Hear the Broken Melody

So it begins
Hayashi Kagekyo, twenty years old and stronger than a false God, scratched his head, right where a white spot of hair was growing larger and larger. one in a trillion odds allowed the young Hanyo to stand atop the world itself. If it weren't for his friends, he'd be stuck in a sea of time itself, unable to walk the world again, no longer seeking solace for his sins but to finally enjoy his life. This marks the second time he's set foot in the world even when he should have been destroyed by his own carelessness.

He isn't the only one blessed with impossiblity, and he knew it. He could sense someone else, fainly. Rather than being outside of time, whoever it was, was outside life itself. This piqued his intrest greatly. Rarely did anything of the sort ever occur, and rarer still did something catch his senses so strongly. Grabing his red jacket and the black ring held within it's pocket, he vanished in a roaring flame, hell-bent of finding whoever it was that called out to him, willingly or not. Somehow he had locked on to the general location and reappeared in a second burst of unholy fire moments later. It was deathly quiet. Not a creature stired in whatever God-forsaken Hellhole he just warped into, exept a young girl, probably early to mid-teens if he dared estimate.

"A paradoxial being. False, yet true. Tell me, do you know why you came to exist, or did it just happen?" Those were his words of greeting as he walked towards the mysterious girl. His voice was calm, yet a gleam of scientific desire flashed in his dark blue eyes, which for a moment flashed red, a reflex when his emotions grew too high.

This girl, with her short hazel hair flowing slightly in the wind turned to him with a sad smile as her expression. "Alright, here's my explanation. I was conceptualized by the Hōgyoku a long time ago; my body was constructed by merging reason and pure reishi in the Dangai; as for why I was created? My 'father', an ancient sage birthed me to bring some purpose into his miserable life; having lost his actual family, he wanted a replacement so badly that he would transcend god and mortal actions, creating life. ...Is that enough of a sufficient explanation for you, hmmm~?" She didn't enjoy talking about her past- the scars of her heart had refused to fade even after several millenia of anguish and pain.

"Then like me, you know your reasons. We're unique, you and I. Now, I suppose it'd only be fair if I tell you my story. I was born as a Demon, specificially a Hell-Hunter class, to kill my own father, who had become some sort of false God. Needless to say, I did. But I took pity on the poor bastard and I used my own power to alter time to allow him to bypass becoming God, thereby removing myself, if I hadn't played smart and snuck in a conditon, that I would walk this earth outside the bonds of time itself. At least, that's the gist of it anyway." Hayashi hated himself for the damage he caused the people of this time, but he could do some sort of good, he knew it. "We were both made by people who dared stand above God. I wonder, is that why I was drawn here, because of that? Or is it because we shouldn't exist?" His words were jovial as they could be, under the circumstances,

Hanako replied, "That seems absolutely legitimate." She wasn't joking, honest! "It's sad, really. Beings like us; the one thing we've wanted is to just live normal lives...and thus fate throws us in catastrophe's way again and again, thinking we're masochists. I know, I'll live long beyond anyone I know and care about. So I feel like I'm the sole person with the task of keeping the records of time and showing them to civilization after civilization, so they can understand what their predecssors went through..."

Good God, she's me all over. "Listen, you aren't alone. I feel the same. We pay the price because of others, those who brought us into being. We carry the burden of sins that aren't our own, sins that we must atone for. I wish I could live a normal life, but I will carry the sins as if they were my own, because to me, that is normal." Hayashi smiled, a rare gesture. He truely empathized with the girl. "I know this sounds forward and all, but may I know your name?"

Hanako actually gave him a smile that was comparable to that of a sunflower; like a diamond in the rough, one in a million. "I understand, really. This messed up existence that is my life is my normal, sadly. ...My name's Hanako Suzumega. It means 'The Hawk Moth with the Arc's Edge' if you're curious. I don't think it has a particularly symbolic meaning- it just sounds cool."

Hanako's smile caught him off guard. "You're right. It sounds cool. My name is Hayashi Kagekyo. It roughly means Thicket of Unprepared Reflections. Sounds alot better before you translate it really. I'm sorry I jumped you out of nowhere like that, I was just...happy to find someone else who was like me. Not happy that there was another who had to suffer, but someone I could identify with." He took a moment to reflect on his words. He was so used to being rejected for being a freak, a Demon, let alone something that shouldn't be, that he found being with someone like him just as soothing as the brief moments of companionship he got from his few friends.

Hanako smirked and in teasing tone, she stammered, "You almost gave me a freakin' heart attack right there...." She giggled for a moment. "Ehehehehehehe, I'm joking. It's once in a blue moon that people like us find somebody similar- birds of a feather, eh?"

Something about this girl made Hayashi smirk. She was witty and about as upbeat as one could be in their situation. "We're one in a trillion odds Hanako. I crawled out of times eternal abyss with only my heart shattered in a millon bits. You came from a place where life could never exist. We both got lucky, plain and simple. I wonder though, I feel so many different wavelengths coming from you. What manner of being are you? You look human, you act human, but I can't place your race as a spiritual creature."

"I'm no race; it's said that I'm one of a kind- something that can't be comprehended. Just a spiritual being. Heck, even I don't know what I am...Not that it matters what I am; we're defined by what we do, not what we are." Hanako simply responded.

"I wish the rest of the world saw it that way. I try so hard to help everyone, but as soon as my eyes glow red, they run. I know it's not natural, but in a hightened sense of awareness, it's a reflex, like drawing my sword or pulling a wire from my ring. Yes, I just said I can pull wires out a ring." Hayashi pulled the trinket out of his pocket and smiled. ''Margin...Yuki....Asuka, your wills are within this ring. ''

On instict he pulled a few wires from the ring, almost as if he were testing the object. Out seemingly nowhere did the strands appear, shimmering in the light. "I bet you'll never find another guy with magic rings." he said with a light chuckle.

Hanako seemed genuinely amazed at Hayashi's rings. "...I've never seen anything like them. Where did you get those?"

Hayashi noticed that Hanako was actually captivated. Then again, how often can you see someone do the impossible so easily? "The black ring is a gift from my Godparents. I loved them to death, and they sure proved they felt the same about me. Inside it are little wires I control with my spirit energy alone. I can make as many as I want and just like that, I can ensnare anyone. They're razor sharp too, so I could always cut people, but where's the fun in using a weapon that cannot be overcome? As for this silver one, I just bought it. It's sole purpose is to distract my enemy. I wear it in conjunction with the black ring to make people believe that both rings have wires. It's...a precaution so that nobody tries to take the real one."

Hanako seemed actually bewildered; Hayashi had quite a few tricks with those rings of his. It was good though; explaining his powers would come in handy later on, and she wasn't sure why. "....I see. I don't have anything special like that; really."

"You're strange. Everyone has a special something or another. It may not be in the shape of a random object like my ring of wires. It can be anything, even a unique talent that no one else has. Without this ring, I'm just a normal Demon. Tell ya what, if you promise not to run off with it, I'll teach you how to use the ring itself."

"I said it before, didn't I? I have nothing; since anything I touch will quick decompose and die. It's really sad, isn't it?" her tone seemed almost melancholy. "If anything comes into contact with me, it'll break apart...sorry."

"Very sad. There has to be a substance we can find that won't randomly decay on contact with you. I mean, it's like interfering with something weaker than yourself. If we find something above you, we can make you an object that doesn't fall apart." Hayashi closed his eyes in thought. "I promise you, I'll find something that can withstand your powers. If it can't be found, I'll make it."

Hanako scratched her head. "...That, honestly, would be difficult. You'd need a Hougyoku or something..."

Hayashi grimiced. "How do you make one of those? I mean, I've heard of their effects, but the question remains how one would make such a device. Do you know how?" He berated himself for never thinking of stealing research notes while he was in the Seireitei only a few days prior.

Hanako shook her head and muttered in a tone of dissapointment. "For the life of me, I do NOT know, sadly..."

''Shit.shitshitshit. ''Hayashi slammed his hand into a nearby wall. "Then I'll go rob the Seireitei. If there isn't anything there, I'll go ask a good friend of my dad's since he's a science geek and probably built one himself. Either way, I will get one, and you will hopefully have something that doesn't fall to bits." He couldn't help but laugh. Breaking into the Seireitei was starting to become a personal skill of his. That, and annoying one Atsuya Tatsumi. Then again, the former's success relied on the latter, so it was a one-two punch.

Hanako blushed slightly; she was at an utter loss for words! He was being so kind to her it was impossible. "T-Thank you, Hayashi!" She seemed content right now.

"...Don't...uh....worry about it. After all, I did promise right? And I don't want to make my Godfather kick the crap out me in the next life for breaking that promise. So...uh, Why don't I get you somewhere where you'll be safe, and I'll go break about a hundred laws?" Hayashi wasn't used to being thanked for his actions, especially by a cute girl.

Hanako hastily complied. "....Sounds lke a plan to me, Hayashi." She seemed really happy right now.

Hayashi let out a sigh of relief. Now all he had to do was get Hanako to safety and steal stuff. So far so good. "Then you tell me, where's the safest location you can think up? I can take you straight there and get to the Seireitei and back before they even know I hit 'em."

Hanako nodded like an innocent child. "Hmm, I think that the 13 Division Imperial Guards barracks would be best." She had something to deal with here.

Hayashi laughed. "Alright. I'll drop you off there and go to the 12th Division barracks to get our instructions." Without a second's hesitation, the roaring flames of Kogeru swirrled aroudnd the duo, and in a flash, they stood outside the barracks for Dvision 13. "I'll be back in an hour. If I'm not back, you need to run. I will find you." Before Hanako could respond, he flashed away again, to hunt for the instructions of create a deadly weapon, the Hogokyu.

Hanako could only twiddle her thumbs in panic. What if her new friend couldn't do it? But in any case, she was ready. "Alright..."

Hayashi flamed into the very heart of the 12th Division. "Submit, Mikaeru." In a flash, a large black sword appeared in his hand. For stealth, not one Zanpakto was superior to his. As long as the enemies believed the bullcrap he told them, he could sever connections between senses, between their understanding and what he is able to do or even between Zanpakto and Shinigami. Anything he says, goes. Indeed, there are an infinite number of illusions Mikaeru can make reality.

Some of the scientists took note of a strange signature and a sudden rush of heat behind them, turning to see some guy in red holding a black sword. "Who are you and how did you get in?"

"My name is none of your concern, as for how I got in. I'm the Demonic Son of God. Of course, to you all, that would mean nothing. But in my timeline, I was a hero. A hero who could move in a flash of fire." Hayashi's voice suddenly turned dark and terrifying. "Good luck fighting me when my Zanpakto can remove your sight. How's it feel to be blinded?"

The scientists started running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to restrain an enemy that they couldn't see. Hayashi almost felt sorry for them, but his friend came before the people he saved once before. They had their freedom, their salvation. Shaking his head, he walked on, right to the vault where the most vital secrets are kept.

A simple number-based locking mechanism was all that stood between him and the plans he needed. Obviously, the combination would be something only the captain knew. However, that didn't deter Hayashi in the slightest, in fact, it was just the opposite. Resting his hand on the dial, he focused for a second, turning his hand into a red-black ooze that easily slid through the locking mechanism and ripped it apart. The ooze slowly reverted to the shape of Hayashi's hand. With a simple tug, the now useless door opened wide.

Inside were various sheets of paper with different instructions for various things. Somewhere in the distance, or probably a few floors above him, someone had tripped the alarm, alerting the entire Divison that he was there. He grabbed all the papers and flashed out of there, appearing at the Hideout, an old abandoned church in the most barren recesses of Mexico. He left the papers on the table and Kogeru'ed back to the Seireitei to grab Hanako.

Hanako really was surprised. "...Wait, so you succeeded?" She was at a loss for words.

"I don't know. I haven't read the papers yet. I didn't have time. Someone triggered an alarm, meaning unless you got something that needs to be done now, we might want to get out before captains start showing up, and I don't want to risk being killed...actually, sliced on the molecular level." Hayashi looked drained. Having used three Kogeru was slowly taking its toll on his body. "Need to do anything before I warp us out of here?"

Hanako glanced away, still surprised. "No..." But she was worried. She'd be able to survive being sliced on the molecular level and he couldn't. She could have easily done that granted he gave her instructions, but the courtesy was nice.

Another roar of bright orange fire lit the ground, leaving only a ring of ashs, the pair having gone to the Hideout. Once they were there, Hayashi leaned against a wall and started coughing. Fucking Essentiam. "The instructions should be on the table. I'm sure..." another coughing fit. Before Hanako could worry, he suppressed the horrid revoltion growing and the Essentiam Inferno moved through his body. "Don't...worry. Read the instructions and tell me what we need to get."

Hanako froze up at Hayashi's coughing. "...!! What's wrong?!" She was more worried about Hayashi than anything else at the moment. "But we need...a sample of spiritual energy from each of the realms, some seki-sekki, and 666 souls..."

"Best way to put it, I've got a very unique virus in my body that's replicating with my DNA, slowly causing my body to degrade. Pretty cool stuff actually. Anywho, I can get the souls for you, but that's about the extent of what I'll be able to do for a while....I can cast a special entrapment spell, and move a whole mass of people at once. You'll have to get the Seki-seki. We'll meet in Hueco Mundo and make the thing." Hayashi seemed too nonchalant about sacrificing 666 souls all to create a possible philosopher's stone.

"Know anywhere we can steal a chunk of Seki-seki?"

She chose not to say anything about the virus; but Hanako twiddled her thumbs. "Not sure actually....maybe we can knick a bit off of the 13 Imperial Guard Divisions...."

Hayashi scowled again. If it weren't for the fact he could always get Hanako and himself out of danger at a moment's notice, he probably would have refused right there. "We'll have to be quick. I assume since you came from the Dangai itself, you're better equipped to handle getting that crap. We'll have to break part of the wall off, so, I'll cause a distraction while you break the wall. You think you can bust up the Seki-seki?"

Hanako nodded excitedly, now getting into the role of making this. "...Sure, I can do that. You can count on me, Hayashi!" She seemed so cheery right now it could make somebody vomit rainbows!

Hayashi blinked. Hanako was way too excited for this...or she was possibly just as insane as he was. Either way, it was refreshing at least. Once more, the fires of Kogeru flared to life, sending the duo outside the Seireitei. "Alright, time for me to gather souls. You bust up the wall, I'll be on the other side."

Another flash, and he was on the other side of the great white wall. The Divisons were probably getting ready to send an entire army up against one man. That was his plan. "Impirson and deny. Boil forth and prosper. The light of Gods and shadows of Devils collapse and intwine, spiral to the infinate abyss. Liberate and forget, lose yourself to madness. Strike the terrible abode, crumble pillars. Shirokabenohana Kangoku!"

A large expanse of the city collapsed and turned into Reishi, which would be used to sustain the spell, as a bright white glare alerted the Shinigami around the area to Hayashi's location. A seven by seven meter square, the foundation of the trap was hidden underneath the ground, until the souls he needed to collect were dumb enough to cross it's borders, and which point it would become a prison. Wonder how Hanako's doing with breaking that wall. he mused, waiting for the prey to take his bait.

Hanako, meanwhile, summoned a large amount of reason in her palm and spread it down her arm, turning it into a blade. With a single slashing movement, Hanako sliced clean through the wall, creating an opening wide enough for her to rip a few chunks of seki-sekki from with ease.

Hayashi heard something coming from the wall behind him. Turning his head to look, his eyes widened in shock. "Ho...ly shit." Shaking his head, he turned back to the trap as a few hundred Shinigami gathered around him. He lost all respect for their ineptitude years ago, so he decided to irritate them. "Oi, dumbnuts, one and all. Aren't ya gonna attack?" A few took the bait, allowing the young Hanyo to litterally kick their butts right on the vast trap he had laying in wait. "Losers. Do you honestly think I care if you come to me or not?"

Gathering the Essintiam Inferno in his body, he unleased the deadly virus-turned superpower on the Shinigami still out of reach, tossing them one on top of the other with inhuman force, some so hard, they rebounded back into a waiting tentacle of matter just waiting to send them down again. It could be compared to a brutal game of Ping-pong, only the winner was already decided beforehand. After smashing almost all of them onto the designated area, he completed the prison itself, forming a white seven by seven by eight prisim that housed all the bodies Hayashi had piled onto the base. There were more than the six hundred easily within the confines, and should he need more, it was plain to see, other than a painful coughing fit, Hayashi would be able to once more catch a few hundred without qustion.

Tearing several chunks of seki-sekki from the wall, Hanako quickly stashed them in her pockets calmly -apparantly, she could store so much granite in her clothes it was ludicrous.

The remaining Shinigami tried to attack their newest assailant, only to be swatted away by red and black body masses.

Hayashi placed his hand on the prismic cage and turned to see the hole in the wall widen as Hanako took chunks of white stone and place them in her pockets. "Yo, Hanako. You got enough stone yet? I'm kinda under fire right now."

Despite the ease with which he attacked the Shinigami, he knew he'd have to pay a heavy price once he could rest. He was thankful these were low-ranked mooks and not something like a 5th seat.

Hanako nodded. "Yes, there's enough there. Do you need any help-" That was a no-brainer, but still....

"What I need, is for you to get over here and fast. We gotta go!" For the first time since his Godfather, Margin, died in his timeline, Hayashi felt afraid. Afraid that he was going to pass into the sweet release of death, surrounded by pain and weakness. The Inferno he manifested was slowing down as his energy waned. He was going all out to keep the Shinigami away, staking his life on one thing.

Hanako called out, "S-Sorry...!" She rushed towards him, grabbing onto him. "Let's go!"

More flames. More burned ground. Hayashi had gotten so used to the sensation, it was nothing. Rather than returning to the Hideout, he chose Hueco Mundo, the land of the Hollows as his destination. The large prison contrasted with the sands below. He removed his hand from the structure and made sure that it could hold without his touch. "Alright, I gotta tell ya something. NEVER apologize to me, I should have told you to be quick about it in the first place. I overestimated myself."

The Essentiam Inferno's price, that of pain, had to be paid, and Hayashi's body would have to write a check he could never cash. Pain tore through him like lightning, forcing the immortal half-Demon to his knees. This time, it was worse. In fact, each time he called it forth, the pain was worse and worse. A low, primal growl eminated forth as he restrained the urge to scream and ask for mercy from a God he never believed in.

For a few minutes he remained like this until almost completely, the pain subsided. "We can use some of them to replicate the Reishi of the Soul Society. My blood can replicate Earth and Hell. We can make it." he spoke with a hoarse voice, his vocal cords raw and swollen. As he spoke, he rolled over and laid on his back, the comfort of the sand easing his soreness. "We'll be unstopable."

Hanako glanced away, somewhat put-off for a brief second and deeply worried. "...Right. So, how will this work...?" She was rather confused, for one.

The captive Shinigami that were awake began to panic, slashing the prison, each blow as futile as the last. "Don't bother. I built that box, I cast the spell to make it. You can't break through unless I tell you you can." Hayashi told them, which they took to mean literally.

"We'll need to dig a pit large enough to accomdate my prismic prison. Then, we kill them and sprinkle some of my blood on them, throw some white sand on the mess, and you can cast the spell to make the Hougokyu. Trust me Hanako, just for a little while longer." he forced himself into a sitting position and looked over at Hanako. "Listen, I didn't mean to snap at you. I was wrong to yell at you over something so petty."

Hanako nodded. "...It's fine, honestly." She manifested reason in front of herself, before shaping it into the form of two shovels. "Here."

Hayashi stood, accepting one of the shovels. Immediently, he went to work, moving the sands as quickly as he could. The reason-made shovel cut away at the white sand as easily as a knife through paper, which surprised him at first. There was virtually no resistance as he dug out a section of the pit. "So this...this is what reason is like huh? I could get used to this."

Hanako nodded. "Exactly. It's a supernatural energy that overpowers all sorts of spiritual energy- to put it in better terms, it's like a twig in the ground facing a steamroller. It's sure that the twig would be destroyed the moment that the steamroller touches it; but that's the main problem with being composed of it."

"I could be wrong, but perhaps I can touch this only because there is so little there." The constant sound of the shovel's blade cutting the sand was the only reply for the moment, Stab, lift, stab, lift. The pattern would take a while. ''Why'd I make the box so big? Oh yeah...I needed alot of room.''

Hanako as well, was having trouble. "Darn it all, this usually takes a few moments...What's going on here?" Or maybe she hadn't dug a hole in a while.

"All this work for a little gem. Sometimes, life screws you over, and this, my friend, is one of those times. We gotta work for it."