After some searching around on their part, they finally found the next door although Lucas didn't seem to want to follow them.
That's on you then, good luck surviving, he thought. It was probably in their best interest to have the Mystic accompany them, but he hadn't even offered a thanks in gratitude for their help. Something alse seemed off about the man, as if he were ready to strike them down just to get their kanji. The opportunity for that slipped through as the door closed.
The dunes and any vestige of Hueco Mundo parted as both he and Setsuna finally crossed the portal. Around the shinigami, a dense forest stretched out for miles on end. Hanging over the wild flora and trees encompassing them on all sides was a mist. As Ryoujin's sandaled feet crunched under the leaves and debris strewn about the ground, he brushed aside some foliage to get a better view of the new terrain. If he had gone crazy, he would have thought that Mother Nature seemed to be toying with them right about now.
As the spiritual threads entered his perception, he realized that this wasn't a normal tropical rainforest. Besides them, there was no other life form in this realm, not even a local fauna or animal of any sort. Whether or not that was a good sign was yet to be determined. Thus far, in every room that he had traversed through, there always seemed to be someone new lying in wait and almost always an enemy.
"Well, seems like we've run into another empty room," he declared, "Might take us a while to find the exit to this one though."
“On the plus side I think I prefer the look of this room, especially compared to the last one,” Setsuna declared as he passed through behind Ryoujin, “That sunset one beats this though.” He turned his head slightly to take in the scenery. At first glance there was indeed no one else present. Save for the two of them.
“Empty indeed,” he agreed, tapping a twig with his foot. Turning on the spot, the redhead looked all around them, trying in vain to spot a way out of the room.
Hmm, I guess we just need to walk around for a while. Setsuna hopped up onto a log and tried again to find a way out. Still nothing. He sighed and hopped down from the log.
“No one here, so let’s try and find ourselves an exit.”
Unbeknownst to the two death gods, they weren't alone. Thomas had been wandering around jungle-like room for a while now. He was a natural born explorer, and this place was like a dream come true. "I've been to the rainforests of South America, the Sahara Desert, even up into the arctic circle, but this place has to be my favourite," he explained to himself. Talking to himself was a bad habit he had picked up during his travels, because he always seemed to end up alone. Mostly because he tended to wander away from the groups he was with, yet another bad habit.
At the current moment, he was about a third of the way up a tree. He had started climbing it in the hopes that from a higher vantage point, he would be able to discover something, anything that an explorer would expect to find in a forest like this. Perhaps the ruins of an ancient temple, or a small village. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the newcomers until they were right below him. The sudden appearance of voices startled him, and he lost his footing.
"Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Thud.
Thomas quickly stood up, brushing the dirt and leaves from his favourite, Indiana Jones style jacket, then turning to address the others. "Hi there, you surprised me! I didn't think anyone else was here." With an embarrassed laugh, he held out his hand to the Shinigami. "Name's Thomas, explorer extraordinaire. Pleasure to meet you."
Before he could so much as even say anything to Setsuna, a stranger seemed to have stumbled upon them, and one with quite a knack for entrances...
Without warning, Ryoujin laughed at how clumsy the other boy was. There was no way that this adventurer could possibly be an enemy that sought to take their kanji. If he were more of a brighter shinigami, then he would have proceeded with caution; however, the gears in his mind were not turning as properly as they should have due to the hilarity of their current scenario. Besides, this guy’s tale was beginning to rub off on him.
“Explorer extraordinaire...? That’s quite a fancy title you’ve got there, Thomas,” he said, glancing at the outfit that the boy was wearing. Stifling another laugh, he finally shook hands with the man. “My name’s Ryoujin. Don’t say you would happen to know how to get out of here, would you? We could use a tour guide.”
The instant the kid had appeared, Setsuna’s hand had gone to Senshin’s hilt. The next instant however the hand was back at his side and his face was lit up by what could only be described as a look of evil glee. The redhead moved closer to Ryoujin and the newcomer and looked up. Evidently he’d fallen from the tree as he was trying to climb it. Not the nest of ambush tactics, so his status was unlikely to be that of an enemy.
“Setsuna,” he said, taking Thomas’ hand in turn and shaking it. He examined the man for a second before releasing his hand.
“So uh, Thomas, like he said, you know the way out of this place?”
The explorer gave the pair a rather apologetic look. "'Fraid not, gents." He scratched the back of his head and added his own laugh to Ryoujin's. "I've been here for a bit now, just wandering around. It's great fun for exploration, but I'm afraid that's all this place has going for it."
Thomas gestured to the forest all around him. "Turns out, far as I can tell, this is it. There aren't even any Aztec ruins to be found, let alone a hidden mythical treasure. Just us, and the trees. And for all evidence to be seen, they just go on forever." He turned back to the pair, a strange look of disappointment on his face. "I can, however, tell you where I've been, and therefor where there isn't a door out, if you'd have me."
"Why of course, it'd be stupid to get lost around here, and you seem like you know your way."
A very innocent and genuine smile slipped into Ryoujin's face as he seemed to exchange a subtle glance with Setsuna as it to say, this guy checks out. Let's play along for a bit. He knows these parts better than we do. Our best bet to getting out of here is through him
Without warning, Ryoujin pointed ahead with a heroic pose.
"Well, let's get this exploration going! You lead the way, Tom!" he exclaimed before adding in a hushed tone as if they would be overheard, "By the way, how long have you been in here anyways? How'd you even wander here?"
Raifuku's games had brought in all sorts of characters whether through temptation or their own volition. From the way Thomas was acting, he wouldn't be surprised if the man had journeyed all the way to this island by chance and stumbled upon Raifuku's maze of realms all on his own. Did he even realize that there were bat-shit insane individuals out there to kill people like him.
I wonder what an Aztec is, Setsuna pondered as he fell into line behind Thomas and Ryoujin. As far as they could see there was nothing but tree after tree after tree. The redhead’s gaze turned to the man leading their little group.
Thomas seemed to be a friend or as close to a friend as one could get in this maze at least, considering what had happened in the last two places they’d visited. This guy was a truly unfortunate one indeed, getting stuck in here with them. As far as Setsuna could tell the man had little to no spiritual presence... yet the fact he could see them bothered him a little.
Might be he’s one of those spiritual human-types; no matter the strength of his Reiatsu. Poor thing, getting dragged all the way out here like this. Setsuna smiled and shook his head as he stepped over a root and kicked aside a small stone.
The explorer beamed a smile at the two men, patting each on the shoulder as he stepped between them to lead them on their way. A wicked smile covered the man's face, his seemingly carefree expression twisting and darkening. Idiots, he thought to himself, laughing inwardly, trusting just anyone to come along. I'm so lucky there's two of you, you'll be your own downfall.
Thomas' fist clenched tightly in anticipation. But even as his face told a story of lies and betrayal, the voice that reached back to the pair of black robed warriors was one of friendship and excitement. "Honestly, I'm not really sure how I got here. One minute I was in Tokyo, visiting some colleagues. Then, I heard this strange voice in my head. All I really remember is the name Raifuku, cuz after that, I was so surprised by a random voice in my head that I tripped and fell. I must have hit my head pretty hard, cuz it hurt for a while when I woke up." The human paused to gesture around the room, "And I've been here ever since, just wandering. I really don't know how long it's been, but probably around as long as you've been here... maybe longer."
[216/616]
Tom!
After Shun writes his turn, we need to talk before you write yours. >:3
"Wow, I'll be honest. That really sucks," Ryoujin began, catching a glimpse of what appeared of the boy's twisted expression. Although he would have initially been more perturbed by the boy's sudden change of mien, the innocent voice that reached them seemed to have changed his mind. Guess this boy wasn't so ignorant after all. Still, the fact that he was apart of this maze and didn't seem to exude much if any spiritual pressure meant that he was in more danger than any of them.
"I also talked with Raifuku before," he continued, although to be quite honest that time was a very one-sided conversation, "If we wanna get out of here, I think we're going to have to help you get your memories back. Raifuku might have given you some sort of clue as to how to get out of here.
"Say Setsuna, I'm no expert at this. How do you think we can help him remember?"
“I’m disappointed,” a voice rung amidst the gathered men.
A rustling sound followed suit, and from the shrubbery and vines emerged another group. The Acting Captain, along with Picca and Yukiko, came from seemingly out of nowhere as they headed towards the two soul reapers and their ‘friend.’ His hand resting ever so gently atop his sword’s hilt, Kyuketsu kept his eyes poised at the Thomas character. He gave out a low huff, and with a shake of his head, turned his attention back to Ryoujin.
“I thought you knew better than to trust strangers, Ryou.” He shrugged. “...Especially one who simply reeks with the scent of bloodlust.”
The Templar Commander’s vision sharpened, his orbs tilting slightly as they hovered harrowingly over the ‘explorer.’ His thumb snapped at his zanpakutou, flicking it forward from the scabbard as to reveal a few inches of its still-bloodied steel. Closing his eyes, Kyuketsu cracked his neck to the side.
“It’s five against one,” he said to the stranger. “You best start running.”
Turning towards the source of the voice, Ryoujin shook his head at how fortunate he was. Instead of painstakingly searching around the maze for one of the individuals whom he sought to find, the Acting Captain had coincidentally stumbled upon his location.
Waving to both Picca and the other woman that accompanied Kyuketsu here, he openly revealed his kanji in the process to them. With so many individuals in this room, he didn’t doubt for a second that all three of the characters to this puzzle were present. Such a prevalent thought wasn’t what occupied his mind however; he could honestly care less about acquiring the other two pieces even if he could name a few individuals off the top of his head to be Buryoku Gaikou's next target.
“What? If he tried something, you think I would even let him?” the pink-haired Templar finally replied. Like Lucas before, he had taken the risk and befriended strangers, but that didn’t mean that he was about to allow himself to be duped. It was more so out of sheer curiosity that he didn’t maintain his guard to the fullest extent.
Narrowing his eyes upon the surface of Tenzansatsu, the fresh coat of crimson didn’t go unnoticed.
“You sure you’re even in any condition to be making threats. You look like hell, Kyuketsu.”
"Och, dinnae listen to him. He says his morning eggs smell of bloodlust. And black pepper," Picca said. She pointed to Kyuketsu with a thumb.
Even though her uniform was worn, burnt and slightly falling apart at the back seems, the one legged shinigami was looking happy and refreshed. Her face and body were free of any dirt or signs of battle. There were still some redness, like sunburn, on her face and left arm though.
This thick rainforest was extremely muggy and unpleasant. To be honest, Picca probably preferred the choking smoke of the previous room.
Hmm, well this is a turnout for the books. You try looking for someone and they come to you it would seem. Setsuna resisted the urge to smile wider than he already was at the sight of the new arrivals. The first was obviously Ryoujin’s captain or similar, the older woman spoke with a weird accent and used odd words and the younger woman, girl even, looked oddly pale as she stood there.
Stepping forward, he looked from Thomas to the newcomers and back again.
“Looks like he’s right there mate. This guy seems way stronger than me and probably less patient.” Heh, me, patient. “I’d best make a break for it if I were you.”
As Setsuna was saying this, watching from her position behind Kyuketsu, Yukiko observed the two new men with a mix of interest and intrigue. The guy with the pink hair was roughly as strong as Picca was while the redhead seemed the weakest of the four taller shinigami though still strong in his own right. The small blonde shook her head and decided to sit on a nearby log. She was still feeling rather faint from the earlier fight though it was slowly passing. Now all she had to do was to wait for the feeling to be completely gone.
Thomas looked nervously from person to person around him. The first two Black Robes had believed him easily enough. Sure, they were strong, but so was he; he could have taken them without much problem had he still been able to ambush them.
But this new one, wounded or not, was perceptive enough to see right through him. With his cover blown, Thomas cursed himself for not paying attention for anyone else in the area.
The explorer started to back away from the group slowly. "I... don't know what you're talking about. I couldn't even hurt a fly." Another slow step back, and another. He knew none of them would buy his innocent act, but if he could just stall long enough to... "Come on guys, I just want to get out of here as much as the rest of you."
There was a soft thud as the intrepid traveler backed into a tree. The look of surprise and fear quickly changed to one of sick satisfaction. Thomas let his hands fall to his sides, palms placed firmly against the tree trunk. He sent a pulse of his own energy into the tree. The energy quickly shot up to the highest branches, and down into the deepest roots. As the spiritual power spread through the complicated root system, it jumped to the roots of other trees around them, rapidly filling them, too. Then, when the pulsed had faded into the four trees, they came to life. Branches came crashing down from the sky above them, and roots began to erupt from the ground. Dirt and leaves spiraled through the air as wooden appendages, crashed and whipped in every direction. And amid the chaos, Thomas slipped around behind the tree and bolted to another nearby, leaping up into it and preparing himself for the massacre about to follow him.
It wasn't what he had hoped. As far as he was concerned, he was no environmentalist, especially not when nature threatened to kill him. With loud crashes of branches falling down everywhere and groans of protests as the trees became animated, Ryoujin locked his gaze on the fleeing explorer. Although to be quite frank, there was not much that he could do at the moment what with the distraction that this obstacle posed.
As he was reminded of who his current targets were, the Blood Templar attempted to evade the incoming whip-like strikes.
"Brings back memories, doesn't it, Kyuketsu?" he called over the disarray.
In truth, the wooden creatures were familiar. That was not to say however though that he had encountered Thomas before - no. Rather, he remembered distinctly a memory long ago back when Seth Ambrosius of the Ninth Division conducted a little experiment that required both him and Kyuketsu to test their blades against such wooden abominations. As such, he wasn’t as shocked as he would have been, knowing from experience of what to expect.
Back then, the bark had been durable to cut through, and he didn’t doubt that the same principle applied to these summoned creatures.
With debris being thrown around and the ground beginning to show signs of cracks as roots shot forth from it in order to bind them, Ryoujin cartwheeled to the right but not without tasting some thorns that had managed to cut him.
Ignoring the pain that was building up from the newfound wound, the pink-haired youth jumped up into the air, one hand cupped around his mouth. Taking a deep inhale, Ryoujin finally exclaimed, “Hadou jū nana, Dragon’s Breath!”
As the words left his mouth, they were instantly followed by a coruscating stream of fire that shot forth at one of the trees.
Whatever ability the human had at his disposal, it was strong enough to breathe life into the complex— and plentiful—plant system. The dense jungle around them sprang with new vigor, a newfound spark that came in control by the would-be explorer. As the wooden extremities shot to pierce the Acting Captain, his blade quickly flared to life, flashing with such grandiose strokes that reaped apart the meaning of surgical precision... of course, it never truly reached its full extent. Kyuketsu was still wounded from his previous battle, and though Thomas was in no way close to Diega’s league, he still posed a viable threat nonetheless.
Cleaving away roots and branches like a heated knife through butter, Kyuketsu’s eyes began to wander, searching and scanning for the madman behind the biological chaos. He huffed, and as he shook his head, turned to the rest of his peers.
“He’s going to keep hiding until we eventually tire out. At this point, there’s no way we can catch up to him without these trees blocking the way.” He paused, turning away to strike another incoming ligneous offshoot before continuing. “Burn the forest down.”
He stretched out his left arm, and with a whispering chant, called out, “Hadou Seventy: Kokuryuha.”
Rather than keeping the spell in a straight, concentrated line, Kyuketsu moved his finger about, opting not to focus the kidou’s energy, but to spread it all around. Kokuryuha was specially designated to burn more than to damage. It was a spell that bore long-lasting and unquenchable flames, perfect for leveling entire woodlands and groves.
"Not cool when it's happening to me," Picca exclaimed as roots started wrapping around her leg.
The one legged shinigami pulled up on her bladed prosthetic leg. The upward motion was enough to cut through the roots around it. She brought it back down next to her other leg, giving those roots a trim as well.
The branches were all taken care of by Kyuketsu.
Picca slumped over and covered her face with one hand. This place was really starting to get annoying. After shaking her head and taking one more breath of muggy, smoke free air, she straightened up again. Hopefully, smoking wasn't going to become a habit.
"Hey lads and lass," Picca called out to the others. She nodded her head toward one of the tree. "The screwball is up there. On the next tree behind that one, towards the top."
Figures, Setsuna thought, you go to a forest and the psycho you meet there just happens to be able to control it. The redhead rolled his eyes and followed the taller woman’s indication to where Thomas was. Spotting him, Setsuna hopped onto a low lying branch and then onto a slightly higher one. He looked back down, drawing Senshin as he did so.
“Hey, midget! You’re in the Fifth right?” Yukiko looked up and nodded. Setsuna continued, “Do me a favour: do that nifty, ground thing you do to get me up to his height.” Yukiko stood up from her log-chair and knelt down, glad all the rogue branches had been dealt with. She placed her hand on the floor and right beneath Setsuna a wide pillar of earth began to rise.
I’m getting better at this, she thought as the pillar rose to Setsuna’s branch. As he jumped onto the pillar, Yukiko pressed her hand harder into the ground and the pillar rose faster. As the pillar stopped, she drew her sword and began to hack away at the roots starting to gather around her.
Setsuna meanwhile unsheathed his own weapon and spun it into his reverse-grip style. Unseen by anyone, a single character inscribed itself onto the blade.
Kanshin no Teki. “Alright pal, how about ya quit with the tree thing?” Flexing the fingers on his free hand, he imbued a random spell onto his blade and waited for Thomas’ branches to come at him.
[247/886]
Chiisu
Thomas is now under the influence of Kanshin no Teki and can only focus on Setsuna until he is released.
関心の的 Kanshin no Teki (Focus of Attention): Expending 5% of his Reiatsu and 1% thereafter to maintain, Senshin’s sole ability allows Setsuna to force a single enemy to focus their entire attention on him.
Thomas stared into his now sole enemy's eyes, a maniacal grin spread across his face. "You know, mister death god, your friend has done you all a great disservice." The sociopath placed a hand on the tree and once again flooded his reiatsu into it. The branches closest to him began to form a wall between him and the redhead, leaving only his eyes up exposed to the reaper.
"I really am an explorer, y'know," he explained, a strange mix of longing and madness in his voice. "I didn't lie to you. I just failed to mention my exploring started as an exile from my homeland for murdering my wife and her family." Leaves began to rain down around the spellblade, further obstructing his view. "It's rather fascinating how a few tree roots can rip a body apart. Quite brutal, but oh so satisfying. The pop of bones leaving their joints, the splattered blood painting the wilderness such a beautiful shade of red... it's like a work of art. Not that anyone else understands that."
With a dismissive wave of his hand, the branches around him lashed out at Setsuna, trying to disarm him or knock him from his pedestal. At the same time, burning branches from the growing inferno raced toward him from behind, ready to impale his body. "No one ever understands."
