Setoku x Michiyo (Awakening of Segunda)

[Setoku]

Setoku leaned back against the wall, biting his lower lip nervously. He had Michiyo here in his Tower for quite some time, unsure if he should be the one to awaken her.... Or allow her to come to for herself. When he had awoke Seth-kun, Seth's memory seemed... damaged. Out of line. It was slowly coming back, sure, but Setoku was not sure if it was his interference that caused it, or not. Setoku finally pushed himself off the wall, bringing his hand to hover over the hilt of his sword.

"Fujiwara-chan.... I can't bare to see this..."

With his other hand, Setoku reached up, caressing the Segunda's cheek lightly. It was cold, colder than usual. It still caused his insides to cringe - She was a mere knock away from death - And leaving her like this seemed unusually cruel.

"Damnit Fujiwara-chan... What do I do?"

Again, he spoke to himself. Without Segunda Michiyp Fujiwara at his side, he seemed... lost. Confused. It was touching, sure, but it drove him nuts. He was a creature of loneliness, so why did he feel so empty without Michiyo?

"I cannot.... I cannot leave you like this, Michiyo. I just can't."

Setoku slowly slid his sword from it's sheath, and waited. He didn't strike yet - Opting to give her if only a few more moments.

"Curse you Michiyo..."

[Azula]

Within the stasis, Michiyo was seemingly unconscious, but not for long. Something about Setoku's touch seemed to have sparked something, perhaps brought forth her desire to take part in the world of the...well, not the living. The goings-on of the outer world, beyond this thin shell of an existence.

Her eyes opened wider than they had been, and her left hand struggled to move - the stasis was like a shell between her and the world, suspending her in what felt like jelly, rending her immobile whilst about her it seemed as if she were merely in a state of rigor mortis - the state of one who has recently died but is hard as stone and cold as the grave.

This stasis halted everything inside of it, but over time it wore down, or could be removed from the outside by another's reitsu. However, it had worn down enough - also Setoku seemed to have awakened Michiyo's dormant consciousness. Her hand opened, ever so slowly, as her eyes regained focus, looking about her without moving. She saw the inside of the tower, things coming back into focus, unblurring. She saw Setoku.

A cero suddenly built up in her hand and fired, effectively destroying the stasis. As it released her, she fell to one knee, breathing hard and trying to figure out what has going on. She sensed other reitsu around, but none very close.

She looked to Setoku, examining him before gazing into his eyes. Something there was familiar to her..

Her lips parted and she asked him, "Who........are you?"

[Setoku]

Setoku bit his lip again, a new nervous habit no doubt picked up from.... who knows where. Still standing in mid-strike, debating whether to intervene or not - When he felt a prickle at the back of his neck. He raised his eyebrow, and gazed at Michiyo for a moment. Was that.... her reiatsu?

"Finally..."

Setoku spoke slowly, as he felt her reiatsu slowly unfurl, as if a flower opening for the sun - watching as her eyes seemed to flutter in a struggle against an endless sleep. He had never actually observed anyone breaking away from the stasis, so naturally, he was interested. A flash lit up his vision a moment, and he quickly brought his arm up to shield his eyes.

"A little grand for you, Fujiwara-chan."

As Setoku lowered his arm, the sight before him almost was enough to knock him back into stasis. Fresh from her stasis, stood a girl, not with the confidence and utter power that marked her Segunda, but a confused looking girl, with no idea of her surroundings.

"Who........are you?"

It was like a punch to the gut, all the memories they had shared, all the power he had accumulated, all for this one thing---

"Fujiwara.... Michiyo?"

Setoku tilted his head to the side, asking the girl her own name. Perhaps he was the only one to come from stasis with his mind fully intact? No, no, Zero had also done it. So why...? Why were the Espada waking without memories?

[Azula]

She gazed at him, the name ringing in her ears like a long-forgotten song. "Michiyo..." she muttered.

As she looked at him, her mind dredged up an image of another woman and this man, several memories of them together...whether talking or fighting. She pondered this, before finally saying, "Shinamori....Setoku?"

She posed this as a question, for the man in her memories were of him...yet in some he appeared different. "You are Setoku."

The second time it was more confident, as she noted it was indeed him from the images in her mind. She straightened, standing tall and looking about her. She could feel power in her limbs, and also emanating from Setoku. She slowly lowered her power, wrapping it in on herself so as to not reveal her presence to others nearby.

"What is this place...what happened to me?" She asked, looking him dead in the eye and a hint of confidence creeping into her voice. She was beginning to adjust to this place...the feel of it, and knew this Setoku was the only other one around. Hopefully, he was here to explain things to her. If not...well, then he was probably here to kill her.

[Setoku]

Setoku took in a breath. Closing his eyes a moment - If he were to examine the situation carefully, it might be best to eliminate her. A damaged mind led to mistakes, mistakes that could be his downfall. But he didn't, he merely let it pass. Her memory would return.... in time. He hoped. He had damaged it severely once in the past, and it had come back - Perhaps she had a knack for such?

"The one and the same, my dear. And you... Are technically the princess of Hueco Mundo."

Setoku felt her reiatsu suck in, and wrap around her. Clearly she was keeping it in check, an interesting development, no less. Clearly, she was still strong, still only second to him.

"And I.... am your god. The king of this... Place, as you call it. And much has happened.... so..."

Setoku again took in another breath. He was unsure how to tell her exactly what happened. In the past, she would of been exhilarated by Setoku's promotion, no doubt planning in her mind how to dispose of him, and take command for herself - Perhaps she was still like that - But her memory was not her own, it was damaged. So he would have to let little out as he went.

"Hueco Mundo went through a radical change, and us Espada were caught in the middle. The Shinigami did this to us, in hopes of ending our lives."

A lie, but at the same time, not entirely. If he was going to bring his right hand back, he needed her power and vengeance focused on the enemy before him.

"I was the former Primera, and you, the Segunda. I am now the king, and you.... Well, your destiny is your own. You can take my spot, or you can merely lie in wait, and watch events unfold. The choice is yours. But.... I suppose you could also join me in seeking... vengeance."

Again, another working angle. Baiting, or attempting too. Michiyo was smart, powerful, but at the same time, she was similar to his mortal wife. Headstrong and confident. One more angle he had to work in suddenly came to mind...

"You and I barely knew one another in the past, but I do know.... you are strong. Dangerous. The reason I brought you back.... was to serve me, if you so desire, that is. If not, your destiny is your own."

[Azula]

The princess....of Hueco Mundo? Her mind was sent reeling over that one. Her memories showed her of Hueco Mundo...and indeed she was sure that was where she was, but wasn't the mysterious Lady Zero the so-called hime-sama? Setoku continued.

"And I.... am your god. The king of this... Place, as you call it. And much has happened.... so..."
Ah, interesting...yes, she could tell he was more powerful...did this mean he was stronger than Lady Zero? His next word then, and what she heard both confused and enraged her. The shinigami could do this? How dare they?! The Espada, they had been like she was, suspended? All of them? Her eyes narrowed.

"I was the former Primera, and you, the Segunda. I am now the king, and you.... Well, your destiny is your own. You can take my spot, or you can merely lie in wait, and watch events unfold. The choice is yours. But.... I suppose you could also join me in seeking... vengeance."

She had been....the Segunda? She pondered this for a while. It made sense, why he hadn't killed her then, he wished for her assistance in leading the Espada...or was it her help in this 'vengeance' that he desired? Either way, she had the choice and what she chose could well alter her fate...as confusing as it seemed at the present.

"You and I barely knew one another in the past, but I do know.... you are strong. Dangerous. The reason I brought you back.... was to serve me, if you so desire, that is. If not, your destiny is your own."

And so it came out, his true motives behind bringing her out of that suspended existence. "Serve you....then you desire I help you with this....vengeance?" She questioned, head cocked to the side slightly as her curiosity was aroused. "Against the shinigami, I suppose? If they are powerful enough to have done this, will it be merely us two, the former Primera and the....Segunda...." her voice trailed off.

"Are there others?" She asked suddenly. What she meant by that could be several things. More freed Espada, other people in stasis, more plots to destroy the Espada...Michiyo herself wasn't quite sure what she was asking. Her thought pattern was slightly random. Focused on the present, on the things at hand, but random, most likely due to the damage her mind had sustained from the stasis.

[Setoku]

She took in and understood all of it. Even the third "Choice" - Which was essentially a layered first choice - Her mind, while clearly damaged, still retained it's strength. And it's cognitive power. Setoku bit his lower lip a moment - He did truly feel bad. He was lying to the mirror image of his mortal wife, to his immortal 'bride' as it were. But.... he was the God-King of Hueco Mundo now.

"Yes, my dear. Vengeance. But not as an Espada. But as.... The princess of the Espada. Unlike Lady Zero, you too, like me, will lack a number. We will be the power behind the coup-DE-grace of the Shinigami."

"Are there others?"

The way she asked it, it was abrupt, to the point. She was much like she was when he had a hand in her creation. She was... More beautiful this way. But... he needn't time for such. As he said, he needed her power.

"There are. Not in the same power as we once were, I have not found them all.... But I have found the key players."

Setoku turned his back on the girl. He couldn't bare to look at her any longer. He was lying in almost every way to the only woman he loved. Well, once loved. But he needed to come to terms, she forgot about him - Perhaps for the best. He took in a slow breath, not bothering to turn to face her.

"The Primera who stood before me, who helped me achieve the rank of God-King. And... my Little Sister. Zero-hime."

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