Shinigami Savant Quest #60

You are Kusajishi Riku, a shinigami and Captain of the Ninth Division of the Seireitei's Court Guard.

The inner world of your own soul is a desolate landscape, but at the same time it has always struck you as a surprisingly calming place despite its inhospitable appearance. The low hiss of gasses as they escape from the burning, blackened earth beneath your feet greets your ears, interrupted only by the crashing of distant waves on a rocky shore. A ceiling of stormy gray clouds stands motionless in the sky above, as if they were painted onto the inside of a dome by some masterful hand rather than having arisen due to some natural phenomenon. And the lone cherry tree where your zanpakuto spirits stand, eternally locked in luminous bloom, fills the still air with the faint but evocative scent of sakura.

Sometimes you wonder if anyone else's inner world is this weird by default.

“The first way of Ura Hadō, called “Sōgenbi”, is a dangerous technique in many ways,” your first zanpakuto Tenkotsuki explains, her nine golden tails swaying behind her idly, almost as if they were actually capable of boredom and restlessness. “To learn, to use, and in the existential sense. However such a technique is not without its uses... else it would never have been created in the first place.”

“I fear the time may soon come when you will need it.”

That sounds unusually ominous. “How do you mean, Tenkotsuki?”

“Before I sealed myself away from Muramasa,” she explains, recalling the moment when the rogue zanpakuto tried to forcibly “release” her from you and control her mind for his own ends, “I felt something that concerned me greatly. Something elusive, behind the chaotic and confused mass of his own energy and the hollow energy which currently sustains him.”
>1/?

Ah, so that's how a zanpakuto could remain active in such a state. With his wielder sealed rather than killed, all Muramasa would need to do is find an alternate method for resupplying his own reserves of reiatsu. With spiritual energy and a living wielder, of course he could survive long enough to pose a threat once more. But to feed on hollows for such a long time... his wielder must have been sealed well before you even joined the Onmitsukidō, maybe even before you died in the living world.

“He can't possibly be stable,” you conclude, your tone darkening at the realization of how dangerous Muramasa may still prove to be.

“Worse still,” Rosa continues, her echoing voice picking up where Tenkotsuki left off, “the vixen here told me hollows may not be all he's been eating.”

“I take it you're not talking McDonald's.”

“Though it would not surprise me to find one in Hueco Mundo, no,” Tenkotsuki sighs.

“Alright,” you frown, “so that's why you seem to think the time's right to learn it. But what's this about an “existential” danger?”

“Sōgenbi itself is the Saishodō, not the weakest technique but the first and perhaps most representative,” Tenkotsuki explains, beginning in her typical roundabout manner. “Unlike the system of numbered kidō that shinigami rely upon, Ura Hadō rely not on overwhelming power for their effectiveness but rather overwhelming force of will.”

“In the common tongue please, vixen,” Rosa chides, crossing her arms testily.
>2/3

“Ura Hadō is an outgrowth of what one might call an “arms race”, among beings who could literally write their will upon reality,” Tenkotsuki summarizes. “As such they may have a destructive effect more similar to a kidō spell much lower than the degree of difficulty and effort involved would suggest, but they will harm any being so long as the user's will is strong enough.”

“Meaning if you have the willpower, you can kick Susano'o in the balls and even he'll feel it,” Rosa adds. Rosa, answering the REAL question here.

“Strictly speaking, no,” Tenkotsuki replies with a frown. “But you could perhaps set him on fire, and then start kicking him. Whether that is a good idea or not... let us simply remind ourselves that “can” is not the same as “should”, and move on.”

>So by learning this technique I'll be stepping into a “balance of power” of sorts?
>Are there any other caveats that I should know about before proceeding?
>What does the “Saishodō” do, and why should I learn that technique rather than any other?
>Cool, but you had me at “new technique”. Where do we begin?
>Other?

>Are there any other caveats that I should know about before proceeding?
Gotta know it all.

>So by learning this technique I'll be stepping into a “balance of power” of sorts?
>Are there any other caveats that I should know about before proceeding?

>“I take it you're not talking McDonald's.”

>“Though it would not surprise me to find one in Hueco Mundo, no,” Tenkotsuki sighs.
kek

>Are there any other caveats that I should know about before proceeding?
I take it the second I learn this people will start poking at us.

>Are there any other caveats that I should know about before proceeding?
>What does the “Saishodō” do, and why should I learn that technique rather than any other?

>>Are there any other caveats that I should know about before proceeding?

>>Are there any other caveats that I should know about before proceeding?
>>Other?
Should we base assumptions on how this works with reiatsu clashing with one another as an example? Like, superior willpower "cuts" the lesser one so to speak?

It's never THAT simple, but it's also not an unfair summary.

>Writing

“So I take it as soon as it becomes clear I've learned this technique, there's a chance that it'll being an uncomfortable amount of focus on us?” you ask.

Your zanpakuto nods calmly. “Part of the reason I hesitated to take this step was the same reason I hesitated to tell you of my true nature, so many decades ago. The spiritual world is a larger and more complicated world than any shinigami could possibly realize, and much of their safety comes from mutual ignorance.”

“When you learn this technique, there is no returning to that safety. I did not want you to have to make that decision.”

After a moment's contemplation, you give her a solemn nod of understanding. “Are there any other caveats I should know about?”

“There are,” Tenkotsuki admits. “I would hate for you to take away the impression that this is somehow an unbeatable technique, which will guarantee you victory. It is not. What it will do is give you an opportunity to win where ordinary techniques that have been available to you would not. And if you choose the wrong time to use it, or else you lack the resolve to see it through, it will still fail.”

The look she's giving you finishes the thought without her having to speak it: if you're in a fight where such a technique is useful, and you fail at it, odds are good that you and everyone you care about will die. Even knowing this technique is a huge burden of responsibility, one not to be taken lightly.

But if Tenkotsuki is correct, and she usually is, it's one which you may have no choice but to accept.

“Do it right or we all die, got it,” you nod.

“Are you prepared now?” Tenkotsuki asks you, while Rosa takes several slow, deliberate steps around your left side.

>Yes.
>No.
>Take the initiative.
>Other?

>Yes.

>>Yes.

>Take the initiative.

>Yes.

If we're going to take the fight to Aizen, we have to be able to set him on fire. Just on principle at this point.

>Take the initiative.
Well, if Tenko puts it as an all or nothing deal, might as well approach it with this mindset from the get go.

>>Yes.

>Any last words or an eulogy for the 3 of us to share? It was nice knowing you Tenkotsuki, you too Rosa.
>Yes. We're ready.

>dice+3d10
>dc is a modest 6

Rolled 10, 6, 3 = 19 (3d10)

Rolled 8, 2, 4 = 14 (3d10)

Here we go, a slow thread, a slow session. One last dance.

Good to see you here.

Rolled 9, 9, 1 = 19 (3d10)

Rolled 6, 5, 5 = 16 (3d10)

It seems I failed in that roll, lets retry it eventhought it is too late

Fine rolls for a high DC.

Not really high, It starts getting high at 7 and up.

why do I get the feeling that the DC checks will start ramping up in difficulty due to accelerated Jinzen training and the moment we fail a DC is moment we exit Jinzen?

...

And with this system fails are somewhat common. A nice refreshing thing compared to for example Orc Warlord where we use rerolls left and right.

That is possibility.

“I've lived a good life... er, afterlife,” you offer quietly. “It was a pleasure and an honor to know the both of you. I'm ready when you are.”

“Good,” Rosa replies, now from behind you. “Good to hear you've made your peace.”

The first swing of Rosa's reishi weapon arcs low, scraping her bayonet across the tortured earth before continuing towards your right hip. It's a movement that's easily avoided as you pivot and draw your own sword, which clashes loudly against the butt of her musket as she predicts your own response. A downward sweep of your own sword leaves a tiny cut in her sleeve as she avoids it, and a downward blow of the stock narrowly misses the shoulder she was aiming for.

As your sheath locks against the forearm of her weapon, you can feel the pressure of her extraordinary physical power. No wonder she could hurt Muramasa so badly... it's almost enough to make you feel bad for him, knowing that a blow like this hit him right in his dumb face.

“Fine speed,” Rosa commends you. “Uninspired, but solid.”

“Is that a compliment or a criticism?”

“Both,” she replies, kicking off of your lead thigh to disengage and firing a reishi bullet at you. The projectile kicks up a spray of shattered volcanic glass as it misses you cleanly. Perfectly aimed, but also easily avoided.

Tenkotsuki, meanwhile, has taken her usual position at the base of her tree. She's not watching you, but her ears twitch in that particular way that tells you she's feeling every move you make from the reiatsu you release. It seems she's taken a great interest in your responses.

“So is this it?” you challenge the two reflections of your soul. “You're not gonna do this together?”

“That would defeat the purpose,” Tenkotsuki responds.
>1/2

“Are you gonna give me any specifics, like a training regimen? Or a plan? Nothing?”

“That too would defeat the purpose,” Tenkotsuki repeats as Rosa rounds on you once more.

>Continue combating Rosa with your sword and hakuda, get a sense for her abilities.
>Try to observe her more carefully, avoid overcomitting for now.
>Set aside your sword. Try and get creative with hakuda and kidō
>Other?

>Try to observe her more carefully, avoid overcomitting for now.

>Continue combating Rosa with your sword and hakuda, get a sense for her abilities.
Put the pressure on her.

>Continue combating Rosa with your sword and hakuda, get a sense for her abilities.

>>Try to observe her more carefully, avoid overcomitting for now.

>Try to observe her more carefully, avoid overcomitting for now.

>>Continue combating Rosa with your sword and hakuda, get a sense for her abilities

This pic still cracks me up
>Try to observe her more carefully, avoid overcomitting for now.

>>Continue combating Rosa with your sword and hakuda, get a sense for her abilities.

Isn't there a Quest board now

why don't you post this on /qst/?

>Try to observe her more carefully, avoid overcomitting for now.
>Set aside your sword. Try and get creative with hakuda and kidō
Ura-hado falls within purview of the Kido and Hado arts. Why not start from there?

>Writing

Also, 3d10 again. DC is still 6.

I'll be back in a few minutes.

Rolled 10, 2, 8 = 20 (3d10)

Watch this trip 1

Rolled 4, 1, 8 = 13 (3d10)

Rolled 8, 10, 1 = 19 (3d10)

Rolled 5, 9, 3 = 17 (3d10)

Huh, well that could have gone worse.

DCs will get worse user. We're training in accelerated Jinzen Meditation with a 100 hr(Jinzentime):1 hr (realtime) Time Dilation ratio. Not to mention Rosa seems to be going easy on you and Tenkotsuki has not yet made a single move except for the twitch of her fox ears.

We have to prepare our asses for those DC 9 rolls

You have no idea how long it takes you to work out the pattern: your ability to discern the passage of time is always thrown off by this place, where everything is cast in the same eternal twilight and your own reiatsu surrounds you on all sides. But eventually you do notice it: probably because you've bee mostly avoiding her attempts to club you over the head or skewer you through your guts. Otherwise you might have been too caught up for it.

Rosa's movements aren't actually all that good, at least by the standards of modern bayonet-fighting. That art may be essentially dead in Japan these days, as jūkendō was banned after the war, but that said Rosa must have fought for many years using better technique than this.

The wide sweeps are almost deliberately telegraphed, and the fact that her blade keeps scratching out little grooves in the ground around you... wait.

“I see,” you grimace, catching on to her plan.

Rosa laughs. “Took you long enough. Yeah, I've been setting this up for ages now. Though you keep movin' around so much it's no wonder it took a while to spot. I've had to start fresh more times than I care to admit.”

“Every strike of my weapon works as if it were a seele schnieder,” she explains further. “Bit by bit I've been loosening up more reishi to fight with, while you've been tiring out. In here you still have the same limits as your physical body would, but in here? I'm still a quincy, Riku. All of your reiryoku is also my power.”

“In this inner world of yours, you might as well call me a goddess.”
>1/2

Another heavy blow crashes against your sword-arm, and you need to immediately brace it with your sheath as well. The strength behind that attack was even more insane than the previous ones, and the slow trickle of reishi from the terrain of your own inner world leaves you certain that the next blow will be stronger still.

A blow from behind nearly dislocates your left shoulder. You're having a little bit of trouble keeping track of her movements as they grow faster and more precise by what you can only assume right now is the minute.

>Disengage, rely on ranged attacks?
>Try and bind her to create an opening?
>Rely on omnidirectional and wide-angle attacks, take away the advantage of mobility?
>Other?

>>Try and bind her to create an opening?

>Wait... This is our innerworld also!

>>Try and bind her to create an opening?

>Try and bind her to create an opening?

>Rely on omnidirectional and wide-angle attacks, take away the advantage of mobility?

>Other: You forgot one thing Rosa, you're not the only "goddess" here. If you can use the reishi of the inner world, so can I."
>take control of the inner world.
supporting this:

>>Try and bind her to create an opening?

>In this inner world of yours, you might as well call me a goddess.”
Heh

Second.

Supporting this also. Can backfire, but too tasty to disregard as mad rambling by user

>Try and bind her to create an opening?

supporting this. I just remembered the part where we got Muramasa to BTFO in our innerworld. We had the power of our innerworld in our hands the whole time. we can manipulate the reishi of the innerworld in a way so that Rosa's volstandig can never come into solid contact with a single reishi particle.

supporting this. This is crazy, but it can work because it worked on Muramasa.

>dice+3d10
>dc 7

Rolled 2, 7, 8 = 17 (3d10)

Rolled 7, 7, 4 = 18 (3d10)

WOO

Rolled 9, 4, 2 = 15 (3d10)

and thus the dice checks begin to ramp up.

Rolled 1, 10, 3 = 14 (3d10)

We got through, good job lads

>“As such they may have a destructive effect more similar to a kidō spell much lower than the degree of difficulty and effort involved would suggest, but they will harm any being so long as the user's will is strong enough.”
Guys, I'm worried about passing the first lesson of Ura-Hado. We may have to give Rosa Permanent Burn scars in Jinzen in order to learn and master Sogen-bi.

>not having faith

Bitchnigga pls

A goddess, huh? It's almost like she's egging you on with bullshit like that.

“Two can play at that game,” you smirk. With a deep breath you fan the azure flames that surround you and drive them forward with sheer willpower, and Rosa's black eyes widen in surprise as she raises her weapon. Her bayonet sweeps through the wall of fire like a scythe through grass, and the flames themselves begin to dissolve as she strips their reishi apart and begins to rotate them. Gradually she absorbs the particles, her bayonet raised and ready to strike.

Then she freezes.

“What?” she demands, finally noticing the reiatsu chain you've wrapped around her arm and pulled behind her back with a cleverly-timed hirenkyaku. “When the hell did you...”

The moment's pause is all you needed to complete your incantation.

“Bakudo 63: Sajō Sabaku!”

A second set of luminous chains snake their way along the first, wrapping around Rosa in an instant and locking her into that awkward position. Rather than panicking your quincy opposite begins to growl her own incantation.

“A silver rod strikes the five-fingered stone bed.”

“Gritz!”

From within the enveloping chains of your own Sajō Sabaku a film of reishi erupts, rapidly solidifying into a series of silver plates. The force of the expansion bursts the kidō chains as it forms someing of a sarcophagus around Rosa's body, ending in a five-pointed quincy cross in the front.

“So, you were forced to use Gintō,” you command, stretching out your own fingers and gathering a powerful, crackling mass of yellow reiatsu at the tips. “Hadō 63: Raikōhō.”

The thunderbolt strikes out like a lance of pure energy, striking the structural weak spot left by the cross-like joint where the silver plates of Rosa's coffin-like fortress meet. The blast shatters the hard shell, but doesn't quite have the effect you intend as a voice shouts from within.
>1/2

“Wolke!”

The outburst of reishi from within the existing Gritz blasts fragments of silvery-steel outwards, further powered by the containment the rest of the shell offers. You're pelted by dozens of sharp fragments, and as the Gritz collapses around her you see Rosa take aim.

>DOOOODGE!
>Close and engage: a technique as old as time.
>Counter with a powerful kidō of your own?
>Other?

>>Close and engage: a technique as old as time.

>Counter with a powerful kidō of your own?
Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!

>>DOOOODGE!

>DOOOODGE!

>DOOOODGE!

oshit

>Close and engage: a technique as old as time.
>while running towards her, throw in dodging Zig-zag movements at irregular intervals to throw off her aim.

>Close and engage: a technique as old as time.
DODGING IS FOR LOSERS

Second.

>Other:Bakudō 61: Rikujōkōrō
Lock up her aim so she can't re-adjust it when we dodge!

>Close and engage: a technique as old as time.

>feint >DOOOODGE! But actually dodge and counter attack with your sword

In this order:
>Other:Bakudō 61: Rikujōkōrō, Lock up her aim so she can't re-adjust
>Dodge! throw in zig-zag movements at irregular intervals while we
>Close and engage: a technique as old as time.

>Close and engage: a technique as old as time.

>A vote that will be ignored.

that seems really complicated but most likely to succeed ignoring the dice. So sure.

>dice+3d10
>dc 8

Rolled 2, 1, 4 = 7 (3d10)

Time to fail!

Rolled 1, 9, 3 = 13 (3d10)

Rolled 2, 6, 5 = 13 (3d10)

Rolled 4, 1, 5 = 10 (3d10)

come on big money.

Ooo, this is going to sting.

You're not kidding. But it will at least be quite spectacular.
>writing

RIP. It was good questing with you anons!

So we probably didn't die? But given the stakes are we maimed? Did King finally get to take off one of her arms?