Morgannis

Bleach - Resonant Souls

Sagamiyama

Saturday - Evening

Interactions: @Sho Minazuki

---

The park was empty when Mitsuaki bound into it. Sliding to a stop in the gravel, he was quick to turn around when he felt those ever watchful eyes on his back. The hollow that stood before him was like nothing he had seen before; the ones he had already slain were both bigger and bulkier than the beast in front of him. They were slower, and were weak against his blade, but this one…

Hair standing on end, he swallowed hard, his zanpakuto at the ready. Never once did those grey eyes leave the hollow in front of him, taking in every detail, trying to anticipate any movement. It was fast, this he already knew, with how it seemed to try to herd him into a corner. It was smart, too. Smart and fast was a danger level he hadn’t yet dealt with, at least, not on his own.

Hopefully the other power he had felt moments before those eyes found him didn’t show up.

Trying to keep the fear and anxiety from his hand, to keep the trembling steady, Mitsuaki took a deep inhale. Slowly, he exhaled, grounding himself with his breathing. Confidence, he thought. Conviction. This was just another hollow. Just another hollow.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Focusing on his breathing, the young man was slow to inch forwards, not wanting to wait for the hollow itself to attack first. If it wanted a fight, he’d give it his fight. A fight he’d win.

The distance between Mitsuaki and the tigerfish-hollow was quickly closed, the substitute shinigami utilizing Jiho when he was close enough. Aiming to move behind the hollow, he kept lunged towards it with his zanpakuto, aiming a strike at its left hind leg. The fight had begun, and Mitsuaki silently hoped that this would not be his last.

Bleach - Resonant Souls

Sagamiyama

Saturday - Afternoon

Interactions:

---

Mitsuaki stood from his seat, eyes remaining on the table as his comrades in arms slowly left the building. Swallowing, he thought that maybe he should ask Shouko the question that began nagging at him, but bit it back. He didn’t really want to know the answer. Content to live with a possible lie, that spirits killed by Hollows still moved on, he left the mechanic shop and headed home.

The house was silent when Mitsuaki finally entered, slipping his shoes off in the doorway. Taking the stairs two at a time, he tried to ignore the nagging feeling that he began to push into his gut as he went to move past a door on his left. Most days, he could ignore the hand painted black streaks that were still sitting on the wood; curved letters spelling Juno, and the random doodles that dotted here and there. They had decorated it together, one day when boredom had taken a heavy toll on them.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, hand reaching out, resting on the doorknob. One push, and the darkness of the room would reveal everything Juno had left behind. Records and posters of bands that Mitsuaki couldn’t listen to anymore. A sketchbook sitting atop a desk, opened to the last page that was being worked on. Clothes littering the floor, shoes sitting beside the door, a messenger bag slung on the bed. The door remained closed, though, and all he could do was try to remember what Juno had left behind.

A hand on his shoulder brought him back with a strangled gasp. “Aki,” Chiaki stood behind him, her gaze so soft as Mitsuaki turned, a hard swallow passing through his throat. “I miss him too.”

Mother and son embraced, her hand pressing into his hair, holding him. Pulling back when he was ready, Chiaki smiled as she pressed a kiss to his forehead. Wrinkling his nose, Mitsuaki had to look away, but he gave her a light smile to show his thanks. For her being there. For adopting him. “Thank you, Chi–” pausing, he swallowed. “Mom.”

“Of course, Aki,” her hand met his cheek with a warm comfort.

“I think I’m going to go lay down.”

“I’ll bring food up for you when I make dinner,” all he could do was nod, and the two parted.

---

Sagamiyama

Saturday - Evening

Swallowing the mod soul, Mitsuaki stumbled back as his soul was ejected from his body. The instructions given were simple; stay in the room, and don’t break anything. Once the window was opened, the substitute shinigami jumped from it and onto the ground below.

A heavy sigh left him as anxiety began to well in his gut, his heart beating faster in his chest as he took in the feeling of the night. Taking his time, Mitsuaki’s hand found the pink koi that sat attached to his zanpakuto, finger tracing the outlines of the delicate wooden carving to try to ground himself. The feelings hanging over the night sat horribly in his chest, his mind working overtime, head snapping to every whisper of sound that echoed his way.

“Calm down,” there was a light groan from the young man as he pushed his free hand into his hair, tugging lightly on the strands. “You’re jumping at shadows.”

He still had a ways to go to make it to the park, his pace beginning to quicken, thinking it better to be in the company of others rather than his own thoughts.

Umbra Rose Condos

---

Location: Building 1 Cafeteria|| Interactions: Iris @BunniesOfDoom, Khalid @Lugubrious
Time: Late Afternoon

---

“You’ve no need to apologize, Iris,” Alphonse gave her a soft, kind smile. He could only imagine how difficult it must have been to keep the wolf contained, to keep her emotions even and level. A hard task, truly, for so many of his monster comrades.

Once the rest of their makeshift team were ready, Alphonse turned towards the double doors that led into the cafeteria. Antennae twitched atop his head as he moved, all four hands still clasped firmly behind his back until he made his way to the door, holding it open for both Iris and Khalid. Now, where would Gremlins hide? His first thought went to the air vents, wondering if the little beasts used those to get around. He hadn’t seen hide or hair of them before, so unless they were just extremely good at being sneaky, he figured it was a good assumption to make.

Not a hunter like Iris, Alphonse was a little wary that he wouldn’t be able to be of much help. He could shrink down, of course, take a look in the vents; or perhaps he could unfurl his wings and get some use out of them, check the stairwells quickly while the other two put their efforts elsewhere. Would their efforts still be considered to be that of a team if they split up? Not that it mattered much; Alphonse would give his prize to Iris if it did come down to that. A phone, in this day and age, was a much more important commodity than more books in his library.

“How do you two think we should handle this?” Voice soft as they stepped out into the hall of building one, his gaze shifted between Iris over to Khalid. “I can check the air vents and the stairwells. Although I will be unable to capture them if I do check the vents,” musing more to himself than the other two, his eyes went up to the nearby vent. “I also imagine that they are not just confined to building one,” gaze sauntering over towards the door that lead outside, Alphonse absently tapped one of his index fingers to the back of his hand. They had options.

Umbra Rose Condos

---

Location: Building 1 Cafeteria|| Interactions: Iris @BunniesOfDoom, Khalid @Lugubrious
Time: Late Afternoon

---

Alphonse was not expecting the bump to his hip. Eyes widening, the bug man stumbled before he righted himself, looking a tad more flustered when his black eyes once more found Iris. Her words were endearing, though, and as he composed himself, his eyes softened. “Thank you, Iris. I truly appreciate your companionship,” that was, after all, what he was here for. It was very refreshing to know that he had - dare he say - a friend in Iris.

“There will be lamb another day, I’m certain,” that was a problem, though, wasn’t it? Alphonse briefly wondered what the condo was going to do about the fact that there were hungry monsters in need of sustenance. A thought for later, or perhaps, not for him at all. His own primary objective, after all, wasn’t even food to begin with. It took him a moment to follow Iris towards the table, the woman already sitting down and having a conversation with the Shoggoth man by the time he sauntered over. He kept a fair bit of distance between himself and the table, though, both to give at least a small amount of privacy, but also for…the smell. His antennae began to droop as he stepped closer, and the mothman fought to hide any looks of displeasure from his face.

How could anyone stand it? Alphonse clasped all four hands behind his back, in front of his wings.

Listening intently to their conversation of therapy, Alphonse’s gaze went distant for a moment. It would do a lot of good, for a lot of different monsters here. Some were ancient, or like him, had lived long enough to see more horrors than they could count. Just the fact that a place like the Umbra Rose Condos exists, a haven for their kind against the hunters outside, would probably lead to at least some monsters benefiting from therapy.

“Does it matter where the therapy takes place?” Alphonse shifted a tad bit closer to the table. “Or the time?” Perhaps being outside would detract from the smell, and of course, being a man of the night, Alphonse would excel more at a later time. Gods knew he had a lot to talk about, even if it didn’t necessarily help. It would be nice to just talk.

Opening his mouth, perhaps to express possible interest in the therapy the Shoggoth was offering, the intercom crackled to life. Alphonse paused, turning his head up to look at the nearest speaker, his eyes widening. Gremlins? Oh. Joy. As Theria’s message died down, Alphonse turned his gaze back to the two at the table in front of him. “It seems we have a game to play tonight,” if they wanted to, that is. The mothman would be content to meander the halls at a more leisurely pace, and if he had found any gremlins, great! If not, it was no skin off of his back; although a new book would be a nice addition to his collection.

Umbra Rose Condos

For that sweet sweet post from our residential insect man

@BunniesOfDoom

So sorry, should be able to get my post up today! @ _ @ I work in a mall, so we're crazy right now..I come home and all I want to do is sleep

Bleach - Resonant Souls

Part Two of a Collab between @Letter Bee and [@Mogrannis].

Ouga’s Mechanics Shop

Suddenly, the young man was springing into action. Sword held low, he ran at Mikazuki with all of the speed he had. Closing the gap between them, his sword moved to thrust towards the chest of the other. Directly after the thrust, Mitsuaki put all of his strength into his attack, swinging upwards, and finishing up the Hirazuki skill that he had been taught in training. If he were lucky enough, one blow would be all that he needed to knock Mikazuki off of his feet and onto his back, winning him his makeshift game.

Mikazuki almost fell before the force of Mitsuaki’s blow; for a second, his feet lifted off the ground before the boy regained his footing. He smiled; his Miraculous Parry just barely held, but his exhalations showed that with his inferior amount of Reiyoku, Mitsuaki would eventually get the advantage.

But Miakzuki wasn’t in this to win, he was in this to give Mitsuaki a good time.

Tch, of course that didn’t work. Mitsuaki jumped back, his feet guiding him around Mikazuki, looking for any sort of opening that the other might give him. Lunging forward, the older male took swipe after swipe at the younger, just trying to break his defenses down for now. If he could wear Mikazuki out, maybe he could knock him down.

That idea may actually work; Mikazuki was using fancy footwork to try and evade Mitsuaki’s swipes, but he was worried that the latter may not be enjoying the fight, and that wore him down more than just the physical efforts of continuing to avoid his opponent’s blows - No, don’t get distracted, Mikazuki, just don’t!

A blow connected and was barely parried by the boy’s training blade. Mikazuki, to conceal his distraction, counterattacked with a flurry of cuts and slashes, still not knowing if Mitsuaki was enjoying this…

When the other counterattacked, Mitsuaki raised his blade to deflect, before he hopped backwards twice to avoid the rest of the attack. His face was full of nothing but concentration, giving no insight into his true feelings or thoughts. If anything, there may have been a flicker of frustration in his eyes, but it was gone in a second as attack was launched with his body lunging back towards Mikazuki.

Blade positioned to the left, Mitsuaki made it look like that was where he was going to attack from the left, before quickly darting right in an attempt to confuse the other boy.

Mikazuki would not normally have fallen for such a cheap trick, but his head was no longer in the game, and so this time, he was knocked back, flat on his back. His tactic of using a constant flow of Healing Arts on himself worked to clear up any bruises and pain, but right now, it was obvious to anyone that he was confused, lost, and just did not know what to do and how to continue.

He believed that he failed - Mitsukai seemed to be more annoyed than ever.

“Hell yeah!” Mitsuaki threw his arms up, sword held high in the air, as Mikazuki landed on the ground. “I won!” Even if he hadn’t proclaimed the rules aloud, he had, indeed, won. A wide smirk was worn on his face, gray eyes full of triumph.

Slowly, his arms lowered down to his sides, and he sauntered over towards the kid. “Good fight, Mikazuki,” a hand was held out, offered towards the other to pick him up from the ground.

Mikazuki’s look of confusion changed to a smile as he let Mitsuaki lift him up, his frustration changing into happiness when he saw that for now, Mitsuaki was happier.

He gave a short bow to the older youth, just… happy - Happy he had helped.

“You don’t…Need to be so formal,” Mitsuaki rubbed the back of his neck, looking away from Mikazuki, before he waved it off. Really, they were comrades now, right? “Anyways, I’m going back in,” without waiting for the other, he moved back towards the shop, very much done with their spar.

It was a nice distraction, for sure, and he was a firm believer that practice was the key to success. They wouldn’t be able to grow strong and protect anyone they cared for if they just sat on their asses all day.

Plus, it did help release at least a little bit of steam.

Umbra Rose Condos

I had to get a new keyboard, mine turned into absolute garbage. Hoping that I can get a reply in within the next few days.

The Elder Scrolls: Before the Great War

I'm interested!
Will hopefully have a CS up for you to look over in a few days. :)

Umbra Rose Condos

---

Location: Building 1 Cafeteria|| Interactions: Iris @BunniesOfDoom
Time: Late Afternoon

---

“No need for apologies,” a soft smile curled up on the mothman’s face, shown by how his eyes curved slightly upwards from the bottoms. Iris had gotten to the door first; it made sense, seeing as Alphonse had been behind her. He hadn’t been fast enough, it seemed. Ah well. “Ah, soup would be quite nice tonight. It is getting a bit chilly out,” maybe Borkus would be kind enough to heat up some nectar for him, if he did decide to eat.

Four hands clasped behind his back as he stepped into the cafeteria, a soft thank you leaving given to Iris as she held the door for him. Gaze gliding across the room, he noted each figure he knew, and those that he didn’t. Velvet, a fellow nocturnal, who he had spoken to on occasion while most of the world slept. Qaymu, the dragon who resided only a few doors down from him; he liked Qaymu, although he knew better than to approach the dragon’s door. Max was extremely kind, for a human. One of the only ones that Alphonse felt understood the plight of the monsters, and even though he was afraid, he did his duty. Truly admirable.

Khalid and Rebecca were viewed with a cocked head and slight blinks. He would have to introduce himself to these two, eventually. Rebecca was a complete enigma, and Alphonse wondered briefly how long she had been in the Umbra Rose. Khalid, on the other hand, did look vaguely familiar, although the mothman didn’t remember if they had ever actually spoken two words to each other. That should change, really. Alphonse needed to stop hiding himself away, and actually make some friends.

“To be honest, I came in search of company more than food,” Alphonse removed his gaze from the room around him, head swiveling back to Iris as his antenna twitched atop his head. Even socially avoidant people, from time to time, needed to do something social to fight the loneliness that could consume them. “I was not expecting this many people here, though,” a light, somewhat nervous chuckle left him.

The commotion from the kitchen pulled Alphonse’s attention away from Iris. “It looks like there’s a problem…” All twenty of his fingers steepled together in front of him, gaze somewhat concerned. There was always the garden, if he grew hungry enough, but what of the other residents? If they lost their food supply for very long, there could be dire consequences. Alphonse wasn’t aware that that very thing happened earlier in the day.

Bleach - Resonant Souls

Sagamiyama

Saturday - Midday

Interactions: Bokuto @BladeSS4 || Tony @McNephelim || Ouga @Sho Minazuki

---

Mindless wandering had driven him towards the bike shop, his mind in another realm entirely. Mitsuaki felt eyes on him at one point, head raising for a moment to scan the area, but the feeling was gone before he found the culprit. It was probably just his boss, cursing him from the cafe he hated.

Maybe he could get a job at that video store down the street; he’d probably have to work late though, if he worked there, and that wouldn’t do. That was the reason the cafe was so promising, the early morning hours being better suited for his extra-curricular activities. Then again, if he overslept and missed his shift, it would be just as bad as having to run out on a night job. Maybe getting a job with Ouga or Shouko would be possible; would they care if he were late for a shift, seeing as how they knew what could possibly go on in the lives of Substitute Shinigami’s.

A voice, practically screaming, pulled him from his thoughts. Jolting, Mitsuaki stood on edge as his eyes swirled around, looking for the man who it came from. Finding Tony, the young man blinked, his eyes shifted to quickly find Bokuto as well, decked out in all of his Shinigami glory.

Had there been a call? Was there a hollow around, were they supposed to be training at this hour? Mitsuaki didn’t remember any sort of training schedule for today.

Either way, the situation needed to be dealt with, before Tony did something that he would regret.

“Hey, Dingus!” Mitsuaki drew closer to Tony, hissing out. “Quiet down,” eyes narrowing, he glanced towards Bokuto as he stepped up closer to his substitute comrade, the one currently in a real body. “You know people can’t see him, right?” A hand raised to motion towards Bokuto, a slight wave that would look natural to people watching them; his voice was quiet enough now with the distance he was from Tony that only his two comrades would be able to hear him. Although there weren’t as many people around as say, if they were in Tokyo, there were still enough that this was becoming a scene.

“Go inside before someone calls the police on you,” not like he really cared what happened to the American. Mitsuaki stepped around Tony then, hand grabbing for the door into the bike shop, pulling it open and stepping inside. He had given his opinion, told Tony what he should do, but that was all he would offer. Ouga was probably already aware of what was going on outside; it wasn’t like they could just hide themselves from the stronger Shinigami, or that the man was deaf. The man would take control, if needed, and Mitsuaki wasn’t about to stand in his way of doing that.