As Shuuhei dashed forward, his speed boosted as a result of the sudden increase in power he had experienced by donning his Hollow mask, he noted the presence of something following him. Whatever it was, it was struggling to keep up with his speed, but it was there. Having felt a slight spike in the spiritual power originating from the human an instant before this object, or objects, started following him, the Vizard reasoned that they had been produced by him. It was likely that they were powered by his Reiatsu as well, which would explain why they now trailed him by a significant amount but still, just barely, managed to keep up. Were they a threat? Shuuhei reasoned that they most likely were not. After all, the fluctuation in the Reiatsu signature of Doctor Jobs was very slight, not anywhere near the level that would be expected from someone about to attack. Of course, the human had no reason to take hostile action either. The only reason that thought even crossed Shuuhei's mind was his constant paranoia, which, while it had kept him alive in some cases, was a mildly problematic trait in others.

As the Hollow began to disintegrate, its soul entering the cycle of reincarnation once again, and Shuuhei turned away, he caught his first glimpse of the object that the human had sent to follow him. It seemed to be composed of metal, but beyond that, it was completely foreign to the Vizard. "What could that... thing possibly be?" he wondered, incredibly puzzled. It was possible that the object had been taking some type of measurement, and given that this Doctor Jobs appeared to be a scientist, this was very likely. Had it taken a Reiatsu sample, or maybe recorded the battle somehow? The only way to find out would be to ask the human about it. Less than a second later, the Vizard had returned to his previous place at the small, metal table and removed his Hollow mask. The demonstration had required a decent amount of energy, but Shuuhei figured it would be far more informative than trying to explain the concept of Inner Hollows verbally. Watching as the strange device that had been following him returned, he figured that he had been correct.

This deduction was further confirmed as the human thanked him, stating that the experience had been "great" and that he "had a lot to work on now." "Of course I also have many more questions but I won't bother you with them," the human continued. "You can ask me anything you wish if you must know, and I won't feel bothered," said Shuuhei. "Well... those that are relevant to your research," he clarified. Shuuhei was not quick to trust others, meaning that more personal questions, depending on the nature of those inquiries, were likely off-limits. He decided to add one last piece of information. "I will say one thing more. Calling upon one's Inner Hollow is not a simple and risk-free process like releasing a Zanpakuto. It is usually a taxing and dangerous process that can have disastrous implications if anything goes wrong, hence why my mask remained on for less than a minute."

The Vizard would have continued speaking, but at that point he noticed something that was extremely odd to him. The device that had been following him seemed to come apart, turning into a large number of tiny metal pieces which then seemed to return to the device that Doctor Jobs had called the "Spirit Watch." "His abilities are... interesting, for certain. And they remind me more and more of the kinds of things those Third Division members would have," Shuuhei thought as he watched the strange process unfolding before him.

When the process had completed, the human spoke again. This time, he asked whether Shuuhei had any questions about modern technology, noting that he appeared to have been isolated from modern human society for a relatively long period of time. "Go ahead and ask if you wish," Doctor Jobs said to Shuuhei. "I suppose the condition of my uniform gives that away, as did my actions and questions earlier," the Vizard realized, looking down at the stained and tattered Shihakusho covering his body. "Well... if I'm going to be entirely honest, I have been here in the human world since what you would know as around 1750," began Shuuhei. "But I spent most of that time in hiding, isolated from nearly everyone and everything. I heard a recent rumor that the Gotei, which is the organization most Shinigami serve, are changing their views toward Vizards and no longer hunting them, which is why I am now venturing out into the world," he continued. "By my count, it has been nearly three centuries since then, so yes, technology has changed, and this world is almost alien to me," said the Vizard.

"So I guess I have quite a few questions," said Shuuhei. Gesturing around him at all of the lights in buildings, streetlamp, and cars, he said "How do these humans light their homes, streets, even their... transports without fire? For I see no flame in any of these lamps, nor does the light flicker as a fire would," Shuuhei inquired. "And what even are these transportation devices that require no horses?" asked the Vizard, gesturing toward a nearby car. "And finally... forgive me for all of the questions, but... what was the device you produced while I dispatched the Hollow?" Shuuhei asked the human.

The man took note of Shuuehei's comment about the risk involved in accessing a vizard's hollow powers. JoJo noticed that Vizard gave his camera a strange look. "Oh that thing is just a camera, I took a record of your encounter with the hollow. I'll use it combined my notes and some scans to write a report for my research. Hopefully it'll answer some of my questions." He said calmly adding a chuckle at the end of his statement. He could tell that many aspects of modern technology seemed to frighten or at least worry him.

"As far as your other questions, you kind of have a lot of catching up to do. The street lights, are all powered by electricity. They use a rather complicated process to make it flash extremely quickly. Depending on the light it could be anywhere from 50 times a second to several hundred times a second." He took a moment to let Shuuhei process the information. It would be quite a bit more information headed his way. "For the transportation, those are cars. They use a variety of fuels created mostly from the fossils of long ago. They have engines that use these fuels to pull the car along. There are newer cars that use other fuels that are much better for the environment. That's the short of it though, I'm sure you have more questions you can call me. He finished this last line by pulling a cell phone out of his pocket. The very next moment he thought about what he just said. "Oh you probably don't have one. I'd love to find a way to contact you, do you have an answer for this?"

Shuuhei listened very carefully and with great interest. as the human answered his questions about the modern technology all around him. This man certainly seemed quite knowledgeable, even considering the fact that he was someone who had grown up in this time period and was therefore constantly exposed to its technology. The first thing he explained was the strange object that seemed to have followed Shuuhei as he fought and defeated the Hollow. Apparently, this particular device was called a "camera." As the Vizard had suspected, this "camera" had been used by Doctor Jobs to make some sort of recording of the short confrontation with the now-deceased Hollow. This recording, according to the human, would be used later, along with some other things called "scans" to write a report that would be helpful in this man's research. "Hopefully it'll answer some of my questions," the man finished with a small laugh.

"I wonder what questions he could have... or why he is researching spiritual beings in the first place... then again, it makes sense considering how utterly alien our world must seem to a human who is constantly told that beings such as us and with powers such as ours could not possibly exist," thought Shuuhei as he listened to the human, who was now answering his other questions. His first answer: all of these lights, which were clearly not using flame to cast their unwavering glow, were powered by electricity. Shuuhei at least understood the basic idea behind electricity, as it was the main element controlled by his Zanpakuto. Still... to him, electricity had always been something only created in nature or by someone with spiritual power. "To think that even humans have now mastered it... I really have been cut off from this world for far too long," thought the Vizard, continuing to listen. He was particularly surprised that these lights, which appeared to maintain a steady glow, actually flashed 50 to 100 times each and every second, according to the human. Apparently, this happened due to "a complicated process." "I wonder how these humans, with no spiritual power, can make electricity on their own... have they found, perhaps, a way to capture lightning?" Shuuhei wondered, continuing to listen to the man before him.

Next, it seemed that the transportation devices Shuuhei had pointed out were known to humans as "cars." Instead of being pulled by horses or the strength of other animals, these vehicles could propel themselves. According to this Doctor Jobs, this was done by burning different types of fuel, which had been made from the fossils of organisms that had died long ago. Based on the way in which the human was discussing these fuels and the vehicles they powered, it seemed that this type of engine produced waste products that had a detrimental effect on the environment. This was confirmed when he mentioned that more modern cars had been designed to consume different fuels, which were "much better for the environment." "That's the short of it, though I'm sure you have more questions you can call me," said the man.

"What does he mean by 'call me?' I have no idea what that means, and if I even did, I have nothing with which to do so," thought a confused Shuuhei. He watched, puzzled, as the human retrieved another object from his pocket. This item was relatively small and appeared to be roughly rectangular in shape. Its color was nearly impossible to determine in the poor quality of lighting currently present, but it seemed that it was a darker color. Was this device the "phone" that the human had been referring to earlier during the short walk to this coffee shop? It was certainly possible, and quite likely considering the context. Recognizing Shuuhei's confusion, the human quickly added "Oh, you probably don't have one. I'd love to find a way to contact you, do you have an answer for this?"

Rather confused and unsure of exactly what the best course of action in these circumstances would be, Shuuhei began to speak. "Well... is that possibly that item called a 'phone' you were referring to earlier during our walk?" the Vizard inquired. "If so... I unfortunately do not have such a thing... I never even once had a need for one," he said. "Unfortunately, I do not have any type of modern long-range contact device at this time, and I haven't needed to contact anyone for, well, hundreds of years so... I'm unfortunately not sure of how to respond here," said the rather confused Vizard. Today had certainly taken a strange turn... However, it did seem that this human was friendly, which was definitely a good sign.

JoJo thought about their conundrum for a little bit. They needed a way to communicate, but it was not really feasible for them to use human technology. They needed to be able to communicate no matter what realm Shuuhei decided to reside. He decided after a moment that it could be possible to modify current technology to meet these needs. It would take a while to research and put it in to place but given a month JoJo figured he could do it. Anything is possible when you put your mind to it. First he needed to know if it was even necessary.

"Alright, Shuuhei, I might have a solution for us, but it might take some work. First I need to know if it is even necessary. You said you fled from you kind? Now do you ever go back to that place? Uhh the... Go..Tie?" He said horribly mispronouncing the name of organization in which the shinigami normally resided. "If you never really leave this realm I can just buy you a phone and show you how it works. Otherwise I can make some modifications to one and we'll be able to keep in touch." JoJo said with a smile on his face, sure that he could solve any problem he put effort into.

Shuuhei listened, interested, as the human mentioned that he might have a solution for the problem at hand. That problem, of course, was the lack of a method for the two to communicate. After all, Shuuhei did not have one of these devices called a "cell phone," and even if he did, it would only work within the human world. Should he ever travel to other realms, such as Soul Society or even Hueco Mundo, there would simply be no way to communicate at all. Human technology could not reach these places, which made sense considering that it was designed without any of these other spiritual realms in mind. Luckily, however, Shuuhei did not travel between worlds often, preferring to remain in the World of the Living as much as possible, it being far safer than the other worlds, especially for him. He could travel to Soul Society if he really wanted to, as he still had the ability to open a Senkaimon if needed, though there was no reason for him to do so. Travel to Hueco Mundo was also possible, but that realm was of course safe for no one, not even its own inhabitants.

Shuuhei's lack of a reason to travel between worlds, it seemed, was in fact the human's next point. "You said you fled from your kind?" he heard the human say. "I wouldn't exactly put it that way..." thought the Vizard as he continued to listen. "And the Shinigami were no longer 'my kind' by then anyways," Shuuhei realized. Still, he listened as the man in front of him asked whether he ever returned to his former organization, butchering its name beyond belief. "...the goh-tee?" he heard the human say. "I... don't think I've ever heard it pronounced that way... and I've heard a lot of mispronunciations of words in my language or words relating to Soul Society in my time," thought Shuuhei as he listened to the solution that this human was now proposing. According to the man, if the Vizard did not often leave the human world, it would be possible for him to obtain one of these "cell phones" and use it normally. If he did, this human would possibly be able to modify one so that it could communicate between the realms. That was what Shuuhei found to be the main idea of the proposed solution, anyways.

The Vizard noted the smile on the human's face, taking it as a sign of confidence that he could solve this problem, no matter how complicated it may become. Certainly, this man was highly intelligent, especially for a human who could have only existed for two or three decades. "In that case, the amount of knowledge he's already gained is quite impressive," thought Shuuhei half a second before he began to speak. "First... I have to inform you that the correct pronunciation of that word is 'GOH-tay,'" began Shuuhei, informing the human of the proper way to say the name of the organization to which the vast majority of Shinigami, and likely some Vizards, belonged. "Just in case you ever happen to encounter one of its members. They're often quite proud of their organization, and could take offense to someone mispronouncing its name, even a relatively young human," the Vizard explained. "Which reminds me... the Gotei is the name of the organization itself, but the place in which it is based is called "Seireitei." It is basically a massive, walled city that serves as a gigantic military base for all Shinigami... well, most of them at least," said Shuuhei.

Now, the Vizard changed topics slightly, answering the Vizard's questions. "I did not exactly flee from the Seireitei. Rather, I was forced to leave as a result of... one of the more serious side effects of having Hollow's spirit trapped within me. But that's not particularly important now. What it means is the same: I have no reason to return to Seireitei ever, really. The other world, Hueco Mundo, is not an option either. So, I'll be staying here in this world for the foreseeable future," said Shuuhei. "In that case, I believe one of these "cell phones" would work perfectly. You said you would obtain one for me... I do hope these devices aren't unnecessarily expensive?" the Vizard finished.

After the Vizard finished speaking JoJo gave a nod. He understood how some shinigami were about their pride in their organization. JoJo then quickly scribbled on his notepad the correct pronunciation in a corner on his notepad, along with the name of the realm the organization resided.

"I understand now." In response to the statement about the Seireitei and the Gotei. "Now about the cell phone, or phone for short. To the average person they can be incredibly expensive, but I sell a lot of my technology to loads of people. So it won't hurt me much, but I appreciate your concern." As he finished speaking, Dr. Jobs pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen a few times. After about a minute of this he looked back up to Shuuhei.

"And just like that its done. Come back to this spot in the morning, approximately 9 hours from now and I'll deliver it to you." He spoke confident and excited by his new friend and research subject. "Maybe next time we can do a combat aptitude test of sorts. I really want to see what he can do." The Doctor thought as he got up from the table. "Now if you'll excuse me I have much analyzing to do. Haha I probably won't sleep much tonight. Again I want to thank you Shuuhei, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you today."

JoJo waited for an appropriate response from Shuuhei before leaving back to his apartment. It was true what he said, Jonathan had much to learn from the Vizard. This could eventually help him with a project he had been working on. It was still in its prototype stages, but maybe there was something to using hollow power for a boost. Only study and testing will help him with the discovery and it was time he worked on it.

EXIT THREAD

Shuuhei watched, mildly amused actually, as the human took notes while he spoke, seemingly taking great care not to miss even a minuscule amount of information. "I understand now," Shuuhei heard the man say shortly after he finished explaining how to correctly pronounce the name of the main Shinigami organization, along with the name of the place in which they had established their main base of operations. Next, the man answered Shuuhei's question about the price of one of these devices called "cell phones." He explained that for most people in the human world, these devices could be "incredibly expensive," as he put it. However, according to this particular human, this was not a problem for him because he could bring in a large amount of money by selling the technology he worked on to other humans. "I guess if one thing has stayed the same all these centuries, it would be the ways in which the human economy works," the Vizard noted. "Still... is it okay to accept such a gift from him?" wondered Shuuhei.

Before the Vizard could say anything in response, he noticed that the human had already extracted his own phone from one of his pockets and was beginning to interact with it in some way. "Interesting..." thought Shuuhei as he observed the human's actions. It seemed that he was tapping on the surface of the device that was facing him, and that this was somehow allowing him to interact with the device. Shuuhei watched, quite interested, as this continued for approximately a minute. Then, just as soon as he had started, the human looked up and placed his "phone" back into the pocket from which it had been withdrawn a minute ago. "And just like that, it's done," the human said to Shuuhei, going on to explain that he could pick up this device by returning to this exact same location in the morning, or more specifically, around nine hours from the current time.

"Interesting... did he somehow purchase another of those 'phones' through his interaction with his own device? If so, that would be quite amazing," thought Shuuhei as the human spoke. Pausing briefly, the human stood up, leaving his chair and beginning to back away from the table. Realizing that the end of their conversation and meeting had come, Shuuhei rose as well. He backed away from the table and chair carefully, making sure to avoid disturbing either object, as his presence was still entirely undetectable by spiritually unaware humans, and any such disturbance would likely startle and confuse them. As he did so, the human, Doctor Jobs, spoke again. He stated that he had much "analyzing" to do, presumably of the data that he had gathered from Shuuhei. The man then noted that he would most likely not sleep very long that night before bidding the Vizard farewell.

"Again I want to thank you, Shuuhei. It was an absolute pleasure to meet you today," the human said. "The pleasure was mine," replied Shuuhei in his usual polite and formal style. "Sayonara, JoJo-san," he said as the human turned away, likely making his way back to the place in which he resided. Shuuhei turned away as well, this time using his Shunpo to move more quickly, as there was much distance to cover. He needed to get out of the city and find somewhere both sheltered and relatively secluded to spend the night in safety. "That was certainly quite the experience... I wonder what will come of that meeting... and I must remember to return in the morning for that phone. What a day," thought Shuuhei as he moved off into the night.

[Thread Exit]