It Hides Inside You [Yuuto, Urahara]

It hadn't taken long for the Second Division to take action when he came to them for help. By the time they did, however, the Hollow mask had encroached the entirety of his face, and the only thing that had been stopping him from lashing out and attacking anyone was sheer force of will. They escorted him to the barracks themselves, placing him isolated from all others.

Mirai had come back with him, following suite after he had retreated, but they had not let her see him. He heard her protesting as he blacked out. Even in his dreams, it felt as if he was drowning, suffocating in some thick, viscous liquid. Every time he tried to surface, he was pulled back down again, each time stronger than the last -- and it was painful. He could feel the demon blood that had become so normal for him burning, with the sickening feeling of Hollow replacing it.

He pushed down the desire to scream, and continued to reach for the surface. No matter how strong the force pulling him down was, no matter how much pain every cell of his body was in from this infection, he would overcome and survive. Again and again, he kept reaching the surface, only to be pulled down and feel more pain wrack his body.

Then, suddenly, he awoke. Instinct forced him up, though he didn't make it far, only his head suddenly jerking upward and his neck snagged on something, knocking the air from him. He looked to his sides, seeing Kido restraining him. Well, he couldn't really blame them for that. He couldn't feel the Hollow mask on his face now, either.

Even still, he felt exhausted -- but, he couldn't let that stop him. It was only a matter of time before it tried to take over again. He had a feeling he wasn't out of the woodwork just yet.

The wafting of a fan drew Yuuto's attention to the sole person that sat at his bedside, not that what he was pinned to could be called a bed as much as it was just a slab of stone. Sitting there, that ever-present half-smile spread across his lips, was Kisuke Urahara. The Research Captain was not an easy man to surprise, after all, and yet he most certainly had been when the Captain of the Stealth Division had returned from his mission down on Earth with a severe Hollow affliction. It was not like Yuuto was a pushover, after all, so that had been a cause for concern but this was a rather unique chance to observe the relationship between the Hollow and Demonic aspects of his soul.

So Kisuke had elected to study Yuuto whilst he was in a state of unconsciousness, under the guise of taking care of his fellow Captain. He was quite benevolent like that, after all, and a little more proficient in kaido than most of the second division to boot, but the true value that he brought was his ability to work discreetly. The last thing that the Captain-Commander needed was news breaking that one of her Captains was going through a particularly troublesome infection that might potentially take him out of action for a while. Still, that study had all stopped as he noticed his patient beginning to stir.

"Ah, welcome back Captain Hisakawa. You have been on quite the journey, so tell me how you feel. Does it feel different?"

His tone was surprisingly chipper, given the situation, but Kisuke was never a man to be accused of taking things too seriously. He also didn't exactly mention what that 'it' was, but perhaps that would be obvious. Clearly Kisuke thought it was.

He could hear the sound of a fan unfolding and moving through the air. He turned his head to the side, pain searing his neck and skull as he did, and looked over at the other figure in the room as best he could. Captain Urahara -- part of him wasn't surprised. He was a half-Demon that came back with a horrifyingly serious Hollow infection. There were probably no shortage of Research Division members that wanted to see what was happening in his head.

"Captain Urahara...?"

He groaned softly, tilting his head back slightly. The hazy veil of sleep slowly faded away, and every fiber of his being still burned with pain. Despite the restraints and his understanding of why, he still tried to free himself, struggling against the Kido, before turning to face him again.

"Every cell of my body is on fire. It's not as bad as it was when it first started, but...I can feel it changing me. It...It tried to take over, but, I stopped it."

He went to say more, but stopped himself. He tried to look at himself, at the wound he had before, though, through the Kido, he couldn't really see much. So, he turned to Kisuke again, a look of confusion coming to his face.

"How...long was I out?"

"Interesting."

An eyebrow perked up curiously as his bindings were tested, though it seemed to be more of a natural response to waking up than a genuinely concerted effort to break free. For now, at least, the bonds seemed ironclad and held Yuuto steady in his position without cutting off any circulation. Standing, Kisuke seemed to almost loom over his fellow Captain as he continued to slowly fan himself.

"It has been several days since you were last conscious. We were quite worried that you might never wake, you know."

The wound had been treated as best as could be, bound and covered in the hopes that it would seal properly, but Kisuke had not yet removed those bandages. One step at a time, he supposed. Might as well begin by addressing the obvious, so that they could then progress to dealing with the nuisances.

"You are fortunate that I am one of the few to have witnessed this unfortunate process happen on several occasions, though I will not blame you for not being grateful. Your body is changing because it is trying to Hollowfy, and your willpower is all that is preventing it from doing so. If you cannot bring this Inner Hollow completely to heel soon then it will inevitably consume you from within."

With a single flick of his wrist, an effortless casting of a spell, the block upon which Yuuto was bound lifted into the air and flipped forwards so that he was vertical rather than horizontal. From there, a pair of beady grey eyes could peer directly into his own with unflinching intensity.

Yuuto's eyes widened at the revelation of how long he had been unconscious. Several days?! In a panic, he started to tug and struggle against his restraints in response. Even as his demon half slowly burned away, it was not going gentle into that goodnight. His emotions surged to their highest, forcing him into moods and reactions that none would see from him.

In his frenzy, another wave of pain wracked his body, and he suddenly jerked and thrashed in response, groaning through grit teeth as his body tensed, hands clasped into fists.

Even in the struggle, he was violent, aggressive, panicked as he was suddenly pulled upright. The grey, beady, inquisitive eyes of the Research Captain met with a faded scarlet -- no longer beautiful, clear, and shining gems, but misty, dying embers of a devil that plagued him for over two-hundred years.

Kisuke's explanation had not been lost on him -- he understood that the man had been there when the first sets of Vizards were born and awakened, and he knew that his own stubborn will was the only thing keeping it back. As it processed, part of him held doubt that he could hold it back and suppress it.

"Please, release me. I need to speak with the Head Captain immediately and report what I found in Africa's crater."

"That's not all. Because you are not just a Shinigami like many others that have gone through this. Your demonic aspects are also being purged by the Hollow as it tries to take control of your body in turn. Like a helpful parasite, it is purging you of corruption whilst also trying to take your life."

It was a curious thing, to watch as a part of someone's soul was being replaced and overwritten, and yet it was also oddly entrancing. Had he no vested interest in the recovery of the individual in question then he might have let it go on for longer under controlled observation before he deemed an intervention necessary. Still, perhaps he had been too mean by saying that it had been a few days. It might have been better to keep that part a secret until all of this was resolved, as it clearly put him under additional stress.

"But I'm afraid I also cannot let you leave here until I know that you have this Hollow under control. We are trapped in here together until I inform the Captain-Commander that you are no longer a threat to Soul Society."

Where exactly 'here' was did also not seem too clear. From Yuuto's now slightly elevated position, all he would be able to see was a rolling valley of rocky outcrops and a cloudy blue sky overhead that seemed to stretch as far as the distant horizon. The barriers created around this hidden chamber were hardly the type that one would call typical, and Kisuke had spared no expense on ensuring that even his fellow Captain would have a hard time breaking out.

His body continued to tremble, jerk, and strain against his confines, wincing as he looked around. Were it not for the block he was fastened to, he would have thought they were simply outside in the Soul Society or Living World.

But, he knew better -- they were somewhere isolated from the rest of the Seireitei, keeping him away from everyone to ensure that, should he lose control, he could be contained and taken care of. More than likely, they were somewhere either under the First Division barracks, or isolated in the Second Division's medical ward.

An eye twitched as Kisuke mentioned that he wouldn't be able to leave unless he was certain that the Hollow was under control. It seemed like the Hollow could hear it too -- and, as if it could hear them, Yuuto could hear something.

At first, it was just a buzzing, vibrations that seemed to desire to make a more formalized sound, an accent peculiar to neither human nor animal. The faded scarlet in his eyes slowly began to change. The sclera began dampening to black as the pupils faded to a sickly, sulfur color.

His body suddenly felt another wave of pain, as if someone had dipped his nerves into acid, and he threw his head back, squeezing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. He didn't scream or cry out, instead groaning as his body tensed up, straining and pushing against the Kido restraints. As he spoke, it was clear that Kisuke was not the intended recipient.

"Get. OUT."

Even though no words were spoken, he could understand the sounds in his head. He understood what it wanted, something that he had no intention nor desire to allow. A pale white began to manifest, creeping and coiling around his face, the sickening pressure of Hollow energy looming in the room, though, it would not last for long. As it began to coil around his face, suddenly, it stopped.

Through sheer force of will, Yuuto forced the Hollow back -- for now. Even through the pain and torment of something that had become an intrinsic part of his existence being overwritten and purged, he would still fight.

"I don't need you, so SHUT UP and GET OUT."

Though, as much as he struggled and fought, it was evident that the Hollow had its own share of will and strength, with the mask beginning to slowly coil back around his face again. Yet, no matter who or what was against him -- if they stood as a threat to him protecting the world and those he loved that were in it, he would fight until the last breath. Nothing would stop him -- not even death.

The question was, how long would his will be able to resist?

Those restraints were intended to bind powerful spiritual beings, reinforced with incantations provided by the Kido Division, but even that had a limit on what it could contain. Were he to truly exert himself, Yuuto was well beyond the upper limit of even such a unique creation. If that was not a genuine concern then Kisuke wouldn’t be here, after all. Seeing the way that Yuuto was struggling, things were moving at a faster rate than he had expected. Perhaps it was the unique makeup of his soul, or perhaps the nature in which he had acquired his Hollow affliction, either way, they were heading down this path together now.

“While you can still hear me, Captain Hisakawa, I urge you to fight with every essence of your being. You alone can tame the beast now trapped within you. I will do everything I can to keep your body here whilst you fight this battle, so focus now on your own struggle.”

Kisuke was not the type to make many impassioned speeches, he was not exactly a man that many looked up to and took inspiration from. That did not mean that he was uncaring, though. He had weighed up the costs of every potential outcome, the factors that might tip the scales one way or another, and so he tried to momentarily be the noble hero that he was not. For Yuuto’s sake more than his own, knowing still that his words were mere drops in the ocean compared to what the poor man was currently experiencing.

Taking a few steps back from the bound man, Kisuke finally stowed his fan and let a hand run along the length of his shikomizue. Twisting at the curved handle, he pulled his blade from its sheath and let it hang in one hand. Maybe he was getting too old for these duels to the death, and yet he had still volunteered to handle this personally. Even after staying up all night constructing this arena, bags hanging heavy under his eyes, there was still a hunger in his chest. He would need to use every bit of guile that he had to keep Yuuto's Hollow suppressed, the margin for error was nonexistent.

Kisuke's voice was distant by this point, drowned out by the noises that somehow conveyed the creature's intentions. He knew that he alone could force this thing to submit. Yet, the task still felt impossible. Every cell of his body screamed in pain, the creature seemed to be drowning out even his own thoughts as he tried to force it back again, to take control of his body and mind.

The mask continued to coil and creep around his face, growing more and more complete. A mask of seemingly avian origin slowly manifested across his face, several empty, black sockets along the sides of his cheeks, including where one's eyes should be. As the mask continued to latch onto his face, the Stealth Force's Captain let out one last scream of defiance, desperation, anger, and sheer will:


As the mask finally saw completion, power erupted from Yuuto's body, his arms and legs straining and thrashing more violently against the restraints. The room would begin to rumble and creak as the man's spiritual power was fully unleashed, no longer bound by his own restrictions under the Muon.

The beak of the mask creaked, before the small, barely seen slit that created the illusion of a mouth suddenly snapped open. A horrible noise came his mouth, one that most would think incapable of being made by human throats, as a horrible scream that sounded neither like a human, Hollow, or even animal -- but a terrible mix of all three.

He continued to thrash and struggle against his bindings -- and even with their intent, there was only so much they could take.

SNAP.

The moment he recognized he was free, his body shot forward in the blink of an eye, aiming to grab Urahara and claw out his throat.

Yuuto's speed was already considered legendary in Soul Society, amplified by the power of his now-Hollowified body and it was something beyond even that. The advantage that Kisuke had, the sole one that mattered in this instance, was that he knew exactly what his fellow Captain would do. He would go straight for the kill, remorselessly and efficiently. No sooner did those bindings begin to buckle, than the bucket-hatted Shinigami was already beginning his first of many incantations. Twisting his body sideways, he pointed Benihime forwards whilst his other hands gripped the air before shooting forwards.

"Bakudō #79: Kuyō Shibari."

Eight black holes formed in the space directly in front of him, surrounding the space where Yuuto was going to appear, before the ninth one emerged in the centre of the circle and made to lock his opponent in place between all the spinning discs if only for a few moments. That was not to say that the Kido master had held anything back, but rather to speak to the strength of that which he was trying to contain. Still, Kisuke did not spare a moment to study his handiwork. Taking off with a flash step at a blistering pace, he knew that he would not be able to outrun his problems forever but this was a game of attrition and every second that he could spare would pay dividends in the end.

"Shibari, Benihime."

Wasting no time at all, he swung his Zanpakuto from left to right as he weaved a web of crimson energy to form a net between him and Yuuto before launching it forward with the intent of having it double up on his efforts to snare the errant Captain.