For the One Above

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Karakura Town, Western Tokyo, Japan. Another afternoon was about to come to an end for those who remained within the eponymous Empty Seat Town. Far above, over a myriad of clouds dotting a sky previously left uncovered for much of the earlier hours of the day, the sun was slowly beginning its descent, causing its colors to slowly turn from a bright and continuous azure to a royal blue marked with a horizon that became progressively golden over the course of time. The sun's great rays - all of which were today quite hot, as they carried with them the warmth of the early summer star - were slowly beginning to slither away towards the aforementioned deepest part of the sky, and with their leave slowly came a rising wind. It was soft, blown without harshness or violence, yet it was also somewhat cold, enough so that it could perhaps be bothersome to a few who wandered outside without the right clothes. Indeed, this day was going turn into a colder night, as forecast this very morning by the weather channel.

With the day coming to an end, the city was slowly beginning its transition from daytime to nighttime. Those who attended the nearby scholarly institutions, such as Karakura High School and the nearby university, were steadily beginning to leave with the exception of those who still hadn't finished the tasks assigned to them within their various clubs. Workers who attended the office during the day were progressively preparing to return home, and those who instead worked during the night were slowly starting to prepare to leave. The people, of course, were not the only ones who were affected by this transition, for the city was also affected as well. The various street lights were slowly starting to power on, illuminating the streets with their artificial glow, and the sidewalks - previously left mostly emptied during the day - were now filling up. The many businesses which were typically only really active during the evening were also beginning to become a bit louder, in part due to the amount of people that they were welcoming inside. One of these businesses was a restaurant, a certain shop going by the name of "Il Fiore".

Il Fiore was a very particular shop within Karakura Town. Unlike the many culinary parlors located across the city, it was a restaurant which prided itself on its deliverance of high Italian cuisine. From pizza cooked to perfection within the greatest of wooden stoves to plates of most refined pasta that tastes like the heavens themselves, its meals were so tasty that they steadily caused the restaurant to become more and more popular over the course of its history, much to the delight of its esteemed founder, self-declared five-star Michelin cook Masahiro Miho. The man was known to be a little bit too proud of his work, too extravagant, and even a little bit arrogant, but his food was so tasty that most of its customers never bothered to criticize his behavior. In fact, the people even tolerated the ludicrous prices of the meals too! Truly, it was the kind of establishment that could only work well thanks to the utmost quality of its products and service.

Case in point, tonight's attendance. Today was another business day for Il Fiore. More specifically, it was Friday, one of its busiest days. From its very beginning to its very end, the restaurant was - in every sense of the word - packed. Every table was completely filled with at least four or five people at once, and every one of those people were awaiting their meals with great excitement. They wanted to taste the foods of Masahiro Miho, and they wanted to taste it now! And so, with their impatience noted, those who were meant to serve them were working at the double to bring them what Karakura Town was now beginning to declare as "The best Italy has to offer outside of Italy". The people in the kitchen were working both as hard and fast as they possibly could. They cut all sorts of vegetables, prepared the cheese, and cooked the meat and dough required to create their meals, all the while the prestigious Masahiro watched over them all. He was, needless to say, in high spirits... even though he wasn't really cooking anything.

"Let's-a-go, let's-a-go! The food won't become benissimo on its own!" The man would call as he moved his rotund body from station to station. His voice was annoying to listen to, stained by what could only be the worst fake Italian accent anyone has ever invented to date, and he looked just about as ridiculous as how one would expect a very cliche Italian cook to look like, chef hat and all. If anything, in comparison to the other chefs who were cooking the food that would given to the customers at the tables, he appeared more so as a mascot than as a proper worker here. Quite unfortunately, however, this mascot was not as friendly as the kind you would see on TV, as depicted once he noticed that one of his cooks had suddenly stopped for a moment. "Ah, ah, ah! Guillermo, my boy, this is not the time to stop! You must work faster, else the dough will be fried! Would-a you eat a burnt pizza, my boy?! NO, YOU WOULD NOT!"

 

"I-I'm trying my best, Masahiro-san! Just... Just please give me a minute!" The cook would try to respond to the head chef in spite of his exhaustion, appearing stressed and slightly intimidated by his boss. "A-Also, Masahiro-san, my name is not Guillermo, it's Gentarou-"

"I CAN CALL YOU HOWEVER I WANT! And don't call me san! For as long as you are here, you will call me Masahiro-heika! THE SAME GOES TO ALL OF YOU!" The cook would suddenly shout back to both the younger man and the rest of the cooks in the kitchen before he then pointed at both the aforementioned man and the dough that was set onto his station. "You know very well how much people like my food here, and you know very well what is going to happen if we don't keep this up! So, I will only tell you this once! Keep working on this dough, make it benissimo, or I WILL MAKE SURE YOU NEVER ENTER ANOTHER KITCHEN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! Got it?!"   

With a weak and frail "Yes, Masahiro-heika..." , the cook would take a breath before returning to his work, defeated. The other cooks would give him a look of pity from the other stations, but ultimately, they would return to their work quickly enough once the head chef's outburst would come to an end. Satisfied by the lack of protest, the cook found himself smiling with glee. He would bark his last few orders to the kitchen, making sure to tell everyone at their stations to double - no, triple! - their workload, then eventually head right off towards the door in the back of the kitchens with a pack of cigarettes clearly in hand. There, he would find one of the exit doors, pass right through its frame, and finally, he would be outside in a small alley behind the restaurant. Usually, going to smoke so early in the day during business hours was against protocol. However, Masahiro was exempt from these rules. He had made it so a long time ago, of course.

Outside, the man would find himself sighing before smirking and shaking his head. "Idiots," he said as he picked a cigarette from his pack and a lighter from his pockets, and then pressed his finger on the ignition of the latter. A few clicks later, his cigarette was lit and resting between his teeth. He allowed the stick to rest there for a moment, allowing its tip to burn in the evening air. Eventually, however, he would grow tired of the smoke in his eyes, and so he pressed his lips on the stick and pulled. The tip would burn just a little bit more as the man's throat and lungs were filled with the same smoke that bothered his eyes for a time, all until the man would pick the cigarette again and allow the smoke to exit his mouth. "Bunch of stupid idiots," he reaffirmed almost jovially at this point, then looked towards the sky with a big grin. He was getting close to heaven, slowly rising to the top, and there was no one out there who could stop him! Not Guillermo, not his other employees, or even the other restaurants in the area!

Letting out a laugh as his thoughts were concluded, he shook his head again and focused onto the sky again, if not at this point to contemplate it for just a moment. However, as he would do so, he notice that something was rather strange with it. For some reason, there appeared to be some sort of distorted dot in the sky. "Ah? What's that, over there?" He asked himself as he tried to understand what the dot was supposed to be. Was it one of the other clouds in the sky? Was it one of those weird drones those kids have been flying around for a while now? Well, whatever it was, it was becoming bigger and bigger still, causing the rotund man's curiosity to grow further and further. "Huh... Ugh... It really must be one of those stupid kids. I thought I told them to stop! Stupid brats. We'll see who's laughing once I call the co-"

---

A loud crash was heard across the area as the back of the Il Fiore restaurant suddenly burst open. It was as though, all of a sudden, a truck had rammed straight into the establishment, blasting through both parts of the storage area and the kitchens. Fortunately, a truck was not the one responsible for crash; after all, there was simply not enough space in the back alley behind the restaurant to really allow for such a thing to happen. Unfortunately, the culprit was instead something that those of the Living World would be unable to comprehend or even witness with their very own eyes. At a glance, it appeared to be a large creature possessing snowy fur and a great white mask. It was bulky, muscular, and about as big as a van with hands and feet the size of hogs. If it was not for what was covering its face, one would have easily been able to mistake it for some sort of Yeti.

The Hollow - for that was what it truly was - had been wounded. Its chest sported multiple cuts. They were all rather small, barely enough to even reach the bone, but there were so many of them that it left the creature to appear as a rather bloody mess. Naturally, the bleeding was both exhausting and rather painful, as proven by the creature's clear suffering as it attempted to stand back up from the kitchen floor. "Argh... Unh..." A coarse voice came from it as it pushed itself off the ground on all four, panting. Shivering, it held its left hand near its chest, covering it as though it was attempting to shield its wounds. By the time it was fully up, it quickly looked around the area. It appeared as though most of the Humans in the restaurant had quickly escaped from the restaurant in a panic, partly because of the destruction left in the Hollow's wake and a fire that was slowly starting to spread throughout the kitchen from what appeared to be a station designed for cooking dough. Yet, somehow, the creature could swear that something around it smelled undoubtedly Human.

Before it could find the source of the smell, however, he would quickly realize that someone was standing in front of the hole left by its wake. She was a woman, a Shinigami with two Zanpakuto resting at her hips. More importantly, she wore the haori of the Captains of the Gotei 13, more specifically a variant of the robe that appeared to be sleeveless. Standing still as she remained there, she watched over the Hollow with scarlet eyes that appeared somewhat bored, joyless. She was disappointed. Afraid, the Hollow stopped and said nothing, merely staring back at the Captain with the eyes of its mask almost appearing to widen. Eventually, it would begin to visibly breathe quicker, mostly in fright. "O... Okay, look, I'm s-sorry, Miss Kimiko! I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to do what I did!" It cried out as it tried to defend itself, raising its big hands in front of its face as it did so. "I won't eat you! I won't eat anyone! I'm just... I'm just going to go back to Hueco Mundo! I understand now! My place is over there!"

The Captain remained quiet, not bothering to respond to the creature in the moment. None of the words that came from creature appeared to affect her. Not a single one. She looked vastly unimpressed. Noticing this, the beast would remain silent, awaiting some kind of answer from her as though it hoped it would not actually be executed by the Shinigami. For a moment, it even attempted to find another excuse to use in the moment. With that said, before he could do so properly, he eventually heard the woman sigh heavily. "Do you know why I came here?" She would ask the creature, all the while sporting a bothered look in her eyes. "I came here because my men told me there was someone who would be worth my time. Do you know what that something was supposed to be?"  

"U-Uh... Was it m-?"

"Yes. Yes, it was you." Her voice sharply interrupted the Hollow before it even had the time to finish its sentence. "I came all the way here - right before I could give time to my students, mind you - all so that I could test myself against you... and this is what I get. An Adjuchas who doesn't even have the guts to face someone who's on his level. Worthless." The disappointment in her eyes, at this point, was downright scathing. She didn't even seem to be angry, just utterly, amazingly annoyed. "I'm gonna give you a choice. Either you show me something that could catch my interest, or you surrender."

The Yeti-like being would stop for a moment as it fully understood the gravity of Kimiko's choice. It was quite clear that what she had told to it was a full-blown threat, and that the words were quite terrifying to him. As much as it wanted to show something worthwhile to this Captain, it had absolutely nothing to give her. All it had for it was its ultimate strength, and he was never able to put it to good use against her, mainly because he simply never was able to actually touch her. There was nothing he could do to her. Not a single thing. Almost whimpering, the beast's breath would quicken once more as he realized the gravity of the situation, and quickly, its eyes turned towards the fire that was spreading further and further in the kitchen. Eventually, it would finally make its choice... by turning an exceptionally-bloodied back to the Captain and heading straight through the walls of the kitchens opposite to the ones it had destroyed. It had decided to run away.

In a panic, the beast ran as fast as it could through the wall so as to end up in the restaurant's main floor. Thankfully, the lobby itself had been completely emptied of all customers following the monster's crashing into the kitchens. Unfortunately, it did not take long for much of it to be destroyed as the creature attempted to run straight towards the doors. Tables and chairs were flown across the area, sending food onto the walls and even parts of the ceiling in the process, and the windows were swiftly destroyed thanks to one of said tables being thrown right through them. Considering the sheer size of the creature, it was admittedly impressive that it was able to achieve all of this so quickly and without being interrupted by the sheer amounts of objects in its near vicinity. Perhaps regrettably, however, it would be unable to actually reach the entrance safe and sound, for a loud metallic noise would resonate throughout the restaurant just as it was about to crash through the main door.

It all happened quite swiftly. In a flash, its head was cut off and its body lost all motor functions, causing it to lose all hardness and collide limply against the door. Due to its weight, the door was blown from its hinges to land on top of the sidewalk just outside. However, the rest of the entrance remained. The body, now headless, would lay onto the ground, its neck bleeding profusely onto the floor beneath it until it would begin to disperse into reishi. Eventually, it completely vanished, leaving behind only but the creature's head. The Captain, who was by then standing in the middle of the destroyed restaurant, would remain quiet as she stared at where the body disappeared. Then, she would turn her head towards the decapitated head of the Hollow, which somehow remained. Silently, she stared at the head, allowing the creature to remember her uninterested scarlet gaze before, suddenly, another metallic noise resonated throughout the area. The head, in that moment, then found itself splitting in two before it vanished.

Following the creature's death, Kimiko would stand in the middle of the restaurant for a moment in silence. She gazed quietly at the destruction that she and the Hollow had caused, blinking. Eventually, though, she would let out a long, loooong sigh, one of comical disappointment and frustration. "It wasn't enough for you to be a coward, you also had to destroy a restaurant too. Amazing. Thanks, Sidewinder," she huffed in frustration, shaking her head as she looked at the damages. "And this place looked so nice too. What a waste..."

[Lucien Dantes]

"I see. So it was you that I sensed." A calm, melancholy voice stated from the door of the restaurant, followed by a series of coughs. A tall, pale skinned man stood in the entrance lobby of the restaurant, surveying the scene. He was clothed in a black dress jacket overtop of a white, collared dress shirt, complete with a black tie. Suit pants and dress shoes completed the attire. Dressed to impress as they might say, but the most striking thing about the man was not his attire, nor even the short-cut silver hair. It was his eyes. Piercing and golden, they glimmered, reflecting the flames in which Kimiko stood. His eyes were fixed on Kimiko herself. There was no doubt. This man could see her in her natural Shinigami body. And his own reiatsu cascaded off of him like a crashing waterfall. Continuous and powerful.

Lucien began to walk towards Kimiko....

---

Approximately five minutes ago.....

Another Hollow. This was the fourth one today. Lucien had thought he'd dealt with the most notable creatures in the area, given his tangle with the Adjuchas earlier that day. The creature had been more powerful than his expectations, but only until Lucien had realized what the pitiable animal had sacrificed in exchange for its potent spiritual power. And even with its sacrifices, its might had paled compared to his. A pure and total demonstration of the Emperor's gifts, that even a fraction of His power could take a poor, wretched creature like Lucien and push him so far beyond a creature that had given everything for its strength.

But it seemed that was the case. He sensed the presence of another Adjuchas-class Hollow. And just as he'd finished helping with the cleanup from the last one. Mmm... But he needed a better angle for his shot. Lucien sprang into the air, finding the nearest building he could to try to get an angle to snipe the Hollow from, but.... Unfortunate. The creature was in a tangle of buildings and alleyways. For both pragmatic and humanitarian purposes, Lucien could not fire carelessly. The sound of his arrows crashing through buildings might alert the creature to the fact it was under attack. It might even dilute the force of his arrows such that the Hollow might withstand them. He needed to get closer.

But as Lucien advanced, he sensed a new power. A new reiatsu. A Shinigami. And this reiatsu... it's potent. Such power even surpassed that of Izo Genzoku, a Captain of the Gotei 13. Though to be certain, that man had been a... unique Captain. Nonetheless, the presence of a Captain-level entity required an answer in kind. The Hollow wouldn't be long for this world, with the Captain so close. This would be a unique opportunity to see what he could learn about the Captain now.

----

....And in the present moment, Lucien moved to within about five feet of Kimiko. A mere step outside the reach of her blade. "It must have been a ferociously powerful Hollow, for this much collateral damage." Lucien stated. "I'm certain if it had been weaker you would have dispatched it in a single strike, correct? It's my first time seeing the work of a Captain of the Gotei 13." That was a lie. "I'm sure you destroyed it as cleanly as you could."

Lucien looked about the burning restaurant with a sad look in his eyes. "A shame indeed. I'm sure many people would have been quite happy to dine here. To say nothing of the staff who will probably be without work for awhile. I am led to understand that many restaurant staff do not make an appreciable wage. I expect it will be very difficult for them to make ends meet for some time." He noted, still looking at the steadily growing flames, his pale features drawn and exacerbated in the warm orange glow.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

With Sidewinder eliminated, there wasn't much else that appeared to be left for Kimiko to do, or at least nothing that she could describe as being apparent. She had taken care of the threat to the best of her ability, and now she simply needed to leave the rest to the ones who would restore the area to an acceptable condition. Of course, she wouldn't mind that in the slightest: she and Sidewinder had broken a few buildings during their fight, and although she at least believed herself to be a noteworthy fighter in battle, she did not think that she really had any skills related to reparations. In fact, she didn't even have one of those fancy devices or spells on her person whose function is to wipe the memories of those who may have witnessed things they shouldn't have, which was a bit of an issue given that this was Karakura Town, one of the only places in the Living World which possessed a greater number of those capable of seeing ghosts. Therefore, she mentally began to prepare herself to leave.

However, before she could raise one of her blades and perform the ritual that would allow her to return to the Senkaimon, she would find herself remaining still for a brief moment as she stared at the entrance of the restaurant. There was something about this that she couldn't help but wonder about. That Hollow, Sidewinder... She could not quite explain why that was, but she had a feeling that it wasn't actually the creature her soldiers had informed her about prior to her coming. What they had described to her was a being which possessed both a great amount of spiritual energy and ultimate strength, the kind that she could have described as being similar to Camila. Yet Sidewinder truly hadn't been that at all. It had just been yet another unremarkable Adjuchas to add to the list of foes that she had beaten, the kind that she has long overgrown and now ultimately could not hope to match her in combat with sheer power alone.

So then... what was this about? Had her men made a mistake? In the moment, the Captain would continue to analyze the situation, trying to get a good grasp on it so as to make a decision to the best of her ability. Her men had made mistakes before, but none of those mistakes had been as flagrant, as her targets had remained powerful in their own right regardless. There was no way they had deliberately sent her to slay a weak Hollow they themselves could have taken care of on their own now, right? Truthfully, the possibility of that happening was there; after all, there are times in which her officers simply decide to grow a bit lazier, either due to the mismanaging of their schedule or plain lack of motivation. However, even if a majority of them were sometimes... simple, to say the least, she believed her officers to be smarter than that, mainly because doing so would cause her to be very angry at them. But then, if this wasn't the case, why would she be led to Sidewinder?

The answer to this question was that she wasn't led to Sidewinder. Not really. Instead, the one who did possess a great amount of spiritual energy was now standing not far from her. Raising a brow, Kimiko directed her scarlet gaze straight towards the source of the energy after it - or rather, he - spoke. It did not take long for them to widen in slight confusion. The energy came from what appeared to be a Human in a suit. If she solely referred herself to his appearance, there was nothing in particular that seemed to be very striking about him... and yet his spiritual energy was off the charts. She herself was never really as good as some of her officers when it came to detecting energy, and yet even she could sense the sheer amount of reiatsu that was flowing from the man. This amount of energy, this power, reminded her of Camila. It far eclipsed the amount that Sidewinder had showcased to her before its ultimate demise.

It was clear the man was staring at her. His golden eyes were fixated onto her general direction, and he appeared to be generally aware of her existence, unlike the Humans that she has passed by during her battle with the Yeti-like Hollow. Moreover, he had also spoken to her, revealing to her that he could sense her. The Captain was hardly surprised that he could do that. Her own spiritual energy - endless waves of red that followed behind her wake like a wild storm - was often very easy to detect, and if the energy coming from him was anything to go by, he most likely could do that without even trying. But now that he had spoken, she couldn't help but eventually reply to him. "And you're the one my soldiers sensed..." she admitted to him, noting the capabilities of her officers aloud without really worrying about whether or not the man knew about the Shinigami and the Gotei 13. Something told her that his willingness to even communicate with her so calmly was a sign that he knew of the celestial plane's existence. Turns out, she would be right about that, as revealed later during the beginnings of this conversation.

Kimiko did nothing to stop the man's approach. Much like how she had allowed Ailene to approach her without a care a long time ago, she would let him do the same seemingly without a care. Like Ailene when she was an Arrancar and not a Human, he gave an impression of peace to Kimiko, of a willingness to converse with words rather than blades, and so she did not show any form of aggression to him for the time being. At least, as long as he remained conscious of the distance between them. Not that he even seemed to possess a blade on his person, anyway. By the time the man finished approaching her, he spoke of Sidewinder, its power, and the collateral damage that it and Kimiko caused in their wake. To that, the Captain simply huffed. "Powerful was one way to describe him. He was just sturdy," she scoffed in a disappointed tone as she spoke of the creature. "All he did was run away from me and harden his body to protect himself... He was a waste of my time."

This was a half-truth. The creature did have a hardening ability that made it sturdier in comparison to other Hollows, but it had a glaring weak point around its neck. It was what allowed her to eventually decapitate it only a few minutes ago, and thus cleanse its soul so that it could be sent to the Soul Society. However, she was able to figure out the existence of this weak point in the very first few seconds of their battle, and thus had mainly been testing the Hollow's ability to test her own skills since then. In other words, she didn't really care about the collateral damage their duel had caused, much like how she hadn't cared about the collateral damage she, Camila, and even Teresa had caused in their own battles. But something told her that this man wouldn't appreciate her saying that. As such, she made sure to conceal that information from him. Besides... he didn't seem to be entirely honest with her either. She highly doubted that someone carrying that ridiculous amount of spiritual energy hadn't seen a Captain of the Gotei 13 before.

The man's attention eventually turned towards the restaurant, or rather, the fire that had started in the kitchen. It did not take very long for it to become greater in size. Although the flames were evidently caused by the burning of dough, it most likely spread towards the rest of the cooking apparatus in the kitchen, which most likely caused it to become bigger. Kimiko herself wasn't particularly knowledgeable when it came to kitchen-related fires, but given the smell, she could only guess that it was caused by oil in one way or another. "Yeah. I don't go to the Living World often, but I heard this place was nice too. Well, the boss around here was apparently a bit of an asshole, last I heard, but... yeah," the Captain would say as she eventually also turned her gaze towards the fire. The reflection of the flames would linger on in her scarlet eyes, causing them to appear as though they were shining. "We have people who can repair stuff. I'll see if I can convince them to restore this place to an extent before they make their rounds around here. Usually, they listen to me whenever I request them to."

She would continue to stare at the flames for a moment, remaining by the strange man's side as she did so, before she eventually found herself staring at him again. Of course, at this point, she couldn't help but wonder who this person was even supposed to be. The chance that this was just a random Human who simply knew of the Gotei 13 and seemingly of Hollows, all the while exhuming an exuberant amount of spiritual energy was rather low. Maybe he was a Fullbringer, perhaps even a member of the yakuza clan who she's had to deal with a few times before. However, he didn't really seem to fit that part. Most of those yakuza she had seen tended to look classy, but also intimidating, the kind that held a commending presence rather than a subdued one. After a time, she wouldn't be able to hold in her curiosity anymore. "You look like you know a lot about things, so I might as well introduce myself..." She stretched herself as she spoke before turning towards the man. "I'm Nakajima Kimiko, Captain of the Eleventh Division and owner of Nijūkan. Nice to meet you."

From the way she ended her introduction and the passive flow of spiritual energy that then came from her, it would be clear to the man that she was awaiting an answer from him. Whoever this man was, she would at least appreciate getting a name before this conversation would go further. She doubted that this was going to end up in a full-blown fight... but there are some beings out there who enjoy using kindness and peace as weapons of subterfuge. It would be shameful of her to be taken down by someone like that, and so she wanted to make it clear to the man that this was not going to happen, should he actually have that idea in mind.

[Lucien Dantes]

The one her soldiers sensed? "Am I?" Lucien inquired. "Curious. I have not been in the city quite so long." But then, he supposed he had battled that other Hollow today. He supposed it wasn't unreasonable that Soul Society might have noticed fluctuations in the spiritual energy of the area. I should not be surprised then, I suppose. He ultimately considered, before addressing the matter at hand.

She described the Hollow as sturdy, and Lucien briefly considered how he might have dealt with the creature better than Kimiko had. Without knowing her exact powers that wouldn't be an easy assessment but presuming his overwhelming power did not suffice for the job, he supposed his own best option would have been to lure the Hollow into a false sense of security. To cause the beast to think it had gained an advantage and draw it into fighting on Lucien's own terms. The Shinigami had instead, pursued it, wearing down its defenses with repeated attacks, from the sound of things. So that was how this particular Shinigami chose to do things. Hounding and pursuing their target to death. Her comment about the rest of Seireitei coming in to fix up the damages did surprise Lucien to a small extent. On the one hand, he supposed it was good that Soul Society cleaned up after themselves. On the other, he wondered if that maybe was the cause for this Captain's seeming lack of care for collateral damage.

In any case, introductions were in order first. "A pleasure I'm sure." Lucien answered, with a short, formal bow. "Lucien Dantes." He replied. "As I understand, the Eleventh is Soul Society's combat division is it not? You must be quite powerful even among Captains to claim such a lauded position." He commented. His attention was momentarily drawn to the flames. "If you say others will come to clean this up, perhaps we should get out of their way?" He suggested, turning on his heel to walk back towards the door. It was a fine line to walk, but Lucien hoped his actions suggested confidence rather than arrogance-- to turn his back on this Shinigami Captain so easily, and at such a close range. In this though, Lucien hoped to also present himself as not a threat to Kimiko. Not tonight at any rate.

Lucien stepped out the door, and coughed twice as he exited, turning back to look at Kimiko. "I suppose I must apologize to you then. You came looking for me tonight, and instead you had to expend your efforts on that Hollow. Nonetheless, I suppose I must thank you for that. Hollows are ever a blight on this world. Pitiable things. I find it unfortunate, but it's hard for people to be at peace when such monsters roam about, isn't it?" He inquired of Kimiko. He expected a stock answer from her regarding Hollows, though in truth, Lucien did not entirely disagree with Soul Society's stance on Hollows-- and not just because Quincy tended to have adverse reactions to them.

"Still, I am curious. If you came here to find me, what do you plan on doing now that you have found me?"

[Nakajima Kimiko]

It appeared as though the other man was slightly confused once he heard that his spiritual energy had been detected. That wouldn't have been too surprising for Kimiko if he had left his observation at that; after all, the soldiers she assigns on patrols typically are those who happen to possess great sensory abilities, and so they are capable of detecting high-level threats rather quickly, especially if these threats are using their own abilities onto their surroundings. In this one's case, the reason why he was detected was probably because he was using whatever powers he had at his disposal to clear out nearby Hollows, much like how Fullbringers would most likely do the same. If it would have been Humans, there would have most likely being a number of Humans panicking about somewhere, whether it be in one of the nearby apartment complexes, houses, or even the streets. Camila's rampage was a rather good example of what could happen in those instances.

However, what caught Kimiko's attention was what the man then went on to add shortly after. Apparently, he had not been in the city for very long, which was enough to cause her to briefly raise a brow. What exactly did he mean by describing his stay as being "not quite so long"? If her soldiers' reports were correct, the massive spike in spiritual energy in the area has been detected not that long ago, perhaps thirty minutes or so. In fact, it was the reason why she came here so quickly, and why she was so disappointed in Sidewinder's abilities. Hm... Maybe he had just arrived to Karakura Town by car? Even so, she couldn't help but have some sort of comment to add to the matter. "Hm... Heh. You must have been driving pretty damn quickly, then," she would thus remark with a bit of a smile, implying that she wasn't really being serious here. She highly doubted that that answer was correct, and she also didn't think that the man was going to bring about any form of clarification. Even so, more information about this man wouldn't hurt.

Shortly after she made her comment, they discussed the matter of Sidewinder, and then moved towards introducing themselves to one another. Kimiko presented herself to the man like she presented herself to anybody, with her name, her position in the Soul Society, and her status in the field of martial arts. Rather disappointingly, she would not really get something quite as detailed from the man, but she at least got the bare minimum. Lucien Dantes... The Captain had understood that the man was not Japanese already, so she was not surprised to hear an European name coming from him. Regardless, this definitely solidified the idea in Kimiko's head that presented the man not as a Japanese civilian, but rather as someone from elsewhere altogether who came to battle Hollows in Karakura Town. For now, she believed him to be a Fullbringer, but something told her that he might be something else entirely. Perhaps their conversation will shed a brighter light on the matter over the course of time.

But for a Fullbringer... he sure seemed to know a fair bit about the Soul Society. Maybe his knowledge wasn't particularly extensive, but not only was he able to identify her as a Captain, but he was also able to correctly identify the Eleventh Division as a side of the Gotei 13 which revolved itself around combat. "You could say that. Though, describing my division as a combat division is not really accurate. We kinda have a bunch of those. My division is the Attack Squad," she would go on to slightly confirm the man's assumptions, all the while not giving him too much information to work with and not taking his compliment into account. There was a possibility that the man was not being entirely honest with her and that he was attempting to use the limited information he had at his disposal alongside general politeness in order to learn more about the Soul Society and its workings. In all honesty, he was somewhat shady enough to Kimiko for the time being to be potentially capable of doing such a thing.

As she thought about this, the creaking of the flames that were spreading not too far away from their position would eventually cause her to turn her attention towards them. It appeared as though the fire which had started in the kitchens was growing at a surprisingly-exponential rate. Not that it bothered Kimiko very much. She had seen her fair share of fires before during her career, and she has long grown fast enough to dodge flames conjured through natural means. These were no different. However, the man was right. Assuming those of the Sixth Division were going to come here later, it would probably be better for them to move. Besides, the firemen of Karakura Town were also going to most likely be present at any time soon. Thus, the Captain believed Lucien's request to be a reasonable one, and so she began to move, unbothered by the fact that he showed her back to her. Even if this was a fit of arrogance from his part, something which she did not really sense from him, she was not going to attack him in the back, especially not now. 

The two would go on to move onto the sidewalk outside, distancing themselves from the fire as they did so. Lucien used the remains of the front door to reach the outsides while Kimiko, instead, simply decided to walk through one of the windows Sidewinder had broken during his attempt to run away from her. The difference between the evening breeze found outside and the smoky air that was starting to accumulate within the burning establishment was drastic. Coughing a little as well, the Captain would take a quiet breath before exhaling, allowing her lungs to be progressively purged of the fumes before she looked on towards the sky. It had not been long since she arrived here, and yet it appeared as though the clouds were starting to become a little bit bigger, covering the sunny azure above with a greater veil of white and gray. It appeared as though it was going to rain soon, or at least eventually lead into rainfall. No matter. She had endured worse.

Not long after their exit from Il Fiore, the man with the golden eyes would apologize to Kimiko for not making his presence clearer to her. The apology was slightly surprising to the swordswoman, but much like before when he spoke of his short stay in Karakura, it was what he added thereafter that caught her attention the most. The way he spoke about Hollows, of how they were, in his words, "a blight on this world" and "monsters"... In spite of the man's pity for Hollows, there was a certain hatred in there that the Captain couldn't help but notice. A few Shinigami officers spoke of Hollowkind in a similar fashion, thinking of them as nothing more than things they need to slay as part of their job. However, she personally thought of them somewhat differently, in part due to creatures like Ailene and Kishi, and in another part... well, perhaps because of what she truly was beneath the surface. "I can't really disagree with you. Hollows are dangerous by nature before they're cleansed of their corruption. As far as I'm aware, it's pretty much always been like that," she first replied with a more understanding tone before said tone then grew slightly more serious, "but I've seen and heard about things that are more dangerous than them. I'm guessing you already know what I'm talking about."

Her gaze would find itself locking onto Lucien's shortly after she spoke her words, wanting to hear what his reply would be on that matter. Frankly, she was expecting him to say something along the lines of "Hellions" or "Humans", as the former was generally always dangerous and a number of the latter have been more active lately when it came to shady spiritual activities. However, she also wanted to test him, to know just a little bit more about him in her own way. It would be interesting to hear about what a Human such as he - one that could very clearly knew about the spiritual world - would think is the most dangerous spiritual group for the time being, especially if said Human happens to be part of a particular group who was is particularly hateful against Hollows. And if he doesn't want to answer her subtle inquiry? Then that alone will be another hint for her to use in this conversation to understand what he is supposed to be.

Regardless of his answer, the woman would then look towards the road. As expected, she was hearing sirens coming from afar, the sound of firemen coming in to put an end to the fire of the restaurant. Since she was a Shinigami, Kimiko would not have usually minded this, given the firemen would have been unable to see her. With that said, she wasn't sure if she could say the same for the man who was standing before her. Therefore, she would tell the man this before looking onward towards the a set of nearby commercial buildings on the other side of the street: "Let's discuss that away from here. Not gonna lie, I don't want people to think you've set this place on fire just because you're standing near it." After she finished speaking, she then suddenly disappeared before reappearing onto one of the buildings she was looking at earlier, then waiting for the man to follow her. Her execution of the Shunpo technique was, at a glance, perfect, achieved at a speed of 7000. Hopefully, that would make the man aware of how fast she was in comparison to him.

Once she appeared on the building, she then began to wait for the man to move near her position. She wasn't expecting him to move in a way that she could consider to be very special; really, Air Ground would be more than sufficient in her mind. Nevertheless, she wouldn't mind seeing him do something a little bit more drastic like she did. It would most certainly be an interesting thing to witness. Either way, if he reached her, Kimiko's eyes would drift back towards the burning restaurant for a moment. This moment would be silent for the most part, quiet, and would last for a time. Eventually, however, she would turn towards Lucien once again. "To be honest, when I first saw you, I thought that we were gonna fight. You have lots of reiatsu, and pretty much everything I've hunted in the Living World with that kind of power wants to kill stuff." Her declaration was clear, with just a little bit of excitement behind it mixed in with what appeared to be disappointment. "But now, I'm not feeling it. You don't look like the fighting type, and I don't like the idea of fighting people who don't wanna fight. It's just not worth it... So now, I don't know what to do." 

Well, not quite. Technically, she could just leave this man alone and return to the Soul Society with a lackluster report detailing a battle against a sub-standard Hollow not worth her time. However, she wanted to know more about this man. He was definitely not just a Human with spiritual abilities, and she wanted to make sure if this was something that she and the rest of the Soul Society needed to be aware of, or if it was something that could be safely ignored in favor of more important tasks to complete. But she could not outright say that to the man. That would appear selfish and quite impolite. As such, she left their conversation there, waiting to see what the man would say in response.

[Lucien Dantes]

Lucien smiled and chuckled in response to Kimiko's joke. Both of them knew it was a false comment, but he didn't argue the point. "You must be somewhat recent in the Gotei 13 to be familiar with vehicles. Many other Shinigami I have met have been confused by them." He responded with a polite smile to the woman. He suspected that she was probing him for information. Hmm. He doubted he could keep this masquerade up for very long. The Vandenreich did not deal in lies, or political scheming like that. And while Lucien was perhaps a touch unusual for a Vandenreich he was still deprived of the training he'd need to maintain a facade like this for long.

Lucien accompanied Kimiko outside, taking a view of the night sky. He listened to her phrasing about Hollows and looked at her in contemplation. "If you are referring to their evolved state, the Arrancar, I must respectfully disagree with you. The difference between Arrancar and the Hollow is choice. True, many arrancar are violent, cruel and vicious. They grind the weak underfoot and revel in the slaughter. But they have the choice to be that way, and I would hope that there are at least some that seek a better path than that." He raised a hand to his mouth as though anticipating a cough that never came.

"Hollows have little choice in the matter. While an arrancar's history may compel them to being a threat to others, a Hollow's nature is to be a threat to others, and I believe there is a distinction between the two. Perhaps there is a slim possibility that some arrancar could co-exist with others, or be otherwise convinced to turn to the light. But I believe no such things for Hollows." Lucien explained to Kimiko. Granted, such arrancar would still need to be converted, but it was a possibility at least. That there might be arrancar worthy of his Majesty's attention.

Kimiko gave her excuse to relocate and Lucien followed her shortly thereafter with Hirenkyaku. Now was the moment of curiosity. Would Kimiko recognize the technique? Or would she mistake it for another Human technique?

Ultimately it didn't matter. As Kimiko mentioned her belief they would come to blows, Lucien decided to be open and honest with the Shinigami. "I don't blame you for that belief. It has historically been the result of interactions between our respective orders." Lucien replied. "But you are correct in your assessment. I have no interest in fighting you tonight." He added. "But with that in mind, let me re-introduce myself. My name is Lucien Dantes, and I hold the rank of Captain-Supervisor within his Majesty The God Emperor's Holy Vandenreich."

Now was the test. Would the woman draw her steel on him, now that she knew who he was? Did this change her prior statement about not wanting to fight him tonight?

[Nakajima Kimiko]

As Kimiko expected, no, the man did not come to Karakura Town in a speeding car. Well, if his chuckling was anything to go by, at the very least. The Captain hadn't really been taking that remark of hers very seriously, partly because the timing of the detection of the man's spiritual energy was a bit too tight to really confirm he had come to the city in a vehicle, and partly because the idea of a spiritual being even using a vehicle was a bit ridiculous. She herself could barely even remember the last time she's actually used a vehicle, and now that she was practically a master of Hohō, she found almost no use for riding them anymore. This would be made obvious shortly after the man made his observations about her age. "Oh, yeah, technology is still pretty hard for a lot of people in the Soul Society to understand. A lot of people there still think that the people in the Living World are using horses and carriages," she made another remark with a bit of a smile. "Then again, I can't really blame them. Time flows so differently over there for some people."

From the way the man talked, it was rather difficult for Kimiko to tell whether he was young or old. Apparently, there are Humans out there who could live for hundreds and hundreds of years while still looking relatively young all thanks to their mastery of spiritual energy. Thus, for all she knew, it was possible that this man was much, much older than her. In that case, it would be easy to explain his mannerisms and dialect; after all, Humans back then were far more polite than they were today. Well, in most countries, that is. However, it was possible that that was not the case here, and that he was instead specifically raised to speak in such a way. He did speak somewhat similarly to some of the younger nobles the Captain has been seeing wandering around the streets of Seireitei every once in a while. Then again, that too probably did not mean anything. One of her strongest soldiers was the son of a noble man, and it was sometimes difficult to portray him as being anything but a pampered rascal.

The conversation would move on a little bit further as the two of them finished their introductions. By then, she and Lucien - the man in question - briefly spoke of threats that were of greater importance to the world than Hollows as a whole. Once more, Kimiko had been expecting a more global answer, especially given that there have been several figures in the spiritual world that have been incredibly dangerous lately. However, the answer she received was not really what she had been expecting. Instead of actually getting information on what the man personally believed to be more dangerous than Hollows, she received his opinion on the people of Las Noches, and quite the extensive one at that. "I wasn't really talking about the Arrancar," she precised after listening to his opinion as a whole, wanting to make herself clear. However, her tone wasn't critical. If anything, there would be some interest in her words, as proven thereafter. "I gotta say, though... our views on them are more similar than I thought they would be." 

Much like the man, Kimiko too believed that the Arrancar are not entirely evil by nature. She never really thought of them as being things that needed to be exterminated at all cost while she was a student of the Academy, and after her meeting with Ailene, that belief had only been solidified. In a way, it was just as Lucien explained. Unlike Hollows, the Arrancar have the right to choose between remaining as they are upon their evolution - meaning a being who is hellbent on consuming everything in their path - or become something that is more peaceful in aspect, studious, even reflective of their actions. Therefore, it was entirely possible for an Arrancar to actually become a "good" Hollow, so to speak, who wishes nothing more than to act as a benevolent figure for the rest of the world. Perhaps Kishi, the little Hollow knight, will one day be capable of achieving such a feat... assuming he doesn't lose his mind during his great journey as a Hollow.

Then came their relocation. With Kimiko having moved towards the building with the aid of Shunpo, there wouldn't be much more for her to do in the moment than observing how Lucien would come to her position. As it turns out, no, he did not use the Air Ground technique to reach her position. Perhaps that would have been too simple in the moment, or too wasteful. Instead, he used something else. Like Shunpo, the process was accomplished quickly, and so it was somewhat difficult for her to properly identify how this process had been completed. However, upon the end of the process, she was able to notice some kind of blue glow underneath the man's feet. It did not last for long, of course, given that Lucien's movement was finished, but it was enough for Kimiko's battle-hardened mind to be able to assume things that the man used spiritual energy beneath his feet to move.  Hm. I guess that's how he can contend with Shunpo. Cool,  her thoughts concluded then.

It was certainly an interesting technique. It hinted at the ability to constantly move so long as the energy underneath the feet was active, which theoretically could allow to become outright superior to Shunpo if used well-enough by an expert. It was also definitely not something she had seen before. Although she had fought with that Fullbringer back then and fought against others of his kind during certain events throughout the rest of her career, the only technique that she considered to be similar to Shunpo or even so much as a technique from the Hohō arts was that one strange maneuver that blue-haired man from before had used. However, that one had been completely different. It was a time ago, but she could still remember that it engulfed the man in light, and thus was practically a full-blown teleportation technique in aspect. She couldn't describe what Lucien had accomplished as being similar. Either way, it was a curious thing, and it only made her want to know more about him once again. It was a good thing, then, that Lucien would decide to be fully honest with her by that point.

After Kimiko properly admitted to him that she had no reason to fight him, the man with the golden eyes would go on to add reintroduce himself. This time, there would be a rank and even an allegiance alongside his name. A Captain-Supervisor... working for the Vandenreich. A Quincy. Unsurprisingly, shortly upon hearing the complete description of the man's position, the Captain would find herself frowning instantly. However, she would not actually do anything violent. Her spiritual energy, although it became slightly heavier to her nearest surroundings in the moment, did not appear to become particularly violent or convey extreme hatred for the man, and she did not prepare herself to unsheathe herself. Instead, she just seemed annoyed, maybe even downright frustrated. "So you're part of that doomsday cult. No wonder there's so much reiatsu coming out of you." A huff came from her then. It was swift, enough so that it easily showed what kind of opinion she held about the Vandenreich.  

Damn it all. This wasn't at all what she was expecting to get from this conversation in the slightest. It may come as a shock to some, but this very Captain had never once met a member of the Vandenreich before this moment. In fact, she had never actually met a Quincy at all! She had only heard of them in passing and read about them during her studies at the Academy. So to meet one in the flesh and bone - more specifically a member of what is supposed to be the Soul Society's truest mortal enemy amongst them all - be so reasonable and willing to talk to her without immediately wanting to kill her for the will of his ridiculous emperor was just... wrong. It terribly annoyed her, and if anything, it only made her want to fight the man even less, all because she knew fighting him would be terribly unpleasant for her. Not like it would have been pleasant in the first place, given the Quincy's weapon of choice, but at the very least, a violent member of the Vandenreich would have been fun to teach a lesson to!

As she thought about what to do now that she was aware of this information, the Shinigami remained quiet, simply staring at the man as she did so. It would be clear to Lucien that a part of her very clearly wanted to cut him down out of sheer principle, but her empathy and her unwillingness was preventing her from doing that. Eventually, she would find herself closing her eyes and letting out a heavy sigh. "Whatever. It doesn't change anything. I still don't wanna fight you," she reiterated as she allowed the frustration to progressively exit her body. In the back of her mind, where the dark was at its darkest, she could hear someone chuckle out of amusement and interest. However, she made sure to push the noise away, as listening to it would only make her angrier. Rather, she would look back towards the burning restaurant down below and ask with words told by a serious, inquisitive, and blunt tongue: "Why haven't you shot me yet? I thought killing Shinigami was your Emperor's fetish." 

Her statement was brash, maybe even impatient. Most importantly, however, it was incredibly disrespectful. This was unlike how Kimiko usually behaved, as she typically tended to respect those who conversed with her, even if she had earlier disagreements with them. With that said, the Vandenreich was different. She had no initial respect to give to people who are so incredibly against the existence of Hollows that they want to destroy the world all over it, and worship the equivalent of a cosmic murderer in the process seemingly without even really questioning his intentions. If Lucien wanted her respect, then he would now need to earn it, whether it be through words or action.

[Lucien Dantes]

Now that his identity as a Vandenreich was out in the open, the conversation, Lucien supposed, could truly begin. Though his brow furrowed at Kimiko's opening statement. "Come now. I think I've been respectful of your title and organization, is it too bold to ask the same courtesy of you?" He asked, visibly offended at Kimiko's passing off of the Vandenreich as a "Doomsday cult". Still, this admonishment was as far as Lucien would take the matter-- though Kimiko's response would certainly affect his tone going forward. He hadn't come for a fight, and he was certainly understanding that not everyone shared his faith, but neither was he going to accept such naked blasphemy against His Majesty and say nothing.

"I am nonetheless pleased that you still do not wish to fight me, for that feeling is mutual. At least tonight." Lucien replied. "I have not shot you, because I have not been ordered to. Murdering Shinigami is at times, a task we Vandenreich are assigned. Some of our Order are more zealous in this matter, just as many of Soul Society throw themselves at your enemies with more fervor than others." He stated. "Nonetheless, the deaths of anyone is regrettable. Even that Hollow you slew tonight. I was not chiding or making mere small talk when I told you that I hoped his end was swift. Pain and suffering are lamentable things, and that they are so widespread in this world is mere proof of the world's imperfections. Of the disease and rot that is consuming it. I assure you, Miss Nakajima, I kill only when I am ordered to do so, or when failing to do so would result in a greater loss of life. This night, I have neither been given that order, nor do I believe killing you will save lives. Though if you find you disagree, I will of course, defend myself." He commented.

Lucien paused in his dialogue to cough viciously, and this time Kimiko might have noticed flecks of blood on his gloved hand. Lucien procured a small kerchief from a pocket and wiped it up, before folding it and placing it away again. "We are both more than the stereotypes our Orders give us. Throughout the Vandenreich, the Seireitei's attempted genocide against the Quincy race is well known. "You cross paths with a Shinigami, they will slay you the moment they know you for a Quincy." You and I both know that to be a lie. Our conversation here is living validation of it." Lucien stated, with the intention of underlaying the idea that perhaps there was some falsehood to what Kimiko had been taught of the Vandenreich as well....

Lucien didn't know, of course, if Kimiko had faced the Vandenreich before. He was aware of her through his eyes and ears in Soul Society, but knowledge of her exploits were critically limited. Perhaps she would have her own wisdom to share on that matter. Still. At this moment, Lucien believed he had spoken enough and it was time to let Kimiko respond. Lucien could only hope that she would be more civil tongued, that he did not have to cut this conversation short.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Lucien had, so far, been very patient with Kimiko. Even though she had revealed to him her position with the Gotei 13 and her clear allegiance to the Soul Society, he indeed remained respectful and considerate, and there was nothing about his behavior that suggested that he hated the woman for the side she had taken in the conflict between those who reap and those of the cross. Despite this and the way he appeared to be legitimately upset by how the Captain treated the group he was part of, the swordswomen couldn't help but glare at him once he spoke his first question. It was like he had asked her something that was not only wholeheartedly impossible for her to do, but also deeply insulting to her belief. "Considering what you guys are all about? Yeah. It kind of is," she made sure to inform the man, solidifying her opinion of the Vandenreich even further with a burning tongue. A short and scathing response, to say the least, but perhaps the man needed to hear it then. It set the boundaries present in this conversation rather well.

The Shinigami did not add anything after this, instead using the moment to reflect on the fact that she was talking to a member of the Vandenreich. Fortunately, however, she still did not want to fight him and made that point clear. As much as she hated some of the prominent factions that are present in the spiritual world, having a person being part of those factions was not necessarily enough for her to hate them to a point that she wanted to kill them. Her hatred of others came not from their words nor their opinions, but rather their actions. It was why she hated the teacher that impatiently attempted to force the magical arts upon her back while she was still a student of Shin'ō Academy, all the while being very aware that she had no preference for them nor the skills to employ them as well as some of the other students at his disposal, and why she appreciated people like Ailene who, in spite of using magic, was patient enough to respect her and her time. The same could be said about Camila, really, even though she was just about as morally-depraved as plenty of beings who hated the Soul Society.

In so doing, she would do nothing to Lucien, or at least nothing physical. There was no point to it, and so, she decided to ask him why there apparently was no point to it from the man's perspective as well. The answer he gave to her was long and extensive, but the first sentence which composed was enough for Kimiko to get it. Basically, he didn't engage her in combat because he hadn't been told to do so by his superiors. That was it. That was the only thing that kept this entire area of Karakura Town from being turned into a battlefield. Needless to say, this was enough to make the Captain snort, amused. "You hate making things suffer, and yet you're telling me that all it would take for you to do just that is someone telling you to do it." The comment left her mouth by the time the man was done with the first batch of his complete answer. It was clear that her opinion of the man had lessened, and that she now had a hard time believing into what he had just told her. "How we-" 

Right before she could actually finish insulting the man's philosophy, she would stop once she heard coughing. Quickly, she turned her head away from the Il Fiore restaurant to see what was happening. The sight would make her eyes slightly widen in surprise. Lucien was the one coughing... and those were not small coughs either. If anything, in Kimiko's eyes, the man almost appeared to be coughing his entire lungs out. He had even coughed up blood. Taken aback, the Captain just stared in an uncomfortable fashion, with her previous aggressiveness seemingly snatched away from her in the moment to be replaced with what appeared to be a mixture of pity and disgust. Eventually, after the man was finished, she couldn't help but let out a somewhat concerned "Are you okay?" all the while she instinctively took one or two steps back away from the man, just to make sure that whatever was going on with the man wasn't somehow transmissible.

While she was just about as worried for the man's health as anybody else with a minimum of compassion would most likely be in the moment, the Captain couldn't help but be just a little bit baffled by the fact that this man actually decided to come even so much as near her in such a state. It was apparent that he wasn't feeling well before, as she did hear him cough a little bit back when they were down there near the restaurant, but she believed at the time that he was just affected by the smoke of the fire, not because something was happening to his body. Why would he risk his life coming near a Shinigami while being so sick? Was he insane? Whatever the answer was to those questions, Kimiko couldn't help but at least begin to admire the man's tenacity. It took guts to do what he was doing now, all the while being very aware that she decide to just attack him at any given moment due to his allegiance to the Vandenreich.

An awkward silence would come shortly after Lucien was done coughing. In this moment, Kimiko would say nothing. She would not attempt to finish her early insult, and instead would just continue to stare at the man, mainly to make sure his condition was not severe. This would allow the Quincy to develop his earlier answer a little bit further. He would speak of the attempted genocide of his people committed by the Shinigami, the prejudices which were born from this conflict, and how their present conversation proved that these same prejudices were not entirely true. In fact, he considered them lies. Upon hearing this, the swordswoman would stare at the man for a moment before she took on a calmer attitude in comparison to earlier. "I don't agree with what was done to the Quincy back then. If you ask me, it shouldn't have happened," she explained as her eyes analyzed the man a bit further, in an attempt to understand what was wrong with him in spite of her limited medical knowledge. "I'd even go as far as to say that those who made that decision were cowards."

She doubted that the man would appreciate how patient she suddenly was with him. If there was one thing she had realized upon visiting some of her wounded soldiers within the Fourth Division's facilities, it was that many of them didn't want to feel as though they were being pitied due to the presence of their wounds. Even so, she couldn't help it. Seeing sick people reminded her of the people she had seen at her father's hospital back when she was a child. All of them had been left bristle, frail, weak, she hated seeing them in such a way. Lucien's current state reminded me of them, and she hated that, in part because it was causing a sense of compassion to be stirred within the deepest and most forgotten parts of her soul. If he would've been a proper enemy, that compassion would not have been raised. Far from it. She would have instead berated his empire for allowing him to visit Karakura Town while he was quite obviously sick.

But her increased patience did not change her opinion of the Quincy or the Vandenreich. As compassionate as she annoyingly may be, she was not that easy to manipulate. Thus, shortly after she finished speaking the first part of her answer to Lucien's response, she would let out a short sigh. "To be honest, though, I understand where these cowards were coming from. It's never been about stereotypes. That's just something some of our soldiers who haven't studied enough at the Academy put into their heads," she admitted before she came to a pause. Then, she took on a more serious tone. "I called your Vandenreich a doomsday cult because I think that's what it is. It's a bunch of Quincies who kill Hollows without having any idea what that does to the world. I don't know what your Emperor wants, and frankly, I don't care about him. What I care about is the balance of the cycle of souls that you are messing up for your Emperor. You do understand what you're doing to it, right?" 

Once she was done, she would go on to cross her arms and stare at Lucien. This was a question that she had always wanted to ask to a Quincy who was part of this empire. She had no idea of what his response to this was going to be, but she hoped that it would at least be reasonable. Unfortunately, considering what the Vandenreich, she did not expect the answer to be reasonable. It would most likely just be a bunch of pseudo-religious hogwash about the oh-so-great Emperor, something which Kimiko simply could not care about. If she could barely find herself caring about the Soul King, of all people, then she was not going to start caring about some other apparent godly figure, especially one who was a Quincy in nature.

[Lucien Dantes]

”I fail to see how attempting to save a languishing world— as opposed to letting it continue to deteriorate, constitutes a Doomsday Cult.” Lucien snapped in response. When Kimiko pressed him further on how it would take so little to make him abandon his values, Lucien fixed his golden eyes upon her.

”Yes. I am a soldier. It is not my place to disregard the orders of a superior. Question them? Perhaps. Protest them? In rare circumstances. But it is not my place to disobey them. If your Central 46 assigned you a task which went against your values… Perhaps the mass slaughter of a group you consider to be innocents?” As Soul Society had done many times in the past, between the Quincy, the Bount, the Mod Souls— even occasional purges of certain areas of the Rukongai. ”—would you refuse to carry out that order?” Lucien allowed the question to hang in the air a moment. Presuming Kimiko confirmed that she would not follow such an order, he would continue. ”And if one of your subordinates refused to carry out your orders because their personal interests conflicted, you would simply accept their refusal to follow the commands of a superior officer? If that is so, then how can you trust your officers to carry out your commands when it is imperative they be carried out? How can your superiors trust you to do the same? I am a soldier, Kimiko Nakajima. I have no love of violence, but if His Majesty gives me an order, I will carry it out.” He answered. ”Just as in turn I expect my subordinates to carry out mine. If I order a subordinate to spare an enemy, for whatever purpose, I would not tolerate them citing their personal beliefs that enemies are to be destroyed, as a reason for their disregard for my command.”

Kimiko’s concern for Lucien’s coughing fit was touching however, though Lucien straightened himself out after a moment. ”I have been of fragile health since the day I was born. A chronic condition. By all accounts I should not have lived as long as I have.” He replied. ”It is something that has caused me no end of troubles. I am grateful to His Majesty for permitting me to serve despite this.” He stated to Kimiko. He paused and though his head was turned to Kimiko, it seemed he was not looking at her, but beyond her.

”For permitting my life to have the chance at some chance of meaning. It is something that few can claim.”

There was a lull it seemed, as the two contemplated the conversation before Kimiko answered Lucien’s comment about the Quincy genocide. Lucien had little to say on that account. It was not his purpose here to rake Kimiko over the coals of the Seireitei's past. The genocide of the Quincy people was a tragedy. One Lucien hoped to never see repeated. But Kimiko hadn't been one to swing her sword in that genocide. All it served was as a point that assumptions and stereotypes existed on both sides. A point that if the image of the Shinigami the Vandenreich cultivated was false, then perhaps so too was the image of the Vandenreich, cultivated by the Seireitei.

Kimiko brought on her comment about the balance of the cycle, and Lucien nodded. "And for possessing no other means to defend ourselves against Hollows, against arrancar, against the various creations that Soul Society made and lost control of, were we put to the blade. Thousands dead in the name of preserving millions, yes?" He inquired of Kimiko, the piercing orbs sweeping Kimiko's face for her response.

"The Soul Cycle is more resilient than you Shinigami give it credit for. How many Rukongai citizens were slaughtered so recently? Depleting the ranks of Soul Society, or dragged, screaming off into the bowels of Hell to be removed from that same precious cycle forever?" Lucien looked around the world around them. "And yet the cycle continues to circle on. And this presumes, of course, that the cycle acts as you claim it does. From whom did you gain your knowledge of the Soul Cycle, may I ask? No doubt you were taught it at the Shino, Academy, but who ultimately serves as the root of this?" Lucien pressed. "You may of course, correct me if I am mistaken, but I would wager quite heavily, that the root of your knowledge of the Soul Cycle comes from your Central 46. Am I correct?" And what ever would the Central 46 have to gain by perpetuating the current status quo?

Lucien allowed Kimiko to ponder the implications of that. "Perhaps you are a scholar of the Soul Cycle and will educate me on my mistake there though. However. Even if you were to do so, my path would not change. I will believe in the resiliency of your Soul Cycle." Now Lucien's gaze fell down towards the earth below the two of them. "Put simply, I have seen the state of the world under the stewardship of the Gotei 13, and its current state is nothing short of abhorrent." Lucien stated to Kimiko plainly. "I have seen your Rukongai as well. The Seireitei cannot even provide comfort, safety and security for its own citizens. All in the name of your precious Soul Cycle. Shepherding souls along without caring a whit for their well being-- unless, of course, they are useful to you or belong to one of your Noble Houses."

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko couldn't help but roll her eyes the moment she heard Lucien snap back at her for confirming how she viewed his group. Not one word that was told to her then made her diverge from her original opinion. Not a one. If anything, it only proved to her that the Vandenreich were even greater worshipers of death than she thought them to be prior to this conversation. If there was one thing many cults believed in during their shady and dangerous operations, it was that everything they accomplished was to achieve something greater. That was just common knowledge. Some believed that what they were doing would allow them to be chosen by beings much higher than them, and be rewarded with a place beyond the world they remained within. Others thought that they were simply delivering the will of some prophet or deity. Hell, there had been a cult like that in Japan too, if she remembered their leader's face correctly. As such, when the Quincy showed anger to her, the Shinigami huffed: "Thanks. You're literally proving my point."

She did not have much more time to add onto that subject, as not long after, she found herself baffled by the man's pseudo-pacifism. To her retort and her complete lack of belief in his philosophy, he responded with a defense. Frowning, she would listen to him, giving attention to his questions with a glare. "Of course I wouldn't," she answered the first question. Then, she would listen to the rest of his questions and spiel, giving Lucien plenty of time to fully develop his answer. The more he spoke, the more bothered she became until, eventually, her frown deepened. "I can trust them, because they can talk to me whenever I tell them to do something they hate, and the Gotei 13 can trust me because I do what is best for them. The same goes for all of us, because loyalty and honor is what fuels us today, not submission. If you ask me, that's not a soldier. That's a slave dressed as a soldier," she spat out with a low voice. The pressure behind the words were such that it caused the roof underneath her to slightly crack from the pressure. "What I'm trying to say is that your pacifism isn't worth shit. Don't tell me you hate violence when you're out there following orders like a mindless drone! That kind of talk makes me think you would want to shoot an arrow straight into a kid's skull if your Emperor asked you to do it!"  

Needless to say, she was absolutely insulted by Lucien's words, and she wanted to make sure he understood that wholeheartedly. She hated how he had attempted to twist the conversation towards how hierarchy worked in the Gotei 13, like she and her soldiers were so much worse than he and his brainwashed cultists could ever be, and she hated how he tried to hide his love for the Emperor behind a curtain of hatred for violence and war. If he hated the pain he caused so much, then why was he here? Why was he fighting for some being who most likely could not care less about him? To try to get everyone to fall in line with words? To try to make everyone see the "good" in his Emperor's genocidal plans, and thus make them all give up and follow him without hesitation? She took it back. Those were not the words of a slave. A slave, at the very least, has the ability to hate their master and the willingness to criticize their master's will in secret. Those were the words of a delusional priest, a charlatan who tried to make themselves appear like the servants of a benevolent entity without realizing the harm in what they were doing. It was filthy, revolting, disgusting.

If anything, the man's poor health only worsened the image Kimiko had been creating for Lucien in her head, as he then went on to practically explain to her that he had always been sick since he has come into this world. Apparently, his Emperor had allowed him to serve in spite of his condition, all so that he could, in the man's words, "have some chance of meaning." The only thing this communicated to Kimiko is that the cult of personality that was the Vandenreich was so manipulative that this man - who really should not be on any form of battlefield whatsoever, regardless of how powerful he may be with a bow or whatever ability he had at his disposal - had found himself believing that the Emperor truly believed in him and that, therefore, he should fight for him. For all that she knew about the Quincy and their organization, she truly believed that such thoughts were eventually going to lead Lucien to a pointless death his Emperor will not bother keeping track of.

For the sake of this conversation, the Quincy's illness had at least tempered the Shinigami's mood to an extent. His philosophy still frustrated her, but the pity was allowing her to calm down. The man - as willing as he may make himself appear to be - was in the wrong here, but the fact that he didn't seem to know that he was at the very least keeping Kimiko for becoming too angry at him. With that said, this did not prevent her from taking what he was telling her seriously, especially when it came to the attempted genocide of his people. "Didn't the Quincy refuse to cooperate with the Shinigami back then?" She would remind the man of the cross then, wanting to point out what she had read back then, when she was but a student of the Academy. "The Gotei tried to talk to them, and every time they did, your people told them that they didn't need their help. Everyone should have a right to defend themselves. I agree with that. But that must be achieved through the use of weapons that allow them to do that without dooming everyone around them. What do you think would happen, for example, if every Human were allowed to fight Hollows? Personally, I believe they'd start throwing nukes at them. What then? Should we just watch as Humans literally kill us all just to defend themselves?" 

Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration. She didn't really think that Humans were that foolish; after all, such great weapons of mass destruction haven't been used since the Second World War, which was quite some time ago. However, with all that she's seen lately in regards to the enslaving of Hollows and... whatever Rider was supposed to be, it was clear that Humans could become very dangerous once they learned about the existence of spiritual beings around them. They will create all kinds of weapons and technology solely to kill Hollows, to defend themselves just like the Quincies have tried to do for thousands of years, and just like the Quincy, there is a chance that they will one day become so powerful that the balance of the cycle of souls will be put at risk once again. Kimiko wasn't sure of what was going to happen then, but the Gotei most likely did, and she was not anticipating the day she would witness the fruit of their particular labors.

Regardless of what Lucien would think about that question, he would then go on to talk about the cycle of souls. He would describe it as something that was much more resilient than Kimiko made it appear to be, and even accuse the Shinigami as being potentially unaware of the cycle's true purpose and being, all because she was ultimately taught its function by those of Central 46. The Captain, again, understood what the Captain-Supervisor was trying to do: he was attempting to get her to question the knowledge shared by Central 46 so as to give her attention to the knowledge instead granted by his Emperor. That would have been fine, if the man had given her... well, any form of knowledge about the cycle that she was unaware of? Instead of doing so, he simply stated that he believed in the resilience of the cycle, like she was supposed to take him seriously. Moreover, he appeared to be completely ignorant of what happened after the demonic invasion, which was enough to cause Kimiko's patience to slightly break once more.

"Ugh... You have no idea what you're talking about!" She found herself letting out in the moment, loud enough to make sure that he would not have the time to continue talking at that precise moment. The tone of her words were annoyed, but mostly disappointed, as though she had been expecting better. After her words were understood, she would then find herself staring into Lucien's gaze, doing so with a serious frown. "Do you wanna know why the world is still standing despite what happened then? It's because we spent the rest of the days after that attack just hunting Hollows." The roof underneath her cracked again. "Every day, a whole bunch of us would go around the Living World killing literally every Hollow we saw. We also went all around Rukongai, putting more of those assholes back down where they came from. For every hundred thousand souls who died in Rukongai that day, a hundred thousand Hollows were killed. If it were up to me, I would've literally suggested that we go into Hueco Mundo and kill a whole bunch there... but I wasn't a Captain then. I didn't have the authority to suggest that."

A sigh would come out of her lips then as she took a pause, allowing herself to calm down once more once she noticed that the cracks on the roof underneath her were staring to become prominent underneath her feet. She would move away from said cracks, then look back towards Lucien again. "I'll admit that the cycle was resilient enough for us to be able to do that, but I believe that there's only so much imbalance it can take before it falls apart. This whole world is already fragile as is. We can't allow it to turn into an even more chaotic mess," she explained with a much more patient tone, one that was most synonymous with her teachings. "I don't know what awaits us all once the cycle is broken one day. However, if that means the end of the Soul Society and the Living World, then I don't want to see it, regardless of what your Emperor has told you. Besides... his words are just words too, just like the ones spoken by Central 46." 

She would take a pause after that, allowing Lucien to then speak of Rukongai. The opinion he stated then about the celestial realm was the same opinion Kimiko had heard many times before. Rukongai is awful, Seireitei is terrible, Soul Society is a joke, and it it doesn't seem as though it is going to get better any time soon. "I've been personally getting involved in Rukongai in order to make it a better place to live in, namely with my dojo. It's not a lot, but I believe that, in time, it will become a better place, both for those of the higher districts and lower districts," she would tell the Quincy then, being honest about her goals. She didn't mind if he never heard about it, as they were rather recent, but she at least wanted him to be aware of their impact on the people of the Soul Society, especially lately. After this, she would cross her arms again and frown once more. "To be honest with you, I don't think you or your Emperor would do much of a better job if you were in our place. There are less Quincies than souls. Hell, I had to create three more buildings for my school to accommodate for that. If you had as many people to manage, I bet you would've had to deal with the same problems we currently do now."

[Lucien Dantes]

Lucien allowed Kimiko to express all of her thoughts, which seemed tinted with vitriol. He paused a moment and then closed his eyes and breathed in, and then out. He could feel his agitation rising. Be better. Be calm. Be at ease. He thought to himself. So much of the world was ruined by people lashing out in their emotions. Lucien needed to be better than that. If his heart need be ice, then he would freeze it. If he could temper his arrows with compassion, that would be good. He could accept the sorrow and the melancholy. But never anger. He was never to do that. Righteous duty? Yes. Anger was personal. Frustration was personal. He could never be the hands to build that perfect world if he did so in rage.

"My apologies." Lucien stated. "I was growing incensed, and that was unfair of me. I might ask a moment to properly collect myself so that I may continue our discussion in good faith. At times I forget how very different our worlds are." He stated. He paused a moment and then began his counterargument.

"To your point regarding soldiers, I fear I must disagree on that account. I do not see my definition as submission, it is one of trust. My subordinates trust that my judgement is correct, just as I trust that my superiors' judgement is correct. If I have doubts I may voice them. I may lament them. But if you do not trust those who command you, then why do you serve them in the first place?" He took another moment, to look on in melancholy silence.

"Yes. If commanded to do so, I would commit atrocities. I would seek every avenue to avoid them, but if His Majesty commanded me to, I would commit the most heinous of acts in His name. That is what I believe it is to have absolute faith in another." Lucien stated in a tone both resolute and melancholy at once. He took no pleasure in the tasks he was assigned. No joy in the taking of lives. But he would not voice that to Kimiko, who, no doubt would not consider the distinction worth consideration. No doubt she would retort that loathing the necessity of the task but carrying it out anyways made him no different than those who relished in it. Perhaps she would not be wrong in that assessment, but in any case, Lucien was convinced it was empty air to voice that feeling.

Perhaps Kimiko would fly into a rage at that line. Lucien expected it of her by now. But if she did not, he would address her next point, regarding the massacre.

"Your Gotei tells a very different version of events than what I was advised. The Shinigami oppressed the Quincy, and forbade us ever wield our powers, even in self-defense. A mother would be expected to stand by while a Hollow butchered her child in front of her eyes, possessing the power to save her beloved child, but forbidden to wield it. When the Quincies of that age, naturally, balked at this, and wielded their powers in self defense, the Shinigami slaughtered us en masse. Not even those who wielded their powers, simply being a Quincy was enough cause to bring a Shinigami's sword down upon one's neck. Even the Quincy who wished to cooperate were massacred without trial or question." Lucien answered. "There was no uprising, no rebellion, no Grand Crusade against Hollow-kind-- or if there was, it was at worst a fringe movement, but the Shinigami judged us for merely trying to defend ourselves, and very nearly wiped us out to a man. The Emperor saved those of the Vandenreich. I do not know the means by which those who did not follow him survived." Lucien responded.

"Perhaps there is fault in the version of events I have been taught as well. Perhaps both of our versions are grossly exaggerated and the truth lies in the middle. At any rate, the genocide did happen, and it colors perception of both our people even today. One of our recent recruits was driven to the Vandenreich for no other purpose than protection-- she has been hounded by Shinigami for years, seeking her head, for no other purpose than that she is a Quincy. She had scarce so much as fired her bow before she joined with us, but even today, there are Shinigami amongst the Gotei 13 who do not care, and saw her status as a Quincy as reason enough to execute her on sight." Lucien spoke.

Then at last, the last crux of the discussion. The Soul Cycle. Lucien placed a hand contemplatively upon his chin. "Do I not? Perhaps you will enlighten me, and I do not mean that in any snide way. I mean it quite earnestly. I do not believe you will change my mind, for reason I will state at the end, but by my understanding, the Soul Cycle is the system of reincarnation between your Soul Society, and the Human World, with Hueco Mundo being... shall we say... a detour of sorts. A soul in the Human World dies and goes to Soul Society, lives its days out in Soul Society, and then returns to the Human World to be reborn again. An endless weave between the two worlds, perhaps occasionally favoring one side or the other, but more or less... balanced. Presuming of course that no souls are ever excised from this balance, correct?" Lucien asked of Kimiko.

"But something does not sit well with me regarding that notion-- and perhaps you possess the means to enlighten me. Simply put, we Quincy are not the only means by which souls will leave the Soul Cycle. There is a far older force that all but guarantees the constant removal of Souls from your Soul Cycle. I speak of Hell. Souls that enter the Gates of Hell, do not return to the Soul Cycle, condemned to that pit for all eternity. I would strongly suspect that Hell has claimed far more souls from the Soul Cycle than we Vandenreich could ever do, even were we given another millennia to do it. This is why I suggest the Soul Cycle must be more robust than you give it credit for, incidentally. If it can survive the existence of Hell, it can survive we Vandenreich." Lucien paused for a moment to let Kimiko respond, or to let it sink in.

"However. That is not the sole point I was making. There are two others. The second is that Hell presents an unavoidable conundrum for your Soul Cycle. If Hell is endlessly and constantly taking souls away from the Soul Cycle-- and it must be, for abhorrent humans die every day, and must indeed be dragged through its gates, then either the Soul Cycle cannot be balanced and is doomed to spiral out of control anyways.... or another force must be introducing souls anew into the Soul Cycle at at least an equal rate as Hell, if not, I would dare suggest-- greater rate, given how the numbers in the Human World have endlessly swelled in the past two centuries. If that is correct, then even the souls purged by we Quincies, will ultimately be replaced... and if not then in mountains of dead the Human World piles up on a daily basis, I daresay we Quincy can barely levy more than a drop or two of additional strain." He stated.

"Which, I suppose brings me to the final point of that-- if this is so, then at some point, all souls will go to Hell, to be tormented and suffer for all eternity. You must have seen the Hellions, yes, Miss Nakajima? Think of one of them if you like. Any random one. Does it not bother you that that will be you one day? Not in this lifetime, I am sure, you do not seem the sort to be condemned to the pit. But you will live again. Bereft of all memories of this life, the Soul Cycle will see you live again. And again. And again. Be it your next life, or fifteen lives from now, eventually you will be reborn as someone who, due to circumstance, or a failing of character, will be consigned to Hell, and become a beast just like those that attacked your Soul Society. Do you not think oblivion is preferable to such a fate?" Lucien asked her. "Perhaps we differ on that stance, but I would sooner choose eternal rest than eternal damnation."

Ah, but Lucien had promised Kimiko an additional point. Why ultimately the discussion on the Soul Cycle didn't matter to him. "To be frank though, as I told you, even were you to disprove each of my points most expertly, I do no think you would change my mind, for one simple reason." Lucien cast his gaze out across the city. "You may say my pacifism is "Not worth shit", but I abhore suffering. In any shape or form. Look at this city, and know that now. At this precise moment, thousands are suffering. There are Humans below who are literally beating and murdering one another for nothing more than a hand of pocket change, or just enough food that they merely go hungry tonight instead of starve to death. Humans who are scavenging through literal garbage hoping to find something they can pawn or eat to make it through another day. And that's just here. Humans war, push each other down, knock one another over in an attempt to climb an imaginary ladder to the top, uncaring of how those below them suffer. And then they take these experiences and bring them into your Soul Society as well. Your Soul Society is no different. Please do not misunderstand-- I know well there are many good and well meaning Shinigami and citizens throughout your Rukongai. I have met them, and truly wish them well. But Soul Society faces the exact trials that the Human World does. Your Nobles and Central 46 care not a whit for those below. They care about nothing but their own comforts, their own power. The Soul Cycle is just another means of maintaining their control. Perhaps a valid means-- I do not mean to call it a complete lie. But if the choice is between a world of suffering, or no world at all, I will risk the latter if I can fix the former." Lucien's jaw tightened and his fist trembled, but again he calmed himself.

"It is wrong Kimiko Nakajima. This is not what the world should be. The Sillbern... my home. It is a place of beauty. Of peace. Of harmony. Every citizen there united in purpose. Yes, we have squabbles, but we can walk the streets of the Sillbern at night with no fear of being stabbed for loose change. I could run from one end of the Silbern to the other-- well...." Lucien coughed again. "--perhaps not run." He added, as a weak attempt at a jest. "And see not a single person unhappy, homeless or fearing if they will eat their next meal. You say that you do not think that we could do a better job? Perhaps you are right. But I will not let the fear that we might not be able to create a better world, prevent me from seeking the best path to doing so. ...Mortal beings are flawed though. I know that a mortal could not hope to create such a world. And so I stand with a power greater than myself. A power eternal. That is why I stand with the His Majesty. If there is any hope for such a world, I do not think it can come from any but Him."

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko kept an eye on Lucien after she was done showing her opinion of his pacifism to him. She could see that the man was not happy to be opposed so fiercely. Though he had allowed the Shinigami to express herself, he was visibly becoming more and more frustrated by the minute. This had reached such a point that he even needed to apologize to her for having been so emotional with the Captain, and thus take a moment to reflect to temper these more powerful emotions. Yet those emotions were what the swordswoman wanted to see. She wanted him to become "incensed", as he described, encouraged to explain his crazy logic to her in one way or another. That way, he would be forced to confirm a few things to her in full detail, to describe things that he would never bring up rationally. So, the woman would huff upon hearing his request for a timeout, and look back towards the burning restaurant. "Fine. Whatever," she told him then, then waited.

The following timeout would not last for long. At best, it would remain for only a few seconds, and at worst, perhaps half a minute. Eventually, though, it would come to an end, and she would hear the man speak once more. He first spoke of their different hierarchies once again. Unsurprisingly, he denied Kimiko's comparison to slavery and went on to simply reiterate his earlier point about trust between officers of the Vandenreich, which the Shinigami found to be rather annoying. But what she perhaps found to be more annoying was the question that then came from him. "We don't serve the Gotei 13. We're just part of it," she felt she needed to precise in the moment, if only to make sure her and her officers' positions within the heavenly realm was understood. "All of us serve the Soul Society. We work for her, we fight for her, and we die for her, and by doing that, we also do what we believe is right for the Living World. The Gotei 13 is just the best way for us to express that."

There was another pause then. It was unclear to Kimiko whether or not this second timeout came out of necessity for the sake of the conversation, as by then, she had a hunch that Lucien would bring about the reason behind her anger towards him in the moment. Regardless, the words that then came out of him would cause her to openly clench her teeth. Yes, he would indeed shoot an innocent child if his Emperor had asked him to. Worse yet, he confirmed that he would commit any form of atrocity - no matter how heinous they may be - if that would please his supposedly-great leader. In response, the roof below Kimiko cracked again. "That isn't absolute faith. That's blind faith. You would rather serve a murderer than stop that murderer from killing any more people," she voiced with what appeared to a low but subdued hiss, one that was actually considerate of Lucien's melancholy to a certain extent. The spiritual energy around her was barely being contained properly in the moment before it was then abruptly stopped once more. "Don't ever bring out that pacifist shit to me again. It's fake." 

That wasn't going to reach the Quincy. There was simply no way it was going to, and Kimiko knew that. However, the fact that it was as such annoyed her very much, as she did believe the man to a certain extent. She did think that he was an actual pacifist, that he was someone who preferred to avoid violence at all cost. She was certain that he would not shoot anyone if he actually had the choice to do so, and that if it was possible, he would rather be a mediator between the Soul Society and the Vandenreich, a spokesperson who would put an end to the greatest of military conflicts with words rather than arrows. That was what his tone of voice, the dialect he had specifically chosen for this conversation, and even his eyes were telling her. However, instead of choosing that route, he decided that those values could be thrown away at any given moment if necessary. The swordswoman had met many weak-willed individuals before... but Lucien was easily proving himself to be the one with the weakest will of them all, and it deeply annoyed her.

A calmness would eventually settle within the Captain's heart as the conversation moved along, and by then, the subject changed. It was no longer about Lucien, but most definitely about the main conflict between their people now. This was made apparent by the retelling of Quincy history the golden-eyed man had to express shortly after Kimiko had expressed her own. His version was extremely different to the Shinigami's. It described the people of the Gotei 13 as first being oppressors who denied a Quincy's right to defend themselves at any point in time, and then as monsters who would kill innocent men and women of the cross without hesitation, regardless of their age or their willingness to fight. He would also make sure to solidify that point by bringing about the story of one of the Vandenreich's recruits. Apparently, the harassment she suffered from the Shinigami was such that she needed to join the organization for protection.

That particular story was sad for sure, and in a way, it deeply disappointed the swordswoman. If it was true, then it meant that her belief of the past being firmly in the past was wrong, and that its putrid shell remained active to this day. With that said, the retelling of events that came before that story caused her to pause and question its veracity. Part of that was because the retelling in question seemed greatly exaggerated for the purpose of painting the entire conflict as being much worse than it really was, yes, but there was another detail that was bothersome to her, one that was such that she needed to point it out. "I'm not gonna defend the Gotei's point of view on this. I'm also not gonna deny your people's genocide, since it did happen... but I find it pretty damn convenient that you were apparently reduced to almost a single man at one point." She found herself bluntly pointing out to Lucien. "It just sounds to me like that man was at just the right time to make sure you would always listen to him."

That was most certainly going to push a button or two within the man with the golden eyes. That much was what Kimiko believed, since he was very clearly devoted to his Emperor. However, she just couldn't shake that off. The Vandenreich's Emperor was most likely a very powerful individual, especially given that it was often said in many history books that he had fought against a Captain Commander of the Gotei 13 in the past. As such, his survival of the Quincy massacre was not particularly surprising, and if anything, it only confirmed the threat he presented to the world. Yet there was nothing that suggested that he hadn't spun things around for his own gains, nothing that confirmed Lucien's retelling of events or even his opinions regarding the Soul Society as a whole. For all Lucien knew, it was entirely possible that his perception of history was a complete lie, something that was fabricated by the Emperor to make himself appear as the Quincy's messiah. Thus, like perhaps the Central 46's own retelling of events, he too was not to be trusted; after all, they too were indeed just words.

To an extent, the same thing could be said about how Lucien perceived the cycle of souls. The man had a clear understand of what the cycle was. He knew how it worked, what the goal of the worlds was in its inception, and the fact that there was no soul in this world - no matter their power - that was ultimately excluded from it. Hell, his explanation was so on point that she even found herself humming in agreement with him by the time he was done explaining the cycle's very concept. With that said, Kimiko had to admit that his reasoning for doubting the cycle's existence was actually more valid than she cared to admit. It all boiled down to the earlier swearing used in this very paragraph: Hell itself. The man referred to it as something that ultimately puts all souls in danger over the course of time, something that was eventually going to put an end to the cycle, regardless of the Shinigami and the Quincy's activities. He also did this in a rather lengthy explanation that she believed to be quite a mouthful to listen to, but she fortunately made sure to not comment on that.

After he was done talking about Hell, the Shinigami would find herself giving it all some thought. She could tell that a lot of the man's talk was drenched in hopelessness for the world, and frankly, it was a lot to take in one go. Nevertheless, after a time, she would straighten herself. "Souls are created when someone is born in the world and there's no soul that is available in the cycle for its reincarnation. At least, that's what I understood while I studied at the Academy. If that is true, then it's pretty much impossible for Hell to eventually cause issues to the both of us, since it's going to be just like you said. Sinners will just be replaced by new souls," she considered before then staring at Lucien with a more serious look once more, "but what you don't get is that Hollows are not just one soul. Most of the time, they're a bunch of souls combined. That's why we don't just go and slaughter a whole bunch of Gillian or Adjuchas or whatever. If we do that, we won't send one soul to the cycle. We will send thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of souls." 

 

Then came the matter of becoming a demon herself. Lucien was half-right. As a wielder of the blade, she has committed several things that she should be able to regret, but ultimately don't. In her battles against Hollows and other threats to the Soul Society alike, she often recklessly unleashed her spiritual energy onto her surroundings, leaving behind countless Humans crushed to death. There was also the matter of her Inner Hollow's existence as well. It was possible that whatever force was responsible for the acceptance of souls in Hell would believe her to be unworthy of being cast down into it... but there was also a chance it might believe her to be guilty. Even so, it ultimately didn't matter, for it was indeed true that she would eventually be cast down into Hell like anybody else in this world, regardless of it happened now or later. Yet she wasn't going to just remain there and accept that. Instead, she would stand her ground and defend her future selves.

"Obviously, it bothers me. Nobody wants to become something that is meant to suffer for all eternity," she would begin before she then take on an even straighter and taller stance, "but I believe that wishing for eternal rest instead of eventual eternal damnation is cowardice. Demons can atone for their sins. They can prove themselves worthy of being stronger than the pain they bear. They can tell whatever's down there that they are worthy of surpassing their sins, and by doing so, they could even get a chance to surpass whatever's been put into their demonic head. Choosing to suffer instead of fighting back against that suffering is a choice!" A light pulse of spiritual energy came from her words. It was not powerful enough to further damage the roof, but it was significant enough for Lucien to be capable of detecting the power behind them. "I don't know what's gonna happen to my soul once it's gonna be cast down there. Whoever owns it by then might just want to do nothing and let Satan eat it for all I care. But I know for a fact that, after a while, they'll get bored of the pain and they'll try to do something else with their life! If they don't want to do that, then they don't deserve my soul!"

There was a certain strength behind that little speech that seemed almost radiant in aspect. It was incredibly optimistic, all things considered, and considering the nature of souls and Hell itself, it was perhaps downright just about as delusional as Lucien's belief in his Emperor. Yet the way Kimiko presented that belief was so vibrant that it almost seemed as though it was indeed going to happen, regardless of what was going to happen before then and now. And she did believe that that was going to happen. She did believe that, even if her soul ended up in Hell, it would come out. The reason why was rather simple: it was because she's already experienced everything Hell had to offer. Every time she went to sleep, her Inner Hollow gave her those awful dreams. The dark being would make her suffer through unimaginable pain, the kind only possible to experience while being disconnected from reality. It would all go away once the dreams would end, of course, and for a time, she was not granted the ability to remember them. But eventually, she was... and she believes that it has allowed her to grow into a stronger person. If that can happen to her, it can happen to her later reincarnations as well, no matter how wicked they may become.

Once the matter was settled, they surprisingly returned to the earlier point Kimiko had raised while talking to Lucien: the man's pacifism. Since the last subject had allowed the Captain to raise her spirits to a certain extent, she found herself giving her attention to it without growing too initially annoyed to not bother. Despite this, the more he spoke, the more irked she became, as she realized that his pacifism wasn't so much pacifism as it was instead something far, far lesser. From what she understood, he wanted to put an end to suffering by simply putting an end to the world. He didn't want to make the world into a better place, no, that'd be too difficult and would take too much time. Instead, he wanted to annihilate everything that is known to them both and just put something "better" on top. The worst part about that was that he seemed thoroughly convinced that what would be created from this process would be absolute. However, Kimiko did not believe this plan would work. His talk about the Silbern was, ironically, a testament to that.

"Deleting the world and replacing it with another one doesn't mean that the other one is gonna be perfect forever," she would respond shortly after the Quincy was done. "I'm gonna guess you want everything to be like your Silbern. That's fine. I've never went there, and I don't think I'm gonna head there anytime soon, but I'm sure it's as good as you say it is." A pause came then before she turned herself to face the entirety of Karakura Town, namely the developing skyscrapers in the distance. One of the skyscrapers displayed what appeared to be a bird soaring before a bright yellow sun, one that beamed with a distinct neon hue. "Still, why do you think the people there are so happy? It's because everyone works for your Emperor. It's a place that your Emperor has total control over. He keeps thew people he likes in his paradise, and he most likely gets rid of people he dislikes without you even knowing about it. When he only has about ten thousand people at his disposal, that's manageable, but I bet that even he's gonna start freaking out once he figures out that he's gonna have to manage billions of people at once in that new world of his. How is he going to control people then? How is he going to make sure no one starts criticizing his will? Is he gonna warn them? Is he gonna imprison them? Execute them?"

Her scarlet eyes would pierce the gold of Lucien's gaze as she made her point. "As the Captain of the Attack Squad, it's my duty to study war to an extent. I need to know how it works, which means I also need to know how it starts. Trust me on this, Lucien... Starting a war is very easy. When people of your new world are gonna become fed up by you or your Emperor, all it will take for that paradise of yours to explode into a thousand pieces is just one mistake. Once that happens, it'll only be a matter of time before everything just goes back to this." Her head gestured towards the rest of Karakura Town, as if to point the Quincy towards the reality that ultimately awaited him and his Emperor. "If the better world you keep trying to talk about was guaranteed to be amazing forever, then maybe I would've actually agreed with you. And that's a very big maybe. But I know that won't happen, because you're telling me your Emperor wants to create a utopia. Those don't exist and will never exist. If anything, it'll just end up like what we have today." 

A moment of silence then came, one that would allow her argument to slowly settle in. She knew that that was most likely not going to reach Lucien either. The man was too far gone to realize that he was doing with the Vandenreich was wrong, and that his Emperor was - for all intents and purposes - a maniac. But she needed to at least try to make him understand. The world he wants, the world his Emperor wants, is impossible. It will never be made, not unless his Emperor either drastically modifies concepts of reality itself or quite simply reduces the total population to a minuscule amount, and if either of those options are taken, then what's the point? Surely, the Emperor is capable of creating an alternate reality with all that power he has, doesn't he? By then, he'd be much better off just moving on with his Vandenreich and never come back to this reality. But no. Kimiko supposed that his ego was simply too big for that to happen. So was Lucien's, unfortunately, and probably the rest of the Vandenreich's members'.

[Lucien Dantes]

At Kimiko's statement about the Gotei 13, and her not serving it but merely being part of it, Lucien's eyebrow raised. "That is a rather different account than I hear from most Shinigami I encounter, but as I am not a part of your Gotei 13, I will take your word for it for purposes of our discussion. Perhaps it was the others that were wrong." Though Lucien was fairly certain that wasn't the case. He had eyes within Soul Society. Some few Shinigami and one or two lesser Nobles that he had bent to his will, whom reported to him on the goings on. But it didn't serve to tip his hand such, so he would feign ignorance of the more intricate and precise details of the hierarchy he knew.

As far as his fake pacifism, Lucien shrugged his shoulders and gave a disappointed sigh. "If that is what you wish, then I do not see any point in pursuing that discourse any further." He stated. "It seems we have no alternative but to disagree on that."

On the Soul Cycle discussion, Lucien seemed to give Kimiko a genuine smile. "Fascinating. It is good to hear that new souls will indeed replace the old, even should the old be rendered incapable of returning to the Soul Cycle. Thank you for verifying that for me." He stated, and he did at least seem earnest in his statement there. As far as Hollows went though... "So when a Hollow-- or Arrancar is dragged to Hell, only its original soul passes through and the other souls that comprise its being escape? Curious indeed. I had not heard that before. Thank you Miss Nakajima, I have learned from you this evening."

Her statement on Hell also seemed to give Lucien pause for thought. He at the very least, was not dismissing Kimiko's arguments out of hand, and was listening to what she was saying. "You believe a creature of Hell can redeem itself? I find that... hard to believe. But if Soul Society has empirical data of it happening, I must be inclined to believe it. I don't see much value in lying about that matter." He replied. "If so, I must be quite amazed.... Incredulous, even. To endure countless centuries and millennia of agonies and to climb back from it, pure, untainted and unchanged. I think though, such people must be truly exceptional, and cannot be seen as the rule."

And then it came as well to the core belief that Lucien stood behind. A battle against not against Soul Society or Las Noches but the very existence of suffering, pain and misery in the world. "You misunderstand me. I do not seek to destroy the world. Nor do I ultimately believe that the actions of the Vandenreich will cause its end, as you seem to fear. As I established, I do believe the Soul Cycle is resilient enough to survive us. ...I just will not let the chance that I am wrong about that stop me from doing what I can to correct the tragedies I see in the world." He stated. "Is it not the same for you? Would you let the chance that you might make things worse stop you from doing an action you believe was right? Given our discussion so far, I am not sure it would even cause you to hesitate."

He let Kimiko continue to question his ideals and a sad smile crossed his face. "All you have said, I am aware of. As I said. A world like the one I want to see is impossible. An impossible thing like that can't be made with mortal hands. So many things need be adjusted, be made right. It is why I place my faith in His Majesty. He is far more than you or I. An impossible world like that can only be created by an impossible being, and His Majesty is that. We can argue semantics of this world for days and weeks and months. You're right. I cannot see how it can be made. But I must chase the chance of creating it however small. A world that cannot be, but it is one I believe is worth fighting to make real." Lucien's eyes eyes were filled with the same melancholy energy as his voice when he spoke his last utterance.

"Whatever the cost."

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko wasn't expecting Lucien to completely understand the meaning behind her description of the Shinigami's true allegiance. Although he was an idealist and was willing to forgo all reasoning to ensure his Emperor's will makes sense in his head, he was nevertheless a man of logic when it came to the matters of the Soul Society. Therefore, he was not going to allow his knowledge of the heavenly realm to diverge from what he probably saw or heard from it, whether that knowledge be from his apparent time there - something which bothered the Captain to an extent, as it made her wonder about why he decided head into Rukongai in the first place and how he was able to achieve this successfully without being opposed by local officers of the Gotei 13 - or from his Emperor himself, no matter how questionable that knowledge may be. At least, that was how his perception of the world worked from Kimiko's perspective, for that that appeared to be how the Vandenreich worked.

In spite of this, she fully believed her words to be true. Wholeheartedly, without question or hesitation. It has been like that since the beginning of her career as an officer of the celestial law, and it has only been strengthened over the course of this career as it was tested over, and over, and over. She was not going to deny that there is a number of Shinigami who possess very specific allegiances. There are those whose allegiances are completely selfish in nature, bonds that have been designed to allow the person possessing them to serve only themselves, and there are those who serve only one group amidst the whole, such as the nobles who only wish to become officers in order to respect the will of their families, or the representatives of the law who do not work for anybody but the word of Central 46, regardless of its impunity. Even so, no matter one's allegiance, these people ultimately work for the Soul Society's will, for her benefit, and for her safety. None may deny that fact. Those who do are either ignorant or quite simply foolish.

With this point solidified to Lucien and it seemingly being somewhat accepted by him for the time being, the Captain would decide to allow herself and the Captain-Supervisor to move from the matter. There was no point discussing it any further, and quite frankly, it seemed that they had both come to an agreement anyway. As much as it bothered her to admit it, the same was also to be said for the matter of the Quincy's fake pacifism, as it seemed that even the man himself acknowledged that his opinion on the matter was not going to change. She had expected this outcome, but nevertheless, it bothered her immensely. Unfortunately, it appears as though only a very powerful revelation would get the man to realize that he was a walking contradiction. "Yeah. Let's go with that," she would huff in frustration at that moment, then begrudgingly move on, hoping that this revelation she believed would eventually reach the man would come for him soon enough.

As the conversation moved on and the two eventually reached the matter of the cycle of souls, the Quincy would actually take the information given to him with surprising eagerness. If his smile was anything to go by, he appeared to be quite glad to hear about the lack of danger presented by Hell. He was also very receptive to learning more about Hollows and the danger they themselves represented even when taking note of their defeat. This lack of opposition was surprising to Kimiko, given how fierce the contradictions between their respective ideologies were. With that said, it was refreshing, enough so to make her smile back just a little bit. "That's how it works, yeah. If a Hollow did something shitty while their original soul was Human, only that soul is sent down there, not the rest of the souls they ate. It wouldn't make any sense to send the souls of non-sinners in Hell," she would comment then. "Anyway, no problem. To be honest, I kinda thought you would've already known about that. That kind of stuff is common knowledge between us Shinigami."

Of course, Lucien was somewhat less receptive to the idea of someone being able to redeem itself while being stuck in Hell once that subject took the spotlight. From the way he explained his point of view, he appeared to be more so inclined to accept Kimiko's beliefs tied to Hell as being something that is not normal, and rather more fantastical in nature, the kind that can be accomplished by figures of legend. "The exceptional is what pushes people to do exceptional things." The words came out of her almost automatically as she replied to the man with the golden eyes. "There are demons out there who are stronger than the common ones you can find in Hell. I've heard about them, and I've even fought against two of them. Those guys decided that, instead of surpassing their sins, they would revel in them. You could say that made them even bigger pieces of shit than they were when they first entered Hell... but I believe that their existence is necessary. If these exceptional demons can exist, then that means that there can also be demons who can do the exceptional and show to others of their kind that they can turn the idea of redeeming one's self into the norm." She then straightened herself a little bit further. "The same thing goes for all of us. If your Emperor did not exist, then there would be no Vandenreich. That would've been the end for the Quincy. And on our side of things, it the Shinigami wasn't there, then the people of Rukongai would lose all hope and just let themselves be eaten by Hollows."

After this, Kimiko would allow the man to defend his ultimate goal once again. Apparently, she had misunderstood his intentions. His objective was not to destroy the world nor was it to end it. No clear precision was made in regards to what he really wanted, but the Captain wagered that what he really wanted to do was instead to change the world. This was admittedly a different term, and he did seem convinced that it would not be used in a manner that suggested negative consequences. The Shinigami, however, disagreed. "Modifying something to the point that you can't think of it as what it was before doesn't mean you're changing it. It means that you're just replacing it with something new, which is the same thing as destroying what was there before," she would go on to point out somewhat disappointingly that was not even angry. By then, she was just let down by what Lucien was telling her, because she thought he would have been able to understand what she was talking about prior to his defense.

Even so, she did not remain let down for long, as the man then went on to ask his questions. Surprisingly, she found herself pausing upon being told these questions, as she would quickly be reminded of a few situations that she had to tackle before. During those situations, she had found herself hesitating upon being presented with a difficult decision to make, and every time she hesitated due to believing that something wrong could happen in all of those things, she almost paid the price for it. Kishi's fate as a potential servant of the Soul Society, the New York incident with her Inner Hollow and Camila, the matter of Ailene and her wish to become Human... Not even Nijūkan itself had been exempted from this, as when the time came for her to choose between becoming its master or not, she had almost decided to give it to Emile, the disciple of the previous and deceased master of the school. Analyzing these moments once more, Kimiko would find herself becoming progressively disappointed herself... but eventually, she straightened herself once again and answered: "You're right. I wouldn't hesitate to do what I think is right... but for something to be right to me, it must be for best for me and the best for everyone else. It's why I think that your perfect world won't work."

She then went on to properly explain why she believed the world which Lucien coveted would never work. Once again, she believed that her opinions would simply be denied, but... shockingly to her, they wouldn't. At least, not totally. The man would go on to admit that he indeed believed that the world he wanted was not realistic and that there were simply far too many factors to take into account of, to the point that he simply thought that creating such a world was impossible. This admittance was such that it almost made Kimiko believe that she had actually reached the man for a split-second. But of course, that all came crashing down the moment he declared that his Emperor would be able to do such a thing. In an instant, the slight hope that the woman had for the man to realize his mistake in the moment just vanished, and she was instead left with a bittersweet realization. As long as his Emperor existed, Lucien would simply remain forever blind.

Noticing that the conversation had finally gone full circle, the Captain would find herself staring at the man, then back at the rest of Karakura Town. It would appear that the both of them had been talking for a while, for by the time the Quincy had finished his speech, the sky had darkened in a sea of dark grey. In the horizon, the last few rays of the sun could still be seen piercing through the veil. She would stare at those rays for a moment, thinking to herself quietly about what to do. Then, as she finished completing her decision, she eventually let out in a sort of half-sigh: "Alright. I think we're done for now. I've said what I had to say. My students are probably still waiting for me too." A moment of silence would then come after these words, one that she believed was more than enough for Lucien to understand the meaning of. About three seconds later, she turned her head towards Lucien, with her body still facing the Human city. "If you really think chasing that perfect world is the right thing to do, then I won't convince you to stop. It doesn't look like I'll be able to do that anyway. Since we're here, though, let me tell you this. If I see you or your officers going around making a mess in the name of your Emperor, whether it be here or in the Soul Society..."

Her eyes then focused hard onto Lucien in a deadly glare.

 "I   w i l l   f i n d   y o u ,  a n d   I   w i l l   k i l l   y o u ."

A chilling amount of spiritual energy came from Kimiko as she spoke her declaration. It was not as vibrant as the energy she had shown before. It was dark, cold, the kind of power that a Shinigami could not possibly release. Indeed, it was not, for this energy was not of Shinigami or even Human origin. It was the spiritual energy of Hollowkind. As usual, however, the woman would not realize that she had actually released such energy, given that she wouldn't pay any attention to it. Instead, she would allow her threat to be fully taken by Lucien before she then turned her head back towards Karakura Town. "Goodbye, Lucien."

And with that last declaration, the Captain would then disappear with the use of Shunpo, leaving the Quincy on his own as she went on to return to the Soul Society with a new perspective on the people of the Vandenreich.

[ E N D ]