001 - [Video | Night | Teneka]

[ofnoblemind]

[With some trial and error, Byakuya manages to turn on the PORTAL, though he takes a few moments to just stare at it, his brows coming together in a frown.  And then, instead of trying to communicate through it like a seemingly normal person would, he looks away, hoping to make sense of where he is.]

This cannot be Hueco Mundo.

[He sighs and glances

Comments

1/??

[snowwhitesoul]

[She wasn't supposed to be up right now, but her reading had kept her awake longer than planned.

So when she hears a familiar thought-voice come over the PORTAL, that book, the blanket over her legs, and her empty cup of juice go flying off in her effort to grab the phone.]

2/??

[snowwhitesoul]

[Checking. Double checking. Scrubbing her face and straightening her hair on reflex.

It is him...]

3/3

[snowwhitesoul]

[Calm down, don't overreact. Turning on the PORTAL's Teneka function.]

Nii-sama...?

[ofnoblemind]

[Byakuya's eyes snap back to the device when he hears that familiar voice, probably the one he wishes to hear the most right now.

He opens his mouth to speak, to answer, but...nothing comes out. Of course, this elicits a small huff and that frown to come back to his face. What the hell...]

[snowwhitesoul]

Nii-s...

[Oh, wait.]

Nobody can speak at night here, Nii-sama. There's a magic that prevents it, but with the device you have with you right now, you can communicate to me or anyone else telepathically.

[ofnoblemind]

[...What.

Even so, if Rukia is telling him this, then it must be true. He lets his protestations go for now.]

What is this place?

[snowwhitesoul]

Il Promenade, the City of Dreams. By what I have been able to figure out, it is literal.

[ofnoblemind]

[Okay, that makes no sense.]

Any relation to Hueco Mundo?

[Because he was just there. And now he's here. There has to be a logical connection.]

[snowwhitesoul]

No, there is no connection. It is a completely separate realm from Hueco Mundo, Soul Society, and the Living World. And from my own experience and that of others, there is no apparent means of leaving.

[ofnoblemind]

...Then how did we get here?

[snowwhitesoul]

The story that the residents will tell you is that we've always been here, we simply finally "woke up" from our sleeping and that home - our world - was the dream. As for the truth, there is no way of knowing.

[ofnoblemind]

[Oh, that's nice to hear. Grumpy Byakuya is grumpy. Even so...]

You are not injured.

[snowwhitesoul]

[For a given amount of injured...]

No, I am not.

[Then, a little more tenuous.]

Nii-sama, what is your last memory before arriving here?

[ofnoblemind]

Mn.

Unohana-taichou, Kurotsuchi-taichou, and I had been dispatched to Hueco Mundo to find and eliminate the remaining Espada there. I was on my way to find one of them. Your waning reiatsu was nearby.

[snowwhitesoul]

[...that must've been after her fight with the Novena. How many of her loved ones had nearly felt her die?]

Nii-sama, you should know that the point in time I came here is different than yours. In my memory, you and Hanatarou-san had already found me and you went to join a fight against another Espada.

[ofnoblemind]

...I see.

[Even if it makes no sense.]

Then we were succeeding?