Post by Celes Shindazu on Jul 27, 2023 11:07:51 GMT -5
"What the hell did I do to deserve this...?", Celes thought to herself. Within a few short minutes, the Captain of the Tenth Division had her entire world flipped on its head. This Quincy who had come to challenge her to a duel, who had an uncannily similar appearance to the Captin, claimed to be her sister! Distraught and unwilling to accept it, the Shinigami verbally lashed out at Hiyori. Was the Captain Supervisor playing mind games with her? At a glance, broadly sensing the Quincy's intentions, the Captain felt no ill will. No deception. Celes only grinded her teeth together harder.
"Think back, Celes," Just as the Quincy, Celes held her blade close by. The conflict had, at least physically, died down somewhat. Nevertheless, she wasn't sure how much she could trust Hiyori. Even now. As the Captain looked at Hiyori, her sole focus, the spectral armor that surrounded the Captain began to slowly dissipate. A keen eye could tell that it wasn't crumbling from weakness. Instead. it just seemed to slowly fade away on its own. No longer required to focus on maintaining her qi, Celes could rest a little more easy now. "do you remember a face like mine in the Rukongai? You shouldn't; I was out of there before you joined Seireitei. I was already affiliated with the Gotei by that point."
The Captain's eyes narrowed. This Quincy claimed to be part of the Gotei during Celes' time in her household in the Rukongai. Could that really be? Could she really have been part of the Gotei? As a Quincy? It was absurd at first glance, but then Celes remembered something. The Vandenreich had the ability to convert the spiritually weak into Quincy. She had seen it first-hand in the Midwest. "Could it be? Do they have the ability to convert more than just humans?" Celes' eyebrow briefly furrowed as she tried to refocus her attention on Hiyori.
Naturally, Celes didn't answer Hiyori. She was still too overtaken by doubt. As a result, Hiyori made this far more personal. "Let me ask this, instead. Do you remember anything of our life in the Human World? Our time in Lamia? Mother?" Celes blinked and gripped the hilt of her blade a little tighter. The Captain had no recollection of her time in the Human World. It was a blur. Long forgotten. "I- I have no idea what you're talking about...", her voice quivering for the briefest of moments.
All of a sudden, Hiyori moved closer to close the distance between Celes. Her movements weren't aggressive in the slightest. In fact, it was a slow few steps forward. Instinctively, Celes shifted her foot backward and growled in response to the Quincy's advance. "No further, Quincy." Fortunately, for both of them, Hiyori stopped after a few steps. However, she wasn't done trying to rouse Celes' memory. "Do you remember me, Celes? During our time in Seireitei? Even if we didn't interact all that much, I... I would hope so."
The Captain tilted her head in response to this. Hiyori's smile and her words, again, offered no hint of malice. She was slowly getting frustrated. It was very difficult to trick Celes. She was practically searching for hint of deception, but she'd come out empty-handed. Ultimately, however, it was this intense focus, this frustration, that would shock Celes to her core. For one moment, the briefest of seconds, the Quincy appeared familiar. The multitude of swords around Hiyori reminded her of a style.
To most spiritual beings, time seemed to have little meaning. Her ageless trek through the spiritual world made the Captain lose track of time... and people. Instead of faces, Celes tended to remember Zanpakutō and styles more than anything else. One's fighting style was among the truest representations of a person's values. Their personality. Their very soul. Among these memories was a particularly memorable style. Celes remembered a green-haired Shinigami, like herself, utilizing an immeasurable amount of swords. That woman... someone whom Celes had met once or twice... was a Captain!
Celes' eyes widened. "Yo- you're supposed to be dead..." Celes vaguely remembered the report of a missing Captain. The Captain of the Third Division, Tsuyoshi's predecessor, claimed to have been killed by a terrifyingly powerful Hollow. Brief flashes of a name came to Celes at that moment as she recalled more and more of the report. "You're Captain Hiyori..." Celes still had no recollection of the woman as her sister, but this was a start. Unfortunately, this realization bore some problems.
The Captain of the Tenth was no stranger to betrayal. Hell, she had tried to modify some parts of the story in her report of the Vizard's defection. However... even Camila despised the Vandenreich. All Quincy for that matter. This Quincy, Hiyori, was a turncoat. A traitor to her people. Celes took a deep breath and sighed softly. "You've turned your back on your own people... Sold your soul to the devil... to the man who would declare war on us all. How can I be expected to believe that the woman before me is my own flesh and blood? That she's nothing more than a monster?" Celes had taken the knife, stabbed Hiyori, and twisted it slowly. It was harsh to say the least. She still didn't, she couldn't believe that someone like that could be her sister. Despite that, she remained remarkably calm, taking slow deep breaths.{Celes' Resource Pool}
Celes' Reiatsu: 3225/4000
Celes' Blessed Breaths: 3/10
--------------------------------------------------------
Strength of Spirit: 29
Genius Stamina Posts: 0/8
Class 1 Bankai: 3/9