The World

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"Nyxia is normally much more manic than this."



Poor Roche...

---

Acid Drop froze as Earthshaker shouted her response to her question. As the tan girl turned back into Roche, her words changed as well, far away from those of her normal self. Tired, and it didn't take any magic sense to be able to notice it. But even at her now "normal" processing speed, Tsubomi still didn't fully absorb the things Roche said until after Oros had replied and put her arm around the rainbow-haired girl. She filed away a certain comment from her partner for later reflection, and made sure to help keep her upright when she lurched forwards.

Now that Roche was talking to the air in front of her, according to what any bystanders would see and hear at least, Acid Drop had the nagging thought that the way she herself had transformed might have caused some panic already. Oh well. More importantly, Roche was making it rather clear to all three of the non-empath girls how she actually felt about Nyxia. As it was... the plan had some merit. But even the meanest one had noticed a certain flaw or two. So Acid Drop tapped her chin in thought for a moment, then spoke.

"While drinking will make it easier and stronger, I can affect people with touch, or even from a distance. The effect gets weaker and it takes more the farther the distance from me though. Which is the main reason I would put the magic in drinks, since it gets directly inside someone, there's a lot less resistance. It's probably the second fastest, after just shoving a finger in someone's mouth or something..."

She closed her eyes and continued. "Buuuuuuut, if I can't touch all of them, and it needs to be just one feeling, a conduit would be helpful. Trying to keep it all from just flowing away with the tide would be tough, though." She glanced at Nyxia. "The big problem is the identity thing. In order to put on a show, they couldn't be transformed, and if they're visible, all it would take is one video of them doing actual magic and we might bring in more than just Ash's attention." Not to mention that Nyxia's normal form was handicapped, right?

There was the sound of a "bang" in Tsubomi's mind, almost enough to startle her, but she didn't know why or where it came from. With it came an idea. It'd take a little work, but...

"If you're really that into doing this, we can try. If we get a few of them to feel something strong enough, and can stop anyone from leaving our sight, I can probably spread that around from person to person, then change it into something more palatable to Miseria... We'll probably get in trouble for causing a big scene by trapping people from leaving the area, since we'd have to, but it might work."

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"Are you really sure you want that?"



It's getting difficult to find secrets for these...

---

"Good point, good point." It would definitely be better for Suki to heal than trick normies into kissing her. And spiking the water, really? It was the ocean. Even as she was now, she didn't think she could infuse magic into that much. It wasn't like everyone was drinking from a well or anything. Besides, Oros was completely right. And- Ouch, the way she was standing looked really bad. Was she okay?

"Are you okay there, Oros?" She walked to her side. "That's a pretty bad one. Nice umbrella, though." And then Nyxia had to speak up. The insults broke around her like the waves did for the laser-propelled duo, doing just about as much damage as well.

She tapped her pointer finger to the side of her head. "Mmm... I mean, I could. Especially with all the savings I've done. But let's think about this for like, two more seconds. If the people here aren't close enough to each other, then running away in terror won't build up a mass of fear in a close enough space. And if we summon a bunch of Miseria, and everyone does run away, how are we supposed to keep everyone alive? If someone gets half a kilometer away and gets attacked while we're here, then we'll have killed someone. The one real rule. Plus, I'm not even sure that influenced emotions will summon them! They're immune to my magic, mostly, so it wouldn't be surprising if trying to make one failed outright. And lastly... Why? Is it worth a month or two of stocking to summon what might be a handful of regular losers that we can find in the city anyway? None of them seem to be working for us, so why would some here do it?"

Acid Drop wasn't ignorant of the effect that magic running through her had on her mind. If anything, she was glad for it, because she could actually think sometimes. But at the same time, it meant being on edge, having her guard up at all times while it was there. Eventually it would get tiring, but for now she was going to take advantage of the mostly clear head as much as she could.

[Main Story] Bleach: New Gen

Shion Kana

---

Crap! She was hit, but she was lucky to get away with only a single slice. She was also lucky that Ageha fell like an angel from heaven to slay the other hollow, leaving Shion time to- Nope, Mei-san got it. At least the hollows were gone, though they didn't seem to be dying like the one she fought before. These were definitely doing... something, though what she didn't know. As Mei-san explained that Jinzo was in trouble, Shion was torn. If she didn't help, he might die. If she did, there might be other hollows that attack the humans. And what if Mei went after the guy who helped her? She shook her head clear, she didn't have time to worry about maybes.

"Okay. Please protect everyone here, Mei-san. We'll head to the warehouse." She turned away and jumped into the air, flash-stepping towards where Jinzo was.

When she arrived, she saw Jinzo trying his best to fight off a giant hollow, alongside dogs that she could only assume were the result of some kind of Kido. And worse still, there appeared to be another of the hollow forming from the ashes of the ones the others had defeated. How was that possible? She didn't have time to think about it, she used Shunpo once more to appear behind the forming hollow, hoping against hope that her idea would work. She looked at the hollow in front of her, then at the one that was fighting Jinzo; she believed she had the measurements right. Shion plunged her sword into the air where the mask of the hollow was forming with the intention to slay it either as it built itself around it or immediately after it finished.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"Running away from an almost fair fight, huh?"



Man, Oros almost lasted out of water as long as Concord...

---

Well then. Tsubomi was expecting a number of things, but a DBZ dragon-throw was not one of them. As she skidded across the water like a stone, she wondered what the enemy girl's magic might be. Then she fell under the surface and those thoughts vanished under the waves as well. The water made it hard to see what happened, but when she resurfaced and made it to the beach, Oros was there, asking for mouth-to-mouth. Seconds later came Nyxia, asking if she could cause a mass panic.

Acid Drop considered for the briefest of moments. Sure, she could do that. But so could any magical girl, if they tried. Besides, a fight was one thing, was it worth it to stay in magical form just to scare some normies?

"Probably. But you could do that just with your laser, right? Just 'Boom,' giant laser in the sky, and everyone will be terrified."

Satisfied that Nyxia would be satisfied, she walked over to Oros. "Hey there, you okay? That's a pretty bad wound on your back. Did that short girl really do that much damage? It looked like she was trying to drown you..." Her words trailed off. Who was that girl, anyway? Given the way she talked, she should be pretty easy to pick out. And why did she have this nagging feeling that she'd heard someone talk like that before? Hmm... But back to the present.

"If you really need mouth-to-mouth, maybe transform back and we can get someone over to do that?"

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"I heard that, Magnetite!"



That better not be what I think it is.

---

At first, the rainbow haired girl thought the other two were about evenly matched, but that was quickly put to rest as the Light Girl shoved Oros under the water with her shield. Though not before saying something ominous about recognizing Oros. Could this be a former teammate of hers? Or was she a member of Snap's crew, sent ahead of the rest to test their progress? The light reflecting off the water and personified right above it were problematic for Acid Drop, and more importantly, for her partner. She shielded her eyes with one hand as she sunk below to where it could no longer reach. Once she hit the bottom and confirmed that Oros was still bubbling out, she jumped as hard as she could towards Morganite's location, not quite straight upwards.

As the rainbow burst from the water like the sign from god it's claimed to be, she grabbed the Light Girl tightly by the neck. She also made sure to throw in a heaping surge of diffidence into the smaller magic user as she did. All she had to do was force the feeling into her until she pulled away her shield from Oros. She'd figure out what to do next then, but for now the important thing was saving Suki.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"Are you a child, or an octopus?"



They're squids, Tsubomi.

---

Once she finally got to her feet, Tsubomi was able to see Oros walking into the water. Why was she doing that? There was no time to figure that out with Morganite's appearance, a veritable cannon-shot, causing a strange sense of deja vu, though she couldn't place why. As she watched Oros run into the water, she began to follow. If she were capable of being surprised, she would certainly be by her own speed as she walked far faster than she could remember doing since her corruption. She threw a wave over her shoulder at the beach-goers as she walked, and had made it about halfway to the water when she face-planted into the sand from stepping in an indent.

Once again she rose, with the same speed she had been walking, and continued on. When she reached the water, she continued on until she was fully submerged, walking still onward with water above her head. It was only when she was totally out of breath that she transformed and allowed herself to rise to breathe again.

The unfortunate part was that now she had water in her eyes, so Acid Drop rubbed them for a few moments to clear them before looking around once more, searching for Oros and Morganite.

[Main Story] Bleach: New Gen

Shion Kana

& Unnamed Worker #1

---

Huh!? Okay, so she had been right on the money, the young boy had been able to see them! And could still see her, at that. She felt the slightest bit of envy at a living soul having so much Reiryoku that he could see them, but it passed quickly once his fear registered. It made sense. After all, seeing people with swords standing mid-air would scare most normal people. Did she just admit that she wasn't a normal person? Eh, didn't matter. More important was keeping him calm and safe, same with the other few humans she had noticed on the other side of the boxes. Though with them, the only concern was safety...

Shion turned so that her back was to the boy and held up her zanpakuto in a defensive stance. No point throwing off enemies who couldn't see her. "Don't worry, we're here to keep you and the others around here safe. None of us want to hurt you, and I need for you to stay as calm as you can so you can help me keep an eye out, okay?" She jumped into the air and created a platform of Reishi under her feet so she could look over the boxes. She spared a second to glance over her shoulder at the boy and show him a smile. "You're not going to die today, unless it's after me, so keep a cool head until then, yeah?"

The man's gaze lingered on Shion, a puzzled look on his face. If it be because of her words or actions were unclear, however, the man remained silent as the woman stood in the air. His eyes slowly shifted to the Shinigami in the air, Mei, unleashing a power that caused his eyes to widen. However, the woman's fixation on another section of the shipyard was his opportunity. His hand remained clutched on the necklace, to the point of his knuckles whitening. He looked back to Shion. "I don't think you understand, but that's good right? Please don't tell anyone you spoke to me!" He spoke in haste, "If you care about me not dying, please don't tell anyone! Especially that one!" He nudged to the woman in the sky flipping a dagger. He dug closer to the boxes, trying to remain out of her eyesight.

"I'll keep a lookout for you but don't make it obvious, okay? And then I'll be on my way and we forget this ever happened! Deal?"

... Okay, that was weird. The now-strange boy was confusing her, but Shion kept to her usual "protect everyone" ideal. "Okay, if you say so. Watch out for the monsters with the white faces, if you head out. We'll try to get them all, but if it'd be bad for you to be seen, then I'll pretend I never saw you. Good luck!"

Having said what she felt she needed to, Shion focused away from the boy and towards looking for hollows. This guy could see her, and the others, but was scared of Mei-san? Why? Was he not a normal person? That actually made her a little relieved; he wasn't some super rare human, and that meant that he could probably handle himself a little better than one. Besides, she didn't have a ton of time to think it over right now. She jumped onto the boxes and looked around, trying to locate any other humans who might be in danger, or barring that at least find that hollow that skittered away.

Jumping onto the boxes, the scene laid out in front of Shion was rather destructive. She would notice Ageha in the air, battling the hollow on the crane while Rio and Jin held off the hollow on the ground which seemed to be resulting in a success. Not too far from where she stood, however, were three humans packing up lunch boxes and beginning to head to break. The hollow from earlier, stood menacingly in front of the group who were walking directly towards it. Its head titled, looking directly at Shion, while its arm raised in the air. It began jovially hopping from one foot to the other, claws beginning to protrude from its fingers and ready to strike once the humans got close. Once again, showing that unnatural level of intelligence, almost as if baiting Shion to move forward...

"Remember, we've got a deal! Do what you have to do, and I'll make sure to warn you if any more pop out! Then I'm gone afterwards!"

Right. Shion flashed behind the hollow and swung at the back of its head.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"..."



Inner monologues aren't enough to save my word count.

---

A boy stood in front of Tsubomi. In one hand he held Roche by the neck, and in the other a handgun. To be honest, it was hard to tell what kind of gun it was, because the boy had massive fucking tits pectorals. Why the word "pectorals" came to Tsubomi's mind when she saw them, she wasn't sure. What she was sure of was that the boy was talking. Something about how she shouldn't have been lying on top of a van. Had she been lying on top of a van? She didn't remember. She wanted to pause and think about it, but as she began trying to remember, the boy threw Roche to the side. Some sort of monster, a Misseria? No... a squid? Some strange looking thing caught her and ran away. Tsubomi followed it with her gaze only to find that Nyxia was suddenly behind it, chasing it. Why didn't she just shoot it? She shrugged, and turned back to the boy.

The boy continued saying things, evident by the moving of his mouth, though Tsubomi couldn't hear him. He seemed to finish speaking because he pointed the gun at her. She blinked, and the boy changed, becoming blurry. So she rubbed her eyes to try to bring him into focus, and it worked, but now the boy was Suki? And she was still pointing the gun at her. Tsubomi looked down and saw that she was still in her mundane form. Why didn't she transform? She didn't feel like she should, for some reason. And Oros, oh, Suki transformed for her apparently, was now shouting about something. Tsubomi checked her ears and tried to unclog them, but she still couldn't hear anything. The gun was shaking, but Oros lowered it as she stopped shouting. That was nice of her, but if Tsubomi couldn't hear her, how was she supposed to find out why Oros was mad? There was a lot of anger coming off of her, like steam being released from a canister in an anime. It was warm, but not the nice kind of warm that Tsubomi usually felt from people's anger. It was uncomfortable, humid. Suki, who was back to her normal form, seemed to say something under her breath. Then she put the gun to her temple, and -

Tsubomi woke up, finding herself now on a beach towel. Weird. She didn't remember being on a beach towel. She couldn't remember the end of that... dream? Nightmare? Could it be a nightmare if you don't feel fear about it, or about anything? Regardless, she sat upright slowly. Something made her mind go towards the other three she had come to the beach with. Oh, she was at the beach. Hadn't she been at the van before? She decided it wasn't important and looked around, seeing a group of people around her. Huh. They seemed concerned about something, but she didn't bother to ask what about. Her eyes lazily moved from one person to the next as she thought. Earthshaker and Nyxia had gone into the water, hadn't they? That must be where her brain got the idea for the creature in her dream, but what about the weird boy? One of the people nearby seemed to look a lot like him, but she didn't know if she had seen him before for him to show up in her sleep. Again, she decided that it wasn't important. The last thing she remembered was that Suki had been upset. Really upset, if the gun was anything to go by. She should be somewhere at the beach, but looking around didn't show her.

The apathetic girl was concerned about her. Or, maybe "concerned" isn't right. Concerned is defined as something based on emotions, right? So she couldn't have been concerned. Still, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her head, telling her to check on the other three girls. Who knows how long she'd been unconscious, after all. She slowly, so slowly that it seemed physically improbable that she could manage it, stood up, taking one more look around the beach.

[Main Story] Bleach: New Gen

Shion Kana

---

For her part, the former living soul had learned something from her nerves-induced nightmare the day of the festival, notably that arriving earlier than early was important. She had been there exactly twenty-two minutes before the expected time for her mission to the World of the Living, so when Mei told her she was late anyway, she was slightly shell-shocked. The surprise was evident on her face for a few seconds before it sunk in and she collected herself. The shinigami in charge was right, if she and the others had been there even sooner, they could have had more time to prepare both before leaving and when arriving at their mission. Though hours might be pushing the realm of reason.

Her first mission being in the World of the Living seemed fitting for Shion, since she'd only left it a little more than six years ago. Before the others arrived, she idly wondered if that was why she was chosen for this mission, but looking around once everyone was there, she wasn't able to see Hagoromo anywhere, so perhaps that wasn't the case? Or perhaps they figured one previously living shinigami was enough. Her attention was on Mei as she explained the situation, but... A limiter!? Shion was above-average in Spiritual Pressure, yes, but to only a quarter!? Without having shikai, she'd be at a huge disadvantage... Still, she wasn't going to let that get in her way. The mission was ostensibly to defeat hollows, yes, and she had proven her ability to do so with her sealed zanpakuto to graduate, but now that she was down to a quarter strength she was a bit worried. Still, while the mission was to defeat hollows, the reason for doing so was to protect living people, a job she would take completely and utterly seriously.

She walked through the gateway and saw the shipyard that they would be fighting in, noting that the other senior reaper followed in last. Shion took in the situation, the hollows' placement and that of the humans, and noticed that one of the workers was looking right at the shinigami. If they could see them, even on the small chance they could, they'd have to have notably high Reiryoku. And if they did, that would make them a prime target for the hollows, as Shion knew from experience. She decided to start near that person and work her way inwards. Of course, just as she decided that...

A sensation washed over her from the direction of the warehouse just as Rio introduced himself. And right after learning his name, two of the others rushed in. She shouted to Jingorō just as he disappeared, "Be safe!"

She turned to speak to Mei when Ageha spoke. Shion wasn't able to respond before she was moving, so she shouted after her as well. "Ah! Wait, if you're not careful you could knock down the entire crane!" Lowered Reiatsu would help, but at the speed Ageha was moving, would that even be enough to stop the damage? Plus, the hollows weren't limited, if the fight got too intense, it could easily make the crane fall on its own.

Still though, Shion felt that they had a good chance of success today. She turned to Mei and spoke up. "If Rio-san is going in as backup... Please keep an eye on us, Mei-san." Then she turned to Jinzo as well. Given his condition, she assumed he'd be going for the strongest source of Spirit Pressure, so... "If you're going into the warehouse, please be careful."

Having said what she set out to say, she allowed the Reishi under her feet to dissipate and began to plummet towards the ground. As she fell she noticed that there was a hollow beneath her, also looking at where she was just standing. Crap, she wasn't expecting that! Hastily, she pulled her sword from its sheath, barely managing to do so in time to block the hollow's jumping attack. Its arm was knocked away and she was able to land a slash on its mash, but not deep enough to purify it in one blow, just enough to make it run away from her. Was that normal? She'd only ever seen two of the things up close, one when she died and one to graduate, (unless you count the ones she'd seen in her dreams) but a hollow running away implied more intelligence than she hoped it had. Regardless, she couldn't run after it with other hollows converging on the shipyard proper, so she moved ahead with her plan and went to the worker who might have seen them arrive.

With that human and, thanks to her location, a few others in sight, she looked around for other nearby hollows. Now that there were others to protect, her nerves melted away and her focus intensified. She'd make sure nobody she could reach would get hurt; she'd protect everyone in front of her.

Kurai Majokko: Tsundere Gekido

"Zzzzzzzz..."



Good thing she didn't tie it to her neck.

---

Falling asleep is an interesting feeling. As one slowly fades into it, their mind becomes jumbled and holding onto specific thoughts becomes difficult. Each mental image one has becomes altered in noticeable ways, and it's easy to tell from this when sleep is about to come. And yet, nobody can remember falling asleep, or realize at the moment they do so. It's an eternal mystery what it's like to actually pass into it. Do we remain the same person after we fall asleep, or do we become a new iteration of that person, akin to reincarnation, kept "the same" only by the process of continuity?

Regardless, Tsubomi thought of none of this, as thoughts can't become jumbled if they don't exist. She still could tell when she was near the precipice though, and she certainly was when the volleyball collided with the back of her head with enough force to knock her forwards, rolling off the roof and finding herself hanging from it by her shoelaces around her wrist. Surprisingly, it seemed that her anti-falling measure had actually worked, at least somewhat. The ball that had hit her bounced upwards from the collision, then fell back to hit the side of the van's roof and launch back towards the direction of the water.

Tsubomi, for her part, didn't realize any of this, either, as the blow to her head had successfully knocked her unconscious. Blissfully, safely, unconscious as she dangled from her wrist. In the end, she had gotten what she wanted.