Sanguine and Serpentine

[Akio Naito]

The twittering of swallows and skylarks reminded Akio that it was cherry blossom season as he stepped out of the bookstore with a canvas bag clutched tight. It was a beautiful day in Karakura. Despite all that, he had tensed up just a bit more than usual as soon as he stepped out into the sunlight. Much like far too many other twenty-somethings, he was adjusted to dim lighting thanks to a life of indoor workdays and late nights indulging in spiritual mysteries. Am I okay? That thought was akin to the hydra, with myriad heads whose fangs dripped with the most potent toxin of all, guilt. Does practicing magic make me a bad person? Do I have a place in society as someone who does? He dismissed those easily; he'd come to terms with his practice, though he did struggle to find the right words to describe himself to others. Magus, sacred artist, thaumaturge—terms like that came close, but he hadn't managed to find one that was widely accepted among the spiritually aware. For all that he needed a better way to describe his experiences, there was one label he desperately wanted to avoid: quincy. Do I have the right to use that bow? If not, am I evil for having used it anyway? How much trouble have I caused by letting people assume- No, he couldn't do this today.

Calmly, he took a deep breath and shifted focus to the array of books he'd purchased, feeling their weight shift in the bag as he walked. The bulk of his acquisitions were occult texts that at least superficially fit with his understanding of reishi flows and the Reimyaku, the greater spiritual veins of the land. Following those were some less advanced books on earth sciences that he hoped could aid his supernatural understanding of the planet by seeing where it did and did not align with the mundane consensus. A handicraft guide or two he thought could broaden his skills in the workshop. And finally, the first two volumes in a series of cultivation novels had been chosen for their entertainment value in the hope of breaking up some of the more dry reading ahead. It was only after he'd used that mental exercise to center himself that Akio noticed he was being followed; more than that, something was right behind him and flaring its spiritual pressure. It hadn't seemed to realize that he outclassed it by a fair margin.

He turned around and swept mismatched eyes over the spirit that had been behind the somewhat unimpressive show of force; of the hollows he had seen, it was on the larger end of the range. The twisted soul was a muscle-bound humanoid without any arms to speak of. Each shoulder simply ended without any form or scarring that would have implied a crippling wound. The creature was speeding up as it approached his position, head lowered to direct the great horns upon its mask towards the pale young man. Akio simply sighed and reached for a pocket, retrieving a single ginto as the horns that seethed with hollow reiatsu accelerated towards him with murderous intent.

"Earthly serpent, flow to the mountain peak!" Akio started into an incantation, invoking pure reishi manipulation stripped of any quincy aspect, which caused a column of spiritual stone to burst up from the sidewalk directly in the path of the horned hollow. In the moment the masked beast crashed through that stone, he relied on the moment of distraction to evade, kicked off the sidewalk, and sent himself sailing back and to the side. The timing had been cut a bit too close, and he had barely escaped the orange reiatsu that boiled off the hollow's form as it trampled over where he'd been and continued on with great momentum. He'd gained a bit more confidence in his physical abilities after healing back to average, but even that much may have been too much for his own good.

With a casual flick of his wrist, he sent a ginto flying towards the hollow's back. "An iron-horned angel tramples the fallow field!" Words that flowed like a prayer signaled the tube to open as liquid reiryoku poured forth and greedily drank in reishi from the air to form a wheel. A pentacle within a bladed ring hewn from the same material as the vandenreich's ice castles rolled in the hollow's wake, where it quickly caught up and cleaved the spirit in twain and sent its frozen halves flying to either side. Another deep breath, a moment of calm to adjust bangles, and he could set that moment of violence aside and continue on with his day. Except for one flaw in his otherwise reasonable, sensible, and sane plans— someone else was here, and they had all but surely noticed the scuffle.

[Sieglinde P. Krantz]

With a soft clacking of her heels against the pavement, Sieglinde stepped from the shadows that wrapped around her, providing transport into the Human World. It seemed today was to be a bit less eventful than most; if nothing else, she'd the option to take a much-needed day of rest and relaxation in preparation for what was to come. With the cogs churning, and plans being established almost faster than she could keep up with, taking the time to clear her head was far from a bad idea.

As such, what better way to do that than how she'd spent almost all of her free time? Stretching her shoulders, adorned in attire that very clearly was not her uniform, Sieglinde took a moment to look around. She stared at a few of the buildings nearby, almost confused for a moment, before picking a direction to begin walking. As she did, looking around more, she nodded to herself, that confused look quickly fading into an a relaxed grin.

Her first stop today? One of the local Karakura bookstores. Most everything in her personal library had been read from cover-to-cover more than a dozen times at this point; she needed something new. Making her way inside once one was within her sights, the girl took the opportunity to look around, finding anything that might've piqued her interest. Scanning each shelf rather quickly, she quickly migrated from place to place within the building, until eventually finding something that caught her eye; a small encyclopedia on spiders.

Checking out shortly thereafter, the girl hummed softly to herself, taking another look around. From here? She'd probably spend the afternoon resting at a cafe, somewhere she could read in relative peace. Thinking on the date, there was a chance she'd also meet that Shinigami Captain again. She did tend to come around once every month or so, and it was certainly getting to be about that time.

Though, before she could make her way there, a faint 'ping' of spiritual prowess alerted her to something in the nearby area. It took her a second to figure out just what it was, but it felt like one was Hollow, and another was Quincy. "Well, this seems like it'll be interesting," she mused to herself, before stepping into a nearby shadow.

Emerging shortly thereafter around the point she'd felt both signatures, the girl seemed to be just in time for the following skirmish. Watching intently, Sieglinde never once took her eyes from the Quincy. A soft smile rose to her face with each passing moment; she could clearly tell this individual hadn't once lost control of the situation. Sure, a close call was present, but what fight doesn't have those from time to time?

Her thoughts were only further cemented by his finishing maneuver; one that caused the girl to tuck her book in between one of her arms to clap. Stepping forward, she watched as the bits of frozen hollow began to dissolve in such a way she was intimately familiar with. "My," she began, "quite the little display you've put on, mm? Unlike most anything I can say I'm truly familiar with; tell me, where did you learn to fight like that?"

[Akio Naito]

Just as he'd relaxed from that fleeting clash with the hollow, Akio tensed up again as he realized someone was applauding him for what he'd just done. A gesture that caused mixed feelings to take root in the depths of his heart. He was deeply uncomfortable with the idea that he had been seen slaying that hollow; that was a familiar feeling, because being seen usually led to assumptions he'd have to correct. But that someone would actually compliment him for his actions in that skirmish, short as it was? That had been fairly abnormal, at least from his own perspective. While his first instinct would have been a clear rejection, he did not know this woman, and the last thing he needed was another bad first impression among Karakura's spiritually aware population.

Briefly, he surveyed his immediate surroundings with senses both physical and spiritual to be certain there weren't other people present to overhear and that there weren't other hollows in the area. With everything clear for the moment, he shifted his attention fully to the woman who'd approached him. Nothing too unusual. She seemed to be about his age, or maybe just a few years older? He did notice some form of marking in her eyes, but he certainly wasn't about to judge her for that, given that his own eyes didn't even match anymore. Assuming Sieglinde had suppressed her reiatsu, he wouldn't even be able to tell what she was. "Thank you for your kind words." While the words he said sounded genuine, the smile that accompanied them was the rehearsed one of customer service, owing to his inability to truly accept the stranger's praise.

"As to where I learned? Apologies, but I have no teachers to name and neither practice nor emulate a particular style or school. Barring that which I have learned directly from manuscripts, my spellcraft is merely what little reishi manipulation I could learn by observing the natural flow of the spiritual veins that run through the land." Akio downplayed his achievements in spellcraft not out of humility but rather because reishi manipulation had come so naturally that he assumed anyone with similar resources could have achieved similar results. Surely he wasn't the only one who had put extra effort into drawing reishi from the environment to drive their spells before they'd learned that ginto exist?

He began to nervously adjust one of the mismatched bangles worn over the sleeves of his casual outfit while he waited for the silver-haired woman to reply. The repetitive motions of twisting at the black-scaled band around his left arm back into position were as much for material comfort in the straightening as they were for emotional comfort in reminding him of just how much he'd been through with it. There was a third aspect as well: an ulterior motive in how he'd attempted to draw the stranger's eyes down and away from the unnatural viridian of his left eye, though he himself had not been consciously aware of that particular motivation at the time.

[Sieglinde P. Krantz]

Nodding her head at Akio's words, Sieglinde maintained her same smile, slowly moving her hands behind her back, where she clasped one wrist with the other hand. Such was a sort of resting position for the woman more than anything else, but also served as a way to quickly summon her bow, should the situation go awry. After all, hollows hunting in packs wasn't uncommon what with their barbaric, beastly nature.

"Self taught, mm?" She asked, "color me particularly impressed, in that case. It's not often that one of our own can perform nearly as... effortlessly, as it seems you were able to. Especially without any sort of mentor figure!" She chuckled, thinking back to her early life. Even she had both Magnus and Amalia while she was still fairly young. She couldn't've imagined how life would've been without such assistance.

Taking the bait, and glancing down toward the band on his arm, Sieglinde cocked her head ever so slightly. She was curious, no doubt, but wasn't looking to seem overbearing from the get-go. She'd have that opportunity later, all things considered. Though, she'd take a few steps forward, before holding out a hand toward the fellow Quincy. Notably, her own spiritual prowess hadn't gone suppressed. Almost as though to emphasize it on the area as a sort of 'ward' against those that might try to sneak up on the two, she made no effort in keeping it hidden.

"Sieglinde Krantz," she spoke with a small nodding of her head, "it's a pleasure to meet another Quincy out in the middle of Karakura like this. Are you native? Perhaps taking a trip to study the spiritual phenomena?" She figured he was from the country at the very least, but she was certainly eager to learn more. Especially given there hadn't been many Quincy she'd encountered in Karakura over the years. Namely just that Masurao and Nhira, but no others.

[Akio Naito]

Unable to fully suppress the wave of anxiety that had just washed over him, Akio stopped himself from shaking and tried to remain calm even as he felt his pulse speed up and grow irregular. He had dreaded the prospect of running into a real quincy for quite some time, long enough that he wanted to deny that it had finally happened. But with her words and her reiatsu, the woman with the silver hair had made it very clear that she was exactly that. She was the first genuine quincy he'd seen in years. She'd been impressed with his knack for reishi manipulation, but what would she think of him once she realized that he lacked any kind of Quincy background?

"Akio Naito." He introduced himself in a handshake with minimal grip—one of the many habits he'd picked up while recovering from an early mishandling of volatile reishi that he still retained even after the injuries had healed. "I am native to Karakura, and I have a difficult time envisioning aspects of this town that would be worth traveling to research." He was theoretically aware that the spiritual activity was unusually high here, but he had never actually experienced a normal level of reishi. And every reference he had read to dragon streams, heilige linien, and reimyaku had been plural, so surely there were countless other cities and towns built on land with similar properties.

"And before we go any further... Quincy may be the wrong term for what I am; it implies heritage, does it not?" Breaking away from the handshake, he leaned back, shifting his body weight to his heels as he froze up and braced for her reaction. Every slight movement made him hyper-aware of the way both of the crosses he'd been using and his handful of ginto were shifting in his pockets; in that moment, the Quincy items on his person felt much heavier than they should have. More than that, they felt like something that he shouldn't have at all. The weight had only driven him to avoid further movement as best he could. Was this guilt?

The young man's fearful and defensive body language in that moment made it clear that he had expected his words to anger Sieglinde. Usually he would have wanted to avoid that, but he'd wanted to cut off any misunderstanding he had caused at its root, so even if he had angered her now, it was better to explain his situation from the beginning than to let any misunderstandings deepen into future pitfalls. He had already learned that particular lesson more than once and would rather not repeat some of the worse experiences he'd had with shinigami and fullbringers. He could still remember the worst instance, where a chain-wielding shinigami had nearly killed him in the park, especially vividly.

[Sieglinde P. Krantz]

She chuckled at Akio's words. "Truth be told I wonder that myself sometimes," she responded,"alas, a number of my colleagues tend to think this place is one of value. Whether due to its intense spiritual density, or some other reason, it's truthfully rather perplexing to me."

Truthfully, she hadn't had any problems with the time she'd spent in Karakura. While it ultimately annoyed her a bit that she'd had to spend as much time here as she did, there wasn't really any use in complaining about it. Such was the will of His Majesty, and staying cooped up in Silbern all the time was slowly starting to get to her. Not to mention, the little stores and parlors around the town were some of the best she's seen in a long while; she couldn't pass that up!

Though, as the conversation continued, she tilted her head ever so slightly. "...That it would," she began after momentary deliberation, "are you to imply you're not of Quincy heritage? Your spiritual presence definitely gives off that sort of feeling. Is that perhaps not the case?"

Tucking one hand into a pocked, Sieglinde continued to watch Akio for any sudden movements. She hadn't quite put her guard up at the moment, as she hadn't felt to be in any danger, but she found herself erring on the side of caution with his words. Truthfully, she was more curious than anything else. She noticed how he'd carried himself, and as such was ready for some sort of lashing-out, but wasn't going to begin hostilities if unnecessary.

Instead, she'd keep herself calm and collected to the best of her ability. Especially if he'd not known what - or who - she was. It was the perfect opportunity to potentially mold a new mind to see the light His Majesty offered! There was no reason to get hasty here; not while it was still uncertain on what he'd meant on the matter.

[Akio Naito]

He tried his best to focus on something other than the anxiety he'd been feeling—to focus on something that didn't change. First was the weight of his shopping bag still on his arm, then came the stability of the street he stood on, followed by the warmth of the sun against his skin, and finally the scaled texture of the blackened bangle under his fingers. Those had been enough to give Akio four points of stability he could use to get an idea of where his own center was in a moment where he couldn't actually feel it. He felt his posture shift as he straightened somewhat, and he heard his own breath slow as he formed his reply to Sieglinde's question. “Not in a way that matters.”

“I cannot rule out lineage, but that is not the same thing.” He clarified, and a mild reluctance settled into his tone as he did. “Neither of my parents nor those of my grandparents I had the opportunity to know shared the spiritual traits I have. There still could have been an ancestor who preceded them with a soul like mine.” He leaned back on his heels once more and briefly glimpsed up at a passing cloud before he continued. It was clear he would rather not have given that exposition. He knew he didn't have the words to describe his situation as something other than a lack of the qualities everyone seemingly expected from him. “Even so, there was no inheritance. No relics or traditions were passed down to me.”

“Apologies; that was a step too far on my part. I would rather spare you from having to hear any more about my past.” Akio's discomfort seemed to fade as he shifted the topic away from his family. He took a deep breath and followed it with a long, slow exhale. He knew he had to control his breathing to keep himself from spiraling out into a nervous wreck, and he would rather not have that happen in front of someone he'd only met five minutes ago. “I have always been favored by the currents of reishi from the beginning. There are spells I can cast purely through my authority over the spiritual veins of the land, without the need for crosses or ginto.”

He looked down again, having avoided eye contact for all this time. “When it comes to such items, I only have what I could purchase secondhand or forge on my own. I try to avoid using them where others might see, lest I give them the wrong impression.” He reached for the breast pocket of his waistcoat and slowly drew free the two mediums he'd been using for his bow, both hanging on short chains as he displayed them. One was a cross whose arms were of mismatched lengths where they'd obviously been bent or had ends snapped off. The other was a murky pentacle so tarnished that its actual color was only visible inside its myriad chips and scratches. Worst case, she takes both away, and I have to buy another set from Le Comte.

[Sieglinde P. Krantz]

Sieglinde nodded her head. Truthfully, she knew what that was like. To be in a situation without any real guidance from family, rather relying on yourself and potentially even things that others taught. She knew that quite well, actually. Thinking back to her past, the girl found herself almost frowning.

"I understand quite well where you're coming from," she started, letting out a soft sigh, "I was in a similar position, many a year ago. My family outright refused to teach me anything about the Quincy; our people. But, thanks to a few friends I'd made along the way, I had the opportunity to learn quite a bit about our history and heritage." Her expression grew to one a bit more serene, as she reflected positively.

As Akio went on to apologize, the girl quickly waved her hands. "No no," she started, "you've no reason to be sorry! Truthfully, I'm rather interested in hearing your side of things. To know what you've been through; especially in today's day and age." Honestly? She'd had very little knowledge on the sort. Most the folk she'd interacted with were easily around her age, and had since been given His Majesty's blessing for significantly enhanced longevity. She'd practically lost track of time by this point; she was what, somewhere around four-hundred? How time flew.

Nodding her head along with his words as the topic continued, she found herself ever impressed. "S'at so?" She asked, "a spiritual prodigy and a bit of a gadgetsmith? Interesting, quite interesting indeed." She found herself smiling. As he pulled out his crosses, Sieglinde looked visibly upset at the matter. Not angry, rather visibly concerned with the tools he'd been using thus far.

"How long have you had these?" She asked, moving a bit closer to take a better look, "they... don't appear to be in the greatest of condition; even for hand-me-downs. Do you hold sentimental to these, or are you looking for a replacement of some sort?" If the latter, she was more than glad to peddle where she could in order to help him out. If nothing else, she'd have more of an opportunity to rope him in at that point.

Crosses aside however, she found herself hung up over his current situation. "I do want to ask, though; what sorts of tricks are you truly capable of, being able to do so without any tools or anything? I'd be interested in a demonstration, if you're willing to show off a bit~"

[Akio Naito]

Akio cringed back just a bit at her mention of “our people," but for all that Akio found Sieglinde's reiatsu to be oppressively dark, he still judged the quincy by her words and actions, and those hadn't been hostile in the slightest, instead seeming to be genuinely curious and sympathetic. He had avoided following up on her interest in his past for the moment. Day and age? He did, however, object to her use of the word gadget. “I consider them to be more mystic tools, though I neglected to bring any with me today.” He hadn't elaborated on that either, mainly because there had been no good way to explain that half of his creations in that field were reproductions of quincy items he'd found in old books.

While neither of the crosses was in anything resembling good shape, their chains were new, and it was obvious they'd been replaced recently. When it came to the items themselves, the pentacle was the more intact of the two, with its primary flaw in the form of a cloudy yellow-orange tarnish that had built up over the surface. On a closer look, there were actually older scratches that had become similarly discolored and thus stood out less than the seemingly more recent damage that retained the underlying silver color of its material. The other of the pair, the actual cross, was warped as if it had been placed against a curved surface and struck with enough force that it bent to conform to that shape, with the bottom and left arms both missing a segment where they had been bent so far as to snap. “It has only been a few months since I purchased them from a member of the Bount clan. I never considered replacing them because they appear to be working correctly.”

“We can circle back to the crosses later. You wanted a demonstration of my spellcasting ability.” He unceremoniously slipped both damaged crosses back into the pocket from whence they had come with a faint rattling of chains in a way that clearly marked he was done with that topic. Akio set his shopping bag down and took a few steps away from Sieglinde. Without taking up any stance, he simply stood firmly upon the ground and called out, “Earthly serpent, flow to the mountain peak!” The majority of his spell took place underground, connecting a thin strand of reiatsu to an undergoing reishi flow to give it a path to the surface. An instant later, he casually flicked one foot back with a faint spark of viridian reiatsu and gently set it down where he'd started, the only movement he'd made before a spire of spiritual stone surged forth from the ground between the two quincy, rising to a full four meters of height before it came to a stop. He knew that Hashira wasn't a particularly powerful spell, but he still liked to think it was still an impressive creation given his limitations.

“This is what I can do with only my connection to the spirit veins that run under Karakura. Consider it exploiting the natural flow with the absolute basics of reishi dominance.” He circled around to lean on the towering mass of stone as he spoke, though he had actually been seeking emotional support in doing so rather than physical. He found the nature-aligned reishi that composed the stone calming for reasons he lacked the words to accurately describe. It was clearly the most comfortable he'd been since this conversation had started. It was so comforting for him that he held that position while waiting for Sieglinde to give her full opinion on the spell of his own design.