Falling Leaves

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen let their discourse on the merits of long range combat vs melee combat die. While he was sure Kimiko could have kept him engaged in such a conversation for ages, more pressing matters were taking place now, and it needed to be shelved. Maybe they could pick it up another time, maybe not. In either case, Kaen only hoped that Kimiko would at least keep the discussion in mind, and that her obstinate frustration at the idea there was nothing to learn from such conflicts wouldn't come to bite her one day. Her enemies that fought at range would be learning how to fight opponents that closed to melee.... He hoped she'd learn just as well how to deal with the counters to her counters.

In any case, after Kaen's unfortunate meeting with the ground, Kimiko still disagreed and believed it could be an illusion. Kaen didn't agree with her, but it got them nowhere to debate the merits either way. If it was such a powerful illusion as to completely change Kaen's orientation without his knowledge-- no, if it was a powerful enough illusion, perhaps that it could reverse a jump like that without them knowing, then the difference was academic in any case. Kimiko was right. Illusion or personal world, they had to resolve this issue.

So through the portal Kaen went, into the dazzling unknown. The city streets were different than what he was used to. He'd been to Karakura Town several times, but in truth, Kaen had never been in a truly big Human World city at night. Well. Not in the remotely modern era. The last time he'd gone to such a city it must have been over a century ago. Then he had to work on being promoted up the ranks.... A few Hollow nests in a coastal town, but after that Karakura had become the spiritual centerpiece of the world and had demanded most of Kaen's attention. So the neon city nightlife was very new to Kaen, and his eyes couldn't help but sparkle at it.

"Man.... Humans make such amazing places..." He murmured, as he took in the spectacle. "This is a Human thing, right? This isn't just some fantasy made up by whoever did this? There really are Human World cities like this?" He asked Kimiko, turning partially to face her and then pausing. "Huh..." He was silent for a moment as he took note of Kimiko's different attire. He was now wearing a new outfit as well. A black windbreaker jacket over a white T-shirt, jeans and running shoes. Thankfully Hachiryuu was still on his back, but Kaen pulled on the Zanpakuto's tie to let the sheathed blade slip down and land in his hand.

"Alright, I'm not gonna say your illusion theory is right, but maybe some additional credence there. Guess we need to keep moving to the center." He looked around. "And.... I'm guessing attempts to sequence break are gonna be met with more painful knocks to the noggin." He started along and kept moving onwards into the city.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko had been expecting a drastic change in decor when they crossed that portal. They were in a rather dark forest composed solely of dead vegetation, after all, and even though the skies remained dark in these streets, they could not at all be described as being moodier than the area they were being compared to. Hell, she even had to admit that the lights which emanated from the billboards somewhat annoyed her, given that they had been adjusting to the earlier darkness. What she hadn't been expecting, however, was the total change in their accoutrements. Just a few seconds ago, they could easily be identified as Shinigami from the Gotei 13 who were both on-duty. Now, though, they resembled Humans going on a friendly trip together, with the only thing that they were allowed to keep from their previous appearances being their Zanpakuto. More importantly, they were going on a trip in a place that she was most familiar with, all the while she wore that shirt.

Her partner appeared to be somewhat dazzled by what he was seeing. He was staring at the lights with clear awe, and for a moment, he almost seemed akin to a child who had just gone into a candy store for the first time in their lives. At first, this kind of attitude towards their environment surprised the swordswoman, but eventually, she was reminded of the ages of certain people within the Soul Society. Thus, she would decide to answer his questions, albeit not with as much excitement as she previously held back in the woods. "We're in the Akihabara district. It's a kind of entertainment district of Tokyo. Last time I was here, they were selling a whole bunch of things: clothes, computers... video games..." she answered with a quieter tone as she looked back down at her shirt, then her surroundings again. Her scarlet eyes clearly displayed her suspicion of the area as well, but also a notable amount of pain, like she was seeing something that she didn't want to see. "This isn't the main street of the place, though. It's... It's somewhere else."

The two of them would begin to move onward, with the Captain taking the lead for the time being. Her pace was slower than before. On one hand, she clearly tried her best to remain alert of the situation, as she knew that something could jump out at any given moment. On the other hand, she couldn't stop herself from looking at her surroundings. These streets... They were most definitely not among the main streets of Akihabara. The stores were of the smaller kind, and the most of them appeared to be more so standard businesses like restaurants and parlors rather than proper popular shops. In other words, none of the stores here were very big. Even so, she knew them well. In fact, she knew them very well, because she had gone here several times before in a past that she was steadily preferring to leave behind. With that being said, she had not visited these streets as an officer of the Gotei 13; rather, she had visited them as a Human.

As they moved, they passed by a few more businesses. Again, in spite of the complete lack of any presence beyond hers and Kaen's, she would recognize them all. There was the pachinko parlor that was usually occupied by a number of elders, and the karaoke bar that her acquaintances at the University of Tokyo always went to after they were done with their classes. There was also the small convenience store that specialized in the selling of reheated food, the little coffee shop right by its side who shared its owner with the previous establishment, and the library which sold tons of written works, though namely light novels that were being written by up-and-coming authors. The fact that everything here was so perfectly familiar to her, so intrinsically known to her... It was nostalgic for sure. It reminded her of different times. Yet, once more, it also felt wrong, like there was something or someone out there who was deliberately digging in her head to bring them all out of it.

A number of meters following the beginning of their voyage onward, Kimiko almost appeared to be lost. She visibly seemed to be fighting the familiarity of the place as well as the sense of heavy nostalgia that it brought to her. That was, until Kaen spoke and inadvertently reminded her that the area was not real by talking about illusions and sequence breaks. Once she heard his words, a quiet sigh came from her lips. "Right," she very briefly answered the man with a quick nod at first, a rather-weak response to his attempts at talking to her. Then, upon realizing this particular weakness, she attempted to shake her head to try to bring herself out of the stupor she found herself in. Even so, her efforts appeared to be rather meek. "It's... I still think it's an illusion. This... place, it's... It's Akihabara, but it's not the Akihabara you can find today. At least, I don't think it is. The last I came here, all those shops were gone. It was just a bunch of maid cafes and massage parlors..." 

For a moment, it would almost seem as though the Captain appeared to become angry. A frown had come to her and her hand almost reached out to the black blade resting on left hip. Yet just as she was about to rest that hand onto the blade's handle, she would stop, then allow her hand to drop by its side again. She definitely wanted to put an end to this charade, but there was something about this that told her not to do so. Was it something related to the ability of whatever they were fighting? Or was it instead a call from her younger self, a demand that she forget about her current duties and just return to the life she once had long ago? It could be either of those things, but either way, she hated this. She did not want to confront this again. She did not want to be reminded of that time again, to be shown what could have been should she have not been sent to the afterlife. It was one thing for it to be shown by her Inner Hollow. It was another thing entirely when it was not the dark creature who displayed it, but rather somebody else.

Their trip continued a little bit further. By then, they had seen many more shops, and in the matter of a split-second, Kimiko realized that they had mostly been following a straight path through the streets. They didn't attempt to go through the smaller streets in-between the edifices or the businesses. And yet, in spite of that, she continued to move onward. It was as if her mind and body both refused to take these side routes. And if Kaen attempted to take these routes? He would realize that, no matter what, he would be returned to Kimiko. The smaller streets would lead to the same road they had been walking, the back doors of the stores would open onto that road too, allowing him to appear from out of nowhere. It was just like the forest. They were not allowed to take any detours or shortcuts: they could only move onward towards what appeared, for the time being, to be something that was related to the Captain of the Eleventh Division.

Then, after a few more minutes, they arrived to a stop. The street, by then, had ended. There was no more road to cross and there were no other shops to encounter, except for one. It stood in front of them with an open door. At a glance, it appeared as an old refurbished office building. It was rather short in comparison to the other buildings which surrounded it, and it appeared as though it didn't have any other doors, leaving it wide open for the people to simply stroll in. A rather bland appearance, all things considered. Inside, however, was where the brightest lights of the entire street they've been walking on could be found. They were of all colors, flashing with impressive intensity, and from them resonated many-an-electric-noise that were all more familiar to Kimiko than the last. And then, there was the billboard located right over its appearance. It wasn't so much of a billboard as it was instead a couple of letters that were placed there. Each lit by a red hue, they read...

Ultra Ban.

Kimiko would find herself standing there in silence as she stared at the establishment. There was a small amount of chance that the Vice-Admiral knew what this place was supposed to be; after all, he knew about Street Fighter to a certain extent, or at least enough about it to know that the Shōryūken had been popularized by it. This was an arcade. While it definitely appeared to be more of an old-school establishment, given the worn state of its infrastructure, it seemed to be very alive even without the people usually visiting it... and that shocked Kimiko to the core. In an instant, she was reminded of her self from way back then, her studious self who was coming here almost every day. "W-What..." she tried to mutter then in a manner that was downright uncharacteristic of her, or at least a manner that she hadn't shown in many decades. "Ultra Ban... It's... It's like it never..."

The woman would then go quiet for a moment as she stared at the establishment. This was wrong. This was wrong. This was wrong. Was... Was this wrong, though? Was it really? It didn't look wrong to her. It looked real to her. Maybe she could just... go play some games? She even had Kaen with her. Yeah! They were two players! They could play anything here! M-Maybe that was the key to this whole thing? To find whoever was making this place come true? Either way, whatever the answer to these questions may be, Kimiko eventually succumbed to the curiosity that had been steadily creeping into her mind, and soon, she would find herself walking forward into the Ultra Ban parlor, wanting to see what it was all about.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen grinned. "Video games you say? You think we're really in the Human World? Cause like.... One time when I was in the Human world, I pillaged one of those Super Nintendo things, and need to get some games for it." He commented, cheerfully in response to Kimiko's statement. He looked around, still clearly thrilled by the area. "Honestly, besides Karakura Town I've never really made it into Tokyo proper before, it's crazy how different it looks compared to Karakura." His eyes were flicking around in every which direction, as if constantly distracted by some new vista that captured his attention.

It was very clear that Kaen was blown away by the place in any case, which could potentially be hazardous in the event of a sneak attack, but at least his attention was constantly shifting around. After only a few moments though, he frowned, suddenly picking up on something he should have realized before. "Oh...."

"It's at least a reconstruction of some kind, but it's a sloppy one." He stated. "If they wanted to sell the illusion, they should have added people to it. I may have never been here before, but I can tell that this place should be packed with human activity no matter what time of day it is."

Kaen could easily read Kimiko's raising aggression. The tension. His cerulean eyes looked over her for a moment. "Breathe, Kimiko." He advised, moving up a bit to walk side by side with Kimiko instead of simply following her. Kaen hadn't attempted to go down any side streets to realize the further nature of the maze, but it didn't matter, he was already certain of the kind of place they were in anyways. Just like the forest, there wasn't going to be any deviation from the path. Instead, he had to concentrate on the immediate problem, which appeared to him, to be Kimiko's emotional state.

"This place means something to you huh?" He stated. "You don't have to tell me what, but remember that this isn't real. Coincidence or not, someone's trying to provoke a reaction from us. Don't give them the satisfaction of thinking it's working." He suggested. After a few minutes, although Kaen was clearly still impressed with the sights, he'd managed to temper his initial exuberance and keep his attention and focus on the job at hand.

Regardless of her response, something seemed to have caught Kimiko's attention and Kaen followed her eyes to the sign for Ultra Ban. Her stammering proved to Kaen that this place absolutely had some deep significance to her. His brow furrowed. As someone who had fallen prey to emotional manipulation himself during the mod soul invasion of Soul Society (and also under the effects of an illusory power), he was on-edge with the effect this place was having on Kimiko. "Kimiko, I don't think this is a good ide--" Kaen saw her enter the parlor and rushed in after her. "Captain Nakajima!"

He looked around the parlor cautiously. "I don't like this. This is getting a lot more suspicious. I'm not sure this is a good idea...." Coincidence or not, something was seriously up here. And this had to be a coincidence, right? It couldn't be a targeted illusory ability. If it was, Kaen either shouldn't be able to see or interact with the environment himself, or he should be getting hit by some of his own nostalgia. Why was this only Kimiko? His mind was racing through the possibilities. Either this was a very strange coincidence that their adversary had an ability that flawlessly replicated a world of Kimiko's memories on their own and independently of her, this was some strange targeted effect that brought others in with the target, or there were other details here that Kaen was missing. He didn't like that at all. There were still pieces missing to this puzzle, and he was very, very worried about what those missing pieces might contain.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

In normal circumstances, Kimiko would have most likely paid a little bit more attention to Kaen's story. For one, even back when she was a Human, she never really had the chance to play games on a Super Nintendo. Most of the time, she played video games at the arcades exclusively, and whenever she wanted to play something at home, she would simply play with the PlayStation 2 console her father had bought for her right before they moved to Tokyo, which at this point was ages ago. It was also the last true gift he had given to her before... well, he changed. Considering this, hearing the Vice-Captain speak about potentially having one in his quarters was more interesting to her than she cared to admit. He may be a little bit older than she thought he was, if his complete admiration of Akihabara as well as the fact he never really visited Japan outside of Karakura Town were anything to go by, but they could at least share some hobbies together. Well, past hobbies, that is.

But she couldn't concentrate on their discussion. The place was quite simply too unusual for her, too mesmerizing, too nostalgic. Everywhere she looked and everywhere she went, no matter how far and how wide, a memory long-forgotten would be returned to her. The aforementioned library gave her images of her student self passing by its shelves to acquire both novels that were popular at the time as well as manuals that she needed for her studies, the latter of which often being endless drivel that she never really bothered to read in full detail. Meanwhile, the coffee shop brought her the taste of several beverages and meals she ate there. Their coffee tasted like molten cardboard no matter how many sugar cubes were added to the mix and their tea might as well have been frozen leaf juice, but the little English-inspired breakfasts they served were all excellent. She could even remember that one time she told the owner about opening a restaurant instead and how they both had a laugh about it.

Every time she received a new image, she almost wanted to talk about it to Kaen. It was as though she was being pushed to do it, if only to reveal a little bit more about herself to the man, or rather the self that was hidden beneath the identity that she had forged around it for so long within the Soul Society. Perhaps she could let go of her issues that way. Perhaps she could forget about that Yumiya company, about Ruhe, about Kazuhiko and Celes and her Inner Hollow and just about everything that bothered her right then and there. Yet, every time she would get that urge, she would resist it. Every time a new image would appear in her head, she would try her damnedest to discard it, to move on from it, to remind herself that they were all things from the past that could never be recovered, no matter how many times she remembered them and how vividly she could recall their details. They were elements of a life that had been long discarded, nothing more, nothing less.

But with Ultra Ban... She couldn't do it.

When she saw that flashy billboard and heard the noises coming from the machines inside, the images that appeared in her head almost instantly overwhelmed her. In the matter of perhaps a second or so, she was reminded of the very first time she witnessed it so long ago. She could recall how the lights shone powerfully onto her that one evening after classes were over, catching her attention in a way that nothing else in Akihabara could. She could see the people that surrounded the parlor and those that were inside playing the games. She could hear the laughter and the cries of encouragement for those who played the games, and they only became more empowering with every step that she took towards the store. At a certain point, they became so loud to her that she become downright unable to hear Kaen's output on the matter. Instead, she looked over her shoulder towards him and gave him a bright, almost childish smile. "Don't worry, Kaen! We'll be fine!" She called to him enthusiastically. "We just need to enjoy ourselves!"  

There was confidence in her voice, like she knew that was exactly what they needed to do. This familiarity, however, would not reach Kaen. In fact, there was practically nothing about this entire ordeal that would cause the man's behavior to become as jubilant as Kimiko's. When he saw the many rows of bright arcade machines set in rows all across the parlor, his eyes would not become as bright as the Captain's like she was seeing them for the first time. When he heard the music coming from little speakers that had been placed onto the four corners of the ceiling, each of which appearing to be connected with cables to a computer that could not be seen in this room, his eyes would not perk up with excitement as much as the swordswoman's. In so doing, the only thing that could perhaps allow him to be impressed by the place was his own feelings and his own belief of the place, and so far, there was nothing that suggested that this was indeed a place that they needed to be in.

Yet Kimiko would be unable to hear him. At least, she wouldn't be able to hear him in the way he wanted to be heard. Instead, he'd watch as she'd walk towards the machines and stare at them with an ever-decreasing amount of concern for her well-being. Her eyes would dance from machine to machine. There were Street Fighter machines, as to be expected from a place such as this, but there were also many others who displayed many other games, such as BurnRed, Steel Fist, and Soul Cairn. There were even a few that displayed older games that should have been forgotten by time even at the time and games from America that were typically left alone, such as Mortal Kaos, Unjust, and Killer Fangs. The more of these visual spectacles she witnessed, the more the Captain felt less and less like a Shinigami, and more like the person she once was all those decades ago. "They still got everything! I thought they sold them all!" A laugh exited her, another that Kaen would have most likely never heard from her before. It didn't seem like a sound a woman of her caliber would create. It was too excited, too enthralled.

The longer this scene would go on, the more the Vice-Captain would be able to notice that the entire parlor had somehow become a little bit more luminous than it was prior to their entry. This would perhaps cause him to look away if only for a brief moment so as to adjust his eyes. Should this occur, he would quickly be able to notice that the many streets that they had crossed had suddenly turned almost completely dark. The many colorful billboards and the many shops that the duo had all passed by had suddenly either disappeared or were now covered with a darkness that prevented anyone and anything from ever seeing through it. However, there was one thing that could still be seen: the portal. It was still there, glowing quietly in the dark. For all intents and purposes, this meant that they could return to the forest at any given time... but why? Why would they be granted this opportunity? Shouldn't something like this prevent you from leaving?

Then again, it didn't seem as though Kimiko was ready to leave any time soon. Already, she was standing in front of the machines and checking for her pockets in order to find some change. It was as though she had completely forgotten the nature of the world they were currently in, even though her Zanpakuto were still hanging from her hips. It took some time, but somehow, she would actually find two coins. At a glance, they appeared to be yen coins, but they were otherwise completely blank. In fact, they almost looked generic and blurry. Only their color as well as the yen symbol onto them was relevant about their identity. In any case, the woman would take the coins and put them in the nearest Steel Fist 7 machine, causing said machine to immediately brighten up and its screen to display its menu. "Alright! It's been a while since I played this one! Heh, I bet I'm gonna be awful," she chuckled, then looked towards the Vice-Captain. "Come on, Kaen, you really gotta try this!" 

It looked like two choices were now being offered to Kaen. Either he could stay with Kimiko and go on with this illusion's strange stratagem to see where it could go, or he could try to leave this place with the aid of the portal by walking through the darkness outside of Ultra Ban. Realistically, that second option was the most reasonable of the two... but the Captain's current behavior might become problematic in that case.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen was getting very worried about Kimiko and how absorbed in this place she was getting. This reeked of a trap, and more specifically a trap aimed at the Captain. Kimiko's comments did not alleviate his concerns. "I enjoy myself a lot more with a physical target I can shoot for." He responded, slightly more tersely than he intended. Obviously there was the sliding scale he and Kimiko had discussed earlier with a hand to hand or hand-to-blade fight being his preferred way of fighting, but even with ranged combat there was still a puzzle to be solved with most of the pieces present. This was... not that. This was mind games in a way that Kaen was very much not used to playing.

His eyes darted around the parlor cautiously while he kept Kimiko's back. He was still listening to Kimiko but realized she wasn't listening to him. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the streets going dark and a frown creased his face as he looked back. "Kimiko...." No, this seemed the right way then. They were making their way to the center, this did indeed seem to be the correct path. That made it even more worrying for Kaen. The two were literally walking down Kimiko's own memory lane, of sorts. Why though?

Kaen acknowledged there was a chance that he could go to investigate, but he wasn't about to separate from Kimiko. The two of them had to stick together and with Kimiko pulling rank and leading, he had to go with her direction. But he wasn't letting his guard down for a second. "Listen, I'd love to play this with you sometime but why don't you try the single player mode, and I'll stand watch." He suggested instead. Those disappeared people probably came this way too. Are they also trapped in here somehow? He wondered. The two were undoubtedly walking into a trap, it was the nature of that trap that concerned and puzzled Kaen. At some point they'd be struck, but when? What form would it take?

The lieutenant went to lean against one of the walls of the parlor so he could keep an eye on both Kimiko as well as the door and as much of the room as possible. Kaen was a little worried. With how Kimiko had acted during his brawl with Celes, he had expected her to be the professional one. She was really getting suckered into this, and he did not like that at all....

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kaen was right in assuming that this was a trap. Or at the very least, he was right in assuming that there was something deeply wrong with practically everything that composed this area, and that it was all designed not for him, but rather for Kimiko herself. From the streets they have just crossed down to the very details of each and every shop they have crossed, all was designed to instigate nostalgia and an enhanced desire - no, at this point, it appeared to be more so a proper need than anything else - to reminiscence about the past within the Captain of the Eleventh Division. Moreover, the area seemed to have a mind of its own or a mind controlling it in one way or another, given that the streets had now been erased into darkness now that the Shinigami had reached this Ultra Ban arcade parlor. For all they knew, one could even suppose that the Ultra Ban was so carefully crafted because the streets were now not being considered anymore, almost like there was a "focus" onto that particular business.

All of those facts should have been things that Kimiko would have taken notes from. She should have counted them as suspicious, should have attempted to find a reasoning behind them like Kaen was, and should have done something to prevent it other than deciding to play along with it all. The truth of the matter is, however, that she didn't want to do any of that. In this very moment, in a time during which she was not at her best, she was offered a chance to return to a past that she admittedly had missed. She was given the opportunity to simply sit down, forget about everything that composed her current life, and perhaps even move on from it all. It may have been wrong to Kaen and to practically anyone out there, even herself should she had not been caught by it all, but... it didn't feel wrong to her now. In fact, it felt fine to her. It felt just right, and she didn't think that putting an end to it now after they had just arrived to the place would be the fairest thing to do.

Of course, the Vice-Captain didn't want to cooperate with her in that regard. Not entirely, that is. Despite offering him the chance to play a few matches of Steel Fist 7 with him, he instead decided not to participate and suggest that she plays the single-player mode of the arcade machine. This caused the girl to display a brief wince of disappointment, as she had wanted to see how Kaen would fair in such a game. Again, the man had mentioned Hadouken before as well as owning a Super Nintendo, so she believed that he would have done fairly well in Steel Fist 7 after a little bit of time getting used to it. They even had a guest character from Street Fighter in the game, the infamous Akuma who was by far one of the strongest members of the machine's entire roster. Ah, fine... She could fare well-enough with a computer-controlled player, she supposed. It wasn't like there was anything else to do with this machine anyway, and he didn't want the coins to go to waste.

With this in mind, the swordswoman would attempt to head towards the single-player portion of the arcade's menu. However, right before she could press on the buttons that would lead her into the mode... a figure appeared in the shop. Not just one, but many of them once as they suddenly populated the area. At a first glance, Kaen may have been able to recognize them as people from the Living World, judging by their casual accoutrements, but there was something about them that was incredibly off. Somehow, their figures were blurry. They had no distinct features or faces, just a vague silhouette that could at this point be confused for something you would see from something that was out of focus on a picture. Even the noises that emanated from them was unclear. It sounded like a mixture of footsteps and simple crowd noise, with a distinct lack of clear words. In other words, they were incomprehensible, both internally and externally.

This should have been incredibly jarring to practically anyone who saw them. It wasn't normal for people to look like this, and it was even less normal for them to populate an arcade which, in comparison, was much more detailed. However, Kimiko... did not react negatively to them at all. In fact, when one of them reached for her side to interact with the machine, she would appear to rejoice right on the spot. "Oh, hey! You wanna play?" She asked as naturally as she breathed, with no suspicions raised about the state of the figure and no questions asked about why they or their brethren looked the way they did, almost like she believed that this was nothing but their normal appearance. She didn't even seemed surprised that they had appeared from out of nowhere so rapidly and so suddenly. In response to her question, the figure would nod enthusiastically in return, giving out a few words that remained distant and unclear in spite of them being minimally clearer. "Cool! You don't need to put any coins in it! I paid for my friend, but he's not interested."

From there on out, Kaen would be able to witness both Kimiko and the figure begin to play with the arcade machine. It was a rather-interesting process, all things considered. The figure by her side, for all intents and purposes, was truly meant to be a person. They interacted with the machine properly, choosing their name and their proper parameters without any hesitation in spite of them all being just as blurry as they themselves were, and once they and the swordswoman reached the character select screen, they were able to choose their character properly. On an ironic side note, it seemed that Kimiko's liking for swords extended to the game, as even though the game appeared to mostly only portray people who fought with their fists and feet, she made sure to take the first character amidst them all who primarily used blades, some kind of armored man going by the name of "Manji". Oh, that woman never really has changed, has she? That side of her was always there after all.

In any case, after a time, she and the figure would pick a stage and they would start playing. It would not take long thereafter for the Vice-Captain to feel completely left out of the scene. Kimiko was very clearly enjoying herself, laughing and complimenting the figure as they fought on the screen. In the meantime, the crowd of figures began to crow around Kaen and even become slightly overwhelming. In a way, it was as though a barrier was forming between himself and the Captain. The worst part is that he could not fight back against them. Indeed, somehow, should he find himself attempting to push them or to even strike them so as to bring them out of his way, they would either quickly be replaced by another figure or they would push him back in return, forcing him further and further away from Kimiko and into the darkness outside of Ultra Ban. It was becoming clearer and clearer as the time went on: they wanted him to leave. They wanted him to let Kimiko stay in this dream.

The figures would continue to push him further and further away from the swordswoman. Should he attempt to call to her, she would not hear him, as soon, the crowd would become louder with cries of encouragement and excitement. It would only be once he'd find himself of the Ultra Ban parlor that the pushing would stop. However, by then, he may as well have been almost completely separated from Kimiko, left in the dark between the portal and the focused memory. This would effectively leave him with another decision to make: he could leave this place with the portal and hope that Kimiko could figure this out on her own, something which doesn't seem apparent at a glance... or he could attempt to destroy Ultra Ban with his full force. The first of these options wasn't particularly enticing, as there was again no sign that the swordswoman could work it out and also no sign that Kaen wouldn't be put through a similar process either in the near future. Meanwhile, the second option was risky, as it could lead this odd world to violently react to the use of brute force.

As he would attempt to make this decision, he would eventually hear footsteps coming from the darkness. At first, they were almost imperceptible, but soon, he would be able to hear them clearly as they came from his right side. Should he find himself looking towards that particular direction, he would quickly find himself looking at... Kimiko again. However, this Kimiko was different. Something about her was off. She was not wearing a Shihakusho nor casual clothes, instead opting for what seemed closer to a school uniform, and she had glasses on her face. Her dark hair was also not as wild as they should be, as they were instead ordained into a well-kept ponytail, and her eyes were of a silvery grey. Even her skin appeared to be just as pale. Finally, she did not possess two swords like the dojo master should, but instead only one: the white blade. It dangling from her left hip somewhat loosely, almost like she was treating it more so as a tool than a proper weapon, but it was there nonetheless.

After a time, she would finally reach Kaen's position before giving him and Ultra Ban a stare and a smile. While she appeared to be satisfied with what was happening, the latter of those two things was cold and suspicious. However, she did nothing for the time being that would garner a reason for the Vice-Captain to attack her. She would simply observe the scene, appearing amused yet disappointed all at once. "Well... this is new~. I thought Kimiko-chan would've been able to handle stupid shit like this by now. I guess I was wrong," she found herself commenting with a calm voice as she continued observing. This would give enough time for Kaen to perhaps attempt to sense the signature of her spiritual energy. If he did, he would realize that the woman is almost certainly some kind of Hollow, something that carried an ungodly amount of dark power. "Hm... Maybe I should amp up the visions next time... just in case~." 

The woman would continue to stare at Ultra Ban for a moment, appearing to not give any attention Kaen. Then, without any warning, she suddenly appeared right in front of him. It didn't seem as though she had used Shunpo to reach his position; rather, it almost seemed as though she had quite literally warped towards him. She'd stare at him in the eyes, then allow her smile to slowly widen. "Youji-fukutaichō... The investigative pride of Nanabantai~. I know I saw your face from somewhere. It's the one that almost punched dear little Kimiko-chan's own face into a pulp with her own technique, after all~." There was very clearly a hint of mockery in there, though it was unclear whether it was directed towards Kaen or Kimiko herself, and it didn't seem as though she was going to make that any clearer. "It's also the one who might need a little bit of help from yours truly."

"A m   I   r i g h t ?" 

It was unclear how the woman was able to appear as such, but the moment she spoke out those words, the Vice-Captain would suddenly feel a wave of fear ring throughout his body. He would be able to feel the overwhelming power within her, the darkness that composed her. Everything. However, he could also feel as though, ironically enough, she was the kind of person who would answer every one of his questions.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen's eyes continued to sweep the room as Kimiko enjoyed herself. The creeping feeling of unease was still there, and the appearance of various blurry figures only made it worse. "Shit..." These were the first people since they'd arrived. Some part of the trickery? Maybe the shades of the missing folk? A combination of both? Was this some ability that incorporated those trapped inside of it into its illusions? Of course a definite answer was impossible, but that didn't stop Kaen from theorizing.

It also didn't stop him from noticing he was slowly being pushed away from Kimiko. "Oi. Out of the way." Kaen first politely shoved his way back to his original position to stay near to Kimiko, but was surprised when new individuals blocked his path. His eyes narrowed. "Not a good idea sirs, or madam, you're blurry so I can't quite tell." He shoved forwards again a bit more forcefully, and found the same result. After a few moments of recognizing the distance between himself and Kimiko was increasing he took a breath.

"Last chance, or this may get violent. I don't want to hurt any of you, but you are not screwing around with me like this, understand?" Presuming no answer was given, Kaen sighed. "I warned you." And initiated a forceful shove to knock aside the crowd like bowling pins, allowing his strength to surge forth. There was a good probability-- if these were ordinary folk, that this could seriously injure them. But even so, Kaen found that he was still being blocked as more rushed to fill the gap. The hell.... Do I use Hachiryuu? But what if these are the missing people...?

He considered his options, and as he did, heard a new voice approach him, and noticed the strange nega-Kimiko. Finally something else of note to draw his eyes. He examined her for a moment with obvious suspicion. This wasn't something for Kimiko to see. Not exactly, anyways. If it was, this image would have appeared inside the Ultra Ban, not out here with him, and certainly wouldn't be making such musings where Kimiko couldn't hear her.

"Kimiko's Zanpakuto spirit? No...." His eyes narrowed. There was something about the reiatsu, but Kaen wasn't quite ready to conceive of what it meant. Not yet at any rate. The odds were astronomical. And he didn't like the implications.... Either way though. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on, and it seemed he needed help to deal with it. Still, something was rubbing him the wrong way here. It ultimately wouldn't matter, but he'd do what he could to parse through this.

"Yes. Looks like I do need help getting to the bottom of this." He stated, watching the spirit suspiciously. "And you seem to know what's going on here, better than I do, and certainly better than she does. So go ahead. You clearly seem to want to gloat a bit about how much you know about the situation, and having Kimiko and I over a barrel with that knowledge." He stated pointedly.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Unfortunately for Kaen, there was no negative intentions that could be noticed or even felt from the figures as they further blocked his path. Like how they were themselves blurry and disconnected from anyone but Kimiko, they appeared to believe the Vice-Captain to be on a similar, yet opposite level in regards to his connection to this memory. In other words, from the way they refused to react to any one of his words and instead decided to further bring him away from the arcade parlor, it could be said that he was not an individual to speak of nor recognize in their eyes. Rather, he was nothing more than an obstacle between and the arcade machine that the Captain was currently playing on. It was the kind of disrespect that could only be perpetrated by beings such as they who were fundamentally incapable of understanding how to respect anyone who was not within their crowd. It was perhaps humiliating for Kaen, even insulting, but ultimately, there was nothing that could be done against them. Not for now, at least.

But there was a being in this memory who understood what they were. She, like Kaen, was also an intruder, but she was not a complete stranger to Kimiko's memories. If that were the case, she would not appear in front of the Vice-Captain looking the way she did, and she would not appear so confident before it all. Moreover, she would not make herself appear as though she could solve this entire problem in a heartbeat if she wanted to. The way she stared at the Ultra Ban establishment from afar and took note of the blurry figures, her glowing silver eyes dancing from one of their own to the other, made it even more apparent that she perfectly figured everything out by merely gazing at it all. Yet, in spite of this, she did nothing. She merely continued to study the situation with that calm grin of hers from a distance that she believed to be safe, to observe from a metaphorical high ground, as though she was expecting something special to happen from it all.

Why she was not solving this matter immediately would most likely be a question that would either appear in his mind or through his words. That is what the being had understood at that moment as she gave to him that fearsome gaze, and in a way, she did get it to a certain extent. The fist-fighter displayed his suspicion of her intentions without hesitation, making sure that she comprehended his position in this discussion. Hearing him assume that she was a Zanpakuto spirit only to then deny it was amusing, but it was the way he attempted to identify her goals that truly pleased her above all. The blurry figures couldn't showcase recognition. However, she could. Very much so, in fact. "Well, when you put it that way, pretty boy, I sure do want to gloat~," he shot back at him as her grin extended from ear-to-ear. For a moment, her own figure seemed mist-like, like she wanted to force Kaen to witness what appeared to be a certain level of fluidity and an affinity to change. However, for the time being, she retained her current appearance. "Alright then. I suppose I can give you a little presentation, for Kimiko-chan's sake~."  

The pale woman would find herself slowly walking towards him in that moment. Each step she took would cause another wave of fear to be felt across his entire body as she further unleashed her dark spiritual energy. It would feel like several icy blades were being forcefully dragged against his skin, and that any wrong move from his end would cause them all to cut him into several ribbons at once. There was no comfort to be had around this woman, no hope for pleasantries that would be amusing for anyone but herself, and by the time she stood by his side, there was nothing that made this any clearer than the ungodly amount of corrupted energy that was leaving her body. The sheer extent of the mass that was pushing against the darkness of the memory itself was unprecedented. Maybe this would be enough for Kaen to figure out what she was and, subsequently, what Kimiko was too; after all, right about now, she did share her face. If not? Then, she will still be satiated. From her point of the view, simply stating the difference in their levels of power was satisfying enough.

She would let the silence between them last for just a bit longer, if only to force him to further stare at the power she was releasing. Then, as suddenly as she herself appeared only a moment ago, the darkness of her being vanished and the one conjured by the memory returned. Just like that. The sudden change in atmosphere would be so abrupt that it would potentially cause Kaen to lose his footing, as he would feel a weight on his shoulders being released from him simultaneously. "We're currently standing in Kimiko's happiest memory. Or rather, riiight outside of it, now that the lonely bitch who conjured it is focusing on making that place look as realistic as possible," she explained with surprising accuracy, crossing her arms and slowly walking around Kaen as she did so. Even when she was not releasing any energy or wasn't even trying to be threatening anymore, there was still an overwhelming sense about her, like a predator looming over prey. "Trust me, I know all about that hole. I've used it several times before, and knowing myself, I doubt I won't use it again. It's just too fun~."

That last little line of hers should most likely make her wonder what she was alluding to by mentioning it. However, she made no efforts to precise what she was talking about, whether it be through subtle movements or through proper hints. Instead, she merely kept walking around him and continued to go on about their current situation. "I usually don't do spoilers, but I gotta admit that the bitch is kinda pissing me off. I think I've killed him ten times now. Even the old man killed a couple on his own~. You think he wouldn't be able to with those shitty lungs of his... but oh well~." For a moment, it appeared as though she was merely sliding into a subject that did not concern Kaen at all. There was no way for him to know who the old man was supposed to be, after all, unless he had somehow learned of Shizukakane's form. However, the way she spoke of him and how both he and she slew the Captains' target several times was most definitely concerning. "Anyway... Think of this place as your head. But, it's not just your head. It's also Kimiko-chan's. It's also mine... and it's also the head of every single person who was caught by that bitch, and then eaten~." 

As she finished her explanation, she then suddenly disappeared from Kaen's sight. At a glance, it was unclear how she was able to do so, given that there was no noise to accompany her movement nor any signs of her having used any kind of rapid technique. But then, just as he would feel as though he had been left alone, he would feel her presence behind as she put her left arm around his chest. Her touch was cold, but also spiritually dense and powerful. Perhaps Kaen would be able to contest this with his own strength, but it would probably be best to remain cautious for the time being. So far, she was too unpredictable, too difficult to understand. "If you want to get out of here, all you need to do is to destroy that memory. You don't have to do something big and flashy like swinging that burning dick of yours into those poor little arcade gamers. All you really need is a whole lot of Humanity's very best friend: trauma~."

Each and every word spoken reached Kaen's right ear like an entrancing melody as her lips neared it. Not entrancing in a calm and soothing fashion, but rather in a way that made her appear deadly wrong and even further suspicious. It was very clear that that woman was a dangerous being and perhaps not even a woman at all, in spite of the fact that she was connected to Kimiko. That grin of hers said it all. The more the Vice-Captain would find himself staring at it, the more he would realize how big and sharp it was. She could bite someone's face off with those teeth, assuming that they were true teeth and not just figments of the mist that appeared to compose her. And the worst part was not the words themselves... but rather the way she continued to behave with the man. "As the pride of Nanabantai, I assume that you looked into Kimiko's files a little... or not~. Either way, do you know how she ended up in the Soul Society? Come on, pretty boy, tell me. It's okay if you don't know~." 

She would await an answer from Kaen in that moment, as though she was anticipating something from him. Her grin remained, as though she was still pleased by this interaction, but her gaze had become sharper and perhaps even impatient to a certain extent. This put her reassuring words in perspective, but at the same time, it was unclear whether this truly meant anything or not. Meanwhile, several more noises of celebration would be heard from the Ultra Ban parlor as the blurry figures celebrated what could only be assumed to be another one of Kimiko's win on the arcade machine she was playing on.

[Kaen Youji]

While Kaen didn't exactly like the position he was in, the creature that looked like Kimiko did seem willing to tell him at least something of the situation, so he took a minute to listen patiently to what she was saying. "Is that so?" He commented as it gave him the rundown of the situation. They were in Kimiko's happiest memory. But something still didn't add up. "So. This is some other entity's ability. We figured out that much. But why Kimiko specifically? If this is everyone's head, why are we only walking through Kimiko's memories. I'd have expected to be confronted by one or two of mine if that's the case, or some other Rukongai citizens. It can't be a matter of selling the illusion.... That would be a terrifically inefficient way to use the ability, only targeting one person at a time. And could definitely not have cleared out an entire district so quickly if that was the case...." He shook his head.

"But you also seem to have an idea as to who's behind this if you know their ability so intimately. "Caught by that bitch and then eaten" huh? You're making it sound like a Hollow or a Hellion." She vanished and put her arm around him, and for the moment, Kaen wasn't resisting. For the moment.

Kaen's arms folded in front of him, and his cerulean eyes glowered at Kimiko's Inner Hollow. "You got a name I can call you by? A nickname at least, if you're gonna go all cryptic on me? Or should I just call you Creepy Kimi? Or Krimiko? Kimicreep? Creepiko?" Just a tiny bit of retaliation for the Inner Hollow's own mocking commentary. Just to let her know that while it may have him at a disadvantage, he wasn't going to be a doormat about it.

"I looked at her service record, not her history. She wasn't a traitor, nor has she behaved in a manner to draw suspicion, so I haven't had the inclination look deeper. She was trained by Captain Shindazu, has risen through the ranks at an alarming rate to Captaincy, runs a swordfighting school out in the Rukongai, is relatively young by Shinigami standards, and has acquitted herself admirably in several military operations. Preference for sword combat, particularly of the iaido school, utilizing an unorthodox nitoryu method of iaijutsu." His eyes stabbed at the Inner Hollow.

"But you don't need me to tell you any of that. You spoke of using trauma to break her out of this. What did you mean by that? Because I don't have illusory powers or anything like that, and I imagine that just yelling details of her past at her won't do the trick. And your earlier comments imply that me trying to blast this place with a fireball isn't going to do shit either. You've clearly got a game plan in mind, and a bone to pick with whoever's doing this. We have a common enemy on this account, and I get the feeling the longer this goes on, the closer they get to their goals. ...And, I might note, by extension, the more in-danger you'll be. I don't know exactly what you are.... Or maybe I just don't want to know. But I do know one thing about you. If you are a part of Kimiko's soul, then her being crushed by whatever we're going after is going to affect you too."

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The negatively-colored Kimiko would listen to Kaen attentively and with perhaps one of the most satisfied grins the man would have ever seen in her life. It didn't appear completely distorted, or at least not outwardly-so, but to the Vice-Captain's eyes, it would definitely seem unnatural. The corner of her lips had stretched onto her face a little bit too far, the eyes that hovered over them were just a little bit too focused onto the Shinigami, and the grip that she held around the man's shoulder became just a little bit too tight. And then, there was the cold that came along with them, the indescribable feeling of danger that would linger about Kaen's senses and threaten to reduce him to smithereens should he say something wrong or do something that the woman would consider to even be the slightest bit annoying. At this point, it was probably easier to describe this conversation not as a conversation, but rather as nothing more than a game of cat and mouse... and it didn't really seem as though the woman was worried about either winning or losing that game.

Of course, she hadn't come here just to showcase her superiority. That would be counter-productive to her goal, and it was clear that Kaen knew about this. So, in spite of the fact that she did declare that she did not appreciate "spoilers", as she described them, she would answer every one of his questions without an obvious care. Although, she would not do so without a hint of amusement, especially after she took in Kaen's judgement of their target's mind-infiltrating ability. "Oh, please, Youji-fukutaichō~. You don't have to think really hard to figure that out," the creature mocked in what could be assumed to be a friendly tone, though it was difficult to judge whether it truly was friendly or simply sarcastic. This tone would be maintained once the man mentioned the man-eating creatures. "The bitch is a Hollow, and the bitch has an ability that allows him to eat better, unlike the rest of his kind. That makes him the king of bitches. Not the goddess-bitch. That one's on another level... but he's close~."  

From that point onward, it would indeed not be very difficult for Kaen to understand how this world worked. The truth wasn't revealed to him in its entirety, as to be expected from the behavior that this oddity made sure to uphold all the way through the entirety of their conversation thus far, but if what she said was true, then every single detail of the aforementioned world could be interpreted as being something that allows for a greater consumption of the soul. Combine that information with the fact that Hollows typically are attracted to greater souls, and it then becomes possible to get a solid understanding as to how the creature's ability worked. Or at least, one could understand its fundamentals, which was nothing to scoff at. This, naturally, would be useful to a certain extent for someone like Kaen and even Kimiko once she is taken away from Ultra Ban. However, it did not really reveal how exactly it could be beaten, especially when someone was already caught in its grasp.

Fortunately for the Vice-Captain, Creepy Kimi wasn't done revealing things to him. If she was, she would've left him there and simply gone on to focus on the main task at her hand. So, she would taken in every single one of the nicknames he gave her with an increasingly-amused smirk, then pat the man's left shoulder as her arm circled them both. "Ooooh, how original~. I especially like that second one, Krimiko. Makes me sound like one of those murderer wannabes on the Internet~," she shot back at him with an almost-nonchalant attitude about it all. Needless to say, she didn't feel threatened nor even insulted by the Vice-Captain's retort. If anything, she seemed to be legitimately interested in using those nicknames. Usually, this would have been an amusing thought for anyone involved. Usually. But this wasn't usual circumstances, as the woman would make most evident once she looked back at the man with a face suddenly stretched into a horrible visage.

"M y   n a m e   i s    Y u m e   .   I t ' s   n i c e   t o   m e e t   y o u   t o o,   K a e n ."

The characteristics of her face had become uncanny within the mist that was her head. It was as though a shadow had suddenly been draped all over it, making her look more frightening. Her eyes were far too wide, to the point that they should have appeared bloodshot, and her teeth were far too white, to the point that they looked fake. And again, there was that overwhelming feeling of dread that came along with it all, the ominousness that attempted to further put Kaen in what the creature believed to be his place. Creature. Yes. That was now the right word to describe her. Not woman, not negatively-colored Kimiko, not even Krimiko or any other one of Kaen's humorous nicknames. She knew about the "bitch" who attacked Kimiko as well as the rest of his kind because she was technically part of it. She was an Inner Hollow... yet another one whose existence the Vice-Captain would unfortunately now have to live with for as long as the Captain remained within the Soul Society.

It would take some time for Yume's facial features to return to how they once were. Slowly, but surely, the shadow would clear itself from her face, and by then, it would seem as though nothing had happened to her. She was back to being an exact replica of Kimiko, back to wearing glasses and appearing so calm and studious. Perhaps she returned to that face because she felt as though the horror of her visage had now passed, but it didn't feel like that was quite the case. If anything, the mist around it now seemed even more fluid, like she could now showcase another visage at any time without any warning whatsoever. No, instead, it seemed like she returned to it more so because she wanted Kaen to focus, like she was sparing him solely to further entertain herself with his talks. She wanted to hear every single bit of theory about this place to come out of the Vice-Captain's mouth, and she wanted to hear it all without a single interruption.

In a way, this bold strategy worked. She got what she wanted on an emotional level. After a while, the man had laid down his knowledge of Kimiko's service record and his understanding of his power within this realm, which was to say his lack of it. With that being said, she did not get what she wanted on a knowledgeable level. So, she would chuckle quietly and turn her gaze towards the arcade parlor before them. "So, you don't know. Okay~. I'll tell you all about it, pretty boy," she said, completely disregarding everything the man had said about the Captain's experience as a Shinigami before she would give the man a proper answer. "Kimiko was murdered in that hole by a loser who couldn't handle a few bad dreams. Slashed her throat in the bathroom and left her there to die from blood loss. The people beat the shit out of him before he could run away, but they couldn't save her. They couldn't even save this place. Closed down not even a few weeks later."

Surprisingly, she would almost appear more serious in that moment, with her eyes becoming less cold and perhaps even soft. It was as though she was showing actual care for the swordswoman, something which was almost unprecedented for a being such as she. However, this would unsurprisingly not last, as then, she would turn back towards Kaen and give him a simple smile. "Oh, no, I wouldn't die. I'm not in any danger here. If that bitch is real close to eating Kimiko-chan, I'll just kill him and then take her place~," she snickered, trying to appear uncaring for the situation at hand, but it was obvious that she did care. She wasn't even trying to hide it. Or perhaps, that was her way to emphasize how important this was to her. Still, she didn't say it outright, as then, she would lay down some kind of plan: "That loser guy who killed her? He was a player at that place, someone called "Ano". So! I was thinking I could just turn into him and do the deed~. Meanwhile, all you'd need to do is just burn the shit out of those blurs. Shit plan, I know, buuut... it's the only one I got. The only other option I got is just destroying you and Kimiko-chan's brain with my spiritual energy~." 

Yeah... that first plan is probably a safer bet.

[Kaen Youji]

Fine. So they were dealing with a Hollow. That helped. A little. It was an unusual power for a Hollow, but nonetheless Kaen had no choice but to take Krimiko at her word. There was references to other Hollows, but Kaen didn't have time to parse that right now. All that mattered was the present moment. "So you're familiar with this Hollow?" He asked. "Is Kimiko familiar with them as well?"

With response to picking the name and then revealing her own, Kaen smirked a little in spite of the circumstances. "Wannabe sounds about right then, Yume." He replied. He refrained from flinching at the disfigurement that her face suddenly underwent (SoW1), though beneath the surface it had definitely startled and unsettled him a little bit. Creepy Kimi was right. And it was clear she was pushing it in his face what exactly she was, so he'd have no plausible deniability. The realization of that, caused his eyes to narrow in annoyance at her.

For the moment this annoyance kept him from interrupting Yume, but once she was finished, telling Kimiko's morbid tale, Kaen spoke up. "And those blurs are illusions?" He queried. "A part of this dreamscape and nothing more?" His eyes glared at Yume, tracking for any sign of falsehood. Kaen was pretty good at picking out liars, and the possibility that the blurs were in fact the Rukongai Souls being drafted into playing out this little game was something he'd considered, and was probing for an answer to that.

"And real close? So you can sense whether they're near or far from her? Is that about right?" He added. "But I don't have many other options. But just so we're on the same page, you've confirmed one thing at least. A threat to Kimiko's life is a threat to yours. So you're making one hell of a screwup by telling me what you are. You know what I'm required to do." He growled out in a low tone.

"Let's get this over with."

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The dark creature maintained the facial expression that she used to introduce herself to Kaen for longer than she had previously anticipated. At first, she had only planned to maintain that horrible visage for maybe a couple of seconds or so, if only to instill into him a greater fear of her existence as well as a greater understanding of what her existence meant in the grand scheme of things. However, when she witnessed the man's resolve, his ability to withstand all of those simple things without even so much as a flinch... she felt compelled to stretch her smile just a little bit further. Evidently, the man amused her to an extent that only someone such as she could reach. His courage, his logic, his rationality, they all brought to her a level of emotional pleasure that she believed to be exquisite. It reminded her of the versions of those things that Kimiko herself owned, as well as the ones Celes owned before she was turned into the lesser thing she is today.

In any case, the Shinigami did not react any more intensely to the maintaining of the expression either. Instead, he further retained himself from flinching and simply acknowledged her name. He even shot back at her for using the word "wannabe" to describe the online murderers on the Internet. This obviously amused her further, though at this point, she was done making creepy faces. Or well, that particular face, at the very least. So, she released it, then sported that same calm smile from before. "Kimiko-chan knows nothing about it. But, like I said earlier, I slaughtered that bitch a few times since he showed up in the Inner World~. You gotta listen to me a little bit better than that, pretty boy," she teased, though there was something about the way she said those words that showcased a certain level of frustration, even if she hid it under a certain veneer of control. That frustration, however, was not directed at Kaen. "Still, that hasn't really mattered so far. Every time I kill him, he shows up again later. The funny thing is that instead of fighting me, he always instead just tells me to go away! Hmph~. What a little shit."

She would then go on to recant what happened to Kimiko prior to her becoming a Plus, and not long after, a Shinigami. She did not appear to be very surprised once she witnessed Kaen speed onward through the conversation. Disappointed, perhaps, because she wanted to see how he would have reacted to the idea of learning about the Captain's mortal demise, but not surprised, for most Souls typically tend to dislike speaking of such an event. There was an afterlife to be experienced, sure, but to fall is already a most difficult thing to process, and death was undoubtedly one of the greatest of those falls, no matter if it led to that particular afterlife. But, then again, there was also the matter of the people their target had caught that most definitely appeared to bother him. Kimiko sure was thinking about them quite a fair bit too right before she ended up becoming stuck in that mess. In other words, there was quite simply no time for this conversation to continue.

Upon arriving to that conclusion, Yume would stare at the blurs that were populating the Ultra Ban arcade parlor. While she and the Vice-Captain were speaking to one another, their numbers had grown to form a greater total that not only filled the parlor itself, but also occupied a part of its exterior. This was no longer just a group of "people", but now a whole crowd. From the looks of things, this observation only further amused the Inner Hollow, but again, there seemed to be a certain note of concern in her eyes. Still, she would waste no more time, and this would properly answer Kaen's questions again. "Just figments of Kimiko-chan's imagination~... but I know that's not the answer you're looking for here. What you're really asking is: Are those blurs the people you came here to save? Well, allow me to break my spoiling rule again just for you~." She crossed her arms before then giving the man a more serious look, in spite of the smile. "I wasn't kidding earlier about the bitch eating them. Give up on saving those people. They're gone. All of them." 

That wasn't a falsehood. It wasn't something that she said to further unnerve him or to further intimidate him. Not at all. It was instead just the plain truth. Kaen would not need much to understand that, as her glowing silver eyes practically laid it all down for him. That glare of hers, previously so entrancing and off-putting all at once, had become sharper and more convincing. It also did not leave her for the time being, as she had more words to tie them to. "I can sense him to a certain extent. Not like one of those shitty nerds' devices, mind you, but I know when something is about to jump her or I. That's why I'm always able to show up whenever she needs me around. You'd be surprised how many times she almost got herself killed~," she chuckled, only further alluding to the fact that she had been present in the Captain's life for quite some time now, before adding one last thing. "Oh, by the way, that also includes the likes of  y o u ."

The last word that she spoke came out of her mouth in a distorted fashion. It was as though it had been spoken by something whose throat had been left scorched, charred, as though burned by many fires. Then, there was a snap, and the woman's face suddenly found itself right in front of Kaen's, in spite of her current position. From his position, it would be difficult to tell whether she had simply moved her body or quite literally elongated her neck to permit such an adjustment. "It's what you're required to do... but you won't do it. You know you can't." Her voice had become soft alongside her expression. It was as though the former had devolved into a caring whisper, one of concern... but also deep mockery. This would worsen as the horrific modification of her head proceeded. All the while it remained in front of Kaen's own face, it changed. It began to distort into something completely different, a harsh visage with wild red eyes who appeared ready to slaughter anything in their sight. A figure from Kaen's past carrying on her voice. "After all, if you had the balls to do it, you would've gone and killed her already."

Yume, unsurprisingly, knew who Camila was. With the aid of Kimiko's own memories, she understood that she was an officer who was close to Celes at one point and was, all things considered, someone who was once also close to other Shinigami. Kaen, being supposedly quite the social type, most likely spoke to her once. While she did not know if she held any importance to Kaen or if he even knew where she was, that ultimately did not matter to her. The only thing that did was the challenge that she was making in regards to his ideals in that moment. That, and also the plain shock value that came with the display of her dreamscape abilities, as would be made most apparent once another snap was heard. Right after the snap was completely finished, she stood in front of Kaen as though nothing had happened, with her appearance returned to normal. "Anyway! I know you're also not stupid enough to kill Kimiko-chan right now~. The Attack Squad has already lost a ton of people as is. Take out their Captain, who is also the most popular martial arts school teacher around right now, and you've got yourself not only a weaker Soul Society, but also a whole lot of angry civilians who'll just want to beat the shit out of you~. That would be annoying, huh? Having to kill off so many innocent souls, just because of dear old me... and a few others, too~." 

She was not wrong. As cruel as that reminder may be, the Soul Society could not be considered as being in a particular good spot at the moment. With their forces still reduced even to this day by the grand demonic invasion that occurred not that long ago in the celestial scheme of things, they continued to require more soldiers than they could recruit for the time being. The Nijūkan dojos permitted that recruitment, but moreover, it also acted as an exemplary method of quiet peacekeeping. To cut off the very head of these schools would not only indeed be difficult for the Attack Squad itself, who currently was most affected by these lesser personnel numbers, but also potentially soul-shattering for much of Rukongai. In other words, Yume believed herself to be completely safe from harm. She didn't care if her words angered Kaen or complicated his professional relationship with Kimiko. Ultimately, that was not important to her. For Kimiko's safety, she preferred keeping him in a place that she believed to be advantageous, even if that required the sacrifice of camaraderie between the Captain and the Vice-Captain, and the reveal of other potential Vizards within the Soul Society.

Once this was taken care of, she would begin to nonchalantly walk towards the arcade parlor with a smile, hoping that Kaen was in tow. Her demeanor was casual and almost uncaring, as though she didn't care what either the blurs in front of her or Kaen behind her would do to her. The further she approached said blurs, the more audible their cries of joy and encouragement would become until, suddenly, a grand portion of them would become silent and turn towards the two warriors heading towards their position. While their lack of facial or, really, any features would prevent anyone from understanding what they were currently feeling, the way they positioned themselves in familiar ways was nothing short of intriguing. "Heh. So that's all you remember from them, huh, Kimiko-chan? Their characters? Hm, and here I thought replaying your memories in your nightmares had become boring...~," Yume found herself chuckling before she looked over her shoulder towards Kaen. "Come on, pretty boy! It's time for you to have some fun now!" 

The figures would remain undeterred and ready to fight. There was no way around it: Kaen would have to fight against them with all of his might.

[Kaen Youji]

Something was off, but Kaen couldn't quite put his finger on it. The rules of Inner Worlds could be a bit unusual, sure, but usually not the extent that people came back from the dead. Yet that SEEMED to be what the Yume was implying by her statements of killing "that bitch" before? But it seemed she was determined to be cryptic about it. Unless she was referring to Kimiko's Zanpakuto spirit? Maybe? Kaen had no idea how Inner Hollows worked, and he wasn't about to go up to Aramis and ask for all his notes on Vizards. That would put a 12th Division or Onmitsukido team tailing him in record time. Not much Kaen could do with Yume though. He might sass her later, but he still needed intelligence on the situation right now.

At the very least the "figments" as Yume put it, weren't really people. Not exactly. Or at least that's the take Kaen was getting. Maybe they indeed couldn't be saved anymore, but Kaen had to do his due diligence to not make things worse at least. Honestly, Kaen was right about to get down to business right then and there, but Yume's next line caused him to pause for a minute. He stopped and looked back at the Inner Hollow, and this time, stepped right up in Yume's face without hesitation. "Hey." He stated. "There's a time and a place. This might be the place, but it's not the time. But I wouldn't test me." For a split second, Kaen let some of the shadow in his heart come out.

"I will do what needs to be done. Don't think you can say whatever you want, and stay safe." He growled out. Then with actual visible concentration and effort on his face, he pulled back, pushing that darkness down into himself again, back to its tomb in his heart where the Empress had helped him bury it. He looked back to the Ultra Ban where the figures had turned to face him.

"Maybe I can show you what I mean...."

Kaen inhaled. His only moment of reflection. Of bracing not his body, but his will for what was to come. Then he moved forwards, with a deathly slowness, his Zanpakuto sliding from his back into his hand. Twisting as he brought his arm over his shoulder, and binding itself around his wrist in the form of an arm brace. "I'm sorry Kimiko."

Fire erupted from his hand. Fire burned forwards, scorching through the figures in front of him, like a deadly laser, hot enough to burn them to charred remains instantly and to ash only moments later. Death by fire was often painful, but at the intensity of Kaen's flames, a victim would normally only have a few moments to register the pain before they were killed. Of course the rules weren't always uniform here, but Yume had implied burning the place might do the trick and so it was time to turn up the heat.

Shikai: 1/10
Reiatsu Remaining: 1350/1500

[Nakajima Kimiko]

For all intents and purposes, Yume believed that the explanations that she had given to Kaen had been completely sensible. She had laid the consequences that would occur almost immediately should Kimiko be executed on the spot rather well, or at least she thought that she had done so well-enough according to her standards, and so she didn't think that she needed to be any more thorough with the Vice-Captain. The image of Camila alone should have been enough to quiet him down, to make him understand that any damage done to her, to Kimiko, or any kind of connection that had been made between them throughout their entire career as one Shinigami would be nothing short of catastrophic. In the end, maybe it did go through as she had planned; however, in a way, it didn't end up reaching the effects that she had hoped it would instill in the man. No... on the contrary, it brought something out that left her watching and listening.

There was clear anger in Kaen's retort. Not the kind that she had been expecting from Kimiko all along, as she had long gotten used to that sort of emotional outburst. This was different. The cheery and somewhat-foolish tone that she believed the man had carried with him ever since she had witnessed him within the swordswoman's memories had faded away to reveal the face of a man who no one should trifle with. His gaze had become sharp and powerful, enough so that it could pierce through the hearts of those who were too weak to withstand it, and his voice had grown into a growl to expect solely from the greatest beasts the Soul Society could possibly offer in the shape of a warrior. This should have pushed Yume away, to get her to shut up on the spot so that they could move on. In truth, though, it sparked something deep within her the likes of which surpassed even the interests that she had harnessed for the specific case of Celes' Inner Hollow.

After hearing his words, the creature turned towards him and stared back into his eyes with an unnatural calm. Her own eyes had shot wide, forcing upon him their silvery sheen and the darkness that came along with them, and her mouth had simply taken the form of a simple smile. This time, there were no illusions or distortions of the visage she held. There was not even a sound that she bothered to create. There was just her. Her and her alone, as he would most likely appreciate at this very moment. "So, this is the real you. Nice~. You should look like this more often. It suits you so much better," she first commented with a distinct tone of mockery, even if there was some level of appreciation to it all. Then, her eyes sharpened again, and she made sure to use the extent of her height to tower over the man. "Unfortunately, as much as you're trying so very hard to convince me on that fact of yours, it doesn't really matter what you think. I can say whatever I want, and I can stay safe. That is what I'm best at, whether you like it or not."  

The challenge would remain there for a time. In truth, in spite of the situation they currently both found themselves in all thanks to the works of this mind-targeting Hollow of theirs, there was a part of the Inner Hollow that truly wished to do battle with Kaen. It was that dominative side of hers - the kind that only a beast like she could hold after years of tormenting the one person she loved most - who wanted to make an example out of him, to prove to him that he was absolutely nothing to her, no matter how hard he tried to make himself appear so much more powerful than her. But of course, after a time, she had to consider the stakes that were currently at hand, and so she would allow the man to pull back from their minor confrontation with no further comments to add on the matter. Now was not the time for games. They had to focus on the action before Kimiko would lose herself to the madness that was unfolding within the confines of her weaponized memories.

Shortly after their conversation came to an end, Kaen would unleash the flames of his Zanpakuto. Yume would decide to stand back, as she had a feeling that the man was preparing an attack that would most likely be best avoided. The silhouettes, however, decided to stay put, maintaining their familiar fighting stances as they prepared to unleash themselves upon the Vice-Captain. It was as though they held no fear for the man whatsoever, or rather, they quite simply could not process what he was about to do due to their apparent lack of intelligence or self. In other circumstances, this would have perhaps been useful, as such mindless automaton-like beings would have easily overwhelmed a simple fighter who only used his fists to get the job done. The problem was that Kaen did not only use his fists, as was proven just about a few seconds later when, without any warning whatsoever, an onslaught of flames shot out of his hands straight onto the shades.

It was somewhat difficult to properly quantify the amount of damage that the beings had received, as although they appeared to be Human, their appearance was far too limited to properly dictate any form of damage. Even so, a great deal of them was instantly vaporized the moment they were caught by the laser-like projectile that surged from Kaen's hand. With a plethora of distant cries, their figures dissipated into the dark air into nothingness as they were effectively "killed" by the flames. Unfortunately, however, there were still many more to come. Almost as though they were responding to the flames, some of the survivors would begin to cry out again as their bodies suddenly began to split into two, then four, then eight. Moreover, the bodies would also begin to change. Slowly but surely, they would lose their Human features and instead appear more stylized and exaggerated. Kaen would easily be able to recognize a few of these figures, as they harbored the silhouettes of various Street Fighter characters.

As the figures continued to develop, one of them would begin to change into a figure that was much more distinct in comparison to the rest, one that Kaen would be able to recognize should he had once played the Justice Cog games. She appeared as a young woman with an overwhelming mane of red hair that flowed in an invisible wind. Around her body was an ancient kimono of red and blue inspired by the ones commonly found during Japan's feudal era, and within her hand was a simple sword harboring similar origins. As her battle-hardened eyes locked onto Kaen's, a scuff would leave her lips, and eventually, she would point her blade towards him before letting out an unimpressed scuff. "The hell are you supposed to be? A circus freak?" She asked with an aggressive and clearly-bothered tone, as though she had been interrupted, before she then sighed and took on a more serious frown. "Well, whatever. Show me what you got. I've got no time to waste."  

Once the woman finished what appeared to be some of introduction to her entrance, she quickly dissipated from view with a technique that appeared to be akin to Shunpo before appearing in front of Kaen and unleashing his sword onto him. Her speed was unprecedented, most definitely equal to his in some way or another, which was most definitely not a feature that was shared by the other shades which were still attempting to reach their position. More importantly, now that she was so close to him, there was something about her he could make out of that potentially made her far more dangerous than any other creature in the area. If this is supposed to be a Justice Cog character... then it was entirely possible that she could fight just like them. This would mean that she could do sequences of attacks that could not normally be achieved by a normal Shinigami, but also other moves too, such as various grabs and dashes and... whatever mechanics Justice Cog was supposed to contain!

This was not going to be an easy battle.

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen's attention was on the results of his attack. Although the initial attack had evidently been successful, it looked like his attempt had only spurred a more ferocious reaction from the strange entities. About right. Hachiryuu was not an especially powerful Zanpakuto in many respects. As a spiritual type ability, many would have said the Zanpakuto was a poor fit for Kaen who embraced the physicality of hand to hand combat. That had just forced Kaen to adapt. The plus side was that despite its relative weakness, Hachiryuu was not especially intensive to use, and so it hardly drained Kaen to use moves like the flame blast to probe an enemy's abilities.

All in all to say that Kaen wasn't surprised that the creatures had withstood his attack, though it was encouraging it had at least pushed them into their second form, so to speak. This probably wouldn't be too rough. Though when the woman appeared before her, Kaen looked her over appraisingly. Hm. Like the style. Like the look. "Of course you do." "Heheh. Sword could be a little flashier though."

In response to the woman's taunt, a grin crossed Kaen's face. "Nah, but it's nice they sent out the clowns~" Her burst-speed attack was impressive, but a pale shadow of the bladework he had trained to overcome. A palm strike lashed up in response, slamming into the blade of the sword which such force that it jolted the blade to a stop, likely sending tremors down the woman's arm and momentarily disrupting her limbs. Hakuda Defense: Do. A precise move specifically for countering bladed weapons.

"KIAI!" While his opponent was hopefully frame-locked by the Do, Kaen struck immediately with the traditional reverse punch of Karate, a strike from the hip through the opponent's torso, putting his full body rotation and weight behind. A blow to pierce straight through the opponent (and with Kaen's physical strength this was a very distinct possibility). Now, this was a construct so the second piece of this attack could have been a gamble, but from what Kaen knew of Mortal Kombat, vital strikes were usually still fair play in video games, and this woman definitely struck him as a game character of some variety. So Kaen applied an extra step to his counterattack. Shattering Palm. When his reverse punch connected with his opponent, the force of his blow would be transmitted straight through her, even if she possessed the physical might to withstand the punch normally, rupturing and destroying any organs behind the point of impact.

In all likelihood the result would be a defeated opponent, but in the event that Kaen had misjudged his enemy, the strike would likely at least launch them backwards and allow Kaen a moment to reassess his enemy. And just for good measure.....

"Sorry about this. You were cute."

Kaen's punch was immediately followed by a second fire blast in accordance with Yume's instruction that flames were probably going to be needed for the finishing strike.


Shikai: 2/10

SPOILER: Click to show

{Hakuda Defence: Do}Technique Name: [Hakuda Defense: Do]

Class: [3]

Technique Type: [Other]

Technique Element: [N/A]

Technique Description and Effects:

It directly applies a palm to the perfectly correct spot in an incoming melee attack. This can be on an underside or at the very edge of a weapon, but it must hit the spot where the force is most vulnerable. The force immediately ceases, and the attack stops moving. It's good for making openings.

How to use technique:

Stated above.

Drawback:

It's a physical attack. No drawback.

Made by: [Sozen]