Shigeo rose shakily to a standing position, favoring his uninjured right leg and glowering darkly at the maniacally grinning youngster; when the youth suddenly disappeared in a manner similar to a shinigami's shunpo, Shigeo tensed up, raising his blade in preparation to fend off an attack that never came. That was when the voices started.

A failure. Murderer. "Finish him," they say. "I'm a good boy." These unseen and unknown persons, all clamouring at once to give their input (including one disconcertingly upbeat voice that shared an unwanted revelation regarding the taste of man's flesh). Shigeo sank back to his knees, raising his left hand to press it tight against his temple, as though attempting to stem the growing tide of mad chatter in his mind. "Out...get out of my head!" Shigeo snarled viciously; now he realized what was happening. This little brat, this Chii -- he was invading his mind again, as he did back in the city...only now, he was toying with it as well.

I am not his plaything, the fifth seat told himself vehemently; however, his epiphany and determination did nothing to actually dispel the insidious taunts and insults within his head.

''As you wish,'' the child's voice would tell him above the others, all of which had been dimmed, and then terminated. Chii sat moderately high upon his tree, unmarred by blood, his legs swaying in the dulcet breeze as he held up the knife that had sliced through Shigeo's tendon and examined it.

''How did it feel? Did you savour it?'' he asked, not even looking down. ''Killing me, I mean.''

Shigeo's head snapped up at the child's voice, the roar of voices in his mind receding to silence. His lips twisted into a dark scowl at the pre-teen's query, but he remained kneeling at the edge of the forest, zanpakutou held limply in his right hand. "...Why did you do that to me?" the shinigami asked in a flat tone, answering Chii's question with another question as he leaned his head back to stare up at the boy. "What would make you declare yourself my foe?"

Rolling his eyes, Chii figured that, if the 5th seat was going to be this fixed about ignoring every single one of his inquiries, he may as well decline to answer rightly himself. ''You can't really count me among those losers with proper motives, Shinigami-san; truth is, I lead you here and tortured you because it was my prerogative to do so, and I enjoyed it immensely,'' replied the youth as he gazed down at Shigeo glacially and wiped the blade off on the black of his attire, deciding not to sample it, convinced it would most likely taste foul, anyway.

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Shigeo met the youth's icy gaze with an equally chilly one of his own; he could hardly believe what he was hearing. This boy toyed with my mind for the fun of it...? Shigeo shook his head slightly in disbelief. It would seem some humans possess souls as twisted as Hollows.

Someone who recognizes you as a prat is hardly "twisted", scoffed the zanpakutou spirit. Just sensible. As I said before, I find him to be an amusing youth.

"I'm glad I could entertain you," Shigeo called up to Chii, sarcasm dripping from his words. "Now, if you would kindly leave me be..." The fifth seat needed to look at and try to bandage his wound, something he'd prefer to do without the potential for interference from this kid. Don't think I'll be able to walk, he thought grimly, wincing as he tried to move the injured foot.

''I'm not sure you understand the situation, here. Why would I let a manslayer such as yourself go? You've proven to be quite the dangerous fellow, striking children down with impunity—if that hadn't been an ''illusion,'' odds are I'd be dead. Of course... that's fine by you, isn't it, you sick fuck.'' Delight welled up within him, though there was a faint aftertaste of disappointment in the way the Shinigami carried himself; Chii wanted to be antagonized, wanted to be slandered, picked apart, torn limb from limb, smeared all over the floor... somewhere deep down. ''Let's try this again... What's your name? If you neglect to tell me, this time around... I'll slit your throat.''

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"You're the one who invaded my mind and used it like it was your plaything," Shigeo snapped back, his anger rising; he did not take kindly to being referred to as a manslayer for acting as a warrior should. "Yet you call me a 'sick fuck'? Feh...besides, you labeled yourself as my opponent. Did you expect me to coddle you like the whelp you are?"

As the redhaired male asked for the shinigami's name once more, this time in a decidedly threatening fashion, the giant fell silent for a moment, weighing his options. Under normal circumstances...this uppity brat would be no threat. But with me crippled like this... Straightening his posture as best he could from his kneeling position, he stated, "I am Fudari Shigeo, Fifth Seat to the Third Division of the Goteijusantai."

Chii shrugged, nonchalant. ''No, not really. See, I'd intended this to be more of a... spar, but then you went and flat-out delivered not one, but two strikes that could, by no stretch of the imagination, be considered fatal. In this regard, consider us even; we both got carried away, ne?'' The wily teen leaned forward, forearms pressed against his knees, the knife held laxly within his hand as he smiled, did not grin; not that the act ought to provide him with any less discomfort, for he still retained that wide-eyed, pervasive stare, as if the Shinigami had confided in him some great truth.

''5th seat, huh... I'll say, Shigeo-san; that sounds like a nice, desirable rank. I'm impressed!'' And he was, honest... of himself, for successfully having not only wounded, but intimidated, one of Soul Society's finest.

"...Perhaps you've a point," admitted the shinigami reluctantly; he had delivered his attacks while holding nothing back, treating the boy as though he were as dangerous as a Hollow. Though, that was true, in its own way; Chii had demonstrated his abilities to be effective, frightfully so, during the brief encounter.

What an unnerving stare, Shigeo noted, as the child leered down at him. Wish he'd stop...it's downright creepy. Shaking himself slightly, the titanic blond eyed his attacker warily as he was complimented. "...Thank you," he said after a while, feeling as though he had been mocked somehow. "It is a moderately high rank within the division."

''Is that so. Well, presuming that even is your real name, Shigeo... How does a twelve-year old have a Shinigami such as yourself down on his knees, yielding to petty death threats?'' he teased, smiling almost felinely at the implications this held, his legs swinging to and fro as if the circumstances constituted no more than light-hearted fun as opposed to the interaction between prey and predator. From his pocket, wrapped, Chii pulled the remnants of some small loaf of bread and, taking a bite, continued, his voice muffled somewhat as he spoke past the morsel, ''That sounds a little off to me. I guess I must be that good.''

Shigeo's face darkened at the tree-bound boy's taunts; first his integrity was questioned, then his skill? No, this would not stand, not at all... he'd teach this whelp some respec-

Oh, shut up, will you? You're quite immobilized and you've proven your mind to be as weak as I'd expected. Stop responding to the simple jibes of a child like a sensitive little girl, rasped the spirit of Shigeo's zanpakutou, irritated at its wielder's arrogant behavior...especially when the brat above them had a point; he had bested the blond giant, whatever the means used to do so.

The fifth seat had a different view on things, however. As Chii retrieved the snack he'd stowed away, he scoffed, "A boy like you, good enough to defeat me? Hardly. You only got lucky..." Trailing off, an idea entered Shigeo's mind; not anything that would harm the sharp-tongued young man, but would certainly shame him to some degree. Keeping his voice low, Shigeo's lips barely moved as he murmured, "Thou lack respect, and as one from without, thou shalt be censured...Hadou no Ichi, Sho."

Lifting his left hand, extending its foremost digit, Shigeo let fly the spell of force, his reiryoku molding a small but powerful blunted "bullet" that was fired up at the lounging Chii; if it connected, it would surely disrupt the child's balance enough to send him toppling from his perch to land in the undergrowth below.

Furrowing a nonexistent brow, Chii gave Shigeo a quizzical look, and, as if suddenly doubting himself, asked him ''When did I get lucky?'' before the latter had raised his hand, forefinger extended, a gesture that served only to accentuate the boy's confusion. Then came the Hadou, a factor he couldn't possibly have taken into account, didn't even know about; it would strike him dead center, startling and knocking Chii off his perch, causing him to instinctively abandon both bread and knife.

He toppled back with a cry, flailing, desperate to grab a hold of something, anything that would suspend his plummet into the mud and leaves that littered the forest floor—especially the mud. And though a short way down, he did manage to gain purchase of a branch, first with one hand, then both, at which point he unintentionally swung beneath the limb and hit himself on several others before properly succeeding in wrapping both arms and legs around the tree's appendage, no higher than Shigeo was tall.

A tad freaked out, still clinging awkwardly to his branch, Chii glanced at Shigeo, positively seething. ''You fair-haired fuckwit, I was HUNGRY.''

Shigeo watched the child's wild descent with a small smirk playing about his lips. Perhaps now he will be a little more humble, thought the titan, satisfied.

...You just shoved a little kid out of a tree, potentially causing him to plummet to his death. You're a pretty terrible person, observed the shinigami's weapon spirit in a disapproving tone. I doubt that's part of the shinigami's code of conduct.

Before Shigeo could snap a retort, Chii had snarled out a protest and insult rolled into one angry statement, causing Shigeo to look at the dangling youth with a smug expression. "You should mind your manners, brat. Keep a civil tongue in your head and we won't have further issues, hm?"

Unwinding his legs, Chii prudently allowed himself down, his glare intensifying. ''Oh, spare me your delusional notions of grandeur. You've some nice tricks, Shinigami; I'll give you that much, but let's be objective, here. You're exhausted. Your left foot has been incapacitated, whereas I am unscathed.'' More or less; the child's right side throbbed a little from the fall, but the damage was negligible, and raising his hand, Chii's fingers acted out a string of signs. ''Do you know what's real right now, Shigeo-san? Can you tell, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I currently stand right here, that I'm not a moment away from sinking that knife,'' he pivots, gestures toward the fallen blade at his feet. ''Into your face?''

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The titan scowled at Chii's words; true, he was worn out from chasing the Hollow from earlier, as well as his "battle" with the child shortly thereafter. And with the teenager having the advantage in mobility... Nevertheless. I still have Kidou, if need be, and if he gets in range of my blade while showing hostile tendencies, I can defend myself.

As the pale-faced psychopath twisted his fingers through an intricate series of shapes -- none of which held meaning for the fifth seat, but did give him a sense of unease -- and delivered his insidious question, Shigeo had to pause and give thought to the situation. The boy had a point...he truly couldn't tell what was reality and what was a hallucination around this individual, and because of that, he was at his mercy. Grimacing, he admitted, "No, I can't tell...but what's your point? What are you getting at, boy?"

''My point is...'' Chii trailed off, pausing, transfixed by the word ''boy.'' His eyes wandered away detachedly, and the insane child thought of all that'd been said and done; had he ever referred to himself as a male? He was, at the very least complexion-wise, highly questionable in gender, and though his conduct had been decisively boisterous, his voice, perhaps a smidge deeper than the feminine norm, could nevertheless pass as either.

Why he even went as far as to affiliate himself with the opposing sex, not even Chii knew. He never gave the incoming assertion any thought; it just slipped, no warning, soon as his gaze had been drawn back to the 5th seat. ''My point is that I'm not a boy.''

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...What?

What?

"What?" vocalized the shinigami at last, quite confused. "But...surely you're...I mean, look at you. You must be male." Even as he spoke, Shigeo began to doubt his words; was it possible? Was this child just an androgynous girl, still prepubescent? If so, she had been quite rambunctious and decidedly unlike the majority of her sex...

Oh, Chii wasn't proud. Amused, but definitely not proud.

''Yeah?'' He looked himself over, a little taken aback, before concluding that, yes, he could do this, could fool this bloke into accepting that he was female, which, depressingly enough, he could pose as unassisted. ''I'm looking,'' Chii added, a little firmer this time, and then looked up from his thorough self-appraisal, characteristically straight-faced again... though his hand was propped at the hip. ''And I guess I am dressed for the part.''

Upon Chii's adoption of a rather feminine pose, Shigeo felt complete bemusement overtake him. The child dresses as a male, acts like a male, but claims to be female...and taking him (her) at his (her) word would be folly, given the recent experience I've had, Shigeo mused, staring hard at the figure before him. Yet...maybe there is some truth in what the child says. The voice could be a girl's.

"Very well then...Chii, was it? You claim to be a girl. I will, against my better judgment, take you at your word," said the shinigami slowly. Shifting uncomfortably, he wondered, What happens now...?

''You're dramatic, ain'tcha. That's okay... I can sympathize. I do lie a lot,'' Chii stated coolly and unrepentantly, thinking ''That is a woman's trait, right?'', no remorse, no nothing, for what ought to be an immoral practice. Then, picking up, he reasoned, nigh-on whining out that last part (again in typical female fashion), ''This is Kyoto, Shigeo-san. You think I'm going to strut around in whore's clothing? That's dangerous.''

His gaze would fall to the Shinigami's wounded heel before long, with Chii recalling what he'd forgotten to address several minutes ago. ''You need to wrap that up.'' Whatever his motives, the youth wasn't about to let the Soul Reaper go any time soon if he could help it, and he entertained, very briefly, the thought of incapacitating the man further.

What a dick.

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Chii's unabashed confession to frequent lying brought a scowl to the shinigami's face. Has the child no shame? thought Shigeo disdainfully, eyeing the young girl (how odd it was to think of the pre-teen as a female, when she acted like a boy for so long and didn't deny being one until now) as she complained of the dangers of city life. "Dangerous", she says. For whom? The people whose attention she'd no doubt attract? The thought twisted Shigeo's mouth into a small sneer.

At the girl's suggestion, the giant's gaze flitted down to his wound as well, an indistinct sound of agreement escaping from his lips. "...Don't try anything," Shigeo warned, beginning to tear up the left sleeve of his shihakushou into several long strips. His words meant little, of course; it was a hollow threat, as he knew that Chii was capable of rendering Shigeo unaware of her true location until she wished otherwise. He could only hope his sheer size and strength would act as a deterrent to her approach.

''Erm... okay.'' Looking on apologetically (though he was all but regretful), Chii watched the Shinigami fashion from his robes the makeshift bandages with which to swathe his debilitating wound. At some point, he folded his arms across his chest, swaying lightly to and fro on the balls on his feet, bored but nonetheless obedient. ''Don't try anything... Don't. Try. Anything.''

Well, he didn't ''try anything.'' Chii whistled a little, glanced about, sneezed once, shivered somewhat in the cold... but at least he didn't do it suspiciously.

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The dressing was crude, but it would have to suffice until he could get proper medical treatment; as Shigeo finished tightening the cloth around his foot, he exhaled a quiet sigh, glancing up at the child, who seemed rather bored. "Thank you for waiting," he said after a moment with a curt nod. "Now, if there is nothing else...?" Trailing off with a hopeful note in his voice, the fifth seat arched his brows, wondering if the child had grown tired of him yet. Perhaps she's hungry enough to go back to the city and seek nourishment...or maybe the chill in the air will get to her.

Perking up as Shigeo addressed him, a broad grin spread across Chii's lips, what could very well translate to mania rousing noticeably within him. ''Oh, come on, now.'' The child dipped his head to the right, curious, legitimately so. ''What's the hurry? There are no Hollow in the area this time, Shigeo-san. The night's... just... beginning.'' So far was he gone, depersonalized, that his tone had developed this coy, well-nigh affectionate quality to it... but then there was his gaze, that terrible come-hither look, glossed over by so deep a state of dementia that all things even remotely affable fell into disassociation instantly.

Shigeo's unease returned as Chii's sanity seemed to crack, her former attitude that was so typical of young children falling away to reveal the truly psychotic individual she was; tightening his grip on his zanpakutou, the shinigami's face reflected his nervousness when he said, in a voice bolder than he felt, "Stay where you are, child. The night's over, as far as we're concerned." Something told him that his words weren't going to do much good anymore -- as if they had in the first place -- and the tip of his blade rose slightly, an indication of his readiness to defend himself if necessary...as, it seemed to the crippled giant, it would be very shortly.

Shigeo's exclamation and flustered mindset left Chii giggling with a sort of girlish glee, those dark-rimmed, aquamarine orbs of his locked malignantly on the Shinigami's own. His tongue ran across his upper lip, a low, almost sensuous moan reverberating deep inside the boy's gullet, the 5th seat's lapse from a proud, cocksure man into an unnerved, apprehensive little thing an almost palatable development. ''I've a question for you,'' he crooned dismissively. ''Well, several, actually... but let's start here: how old are you?''

"I...one hundred and sixty-nine years. The hell...?" Surprised by the (seemingly) innocent question, Shigeo's answer came before he could think to deny the crazy child the information. Why would she want to know that...?

Giving voice to his thoughts, he asked warily, "Why do you care how old I am? What does it matter right now?" Nothing with this psychotic little girl seemed normal to the shinigami, not even a query regarding his age; Shigeo's zanpakutou remained raised, ready to lash out if Chii moved too close or too quickly.

''It doesn't really matter, I suppose, although... One hundred and sixty-nine years? I guess you are much too young,'' the child noted, smiling condescendingly, his posture straight and no longer off as he took several steps, the Shinigami's brandished Zanpakutou, his petty demonstration of defiance, goading him onward. When he stopped, Chii raised his hand, and glanced at his palm. ''I think you ought to return in roughly... three-hundred solar cycles. Let's say... Is noon good for you? That should be enough time for Mr. Fifth Seat to... err... catch up.'' He looked away from his hand, stared at Shigeo flatly. ''You really need to polish those dreadful fighting skills, darling.''

As would any man whose existence was based around combat, Shigeo took great pride in his strength and skill with a blade. It was only natural, then, that he took some offense at Chii's mocking words. ""Catch up", you say...? "Dreadful fighting skills"? It almost sounds as though you think yourself better than me," Shigeo observed in a cold tone, his steel-blue eyes boring into Chii's; the anger building within the shinigami was clear to see through those azure orbs, if not on his face. "Don't get cocky, brat. Just because you managed to take me by surprise doesn't make you better than me...!"

With a snarl, Shigeo abruptly lunged forward, rising from his kneeling position and pushing off with his uninjured leg; while his advance was somewhat lopsided due to this, his blade nevertheless remained steadily aimed at the center of Chii's chest as Shigeo thrust it towards the mildly disturbed child.

''In what fashion do you measure who's ''better,'' Shigeo-san? Do you look solely at strength?'' The Shinigami lunged, but Chii was ready, ducking as the blade's deadly thrust drew near its mark, his chest; from there, legs bent steeply, the child would dart forward before Shigeo could hope to initiate a second strike, his own lunge slightly askew and his right hand extended in a way to lightly tap the back of the man's good leg as he was to pass him. The result, presuming the 5th seat hadn't the capability to retract it in time? A thorough loss of motor control in that limb.

Regardless of whether he'd succeed in that regard, Chii would roll to a halt and, crouched on all fours as if an animal poised to defend itself, add, ''If so, I am your better.''