Prolonged visit (DM)

Zamoreus had been left very dissatisfied after the very abrupt end to his meeting with the young kid he had encountered at his Tokyo office. It had been so very interesting at first to encounter another human capable of seeing spirits, for despite all of his resources he had no efficient way of finding others like him unless they were actually in his vicinity. Now originally the billionaire had planned a great deal for the potential held within this kid, to train him and invest in him into becoming a personal enforcer, this plan took its first beating when he realized just how insufferable he truly was and its second and final blow when he just left without giving Zamoreus an opportunity to properly begin getting into his good graces. At first he had been content with leaving things as such, he certainly wasn't keen on encountering such a nuisance again any time soon, but eventually his pragmatic parts began to stir. Leaving the boy to his own devices would be an utter waste of resources and of course, the personality could be... Altered, if so necessary.

Once his decision had been made Zamoreus made the small effort of finding out just where the group of kids had come from, all he had known was that he was part of a group from a school visiting the building, he did not even know the boy's name. It did not take long before he had been given his next destination, his stay in Japan would have to be extended as he headed for Karakura Town. Once upon arrival however he was immediately beset by yet another setback as it had already turned to night. Not interested in staying at what poor excuses of hotels the town possessed, he decided to simply roam the streets until day returned and he would be able to investigate Karakura high in search of him. During his walk however, Zamoreus came to wonder if all of this wasn't just a waste of his time, after all at home he could simply compare data on all the statistics and aesthetics he had managed to collect from his brief encounter with the kid and use it to find him in the school's database then simply monitor his progress from afar and intervene only if necessary.

Unfortunately it would seem he would not be allowed to muse in private while walking under the pale moonlight and poorly lit streets, as around him he could sense hollow approaching, many of them. While Zamoreus was hardly new to fighting hollow he had never encountered so many at the same time and he looked around him cautiously as he was surrounded by a dozen of the creatures. Quickly activated his combat suit, he knew he had little chance against all of them and began to run to the side with the least resistance. In his way the hollow stood, preparing to take his charge but caught off guard as a lamppost was slammed into him, knocking him to the side and allowing Zamoreus to get past. Now he could only curse his fate as the band of hollows followed him through the streets as he tried to run for if not escape then at least a position better suited for taking on so many.

Tatsuya was sitting on the hard floor up against a wall in the abandoned house he was occupying. He took a deep breath with his arms crossed and eyes closed, trying to get some sleep. He was restless at this point. Not being aligned with Soul Society, he didn't have any obligations to slaying hollows or any of the duties of a shinigami. And being hunted by the omnitsukido and other groups for the murder of the Shihoin clan elder, he avoided all types of confrontation as best he could from the Gotei 13 and hollows alike, less he be found and possibly captured. But his love for fighting was making him restless. He wanted action. No. He needed the life or death experiences he was lacking while stuck in the living world. "Oh, the hell with it." Tatsuya stood up from the hard floor and lightly dusted himself off. He grabbed his zanpakuto, which was leaning against the wall next to him and walked towards the door. He was going out to do something he had not done in quite some time. He was going out for hollow patrol.

Opening the door and stepping out of the house, the air was fresh. Tatsuya felt it was going to be an exciting night. Oh how he missed going out for a hollow hunt. Though the majority of hollow coming to the living world were weak. Sometimes one with skill could get lucky with a group of them or one would show up that could give them a challenge. Tatsuya tied his zanpakuto to his sash and deeply breathed in the fresh air. Jumping on to the house roof, he slowly scanned the town, searching for any activity in the area. "So far it's quiet. I hope it doesn't stay like this all night." He thought before he started leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Tatsuya was out for no more then an hour when he felt the reiatsu of several hollow entering the town. "Perfect." Tatsuya began to head in their direction. He was quickly closing the distance between them when he felt them began to move faster. "Damn it." Tatsuya already knew what that meant. They found someone with a high spiritual pressure and were chasing them. With that Tatsuya quickened his own pace.

Tatsuya landed on a nearby rooftop not long after he felt the hollow's pace quicken. Looking down the street he saw at least a dozen hollow running towards something. Because he was behind the hollows, he couldn't see who, or what they were chasing. He quickly jumped from roof to roof catching up to them and saw the man they were chasing. The man looked like he was under fed as he was real thin, but that is all he was able to view. Tatsuya looked ahead as they approached an empty lot to the man's right side. That area had more than enough room to accommodate a fight between all of them. Tatsuya quickly drew his zanpakuto and flashed stepped to the adjacent roof and immediately jumped towards the lead hollow as they passed in front of the empty lot. He slammed his right foot into the hollows side and rode it like a skate board as it slid along the dirt. Before coming to a stop Tatsuya stabbed his zanpakuto through the hollow's head and straight into the ground causing the momentum to swing the body forward, but the kick was so hard the force pulled the hollow right of the blade, severing its head in two. Tatsuya jumped off the dissipating hollow and landed right in the front of his zanpakuto in a kneeling position with his head down.

There was definitely tension in the air as the hollows that were chasing after the man had stopped and turned there attention to the shinigami. "So...Which one of you is next?" Tatsuya had an twisted grin on his face as he lifted his head. All the hollows let out a loud howl and charged towards Tatsuya. Tatsuya waited for only a moment as the hollows got closer, before he quickly turned around and grabbed his zanpaukto in his right hand. As he completed his 360 degree turn Tatsuya threw his zanpakuto spinning towards the center hollow. As soon as the zanpakuto left his hand he flashed stepped behind that hollow and kneed the back of its head which was quickly impaled by his zanpakuto pushing it's head right back. Tatsuya flipped and twisted over the impaled hollow and reached out for his zanpakuto, slicing through the side of the hollow's head as he removed it. Just before landing Tatsuya threw his sword spinning straight up into the air. Tatsuya side stepped towards the inside of an attacking hollow's arm as soon as he touched the ground, grabbing it, turning, and then flipping the taller hollow over him and onto an attacking hollow that was behind him. He reached into the air to grab his descending zanpakuto with his left hand in a reverse grip and then stabbed the two stacked hollow. Placing his left hand butt cap of his zanpakuto he flipped over the hollow to avoid getting struck from behind. "Hado number 4 - Byakurai" He chanted mid flip and pointed his right index finger at the ground, sending out a bolt of lightning at the stacked hollow and through the attacking hollow from behind. Incidentally damaging a nearby building as the bolt went straight through the last hollow, but that didn't worry Tatsuya.

The hollows dissipated, Tatsuya's hand never left his zanpakuto as he flipped, and the remaining hollows were less then pleased. Tatsuya's left hand gripped his zanpakuto with a reverse grip as his reiatsu flared, sending out flames from his body. He was serious now as he brought his zanpakuto in front of him parallel to the ground and dragged his right hand along the back of the blade. "Rise from the ashes, Suzaku." His sword disappeared and his forearms were now covered in bladed, metal, flaming gauntlets. "Hinote Soujuu" Tatsuya called out creating a large wall of fire to block a humanoid hollow's fist. "Your coming with me" Tatsuya told the attacking hollow as he reached through the wall and grabbed its arm and then pulled it through the flaming wall, burning it alive; in a manner of speaking. Tatsuya threw the hollow aside letting hit wither in pain as it burned. "Break" Tatsuya commanded as he punched the wall breaking it into five beach ball sized fireballs. "Why so frightened?" He asked the six remaining hollow as they each took a step back. He then launched one fireball at five of the hollow and watched as they were lite aflame like the other one. "So what now?" He asked the remaining hollow, which just howled and charged at him. "Good choice," he flash stepped forward and planted a powerful right punch into the hollow's midsection. "Hinote Soujuu" He calmly spoke and watched the hollow exploded in front of him. Tatsuya let out a sigh of content as he stood straight up and turned towards the more than likely awestruck human and slowly walked towards him.

A loud thud and the sound of something sliding against dirt behind him caught Zamoreus' attention as he tried his escape, with it came the sound of a hollow in anguish and the end to the loud footsteps that had followed him. Quickly turning he looked wide eyed as a shinigami had absolutely crushed one of his pursuers, probably having detected the chase in progress and come to the rescue, as it were. He could simply watch as the reaper tore through the hollows with what appeared to be such incredible ease. The man just as the other shinigami Zamoreus had encountered showed proficiency both in their weird magic as well as being able to evolve his sword, although this one had a far more impressive one. After it all was over however he turned towards Zamoreus, heading slowly (and ominously considering how imposing the man was) towards him.

Determined to ensure that he would not be next to receive the fiery punishment of this man's power he quickly went for a less battle ready approach, to ensure that he could not be seen as hostile. First the combat suit was returned to its more subtle form, most notably by removing the mask that had covered his face. Secondly Zamoreus took a far more passive pose, appearing relaxed now that the threat had been dealt with. "Well that certainly was impressive.. Thank you, I'm not sure whether I could have dealt with them on my own or not."

As Tatsuya approached the man he kept his arms loosely at his sides. Not feeling threatened by the man, he sealed his zanpakuto. The flaming gauntlets slowly disappeared and gradually reformed into its sword shape in Tatsuya's right hand before he sheathed it. Tatsuya was a bit intrigued by the man's unusual armor when his face was revealed, but what caught his eye was the paleness of his skin. The man looked almost sickly. Tatsuya didn't have to wait long before the man showed gratitude. "It was nothing. Those were weak hollows, I'm pretty sure you would have done just fine." Tatsuya modestly stated with a grin. "I am Tatsuya Okibi, Shinigami." He quickly introduced himself. "Just to let you know, this is not the town you want to be in for a late night stroll." Tatsuya offered the man a helpful piece of advice.

He quickly took note of the passive approach by the shinigami, obviously there was no hostile intent from his part either which was a relief. Modest too, it would seem. Either that or Zamoreus had overestimated the hollow, the former felt like the more likely of the two. What was it with the spiritual realm and Asian themes, was the first thing that came to his mind after hearing the name of the reaper. It was a curiosity to him but hardly important. Something more important was the note over the fact that this town in particular would be something to avoid, it seemed like such a strange thing that the first other spiritually aware human also lived in a town deemed unsuitable to traverse at night by a shinigami, most curious.

"I'm used to being able to handle myself. It's the first time I've had so many come after me all at once, but from what you say I assume it isn't too uncommon for this place? Why is that?" Hoping that masking his curiosity by a mere innocent query, Zamoreus planned to retrieve whatever important intelligence this man might hold on this place and its relevance in spiritual matters.

Though Tatsuya had his doubts about the man, they were now confirmed with his question. He was not from this area. Not wanting to ignore his question, Tatsuya quickly answered. "Well this town is what we call Jūreichi or Important Spirit Ground." Tatsuya began his explanation. "In a sense this is the place with the greatest concentration of spiritual beings and spiritually advance humans in your world." Tatsuya waited for a reaction before continuing. "All those hollows that attacked you. Well that's a normal day for this town, and the night is still young." Tatsuya had a inauspicious smile cross his face as he said this, but quickly shed it as he didn't need to bring undue burden to the man. "If you know how, I suggest you lower your reiatsu. Now that there are two of us close together, there might be more coming." Tatsuya suggested as he began to hide his own spiritual pressure. "If you have a place to stay I suggest you head over to it. If not I got a place to stay, though it's nothing to brag about." Tatsuya offered to let the man stay in the abandoned house for the night.

The explanation he was given was certainly a curious thing to his ears, so this area was far more spiritually potent then any other place on earth and home to a higher concentration of spiritual awareness then anywhere else. It certainly left him to wonder why that would be, what had caused this seemingly insignificant little spot to become such an incredible beacon of the ethereal powers that be. Such questions were better left for later however, he imagined that the answers for this would reveal themselves with time. Additionally, this left a satisfying end to his pursuit for the advanced kid, he would simply need to observe this town and leave the prospect open for far greater rewards.

The warning for lowering his spiritual presence was one he was quite quick to follow however, it was far more understandable to him then that this particular location would for some reason be substantially stronger in spiritual presence then other places and so he promptly lowered his presence. Regarding the invitation he was a little more hesitant though, Zamoreus had already found this entire town nothing to brag about, a house that in itself was nothing to brag about in this town felt like it would be so utterly beneath him that his very presence might cause the entire place to melt. But he felt like it would be such a waste to spite this shinigami, perhaps he could prove more reasonable over all then the other he had encountered. "Fine with me, I haven't been able to find a place anyway." A lie, but a necessary one, saying that the hotels in this area was too shabby for him might be taken as an insult.

"Well then, I guess we better get moving." Tatsuya casually suggested as he started walking towards the house's direction. The walk to the house went by without conversation, not that it really bothered Tatsuya. He had gotten used to being alone. Much of the houses in the area were quite humble, modest, and kept up rather well, except one. "Here we are." Tatsuya walked around to the open gate of a large abandoned white house covered in vines with some windows broken.

Spoiler:

"Like I said, it's not much, but it provides a roof over my head and its well insulated." Tatsuya opened the creaky door and walked in, leaving it open for his guest. "Sorry for the lack amenities," Tatsuya grabbed a couple of flint rocks and lit up a couple of candles. "But there is little one can do without money or when they can't be seen by normal people." Tatsuya finisihed his comment and turned to his guest. "There's a small mattress over there." Tatsuya pointed to the dimly lit corner. "You're welcome to use it. It was here when I found the house, more than likely left by some other waif, but much too small for me." Tatsuya removed his zanpaktou from his sash and leaned it against the wall before sitting on the floor right next to it and doing the same.

Zamoreus did not speak on the way there, he decided it best to leave the questions for later and let the shinigami navigate to the place on his own and it allowed him time to think a little regarding the whole situation he was in. A shinigami, one of the spirit worlds reaper of souls, was taking him to his particular place of stay, it felt far too curious to him. Not the part where he was invited, that felt rather prudent considering what he knew of shinigami when considering that so far all he had proven himself to be was an advanced human, no the thing that intrigued him was that the reaper would require a place to stay at altogether. From all that he had gathered regarding shinigami they came from a headquarters located outside of the human plane of existence, in some realm made only for spirits. Why then would he need a house in the human world? It required further investigation.

What swiftly drove him free from thought however was the reveal and presentation of the place he would be staying in for the night. Zamoreus at first laughed slightly, figuring that the reaper had to be joking but from the looks of things such fortune was not to be, this was the actual place. The laugh was replaced by a solemn look, then one of shock once they went inside. "You -LIVE- here? How can anything live here besides vermin? It's... Ugh... This is certainly -not- what I had expected... As a matter of fact I don't think I've ever expected to see something like this.. Clearly I have not been missing out on the world during my life.."

Tatsuya let out a small chuckle as he leaned against the wall, not really surprised by his guest's reaction, and looked around at the run down house. "People live how they can, where they can, and within the capabilities of their means." Tatsuya stated philosophically to his guest. "This just happens to be within the capabilities within my means." Tatsuya swept his hand through the air and looked at his guest with a look of contentment. "My current predicament does not allow me to live as comfortably as most, but I'm pleased to have a roof over my head, unlike so many others." Tatsuya looked out the window to his left into the quiet town. "Out there, there are people who have even less than me. People who I would gladly invite here had they possessed the capabilities to see me." Tatsuya turned back to face his guest this time there was a disheartening look across his face. "I have no way to interact with humans unless they possess abilities similar to yours. Not to mention, I only possess a certain type of skill set, one that you happened to witness. Not too helpful even if I was able to bring people here. Hunger would still be an issue, and I can barely manage to keep myself fed. And lets not forget the sanitation issue." Tatsuya could have continued longer, but didn't want to depress his guest any more then he probably had. But then Tatsuya just let out a light chuckle. "You know, you are here in this place by my invitation, and I've yet to know your name." Tatsuya asked with a faint smile, but there was still a hapless expression embedded in it.

Though certainly a riveting tale for one more interested in such matters, Zamoreus was left with only his well rehearsed act of feigned interest and concern as the shinigami recanted the woes of the poor and harried of the world. As much as he certainly was no psychopath there was still so little concern him in for those less fortunate, they simply weren't something he cared about. Of course this would hopefully not be something to be noticed for one simply watching him, ensuring that he remained credible in his acting so as to not offend his host. Something he did take note on however was the fact that this man truly seemed to be barred to only having the human realm to live in, it certainly seemed strange. His thoughts were broken when his name was inquired. "Zamoreus Nebulous."

"As much as I would like to believe that you would be living in these circumstances simply due to compassion... Why is it that a god of death would be so limited as to having to reside in the realm of humans? Or have I misunderstood how you reapers operate?" He knew he wasn't mistaken, but being too forward could certainly serve to insult the man.

"It's nice to meet you Zamoreus-san." Tatsuya pleasantly re-greeted his guest. Then, Zamoreus asked Tatsuya a question he had hoped to avoid. There was a bit of silence as Tatsuya kept his eye's on the ground before he let out a hesitant sigh. "No. No you haven't." Tatsuya slowly started off a painful explanation. "In truth, I would gladly return to Soul Society if it were possible." Tatsuya paused a split second as memories of his friends and Sumiko flooded his mind. "But circumstances have caused a vast majority of the shinigami to believe I am a murderer of the worst kind." Tatsuya took in a deep breath as he avoided eye contact with Zamoreus and looked out the window again. "Honestly, I don't think I will ever be able to go back. At least not while the real murderer is running free." Tatsuya's sadness was slowly changing to anger as he thought on that day back in Seireitei, but he quickly composed himself. "All I can do is hope that the few friends I have will catch that bastard and clear my name." Tatsuya slowly reached for his zanpakuto and held it parallel to the ground in front of him before unhinging it and pulling it out a few inches, making it shimmer in the candlelight. "And when they do..." Tatsuya slammed his zanpakuto back into the scabbard and looked up at Zamoreus with fire in his eyes. "Heh. I've never wanted to kill anyone before. It's an interesting feeling." Tatsuya maliciously admitted to Zamoreus.

Despite being fully aware of the fact that he had not miscalculated his assumptions regarding the shinigami plane of origin, it was satisfying to see his genius proven by this testimony by the reaper. While the rest of the story certainly proved interesting as well, it meant very little when all he really needed to know whether he had been right to assume he was no longer welcome in the lands of the shinigami. Regardless of his lack of any real interest in the matter he decided to properly listen, a small courtesy seemed a proper reward of having given him the information he sought.

While he did listen all throughout, hearing him out regarding the false accusations against him and the troubled thoughts he held regarding ever managing to come back it was only truly the last part that truly caught on to Zamoreus. He could certainly relate to wanting to kill someone so badly that it vibrated through your entire being, only to be held back by circumstances. It was a horrible sensation, having that black cancer latching onto your soul and being allowed to fester as one could not release it. This relatability to Zamoreus himself certainly triggered more of an interest for the shinigami within him. "Well.. Seeing as you have no real place to stay. How about you return with me to my place? It's quite the distance from Japan, but quite a bit more luxurious.. And if you would need it, I could offer some level of help in defending from any attempts at 'retribution' from your misguided kin."

Tatsuya's eyes shot wide open in shock and confusion as he stared up at Zamoreus. "You would offer me a place to stay?!" Tatsuya had trouble believing Zamoreus. Tatsuya was a little relieved that he would have a slightly better lifestyle, but was also puzzled as to Zamoreus' intentions. "As much as I appreciate the offer Zamoreus-san. What would you gain from taking in a fugitive like myself?" Tatsuya inquired, though he would probably go with him no matter what his answer was. "Don't get me wrong, it's just hard to come across completely generous people, in this world and the next."

A slight smirk was at first his only response to the question from the shinigami, it was obvious to him that the shinigami was rather excited by the idea of a better place to stay and the opportunity for a more survivable (to Zamoreus) standard of life, only being hesitant due to the thought of what Zamoreus might ask for him in return for such a valuable offer which of course to the human was hardly surprising, asking for something in return was after all quite customary to him. There were quite a lot of things he could consider the reaper to be useful for, primarily things like information, protection and even potentially assassination. Choosing his words carefully seemed very important however considering how the shinigami appeared quite tied to the concepts of morality.

"You're right to assume that, very little happens out of pure charity.. But there isn't that much I would ask for, simply that you help me in whatever way you might be able to offer, having you around could be quite handy, for knowledge regarding the spiritual world if nothing else."

Tatsuya placed his zanpakuto back against the wall and slowly stood up, only to look down at the man with a slight smirk. "My physical abilities are my most prominent features. If its knowledge your seeking, I can offer very little." Tatsuya was subtle in telling Zamoreus that he would go with him. "At best I would be able to provide protection for you if necessary. I will try to answer any questions you have to the best of my knowledge, but it you want more detailed information, I would suggest enlisting the services of a 12th squad brainiac." Tatsuya extended his right hand to seal the deal.

He nodded slightly, somehow the big form of the shinigami had already tipped him off that the cerebral matters were perhaps not his primary focus in life and thus information would not be his forte, but it was of course always worth a shot. The offer of protection was tempting however, lately he had encountered far more dangers then he had in the past and it could be quite useful to have such a powerful ally at his side, and the loyalty he could receive from him could quite possibly be very substantial, especially if he could provide more help in return regarding the reapers own matters. "Fair enough, I'm fine with that. I have enough to share anyway and giving you a proper place in return for protection seems like a more then fair bargain."

Zamoreus extended his hand in return, a seemingly quite sincere smile on his face while doing so, it wasn't hard to do it this time as he truly was pleased by this development, but there were of course matters to deal with. "So.. Seeing as from what you tell me, there is little left for me to do here. Should we ignore the late hour and still head out? I have a private plane so transportation back to my home is hardly an issue."

Tatsuya paid no real attention to what Zamoreus said about having enough to share, he just figured he was just well off. Pleased with Zamoreus accepting what he had to offer, the deal was made. Protective services for a place to stay, a good deal for just about anyone. "I'm sorry. Did you just say you have a 'private plane'?" Tatsuya's eyes cocked up as he tilted his head in a bit of awe, and disbelief. "Well, seeing as there isn't really any hollow activity at the moment, and if we keep our spiritual pressure suppressed, I don't see any reason why we can't head over to your plane." Tatsuya thought it interesting with those last few words. He had never met anyone with enough money to purchase their own plane. Though he was sure, if anything, that Zamoreus was probably as well off in this world as the Four Great Nobles were in Soul Society. But he was certainly more generous then them to say the least. Tatsuya picked up his zanpakuto and decided to let Zamoreus lead the way. "After you Zamoreus-sama." Tatsuya gave Zamoreus a more dignified honorific, seeing as it felt more proper, since he was now going to be hosting him. In probably a quite an extravagant setting compared to what Tatsuya was used to.

Zamoreus could not help himself but laugh at the shinigami's shocked response to hearing that he had his very own plane, he had probably assumed he was perhaps some lesser philanthropist, not a full on billionaire. "Oh I assure you, that's not even half of it." He then proceeded to nod as Tatsuya agreed with his idea, beginning to head out of the meagre excuse for a building. Another smirk formed on his lips as well after hearing the respecting honorific that his new guest had added to his name, certain now that his visit to Karakura had very much been proven worth the effort of going here.

Activating his combat suit to a limited extent, Zamoreus left ear and the left corner of his mouth was covered in the advanced weave and allowing him access to NIAS' mobile uplink. "NIAS, we require transport back to the plane." Returning to his ear, only able to be heard by Zamoreus himself, the computer responded. "'We', Mr Nebulous?" If he could give the computer an annoyed and disappointed look at that moment, he would have but the air would have to be a sufficient victim. "Don't question. Just send the transport." It did not take long for their transport to arrive after this and with that they headed out of Japan.