiring defender of Karakura Town I should know your name too, right?" Amare asked, earnestly and honestly. Frankly, the man seemed a touch too touched in the head to even consider lying. Lying just... didn't seem to be something he was capable of.

[Scarlet]

Something as simple as there being other individuals that have the wellbeing of people in the forefront of their mind. Hikari, despite fitting into that same category of people, didn't stop to believe others like her could be in Karakura. She’d met Shimada-sama but he didn’t really seem like he cared all that much, dealing with the demons had more been because they were out of Hell specifically to get at him. It made sense though something that she realized right after it was said. She couldn’t be the only one that felt this way when things like police and firefighters were commonplace without powers as well. Having powers hadn’t changed her personally so why would it affect everyone else?

Getting told that there were many who considered themselves defenders of this singular town in Japan, was rather shocking. From what she had learned and then assumed being a human that could interact with the dead was rare. How and why were there more than just a few in a large city, let alone this small town. Amare continued to speak although what he said didn’t really resonate with Hikari. All she registered was the name of some guy that seemed vaguely familiar, but she didn’t piece another together. Her emotions settling down now would allow the two potentially to start getting on a better footing, until Amare mentioned his disbelief.

The mention of werecrows and broccoli people set Hikari off like a slur directed right at her face. She’d just let her guard down, allowed everything Amare said to take hold and then just like so many others what she believed first turned out to be right. He wasn’t doing anything more than making fun of her. Rage bursting across her face Hikari stared into Amare’s eyes with every bit of body language screaming she was about to hit him. High school all over again, just someone else seeking to tease her about something beyond her control.

“Can’t believe this. Werecrows and broccoli people, at least have the spine to admit you’re just being an asshole. If you’re going to make fun of me, fine, don't lead me around and pretend to be nice. I should knock your teeth down your throat for this. Ass.” Hikari began to turn around and walk away knowing that if she didn’t separate herself now she was going to strike this guy. All she could think about right now was how she let this guy manipulate her, taking advantage of her lack of knowledge and then treating her in such a nasty way like so many others.

“Have no other option than pick on the clueless right? Walking around like some great guy, but really you just want everyone to be confused so you can . . . What do you want? Wait you’ve gotta be one of those other things aren’t you. The things that look like human, but aren’t.” Hikari stopped and started to think back. Doing her best in order to search for the word that marked what Shimada-sama had told her. “You’re a Boudin aren’t you? So weirdo just looking to take advantage.” Unaware that she'd messed up the word Bount it was unlikely that Amare would connect the dots potentially leading to even further confusion between the two now arguing in the park.

[Amare Mori]

Huh. Apparently the truth was the wrong thing to say, because the woman seemed absolutely enraged now. The genuine confusion was clear on his face, as Amare, for all his posturing in front of the mirror sucked at hiding his emotions... and in this case it was a visible lack of understanding as to what was making Scarlet so angry. He was about to allow her to take her leave and storm off, angry-- not that Amare liked letting a woman walk off looking clearly so upset, but because since he didn't know what had set her off, that he didn't know what to say to smooth the situation over! Fortunately, she stormed back, giving him another chance to address the situation.

"Why would I pick on the clueless? That would be incredibly uncool." Amare replied. "What's a Boudin though? Wait, are they the people who are like the Broccoli People, but kind of different? They shoot magic bows and arrows? I mean." He pondered for a moment. "I guess a Broccoli person could shoot a bow and arrow like them too, but for some reason they're like... different? That part never made sense to me. But is that what a Boudin is? There's a couple of things that look Human but aren't, but as a Broccoli Person, I'm still human myself. You can be both. You're striking me as a Broccoli Person yourself. At least you don't look like an Arrancar... you're missing the mask. You're definitely not a Hollow-- you're way too pretty for that. You're definitely not a werecow, and... I guess you could be a Sparkle Wizard? But they're usually garbed in those black robes and swinging the katana around. You're not in black robes, and you don't have the katana, so.... I'm guessing Broccoli Person, like me?" He asked, no doubt giving an aneurism to anyone remotely familiar with the spiritual world.

"But I'm not trying to take advantage of anyone!" Amare pressed as well in answer to Scarlet's comment after the fact. "I thought you wanted to talk about spiritual world stuff, so I was going to share what I knew about it. I mean... you asked right?" He looked puzzled again. "You said you wanted to be a Defender of Karakura too, right? So like... that involves dealing with other Broccoli people, and fighting werecows and stuff. Were you not prepared for that? There's way more dangerous things than Hollows you know."

[Scarlet]

Getting back in Amare’s face still ready to deck him right in his mouth Hikari listened to what she hoped would make more sense, but the more and more words that left this guy’s mouth the further and further she fell into confusion. None of the terms or words that she’d learned from various other people really matched up with what Amare was saying. She had a feeling that Boudin was wrong though, but with everything going on she couldn’t remember the right word. Arrancar, no clue what this was, although at least it didn’t sound like something a five year old would call someone else so perhaps it was right.

Every time Amare even brought up the name Broccoli people Hikari felt her left hand tighten more and more with an overwhelming drive to punch him right in the mouth. So upset about everything going on that she didn’t even really catch the compliment that Amare gave her looks, although just before that her mind did manage to pick up on the fact Arrancar supposedly have masks on their face like Hollows. At the mention of Sparkle Wizard, Hikari was well and true on the very edge of her restraint with every ounce of willpower holding back her face of red rage. Her rage would subside quickly though when she heard the description Amare gave of these Sparkle Wizards.

Over the next couple moments while Amare continued to talk Hikari did her best to breathe, slowing down her heart rate and getting some color beyond red back to her face. She had an idea now what was going on and all she could do was wish she had whoever messed everything up on a block with her ax in hand. “Alright, Hollows I know about and everyone I’ve met called them that, I’ve fought a few of them. Nothing else you’ve said though makes sense. You’re calling them names I’d expect from a toddler, doesn’t that seem strange to you? From what I’ve seen and been told, these Sparkle Wizards are Shiniagmi. Always dressed in black robes and most carry around katana, a pole shoved right up their ass cause they think they know best, right?”

[Amare Mori]

Amare shrugged at Scarlet's argument, though at least she was sticking around, so he had reason to maybe calm her down and dissipate her anger! Her confusion wasn't surprising. Afterall, Amare had had a particularly exceptional teacher, who had taught him all sorts of secrets! "Everything I know about that world, I learned from Asuka-sensei. She was kind and helpful enough to take a poor, dumb me and educate me on the world outside my experiences. Before I met her, I knew nothing. She trained me into a warrior, and taught me all I know about Broccoli People and Sparkle Wizards! And she's an expert on these things! She was ranked number Six among the Espada of Las Noches, the Arrancar organization from Hueco Mundo! And another Espada, Lagos told me that Asuka had been promoted to Second Espada about a year ago! That means Asuka-sensei is the second most powerful, knowledgeable and skilled Arrancar alive!" Amare gushed, clearly very proud of his instructor, although still getting a few details wrong there.

"But since she's Second Espada, she's gotta be correct right? If the Second Espada is the second most knowledgeable arrancar alive, of course she'd know things like basic terminology! Especially since the Arrancar and the Sparkle Wizards are usually bitter enemies. It'd be weird not to even know the name of the people you fight against on a daily basis wouldn't it?" He commented. "So even if the names are a bit weird, Asuka-sensei would know wouldn't she?" He added. "But yeah, it sounds like you've met Sparkle Wizards too! They're really cool as well though! I miss them though, one of them was a literal Angel!" (Amare might have been misremembering his interaction with Hikari Nisei during the whole undead menace in Karakura thing), "and there was another gorgeous, and kind woman named Musuhina who saved my life!"

Amare was smiling broadly and charismatically at Scarlet. "And besides, they didn't seem to mind much when I called them Sparkle Wizards! Maybe it's just a second term? You know, like bugs and insects? They probably think it sounds way more dignified than their proper name, cause you're not wrong about that." He acknowledged. "But still, I have faith in Asuka-sensei's teachings! When I first met her I knew the basics of fighting, but I was only average even among people at the gym! Now I can do this!" And Amare jumped a full twenty feet into the air, with a standing leap, and landed on air ground. He hovered in the air above Scarlet for a moment, before hopping again and landing back on solid ground.

"Plus, I'm benching something like close to two thousand pounds! Back then I was lucky if I could bench a hundred! She's been so incredibly helpful and I hope to surpass her one day. My only trouble is I can't quite figure out how to do Cero or to do Sonido like she can. She was working really hard to try and teach me to do both of them, but maybe I just lack talent, and can't quite work it out. She makes it look so easy, and even her assistant, Li Mei could do it. But... I'll figure it out eventually!"

[Scarlet]

Hikari listened to what Amare had to say about things and learned quite a few different things about the guy jogging in the park. “Does this guy have confidence issues?” A thought that ran through her mind as Amare spoke down about himself. Being humble and talking down to one’s self was something Hikari believed to be separate, something much different and even though this guy was aggravating her it wasn’t something she wanted to hear.

The way that he described what this Asuka person had done made her think of Shimada and how he gave her most of the information that she believed to be true now. In a normal situation Hikari would have to question whether or not she had been the one lied to, perhaps she was the one that was actually being messed with by Shimada. Right now though that wasn’t right, the mere fact that Amare was calling these different species what he was was concrete to Hikari.

“Las Noches? Espada? Heuco Mundo?”

Hikari didn’t know much beyond what a Hollow actually was and what some of them could do on a basic level. “Have you stopped and considered how silly the names are? How some of these sound like something normal, but others like broccoli people sounds like something a child would make up?” Trying to do her best right now to not get back into an angry mood or set this conversation off in a more negative manner, Hikari just couldn’t wrap her head around why this guy believed in such nonsense.

The manner in which he spoke though was definitely something that told her he either believed it without hesitation or he was a giant man baby. Something she wasn’t too sure about, but then seeing him jump up high into the air and wait in the air only to come back down. Well it was starting to look more and more like she was talking to a toddler in the body of an adult. How he stood on the air though was interesting and something Hikari was curious about as it could help her in some situations she was sure of that.

“Maybe they’re things you can’t do? You don’t seem super confident for someone in good shape. From everything I’ve pieced together I’m something called a Fullbringer. I can pull on the souls around me to help. If you think we’re the same thing, have you tried to do that? I haven’t been involved in all this very long, but from what I’ve seen most things seem pretty different beyond everyone being able to hit one another.” Hikari didn’t really think she was being messed with now or made fun of, but didn’t trust a lot of what Amare was saying either. Although if he was as strong as he said he was, she was interested to see how he fought off Hollows, since he could probably rip them apart like an animal.

[Amare Mori]

Amare nodded. "Yeah. From what Asuka-sensei told me there's four worlds. Our world-- that is, the Human World, Hueco Mundo-- the world that Hollows and Arrancar come from. Soul Society, the home of the Sparkle Wizards, and Hell, which is... I mean, you know what Hell is. Apparently that's where the werecows come from, though Asuka-sensei admitted she wasn't a hundred percent on that, as apparently she'd only met one werecow in her life." He admitted. "Anyways, Las Noches is what the fortress where the Espada gather. I was hoping I could visit her one day, but I'm still figuring out how to open those Gargantua things."

As for the terminology he was using, Amare shrugged again. "There is a species of bird in the world called the Blue Footed Booby. There is a species of Beetle called the Abra Cadabra." Close on the second one, but one letter off. "There's a species of fish in the South Atlantic called the Boop Boop. There's a species of sea cucumber called the Ice Cream Worm. An endangered species of frog in the Caribbean is called the Mountain Chicken. To say nothing of the Australian spider species called the Sparklemuffin." He stated (and yes, every one of those is the actual name of a real life animal, I looked it up for the purposes of this post. Yes, including the Sparklemuffin.)

"So the names are a little weird but weird names are par for the course right? If someone named a rainbow colored spider a Sparklemuffin, I can understand how a group of people that cast magic with bright, flashy, glowing effects might be called Sparkle Wizards." He replied. "So like. Does Broccoli Person sound weird? Sure, but I'd trust the elite soldier whose job it is to know this stuff, and has got like... three hundred years of experience in these matters, to know the basic names of groups." He replied. "I've heard Kazura use Fullbringer once or twice, like you have, but Kazura's only like... 20? 30 years old? Asuka-sensei's been around a lot longer than he has, even though Kazura's a very smart man, he wasn't around when what we are got their name." He paused for a moment. "To be fair, Asuka-sensei might not have either, I don't know how old Broccoli People are, but a couple centuries still gets her closer than anyone else I've met who wasn't senile!" Amare added, still beaming.

"And yeah, I've been working on that. I'm still a little rough at the control though. I'd show you, but every time I try to use the earth like a trampoline, I've had trouble sticking the landing. I can use it to launch me, but I can't quite soften it for the landing, and lemme tell you, the superhero landing takes practice." Amare added.

[Scarlet]

Hearing Amare explain the others worlds or at least bring them up was something helpful, it gave her a better outlook to actually talk with him, even if all she gained was a name and place to connect some of the races together. Most of them she already knew, although she was surprised to learn she’d come across what she assumed to be more demons than this person called Asuka. Within a month Hikari had already fought off almost more demons than she could count on one hand, now she was starting to think that wasn’t normal.

“Isn’t it better to just call them demons? They come from Hell. Is it not normal to fight a demon? I was told they don’t come here often.” More and more terms or words that Hikari didn’t really know. The Espada from what Amare was saying sounded just like the Shinigami although the ranking was something new as she didn’t know anything beyond that Shinigami said they were unseated when they introduced themselves. As for a garganta she had no clue it sounded like a power, something else Amare was trying to do he might not be able to.

Then came the ranting of names that Hikari wasn’t really ready for, although she believed most the last one resulted in her raising her left hand up pointing at Amare angry once again. “If someone named it that then they’re stupid. It doesn’t mean everything has a stupid name. It’s just as dumb as new things getting named after actors or famous people that have nothing to do with finding them.” Hikari lowered her arm now, crossing them both across her torso. She could tell she was still ready to explode in a rage due to the absurdity.

“I’m not being called a broccoli person. I don’t know what Fullbringer means or if it has a meaning but at least it’s not something that a toddler would call me. Why does it matter how much older she is than this Kazura? Why does it matter what everything was called originally? I just know that what you’re calling them makes me want to hit YOU!” Hikari shouted for a moment right at Amare. Although she took a moment and something clicked that changed her expression from aggravation to confusion. “Wait Kazura as in Kazura Uzaki?”

Hikari hadn’t really thought about using the land underneath her feet to help her jump higher into the air, although what Amare said about that made more sense than basically everything else he’d been saying. “I just figured out how to use the air in my lungs to blow stuff away. Putting things back together is harder than I would have thought though. What have you figured out? You keep telling me you’re trying stuff you’ve seen others that aren’t like you do, but what have you figured out?”

[Amare Mori]

Amare pondered her comment. "I mean demons probably works as an overarching term, but not for the specifics. Werecows are a specific variation of demon, kind of like how crows are a specific variation of bird." He replied. "The one Asuka-sensei told me about, Grimoire, was some huge, oni-looking dude, with red skin and horns, whose power made him transform into increasingly more monstrous forms. But according to Asuka-sensei's teacher in turn, there are others with different sorts of powers, so even within demons there seem to be different types. Werecows are just the kind that Asuka-sensei has met." He replied.

In response to Scarlet's accusing and finger pointing, Amare seemed to ponder for a moment. "I dunno. I agree it's a little silly, but terminology is important isn't it? I can't very well go around tell people I'm say... a Lightning Rider, just because it sounds way cooler than saying "I'm a Human" right? If what we're called is called Broccoli People, then that's kind of what we're stuck with, and like... maybe we can get one or two other people to acknowledge our new name? But that's an exhausting conversation to have with every single person that ID's us isn't it? Imagine having to tell every Sparkle Wizard you talk with "No, I'm not a Broccoli Person, I'm a Stormlord." He replied. "That's gonna get exhausting fast, right? I mean if you want that argument, all the power to you! I hope you can change everyone's perception of us to have a way cooler name! But me? Man, as great as that would be, I'm too tired after all my training to spend the energy for a cooler name... Although damn it'd be really cool to be able to get people to call me something like a Fire King, or something instead of Broccoli Person." He added with a contemplative look in his eye.

"And yeah, Kazura Uzaki! You've heard of him! I work for Uzaki Enterprises." Amare replied. "He's also a Broccoli Person, in fact there's a lot of us at Uzaki! He's the one who taught me the trampoline trick!" In response to Scarlet's statement he answered much quicker. "Doesn't learning anything start with imitation? Kazura showed me how to control the souls of the earth to make the earth softer and springier to jump or cushion a landing. I also learned how to do some minor tricks, like curving a bullet, or even stopping light objects." As if to demonstrate, Amare picked up a nearby rock. His reiatsu surged and flared around him like a beacon and he lobbed the rock like he was throwing a fastball. His reiatsu flickered, and the rock curved in midair, so despite the clear straight trajectory Amare hurled it, the rock twisted and flew off at an angle away from them, spinning in the air like a bullet, and slamming into a tree with so much force that it left a new hollow in the tree trunk.

"Still not easy for me. Point is though, once you get the hang of it, really creativity and the extent you can extend your control is the only limit. I'm still not so good at it, so I can only manipulate things that are really close to me, but I've tried a few things. Also, I can't do it well without mentally preparing myself or pre-exposing it to my reiatsu, like that rock just now. Like I said, I can't do it with say... falling from a great height-- I'm still too slow to actually manipulate the ground to soften it before I impact."

[Scarlet]

Scarlet really could feel that her patience was thinning, listening to the strange names just felt like catching heavy weights thrown at her mentally now. She couldn’t blame this guy after hearing why he called them these idiotic things, but she couldn’t help the feeling he was stupid for believing them. Based on everything he said about different demons she could match up some of what she fought. Different types of demons wasn’t something hard to believe either as it made sense and was something she could recall in many different stories, games and shows.

She could feel a massive migraine stabbing into the core of her brain now as she listened to the explanation he was giving her. Although she felt the rage that had boiled up in her gut fizzle out and the pain surging through her mind intensifying, she just wanted to stop now. By the end Hikari wanted to ask why he didn’t just do the opposite, why didn’t he just call these things what everyone else did. He even admitted that the names were stupid SO WHY!

Learning that the richest person in Karakura, one of the richest people in Japan was also someone spiritually inclined as well was interesting. Hikari hadn’t really given any thought as to celebrities who may be similar to her. Along with that thought though she realized perhaps some of the celebrities around the world, not just in Japan weren’t even human. They could be these different things that just look human. Something a bit out there to think about, but one that would be in the front of her hurt head for the next few days.

Watching this guy throw a piece of stone was something she wouldn’t have ever believed, the way the stone moved through the air, breaking right through the bark and flesh of the tree. He had to of thrown it with more force than most machines could generate. A nice display of potential power that could help her the next time she found a Hollow. If she could accomplish what he’d just done she didn’t have any doubt she could beat that Hollow in Kyoto.

“If you’re not good at it, shouldn’t you just practice until you get the hang of it. I mean you just jumped pretty high up so it doesn't seem like you have a problem finding somewhere to practice.”