Girlfriend and the Gigai

[Ken Shirogane]

Getting Shizu a gigai. Yama had to admit he was pretty excited about it. For a couple of reasons, but the biggest one might just be that it would be safer to interact with Shizu when she would not be able to entirely draw out her Arrancar abilities. He wasn’t sure how much they would be limited, but it was supposed to be a body closer to that of a human. So he assumed that meant Shizu would be limited to whatever a human body could do. She might still have some supernatural abilities she could call on, but she would not, for example, be able to open her mouth to the point she could bite half his face off. Or so he hoped at least. Granted that only happened one time, but he hadn’t made an attempt like that again since that night. He hoped that having this gigai might make it a little easier for her to control herself, being inside a body that had some constrictions. He was almost certain that Shizu wanted to progress things as much as he did, although usually his poor Arrancar girlfriend was a little too shy to handle the topic most of the time. He’d try harder to tackle it with this being an option.

“Are you ready? I hope this is something you are looking forward to. It might feel strange to have something like a human body again.” He noted with a little pause at the thought.

“Oh, and thanks for doing this. I have no idea what these soul coin things are, and I kinda doubt Shizu knows either. So I’m glad you’re willing to cover the expense. But I guess it could also be considered a business expense seeing as we’ll be helping to guard and fight for you anyway.” He said looking at Ken. He didn’t have many people he felt grateful to, but Ken was certainly becoming one of them.

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PC: 1

Smiley Gaz

[Smiley]

Gigai... Giiigai... Gi-gai. Shizu was still trying to stomach the concept. It was a lot to swallow all at once. From what she had managed to digest so far, it was something that allowed her to be more like a human. Was that how the gorilla lady-er Miss Nikki pretended to be a mortal? If so, then this was a rare opportunity.

Admittedly, the Arrancar was anxious about the whole deal. What if it didn’t work? Or worse yet, what if it did and she couldn’t revert back? Her current form already felt limiting. Stifling. How would it feel to suppress her powers even further? Such questions buzzed like flies around her head.

Yet, at the same time, the gloomy goth was cautiously excited at the prospect. If she could be more like a mortal, then... Other mortals would finally see her, yes? Perhaps she could even taste and feel like them. There were so many things she wished to try out...

Shizu flinched at the question, snapping out of her pondering. “Uh, s-sorry, what? O-oh, ready? N-no...” She blurted out all too honestly, before hurrying to correct herself. “I-I mean, yes... I mean... I do not know...” Averting her gaze in shame, she prodded her index fingers together. “I... am scared... What if it does not work?” The follow-up question visited her lips, but she clamped her mouth shut.

Another reason to be scared was the mysterious benefactor. This entire time, she had been sneaking frigid glances at the stranger. Who exactly was this man and how dare he drag her darling into such suspicious business...? Even the scent of his soul was giving her unpleasant jitters...

“I-if anything happens to my d-d-darling...”

The creepy girl left the ominous sentence hanging in the air, failing to elaborate. ...Actually, she was much too meek to make any sort of a threat. It would’ve been rather rude, for one. Also, her darling seemed to like the young man, so... She would try to keep an open mind.

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Post 1
Gaz Ken Shirogane

[Gaz]

Ken #1

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Ken had met up with his bodyguard and said bodyguards unusual girlfriend a street away from his apartment complex, the issue being an Arrancar going to a Quincy housing block would cause quite a stir and maybe a fight in effort to eradicate her. She didn’t look all to bad, she had a cute face beyond her long purply hair that also hid the broken portion of her mask. If it were not for her creepy aura and gloomy nature Ken would have passed her for a regular soul.

“Don’t worry about it. I know it can be hard for a mortal body to date a soul, my cousin is dating a Shinigami.” Ken said with a soft shrug, not telling them that this is more for his own safety when they weren’t in an active combat scenario… Hollow energy was a potent poison to him and his soul. If she accidentally knicked him it could lead to soul suicide.

It was then Shizu made a comment about something happening to her darling… she did love this human and it was a fact that Ken could not quite parse. A soul bound by a hunger resisted that natural urge to love and protect. In some sense it was sweet and a potential marker of some long true love. He could tell that she would flatten the world for Yama.

“Don’t worry miss Shizu, I aim to keep Yama safe as much as he is aiming to keep me safe. And this will work, the woman we are getting your physical body from is the best inventor I know!” Ken spoke as he rounded a corner and headed past the Kaida household… an unusually spiritually dead area. Though that was because of Shinobou’s machinations.

“Right… We are here.” He spoke just as he stopped by the entrance to an old shrine, an older building with red painted wooden beams and tori gates, the plaster a clean white. Just to the side was a separate building with a sigh on it saying “Gift Shop.” The young man took a step forward, and despite not visually vanishing his spiritual presence just stopped. It was almost as if he was erased.

---

Ken: 6dffd4
Shinobou: bbecff

[Ken Shirogane]

“What if it doesn’t work?” He wasn’t even sure what that question meant. Like, what if the false body rejected her? Or what if something went wrong?

“We’ll worry about that if it happens. But I don’t think anything bad will happen at least.” He suggested with a little shrug, before reaching down to take one of Shizu’s icy hands, holding it in his, practically hiding hers away, like an ice cube in a warm cave.

“A Quincy dating a Shinigami. I don’t know a lot about Shinigami, but I think I remember someone mentioning that your kind and their kind don’t usually get along? Like cats and dogs.” He suggested using an old metaphor. “I guess that isn’t really any more or less strange than me dating Shizu though.” He hummed, considering that at least when it came to Quincy and Shinigami there was an unlikely risk of one eating the other.

“Huh? I’m supposed to be a bodyguard though. Kinda hard to protect you if you try to protect me instead. You might not plan to put me in danger, but part of the reason I wanted the job was to get some good fights along the way.” Plus as long as Shizu got his soul in the end, it wasn’t like dying would really matter beyond that. But Yama was dealing with people who had soul powers so he supposed he couldn’t exactly relax, and could not say without a doubt they didn’t have a means of harming his soul. If that were the case then he might actually feel sorry for anyone Shizu ended up pinning the blame on.

“Weird. This looks like a shrine.” He said before moving to step through and follow after Ken.

---

PC: 2
Gaz Smiley

[Smiley]

While the worries swirled inside the gloomy goth’s skull, the warmth of life helped her calm down. Her cold, clammy fingers clutched the warm hand tightly. Mine... They whispered without words. All mine. And she wouldn’t give him to anyone.

Shizu struggled to believe her ears. “A Quincy and a Shinigami...?” She cocked her head. “H-how s-scandalous... What would the children look like...?” Her vivid imagination painted a bubble above her head, filled with less than flattering pictures of weird gremlins in black robes wielding bows and swords. Shuddering, she shooed the images away.

Love, uh, would find a way...

...But she still didn’t exactly approve.

The stranger’s words didn’t inspire much faith in the Arrancar, but she nodded politely anyway. “O-okay... I-if keeping you safe keeps my darling safe, t-then I will help... too...” She offered meekly. The thought didn’t sit right with her, for some reason, but she tried to ignore it. Love would conquer all! Even this icky feeling.

Stepping through the gate with notable reluctance, the gloomy goth peered around. “Wrong...” She mumbled beneath her breath. “T-this place feels... w-wrong...” It felt dead in the worst ways. Like there was nothing around them. Nothing to feel, nothing to taste. “Urp...” She clamped her hand over her mouth. A faint, green hue painted her cheeks.

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Post 2
Gaz Ken Shirogane

[Gaz]

Ken #2

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On the other side of the barrier Ken took in the quiet, the emptiness of no spiritual energies lingering in the air. This place was a perfect haven to hide. The only thing muddying that up was his own presence and eventually the same ripples that that polluted this barren space. “Yeah, Shinobou has amazing control of her energy, the gigai she uses stops all leaking energy by converting it into passive Kido… or so she says.” Ken explained as Shizu voiced her dislike before purposefully removing his own subconscious limitations so she had something in the air to at least feel comfortable with. It was also going to serve as an announcement that he and his friends were here to the owner.

“Yeah, Shinobou has operated this Shrine for five hundred years. Since she was exiled from the Soul society.” Ken explained as he shifted his feet and headed towards the giftshop. The signage now showing more than the inane text that normal people could see. To those that could see the souls of the world it had far more information now.

“Shinobou’s Soular Emporium, your one stop shop for anything the wayward soul needs.” The sign above the door read, inside there was more signage, posters and shelves showing more. There were soul candies, soul phones with an improved hollow tracking app, gigai and ‘pressurised holy water aerosol soul repellent’. All of this was interwoven with the common nicknacks that a gift shop was known for. By the counter was a shelf full of ‘artificial soul chocolates for the hungry arrancar’

Behind the counter stood a tall woman with raven hair kept in a messy hose tail, the end of which stopped past her waist. The shrine maiden’s uniform was showing obvious signs of wear, missing a sleeve, and having tears that have been repaired. Leaning on the wall beside her stood a broom. As she saw Ken a smile came to her face, the kind of smile a person gets when they see a puppy.

“Ken! I was expecting you a little later.” She spoke before looking up at the clock that was running an hour slow then back to him as he chuckled. He was scared of this woman but that was natural, she had basically been a guardian spirit to his clan since she had arrived.

“That clock is an hour slow, did you not get Kin or Tsubaki to fix it yet?” He asked, knowing about the girls that helped out around here.

---

Ken: 6dffd4
Shinobou: bbecff

[Ken Shirogane]

Yama was mostly unbothered by the walk, if anything it was relaxing. The walk itself would have been relaxing, but the purity, or perhaps the emptiness of the area added an extra layer of serenity for him. In the long term, it might bother him, but in the short, it was a little like suddenly being free of a smog he wasn't aware he'd been walking around in for most of his life. Not that the soul energy of the soul energy of the world was toxic or anything, but here it didn't feel so full. A distinct lack of pressure.

Walking into the building he took note of the woman and he sorry state, curious if she purposefully dressed that way, or if she was truly that unfortunate. But then his eye was drawn to the sign beside the chocolates, and he did not doubt that these would be something Shizu would want to sample. But then Shizu might want to eat just about anything that had "soul" in its name. He waited to see if Shizu would notice and look like she wanted some, and assuming it didn't cost spirit coins or whatever they were using to buy the Gigai then he'd be happy to spend some money on some treats for Shizu.

Yama was also curious about the clock and why it had not been fixed yet. But also the soul chocolates since he wondered if she actually had that many Arrancar customers or if she happened to have these chocolates but no buyers until now and put them out specifically for Shizu.

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PC: 3
Gaz Smiley

[Smiley]

Breathing was not something Shizu thought about these days. In truth, she wasn’t quite sure if she needed to breathe anymore. Often, she simply... forgot. Right now, though, she felt like she couldn’t catch her breath. The air tasted too thin. It was making her feel all kinds of woozy and wobbly...

Fortunately, the guide was kind enough to let in some fresh air. Or fresh... soul... energy... Whatever it was, the gloomy goth’s nose twitched at the enticing scent. This young man was definitely a Quincy... No doubt about it... Only they smelled this delicious.

Shizu perked up immediately, returning to just the usual shade of deathly pale. Her mouth was already watering. She was tempted to politely ask for a taste of the young man’s soul. Just a little nibble wouldn’t hurt... Right?

Merely hearing the name Soul society made the Arrancar’s hair bristle. Her sinister aura spread, like frigid air seeping out of a freezer. The unsettling chill carried a wordless message...

The Weeping Lady was here.

Luckily, the gloomy goth soon got distracted by all the shelves. Her eerie aura fell quiet again. She had stalked visited many little shops, but never one quite like this. What were all these things for...? And what did they taste like?

Finally, the creepy girl’s gaze stopped. Sure, there may have been someone behind the counter, but her eyes never wandered that far. Instead, they focused on the little sign on the shelf. “A-aaarti-ficial... soul chocolates... f-for the hungry Arrancar...?” She read out loud. After a moment, the realization sank in and a soft gasp left her lips. “I-it is me. I am the hungry Arrancar.” She pointed at herself to emphasize the claim.

By now, the ghoul’s watering mouth was steadily dripping drool onto the floor. Her lips parted, revealing the monstrous fangs hiding within her maw. Reminiscent of a zombie, she shambled closer to the shelf... And if the biker was still holding her hand, he would get dragged along.

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Post 3
Gaz Ken Shirogane

[Gaz]

Ken #3

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Ken looked over and saw Shizu drawn to the chocolates and smiled, she had that childlike wonder in her and it seemed that she was nothing but a big kid in an adult Arrancar’s body. That would explain some of the world view that Yama told him she had. It was enough to bring a smile to his face as he forgot about her sheer existence having the ability to give him a dangerous death, if any of her energies got into his body it was a poison.

The Shinigami up front watched what was going on with a smile plastered on her face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Hungry Arrancar. I am Shinobou. You can have one chocolate on me.” The shrine maiden spoke, shifting her gaze to Yama, offering a nod to follow up her introduction.

“This is Shizu and Yama, Yama is my bodyguard for this Head of the clans bet.” Ken explained. “Shizu is his Arrancar girlfriend and is going to help us… but to do that she needs a Gigai” The quincy said moving his hand to his pocket to get his wallet.

“Kenny, you’re already rocking the boat with this plan… bringing in an Arrancar is only going to make this harder.” Shinobou explained as she tossed that one free bar of soul chocolate across to Shizu. With a concerned sigh she leaned on the counter ran her other hand through her messy hair. “I assume she can’t pay for it either?”

Ken nodded, pulling out a stack of cash and a pouch of small wooden tokens. “I am.” He said as his quincy crosses dangled and glinted in the light of the candles that burned all around the shop.

“No… She pays in favours. Five.” Shinobou said in a tone that meant she was not going to negotiate on this point. “And Yama here must pay in One. His one is to help Shizu with every favour I ever call in.” With a flick of her wrist a cigarette appeared in her hand, flung out from the sleeve of her robes. Gently she placed it between her lips and let it sit there as she examined Yama. “Got a light?”

Ken sighed as he put his walled away and left the pouch on the counter. “Shizu pays in Two favours, and you have the new head of the clans in your pocket… it’d make you the most powerful person in the land of the living.”

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Ken: 6dffd4
Shinobou: bbecff