Some things should remain locked within yourself

[ibreakrules]

Who: Frau, Hitsugaya, and Hinamori
When: Starts the night of the 18th, may also include blurbs from days after until Sins plot is over
Where:  Around Sector Four, then Hitsugaya's place?
Summary: Frau's been fighting off the rather large combination of deadly sins that lead to the scythe gaining control
Warnings: Violence, almost soul consuming, maniacal laughter, simply out of your mind behavior

At first Frau had been able to control it.  The thoughts pulsing from the scythe were always there and always would be.  Usually it was easy enough to ignore them, shove them back down.  Sometimes they were stronger and required a little more force to fix, like his arm being slammed into the wall.  That had always shown the scythe who was boss once again.  While the scythe continued to eat at him from the inside and pulled on his desires to consume souls, good souls and not that disgusting ones he allowed himself, Frau rarely had an issue controlling it.  The only times it flared so much stronger was when a specifically good soul was around or right after he'd fed and allowed himself to slip up a little.

The last few days had been different though.  The urges to ignore the corrupted souls and focus only on the pure ones had grown to the point that Frau could barely control them. 

Why would you want to control them?

Because it wasn't who he was.  He hadn't lost his human soul yet.  He would not become him.

It's who you are.

No.  He isn't.

You were made from a piece of him.  You can't avoid what you are.  Forget your human soul.  You know you will never be able to hold on forever.  There is nothing wrong with this.  It's who you are.

The laughter that had echoed in Frau's head after that also slipped from his lips, filling the night sky.  A dark, maniacal laughter that was far from sane.  Frau's brilliant blue eyes now flickered with a gleaming red light and a lust that shone clearly within them.  Nails black and lengthened, teeth viciously pointed in a wide, dangerous smile proved something was off.  This wasn't Frau.  The scythe was in control, Frau's consciousness pushed so far down that he had no idea what was going on anymore. 

One quick bound and Frau had pounced onto an unsuspecting passerby.  His gloves were off in a second, Zehel's tattoo on the back of his hand looking corrupted by thick veins that nearly obscured it and trailed under Frau's sleeve where they spiraled unseen up his arm.  Without hesitation, Frau caught the man by the neck and slammed his teeth closed over his shoulder.  When the dark smoke that had erupted from the man's body cleared, he was gone.  Frau was once again standing at his full height, blood running in a single line down his chin.

"Ahhhh~  Disgusting.  Alwaysss disgusting.  They taste the way they are.  Corrupted.  Vile.  I want a more delicious soul.  A purer soul.  Yessss.  Kehehehe.  Hahahahahha!"
 

Comments

[icy_heavens]

It was all a practical measure, really. Hinamori had said that she should practice while she was here, and he was helping her out, was all. This had nothing to do with how strangely Kuchiki was acting and feeling a need to just . . . back away from the bizarre behaviour. Nothing at all.

They'd been crossing blades for the past half hour or so, him pointing out any errors or openings in her technique. Hinamori was a kidou master; it was her swordsmanship that needed more work, and there was no better person to get her on track with that than him.

But a wave of dark energy crashed over his senses, just after he made a successful parry, and he stopped. "Hold on."

No, that definitely wasn't good. That felt more like a Hollow than most Darkness monsters. Not exactly the same, by any means, but there was a similar edge to it. Something like that couldn't be left alone.

He shoved Hinamori's sword back. "Practice is over; I need to take care of that. If you're coming, stay behind me."

[plum_that_snaps]

Hinamori was aware of every muscle in her body. The placement of her feet. Her distance from the nearest wall, and from the end of Hitsugaya's blade. Her concentration was perfect.

It took only a flicker of Hitsugaya's spiritual energy to alert her where he would strike. Too little. Too fast. Not enough to predict. She knew that were he fighting at full strength, it would have taken mere seconds before she lay helpless on the ground, though that didn't matter. Couldn't matter. But her rapt attention meant that when that ripple of energy came, she felt it powerfully; her heart skipped a beat in fear at its familiarity.

She pushed it aside, continuing her thrust forward, when Hitsugaya spoke. She stared at him for a moment. Then, a silent nod as she pulled her sword away. "Alright." She would follow.

[ibreakrules]

Ahhhh. There. It was a shining beacon in the darkness just calling his name. A pure soul. A perfect soul. Yes. This one he wanted, and he would have it. A bounding leap sent him flying toward the roof of the next building. Again and again he leaped across the rooftops, cackling the entire time.

He paused on the roof of one, staring down at the young man walking far below him. Frau's smile slid even wider. The unsuspecting fool would be gone in a matter of moments, and Frau would finally have a meal that was satisfying. A meal that didn't leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Frau dove off the roof, plummeting faster and faster toward the ground and his one goal. This soul was his. All his. He landed with a crack of concrete and shot forward before his target could react. Within a matter of seconds Frau had the boy on the ground, the fingers of his right hand already sunk into the boy's chest reaching for his soul.

[icy_heavens]

When there was some sort of energy to follow, his troubles finding his way around the city were minimized. There was a sense of urgency in the air, and all of his shunpo were through the sky. No time to waste on trying to make turns.

He came upon the scene while he was still in the air. Oh, hell no. This would not be allowed to happen. And though there was no time to waste, he sensed that he needed the strength of the spell was of utmost importance here.

The incantation flew from his lips even as he executed a final shunpo to the ground -- much faster than just falling. His free hand shot out a split-second before his target would be able to see him, and just as the incantation finished.

"Hadou no ichi: shou."

There was a sudden, hard impact to the air. Those fingers are getting pushed out of the boy at the very least.

[plum_that_snaps]

Hinamori followed as best she could. There was no time to waste on waiting for her, and she understood that. She could follow the signal as well as he could, and she arrived on the scene just after Hitsugaya.

And froze in horror. It was a scene out of a nightmare. All the same elements as a Hollow—the tearing out of the soul; the wild, dark dangerous energy; and that manic grin so often plastered on as a mask. But it wasn't a mask, and this wasn't a Hollow. It was... something smaller, human, though not entirely. There was something disturbingly familiar about that face.

Someone, something she knew...

[ibreakrules]

Frau had skidded a few feet away from his intended victim, grinding to a halt in a swirl of dust. He glared at Hitsugaya in fury, eyes narrowed and flashing with malice. This soul wasn't nearly as good as the one he'd intended on consuming, but it would do. After he ate it, he could go back to his dessert.

"Kehe hehe. Another one~"

[icy_heavens]

He interposed himself between the intended victim and Frau, blade raised in a defensive position. Not even a flinch passed through him at those words; those Hollows that could speak had been known to say similiar things to shinigami.

But this wasn't home. And this wasn't a Hollow.

He felt Hinamori arrive behind him, but didn't dare take his eyes off Frau. Or what used to be Frau. "Hinamori. Get the boy out of here."

[plum_that_snaps]

Hinamori nodded at the command. It would have been her first instinct anyway. She shunpoed down next to Hitsugaya and helped the terrified boy up. He was heavy, but a combination of adrenaline and appropriate application of spiritual energy allowed her to carry him some distance away.

"It's okay," she reassured the young man. "Can you hear me? Are you alright? No, don't try to move. Just rest." She started to use her healing kidou, hoping it would still work, on a human, and in a different world. After all, she was no master healer. If things went wrong, she didn't know what she would do.

[ibreakrules]

Frau's eyes flashed dangerously when Hinamori swooped in and took the boy away. He hissed before rocketing forward to go after Hinamori. He wasn't going to lose his meal like this. That soul belonged to him. No one was going to stand in his way. No one.

"Kill you. That soul is mine."

The words were eerily hissed, and the fact that Frau was moving at an almost blurred speed didn't help make them any clearer.

Frau Awakens

[plum_that_snaps]

[When Frau awakens, he'll find that his arms are bound behind him, and five ropes of spiritual energy and light are wrapped around him, connected to five iron pillars which go from the roof to the floor, creating a pentagon around the trapped bishop. There is also a mostly-transparent barrier which separates Frau from the rest of the room—a secondary precaution in case the actual seals on Frau should break.]

[ibreakrules]

When Frau's eyes flickered open he wasn't sure where he was or what was going on. His arm was burning, which in itself warned him that he needed to be careful. Without much thought he clamped down harder on his control over the scythe. It took him a bit longer to realize that he couldn't move either. He nearly fought back against the bindings before it all came rushing back to him.

He'd been feeling odd the entire week, and then he'd lost control. Most of that time was blank, though he was pretty sure he'd come to once or twice with Hitsugaya around. And his friend, wasn't it? Yes, he had. He'd asked them to seal him. Considering where he was, they had. Good. Even now he could tell the scythe was getting stronger. How much longer he could remain in control was questionable. At least this way he knew if he slipped he wouldn't destroy anyone. At least he hoped not.

[plum_that_snaps]

Hinamori was the first to notice; she'd hardly been able to keep her eyes off Frau since they'd sealed him. She was sitting quietly, feet together and hands folded neatly in her lap, on a chair that had been left behind in the house, resisting the urge to hug her knees up under her chin and rock. She couldn't help but worry. She looked up when he began to stir, her face softening into the beginnings of a smile. "Ah— you're awake."

Her voice was quiet, gentle. Hesitant. Who was he now—the Frau she'd met or the monster she'd sealed?

[icy_heavens]

As for Hitsugaya, he'd settled himself onto the couch. He needed to be able to sleep, after all. But lightly, mindful of the possible danger. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hinamori's kidou. It was that he didn't fully understand what kind of power Frau held when the scythe was in control.

He was awake as soon as he heard Hinamori talk, and he sat up. She'd . . . stayed awake this whole time, hadn't she? Well. He couldn't exactly fault her for that, and at least one of them should always be awake to keep watch over the seals.

But it seemed that Frau had come around a bit. And from what he could tell, the man appeared to be in charge of his body for the moment. "Is it feeling any better?"

[ibreakrules]

"For a little while."

He managed to ground the words out while he continued to fight for control. Every second that went by seemed to increase the scythe's pull on him, and Frau didn't like it. His arm felt like it was scorched with an inextinguishable fire. Never before had it felt this bad, even when he'd slept in the same room as Teito.

"You're sure this will hold?"

[plum_that_snaps]

"It should. W-we can't be sure, since your power... isn't from our world, but I think so. It feels like it will." She could feel the scythe struggling, feel its power trying to escape, overwhem Frau and the barriers around him, but she hoped—prayed—it would hold. For his sake. Because the alternative if they couldn't hold him... was his death. Although the alternative to death here was his pain. So there really was no good choice, from Hinamori's point of view.

[icy_heavens]

"It hasn't shown any signs of weaking so far."

There was a reason he'd told Hinamori to perform the seals. As much as his kidou exceeded hers in raw strength, she was better able to form intricate combinations. Several interlocking kidou were a better solution than just one trying to hold everything in by force. Even if one of them failed, another could compensate for the weakness enough that there would be time to take appropriate action.

"So you've been like that before."

It wasn't a question. Hitsugaya had seen him fight down the scythe several months ago, and Frau seemed to have at least a vague timeline for how long this should take if it were going to work.

[ibreakrules]

"You remember those stupid sakura trees? I lost it then because of them, it was just much faster."

He was pretty sure this time was similar. While he hadn't been too concerned about the scythe's increased agitation over the past few days, he knew it meant something now that he looked back on it. Something must be going on to draw it out. Hopefully whatever it was would be pulled back under control soon. If not, Frau could only hope that Hitsugaya had the power to destroy Frau.

Frau knew who the scythed belonged to. They'd been trying to destroy that person for centuries. Reincarnation after reincarnation had failed. The seven together. Frau was created from a piece of that person, and the scythe belonged to him. With the scythe in control, that piece would be the only thing that was important. Just a piece or not, Frau wasn't sure one person could take him on if he fell to it.

Friday

[ibreakrules]

Frau's eyes snapped open, the red gleam once more covering the usual deep blue. As the days had slipped by, Frau's consciousness had started to fade even with the seals Hinamori and Hitsugaya had placed. Now it was completely gone, and the scythe was once more in full control. And it was angry. Very angry. And hungry.

A wide smile slid across Frau's face, the wickedly sharp teeth gleaming. The cackle started off quiet, but grew in volume. It held a nails against a chalkboard type of feel, something that made your blood run cold and chilled you to the very soul. A soul which Frau had every intention of taking. And soon. Very soon.

He strained against the restraints, his arms slowly inching outward as he tried to free himself. It wouldn't be long. He could break free easily and then make quick work of whatever odd structure he was surrounded in. Then he could find a soul that satisfied him. A pure soul. Yesss. A pure soul.

[plum_that_snaps]

It was the laugh. That laugh that was... so very, very wrong. Hinamori turned to stare in horror as Frau struggled against her kidou. "S-s-stop," she pleaded. She could feel the seals slipping away from her, even as she tried to channel more spiritual energy into them.

His eyes were wrong. His laugh was wrong. His voice was wrong. This was what she had been afraid of, had begged and pleaded wouldn't happen over the last few days. No, no, no... It was all she could think. Her hand went to her zanpakutō, instinctively, but she wasn't readying a stance. She was backing away.

[icy_heavens]

Hitsugaya, on the other hand, was testing his footing, hand ready on the hilt of his sword. He didn't draw it, not yet; that would be saved in the event that all of the barriers failed.

He didn't want that to happen, though. He he poured more strength into the parts of the barriers that were his, but kept his eyes firmly on Frau himself, taking note of any and all movements. Perhaps he'd be able to counteract and rifts he made in the barriers that way.

[ibreakrules]

Frau strained against the bonds again, slowly forcing his arms further from his body. It was slow going, and he hissed in irritation. At first it had been mildly amusing, but now it was just a pain. He was hungry and whatever was stopping his arms from moving was in the way.

He growled in annoyance, the sound filled with his rage and will. Zaiphon snapped around with the noise, edged in red and not blue. With one more scream, Frau yanked his arms free of the binding. The out rushing of power caused a minor explosion within Frau's tiny prison, and it filled with smoke.

For awhile all was quiet, and the inside of the prison remained obscured. Finally, through the cloud of smoke and debris, the laugh echoed once more.

[plum_that_snaps]

Hinamori paused as she watched him writhe in fury. Please stop, she begged silently. And then, even as she focused all of her strength into holding the last chain around him, it snapped. All of Hinamori's muscles went tense.

It seemed to take an eternity for the smoke to clear. She couldn't feel him, not really, since he didn't emit the same kind of spiritual pressure they did; and reiatsu sensing had never been her specialty anyway. "Fr-Frau?" she called gently. She wasn't sure the thing inside answered to the name of Frau at all.

[icy_heavens]

Damn it, one of the bakudou snapped. Something like this why they'd used multiple ones, but having any of them break was hardly a positive sign.

Unconsciously, he stepped between Frau and Hinamori. It was instinct. Anything that wanted to hurt her had to go through him first. There was nothing to say. He just kept concentrating on that cloud of smoke, eyes narrowing when he heard that laughter again.

Nothing aloud, but his primary thought was, Fight it off, you damned idiot. I don't want to have to kill you in front of her. She's been through enough.

[ibreakrules]

There was nothing left in Frau to do the fighting. His consciousness had been swallowed completely which left only the twelve year old version of himself to fight. To try to pull himself out of the body of the scythe that had consumed all but one hand long ago. He had no chance of escaping without aide.

when the smoke finally cleared completely, Frau stood before them with a wide, mocking grin on his face. He'd broken one of their little restraints and he had every intention of breaking the rest of them too. He leaned down so he would be on eye level with Hitsugaya and Hinamori and just stared at them with the same wide smile. While the only sound escaping his mouth was slow, quiet laughs, the words were there in his eyes.

I'm coming for you. You have no way to control me, silly little things.

[plum_that_snaps]

Hinamori was arrested by that stare. She was barely cognizant when Hitsugaya stepped in front of her; she stared over his shoulder, her eyes locked with Frau's, searching those blue irises from some sign of the playful light that had once lingered there. When she could not find it, she began to cry. Her eyes remained open—still searching, still hoping for some glint of recognition—as tears slid down her face and she drew her sword.

She screamed silently inside. How can you... how dare you threaten my people, my friends... Her hands tightened with frustration at the thing that had done this to Frau; this wasn't him, this wasn't his fault—some thing had done this to him. It was that thing that she wanted to destroy; some part of her itched to do it, itched to act, to reach forward and physically tear this thing out of him with her bare hands. But she couldn't, she was still helpless: she didn't know how.

She knew that if the last barrier broke, she would die to save Hitsugaya. It was unhesistating, certain; she would step in front of him and take every blow to prevent him being hurt. She would take all of it—Frau's pain, Hitsugaya's pain—she would bear it all, if only they could be happy again. If only they would laugh and play like they had before. She would even settle for their glares and arguing—that was right, the way it was supposed to be.

There was no choice, no decision-making on her part. It was simple: I have to save them.