#Alexis/Erich/Kisuke

[akaluan]

swept up amid this changing world Part 19

Erich wakes abruptly, hand going immediately to his pistol, and listens— “Morning, sir,” Degurechaff greets him as she stalks closer, her spiritual presence prickly with exhaustion-annoyance-exasperation as she comes to a stop a bare foot from his head. “I have the troops breaking camp already after a cold breakfast. Here’s yours. Major Schwarz will be along in a moment with theirs.” Erich…

[akaluan]

swept up amid this changing world Part 20

The world is quiet when Erich swims back to awareness: no gunfire, no shouting, no noise, just quiet-safety-peace. (Quincy wards hum in the back of his mind, protection-reassurance-warmth.) (He’s home.) (He home, he’s home, he home!) Erich takes a careful, shallow breath, braced for pain, but— it doesn’t come. Just a slight tugging at his side, more like fresh scar instead of fresh wound, but…

[akaluan]

Masterpost by Month: June 2021

Lost Eclipse:

part 19

Beneath the cherry trees:

part 5

part 6

A Token, My Liege?:

part 16

Ichigo/Bucky AU:

Part 2

meta on how the au sort of works

On Ghost Patrol

Kisuke in this au

Symbiotic!Quincy AU:

Part 1

The beginning of our hope:

part 2

Soulmate AU:

do Yoruichi and Tessai know where Kisuke is?

Benihime's reaction to being taken from Kisuke

Shinigami vs Quincy approach to soulmates

does soul vs living affect soulmate bond?

Benihime is something entirely new to Erich and Alexis

Tanya's manifestation of powers

Fanart:

mer!Hanataro from the little mermaid AU (by @nyava )

[akaluan]

Prompt: As always, Erich/Kisuke(/Alexis?) 32, 25

(32: Flirting under fire, 25: Time travel Erich/Kisuke(/Alexis?))

“This is not quite what I had in mind when you said ‘let’s go back in time and fix things!’” Erich shouted as he swept his arm out, emerald reiatsu trailing from his fingertips and lingering as brilliant streaks that suddenly flared bright-bright-brighter—

Shinigami and Quincy froze as the ward settled around them, locking them in stasis until they either gathered the strength to break free or he released them.

It wasn’t the best solution, but it would have to do until they could finally sort out how the hell to stop, well… whatever people wanted to call this goddamn mess.

(Would he even be born after all this meddling?)

(Whose bright idea was it to stop the Quincy purge?)

Erich grimaced and flicked his fingers, trying to shake the growing numbness in his hand at the blatant overuse of power he’d been indulging in. He was stronger than most combatants on the field, but there were so many combatants that his chosen method of crowd control was tiring.

“Aw, but it’s turned out so well!” Kisuke shouted back as he smoothly ducked away from Kyoraku’s blade and traded places with Alexis. He cast a glance at Erich, lips quirked into a tiny, pleased smile, and said, “I always enjoy the sight of you showing your strength. It’s… inspiring.”

“You seriously think this has ‘turned out well’?” Erich snapped, trying to ignore the shivery curl of pride-pleasure-want that Kisuke’s words caused; now was not the time for such things, and he wished Kisuke would just… not.

(But oh, it felt so good to be seen, to be appreciated…!)

(No, he needed to keep his mind on the battle at hand!)

He absently sent another stasis ward at the handful of Quincy and Shinigami that had decided to try to gang up on him; points for (temporarily) getting along in the face of a common enemy, but it had been a long time since run-of-the-mill foot soldiers could get the jump on him.

(Even if he was being distracted.)

“Maa, I think we’re getting there,” Kisuke said with a touch of laughter, even as he flicked his hand to send a silent kido at Ukitake. Whatever it was, it made the Captain hiss and withdraw, shaking his off hand as he gave Kisuke a narrow-eyed look.

Ukitake pursed his lips, then let his blade dip just slightly out of form as he said, “I’m not certain what you believe you’re doing—”

“Correcting a grave mistake,” Kisuke interrupted airily.

“Correcting genocide,” Alexis bit out as she slid inside Kyoraku’s guard, grabbed his shoulders, and yanked him down as she drove her knee into his stomach. Judging by the way Kyoraku gasped and hunched over, she’d also coated her knee with reiatsu.

(Poor bastard, that was never an enjoyable experience.)

(Alexis was damn good at fighting dirty.)

Ukitake blitzed past Kisuke, blade up and eyes hard—

Erich locked blades with the infuriated Captain, muscles straining against the raw power that Ukitake could bring to bear, and said, “We aren’t here to kill you.”

“No?” Ukitake asked sharply, gaze darting over Erich’s shoulder before refocusing on him. “I’m not quite sure I believe that.”

Erich shrugged. “Believe what you will. I’ve killed no one so far and your partner will be fine.” He eyed Ukitake’s stance thoughtfully, then twisted his body around and in, free hand reaching for Ukitake’s wrist—

His Ukitake would never have fallen for something so obvious, but this one… this one didn’t have the same sort of experience. This one hadn’t spent over a year sparring with him almost once a week. This one didn’t know his tells, or his habits, or anything about him, and…

He felt no shame in capitalizing on his own familiarity with the man.

His hand closed over Ukitake’s wrist. Squeezed just so—

Ukitake inhaled sharply as he flinched, hand spasming and zanpakutou dropping—

Erich caught it by the tsuba before it could fall too far, then disappeared in a burst of hirenkyaku and landed at Kisuke’s side. “Willing to listen to us now?” he asked idly as he carefully ran blut vein down his arm and took a firmer hold on the blade itself, unwilling to offend Ukitake by even the pretense of turning the man’s zanpakutou on him.

Kisuke leaned in, warm breath ghosting over Erich’s ear, and whispered, “Showing off for me, Erich? I certainly appreciate it.”

Erich swallowed and turned his head a bit to glare at Kisuke, feeling his cheeks heat as he did. “Will you not?” he hissed in exasperation.

“But you look so good like that,” Kisuke murmured, then laughed and ducked away when Erich tried to elbow him in the chest. “Maa, Erich-san needs to learn to take a compliment!”

Erich sighed, unable to resist casting a long-suffering look at Ukitake as he did; the man smirked at him in response, an edge of familiar playfulness about him that dissipated a moment later when Alexis appeared at Erich’s side with Kyoraku in her grip, constructed ropes tying his arms behind his back.

“Look, I’d rather not keep fighting you,” Alexis declared, expression stern as she stared at Ukitake. “You’re outmatched, and with us here this effort to exterminate the Quincy is doomed to failure.” She nodded towards where Kurosaki was in the midst of combat with the Soutaicho and added, “Besides, once Kurosaki-kun finishes his fight, I have no doubt your leader will call it all off anyway.”

“You truly think the Quincy will accept that?” Ukitake asked, curious-skeptical-considering as he examined the three of them and then the masses of frozen fighters all around them. “They seem no more pleased to see you than we do.”

Erich cast a thoughtful look at the combatants that he’d frozen and flexed the fingers of his free hand;  even with Tessai going around and adding a seal atop his ward, thereby taking some of the burden from him, he couldn’t continue to use his powers so flagrantly. He had enough strength left to hold his own against Ukitake or Kyoraku, but not both, and he had yet to sense the Quincy Clan Head on the field.

(Whether that meant the Clan Head wasn’t present or had already been killed, he didn’t know.)

(He didn’t even know who was supposed to be the Clan Head in this time!)

(No one who survived had ever spoken of it to him, or written it down anywhere he could find…)

(Damn the Shinigami for the destruction they had wrought!)

“I suppose they don’t,” Erich finally said, then shook his head and straightened his spine, chin tipping up as he fixed Ukitake with a steady look. “But it doesn’t matter. I was a Clan Head at one point and I will make them listen if I must.”

(Hopefully the Clan Head wasn’t dead.)

(Hopefully they listened to him instead of fighting him.)

(Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully…)

Erich bit back his worries and flexed his free hand again, trying to chase away the lingering numbness of overusing his power. He couldn’t afford to drop his guard around Ukitake, even with Kyoraku captured and the man’s blade in his hand; Ukitake was a cunning opponent who would do nearly anything for those he cared about, and right now Erich was not one of the people he cared about.

Ukitake stared back at Erich, wary-thoughtful-wondering as his gaze traveled from Erich’s face to the careful way Erich was holding his zanpakutou, then over to Alexis and Kyoraku. “You know us,” he said slowly, thoughtfully, as his aggressive stance began to fade. “You know us and how we fight. You’re Quincy and you’re working with a Shinigami.”

“Ex-Shinigami, thank you,” Kisuke interrupted with a sniff. “I prefer the Living World these days.”

Ukitake hummed and swayed back a bit, arms crossing over his chest as he fixed all three of them with his best Stern Captain look. “Ex-Shinigami, then,” he said agreeably, even as his gaze never wavered. “You are aware, however, that there are… problems with how Quincy—”

Alexis cut him off with a rude noise, then bared her teeth when he gave her an unimpressed look. “Then work with us to fix it,” she snapped. “We unmake Hollows because they unmake us! But because we barely register to you, it’s us who are in the wrong instead of them!”

“That’s not—”

“What you meant?” Erich cut in ruthlessly. “I don’t care what you meant. I don’t care what rationale you’re using to justify destroying an entire people, but I refuse to let it stand. We’re neither perfect nor innocent of bad deeds, but we still deserve a chance to live.”

Ukitake pursed his lips and looked away, body rigid in the way that Erich knew meant guilt was eating at his friend’s conscious.

(War was one thing, they all understood war, but this…?)

(This wasn’t war.)

“You’ll need to convince the Soutaicho of this,” Ukitake finally said, slanting a sidelong look at Erich  as he did. “I am not averse to stopping these fights, but neither Kyoraku-san nor I am in control of this.”

“Kurosaki-kun will sort it out,” Kisuke said with a light grin. “He’s persuasive like that.”

Erich adjusted his grip on Ukitake’s zanpakutou, trying to ignore the growing buzz of displeasure against his senses, and asked, “Do you surrender?”

Kyoraku started and stared up at him with wide eyes, then quickly looked back to Ukitake. “Jyuu—”

“I do, so long as you swear not to hurt us,” Ukitake spoke over Kyoraku.

“We won’t,” Erich agreed easily. “Though I hope you understand that I’m not returning your zanpakutou until all the fighting is done.”

Ukitake grimaced but nodded. “I figured as much.”

Erich carefully constructed a temporary sheath around Ukitake’s zanpakutou and hung it from his belt. “Thank you,” he said as he rubbed at his tingling hand. “And your friend?”

Kyoraku heaved a sigh and sent Erich an exasperated look as he said, “Do I really have any options, here?”

“Agree to surrender and I’ll let you up,” Alexis told him.

“You’d just… let me go?” Kyoraku asked her, clearly befuddled by the suggestion. “But—”

“I captured you once, I can do it again,” Alexis answered with a shrug. “So, yes or no?”

“Anything to get out of these ropes,” Kyoraku joked, flashing a grin up at her as he said, “I normally don’t let anyone tie me up until the third date, but I’ll make an exception for a beautiful lady like yourself.”

Alexis scoffed and rolled her eyes as the ropes binding Kyoraku’s limbs dissolved back into reishi. “Trust me,” she drawled, “if I wanted to play like that, you’d know.”

Erich snorted in amusement at Kyoraku’s flummoxed look. “She doesn’t fluster easily,” he told the man dryly, then shook his head and turned to scan the sky; he needed to find the person leading the Quincy side so he could… speak with them about the battle. There were a few options if he was going by power levels, but based on his experiences…

(There.)

(That one.)

He pulled strength into himself, replenishing his power, and then darted forward, arrowing towards the Quincy he’d singled out.

(He needed to stop this battle, stop this war, and then… and then…)

(It was time and past for the Quincy hidden in Seireitei’s shadow to fall.)

(He refused to allow his people to die, even if he had to slay the progenitor of those very people.)

(He swore it.)

[akaluan]

Bare Your Fangs to the Dusk Part 20

Kisuke wonders what their next step will be.

“Well, that meeting went better than expected,” Kisuke said as soon as the… servants? Probably servants… filed out of the room and closed the door behind them; while he appreciated the thought behind bringing in a larger bed and a large tub for them to wash up in, he wished it wasn’t so obvious that everyone expected them to sleep in the same room. Erich hummed in absent agreement as he dug…

[akaluan]

Erich/Kisuke/Alexis: Soulmate AU + Character in Peril Part 17

They break camp shortly after true dawn.

It’s later than Erich wanted, but they’re not that far behind schedule.

(Not that they really have a schedule anymore.)

(Or anyone expecting them at the other end of their march…)

(No.)

(Focus.)

It feels odd to be abandoning camp the way they are, with all the tents still pitched and crates still scattered around, ruined and discarded equipment left behind, and with nothing but the essentials on their backs and stretchers for the men too injured to keep up. The whole place is booby trapped, rigged with explosives and wires and anything else the men could come up with on such short notice; it certainly isn’t perfect and there’s no guarantee that they’ll catch anyone with it, but at least they tried.

There’s nothing for them to return to and they all know it.

They’ve abandoned the field, abandoned their duty, and now they have to live with the consequences, whatever those may be.

They’re carrying enough food and supplies for a week’s march and that’s it. If they get delayed, if they have to take a longer route, if something — anything — goes wrong—

(No.)

(Focus.)

(They’ll make it.)

Both battalions settle into the steady, driving pace that time and emergencies have ground into their bones, and Alexis keeps pace without sign of strain. She’s probably using her inner power to bolster her strength, given that marching is not exactly a skill their people develop. Not to the extent he and his men have, old hands at marching for survival as they are.

On his other side, Urahara also keeps pace, though it’s obvious that he’s surprised by the speed in which they’re moving. Erich doesn’t know the man’s abilities well enough to decide if Urahara is having to bolster his own strength like Alexis is, but… he suspects that’s the case.

(Give a people a method of fast travel and of course they’ll discard the forced march as soon as possible.)

(If Reapers ever had a reason to march anywhere…)

(The scattered, decentralized ‘divisions’ Urahara spoke of makes him doubt that.)

“You know what your decision will make our Clan think,” Alexis murmurs as soon as they’ve all settled into the pace and are making good time through the forest.

Erich grimaces at her words and resists the urge to glance over at Urahara yet again; he does know what other Quincy will think, seeing him with the start of a power-weave bond connecting him to the man. They’re going to think he’s known Urahara for months, that they’ve made peace with each other and found a tentative balance and that Erich isn’t terrified of the Reaper he’s inviting into their home. It’s… it’s a convenient misconception, even if he hadn’t been thinking of it when he did it, but…

He doesn’t know how well he can uphold that misconception, because it’s a lie, because he is terrified, because the sight of Urahara standing over him is petrifying no matter how prepared he is, but…

But he can’t undo it, can’t take it back, because he needs to carry Benihime and this… this is the only way he can.

“I know,” he settles on, resigned-accepting-tired in a way that’s become all too familiar.

(He doesn’t remember what it’s like to not be resigned-accepting-tired anymore.)

(He’s lost so much, forced himself on for so long, that he… he doesn’t know if he can stop anymore.)

(Urahara is just one more weight to carry, one more responsibility to juggle, but…)

Erich forces his breathing to match his pace. Forces his mind to focus on the physical. Forces himself to let go, because… because…

Because Urahara is more than just a weight, more than just a source of stress. The dual beats of trust-wonder-loyalty from soulbond and power-weave are intoxicating, the lack of pain he’s in is breathtaking, and the memory of stories traded well into the depths of night is… subtler. Kinder. Humanizing when he’d never thought, never expected, to find any sort of common ground with a Reaper of all people.

(He wonders what that says about himself.)

(Wonders if he even wants to know.)

(Decides he probably doesn’t.)

Alexis gives him a concerned look and Urahara brushes concern-question-worry against his senses, both of them reacting to his twisting emotions, and…

It’s hard not to simply shake his head and deny anything being wrong, but… but they all know better than that.

“It’ll be alright,” he breathes, more for himself than for them, and reaches through his bonds to brush exhaustion-acceptance-hope against both of them as his true answer.

(Only a little longer.)

(Just one more march and then he can rest.)

(He can make it.)

(He will make it.)

(He has to.)

***

They keep moving, pushing on through the morning and into the early afternoon, stopping to rest and reconnoiter every few hours.

They’ve been lucky so far according to the scouts; the enemy hasn’t penetrated this far into the forests yet, still cautious-wary-uncertain after nearly a week of nighttime strikes and units unexpectedly dying. There’s no sign of the enemy advancing and no sign of active mages, which is all Erich can hope for at the moment.

That will change, he knows that will change, but for now…

For now he keeps them moving. Keeps pushing through the daylight for as long as his men can stand. Calls for breaks when he judges them needed. Orders them on when he senses they’ve recovered. Shares his spiritual power with Alexis when her own starts to flag, and almost, almost reaches out to do the same to Urahara, but…

Urahara is determination-focus-loyalty through their bond, the power tying them together unwavering, and Erich… Erich doesn’t know how to ask, how to offer, doesn’t know if it would even be accepted…

(Doesn’t know if he can make himself share…)

(Shame gnaws at his stomach for the doubt.)

(That’s his soulmate…)

(He should… should be able to…)

Erich grits his teeth and turns his attention to the land in front of them.

(He’ll handle it later.)

They make good time, for all that they’re exhausted and are carrying wounded with them.

(He’s given them hope, given them something they want, and they’re willing to push themselves to reach it.)

(They’re all good men, and he’s… he’s glad that Alexis arrived, that she offered Rerugen lands and hospitality when he could not.)

(None of them deserve the horrors their country has subjected them to.)

They march until the sun begins to set, shadows lengthening across the ground, a greedy darkness that quickly starts to obscure the hazards beneath their feet. Too much longer and they’ll be marching in impenetrable darkness, forced to slow their pace to a crawl even if they take the risk of lighting their way.

(Not that any of them want to.)

(Bad enough they’re marching away from an active combat zone.)

(Worse if they attract other attention along the way.)

(For all that man has conquered magic, there are still wild places amongst the world that are better left… undisturbed.)

Urahara stumbles and Erich automatically reaches out, grasping the man’s elbow to steady him, and—

Urahara freezes. Stumbles again, almost dragging them both down—

Erich huffs and drags Urahara up instead. “Fool,” he mutters as he tugs Urahara close, practically shoving power through their soulbond to refill Urahara’s own reserves. Now that he’s paying attention, he can feel how low Urahara strength is, and the shame-guilt-distress of earlier roars back to the fore; if only he had paid attention, if only he had reached out—

“Maa, maa, you really don’t have to! I—”

“You aren’t trained for this,” Erich snaps, then swallows back the other, equally sharp words that want to escape and looks back to catch Schwarz’s attention instead. “Major Schwarz!” he calls out, sensing the way the men around them perk up at his voice and knowing they’ll be pleased by his next words. “Call a halt, we’ve gone far enough for today.”

“Yes sir!” Schwarz replies, too disciplined to sound relieved but clearly feeling it all the same.

Erich considers the darkening forest around them for a moment, then adds, “Keep the fires to a minimum, just enough to heat some food, and then put them out again. Let’s not tempt fate.”

“Of course not, sir! I’ll pass the message along.”

Content with the knowledge that his men will be fine, Erich scans the area, looking for a place to rest for the night; a forest floor isn’t his preferred place to sleep — there’s very little comfort to be found in nature, if he’s being honest — but he’s slept in worse places.

As his men begin to fall out and set up their own small camps, Erich decides on a spot beneath an ancient, towering tree and pulls Urahara along with him, Alexis following in their wake.

“Sit down,” he orders Urahara as he lets go of the man, then turns away before Urahara can respond. He drops his pack with a groan and stretches, trying to work the kinks out of his spine before he starts setting up their minimal ‘camp’. Usually he’d just set up with Schwarz or Degurechaff, but… he’s not sure if he should this time, not sure where exactly the line is when dragging two soulmates around—

“The men are settling in, sir,” Schwarz reports, startling Erich from his thoughts. “Scouts are still reporting no sign of the enemy.”

“Good,” Erich says as he crouches down to get a closer look at the ground. It’s well padded with leaf litter at least, so they won’t have to sleep directly on the ground, and he doesn’t see any evidence of an insect nest nearby either. “Keep the watch close to camp tonight, and make sure everyone knows to keep the light to a minimum once the food’s been heated up.”

Schwarz watches him work for a moment, then glances past him to the gathering darkness beyond their makeshift camp. “Understood, sir, I’ll make sure the men know. I doubt the enemy will want to advance through that, anyway.”

“Not many people do,” Erich says with a faint smile, glancing up at Schwarz as he does. “Is there anything else, Major?”

“No, sir! I’ll return with some food when it’s ready.”

Erich watches Schwarz leave, then resumes setting up their minimal ‘camp’ as best he can; there’s little he can do besides making sure there aren’t any sticks or stones under where he plans to set their bedrolls, but anything is better than nothing. And without a fire or a tent, they’re going to want as much padding between them and the ground as possible.

“Here,” Alexis says as she kicks more leaves towards him. “Think we should do a bit of searching ourselves?” she asks softly as she crouches down next to him. “We could combine it with refilling his reserves.”

He sighs and scrubs the back of his wrist across his forehead, shame-embarrassment-guilt curdling his stomach at the reminder of what he let happen. “That’s… probably wise,” he murmurs as he casts a quick glance over his shoulder at Urahara, then looks away the instant Urahara meets his gaze. “That… I shouldn’t have let that happen…”

Alexis snorts and bumps her shoulder into his, brushing warmth-reassurance-confidence against his senses as she does. “We’re still feeling each other out, remember.”

“But I almost…!”

“And if his strength had given out before night, you would have corrected it,” she says firmly, leaning into his side. “I know you, Erich. No matter how you feel about him, he’s currently a man under your protection, and you would not have left him to suffer.”

Erich grimaces and wipes the debris from his hands, uncertain if he agrees with Alexis’ assessment; he’d entirely tuned Urahara out until the very last moment when he’d reached out and caught the man. If that wasn’t evidence that he would leave the man to suffer, he wasn’t sure what was.

(He could have done more.)

(Should have done more.)

(Just like he’d done for Alexis throughout the day…!)

Alexis gives him a sidelong look, then shrugs and turns away. “Urahara,” she calls, then gestures to the two packs sitting within arm’s reach of the man. “Can you throw us the bedrolls?” she asks, pronouncing her words as clearly and distinctly as she can.

“Bedrolls?” Urahara repeats carefully, a frown creeping in as he gives the packs a long, hard look. But before Erich can try to translate, understanding seems to dawn on Urahara’s face and he begins unlacing the bedrolls tied to each pack and tosses them one by one to Alexis. “Bedrolls,” he repeats again, a tiny, pleased grin on his face.

Alexis grins back at him as she catches the three bundles — one from Alexis’ pack and two from Erich’s — and hands them off to Erich for him to set up. “Good,” she praises, making a touch of color rise in Urahara’s cheeks as the man ducks his head.

It’s the work of moments to set all three of them up atop the padding of leaf litter, and Erich takes a moment to brush a hand over the bottom edge of each, setting up a tiny heating ward to slowly warm the interiors over the next few hours.

(He rarely takes the risk, but… Urahara’s being dealing with the Hollows in the area.)

(It should be safe to do this.)

(Hopefully…)

Erich sighs and pushes himself to his feet, the offers his hand to Alexis to help her up. “Food should be ready soon, then we’ll meditate,” he says as he crosses the small distance to Urahara and starts to sit, only to grimace as Benihime gets in the way. With a thought he adjusts the harness keeping her in place, giving them both a bit more freedom so her hilt isn’t jabbing into his hip. He tips his head back and closes his eyes, trying to dredge up the courage he needs to say— “I’m sorry.”

Leaves crunch as Urahara shifts position, confusion-awkwardness-uncertainty trickling through their paired bonds as he struggles for words. “I don’t understand,” he says eventually. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

“I do. I helped Alexis and not you,” Erich explains as best he can.

Urahara huffs a laugh. “I wouldn’t expect you to support two people the entire day. I only know a handful of people with reserves that deep, and neither of us qualify.”

Erich purses his lips and gives Urahara a considering look, uncertain if Urahara is just being polite or if the man legitimately doesn’t know that Quincy can draw power from the world around them. “It doesn’t matter how shallow or deep my reserves are,” he settles on at last. “The fact remains that I should have assisted you and I did not. Will you let me make it up to you?”

“Make it up to me…?” Urahara repeats in confusion, then shakes his head and asks, “How?”

“We’ll…” Erich grimaces, scrambling for the Akitsugo word for ‘meditate’ and turning up blank. He wishes Degurachaff was around to translate, but she’s probably off checking the camp and the men, and he has no idea when her rounds will be finished. “Meditate?” he tries in Imperial, only to sigh when Urahara shakes his head in incomprehension. “Sorry. I don’t know the word. But… sharing power? The three of us together. And tomorrow I will help keep your reserves steady.”

Urahara shakes his head again. “I don’t want you stressing yourself. I can manage.”

“Will your reserves be full again in the morning?” Erich asks pointedly, knowing that he hadn’t done much more than keep Urahara from collapsing from exhaustion earlier. Urahara’s awkward glance down is all he needs to know the truth: a single night won’t be enough. “Then trust me. Let me do this. You will see.”

He tries not to squirm under the sharp, assessing look Urahara gives him at that, then breathes out a quiet sigh when the man finally nods.

“We can try it,” Urahara agrees, their connection awash with trust-acceptance-loyalty once again. “But if I sense that you’re beginning to falter, we end it then and there.”

Erich smiles faintly at Urahara’s words. “Trust me,” he repeats, amused by the exasperated look that earns him.

Urahara will learn the truth soon enough.

(Hopefully this doesn’t backfire on him.)

(No.)

(He can’t think that way.)

(It will be fine.)

(Everything will be fine.)

(It has to be…)

(It has to be.)

[akaluan]

Bare Your Fangs to the Dusk Part 18

Erich really wishes his parents were a little less... them.

Erich followed his father into the man’s office, mouth dry and stomach a knot of tension; this was the moment where everything could go wrong, where he could be found out as a liar and— He honestly didn’t know how his father would react, either to discovering the lie as a lie or believing it; his father had never really seemed against him staying in Kisuke’s guild, but… being part of a guild and…

[akaluan]

Bare Your Fangs to the Dusk Part 14

Erich doesn't know what he's done, but *something* is bothering Kisuke. Things are certainly off to a rocky start...

“Ready to go?” Erich asked Ura— Kisuke as the man stepped into the courtyard with a pack in one hand and his regular sword strapped to his waist.

“And meet my fate? Absolutely,” Kisuke replied with a teasing grin as he meandered closer, sharp eyes taking the chaos of the courtyard in. “I simply cannot wait.”

Erich gave him the dry look his words deserved and ignored the speculative murmurs…

[akaluan]

White Wings and Soft Cloaks Part 14

At some point, Kisuke will finally figure these two out, he swears it.

Kisuke pivoted on his toes, keeping Alexis in view as she prowled a circle around him. She’d surprised him during their first bout, taking advantage of his hubris to send him tumbling but… not this time.

This time, injured or not, he would win. He’d already begun to make plans, to memorize her style, and—

“You know, I believe you came out here to help him stretch, not tumble him about like…

[akaluan]

I have so many questions for the new soulmate au, which I love! The rights and exceptions and whatnot outlined in the treaties and laws which Erich and Tanya refer to - what are they, in a basic overview, and how long have they been a thing legally? Can Erich get in contact with his wife and tell her what's going on or give her a warning of the Reapers without Kisuke catching wind of it? Where's Kisuke's timeline right now, how did he find Erich? And what does a plum tree mean here?

*laughs* Yeah, I saw your comment and was planning on making a post about it, so now’s as good a time as any i suppose.

So!

a) Soulmate treaties/laws

They’ve been in effect for a couple centuries now in their current form (i mean, with revisions/addendum etc), but societies have had various versions of them off and on for... most of civilization.

Current form, however, involves a couple basic things that Tanya and Erich have alluded to:

1) Soulmates cannot be kept from each other against their will

(Tanya is very UGH about this one because it means that Kisuke showing up in the MIDDLE OF THEIR CAMP during war is perfectly legal and any attempt to prohibit that can be claimed as “soulmate interference” which could get her into deep trouble. It’s MEANT to be a Romeo/Juliet clause, so that people who have a soulmate across some divide -- family conflict, nations in a cold war, etc -- have a legal right to meet each other)

(It does NOT technically permit actions like sabotage/stealing/etc, and anyone caught using this clause to perpetrate damage to their soulmate’s group falls into a murky grey area because Oh No, What If They Were Doing It At Their Soulmate’s Urging, What If There’s Some Cause. But a lot of the time both soulmates just get in huge trouble and are prosecuted as a unit.)

2) Soulmates who are from ideologically incompatible groups or from groups that have traditionally been prosecutor/prosecuted are not forced to be together.

(IE: Reaper/Quincy style situations or similar.)

2a) Soulmates who fall under this clause can be kept apart without repercussions so long as there’s evidence that one or both sides is having a detrimental effect on the other.

(Tanya’s using ‘Erich was scared out of his wits and going for his gun’ as her justification. It’ll fly. Just. But also she’s not ENTIRELY using this clause, she’s using the next one. Though this was absolutely the clause she was using when she chased Kisuke off.)

2b) Soulmates who fall under this clause have a right to a 3rd party being present at all times to monitor interactions.

(It’s the enforced chaperone clause, wheee! And absolutely what Tanya’s using right now.)

2c) Soulmates who fall under this clause have a right to repudiate their soulmate without repercussions.

(I mean. In practice. In theory there’s your standard “well couldn’t you have worked it out? You were soulmates!” response from a portion of society, but generally there’s a lot less judgment of repudiation via this clause than repudiation without this clause.)

(Tanya is partially incorrect in her statement that Erich’s justified in repudiating Kisuke right now, though. Because there tends to need to be records/evidence/etc that’s admissible in court for this to fly and uuhhhh... There Really Isn’t.)

3) Soulmates have rights and privileges equal to married couples no matter their gender or actual relationship or how MANY soulmates are in the group

(It’s ASSUMED that everyone with a soulmate will be in a Standard Sexual Relationship at some point and then... no one really Questions It to find out. It’s an annoying assumption but it DOES give everyone blanket rights!)

(Multi-soulmates have been a thing as long as civilization has, so in this universe, same-sex and multi-pairing groups are just as “correct” as one man-one woman. You have your religious wingnuts of course who think that people with soulmates that doesn’t meet Their Religious Standard are going to go burn in hell, but it’s not as common or widespread.)

---

There are absolutely more but those are the only ones I’ve really given thought to bc they’re the only one’s that “matter” right now.

Also, regarding multi-soulmates, the statistics are approximately like this:

0 soulmate: 10%

1 soulmate: 50%

2 soulmate: 25%

3 soulmate: 10%

4+ soulmate: 5%

Give or take.

b) Can Erich get in contact with his wife and tell her what's going on or give her a warning of the Reapers without Kisuke catching wind of it?

I mean, kinda? He’s limited by the situation he’s in right now, of course -- he’s on one of the borders, basically in guerrilla warfare mode, and supplies/ability to send mail is VERY limited and radio contact has to be kept to a minimum and is usually restricted to military information only.

Soulmates CAN communicate in a limited fashion through the marks themselves, but only emotions. So Alexis sensed his fear but not what he was afraid of. As far as she knows, he just had another brush with death, not found out that their second soulmate is a Reaper.

Communication with Alexis is going to have to wait until certain events occur or until I decide that she’s had enough and she’s invoking soulmate law 1 and checking in on her husband despite the active combat zone.

(No one can tell her no, after all =) )

c) Where's Kisuke's timeline right now, how did he find Erich?

Kisuke is like.. 3 to 5 years after the exile from Soul Society. He’s semi-recovered from the stress and found a balance for the crushing depression, and now he wants something that’s HIS and thus his trip to Find His Soulmates.

Soulmates can tell limited direction-to-soulmate if they concentrate hard enough (and are in the same world), but it’s sorta like playing a world-level game of Hot And Cold. Kisuke, who has all the time in the world and the stubbornness to match, can dedicate the sort of time to this that Erich cannot.

(Also, sharing powers through soulmarks is limited to spiritual powers AND helps to ‘light up’ a direction because the person being pulled from can feel the direction of pull. From Erich’s moment of panic to the time Kisuke found him that night, Kisuke was basically hunting for an entire day even though he was already ‘close by’.)

d) And what does a plum tree mean here?             

Syyymboliiiism

Okay but serious answer:

Kisuke - Plum Tree: (Genius, Keep your promise, fidelity) + (Protective charm against evil)

Flowers: (Perseverance, hope)

(Tanya, being formerly Japanese, reads the ‘protective charm’ meaning into the plum tree whereas Erich doesn’t because he doesn’t know about it. Both meaning sets are correct, however)

Alexis - Oak: (Hospitality, Bravery, Humanity)

Erich - Walnut: (Intelligence, stratagem)

e) And a question you didn’t ask: Akitsushima Dominion?

Sometimes I forget people don’t live in the Tanya the Evil Wiki or roll around in it’s lore like I do.

It’s the in-world name for Japan.

Also, Kisuke IS speaking Japanese, and Tanya outed herself as knowing Japanese though Erich hasn’t had time to mentally process that little fact yet. Erich knows Japanese because he was a diplomat-ish-y person at one point I believe (I forget his exact position but he went to foreign countries before the war broke out) and he’s a big believer in knowing foreign languages because it can give him an advantage.

[akaluan]

22 and 62, Erich/Alexis? (Urahara optional :P)

(22: Space AU, 62: Love Confessor (Char A confessing their love of Char B to Char C)

“I want to wring his neck,” Erich declares as he collapses into the pilot seat and presses a hand to his face. “Charging across half the galaxy in that cobbled together tin can of his..!”

“He did it for you, you know,” Alexis tells him with amusement, draping herself over the back of his seat and digging her fingers into the base of his neck. “You know how he gets, love.”

He groans, letting his head dip forward as Alexis’ clever fingers ease the tension in his neck and shoulders. “Yeah, overprotective. There’s no damn debt between us anymore, he doesn’t need to risk his fool neck just because we get into a bad situation.”

Urahara’s help had been very useful, Erich will admit. An extra ship and an extra pair of eyes certainly shortened the whole sordid adventure by days, but… he knows Urahara’s usual routes through the aether, and they were nowhere near them.

Which means Urahara went out of his way to find them, after somehow discovering they were having problems. Which–

“How does he even know, anyway?” Erich can’t resist asking aloud. He stares at the console in front of him, trying to come up an answer and falling short: Alexis wouldn’t have told the man, Erich certainly didn’t, so that left… “Did he hack our systems and install something? I swear, if that damn man is spying on us…”

Alexis chuckles, her thumb stroking across his spine. Her power flickers through his senses and their connection thrums as she plucks it like the string of some unknown instrument, a note too deep to hear that nevertheless resonates through his bones, safety-surety-love filling every nook and cranny of his being and–

Under it, a softer note, more tentative, more cautious, like a string left too loose for fear of snapping and instead suffering the opposite problem.

Erich stiffens. “He didn’t,” he protests softly, even as Alexis strokes her thumb across the dual connections once more. ‘He wouldn’t have,’ he swallows back in the face of that soft, aching note. Because Urahara clearly had at some point.

(And he’d done nothing against it, encouraged it, even.)

(It explains more than it doesn’t: the mysterious appearances, how they both always knew where the other was, how sometimes he became worried until he could hunt Urahara down once again–)

(He’d never recognized it for what it was because Alexis’ connection had never been subtle, had never curled through his Self like mist, ephemeral and ever-shifting.)

(He hadn’t thought a connection with Urahara would be subtle!)

Alexis laughs at him and leans over his chair just enough to press a kiss right behind his ear. The action is familiar, pointed–

“You knew!” he hisses in offense, twisting around to scowl up at his lover.

“You moon!”

“I do not!”

“‘I wonder what trouble Urahara’s gotten into lately.’ ‘I haven’t heard from him in months, we should take a detour.’ ‘Do you think he’d like to see this?’“ Alexis mocks, her voice high and breathy and filled with laughter.

“I don’t sound like that!” he exclaims as his face burns and he buries it in his hands. But… she’s not as wrong as he’d like to insist. He just doesn’t sound like a lovesick boy in the process. He doesn’t!

Erich breathes out and leans into the hand that presses into the back of his neck, solid and reassuring. For all Alexis’ teasing, she always gives him plenty of time to process when he needs it, and right now he needs it. Because she’s right. He has been mooning, has been unconsciously leaning into a connection he’d forged without realizing, has been continuously turning them back and back again towards a man he outwardly protests at knowing.

No wonder their last few jumps into the aether have been turning… sketchy. Denial never goes over well in a place that reacts to the smallest twist of emotion.

“Do you mind?” he can’t help but ask, lifting a hand and reaching back to curl it around the back of her neck in turn. The pulse of their connection thrums deep and steady beneath his hand, unwavering – unshaken – by his own personal crisis.

(That’s one of the myriad things he loves about her.)

“Of course not.”

“Even if I want… more?” The ties forged between aether-pilots aren’t inherently sexual, but Urahara… the man shines to his senses and always has. He is powerful, intelligent, adaptable and Erich wants that.

(Part of it is his heritage, he knows this.)

(Quincy have ever been able to See better than any other branch of humanity, even Shinigami. It’s his nature to be fascinated by a man who shines so strongly and yet carries so few active ties.)

(Strong powers mean strong ties, which means safer journeys through the aether. Every Quincy desires such assurance.)

(But heritage doesn’t account for everything, and Erich is old enough, wise enough, to admit that.)

(Sometimes he just wants.)

“Then you want more,” Alexis answers with a shrug, stroking the two connections again, filling his Self with the resonance and making him arch into the touch.

He loves when she does that, loves the reassurance of Connection and the way it makes his body hum–

Pounding feet approach the bridge. The door hisses open but not fast enough, jarring as the approaching person slams a shoulder into it and still barrels on.

“What the hell is–!” the words cut off with a sharp intake of breath and Erich freezes, eyes going wide.

(He knows what this looks like: Alexis hand on his neck, his on hers, his body arched and head tipped back, red still painting his cheeks.)

(He knows what this feels like through Urahara’s connection: the strange reflected hum of a plucked connection, unexpected vibrations where none should be, the rush of emotion and the longing for more.)

(Quincy can touch what others cannot even see. Quincy can influence what others can only sense.)

(He’s been told the effect is startling.)

“I think I’ll leave you boys be,” Alexis purrs as she draws away from Erich, mischievous and smug. “Have fun, my love.”

“Lexi–!”

But it’s too late. She whisks past Urahara, giving the stunned man a shove that sends him stumbling closer to Erich’s seat.

Erich stares up at Urahara. Licks his suddenly dry lips. Watches the way Urahara’s attention latches onto the motion. Feels himself settle.

(He isn’t the only one who wants more.)

(Good.)

[akaluan]

hamelin-born replied to your post “Well, I have no idea what Fireborn is. But! I still haven't watched...”

...now I have the mental image of Erich, Kisuke, Alexis, Yoruichi(?) forming a Brood of their own...

((Eeeey this is SO LONG... it’s basically a rough outline of a much more detailed story, combined with a bunch of worldbuilding on how Bleach fits into Fireborn, so... hopefully it makes sense! This is cut for length because the entire thing is almost 3000 words))

The two halves of the Brood miss each other by decades; Kisuke and Yoruichi and Tessai flee to the Living World long before Erich and Alexis die, and Erich and Alexis die decades before Karma is restored to the world.

It’s Kisuke and Yoruichi and Tessai who Awaken first — they’re in the Living World at the time of the ritual, after all, and they remain stationary as the effects ripple out from the epicenter and throughout the entire world. They Awaken alongside Ichigo and Uryuu and Tatsuki and Orihime and that… that causes some initial friction.

Adult Fireborn Dragons are powerhouses, nearly /forces of nature/ — some of them are even /literally/ forces of nature, with Powers and Legacies that let them command the very elements of the world. Adult Dragons can sometimes be territorial loners, tolerating only their own Broodmates and few others.

(Sometimes they cannot even tolerate their own Broodmates.)

(Fate can be an asshole like that.)

Kisuke’s Brood is — /was/ — like that. Loners but with each other, like feral cats with a shared colony but separate ranges and hiding spots.

Ichigo’s Brood is mostly /not/ like that, more gregarious, more open to interactions with others. Benevolent forces of nature that looked kindly upon the non-Dragons in their territory and were entirely willing to work with other Dragons if they shared a common goal.

(Uryuu is… different than the rest. A step to one side. Less gregarious and more aloof, but… he doesn’t mind. He’ll complain, he’ll sass, but he’ll go along with it.)

(Uryuu does not turn cold-aloof-standoffish here. The weight of his draconic past informs his present as he ages, and his mother’s survival plus his Awakening keeps him from retreating into solitude.)

When they find each other, there’s a… standoff. A moment of prickly wariness and awkward pauses. Their Broods have never met before that they recall, which means they have no information, no /history/ to inform their present. So they… improvise.

Kisuke doesn’t want to leave. Refuses to force /Ichigo/ and his Brood to leave. So… a truce is made, tentative and loose. They’re no longer gigantic powerhouses, large as city blocks and capable of destroying entire cities if they fight.

(That’s not true. They may be smaller, may be mostly bound to the shape of a human now, but they are still /forces of nature/ and their capability for destruction remains vast.)

But in those early days after Awakening, after finding a conflicting Brood in the territory they’d thought of as ‘theirs’, they don’t know everything they can do. They don’t even /remember/ most of their past or their powers, but that’s okay. They remember enough.

(They form a truce that becomes an alliance that becomes a friendship. They have different interests, different /ranges/, and being shaped like humans gives them a degree of space that their larger, Mythic Era forms would never have had.)

(Karakura would not have been large enough for even /Ichigo’s/ Brood back in the Mythic Era.)

(Now it’s large enough for two entire Broods.)

Except they’re not ‘entire’. They /know/ this. Little Ichigo aches for a hulking shadow, constantly looking over his shoulder and opening his mouth to address someone who /should/ be there but isn’t. Neither Uryuu nor Tatsuki ever stand there, feeling the lack like a missing tooth, and Orihime misses the protective shadow she used to curl into. They remember but they do not /remember/, and they cannot find their fifth.

Kisuke turns to volley research questions at an ephemeral /other/ and finds no one there. Tessai works in a pinch but the two of them have different interests, different /focuses/, and Kisuke misses a Dragon he cannot even recall the look of. He misses another as well, a second Dragon, partner to the first, common sense and subtle encouragement.

Yoruichi misses her partner-in-crime, with whom she could run rings around outsiders. Her boys just can’t quite match the skill of the Dragon she can remember-but-not.

Tessai misses the balance their missing members, more social than the rest, provided and the way they helped him keep Kisuke and Yoruichi stable and in the now.

They go about their days, watchful and alert, waiting for the time when their Broods are once more reunited.

\\\

It takes longer for those in Soul Society to Awaken.

Soul Society is not a place that used to exist back in the Mythic Era. Souls did not wander off to another plane of existence back then; souls faded into the Karmic fabric of the world unless they were Restless Souls, bound to exist until either their driving force was exhausted or they were forcibly Quieted.

But then the ritual happened and the fabric of reality /shattered/, a hole punched through once-pristine Existence.

The draining Karma and Taint pooled in the Between and continued to pool century after century after century, for humans generate Karma just by /living/ and Those Who Dwell Below generate Taint just by /existing/.

The shattering also /twisted/ Karma, changed the world in subtle ways that would not be fully realized until centuries later when a Quincy lifted their hand and called upon a power that was to Karma what mist is to water.

All living things generate Karma. Live on Karma. To take Karma away is to take /life/ away, but life is stubborn and adaptable, and the survivors of the cataclysm… adapted.

They learned to live on a shadow of once-plentiful power, learned to live on /mist/ instead of /water/, the lingering vapor of a stronger power that was pulled away as quickly as it was born.

(They were lesser for it, but no less capable, no less /strong/.)

(Life is adaptable like that.)

But reishi, too, drifted through the hole in reality, for it is /mist/ but mist is still /water/. It just… drifted away more slowly than Karma did.

Karma and Taint, heavier and more stable, lingered in one place, settling and forming into an entirely new realm. Hueco Mundo. The place of Hollows and Lost Souls, Karmic entities Taint-tempted or taken or just pure Tainted. The antithesis of all that is Living, for beings of Karma cannot withstand Taint forever, and all things Living are beings of Karma at their core.

Fragments of Those Who Dwell Below who lingered too close, drawn by the unknown and unknowable, vanished beyond Existence as well. They lingered on the edges of the pool, gathering Taint and spawning Taint and capturing those who came too close. And as Hueco Mundo formed and the memories of moonlight lit the realm, Those Who Dwell Below retreated further and further into the darkness of the Between. They lingered there, gathering power and form, until a realm began to form around /them/.

Until /Hell/ began to form around them.

And reishi, light and airy and not-quite-Karma, drifted away in the currents of the Between, until unseen eddies made it gather, made it /concentrate/, condensing down into almost-but-not-quite-Karma but still /reishi/.

Existence, already wounded by the ritual, became… thinner. Not so thin that /everything/ could slip through it, but thin enough that misty reishi and unburdened souls could fade through the weave and into the Between. There, they joined the currents of the Between, some to be lost in backwaters and stagnant pools, others to be lost to Hueco Mundo’s grip, but many to find their way to the greatest concentration of reishi.

The realm that was to become known as Soul Society.

And the souls that lingered in Soul Society adapted. Grew stronger. Became empowered in a way that /something/ in them remembered. /Magic/ was beyond them because condensed reishi is /still/ not Karma, but… close. Something /close/.

They learned to cross the Between to return to the Living World. They learned how to gather up Restless Souls, how to hunt down the backwaters and stagnant pools of reishi and souls in the Between, how to /annex/ those areas before another Realm forms and begins to compete with them.

(They cannot do a thing about Hueco Mundo. It is too powerful, too /dense/, to destroy.)

They learn how to summon Hell.

(It’s a good place to throw souls that refuse to be Quieted.)

Those Who Dwell Below learn how it is done. Learn how to summon /themselves/. Learn how to sniff at the edges of Existence to find certain souls.

(They learn how to find /Dragons/.)

(They learn how to /trap/ Dragons.)

(They learn how to /be/ Dragons.)

(Their enemy’s greatest power becomes their own.)

Shinigami wandered the Between, opening doorways where a screen used to be, and Karma began to slip through after them. It filtered through the hall and through the gate to Soul Society, dribs and drabs of a heavy, ancient power that settled in Seireitei and Influenced the Shinigami bit by bit.

Enough to influence friendships and draw ancient Broods towards one another, but… still not enough to Awaken any Dragons who lingered in the realm as Shinigami.

Still not enough to reach beyond the walls of Seireitei.

Hollow invasions brought more, brought Karma and Taint in equal measure and scattered both around like sudden storms. It pooled wherever they opened a doorway and crept slowly outward like ponds overflowing their banks.

But still not enough to Awaken any Dragons who lingered in Rukongai.

(Souls avoided the places where Hollows appeared, for Hollows were Danger and brought with them a sickness that could spread like wildfire.)

(Taint-tempted, Taint-/taken/, /Tainted/.)

(Souls existing on reishi have fewer defenses that souls garbed in life and Karma.)

And then the original Gateway into the Between is plugged and Karma begins to pool in the Living World once more. And like water, it bubbles up and flows into all the nooks and crannies of the world, Awakening those Dragons who are born into the world and making things of legend stir in their slumber.

The fae return. Ghosts strengthen. Kami stir from their slumber and yokai stretch and yawn and turn their gazes once more upon humanity.

And Shinigami continue to open gates between the realms.

Karma flows through; first a trickle, then a stream, then a /flood/, crashing through the pathway and overflowing Seireitei and out into the Rukongai. It spreads like water over a floodplain, thin at first and gradually deepening.

The Dragons of Soul Society Awaken.

It’s a slow, gradual process: a sense-memory here, a fragment of power-regained there. Scales on arms and claws for nails, change as smooth as breathing but still so foreign, so /forgotten/, that it’s like losing themselves all over again.

Erich finds Alexis in his mind soon after. He finds his mate and his match, his partner through the ages, and then they /find/ one another, hunting through the districts, following the Call of their connection, until they meet again.

They know they are not whole, know there are pieces missing, hollow, echoing emptiness where voices should resound in their minds. But what can they do? Soul Society is /new/ and they are… uncertain how it will affect their ability to reform.

(Are they trapped? Will they remain within Soul Society forever, a cycle of death and rebirth in the same realm because Dragons do not /reincarnate/ the same way humans do?)

They wander, together and apart, reclaiming pieces of themselves as the years go on. They relearn what it is to be Dragon and begin to stake their claim on areas, on /people/, the way they’d once done. Karmic items are in short supply in Soul Society, and none of /their/ hoards exist in the new realm, but they will make due.

And then a third voice resounds in their minds, an echoing grumble of loneliness, and they /reach/—

Yoruichi freezes as two lost, well-loved voices slip into her mind, filling some of the space where Kisuke’s constant stream of darting thoughts and Tessai’s steady presence usually is. She doesn’t /like/ returning to Seireitei anymore because it is a lonely, fraught experience.

(She will do it but she will not be /happy/ doing it.)

(Information is more important than her comfort, however.)

Yoruichi abandons her plans immediately. This. /This/ is more important than her network, than meeting Kukaku on time.

(Kukaku will forgive her. The woman is no Dragon but she /understands/.)

She’s not quite sure what she expected, but… somehow she still wasn’t prepared for the sight of her two missing Broodmates. They are… eminently human in their guises, slender and welcoming and still somehow /other/ in a way that is… off-putting in how /not/ off-putting it is.

(She’d… forgotten that about them. Forgotten their nobility, their /grace/, and the way they could wrap people around their smallest claw with just a handful of words.)

They spot her instantly despite her feline form, despite her attempts at remaining /hidden/, but they are… polite about it. Kind. They wander over and settle nearby, Alexis offering her hand and Erich watching in amusement and Yoruichi… Yoruichi /remembers/.

She remembers who they were, /what/ they were. She remembers things that had remained shrouded despite all their best attempts at jarring the memories loose.

(She remembers Erich’s sly plans and Alexis’ ruthlessness. Remembers the beauty of both turning their full fury on a foe. Remembers Erich’s teasing comments about her preference for /animal/ shapes instead of human. Remembers Alexis teasing Erich in turn, until he gave in and took an animal form of his own.)

(Remembers Alexis’ cooing and her truly diabolical ability to find all the perfect spots to pet.)

(She remembers /that/ one just a smidgen too late.)

(Oh well.)

Yoruichi melts against Alexis. Listens to the two speak. Tells them of their Brood and the Brood they have a truce — a /friendship/ — with.

(Tries to pretend that Alexis’ praise doesn’t feel /good/.)

(They’re polite enough to pretend they don’t notice.)

She invites them back.

There’s no other option in her mind; they are a Brood and they belong together. She and the others are already exiled, what more can Seireitei do against them?

(Seireitei can do nothing against them. Not without sending /other/ Dragons against them. And with Erich and Alexis once more at their side… well.)

(Yoruichi will not put any money on other Broods succeeding where even the Great Evil once failed.)

Alexis accepts for them both, with Erich’s agreement a quiet /presence/ in their mind.

They travel to Kukaku’s home, because Yoruichi still has business in Soul Society and both Alexis and Erich know the value of intelligence. Yoruichi has always been their information gatherer, so it is no surprise to them that she has continued the trend.

(That Erich fought a war is… more surprising to her. He never did enjoy combat.)

(That they are both Quincy is… astonishing.)

(She wonders if there is something about the Quincy legacy that draws Draconic souls to their bodies.)

They linger at Kukaku’s home while Yoruichi goes about her business. Alexis and Erich have been hurt by their rebirth in Soul Society and the lack of both free Karma and personal hoard; compared to Yoruichi, they are /weak/ and they all know it.

(Yoruichi doubts that weakness will last.)

(It is… good to know, however.)

(It means that /any/ Dragons in Soul Society will be similarly weakened.)

(They can use that.)

She wraps up her business as quickly as possible, relying on Erich to compile notes as she goes. Their minds press close-close-/close/, and Erich sees-hears-smells-tastes as she does. It is more than they usually do, more than they /need/ to do, but… she pulls him close and he goes, settling into meditation and riding along. Alexis mentally drapes across them both, guardian and protector and a third pair of mental eyes that neither rejects.

(They remember times when the other was not around. Remember times when one or another of their Brood fell and was reborn, a weakened Lesser Dragon without sense or reason.)

(Somehow, this separation was still worse than all that came before it.)

Mission completed, Yoruichi leads her Broodmates to the hidden paths and then into the Between. They flee through the currents, evading the Cleaner and avoiding the dead ends and then—

The Living World. Karakura.

/The rest of their Brood./

Kisuke snaps the pencil in his hand. Tessai nearly drops his tray of bread. Both reach out, /shock-awe-delight/ in their minds, and Kisuke nearly /flings/ himself through the shoten, wanting to be certain, wanting to /see them/ with his own two eyes—

He comes to a stop bare meters away from Erich and Alexis, gaze sharp and bright and /hopeful/—

It takes the barest quirk of Erich’s lips, a /pleased-welcoming-/relieved// smile, and Alexis’ amused grin for Kisuke to throw aside decorum and hurl himself across the last few meters. He takes them both down with him, laughing the whole way, and breathes a sigh of relief at the final proof of their existence.

Their Brood has been reunited.

Nothing can stand in their way now.

(Yoruichi just hopes the assholes remember to shield their connection for once.)

(She’d really rather /not/ share their private reunion, thanks.)

[akaluan]

White Wings and Soft Cloaks Part 4

Alexis arrives home at last and finally gets to meet their newest guest.

Alexis landed lightly behind the bathhouse and folded her wings away. A blink, a breath, and a cloak settled across her shoulders in place of her wings. She ran her tongue over blunt human teeth and arched into a stretch, settling into human limbs and human balance and human everything; it felt strange to shed all things swan and stand as a human after so long.

(Decades since she and her mate…

[akaluan]

Cursed by Fate (or Witches) Part 2

Part 1 | Part 2

((So this segment grabbed my muse and ran off cackling so... well okay then.

Grimmjow has synesthesia that results in him tasting magic. Why? Because I felt like it. (He’s not the only one in this verse either, which is why Erich has a way to deal with it when Grimmjow gets overwhelmed. If I write more, you can be damn sure the second person will be brought into this, lol.)

Also, send help, I’m building an entire headcanon about this verse and how it’s all put together. Plz no.))

Grimmjow wakes with the dry-leaf taste of time magic on his tongue and the citrus-bright taste of divine magic in his throat. It makes him gag. Makes him roll onto his side and press his head against the wooden floor. Makes him wish he could spit out the taste of magic on his tongue.

He smells blood — /his blood/ — and wonders dully whose hands he’s fallen into this time.

Not Aizen’s. The man’s cloying sweet-sour magic is gone from his mouth, washed away by a jumble of unfamiliar tastes. He can’t separate them out, not yet. He doesn’t know everyone well enough to do so—

If only he could rid his mouth of the taste!

(Mint-bright-sweet-melon-cinnamon-dry-raspberry—)

Grimmjow chokes. Struggles to push himself up. “G’way fuckers—”

A hand catches his wrist, slides up to lace their fingers together. Before he can react, can pull whoever it is in, can /disembowel/ the fool who approaches a /demon/, magic washes over him. Drowns everything out in a rush of clean mint-water flavor that leaves him slumping in relief.

“Better?” the fool asks.

Grimmjow opens his eyes and glares at the man crouched in front of him. Shoulder-length black hair and sharp brown eyes, pale skin and a toned body marked by magic. By very /specific/ magic. A witch.

He’s fallen into the hands of /witches/?

His glare doesn’t phase the man. “I’m going to let my spell begin to fade. Tell me if our magics begin to overwhelm you again.”

“Ain’t overwhelming,” Grimmjow spits, ears flattening against his skull. The man arches an eyebrow at him, body radiating disbelief and amusement. Grimmjow snarls. Tightens his grip. Digs sharp claws into the back of the man’s hand.

The scent of mortal blood blooms bright and fresh in his nose. Drops run down the man’s pale skin.

The man doesn’t budge.

His spell fades away, letting the mingled tastes of passive magic creep back into Grimmjow’s mouth.

Except now he’s ready for it.

Grimmjow exhales slowly and lets his mouth open, lips curling back as he inhales through his mouth. Scents and tastes and /essence/ mingle together, an entire /shop’s/ worth of scents muddying the mix, but Grimmjow is no kitten. He takes another breath as the spell fades even more and lets the connections build.

Fool tastes like raspberry and mint, undercut heavily with cinnamon tones and a touch of sweet. Someone who tastes like sweet-ginger with hints of mint and clove hovers anxiously to Grimmjow’s left. Behind him rests cinnamon-clove — predictably undercut heavily with mint and a touch of ginger — who is entirely at ease. Melon-citrus is fidgeting next to cinnamon-clove, worried about /something/ but unwilling to interrupt.

(Fool and cinnamon-clove certainly deserve each other, if Grimmjow’s sensing things right.)

(Ugh, magic-matches. Utterly ridiculous.)

Fool lets go of his hand and sits back, a pleased glint in his eyes. “Better?”

Grimmjow huffs and sits up properly, eyeing the pool of blood all around him. His bone armor is stained with it, painted with streaks of red-violet and scattering droplets with every move he makes. His hair is weighed down with it too, pulling at his head and sticking to his back.

He must look a sight, a demon drenched in blood and in full armor, sitting in the center of a little mortal shop.

He carefully lifts his restored left arm. Flexes his hand. Watches the play of muscle and tendon beneath his skin.

(He’s not an idiot. He woke to the taste of citrus-bright divine magic.)

(The only question is /why/?)

“The fuck you want for this?” Grimmjow demands. He hates this. Hates being wrong-footed by mortals. He appeared in their shop unconscious and gravely wounded, unable to barter or make demands. He owes them now, owes them his life and his arm and his very /ability/ to remain a Lord.

They can demand anything of him and the magic humming between them would /accept it/.

Sweet-ginger bristles at his tone and Grimmjow can /hear/ the other gearing up to speak.

He resigns himself to a shit deal. An impossible deal. Wrought by someone who doesn’t /know/—

Except that cinnamon-clove darts up and pounces, sending both to the floor with a /thud/ and a surprised squeak. Grimmjow tears his gaze away from Fool to take a look and blinks in surprise, trying to understand what he’s seeing.

Cinnamon-clove is /absolutely/ Fool’s mate. Matching magic-marks gleam all over her body, bright with active power. She’s straddling sweet-ginger and has a hand clamped tight over his mouth, keeping him in place with an ease that sends shivers down Grimmjow’s spine. Sweet-ginger, the poor fool, seems too shocked to react with more than /desire/ and Grimmjow barks a laugh.

He can see the appeal.

Cinnamon-clove tilts her head towards him, eyes /gleaming/ with restrained power, and Grimmjow lifts his hands in surrender. She flashes him a bright smile of approval then returns her attention to Sweet-ginger.

“Let us strike a deal,” Fool intones once he has Grimmjow’s attention again. “You came to us in distress and we have saved your life. The deal could not be struck beforehand, so let it now commence. Make your offer and we will barter.”

Grimmjow relaxes as the looming threat of /binding/ fades away, replaced by a kinder magic. Fool truly /is/ a fool for passing up such a chance, but Grimmjow will take every bit of advantage that he allows. Still, he owes them. Owes them /heavily/. “No fucking bindings,” Grimmjow warns with a glower. “I’ll play muscle, or go fetch you certain things from Hueco Mundo, or lend you power if you really want it, but /no bindings/.”

“Never,” Fool agrees. The magic ripples around them, twisting in acknowledgment before settling once more. “I propose a temporary contract between us until magic deems your debt paid. Your only requirement is to answer the summons within two days and listen to our request. From there, your acceptance of our request is up to you.”

It’s a kind offer, one Grimmjow never expected. There’s more freedom in the offered contract than most mortals would allow, and relying on magic to judge his debt paid frees them both of subjective arguments. “No requests that’ll see me incur more fuckin’ debt to you,” he says stubbornly, “same with healing. If I get hurt dealin’ with yer damn requests, healing is free.”

“Acceptable.” Fool offers his bloodied hand, magic rippling across his skin. “Do you accept the contract as stated?”

Grimmjow scowls. He can’t sense a trap in the contract that Fool has outlined but experience tells him there will be one. Without an idea of /what/ that trap is, however, he can’t explicitly work around it just yet. It’s all too good to be true. Too lenient to be a contract forged with a Demon Lord.

(Maybe they don’t know he is a Lord?)

“Fuck it, sure, whatever,” he growls when all Fool does is wait patiently for his decision. He reaches out and grasps the mortal’s hand, flaring his inner magic as their palms meet. “Name’s Grimmjow. Call and I’ll answer.”

The contract settles gently across his core before fading from his awareness. He can sense none of the malice, none of the /greed/, that so plagues the mortals.

“Well met, Grimmjow,” Fool says as he lets go and settles back on his heels. “You may call me Rerugen.”

“Tch. You’re still a damn fool, Fool,” Grimmjow says with a smirk. “So. You got anything you need me to do or can I just poke around.”

“Do /try/ not to cause inordinate destruction or terror,” Rerugen tells him dryly. He adjusts his glasses and gives the bloodied floor a /look/ before shaking his head. “Stick to the coliseum if you want to fight. No one will think twice about a demon visiting it.”

The mention of a coliseum perks Grimmjow’s interest. “Wait, this is /Karakura/?” As far as he’s heard, only Karakura continues to operate a coliseum despite the disapproval of the Shinigami. He’s never /visited/ — it’s a /mortal/ thing, after all, what interest to a Demon Lord like himself? — but he knows of it.

“Yes. Yes, this is Karakura.” And from the sound of Rerugen’s voice, he regrets that fact just as much as he takes pride in it. Grimmjow understands the sentiment.

Grimmjow laughs and scrambles to his feet, tail swaying happily. “Well! I know where /I’m/ gunna be! Seeya later, Fool and Fool’s minions!”

He darts out the door to the sound of annoyed voices and bolts down the street.

Maybe this situation wouldn’t be so bad after all!

And maybe he’ll find a miracle in the coliseum. Some way to grow stronger. Strong enough to return to Hueco Mundo and reclaim his throne.

(He can’t /wait/.)

[akaluan]

baku!Erich Part 5

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | ????

((I have no idea, this has entirely escaped my grasp at this point, whoops =P))

Erich watches over the young Kurosaki every night, examining the state of the boy’s soul for any hint of change. It’s safe to say he’s grown attached; with every nightmare he eats he understands more about the boy and his life, and Erich—

Erich can’t help but admire the boy. He’s so young, so /determined/ and kind and protective that he almost seems unreal. But he’s also hurt. Hurt and lonely and /desperate/ in a way that Erich recognizes — it’s the desperation of a warrior restricted to the medics. Of a man torn from his unit.

Kurosaki has had his purpose stolen from him by his own actions, and now he’s at loose ends.

But the boy’s determination is a good thing.

Three days in and Erich can already spot the beginnings of healing, the first tiny signs of repair. The tattered edges of Kurosaki’s soul begin to smooth over and the heavy bleed of strength begins to slow. It’s more than he expected so early, but it’s also a /relief/.

He knows the man sees it as well from the way he backs down, still wary but not so aggressive. The man still watches them, still observes their actions and their interactions with the sleeping children, but his observation has more to do with curiosity than anything else.

Alexis, of course, does everything in her power to drive him crazy. She darts past him unexpectedly. Fades in and out of shinkai at random. Steals his fan or his hat and races away, fearless and happy and so very pleased with herself.

The chance to interact with people like this is rare, and Alexis enjoys taking advantage of it.

Erich just enjoys the results. The man’s reactions are amusing, as is the way he constantly turns to Erich whenever Alexis plays a trick on him.

“You warned me, but I didn’t expect /this/,” the man says one night, a pout on his lips and his bright blond hair wild from where Alexis had yanked the hat from his head.

Erich chuckles and steps through the window into the young woman’s room, reaching out to pluck her nightmare away. It has a familiar taste, dark with regret and haunted by green eyes, and he wonders how deep the wound must be to /continue/ to bother her after so many times Erich and Alexis have eaten the result.

“What… exactly do you do?” the man asks once Erich has breathed out a piece of his power to guard her rest and stepped once more from her room. “I know you eat dreams, but how does that /help/?”

Erich watches the man for a moment and considers his answer. How much does he want to reveal to this strange being who can see them whenever they step beyond shinkai? He doesn’t know. Doesn’t know if the man is a threat in the making, either.

But the question seems harmless enough.

::Besides allowing for a longer, more unbroken sleep?:: Erich answers question with question.

The man huffs and waves a hand. “That’s only a side effect, I’m certain of it,” he says with confidence. “You’re /doing/ something and I can’t figure it out.”

Laughter rumbles deep in Erich’s chest, the noise enough to draw Alexis back to his side. She looks ridiculous with the man’s striped hat perched carefully atop her head and the grin she flashes him says she knows it.

::What’s going on?:: she asks.

::He wants to know how we’re helping them,:: Erich explains with a nod back towards the young woman sleeping behind them.

Alexis gives the man a shrewd look. ::It won’t do you any good,:: she tells him. ::We’re baku and you’re /not/. You can’t do what we do.::

“But I’m curious, baku-san,” the man explains with a sheepish smile, hand creeping out towards his hat. “Would you do this poor humble shopkeeper the honor of an explanation, please?”

Alexis scoffs and rears up on her hind legs so the man’s hat is once more out of his reach. ::You’re interesting,:: she tells him bluntly, taking the man aback.

“Maa…”

::There’s not much to it,:: Alexis continues, tail flicking lazily from side to side. ::We eat their dreams and blunt the damage so that when they dream it again, there’s less there to wound.::

::The more we eat, the more it fades,:: Erich adds when it looks like the man is unsatisfied with Alexis’ explanation. ::We give them a chance to process it subconsciously, without being awoken by the stress.::

“I see,” the man murmurs, glancing away from them and towards the room Erich left. “Then thank you. For doing this for them, and for healing Kurosaki. You… didn’t need to do this.”

Alexis huffs and shakes her head, sending the man’s hat fluttering to the distant ground. ::We’re baku,:: is all she says, before giving Erich a look and darting off in the direction of the tallest of the teens. They can both feel the swell of the boy’s nightmares returning once more and she is the fastest of the two of them.

“You’re concerned,” the man murmurs thoughtfully, watching Erich as Erich watches Alexis run. “I thought— Kurosaki is beginning to heal, and the others seem fine—”

::If you think they’re fine, you’re either blind or lying to yourself,:: Erich says with a shake of his head. He turns away and begins to bound towards the home of the black-haired teen.

The man appears at his side moments later, hat on his head and easily keeping pace. “Well, perhaps not /fine/, but you’re assisting them and they’re getting better, yes?”

::Slowly, but yes,:: Erich allows. “And Kurosaki is healing.” He pauses outside the black-haired teen’s window and watches the sleeping teen. ::It will take time, however. For all of them.::

“And your concern?” the man asks, slipping into the room alongside Erich. “If everything is going well, what worries you?”

Erich shoots the man a deadpan look while pulling the nightmare from the teen’s mind. ::Precisely that. It is too—::

The boy rolls onto his back and yawns, squinting sleepily up at the man. “What— Urahara..? You— /woah!/” The boy’s eyes land on Erich and he lunges from his bed, a bow materializing in his hand. He aims the weapon at Erich and draws back the gleaming string, an arrow forming in the process. “What the hell?!”

::—clean.:: Erich sighs and scrubs a paw across the bridge of his nose, ears laying back. Somehow, it doesn’t surprise him that the teen can see him, not after the way the man — Urahara? — can as well. Not after everything he’s seen in the dreams of all the teenagers they’ve been helping. ::Good evening,:: he greets the teen calmly, dropping his paw back to the floor and trying to look as peaceful as possible. ::I apologize for waking you.::

The teen just stares at him blankly, body slowly relaxing the longer Erich remains still. “Urahara, explain,” he demands.

“Maa, well… apparently two baku have been drawn to Karakura of late,” Urahara says lightly. He smiles sheepishly at the dark look the teen gives him and raises both hands in surrender. “Would I lie to you?”

“Absolutely,” the teen responds without hesitation. He lets his weapon dissolve away once more. “For all I know, this is something /you/ created somehow and decided to name after a yokai.”

Erich grumbles at the accusation. Him, a creation of Urahara’s? Pah. ::We are absolutely not related to him,:: he tells the teen firmly. ::We are baku who wander the land as we will, not some… newly made /creation/. If any can be named our creators, then name the first world war and all the nightmares and darkness that arose because of it.::

Urahara looks /fascinated/. The teen looks disbelieving.

“They’re here to help all of you,” Urahara says, unphased by the accusation of lying. “Ishida Uryuu, meet— uh… do either of you have names?” Urahara blinks and stares at Erich, apparently only then realizing that none of them had introduced themselves.

He cocks his head and considers the two maybe-humans thoughtfully. He’s already stretched more boundaries of late than usual. A few more shouldn’t matter too much, especially for the companions of the teen that has gained the blessing of a greater kami. ::Erich,:: he offers when the silence begins to stretch. ::I chose the name Erich.::

“Well then! Ishida Uryuu, meet Erich-san, one of two baku who has been guarding your sleep for the past few months.”

Ishida looks between the two of them in disbelief, then drops back onto his bed and buries his head in his hands with a sigh. “I’m going back to sleep,” he mutters. “I’m too tired to deal with this. Get out, both of you. And Urahara— stay out of my damn bedroom unless there’s an emergency!”

“Maa, maa, sorry about that, Ishida-kun,” Urahara says with an awkward laugh. “I was speaking with Erich-san and, well… lost track of where I was.”

Ishida mutters something that sounds like ‘ridiculous’ and lifts his head enough to glower at both of them.

Erich shakes his head in amusement and steps across the room, shouldering Urahara back until the man tumbles out the window. He glances back once at the teen, nods his head, then phases through the wall and outside as well.

“Well,” Urahara says with a laugh. “I think that went quite well!”

He swats Urahara with one great paw and sends the man tumbling without a hint of regret. He grabs the man’s hat with his trunk, announces firmly, ::We’re keeping this for good,:: and lets himself fade back in shinkai.

It wouldn’t stop Urahara from tracking him for long, but the man’s offended sputters /were/ an amazing sight to see.

Maybe he should join Alexis in playing with Urahara.

It was certainly a thought.

[akaluan]

hamelin-born replied to your post: hamelin-born replied to your post: ...

Okay, but now I have the mental image of Kisuke twanging away at a guitar to an increasingly amused Erich. (Alexis: Can we keep him? PLEASE, can we keep him?)

omg

And Erich is just... trying to pretend that this ISN’T amusing him, trying to keep up his appearance of bored disinterest, all while Alexis is being openly amused and leaning in to poke at Kisuke and calling him an adorable mess.

(Alexis: Can we keep him? He’s so cute!

Erich: Humans are so hard to keep entertained and happy, you know this.

Alexis: But this one can entertain himself, surely!

Erich: And when other adventurers hear that we have ‘captured’ a bard? You know how annoying they get.

Alexis: Oh, oh, it’s been a long time since we pretended to be humans! We could do that!

Erich: ............... *thoughtful hum*

Alexis: We could be adventurers with our pet bard!

Erich: I don’t think humans call their bards ‘pets’.

Alexis: *shrugs* Well what ELSE should I call him?

Erich: Our bard?

Kisuke, to himself: I can’t tell if I should be excited or exasperated....)

And... Kisuke came to woo ONE dragon, thx, he didn’t realize it was a mated pair, okay? He didn’t realize the SECOND ONE WAS HOME. But he’s committed now and he’s not backing down, okay?

(Also Alexis might be growing on him. Even if she insists on calling him cute. He just... wasn’t expecting two, okay? Or for them to decide that he’s amusing enough to pretend to be adventurers with him.

On the other hand, he really doesn’t have anything to worry about, with two Dragons at his side while he adventures, so that’s something.)