"I'm pretty sure I locked the door."
"Cats don't use doors." Yoruichi countered.
"….I can't argue with that logic." Which made me feel weird, considering I was arguing with a cat. "Didn't you agree not to come back?"
"You never said for how long." It started prancing around, inspecting the place. "Where's Bob?"
"I had to let him go. It seems like he wasn't a good fit for the company." I deadpanned.
"What'd you do to the door?" Yoruichi pushed against it, but it wouldn't budge. "Your Reiatsu did something weird."
"My Reiatsu?" I tilted my head.
Reiatsu – Spiritual Pressure.
I suppose that's the term used for someone's exertion of their Reiryoku? But I cast a Spell which should be lidden with Magical Energy, not Reiatsu. Unless, by association the Reishi I've gathered is also being facilitated due to the nature of this world.
Curious.
"What makes you think I did anything?" I asked.
"Hah, you can't hide it from me." The Cat looked smug. "Your Reiatsu is weird, but after seeing it again, I can pick it out easily now." He trotted over, plopping his butt right down in front of me, staring up. "Did it increase too? You didn't have this much before."
"Who knows." I shrugged.
Hmm, so this Cat can sense that my Reiatsu has increased. I did take some time to try and gather more of it via my Magic Circuits, even if the process was exceedingly slow and methodical. The mental image of trying to catch water with a net was pretty apt in this circumstance.
I'm basically getting a few drops by luck every now and then.
Still haven't been able to get my Soul to do it naturally like the Hollow was basically doing. Or what I assume the people here do by just existing. Still need more experimentation to figure out how I'm going to do this.
"Oh a notebook, what's written here?" Almost immediately the Cat was on the nearby table where I left my notes.
It tried to flip it open, but I slammed it shut before he could read anything. "I believe the saying is – Curiosity killed the cat."
"It's okay, I have nine lives!" He happily chirped, pawing at it even if I had my hand firmly pushed down on the cover.
"Can you even read?"
"Can you?" He countered.
"…..why would you assume I couldn't?"
"It's not weird for homeless people to be illiterate."
"I am not homeless." I rolled my eyes.
"So you live here by choice."
"I do own an actual house. I'm only here because I needed –" I paused, giving him a glare. "Alright, nice try."
The Smug cat was smug.
Almost got me to blurt out some things out of annoyance.
"I'll get a spray bottle the next time I'm out."
"Yeah, that's probably the only way you can get a pussy wet."
I almost tripped hearing the words come out of his mouth. "Really?" I looked at the cat dumbfounded.
The cat chuckled, jumping off the table. "The truth hurts."
"Please, I've had plenty of women. And they've never left unsatisfied."
"Uh huh." The Cat said mockingly. "What are you, like twenty? I'm sure you got a girlfriend that's a model, but she goes to school in another town, right?"
"I know what you're doing."
"What am I doing?" Yoruichi rolled over, exposing his belly playfully.
"You're trying to get information out of me by taking shots. Thinking that I'll get angry, shout out some personal information so you can look into me, right?" I asked.
"Nah, I just like seeing kids like you get flustered." He grinned.
"Sure." I rolled my eyes again. "And it's going to take much more than that to get me flustered."
I fucked my Grandmother without an iota of shame. And I was going to continue doing it.
Good luck.
"That sounds like a challenge!" Yoruichi sprung up excitedly.
"It wasn't, go away."
"Nope."
I wish Sir Wiggles was here. Have him deal with this nonsense. I slid my notebook into my pocket and hid the return to my ring that way.
But, Yoruichi perked up, looking at me. "You did something again."
Hmm.
I'll have to be somewhat cautious if this cat isn't going to leave me alone. I wasn't really set on being forceful to kick him out, I could potentially have him help me.
"Are you an Onmyoji?" He suddenly asked.
"What gave you that idea?" I raised an eyebrow at his question.
"The Talismans." He did the cat equivalent of a shrug. "Surprised me when I saw them. Heard that Onmyoji used to be more popular a long time ago, but they sorta died out. Humans with a lot of Reiatsu that would gather together and stuff."
That's interesting, did they exist here as well? I mean, the historical context for them must have persisted through the years, but for real variations of them to exist was what caught my attention. I suppose it makes sense, they are adept at dealing with spiritual issues, so in a world that emphasizes the spiritual aspects of the supernatural, it's not a huge surprise.
"Maybe I just like throw paper at things?" If he was going to be tight lipped, then I was too. "Maybe if someone answered my own question. Like, say what exactly you are, then I might be willing to answer one as well."
"Meow."
"Right." I shouldn't have expected anything different. "If you don't want to be cooperative then why are you here?"
"Fine~" Yoruichi stretched his back before sitting back up. "I guess we can trade some questions. What do you want to know?"
Hmm, that's a good question. I didn't want to reveal that I knew so little about Spiritual Power in general here, that would be a big red flag in my opinion. But there were a few other topics that held my interest.
"What do you know about Shinigami?" I decided on this avenue.
Yoruichi's eyes flashed. "Why do you want to know about Shinigami?"
Hmm, I guess I was right in my assumption initially. This cat isn't normal at all. Ignoring the abnormalities that are obvious on the surface. I don't think a random 'magical' animal would know about Shinigami enough to elicit that kind of reaction.
"Academic curiosity."
The cat let out a snort. "Yeah, and I'm a dog."
"Does it really matter?"
"I guess not." He did that shrug again. "But it's not really good for the living to know about the matters after death."
"Huh."
"What?" Yoruichi asked.
"I'm just taken back by you actually saying something wise and intelligible."
"Meow."
"And we're back." I shook my head. "Anyways, I'm not exactly normal. I have a better idea about after death than most people, it's not really some new information for me. I just want to know specifically about Shinigami."
Yoruichi looked at me for a moment, clearly thinking about some things. "Alright, whaddya want to know?"
"What are Shinigami?"
"That's….a strange question." Yoruichi muttered. "Honestly, Shinigami are just souls that have died with a lot of Reiatsu. They get inducted while in Soul Society, trained and become one of the Court Guards by joining a division."
"So anyone can be a Shinigami?"
"…..Kinda? It's a little more complicated than that."
"Could humans become Shinigami then?"
"Not without some weird circumstances. Shinigami are spirits, they don't have a real physical body. An actual body restricts the spirit in a way, so a true blooded human can't really be a Shinigami due to that."
Hmm, that makes sense. A body is the vessel for the soul. A spirit exists in a different state, which would most likely be one of the requirements to become a 'Shinigami'. Even a Servant has a 'physical' vessel made of Ether, even if they can Astralize.
And from what I understand, Shinigami can't be seen by those who lack a sufficient amount of 'spiritual power' without some other means. The same with Hollows, which is why no one noticed the big fuck-off monster living around here and just avoided it due to instinct.
However, I think there was more to the explanation he was leaving out, but it was good enough for me right now. It gave me some ideas I could work with.
"I heard they use swords?"
"Shouldn't it be my turn to ask a question now?"
"It's part of my question."
"Fine, I guess you're right." Yoruichi shifted, looking to get more comfortable. "Yeah, Shinigami use something called Zanpakutōs'. They're blades that grow with the wielder, getting stronger the more the Shinigami uses it. They exist in three states – Sealed, Shikai, and Bankai."
Interesting.
A Zanpakutō – A Soul Cutter.
Based on the name alone I wanted to do some experiments with such a thing.
So, they have something called a Sealed State, a Shikai – or initial release. And then a Bankai or Final Release.
"Can you elaborate on that?"
"Nope, that counts as a whole different question."
"Fine." I grumbled. "I heard that Shinigami have a sort of –" I wanted to choose my words carefully. "Magic system?"
"Magic system?" Yoruichi repeated. "You mean Kidō?"
"Yeah, that." I nodded, just now learning the name.
Huh, it translates roughly to 'Demon Arts'.
How fitting that I want to learn it then.
"Alright, Kidō is a form of Shinigami combat using spells. It's divided mostly into two forms, Bakudō and Hadō." Once more he gave a very brief summarization.
"Way of binding and way of destruction, huh?"
"Yup."
"I don't suppose –"
"Nope, that's a different question." He said cheekily. "It's my turn now."
"Fine, you did give me some good information." I begrudgingly admitted. Gramp's information was miniscule, so I was trying my best to fill in the gaps. I basically only know about their combat methods with a vague explanation. This was already substantial in comparison. "What do you want to know?"
"I've seen humans with a lot of Reiatsu tons of times, but you've been doing something I don't recognize. What are you doing?"
"You mean like with the door?"
"Yup."
Did I really just want to come out and say it? I don't like flaunting my matters, even if it didn't really matter.
"Magecraft."
"Magecraft?" Yoruichi repeated the foreign word. "What's that?"
"Magecraft is the recreation of any phenomena that could be achieved through mundane means but by 'magic'." He was vague about his explanations, so I would be too.
"Wait, are you saying you're a wizard!?"
"The correct term is Magus." I corrected him. "A Magus is someone who practices Magecraft. I used a simple Alteration spell on the door to alter its physical components."
Equivalent exchange.
I don't like revealing stuff about myself to strangers, but I'm too far in the dark here. I don't know how valuable the information he gave me is in general, but to me right now, it's infinitely more valuable than just revealing that I can 'cast spells'.
The fact that he revealed that Onmyoji exists means I shouldn't be too weird of an outlier in the worst case.
"I've never heard of a Magus before."
"And a talking Cat that can move fast enough to displace air isn't something most back home would have heard of." I said dryly.
"Touché." He acknowledged. "So, are there more of these 'Magus' out there?"
"There are." I didn't deny it. "Though, they stay clear of this side of the world. Most of them are the 'aristocratic' type that look down on anything they don't dabble in. In their eyes, the far east is backwards and barbaric, so they don't care about what happens here."
"Oh, I know the type." Yoruichi replied.
"So, how does someone get their hands on one of those Zanpakutō?" I asked very plainly.
"You die and get admitted to the academy." Yoruichi snorted again. "Why do you want one? You wouldn't be able to do anything with it. Not until your soul leaves your physical body can it be properly nourished by your soul to grow correctly."
Interesting, so my Soul needs to nourish this sword for it to grow?
…my Aura is the manifestation of my soul….
I was keeping it contained right now to not cause any….problems. I'm guessing he didn't sense it due to this, otherwise he would probably be asking questions about that.
"I'm a collector."
"Right, I'm sure there's no other motive whatsoever."
"I have nothing to hide." I said innocently.
"Says the person doing sketchy experiments on Hollows in an abandoned worksite."
"You make it sound worse than it is. And it's not abandoned, I purchased it."
"Why are you here anyways?"
"As in this specific spot, or this town?" I asked for clarification.
"This town."
"Do you know a place with higher amounts of ambient Reishi?" I asked.
"That's fair I guess." Yoruichi accepted. "Yeah, this is probably the highest in the living world."
"Curious that you would know that."
"I'm a very curious cat~" He chuckled. "So, Mister Wizard. Know any Magic Tricks?"
"I know how to make small, annoying animals disappear."
"Eh, you probably wouldn't be very good at that kind of trick." He started walking around. "What kinds of things can you do?"
"I can raise the dead."
"Really!?" Yoruichi snapped his head back at me.
"No."
"…..dick."
"Well, I think I'm done here for now." I clapped my hands. "Uninvited guests should vacate the premises."
I had some things I wanted to digest before answering any more questions if this came up again. And I had a couple things I wanted to work on with some privacy.
"Wait, there's something else." Yoruichi quickly started talking as I picked him up and began walking towards the door.
"What?"
"I have this friend – "
"Of everything you've said, this is what I don't believe."
"No hesitation, huh?" Yoruichi grumbled patting over his chest with his little paw. "Just…. stab me right in the heart without a second thought."
"The truth hurts." I mimicked his words from earlier.
Contrary to what I thought would happen, Yoruichi began cackling at my response. "I like you. I feel like we're going to be good friends."
"Goodbye Yoruichi!" I shouted, chucking him out of the door and slamming it shut.
I waited for a moment and didn't see him come back inside, so I could presume he was really gone for now.
Good, I would work on setting up some proper Bounded Fields because the ones I had put up before were just placeholders for my immediate need.
Let's see him get through these.
[***]
I sat cross legged on the ground, taking deep breaths to get my breathing in a proper rhythm.
I had a Magic Circle set up under me. Theoretically, it should be separating the Mana in the Air from the Reishi by extracting the Mana and sending it elsewhere. How this works in practice, I've yet to see as I've just activated it.
However, I was feeling a little confident.
Due to the talk with Yoruichi earlier, I had a very interesting idea.
He spoke about how a Shinigami could only nurture their sword due to their soul being detached from their body as a type of spirit, making it so it was under constant nourishment. Then I started thinking about my Aura, and the idea hit me.
My Aura coexists with my Magic Circuits without any negative side effects. They do not hamper one another in the slightest bit, which was a little surprising when I first discovered Aura. But as I researched more into it, the reason was rather obvious.
They both have the same origin.
Magic Circuits extend from the soul.
Aura is the manifestation of the soul.
While Magic Circuits are meant to process Magical Energy, they are technically also a spiritual component.
With that in mind, I closed my eyes and focused on my Aura. I could feel it pulsing out and I pulled it back and forth like a tide.
I let it wrap around my Magic Circuits just to double check, and I felt nothing amiss. Reishi was exceedingly close to Mana, enough that I had trouble deciphering the composition of it in the air. To pick out what was Mana and what was Reishi. However, it was different enough that my Magic Circuits couldn't just take it in like it did Mana.
If I had to make a comparison, it would be like Fresh Water to Salt Water.
My Circuits happily drink in the Fresh Water, but don't care for the Salt Water.
However, my Aura was the manifestation of my soul.
Reishi was the spiritual Energy in the world.
I let my Aura pulse out gradually. It shimmered around me and began to grow in distance from my body. Instead of just letting my Circuits try to grab the Reishi, instead, I mentally pulled back my Aura, letting it act as the 'net' to pull in Reishi.
I retracted my Aura back, forcing it down to its lowest point, right back to the source and where my Circuits originated from.
My Circuits started burning much more intensely than before. Considering the salt water analogy, it's as if someone just drank a huge mouthful of salt water and began violently coughing, but it was happening to my Magic Circuits
It was painful, it was uncomfortable and it made my Circuits burn through my skin intensely as it continued.
Then, I touched upon the small seed of Demonic Power I possessed. It wasn't much, but it began flowing to soothe the aching and the pain.
The burning sensation in my Circuits began to subside. They still felt…..stiff, for lack of a better word, but I could feel it.
I could feel the Reiryoku flowing more steadily.
I let out a breath of contentment.
A small smile appeared on my face as I watched everything begin to smooth out.
I held out my hand, focusing on the newfound energy inside my body. Slowly, a blue, shimmering energy coated my skin before it faded away.
It would take awhile for my soul to become accustomed to this new power, but....I did it in the first attempt. Granted, it was a small amount, but once my soul became more familiar with it, could it completely ignore the need for my Circuits and act like the souls that are native to this world?
So many questions I didn't yet have the answer to.
But the most important thing was that I had succeeded. This already made the trip worth it.
Magic Circuits, Aura, and Demonic Energy. These three pieces were so far imperative to the process ,without any one of them, I don't know if it would have been this 'easy'.
I couldn't help but fall back and let out a laugh.
Being able to harness Reishi was only the beginning.
I wanted to get my hands on that Shinigami sword and Magic System. I feel like they would be very beneficial to my current quest.
Sitting back up, I climbed to my feet, dusting myself off. I looked out the window and noticed that the moon was back out again.
How long had I been focusing on this?
Well, it didn't matter. I was energized from the excitement so I may as well strike while the iron is hot.
Let's see if I can't find some more Hollows to test some theories on.
[***]
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