bridges02: past fiction [c]

The twin mouths expanded allowing King the freedom to marvel at his work. He had been given the chance, but he passed on it and buried his head closer to the data-pad clamped on his wrist. Had it not been for instincts or luck, he wouldn't have looked up to see the stranger studying his work. But he had, and in it he took in the sight of a masked man casually walking in his private lab. In most situations, the slew of sarcasm and wit would have pressed on the cusp of his lips to shoot. But oddly enough, the fact that this was a presence he wasn't able to sense disturbed him even more than once could guess.

"Fee. Fi. Fo. Fum."

Nothing more was said after. Nothing more needed to be said. These were the exact words the giant sputtered when he felt an air of uncertainty looming with Jack around. The story was quite the same beyond the fact that he wouldn't underestimate this little slice of mystery.

The words of the mystery figure fell on deaf ears at the mention of the Captain before him. King wasn't sure by what sort of "different" the stranger was referring to, but took it as a compliment. Somewhat in disbelief that he hadn't found out everything about the floor, the captain's hand dangled on the handle of his zanpakuto. He opened his lips to warn the intruder, but could do nothing but bite his tongue at the sound of gears that he never knew existed. In seconds, a secret door flashed open much to his astonishment. The hand that was so quick to reach for his blade quieted and miraculously he cured himself of deafness at the feat. Trailing some feet behind the being, he cautiously replied to his inquiry.

"Only if you stop calling yourself This One. What's your name?"

Would you trust something you didn't understand?

With the stranger concluding to deny King's wishes, the shinigami couldn't deny his interest in this being that spoke in such a foreign manner. After a second of hesitation, he eased his way into the man's shadow and into the hidden chamber. Everything in sight could've been a relic due to the fact he was sure nothing had been touched here in eons. King didn't outright say it, but it was weird standing in a room that sat beneath his nose the whole time. He guessed he owed This One a 'thank you', but his attention swerved to the computer panel.

He only stood there and looked at the man after his request. For all he knew, he was sealing his own doom by following his commands. Yet he was inclined to follow, and only pressed a key on his wristpad before two cords danced from the contraption and into the proper spot on the artifact.

There was a hum and a beep or two. Nothing had changed going off appearance, but King no longer felt the dampening effect that tugged at the end of his reiatsu.

"It's complete."

Once more he edged on the stranger's heels and once more the stranger surprised him. In the room dangled a man on a hook that appeared to be lifeless had it not been for the spiritual pressure that lingered from him. The very wall of the vault had skillfully kept him ignorant to the presence of a roommate "hanging around" in his keep. As if he knew everything, the stranger dared to touch the body and defile it in a way that only a scientist perceived with his bare hands before ushering another question.

"I don't think I'd be a true scientist if I didn't question anything and everything around me. As far as my goals and aspirations, I thought that was clear until you came ghosting into my private abode. So even now, I question the reality of that."

Decisions, decisions
In case this is war, then I load up on all ammunition
If 'this one' want problems, my trigger's on auto
I'll make sure that nobody miss him.

Well wasn't this a bitch? Normally, King had the utmost confidence in his ability to thwart opponents. But this one oozed some sort of mysterious power that the taichou couldn't place his finger on. He loathed the talk about his death and his end, but nonetheless accepted it. Given the circumstances of the blade pointing in his general direction, King strongly understood that his choice was final in this matter.  The stranger wasn't partial to his jokes or tricky.  So for once, he returned the favor.

"I really really do like my labs. Without Seireitei, then I would have nowhere to experiment. I'll sacrifice my ego if that's all it takes."