[BSD-RP] Human World: Karakura Town

[BSD]

” For many to learn, for us to evolve, we must feel pain. It is our greatest teacher. God does not interfere, but he will lend a hand and in time heal the wounds of those who have felt great pain.”
Pain was not a foreign concept to Them. They were well aware of what pain felt like, and how to give pain to those that stood in the way of Quincy’s rise. Even as the senile elder had continued the being had not moved an inch from where it say, listening as Dimitri continued to speak, addressing Their question from before. The darker the night comes, it seemed as though the candlelight only furthered Their shadows as it now touched the cusp of the rafters of this sodden holy place.
” As for your master, Blume Diamante I gather… I have not answered her summons because my time is needed here, in this church. However, I do extend my apologies to her.
They observe closely, lifting their head as their hooded darkness zeroes in on the face of their intended target. His answer was not the one that They found accepting. He should be well aware of what exactly the contents of these excessive and dangerous happenings consisted of. The horrors in which these people were facing were not ones that his God would lend a hand too. Such was the purpose of rectifying in the Thousand Year Blood War long ago when the Almighty Emperor, Yhwach, had led his army against the Shinigami. It was unclear whether Their master would follow in her predecessor’s extreme footsteps, but she was clear on having individuals that could hold themselves in a bout. A repeat of that disaster ten years ago was not something that she, or any of her people, desired.
” Now then, in the same respect that I show you now, I’d hoped that she would be the one to step through my doors, not a messenger or rather someone who hides in the shadows and repels the holiness of my home. While I will not decline or accept her summons at this time, I respectfully ask you to exit my home, please. If this is something that is truly important to her, then she will approach me, and only then will I consider lending my aid to her cause.”
Dimitri sets his glasses upon the collar of his robe and with that same hand he used to remove them, he’d gesture outward towards the door for the hooded figure to exit. The seriousness that plagues the air doesn’t disappear, but it is coupled with a sense of sincerity and the utmost respect towards the Diamante Family and all they have done. Yet… They were still unsatisfied. They didn’t like this at all. Clearly it was not an immediate rejection, but They just couldn’t handle it.
” Please be safe, and I truly hope God finds a way to aid you in any of your endeavors. Also, please allow my members to find their way back inside on your way out.”
Rejection
“Unfortunately, We can not accept your answer.”
Rising from Their place in the pew, the shadow casted high behind them began to spread across the stone walls and pillars and sprouted other similar hooded figures that mimicked the one that Dimitri had been speaking so eloquently to. They moved in synchronicity, the shuffling of their stark white robes echoing in symphony. The figures' use of pronouns had finally reflected on who “They” were. They were One, and while this was not the full extent of what They could produce, it was merely a showcase of their powers bestowed to them by the Empress.
There were many, coming to surround the Servant of God in a circle, totaling up to nearly fifty figures. They were not here to give a show to him, nor perform any aggressive tactics. Their master had made sure to have ordered them to only get an answer that was acceptable. And if it was not, to call for the assistance of someone that knew how to handle these problems best. Simultaneous to their rejection, a hooded figure comes to meet the sadistic and cruel Quincy that had been assigned to raise him since his birth. Lukas Diamante, after having settled into the near empty Diamante Manor, was approached by one of Them and They peeled their hood back, revealing an odd, grotesque figure with a face that only a mother could love.
“Master Lukas… The Servant has not given an acceptable answer. The Empress has given instructions for you to handle the matters from this point on.”
The Empress was well aware that not all would come so fervently willing to join hands with her. There are many more who find her ideals to be worthless and herself even more so. She had worked herself down to her bloody bones to be able to do as she pleased, without the weight of others bearing over her choices. She had her influences, and would use the power she had in the palms of her hands to execute her orders and gain the ground she wanted. Surrounding herself with strong and loyal individuals, the Empress has others to dispose of with this advantage. If they truly had a reason to oppose joining her, then they would have to kill her before she took no for an answer.
“The Empress has exclusively ordered for his survival… She has made it adamant for me to tell you not to kill him.”
It was a necessary reiteration. Lukas was known for his… relentlessness, but a direct order from the woman who had given him his powers in the first place was not one to be trifled with. They had shared blood, and as easily as it was given, it could be easily taken away.

 

[BSD]

Flashback
⋯
After the eventual betrayal of Shobatsu and the death of their beloved Captain who had been slain by the former had shaken his soul with such an immense sense of urgency for survival. At the time he struggled to escape the grips of those loyal to Shobatsu, though with the assistance of the Lieutenant Kyuuzou it was possible to escape the Soul Society into the World of the Living... However, an unfortunate incident in which Jiro had blamed himself for; the Lieutenant had taken the hit meant for the Unlucky Jiro to his dismay he alone escaped into the World of the Living and had fended for himself in the span of ten years. Engulfed in the fear of being hunted down by Captain-Commander Shobatsu Murasaki and his loyalists he remained hidden for years to come, though this was made clear that he had lost total communication with the Soul Society as he had misplaced his device while escaping from the assassins. And so he was. Painfully unaware of what had transpired in his absence, including the fact that Shobatsu himself had been sent to Muken.
Current
After ten years spent in the World of the Living had warped his sense of time and even reality as he had spent years searching for a particular item in the forest, though he was never alone as he found himself conversing with the Zanpakuto over time, entertaining himself as he appreciated that he still retains his Zan otherwise he would have lost his mind. Though it appears that he was reaching his limit as he spent a decade avoiding hollows and togabito over time, in fear that Shobatsu would have come for him. Still, the incidents thus far that had occurred in the World of the Living had worried him and for his safety, he no longer appears to be rational as time goes by causing his survival instinct leading him back to Soul Society, but first, he has to find something.
"Where the heck is it? Do you have any idea—" His hands continued to search the bushes he landed on when escaping from the Soul Society. Sudden. After examining the ground a light emitted from the bottom the moment he touched it allowing his reiryoku to charge it. "Did-" He broke in tears as he looked at his damaged Denreishinki and coddled it against his cheek, though the device itself had been rather damaged could this be due to the assassin attempt?
"My precious—" Choking on his tears as he resumes. "With your damaged screen and faulty buttons.... you never changed not one bit did you?" he whispered as he continued to caress it, a realization hits him. "Lemme stop... Okay, let's contact someone!" Across the screen his finger ran across as he noticed over ninety software updates over the setting app causing him to glance upon the screen in silence. "......" and reached his target.
"Jiroshizo Raikyu. I'm requesting a lift back to the Soul Society. I misplaced my Denreishinki so I couldn't return sooner." He paused, the operator responded in doubt. "Pardon? Am I hearing you right?" The Shinigami appeared to be flustered and troubled by what had been said on the other end. "...You're telling me it had been a hundred years since then!? And I was assumed missing in action?" He cried, appearing to be frantic in denial as his head grew blue in constant anxiety.
"Can you open a way back home?!" he paused. "I got lot of explaining to do!"
He said as he held the Zanpakuto though it appears that he was rather anxious about the fact that he had spent a decade in the World of the Living, though it might have been his luck that had acted as a factor in his delayed return. Aware of the fact that his absence means he has to explain why to those in charge of the Soul Society that he was unable to perform his duties as a shinigami. Last he recalled was.... that there was a group of assassins coming after him and his late friend in which had stranded him elsewhere in a forest within the world of the living. Still, this didn't change the fact that he wasn't around in Soul Society for a decade...in other words a hundred years in the Soul Society... This would be a massive change for once, new members, new captains, new everything! Heck, he wasn't even sure if his room is still around! This would require precise finesse on his part to explain - though he had to remember his experience as a reporter he had the shreds of evidence and facts to support as to why he couldn't return it was in fear of his own life. Had the operator accepted his plea he would have given a way to come home though it would lead him elsewhere to be questioned about his absence.

Karakura Town to Southwest Seireitei

 

[BSD]

"Master Lukas… The Servant has not given an acceptable answer. The Empress has given instructions for you to handle the matters from this point on.”
A rhythmic bass followed by the piercing snare of trumpets. Jazz played mildly in the background as Lukas looked out the window. It had been several moments since his emergence into the Living World. A brief interchanging second was all it took the servant to relay the message he was waiting for.
“The Empress has exclusively ordered for his survival… She has made it adamant for me to tell you not to kill him.”
A hidden grimace, That woman was always too nice.
" Very Well, Dilly-Dally, my Dinner reservation and regrettably, add a plus one. "
The car had its windows rolled up, the pitch-black tint hiding the vile contents inside. Lukas turned up the jazz, and Cigar smoke would slowly fill the car. A royal purple almost black limousine. The volume wasn't turned up or cranked so that others could hear it outside the vehicle. Even at its medium volume, it remained a silent tune as most things about Lukas, precision through the utmost required resource use. He didn't raise his voice or over-exert himself. He was calm and collected when responding to his driver, who spoke as if it and the other were in the same place at the same time.
" Call Blume and tell her I will be at the Quincy Bar located in Karakura Town. Haus der aufgehenden Sonne , i believe it was called. An Ale House. "
He would then shut his eyes and wait for them to reach the Church. They were only a few minutes away from it.
The Drive to Obtain
The long vehicle came to a stop outside the church. The driver didn't need directions; it simply followed the path of one of its own. The Hooded figure is known to Lukas as one of the Legion of Bloodritter. The Fifty or so of them now skulking about the church might remain unseen to the priest. Lukas felt them all. In a sense, he had a fatherly attachment to them. Like all things, he has a hand in bringing about.
The limousine came to a silent stop.
A hooded figure much like the one in front of the priest, and the many hiding in the shadows of the church, would remove itself from the driver seat and immediately walk to the back right passenger side door. Clicking the handle and moving the door open, a gust of smoke fell from the car and out onto the street. The plume rose slightly as Lukas's long figure started to retreat from the jazz music inside the vehicle.
" Dimitri Lehmann "
Lukas's voice was cold. It was sour and had hints of hatred lingering on the syllables, for Lukas hated the hearts of men of god. His own feelings, however, did not matter in the slightest. For Dimitri is Quincy.
" You know we can't just walk away from each other like that, not with the boogeymen nigh on our heels, Father. "
Lukas would take a step to the side of the vehicle and wave his free left hand towards the seat, now clear of cigar smoke.
" Father, I have made arrangements for my ensemble to clean your church for the night while you join me at dinner. "
Lukas would walk around the other side of the car, Where the hooded driver would have the opposite door open and awaiting Lukas. Sitting in, he would wait for the priest before they drove off to the Ale House.

 

[BSD]

Dimitri continues to wait, his gesture held in place. He is well-aware of the attention he gathered, but of course, it felt as though there were far more eyes than the hoodie figured he had been speaking to. He is equally aware of his words holding an unpleasant touch. A sense of rejection, but also no rejection to be told to their superior(s).
“ Unfortunately, We can not accept your answer.”
” …”
His eyes closed shut for only a moment, and as his genuine gesture fell to the waste side, he exhaled softly. Silence only extends from the Priest, knowing better than to argue with forces he did not quite understand. Another in his shoes would see this statement differently, possibly viewing it as a sign of aggression, or the precursor to battle. Dimitri stands with better judgment and far greater insight. Whether a conflict is their intention or not, he’d be prepared, but also ready to defuse the situation as quickly as possible. This is his home, not a fighting ground…
The hooded figure finally stands, as if to indulge his earlier request, but then from behind darkness rises, extended towards the walls and pillars, even climbing high towards the ceiling. Ten. No, 30. No, 50 came into view. Their numbers pieced together once his eyes opened once again. The hand by his side comes to rest atop the other, atop the cane he holds in front of him. No aggression exudes from the hooded beings surrounding him, and from where they stand, the same can be said about Dimitri. He remains dormant, without a single drop of spiritual pressure leaking from his person. It would seem that they have surrounded a perfect imitation of a stone statue, an immovable object. Their next course is obscured for the moment, but completely unbeknownst to him, they reach out, contacting one who truly holds a parental relationship towards them.
Their guardian arrives, and in pristine fashion. Those who typically arrived in Limos usually had ulterior motives behind their approach. To buy the building, or to layout, their own plans to remodel. However, it seems, in this case, the man who exited the limousine holds the same purpose as his underlings. It is quite obvious this man stands as Quincy. So what are his intentions?
" Dimitri Lehman."
The sound of distaste resonates in the call of his name. Though it hardly represented hatred towards him, but more so, what he represented. Dimitri remains as he is, unbothered, and willing to communicate with the man before him.
" You know we can't just walk away from each other like that, not with the boogeymen nigh on our heels, Father."
The care that was once filled with smoke is now vacant, and Lukas gestures towards an open seat, an invitation for Dimitri to finally answer the calling of the Diamante family, or rather, Empress Diamante herself. So where will they go? How long will they be gone? These questions are reasonable ones, but such questions remain to himself.
" Father, I have made arrangements for my ensemble to clean your church for the night while you join me at dinner."
It seemed no, would not be in Dimitri’s best interest, nor Lukas’s. Still, Dimitri remains true to his decision to not argue and further ignite the situation into a violent and tragic one. Without any words, without an inkling of disapproval or even eagerness, the elderly priest walks, taking his sweet time to arrive at the open door of the limousine. Inside, he sits, buckling himself, and rests his cane against his thigh, between his very legs with his hands holding the side instead of the top.
Lukas is probably disappointed or rather elated that he did not have to waste energy in forcing the old man to comply, but just because he sits in his vehicle, accepting his act of kindness and respectfulness, Lukas still needed to remain vigilant and move carefully. Appearance can be deceiving…
” Thank you for offering your services to the church and if I may ask further of your generosity. Watch over those who come to my church, it is my mission to protect and extend my home to them, at least until I return…”
He removed his glasses and placed them back onto his face before continuing.
” Please call me Dimitri. I understand that my way of life does not exactly appeal to your ideals.”
From then on, Dimitri remains quiet, a statue within the limousine as he awaits their next stop and what this man had planned for him.

 

[BSD]

The man of faith had said some things as he got into the vehicle, but that didn't matter to Lukas.
His children knew what to do.
The one driving would pull away from the area, the doors locking automatically once the limo was over a certain speed limit as is standard in many modern vehicles. But, now that Dimitri was nearly alone with Lukas, one frightening thing would become apparent to Dimitri.
Lukas was not on any spectrum to be sensed. It was as if he was an illusion or a figment of imagination. If prodded or felt, he would, in fact, physically be there. Lukas would allow the man to figure out what this meant to himself. Without looking over to Dimitri. Lukas would speak before they started to turn and merge into traffic.
" Dimiti, If you insist. "
The same calm and cold voice answering finally. After what would have felt like eons. It isn't often one as old and gifted in the Quincy arts was able to make themself disappear on a completely different sense of the meaning. This was Lukas in his base state, always in plain sight, yet always invisible. He was the Whisper of the Quincy Empress, and he spoke now directly to Dimitri's sense of Quincy pride.
" Dimitri, Name a single other Quincy family in position for absolute power, besides the Diamante. "
Lukas would roll the window down before reaching into his pocket and grabbing a blood-red cigar. Followed by a gold cutter and lighter.
Reasons
" There is no need to answer immediately. Please, do not answer my question right away. I want the answer after dinner. "
Lukas put the cigar in his teeth, dragging the bold and bloody flavor into his mouth. The exhale was a dingy rust-colored smoke that swept out the limo as fast as it came. Lukas's eyes shifting towards Dimitri while he stayed forward.
" While you think about your answer, allow me to update you on the affairs of your kin. Those who have any right, any at all, have either been killed, abducted or are missing somehow. "
Lukas inhaled and allowed another fast wave of red smoke to flow from his mouth to the streets outside the car.
" Vanetti, Lagusa, The Barbero families that had been destroyed and then merged with their Japanese cousins. All have been silent and isolated until Blume reached out to them. Nearly every full-blooded family is on board. "
While Lukas allowed Dimitri time to digest this information, he decided to continue.
" Each of these families since joining has been taken care of financially and protected by the Diamante. You would be hurting your own people by refusing this request. You think we only need soldiers and scientists to become complete again? Even if I disagree with them, with you, we need the healers and the people of faith. We need you. It will take every one of the Quincy to get what is constantly taken from us. "
The rest of the drive was filled with the occasional swiping of smoke through the window and the hum of the jazz music in the background.
The town of Karakura.
The drive was uneventful for Lukas, only a short time until they got to the Alehouse. Pulling up, Lukas would await the driver to get out and open each of their doors. Upon stepping out, he would motion Dimitri inside. Lukas would enter first, the large doors opening with a bell chime to signal their entry.
After a small look around, he would move over to the bar and take a seat. A generic bartender would walk out from behind a service door and give them a wave and smile. Rushing over to get the menus and drinks. " Order whatever you want, Dimitri, don't feel bad. The kids back at the church are getting brought meals from the Diamante Mansion's cooks. So try to enjoy this meal, eh? "
Lukas would order a large steak nearly raw and a huge lager, the darkest one they had, which was a surprisingly well selection. Even if Dimitri had tried to speak to Lukas while he was eating, he would get only silent chewing and silent chugging in return.
After he had cleaned everything off his plate, and he had three mugs in front of him with barely any foam left in them. Did Lukas turn to look at Dimitri and say; " So, What is your answer to my question? "