Lost In Transit III

Askin was more off than usual, which considering his personal powers wasn't exactly strange, but was out of the ordinary when said powers were activated- Particularly to this degree.

The main problems with it was he neither knew what it was his death-dealing was reducing, nor when he'd actually put it into place.

For a brief moment, he'd contemplated it being the cause of a survivor's instinct. Fight or flight in a sense, but he'd never before experienced his powers doing such a thing on their own terms. Hell, it shouldn't have even been possible for it to act in such a manner, for his powers relied on his understanding of what it was he was reducing the potency of and he currently had no clue as to its name let alone effects!

But that was a problem for later, or likely now all things considered but he just had a bigger priority to focus on. And that priority was the ginger he'd hogtied and dragged across town to an abandoned train station.

That ginger, to his surprise, had cooled off the moment they landed and was currently staring at him with a thinly veiled mask of... curiosity. Or was that confusion?

Askin blinked once and noted the fact the brat's reiatsu was encompassing and slowly growing all across the empty clearing, his confusion growing just as much-

He wasn't staring at him. Or he wasn't focusing on him rather. He was focusing on the prick spying on them.

"You know you can just untie yourself, right?" He idly remarked, earning a blink out of the brat and promptly watched as he did exactly just that before getting up onto his feet, and squarely focusing his gaze on him.

"...Who are you?" He questioned far too calmly in comparison to his earlier outburst though the anger on his face hadn't subsided entirely it didn't seem to focus on him anymore.

He scratched at the side of his head. "Askin Nakk Le Vaar, if that name rings any bells to you."

"It doesn't." The shinigami immediately responded and slowly started circling him, his gaze not following his direction, but instead locked behind him.

"...If I turn around," He started up warily. "Are you going to swing at me?"

The Shinigami wasn't paying him as much attention as before, his focus was squarely on the third party trying to hide his presence from them. "You had anything to do with my sister forgetting me?"

"Nope." He raised a hand towards his heart. "Cross my heart I just ran into the girl, nothing else."

"...Alright." The shinigami responded warily.

He blinked at that. "Just like that? You went from trying to cut me down to believin' me?" He tilted his head at the shinigami, earning a pair of narrowed eyes from him. "Not that I am complaining! I am just... confused at the change in stance is all!"

"...I just remembered someone's warning regarding my siblings is all." He blinked at that, his own gaze turned passive while his mind ran faster than it had ever done.

"...Maybe that someone just didn't know about me?" He decided to play with fire, if only to get a better understanding of what was going-

"Aizen knew everything that was going to go down... If you were a problem, he would've mentioned it and I don't recognise your name,"

...Askin had a strange, strange, notion that he might've walked into a dangerous conspiracy. "...Does this somehow involve the bucket hat currently spying on us?"

The shinigami nodded his head slowly.

"What did this Aizen say exactly-"

"To keep him away from my siblings."

That was a very, very, strange coincidence.

"...Why do I feel like I just walked into something exceptionally dangerous for my survival?"

The shinigami let out a slight snort at that. "It's worse than that, Hats n' Clogs was on his way to Hell just before I made my way back,"

He was talking about the bucket hat there right?

"Guessing someone didn't go for the head?" He questioned jokingly as he felt Bucket Hat's spiritual pressure rapidly close in on them, just as the shinigami raised his blade up into a guard while he himself turned around on the spot.

"No one tried to kill him," He blinked at the words. "Bucket Hat made his own choice according to Aizen," A beat passed as he processed that. "So he either pulled a fast one on 'em, or this one's a fake."

...He was very, very confused right now.

"What does this have to do with your sister forgetting who you are exactly?" He questioned carefully. For a brother that had to be the biggest priority for the guy right?

And judging by the wince on the brat's face, he hit the nail on the head. "...I am still trying to figure that out-" Bucket Hat promptly landed about fifteen feet away from him just as he turned around fully towards him and widened his eyes. "What I do know is Aizen warned me about my siblings and him in particular... I thought that passed when Kisuke switched sides but..."

"Kid," He idly remarked as he got into a stance, "I hate to interrupt ya but those eyes of his ain't right." He said warily as he stared at the three irises in the man's eyes.

"...You're telling me," The brat now beside him remarked warily. "The last time I saw someone with eyes like those, he tried to take over my body."

"...Goodie," He deadpanned to that. "What the hell did I get involved in exactly?" He questioned jokinly-

"If Aizen's to be believed? A fight against the Soul King."

...He hadn't expected an actual answer to that all things considered, but fighting god was absolutely not top of the list.

"...I got no stake in this... Any chance I can bow out of it?" He deadpanned again.

"...I don't know who you are." The shinigami remarked warily. "But all things considered, the fact you're here, right now, is either bad timing or a plan by Aizen." He gave him a side glance. "If it's any consolation though, I believe you."

"...Okay. All I got from that was that this Aizen's a dick."

The brat chuckled at that. "Maybe, but he's the closest thing there is to us survivin'."

But honestly, the biggest red flag was the fact the shinigami was obscenely calm about all this. 

"You seem awfully calm about fighting god-"

"He's no god, he's just an evil bastard that doesn't like it when things don't go his way." The shinigami remarked thinly-

And it was then and there that Bucket Hat finally decided to throw in his two cents. "In my defence, things very rarely don't go my way, and this is... just another example of why the Balance needs to exist."

"Tough." The brat beside him remarked thinly as he pulled his blade to the side-

Oi, oi- Don't just start a fight with god while I am still here! I got no stake in this-

"Are you sure you wish to swing before hearing my offer?"

Hear the offer, hear the offer, hear the offer! He gave the unflinching brat a side glance.

"As if anything you say-"

"And here I went through the trouble of bringing you your mother back to life," Bucket Hat remarked, freezing the shinigami beside him on his feet. "Make no mistake Kursaki-kun, I only fibbed their memory of you so that I may have a chance to talk to you once you learnt of this reality- Alas someone here broke that plan to pieces the moment he led you away from that path."

...There were levels to how above his pay grade this whole shit show was turning into.

...Are you telling me, talking to that girl put the bloody Soul King on my ass!?

Bucket Hat let out a sigh, as if he could read his thoughts- Which all things considered, he probably could!

"...You're lying- This is a trick-"

"When you're in my position, a liar's reputation is a terribly difficult egg to uncrack." Bucket Hat idly crossed his arms. "You are welcome to verify this truth, young one." He promptly turned his gaze onto him. "In the meanwhile, I'll deal with the anomaly Aizen Sosuke left me."

He felt like he was repeating himself, but whoever this Aizen Sosuke was... was an absolute fucking dick!

Better question, if this was actually the Soul King- Aka, God! Why the hell would he take on the face of the one fucker the shinigami beside him wouldn't trust!?

Said Bucket Hat promptly turned a strange look his way at that thought- Which at least confirmed he could read minds.

"...My mother died when I was-" The brat thankfully started up and drew that attention back to himself.

"I created this system, Ichigo Kurasaki, make no mistake a simple human life is an easy matter to manipulate between states."

"...And you expect me to trust that!?" The brat beside him evidently had balls of fucking steel to be yelling at the primordial fuck!

"Like I said, this isn't exactly going to plan... We are currently in a state of what you may call limbo, and your next action will determine the path I shall take."

For some odd reason, he felt a load of confidence ooze out of the brat beside him. "...Even with him in hell, you still can't pull a fast one over him!" The brat had a nervous, albeit sincere, grin slowly building up on his face at that-

Bucket hat on the other hand just tilted his head at them. "Why do you think I am wearing this face, little one? He's not the only one who could fabricate an existence."

And for some reason odd reason, Askin in that particular moment felt his power flare to life. Felt his... Death Dealing... repel something that tried to worm its way into his mind.

He frowned heavily as he stared at the so-called Soul King before him and noticed a very heavy dose of a strangely old, yet muted, shinigami smell ooze out of him.

"Fabricate an existance?" Kurasaki questioned from beside him, confusion on his face. "You mean lie?"

...Whoever this was... was desperately trying to convince the world around him, he was their god.

"What else would one call it?" Bucket Hat questioned idly before making a rolling motion with his finger. "Make your choice then," He remarked with a shrug of his hand, entirely ignoring what should've been a very, very dangerous thought to leave unattended.

He made to say something to that before the brat beside him beat him to it.

"You're not the Soul King," Ichigo Kurasaki shook his head. "I dunno who you are, but you sure as shit ain't him."

Bucket Hat blinked at that, with mild confusion worming its way onto his face.

"Aizen Sosuke," The brat grinned beside him. "Ain't lied since he got here!"

...He was definitely, definitely, on the wrong side of this if that was his freakin' defence!

...

Hope You Enjoyed! Don't Forget Feedback!