cartographie | inbox for golden peacock

[ Frowning as the light flickers, Nami's eyes follow the flashlight's beam as his smack sends it bouncing, her gaze hardening into a warning look. Whatever's powering that light better knock it off. ]

Unusual is putting it nicely. I've been up to one of the queen's suites and it's almost as big as the whole resort. It shouldn't be able to fit, and considering there's more than one suite like that... [ Nami doesn't like how little sense it makes. If she let herself dwell, the improbability might turn into one of the most unsettling parts of this experience. ]

Were there ways in and out of them in your world?

（ one of the queen's suites... ichigo gives her a sideways look, but doesn't ask the question that's abruptly burning a hole in him. instead, he swallows it down. maybe it was business, or maybe she was mapping that area too — he doesn't have to jump to the worst possible conclusion. she wouldn't have said it so casually if that was the case, but his gaze still cuts away from her, brow furrowed with concern. ）

There were.

（ he's already decided to trust her with information about the shinigami. it's not like the rest is really all that much more. ）

But I couldn't open them on my own. I needed... （ a hell butterfly. the dangai. a guide. something. ） other ways.

[ If she notices the very brief, very slight shift in his demeanor, Nami says nothing about it, inwardly filing it away to puzzle over later, joining a few other choice points in this excursion in a tidy mental pile of things Nami isn't going to think about right now, thanks. ]

Could you tell you were in one while you were in it?

[ If he keeps answering, she'll keep asking, the hopeful part of her still believing there's a way out of this situation that's not barreling through it for the sake of winning the grand prize, and -because she's interested, some part of her privately invested in piecing together this picture of Ichigo her time with him has her forming. The flashlight flickers again, dimming briefly before brightening back up, distracting Nami and making her glare again. ]

Those things are supposed to last a long time, aren't they? [ Guess who saw a staff member use the flashlight, figured out what it did, and stole it without knowing what it was? ]

Not really. It just feels...

（ he gestures around them vaguely. like this. it's not like there's some clarion bell in the air, bright and sure, warning you that you've crossed over into another realm. it'd be hard to notice if you weren't paying attention to the little signs. rooms that don't match the space is just one little sign, but the shifting landscape of las noches was just one clue.

at her comment about the flashlight, he just sort of gives her another glance. ）

They don't have these things in your world, huh?

[ She wanted to know and yet at the same time, Nami's a little sorry she asked. Sighing wearily, Nami looks around the tunnel and shakes her head. ]

So right now, the best theory going is that something, or someone, made a unique plane of existence and stuck a horny casino in it? [ It's rhetorical, really, she just needed to say it all out loud so the absurdity can sink in, adding– ] And it's haunted.

[ Though hopefully whatever ghosts are still lingering are done making a fool out of her. ]

Portable lights? Not like this one, no. There are no screens like the watches, either, or the bigger ones that show those moving pictures. [ But she can guess from the way he's already walked her through using her watch, Ichigo's world has them all. ]

（ 'horny casino' is just crass enough it makes him blush, that Ginger Curse biting him directly in the ass with how abrupt and quick the heat crawls across his face. hello, he is a teenage boy whose libido has been put on hold by Trauma and what is this. ）

Uh...

（ just. going to... yep, skip past that comment actually. moving right along: ）

It's okay if you don't know. I can show you. This place is kinda ahead of me too, but at least we had cellphones and video games and all that, so...

[ Again, Ichigo seems to momentarily falter and again Nami chooses not to call him on it. It's too dark to tell he's blushing, but after his extremely weird choice of pacing when it came to talking about this place over messages Nami can put it together that he's trying not to deal with that. She might have done the same for longer if it was just her here, but there are other people to look out for. ]

Someone told me what a cellphone is. Bigger than the watch but kind of similar right? [ It's too dark to catch him blushing, therefore, it's too dark to catch her smiling - or so Nami would like to hope. ]

I could tell you what we use to make calls in my world, but I bet you'd make a face.

[ It's what's happened every time she's mentioned the transponder snails so far, this is in no way hedging into playful, or worse, flirting. ]

（ well, at least she doesn't make a big deal out of his constant avoidance. that way lies only petulance and probably a little flailing. you know, he's grown up from when yoruichi was — when she was, like that around him, but he's still not sure he's ever going to recover from seeing rukia's ass, actually. ）

Uh. That's freaky, the way you said that... do I even want to know?

It's called a transponder snail. It's a snail that can telepathically project a person's voice to another snail.

[ Still smirking she watches him out of the corner of her eye, it's amusing how something so common to her lands as bizarre to other people more often than not. ]

What's a video game?

（ that comment disarms him instantly. he'd been anticipating... hell if he knows, 'elephant intestines and string' or something. at that explanation, though, she just gets an understanding nod. telepathic creatures, why not. use what you have. ）

Oh, like a Hell Butterfly?

（ ... yeah, they're a whole thing. ）

The snail thing's weird, but... I guess it could be worse.

（ god you just not ask him what video games are. how does he even start... ）

It's... like, imagine you're reading a book, and visualizing things in your mind as you go. A video game is kinda like, 'what if you had control over what you're visualizing'. You 'play' them. They're pretty fun, but I haven't done much in years.

Yeah, exactly. [ She starts on the heels of his question. ] Like a Hell Butterfly. [ Nami shoots a look in his direction faintly amused, and clearly bewildered. ] What's a Hell Butterfly? Don't say a butterfly from hell.

[ No less bizarre than Hell Butterflies, his explanation of video games keeps Nami confused, but at least this concept holds some intrigue. She likes reading quite a bit, piloting the story of a book sounds like a strange concept, but, potentially a fun one. ]

Do they have video games here? Will you show me one?

I mean... it's kinda a butterfly from hell.

（ like. that's it. that's the whole thing. ）

They're messengers, and guides. I don't use them much.

（ but they are a foundational part of seireitei, after all.

up ahead, there's a small corridor off to one side of the path, and as they step past the threshold of it he shines the light down the passageway, so she can get any extra dimensions she needs. he figures it's probably just a maintenance or access tunnel or something, shallow and unobtrusive. but in doing so, his light jumps across what, at first, looks like a heap of bodies. the flashlight gets switched to the hand holding the pipe with an inhuman speed — not out of shock, but so he can immediately reach out and put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from following him any further, so that the sight stays hidden by the corner of the adjacent wall. ）

Hey, I think we should go back.

（ it's said with a sort of cheerfulness. ）

We've already come pretty far, and I don't know about you but I could use something to eat after all.

[ The hasty way he switches which hand he holds the light is enough to set off
a few warning bells, and when Ichigo's hand comes down on her shoulder unexpectedly, Nami is quick to reach up, her hand covering his like she intends to abruptly lift it off of her.

She's not buying the cheerfulness, especially not after before, but that might be something she regrets after peering around him so she can see the modest pile of bodies. Freeing herself from his hand becomes a very low priority when she's too busy recoiling in horror, face pale and eyes wide as she looks up at Ichigo. ]

What is that? Are those people? [ Nami sounds as terrified as she looks, the hold she has on his hand tightening as she looks past him towards the pile again, the light catching on the dolls' "skin" making it look unnatural. ]

Oh gross.

（ given his familiarity with urahara's gigai, even realizing they're fake doesn't really make the situation any better, and he steps in between her and the pile without preamble as she peers in. ）

Don't look. I'll check, just stay there.

（ there might be real people in there somewhere, or at least sentient ones. he's not going to just walk away, not when there could be someone in front of him that needs help.

he can't use kido, can't summon zangetsu, and his quincy powers are too unstable — so what he does instead is set the pipe down against the wall on his way in and press a cut into one palm with his thumbnail, and then use the blood to call forth a cero. a small, hypercondensed ball of vivid energy manifests in one hand, brilliant crimson, casting a pallor over the bodies as he picks his way towards them. if nami has an ounce of spiritual sensitivity, she might find herself feeling suddenly weak at the knees.

up close, he can tell — they're anatomically correct dolls in a variety of gender configurations, the plastic-y sheen of their skin almost more horrifying in the light of the cero. despite his squeamishness about all things naked and female, his jaw is set as he works and there's no trace of embarrassment here as he tries to sort through the pile, moving the bodies aside with a physical ease that doesn't quite make sense given his size. he treats them carefully — almost all the shinigami he knows have used a gigai at one point or another. ）

I don't... I think they're just ... empty?

（ okay but he has not considered 'sex doll' yet, actually. ）

[ For the time being, she does as he asks and hangs back, staring after Ichigo, even going so far as to take a few steps back once he sets the pipe down and does something to his hand that floods the tunnel with crimson light. He's already told her he's not human exactly and she's been around Devil Fruit eaters long enough to know that means unexpected, random things can happen. Unfortunately, that knowledge doesn't do much to diminish her surprise, leaving her glued to her spot and wincing when he moves the first body aside.

The terrifying thought of these things springing to life keeps her body rigid with tension as she takes her first step closer, followed by another, before shaky hands grasp hold of the pipe he's set aside. Holding the weapon in the middle, as a staff fighter like her would she stares over Ichigo's shoulder, repulsed by the lifeless figures and their disconcertingly jiggly breasts. ]

We should go.

[ Nami's free hand goes to his shoulder, still staring at the figures on the ground in a mixture of fear and disgust. ]

I don't think they're supposed to be magic or anything. [ An ornery-looking cock sticking up between the legs of one doll off to the side makes her scrunch her face up in dismay. ] I think um, I think you should wash your hands.

What?

（ hang on, he needs to go on a character journey about this. he looks at her. and then back to the dolls. and back?? to her?? and then, as if for the first time, the particularities of the genitalia actually seem to register, and he. um. ）

（ immediately wipes his hands on his pants! thanks! several times! he's going to burn them actually!

the cero is snuffed out, and the pressure from than energy is gone as if it never was. ）

Ahhhh, what the hell?! What is wrong with these people? That's so fucking gross!

（ oh he is several shades of cherry tomato red right now as he scuttles backwards to their original hallway not entirely unlike a dog scampering away from the scene of a crime with its tail between its legs. he is never! ever! getting that image! out of his head! ）

Hey! Don't leave me, you idiot! [ Yes, it is gross, and no, she cannot fault him for scuttling off in horror, but does he have to take all the light with him when he goes?

Still hanging onto the pipe, Nami darts after him, back into the relative safety of the original tunnel, sticking stubbornly to his side whether he tries evading it or not. ]

Come on, let's get out of here. I got everything I need. [ And so many things she did not want! ]

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