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Post by Takano Hirai on Jun 1, 2019 1:07:04 GMT
Heavy breaths escaped from Takano as he quickly hopped from rooftop to rooftop. He could sense her Spiritual Pressure closing in on him, but he couldn’t see her anywhere. Focusing on it more revealed just how much Hollow Reiatsu she held. It was… disturbing, to say the least. How she could maintain a human form was completely beyond him. Whatever she was, it wasn’t natural. Takano paused as he glanced back, grimacing. He had to leave Chiyu behind with Revenant. It was mainly to stop her from trying to stop him. The silence he was feeling was unnerving. Chiyu’s advice was so integral to how he operated that not having it made him feel almost clueless. It was like losing someone close to him… “Just stay safe, Chiyu” He’d murmer to himself as he hopped to the next rooftop. Whether due to how tired he was or bad construction, he could not tell, but the next hop would result in him slipping and hitting the ground with a loud thud. He was already heavily injured from his bout with Revenant and “Arcadia”. Whatever Reishi he had left was being used to perform Hoho so he could keep a moderate pace away. Takano sighed as he gripped his reopened forearm and looked behind him. “Arcadia was it?” He’d shout “You don’t seem like the cliche villain type, but would ya mind telling me why your ‘Mistress’ wants a Shinigami?” He’d wander through the dark streets, tightening the grip on his forearm to help stem the bleeding. “I can’t imagine it’s anything good given how many people you murdered” He’d pause and give a slight grin. “Wonder how mad your Mistress would get if I offed myself? I’m sure you’d just find another Shinigami, but man would it be a pain!” He had no intentions of doing such a thing, but it was more of a test to see how she reacted. From how the woman spoke earlier about this Mistress person, he had to assume it was basically a Master-slave relationship. How desperate was she to complete her Mistress’ mission? For that matter, just how important was Takano to capture? If she had no reaction then they’d obviously have no problem finding another… Jeez, he was really missing Chiyu right about now. Lady Arcadia |
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Post by Lady Arcadia on Jun 1, 2019 8:41:22 GMT
Takano did not receive an immediate answer to his question - the dark street before him appeared completely empty and devoid of life. Instead, the collar of his suit would suddenly start to tighten and wrap around the Shinigami's neck, the Souls within the fabric getting pulled by a Fullbring and aiming to start choking their wearer.
Lady Arcadia herself would leave the shadows soon after, leaping off one of the rooftops surrounding the street and landing in front of Takano, about a dozen meters away from him. A few splashes of the Revenant's blood now stained the left side of her face, thanks to the eye burning session she had given him before running after the Shinigami.
"What a pointless question." the Lady muttered, slowly walking towards Takano, her glowing crimson eyes locked upon him. "If you could not muster the courage to kill someone like me, how could you even threaten to do the same to yourself?" Torture and suffering can push people to the brink, however... perhaps this warning is not to be completely ignored. Arcadia did not know how Takano would go about with that, but... this only meant that she had to reap him quickly.
Not that this was an excuse to cut the man's pain short. He hasn't suffered nearly enough yet.
"What Mistress Eleanor wants to do with a Shinigami is a mystery to me. But it is certainly for a noble purpose."
(243 words)
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Post by Takano Hirai on Jun 2, 2019 1:19:37 GMT
Takano grasped at his next. Damn it, what the hell was this power?! He would give Arcadia a sharp glare as he tried to pull open the collar. Eventually he would notice the fresh blood which sprinkled the girl’s face. It was rather uneasy seeing Estrella’s visage in such a murderous light, a far cry from her happy go lucky self before. This whole ordeal was just so...surreal. What had he done whilst blacked out? What did she do to Revenant? Takano struggled harder as she got closer, every tear he made in the collar would quickly be pressed back together. Quickly he’d reach into a small pouch on his side and begin to rummage through it, grasping at the collar with his left hand. “Noble goal? Nothing about what you’ve done is noble… You’re a damn murderer and a slave to that bitch ‘Mistress Eleanor’” So this did have something to do with that mission. That helped clear things up a bit, but still left quite a few unanswered questions… “The only thing that was noble about you was your name… But it seems you decided to get rid of it too…” Finally with one final pull, Takano would rip the collar from his throat, hopping back as his shirt fell off to his side. From his pouch he would remove a small syringe, pointing it at his neck. “This is a sedative from 4th Division. One of the strongest they have available. Usually you would only administer a fourth of it. Half could disable your heart within minutes. Imagine how much damage injecting all of it could cause” He’d give a slight grin. “If you step any closer then I’ll end this right now. You can say whatever coy remarks you want, be as smug and villainous as you can, but if I inject this then you fail. I think that’s something I’d be happy to die for” Takano moved the syringe closer to his throat. He was bluffing, he just needed more information. He couldn’t get any if she was beating him down… “Now, you’re going to tell me why you’ve been murdering all those people. You’ve been targeting large groups of people and I assume taking their souls given the strange lack of any near the murder sites” Lady Arcadia |
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Post by Lady Arcadia on Jun 2, 2019 14:24:04 GMT
If Takano was bluffing, then somehow the buffoon managed to pull off a quite convincing bluff. Faced with Arcadia's comment that he couldn't dare to raise his hand against himself, the Shinigami went and did exactly that - he pulled out a powerful sedative, pressed the syringe next to his neck and declared that all of her efforts will be undone if he injects himself with the chemical. Arcadia's Fullbring confirmed his threat - reaching into the Souls inherent within the matter inside the syringe, she could tell that the potency of the chemical is off the charts. A full dose was certainly lethal.
Of course, this also meant that Arcadia could manipulate the syringe, for example, break it before Takano is able to inject it into his bloodstream - however, the Fullbringer opted to play along for now, at least until the Shinigami drops his guard and the risk of him going through with his threat is minimal. Assuming he is even willing to go so far as to kill himself just so she doesn't get him...
"Quite a change of pace for you, isn't it? You just dismissed me as just a murderer and a slave, and now you demand me to explain myself as if I have a grand master plan behind my actions..." Arcadia spoke, but followed through with the man's demand - she stopped in her tracks and sheathed her Asauchi, though her glowing crimson eyes continued boring into the man. "What if I am just a murderer? What if I tell you nothing? Much like you can deny me what I want, I can deny the same to you..."
The Lady slightly tilted her head. "In truth, nothing I do is for my own desires. It is the Mistress whom I bring the souls which I reap. With each Soul I bring to them, they, and the rest of my family, grow stronger..."
(321 words)
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Post by Takano Hirai on Jun 2, 2019 21:23:09 GMT
Takano narrowed his eyes as Arcadia sheathed her weapon. Seems she was trying to buy time as well, perhaps waiting for Takano to tire or let his guard down. His arm would tense up as she stopped moving. Was this really just a bluff? His racing heart was making him think otherwise… Could he really end it all now? What good would it bring anyone? They’d just end up hunting after another Shinigami, maybe even a weaker one. He knew full well whatever intentions they had with him would be excruciatingly painful, perhaps even life ending. This was the easy way out, but it just didn’t feel right. Someone else would just have to suffer through this all over again, and he would be dead with little to no impact on stopping Arcadia or this Eleanor. No, focus, he couldn’t be thinking of such things right now… “A slave tends to know their master’s greatest secrets. I doubted you had plans past capturing me. Far too focused on pleasing your bitch of a master” Takano would tighten his grip on the syringe as blood continued to leak from his forearm. “The difference is that I don’t care if you give me any information. You care if I off myself. I’ve got all the power in this deal, so I’d suggest doing what I asked and telling me any information you know of. Or you’ll have to go cry to your mommy about not finishing the mission. Sound good, pretty face?” If they had just sent him in with some backup… It didn’t feel like there’d be any Revenants or Vayles to save him this time. He was on his own and running out of options. He would’ve been more mad but all he really felt right now was tiredness washing over his body. Lady Arcadia |
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Post by Lady Arcadia on Jun 3, 2019 6:50:49 GMT
There was no pleasing this man - either that or he did not recognize just how much of a favor Arcadia was granting him right now. As much as he wanted to imagine this as an ultimatum, she had all the choice to simply not tell him anything about her job. And, in fact, that might have even been a better approach, seeing as Mistress Eleanor and the Coven did not want to attract too much Shinigami attention right now. However, Arcadia did - and in response, Takano verbally spat in her face and declared that she is only focused on pleasing her "bitch of a master".
What a lack of respect for someone who could be killing him or kidnapping him right about now.
In fact...
"Well aren't you just a cuddly ball of contradictions? If you truly don't care if I give you any information, then why is it that you are going as far as to threaten to kill yourself just so I'd be forced to tell you anything?"
This was a potentially highly risky move - and because of that, Arcadia's Fullbring kept tabs on the Souls within Takano's syringe, just in case he actually tries to off himself. The Lady slowly made a step forward - then more, and more...
"What happens if I tell you nothing? Will you just stand there, waiting with a syringe next to your neck until the blood loss catches up to you? What will you do if I tell you everything? Do you think I'd just let you go after a brief talk? Or will you move on to demanding me to stand down by pointing the syringe at your throat? Why couldn't I simply let you kill yourself so all which I told you goes down to the grave with you? Either you completely didn't think this through... or you were never planning to threaten yourself in the first place. So, come on, prove me wrong."
(330 words)
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Post by Takano Hirai on Jun 3, 2019 21:54:47 GMT
Takano gave a slight smirk. “You know, I always thought I was cuddly but I’m glad to finally get some recognition” He’d place one foot behind him. “You don’t seem to realize something. I have nothing to lose right now. If I learn your info and run away successfully, I win. If I learn anything and off myself, you still lose. I’m not threatening to kill myself to get information from you. That’d be pretty dumb. I’m threatening to kill myself because I knew it would make you stop” Takano narrowed his eyes as she took a step forward, causing him to place the syringe right up against his neck. “You could probably get out of this if I did kill myself. But then you would’ve failed your master. Judging by how highly you speak of her, I doubt that’s something you could live with” Takano continued to step back as Arcadia continued to move forward. His heart would be racing out of his chest, sending pings of pain across his entire body. Takano was right. Unless she had some master plan to stop this all, she couldn’t win. Maybe it was the blood loss making him delusional, but he was actually beginning to warm up to the idea. He was getting tired of worrying about everyone else… In the end, he would be making an impact on someone after all. It was obvious that this wasn’t Estrella anymore, if it was even her to begin with. This was someone else entirely, someone he was getting rather tired of seeing. If he could die with the knowledge that’d she’d be punished for this… Takano took a deep breath. “Sorry Chiyu… Looks like you couldn’t save me this time…” He would pull the needle back and thrust it towards his neck, eyes closed tightly in preparation for the sharp pain, which would eventually be followed by total muscle failure and imminent, unstoppable death. Lady Arcadia |
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Post by Lady Arcadia on Jun 4, 2019 9:57:49 GMT
This man... This man... he's gone so far down the rabbit hole that he might actually do it if she doesn't do anything. With each and every sentence, he was trying to justify why his suicide would be a victorious move. Either he wins, or she loses. He's imagining this as a Xanatos Gambit, an action which has to good outcome to her, that's what it means. He's gone far past the point where people who threaten others with a suicide bluff stop and realize their mistake. Which means...
that he is definitely going to do it.
Right as Takano stabbed the needle straight into his neck, Arcadia reached out to the Souls within the molecules composing the glass fully. Employing her Soul Constrict to create pressure for the casing until it finally cracked, opening holes for the sedative inside to start spilling out through, instead of entering Takano's bloodstream. All while Arcadia herself watched, with a faux look of curiosity on her face, awaiting for the Shinigami to complete his action and start realizing what just happened to him.
Perhaps she could have just allowed the Shinigami to off himself... it would have been a failed mission, but at least her Mistress would understand that it wasn't her fault. And just the thought that she had reached such an intimidating notoriety that her opponent would rather kill himself than endure her was... exhilarating.
"So... how long is it going to take?"
(247 words)
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Post by Vayle Cameo on Jun 4, 2019 16:51:22 GMT
As the needle struck into Takano's veins, only to pump nothing, both parties would feel a high reiatsu level enter the area. A presence familiar to both appeared as a pair of ancient looking japanese doors slid open only about thirty feet away, revealing a bright white light.
A butterfly clad in black, and glowing blue, flew from the doors, heralding the arrival of a black-clad woman with piercing green eyes.
"Arcadia." Vayle would say with a frown. "...It's a little early for our next meeting. And it looks like you did everything you possibly could to cut my best friend to pieces." She'd add with a somber tone pushing into her voice. "...Takano." Vayle would add, as the light from the doors began to fade. "...You got nailed too, huh?"
And with that, the Death god would reach up casually, grabbing the death god and slapping him. "...You dick!" She'd yell, looking completely furious at him. "...here I am working my butt off on a dozen cases already, and you go try and get yourself killed? What, were all those decades of working towards hollow research so you could blow it all before you completed your damn work? I'm going to be buried in paperwork for the next week with all the rules I broke to get here as fast as I did!"
Vayle's face twisted into a smile despite herself, as Takano would feel a surge of energy from the reishi transferring slap. "...You actually matter to other people, idiot! I don't want to lose you, too! What happened t' you bein' careful and avoiding combat, science man!" Vayle would lecture, before turning to Arcadia. "Well... it's only gonna take you a few seconds to scoot through there... Mush, dude!"
And at seeing Arcadia, she'd add. "...I suppose I can't ask you to let us go peacefully out of an appeal to polite manners?"
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Post by Takano Hirai on Jun 4, 2019 18:22:01 GMT
Many things went through Takano's mind as the needle pierced his neck. He wondered if this still was the right choice, or if he was just being reckless. He was sad that he couldn't help Vayle figure out her whole Hollow issue. Takano took a deep breath as he waited for the pain to set in. Annnnd…. Nothing. Well, he did feel a pain actually, the sharp pain of glass shattering in his hand. The hand was already cut to high hell so the broken shards would simply entering into the wound, making it excruciating to move it. Takano looked over at Arcadia with a glare. "Damn it. Guess I should've known, you were always a cheater…" He would fall to one knee as he grasped his hand. "That's it then… You win…" Takano would perk up as he felt the sudden onset of a familiar Reiatsu. "Heh. I was wrong" He muttered to himself as Vayle walked up to him. "Yeah. Was suppose to be a normal research mission. Then again, I haven't had a normal- Hey what are-" Takano would state completely confused as Vayle grabbed him and slapped him across the face. The sting of the slap was overshadowed by the sudden flow of Reiatsu. He would say silent as Vayle loudly reprimanded him over his near death, simply looking down at the ground. A grin would grow across his face as Vayle spoke about how people cared about him. He would turn and look back the way he came before turning back to look at Vayle. "You're right. There are people who care about me. I left one of them behind" He'd lifted the empty scabbard for his Zanpakuto. "I can't leave yet. But I'll try the whole 'Be careful and avoiding combat' thing this time" He'd give a nod "Good luck" As quickly as he could muster with his rejuvenated Reiatsu, he would begin to run back towards the Coffee shop. Lady Arcadia |
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