With the Captains suffering casualties and heavy injuries on their side, all hope seemed to be lost... until Shinji Hirako appeared, along with the rest of the former Shinigami. Though the aid of the Vizards certainly helped to draw the battle in their favor, it seemed Aizen's power alone proved too much for them.
Post by Mercurious on May 31, 2012 19:12:12 GMT -5
Akihiko found himself, this evening, chasing down a lesser Hollow that had only just arrived in the confines of Karakura Town. He was leaping from rooftop to rooftop heading in the direction of it, as he glanced from side to side. Granted, he had failed to ever return to the Seireitei after what he had found out happened to him, but he still felt like he had an obligation to not only slay Hollows, but to send the souls on of the departed.
He had stopped hiding within the sewers beneath Karakura, and instead only returned to them when he slept. He survived, food wise, off of simply stealing it from unsuspecting shop keepers. Having seen several on-duty Soul Reapers, though, he made sure to dodge them whenever possible.
Finally, finding the Hollow below him, at the end of an alley, Akihiko prepared to strike. It seemed he wasn't fast enough, and the Hollow was finishing with a Soul, but Aki let the small failure pass. He wasn't ever the fastest person. The bastard sword came from the sheath on his back as he leaped down. His left palm pointed down as he flew down face first.
"Sho," he cried, the small level bakudo slamming the Hollow down into the ground. He flipped forward and landed with a heavy slash that buried his sword into the cement slightly--but cleaved the Hollow clean in two. As the Hollow began to dissipate, before it even knew what happened, Akihiko stood and hoisted the bastard sword to his shoulder and picked at his ear with his free hand.
Inspecting the tip of his finger he gave a small 'Mm', and turned to head down to the alley's entrance.
Akihiko Nakamura... Rin sighed as she looked down from a rather tall building. She stood in the shadows and kept her eyes on her target. You shouldn't have lied to me. Maybe things could've been different for you... With one swift movement, she leaped from one building to another. She'd watched him slay the hollow, although he was too late to save the devoured soul. Such an action made things very questionable. Like why did he run away, but still acts like as if it's his duty to destroy the hollows? She wasn't sure on what to think of this guy anymore.
At first, she had kept her spiritual pressure concealed so as to not attract his attention. But she couldn't just watch him all day and not confront him of his half assed truths. His mission might've been somewhat true, but they've been done and over with it for some time now. What am I going to do with you? She sighed in a kind of a tired way and wondered. Just as quickly as he got done with the hollow, Rin started to leak her spiritual pressure as a warning of her coming approach.
Landing on the ground, she stayed in the shadows of the buildings. Not too close, but also not too far. She opened her mouth to speak. At first she hesitated, but then she continued with confidence. "Aki!" she called out. She stood there with her arms crossed in an authoritive stance. There was a serious look on her face as she was clearly unhappy with what she'd found out about him. "You better have answers, and no bull shit this time." Her tone was serious and her mood didn't waiver.
Hair being slightly blown back from the breeze traveling through the alleys of the buildings, Rin appeared in her shinigami uniform. Amatsutori visibly hung on her left side as she could feel energy emitting from its hilt. Such spiritual energy wasn't just Amatsutori though; she could feel Uchite creeping her way up. If things were going to have to get bad here, she wasn't sure if going easy could be one of her available choices. This made her feel even more uncomfortable about the whole situation.
Akihiko continued down the alleyway, towards the entrance, though he finally felt that spiritual pressure and stopped. He glanced around, looking for the source he finally stopped doing so when she spoke. He held his Zanpaku-to on his shoulder, though he stopped walking. He let his emeralds fall upon her, more or less blocking his escape from the alley....his fist tightened on the hilt as he let his own spiritual pressure rise.
"Rin," he replied, a grin growing as she pretty much yelled at him. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck as he grew uncomfortable. "What I told you was hardly bull shit."
He let his hand fall from his neck. "I was sent here to slay a Hollow...I did accomplish my mission, but I can't go back. You're welcome to stay here though! We can start a family! Have a house! Get a dog! Or cat...not picky."
He became silent at this point, his sword starting to tap on his shoulder and his eyes grew half lidded as he grew serious. "You're not just going to let me walk outta here are you?"
His own Hollow spirit was scratching at the back of his mind, though he merely pushed it back the best he could. He wasn't as experienced as she was with it, no doubt, and had no formal training. His Hollow control was based on instinct--push it away, suppress it, and think happy thoughts.
The comment about staying and all that family crap made Rin's left eye twitch. If she didn't know any better, she would've had a chill run down her spine. She sighed and kept her eyes on Aki. She allowed her body to relax but still gave a serious vibe. Aki didn't seem like a bad guy or anything, but he did wrong and as his superior, she had to straighten him up, somehow. In her head, she debated what she should really do with him. Turn in him in? And if she could, would he be dead or alive? There was obviously some reason he didn't return; whatever reason that was, it wasn't going to go well with the captain or the rest in the Seireitei. She bit a tiny piece of her lip but it was unnoticeable.
"Aki, no, I can't just let you go. You're going to have to answer some questions back in the Seireitei. I'm just here to retrieve you." Just saying that meant that there might be some sort of struggle. No one knew of they're encounter yet, but putting things the way she did, it would seem more like she had to since it's her job. And it is her job.
"Will you be willing to go along peacefully or will I have to forcefully apprehend you?" Rin didn't favor the second option. If he could just come back and explain or something. His chances were already pretty slim. How long has it even been since he's disappeared. I'm sure excuses could work, but then again, captain's always have ways to find out the truth. Just like Kyra. She shifted the weight on her feet as she awaited his reply. Her body was ready to move to whatever. If he would just openly attack, or go along, Rin was on edge and ready for anything.
On the back of her mind, she could feel those crimson eyes staring down into her soul. She imagined a smirk with shiny white teeth in the darkness of an unknown world. A giggle filling the quiet darkness of a buried past. Concentrate Rin, she'll show up if you don't focus. Stop dwelling in the shadows, be confident, not all battles must end in murder. Amatsutori desperately tried to light the way through for Rin. If this situation turns wrong, there will be nothing stopping Uchite from making an appearance.
"Aki, no, I can't just let you go. You're going to have to answer some questions back in the Seireitei. I'm just here to retrieve you."
If Akihiko was fazed by this comment, he said nothing. He merely continued to regard her with his half lidded gaze. His sword hat stopped tapping against his shoulder, though.
"Will you be willing to go along peacefully or will I have to forcefully apprehend you?"
At this he spoke. "I'm afraid I can't go back--because I promise you wouldn't like the answers. I assure you, I am not trying to relive any life, or some crap like that. I'm here for a reason. That being said, I can't just go peacefully--but I can't fight you either. I don't want to hurt you...so please, for the last time, just let me go. I mean the Seireitei no harm" he jut his thumb over his shoulder to where the Hollow had been, "as you can see. Use your time to hunt Seireitei's enemies, and not those that still fight for it."
With that, he sheathed his sword. "Now please, Rin. We hit it off pretty well last time, I thought. I don't want to ruin that...so let me by."
"So what're you going to do? Run away? You think that others aren't going to come after you? I"m not the only Shinigami in the Seireitei. Even if I let you go, others would hunt you down and eventually you'll be in trouble. I won't be able to save your sorry fat ass then. And now that I know, you think they're not going to question me on your whereabouts and whatnots?" This was seeming more of a lecture to Rin, with her as the lecturer. She felt more like Aki was running away from whatever problem she had. The fact that he was running really agitated her and could really start to boil the fiery soul. Such feelings really annoyed her and she felt-saw something static-like in her vision.
C'mon Rin. Don't be shy, it's been a while. If he's an enemy just get it over with. Don't you want to play?... The girly taunting voice filled her mind. She really didn't want to hurt Aki, although she knew that eventually she might have to. Fighting him would feel off to her, and if he really got hurt she'd just feel bad. Even though she might not show it on the outside, she's worried about what could happen. Then, if he did end up getting hurt by her physically; even if she'd worry about him at all, she probably wouldn't show it. This is the kind of person Rin is, nothing of the sort should ever phase her.
Calming down, she let her arms drop to her side as she looked straight at him and his emerald eyes. "Look Aki, I don't want to hurt you either. To tell you the truth, I dug up your information on your own without the help of others. So I could just let you go and it would be as if we never even met, but things can't always be as peaceful. Eventually, I will be ordered to bring you in and that's when I can't do anything about it. What reason could you possibly have that keeps you away from the Seireitei? You're acting like a fugitive on the run. At least if you turned yourself in now, you won't be punished to the fullest extent. And don't promise anything, because you could promise to the world, to god, to your own life, and it all isn't going to matter if you end up on the wrong side of the street. Or worse, dead."
Aki was being uncharacteristically serious...or perhaps this is how he really was, beneath his facade? Either way, when she preached to him he shook his head.
"Rin, look, I understand you're worried...and I may be running--but fighting is what got me here. It'd...probably have been better if I just gave up."
We could always do round two..
Ignoring his Hollow's comment he continued on. "Running, at this point, is the only option I have left. I'm not doing it because I want to, I'm doing it because I want to...no, I need to survive. I may just be a second rate fighter, but there's still a lot of good I can do in this world. Even if it's just preforming konso on lost souls, at least it's something."
When she urged him to turn himself in he scoffed. "I'm doing the punishment they'd give me anyway. Self-imposed exile is better than a Seireitei imposed one, I assure you. At least self imposed you guys chase me, eh? Not against being chased by pretty ladies...least it's not me doing the chasing." He gave a faint smile after this, and when she railed into him about what could possibly make him turn his back on the Seireitei he seemed to snap.
"Because I'm NOT a Shinigami anymore! Hell, I don't even think I'ma plus anymore! Why, please explain oh wise and fuckin' know it all, would I want to turn myself in just to have my home kick me right back out? Have you lost your mind?!"
"Fine! You know what? Let's do this then. You wanna take me back, so that I can be kicked out? Labeled a traitor? Exiled? Ruin my memories of the only place I could call home? Let's roll. Open the damn Senkaimon and let's go."
