[Video]
[ The feed clicks on to show a blurry view of a wall at first, but soon clears up, and swings around to show the operator is taking a video tour of the house. And anyone who has actually seen the inside of the house Ichigo, Shiro, and Orihime share will recognize the decor.
Only, now there's some new editions lined up along the kitchen table.
( Cut for images, and to save F-lists. )
Only, now there's some new editions lined up along the kitchen table.
( Cut for images, and to save F-lists. )
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But none of the finesse to control it.
Shiro looks down, suddenly finding a flower to be very interesting. He also reaches in his pocket to make sure the comm there is now OFF]
... He's from before it even happens. Time is weird, in this place. It has happened for us, but not for him... I had to do it. He was dying; no, dead. Only I could save him from his wounds, only I could answer her call, protect her and revive the King. [he gives TZ a pointed look, eyes narrowed and the irises glowing a bit] Whether you like it or not, it's true. I did what had to be done. [he looks away again, frowning a bit] Still, he can't know. I can't deal with that drowning despair again. I won't.
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You are correct, I don't like it. I don't like it one bit that because you demand attention as a selfish child would, he has never had the chance to unlock his own potential, much less mine.
[...Okay, deep breath. No picking a fight right here in the flowers. It will do no good. ]
But I do not wish to be muted, and drowned again, either. I do not even know what sort of effect that might have with you, and I separated from him, nor do I wish to find out.
[ And so, offering a hand to shake. Truce? ]
There will come a time when you both will have to deal with it. But I will not hasten events. Instead, let them unfold as they were meant to. But, because you, and I know what is coming, we can not afford to be divided. I hate you, hollow. But if it keeps him alive, I will work with you.
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Tch. I'm not responsible for my own existence, jackass. If you want someone to blame, blame that Hat-n-Clogs guy! It's his stupid method that split Ichigo's power! Putting him in a hole in the ground to let his Chain of Fate chomp away at itself. What did you expect?!
[Shiro hisses, equally angry, but trying to keep a lid on his aggression. For once, he isn't in the mood for a fight]
... Me neither. We agree on one thing.
[he looks at the hand like it's a snake that may bite him at any moment. Tentatively, he reaches out to shake it, wrapping his long, bony clawed fingers around TZ's darker complected and smaller hand. To be outright told he is hated does not surprise him; what DOES surprise him is the sinking feeling in his gut when the zanpakutou tells him that.
Fuck these human emotions.]
Che. Whatever, sure, fine.
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For now, he lets go quickly, flexing his fingers to dispel the crawling sensation. ]
You are responsible for your existence. Blaming one's inception is the cowards excuse. You are what you are, and though I may dislike it, do not belittle Ichigo, nor myself by blaming Urahara Kisuke for fracturing a soul that was never meant to bear shinigami powers, a hollow, and be alive all at the same time.
[ And with that nugget of wisdom, he'll be taking the watering can back so he can rinse it out. Wait until you see how complicated the orchid's care is, Shiro. ]
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[Shiro just mutters darkly under his breath] It IS that guy's fault, though... tch... I didn't ask for any of this...
[he sits there on the concrete porch for a few more seconds, then watches TZ, seeing if he's going to stay inside or not to contend with those very weird flowers on the table. Tensa Zangetsu may have pissed him off (and hurt his feelings? what?) but he was still very curious about the colorful things]
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And yes, he heard that. It even gives him a moment's pause before he gathers the plastic bag of wood chips up, and sets it next to Shiro before disappearing into the house.
He returns a moment later with two of the orchids, and a sheet of newspaper. The latter he takes a moment to lay out on the porch, then sets the orchids on it. Rooting about on the bench where his gardening supplies are neatly organized, he comes up with two larger flower pots. ]
Come here, hollow. If you can handle that cat of yours without killing it, then you should be able to handle these without tearing them apart.
[ Sitting properly setza, he doesn't wait for Shiro as he starts carefully clearing woodchips off the tops of one orchid's root system. ]
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He opens the plastic bag and sniffs them, pleased by the dirty, pure smell. He looks at TZ and hisses] I have a name now. [he watches TZ with the intensity of a cat watching a bird. He crawls a little closer. His curiosity gets the better of his pissiness. He starts rattling off questions;] Why are you putting them in different pots? What's wrong with the ones they're in? I thought you put plants in dirt, not pieces of wood... what kind of flowers are these? I've never seen flowers like these before.
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[ Carefully tipping the orchid's root system out into his hand. ]
They live in the under layer of the forest canopy - essentially growing on the tree's bark. Like a symbiont. Therefore when cultivating them, they require woodchips. I am putting them in a larger pot because they have outgrown these smaller ones. Also to avoid mold growth.
[ The idea of symbiosis appealed to Zangetsu. It's not all that different from a shinigami's relationship with their zanpakutou or Ichigo, and his hollow, though TZ will never admit it aloud. With his free hand, he gestures at Shiro to pour some woodchips into the new flower pot ]
Fill it halfway, if you please.
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They grow on trees?! Like moss? Woah... [here is Shiro, baffled by the world and all the stuff he still doesn't know about it.
He tilts his head and attempts to pour the chips into the pot, but they keep getting stuck on the edges of it. He growls a little and instead reaches his claws into the bag, grabbing a handful and placing them in the new pot until it's half full.]
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Indeed. They require high humidity, and proper drainage for their root structures due to this specialized environment. Hold out your hand, and mind your claws.
[ Here, Shiro, have a fragile orchid plant with a few stray wood chips stuck to it. TZ uses the moment to pull a shallow dish close, this one filled halfway with water. The flower pot has a screen in the bottom specifically designed to hold this sort of plant. Putting the two together, he fishes a handful of woodchips out, then nods at Shiro to set the orchid in it's new pot. ]
...Inoue-san prefers daisies. Masaki enjoyed lilies. I suppose, then, that my penchant for flowers is not that strange.
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He actually gently places the little flower in its new pot and waits. But at the mention of Masaki, he actually looks away, curious expression falling. Shiro is even more a part of Ichigo than his zanpakutou, so it's not surprising that he speaks of the woman using a specific name]
Mom did like those, didn't she... you hafta plant some of those, ok?!
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...You view Masaki as your mother as well? Do you even understand the concept of a mother, of parents?
[ And believe it, or not, he's not trying to needle Shiro about this, he's honestly too stunned to do more than gape like a child. Instead both expression, and tone says it all; outright shock. ]
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...but unfortunately for him, Ichigo was so shaped by his mother and her tragic passing that those feelings transferred to the Hollow as well]
... a'course I do. [but how does one explain a mother? it's hard, nigh impossible, to come with the words. So instead he resorts to his usual tactic; aggression. Naturally, it's too late to really go back on it, but he can try. he narrows his eyes and turns them on Tensa, growling and baring his fangs] Masaki was important to Ichigo, important to the development of his spiritual power. Nothing more. It's no big fucking deal.
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You are lying. You never lie. You never had need.
[ Sigh. Shaking his head a little, he sits straighter, and continues with that unblinking stare. ]
But you do feel grief...if nothing else, I owe you an apology for that. You are different here, holl-...Shirosaki. I did not realize this until now.
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[now it's Shiro's turn to look baffled, and he does. Did TZ just use his name, the one he had chosen for himself? Damn. That was a victory. If Shiro's heart weren't so heavy from... thinking about things (goddammit goddammit GODDAMMIT, he HATED these weak feelings) he'd have grinned and laughed in that usual way. Instead he just shoves the orchid in its pot at TZ] Yeah, well, that's what happens when you get shoved in a human body with all the emotional trimmings. Take yer flower already.
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