On the Trail[TI, PM for Entry]

[Yaksha]

Stories of what was being called the "Twenty-Sixth Street Massacre" had been circulating lately, though nothing had found its way into the papers yet. No doubt the local law enforcement were trying to find out more about what had happened; most of what people knew was rumor, stories passed on dozens or even hundreds of times until it was garbled beyond recognition. A few people had even claimed the one responsible had belched fire, and swallowed shards of glass. The few things people could agree on was that whoever had done it was incredibly strong, easily capable of wrenching an arm from its socket, and even tearing muscle and flesh. This alone was enough to warrant investigation; no human should be able to muster that much power. And so it was that Yaksha was at the police office, his human guise shedded. He walked through the halls silently, confident that even if someone did see him they'd remain silent. Humans had an amazing capacity for ignoring that which they knew couldn't possibly be true...

He reached the nearest computer, a claw pressing against the keyboard delicately; it pressed down, and the screen lit up. With only a few masterful strokes, he'd made it to the login screen. Whoever had used it before him had been sloppy; the computer had already saved their password, and a simple press of "Enter" opened it up. He could see the details, everything the police had managed to find. Many of the rumors had been close; whoever had done this had been quick, and efficient. They'd struck too fast, and hit too hard. The ferocity, the power was far beyond any human. The story went that he had assaulted a local priest, ripping his arm straight off. Searches were still ongoing, but apparently the priest's body had simply vanished. And there was the only lead Yaksha needed; a missing man would lead him right to the one responsible.

He dove back through the nearest wall, listening to the sounds of bafflement as someone closed down the computer he'd opened. He shut his eyes, letting his mind flow outwards; each person around was a faint flickering, like a candle. He began by making his way towards the reported area where the attack had gone down; he needed to find the reishi that this priest gave off, needed to figure out where the trail went. He walked past another police blockade, walking right through the door, and again found himself shocked by how oblivious people were. He let his mind expand outwards, let himself tune into the world around him. The purity of the priest's reishi was almost immediately recognizable, he began to walk back down the street, following an ephemeral trail of power.

Finally, he found it. The signature was...odd, almost concentrated. He opened his eyes, spotting a human glancing up at him. They wore a pendant around their neck, a glittering red stone in the middle of it. Yaksha stared at him in silence, before his mouth slowly turned up into a grin. "Well, you must be our prestigious murderer. I was hoping you would be someone a bit more interesting..." His tone was one of vague patronization, and he looked at the man with something close to disdain as his hand stretched outwards. "Call me Yaksha. I've been told I'm a bit of a celebrity."

[The Infection]

As the day was drawing to a close and his work had been ceased until the next morning, a Fullbringer made their way back to a suburban home at the outskirts of the city. His footsteps were calmly paced, moving a tad slower than normal. He clearly wasn’t in a rush to get anywhere that day. His eyes looked briefly at the sky, clouds painted across the sky filling his vision for a moment. He even seemed distracted, not paying much attention to the world around him. It was a nice day to come home to, a nice day to kick back and relax, and a nice day to bring about the end of another man’s life, The man was decently tall, standing at six feet and four inches above the ground, substantially more than the average male. His hair was of a black hue, arranged in the style of several spikes that cover the skull and forehead, composed of several strands of hair all brought together by some type of transparent kinetic force. His eyes were filled with a sense of boredom, painted crimson with a sense of apathy shining from them. His nose was a tad larger than normal, but not to any large degree, or even noticeably. It was something that you would only really notice if you wanted to notice it or had a keen sense of detail. His teeth were lightly biting in to the flesh of his bottom-lip, trying to cease the plague of boredom with slim traces of pain.

Zane wore an uncommon attire, especially for an executive officer of a cooperation like the one he was in. Over his shoulders and down to his waist hung a black leather jacket, being fairly thick and covering the entirety of his upper-body. The hands slipped out of the jacket, not being covered by it. A small portion of his chest was also visible since the jacket wasn’t entirely tied together. There was a V-neck at the top of the jacket, getting its name from the V-like shape that remained uncovered. Moving on to the lower-body, Zane also had black leather pants, the same material as the jacket. Along this leather were traces of gold, primarily imbedded in waist-line. This was a design he had specifically made to flaunt the wealth he had obtained through the company he worked for. His shoes were made entirely of metal with the exception of a small layer of panther hide on the inside of them to comfort the feet. This made each step he made heavy, making a stomping noise with each step he took. Though, lifting them was quite easy for him. No one knew why, but he could casually wear them without the slightest hindrance. Around his neck was a silver chain that connected to a cross of sorts. The cross hung against his chest, the metal complimenting the attire he wore nicely. The cross was pure silver as well with the exception of the center; In the middle of the four points of the cross was a ruby-like gem of a crimson red color. It shined in the light of the half-lit sky, the evening still in place as time continued to move forward.

It was a few moments later that a familiar spiritual energy caught Zane’s attention, quickly followed by an unfamiliar voice. Turning his head to gaze upon the source of this, he noticed the form of a rather large creature. It was obviously a hollow from its spiritual energy, but it acted a lot more sophisticated than the ones he had come to meet in his day-to-day life. Apparently he was being charged with the crime of being a murderer, and not even an interesting one? Zane took a small degree of offense with the statement, thinking of himself as a somewhat interesting person,. Though, he never made this known through his facial expression. The fullbringer had niot recalled killing anyone as of late…Unless…. Turning his body around to directly face the individual that had confronted him, the man began to speak in retort to the creature’s first statement. “Murderer? Who did I murder…..Let me think…Wait…” That moment, his face was suddenly covered in a mask of unease, the memory finally coming back to him. Continuing, with his reply, he uttered, “Uh…Yeah.If this is about that dead prostitute in the basement, I didn’t kill her. You see, she OD’ed on heroine.. I never actually bothered taking the corpse out of the room, nor have I even been down there as of late. Must smell bloody awful with that corpse down there...” Zane regained his composure after speaking, calming himself down and listening to the second thing that the hollow-like being had said. In rebuttal, the man replied with- “Celebrity? Didn’t know your kind could get famous. Never heard of ‘ya either way. Anyway, for what reason are you here? Your kind kills people all the time, so I know that the fact I ki-“ He stuttered for a moment, going back to repeat what he said and correct the wrongly placed wording.” I mean, so I know the fact that there is a dead prostitute in my basement shouldn’t mean anything to you. “

[Yaksha]

Yaksha watched the human, quiet at first. He said nothing, didn't even seem to move. His mind branched outward, quickly honing in one the man before him; no question about it, the taint of the priest's spirit was all around him like a cloud, making it impossible to think about anything else. And yet the man before him was clearly baffled, his ignorance as genuine as anything else about him. He knew about the spirit world, no doubt...but how was it that he could be surrounded by the essence of a slain man, that he could stink so much of that supernatural event, and not know a thing about it? It was simply ludicrous; it boggled the hollow's mind. But he'd already resolved himself to this path, and he couldn't turn back.

"Dead prostitutes aren't worth my time, sweetling. I'm here for something much more unique...the priest that went missing not too long ago. Reports claim he was mauled, that he ran across someone who had powers and abilities beyond any human's. And that priest led me right here. You ask yourself how a hollow can become famous? The same as anyone else, really; by doing something no one else has, by accomplishing the impossible. I am Yaksha Dokuja, Vasto Lorde and a hollow of unrivaled power, unmatched intellect. I do kill, yes...but the lives I end save thousands more. I wouldn't call myself a hero, but I'm certainly not the beast everyone makes me out to be. I come not for some sense of justice, or vengeance...but simply for better understanding."

He craned forward, his hand touching against the cross almost gingerly. His movements were slow, careful, and his gaze remained on the human as he watched for a reaction. "It's a very nice cross...I'm impressed. You don't mind my touching it, do you?" His hand pulled away slowly, his entire form seeming like he was poised to strike, as he sighed; the sound was very much like a snake hissing. "So tell me, sweetling. Why didn't you run as soon as you saw me?"

[The Infection]

The man exhaled in a sense of relief after hearing that the matter of the deceased woman was not the reason why this individual had confronted him. Though, upon bringing up the recent incident with the priest, he did have an idea what was going on now. However, what he didn’t know is why he was being asked about this event. He had no idea who killed the guy, nor did he know who did. Zane just stayed quiet for the moment, listening to the words of the hollow carefully. His guard was up mentally; ready to deal with any on coming attacks. After all, even with the creature’s claim to be different from the other savages of their race, he couldn’t be too sure whether that was truth, or simply a deceptive fallacy. The Fullbringer’s crimson eyes shifted toward the Hollow’s hand as it made contact with the silver cross that hung around his neck. It seemed the Vasto Lordes had interest in it, not that he could be blamed for it. The cross was an interesting piece with a matching history. In his rebuttal, the man began to answer some of the individual’s questions, throwing a few of his own in the mix as well.

“I know about that whole priest incident. I was actually informed through the company I work for. Though, how you found it linked to me, I don’t really know. I honestly had nothing to do with that event. As for the creature involved, I have no links as to what the hell that was either. I had guessed it was a higher-level member of your kind, actually, or perhaps one of the Bounts. The shinigami are unlikely, and I doubt many Humans could have such power. My own strength would be unable to do such a thing. Now, I’m not saying I’m weak, but rather that my methods are less..Grotesque. I prefer to kill my prey in a clean manner. Mutilating them is just too much of a hassle. Furthermore, I had no reason to kill anyone. I only deal with those I am assigned to deal with. As of late, it has been very seldom that I am assigned a specific target. They actually have been putting me on guard duty as of late. It is pretty dull. Only opposition I’ve had is a few pesky hollows, and not even the powerful kind, only basic Gillian. Anyway, I don’t mind if you touché the Cross at all, just don’t take it. I don’t exactly take kindly to thieves….Annoying to have to track them down to get back what belongs to me. “

Zane ceased his reply for a moment as the individual entered a stance befitting of combat. Was this Hollow really intending on attacking him, just as the others? How bothersome…. Well, at least a Vasto Lordes may prove an interesting opponent, if the case were to ensue. Continuing his reply, the Fullbringer retorted- “Why did I not run, you ask? Isn’t that common sense? I have no reason to fear you, nor is anywhere I have to be that urgent. I know your class of Hollow is powerful. Frankly, I’ve never fought one myself, but I am not helpless when it comes to combat. Now, tell me, just what is it that has linked me to this recent murder you speak of? Going by what you said earlier, I’m guessing you want to erase my existence because you believe I am the one who caused said event. Now, of course I could be lying when I deny my involvement, but so could you. For all I know, you could just be using this as an excuse to pin the blame on someone else. After all, that is something your kind would do, You can’t trust words alone. Not anymore, at least.” He said this calmly, having no idea of how he was a suspect in the search for the priest’s killer.

[Sponsored content]