Fresh Ingredients

Ahhh, so that's how it all works, huh? Bart thought to himself as he nodded along with Sarai's explanation of his new state of affairs. Truth be told, he only understood... basically none of it. Animal instincts? Hiding pain behind masks as a 'hollow'? It was all quite new and odd, but if Sarai was okay with it all, then Bart as as well! She even said that she helped him along with all of this, how nice of her!

"Aha, well in that case everything's alright then, isn't it!" Bart said brightly, grinning even wider at the Corona. "Looks like I had a bit of a hand in my own... whatever we just did after all. That's quite reassuring indeed!" Bart placed his hands on his hips and nodded knowingly. Nope, still didn't fully understand what was going on here, but Sarai was happy and that's all that mattered at the moment! He didn't even die again, alright!

But she did also mention that chain again, and he took a brief moment to look down at his chest- and lo and behold it was indeed gone! Now all that was left is a completely bare chest (still a bit odd for him), but a hole? Not there, at least. "Hmm, a hole..." Bart began poking his skin to see if he noticed any differences. Hmm, I don't... feel any big change? But perhaps that's the best part about it! I can't get hurt as much, but it also didn't change how I feel everything else, that's absolutely fantastic! After a bit more looking around, Bart finally did notice a hole on his person! But it wasn't on his chest, but in fact right where his ribs would be on the right side of his abdomen.

"Ha, there we are! Oh, and there's no need to worry about this being a bad introduction or anything, Sarai! It's all fascinating to hear anyway, so I'd say that you're doing a fantastic job!" He smiled warmly at his now fellow Arrancar and offered her another enthusiastic thumbs up. "And I'd be glad to finally meet his 'Luca' fellow after all! It's a shame that I can't spend more time here, but I do imagine that a Queen does have important business to attend to, after all!"

Besides, now it was the perfect time to make even more friends! What could honestly be better than that? He obeyed Sarai's command to bend down towards her, and he kept his normally bright and sunny smile on his face as he looked at her. "Oh, a Quatra? That sounds wonderful, Sarai! I'd love to! But for a tattoo, huh..." He took another second to look down at his chest as he brow furrowed briefly in thought. "Hmm... Perhaps it'll do this ol' chest good to have something I'd be proud to have on it for a change, eh?" He said happily. "I think it'll be a good place, what do you think?"

Finally he got something! Sarai wasn't entirely sure though and finally removed the book for good from her face. No reason to hide it now and she examined him just as much as he was, finding the hole though quite easily. He took a bit and she waited, patiently, for him to see it. Wasn't too odd of a spot at least... No need for him to strip a ton to look for it. Still, she wondered what his mask and hole meant... What kinds of powers lurked now other than mr speedy...

Drawn from her thoughts by his thanks, Sarai looked up and smiled again just for Bart. He was a sweetheart at least, even if his eternal optimism was quite composure ruining. "Thank you~ I really try... Though... Haha, Luca is calm and friendly in his own way. Don't let his quiet nature fool you, he's rather kind hearted and gentle." She waved her hand softly, while waiting for him to bend over though. "I do have work to do, but I'm leaving you in good hands I promise."

With Bart's quick and amusing decision, Sarai fought off more grins and failed. Right there then?

"It sounds like a good enough place." At her words, her hand lifted up to his chest, wincing as she realized she hadn't warned him about the burning. Oh well... Had to get through the regeneration somehow! A stylized 4 was imprinted on his chest after a few moments of pain and she pulled her hand back with a soft sigh before rolling off of the beanbag. Getting to her feet, the Corona cocked her hip and dropped the book on it as she eyed him up finally. "You are now officially one of my Espada. You serve me and do pretty much as I say when I need you to do things, but an official accounting of your skills happens later. First get used to this body with my Tricera's help."

Speaking of, he should be on his way by now.

Now that Sarai had finally removed the book from her face, Bart was able to see her smile freely. And of course all that ended up doing was making him smile even wider. "See, it's like I've been telling you, Sarai: Nothing bad was going to happen today at all!" He put his hands on his hips and laughed brightly at her as she finally seemed relaxed after everything that had happened today.

"And this Luca fellow sounds quite fantastic indeed! And there's no need to worry, I've talked with a lot of quiet people over the years, and I find them absolutely great! Sometimes it's better to just listen when people talk, and people like that are always the best listeners!" Of course, Bart wasn't always the... quiet kind. Sure he could listen when he needed to, but he just had so much to say to everyone! And now that he found himself in a new place with tons of new people to talk to? He had even more!

His eyes tracked Sarai's hand as she moved it to his chest, shivering slightly as she touched it. Yeah, this is definitely something that would take getting used to. I haven't had anyone even see my chest since-

But his thoughts were interrupted as the burning sensation flared up on his skin. It wasn't anything unbearable by any means, but it was definitely sudden! The corners of Bart's eyes twitched slightly as he endured the new pain, but it was thankfully over just as quickly as it had appeared. And with a fresh new mark on him as well!

"H-Haha! Well now, that was unexpected! But look at this!" He said cheerily as he gingerly poked the "4" on his person. "An Espada, huh? Well you can definitely count on me helping you to the best of my abilities, Sarai!" His smile grew even wider as he looked happily over at the Corona, nothing but joy in his eyes. "I'll do what I can to get used to New Bart and be ready to cook or dance or whatever for you whenever you want!"

Sarai was starting to believe Bart, the newest Espada, and that was a terrifying prospect. Nothing bad had happened... Which was a miracle in and of itself, but the fact that he had been so overly happy and excited with not a speck of worry over it, made it that much scarier. Was his optimism so great it was warping reality around it? She wouldn't put it past him. She really wouldn't... If so, this would be a great advantage to her to keep around.

This is what she told herself as she gave him the tattoo. The only signs though of the pain was a slight twitching, leaving her mildly impressed really. Only that? How amazing... He was definitely, definitely worth saving.

"You were definitely right! I'll give you that. You should try walking around in here until you can get your speed under control, at least its not super strength or else you might be destroying a bit too much." Sarai laughed more, letting a bit more of her shell crack for now despite protests in her head. Heading for the doorway, she continued speaking. "I'll definitely take you up on dancing later, it will be good to fine tune your reflexes and I'm the safest one you can test it on~ Cooking sounds fun though... If you want to, you can ask someone to grab you things from the human world to work with. Ahah, we don't have much of a food section here to be fair."

Food though... how much cooking could he do? Maybe while he was busy with Luca she'd set up a whole section for him with one such place. Yes, a good use of her time. Opening the door, Saraiyu gave the man a little wave of her fingers and slipped out. "He'll be along shortly~ Don't break my precious Luca please with your smiles Bart."

“Haha, getting a little used to walking around with this new body definitely would be a good thing to do!” Bart said happily. Especially since taking a single step brought him halfway across the room without realizing it. “It’ll definitely make my daily runs that much more interesting, for sure! And now that I have all that desert to run around in, there’s tons of places to run!” He smiled brightly at Sarai and nodded as he looked down at the new tattoo on his chest.

Huh, so this is what having a tattoo’s like. But it also seemed to go by quicker that when I saw my Uncle get his, so that must be something else I owe Sarai for! He chuckled softly to himself as he watched Sarai head towards the exit of the room and waved back at her.

“Very well then! You can bet that I’ll hold you to that dancing though, Sarai! I’m really looking forward to it!” Now I get to see what a monster magic queen dances like, how many people can say that they’ve had an opportunity like that before? Her admittance at the tower not having much of a food selection though caused Bart to tilt his head slightly. “Is that so? Well then, I’ll have to work extra hard to help you all get caught up on how many fantastic things there are to eat, won’t I?” He smiled even brighter as he nodded one last time at Sarai as she left the room.

“’Don’t break him with my smiles’? Well there’s no need to worry about all that! A good smile never hurt anyone, after all! I’m sure this ‘Luca’ fellow will fantastic company either way, I can’t imagine anyone in this wonderful place isn’t just as wonderful as Sarai, after all!” But enough speculation, something more important had to be addressed: Like how to walk! “Alright, just put one foot in front of the other, just like the reindeer movie taught us, right Barty?”

Bart slooooowly raised his right foot in the air, setting it down on the floor of the Room Room with deliberate carefulness without anything out of the ordinary happening. “Aha! See, already got it down pat! I told her that it wouldn’t take me too long to do this!” Now full with confidence, Bart took a normal step forward as he set out to explore the room more-

And ended up face first into the wall on the other end. The newest Espada blinked several times at the wall in front of him before laughing brightly and loudly as he rubbed his nose. “Well then, looks like I spoke a bit soon, huh?”

Luca stepped through the halls of the tower, the call for him having reached him as he headed towards his destination. He had been unable to immediately leave due to his work...mixtures not yet ready to sit and such, and he wanted to avoid a disaster.

Everything was fine now, and perfectly under control... He'd been finishing up so there was nothing to be concerned over.

He arrived shortly after Sarai had left, arriving at the door she had exited a few minutes before. Rather than entering outright, he gave two knocks first before stepping inside to let whomever was here know of his presence.

...The first thing he took notice of was the arrancar near the wall currently rubbing his nose. Spoke too soon...? Perhaps he should have waited a moment more before entering?

Bart’s ears perked up as soon as he heard the sound of the door opening again, and he turned his head around to see… well someone he hadn’t seen before. But then again other than Sarai and her thralls, everyone in this place was bound to be new to him! “Well hello there!” Bart called out excitedly; waving over at Luca as he ever so slowly turned the rest of his body around. “You must be the ‘Luca’ that Sarai was talking to me about earlier; it’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

Step, wait. Step, wait. Step, wait.

Bart began taking slow, careful steps towards his fellow Espada as he started to move away from the wall he had ran into just a few seconds earlier. It was an awkward sort of dance that caused the young man to take much longer than normal to get over to Luca. “Sorry about all this, still getting used to walking and everything!” He said, chuckling brightly. “But while I take my time getting over to you, I might as well introduce myself! The name’s Bartholomew J. Mason, and I’m rather new here, but I’m sure that the two of us are going to be fantastic friends!”

The smile on his face grew even wider as Bart held his hand out to shake, despite the fact that he was still about five feet away from Luca walking at his current pace. But it’s not like he minded at all! He was bound to reach the Tricera eventually, and he’d have a warm handshake just waiting for him whenever he did.

Step, wait. Step, wait. Step, wait.

Luca gave a nod at the man's assumption; "Yes, I'm Luca; it is... nice to meet you as well."

This man certainly seemed...happy, excited despite the slow turning he was doing with his body. He did not seem to have proper control of it yet, perhaps?

"It's quite alright, take all the time you need." He shook his head at the apology; it wasn't needed, the man was fine.

The man's name was Bartholomew J. Mason...he was new. Luca could sense power from him, an Espada.

His eyes shifted down to the man's outstretched hand, he was still a few feet away, but Luca assisted in stepping forward before taking his hand in a shake.

He was meant to help this new arrival and show him around, answer questions... It should be a simple enough task. For now, a proper introduction was in order for himself.

"I am the Tricera, in charge of healing... If you're regeneration does not work quickly enough when injured or there are other things you need assistance with then I'm the one to seek out."

Aha! Looks like I was right calling him Luca then! Bart smiled warmly over at him as continued to slowly make his way towards the fellow Espada. So far, the stepping and waiting strategy seemed to be working just fine! It only took about two minutes for him to get nearly four feet away from Luca, but thankfully he decided to help pick up the slack in the hand shaking department and cross the rest of the distance himself.

Bart happily shook the Tricera’s hand as he beamed at Luca, everything about him radiating a happy energy. “I hope you’ll forgive my slowness for now, turns out this new body made me a bit fast, and I’d rather my first impression of you not being the time I ran right smack into you!” He chuckled brightly and scratched the side of his head as he continued to shake Luca’s hand.

“But you’re like the doctor here for the tower? How fantastic! Now I’ll have to warn you, I tried to stay away from hospitals and the like back in the ‘human world’ or whatever it is, but it wasn’t out of any kind of animosity or anything. I just didn’t want to get in their way and such, but I’m sure the two of us will have plenty of opportunities to talk without having to worry about medical trips and everything, right?” He nodded happily as he talked, eventually letting go of Luca’s hand and putting his hands on his hips as he looked around the Room Room.

“So, how long have you been one of these “Arrancar” things? Sarai told me that she was a couple centuries old and such, so that makes me complete rubbish at guessing ages nowdays, huh?” He chuckled brightly as he nodded at Luca. Who knew, maybe this new and fascinating looking person could be like… 500 years old or something! Or maybe he’s like a Dracula. A Doctor Dracula! Bart’s eyes lit up with joy at the thought. Now that would be a very interesting new thing to learn today, indeed!

"It takes time to become fully accustomed, it's alright." Luca reassured, giving a small nod as Bart explained his current slow steps as well as the careful movements he was making.

At his question about him being the doctor, in a sense, he gave another small nod; he waited until the man was done speaking before talking himself. "Yes, I create my own medicines which is the reason for my delay... Solutions sometimes need to be monitored, so it took me some time before I could leave them...

Due to regeneration, official visits will most likely be rare; again, that's alright... It's my job to see to the health and such of our group, so if I'm truly needed it's not a bother. If I'm not to be found in my work area, you'll likely find me in my music room...as a...heads up, that is..."

Luca's hand fell back to his side as he spoke, once it'd been let go from the handshake, a small breath escaping him shortly after speaking.

"...I've...been an arrancar for a few centuries, though I have not been an Espada for very long... I'm...nearing seven-hundred in age I believe..." As usual when it came to giving his age, he could only estimate.

"Haha, you can say that again! First time I took a step after waking up I nearly ran straight into Sarai trying to greet her!" Bart chuckled heartily as he grinned over at Luca. "But I'm sure with a little more practice and such I'll be back to my daily runs in no time! And now that I have all of this desert to explore, I have a feeling that they're going to be even more fun than before!" As long as I have a map, too! I wouldn't want to get lost again... No wait, I think I might be able to do that big purple door thing too? Oh well, I'm sure I'll find out!

Bart gave an impressed whistle when he heard Luca say that he made all the medicines himself, though. "Well now, that would make you quite the fantastic doctor, now wouldn't it?" Bart smiled and nodded as he slowly brought his hand back to his side after the shake. "I'd imagine that they'd it probably takes a lot of time and care for all that, so you don't have to apologize for being late or anything!"

Luca did raise an important point to the boy, though. He had almost forgotten that Sarai had said that his new body had some sort of regeneration to keep him from getting injured as well, and that just sounded fantastic! Wait no hold on- "Did you say... music room? Haha, there's a music room in this tower?! Oh please tell me that you have a record player there, Luca!" Bart's eyes were practically shining with excitement at this point, his whole body brimming with a new-found energy.

Oh right, the whole "being 700 years old' thing too. Yes, also important. "Well goodness, you sure don't show your age either, Luca! Compared to you and Sarai I'm practically a newborn, aren't I?" He said happily, smiling even wider.

Had nearly run straight into Sarai... Well, it would take some time for him to become accustomed to his new body...but Luca was sure the man would get the hang of things.

At Bart's sureness that he would get used to things, Luca gave a small nod.

His reasoning for being somewhat late had been accepted though, and he was relieved. Luckily the medicine solutions he'd made today were complete and he was done with that for the day.

Luca was distracted from his thoughts when the music room was brought up. He gave a nod, he had indeed said music room. "I keep my instruments in there, I moved the instruments the Corona had given me into it... I'm typically found practicing there...

There were...other instruments in the storage room that I did not take... Perhaps a...record player is in there? I think those came after my time as a human...

If you would like we can go and search? I am unfamiliar with what it looks like."

He did not show his age...? Well, he supposed. He certainly didn't feel like someone in nearing their seventh century... This afterlife was quite strange...

“Oh fantastic! You play? What kind of instruments do you use, Luca?” Bart loved music, mostly just to dance to or to have playing in the background when he did his household chores and such. He never really picked up a talent for being able to play one, though. But that only meant that he had that much more respect for anyone that he found that could play though!

Not to mention Sarai gave him the instruments herself! She really does care about the wellbeing of her subjects and helpers and everything, doesn’t she? Bart thought happily. “And I’d love to go and search, as long as it’s fine with you! That way we can gout the tour and everything out of the way, and possibly find ourselves a fantastic little record player for future music listening!” He nodded excitedly as he slowly began walking towards the door that led out of the Room Room, one step at a time.

“You know, I’m a bit curious though; what other kinds of people can I expect to run into here in this tower? Sarai told me a few names when she was telling me all about this place and what I could do, but there was just so much to take in I don’t even know where to start!” The new Espada’s voice had a bright and energetic tone to it, despite the fact that he was moving deliberately slow as to not zoom across the room and smack his head into yet another wall. After all, he was a part of them now, so he had a ton of people to get better acquainted with now!

"I work with string instruments, mostly the violin...though I also play others as well..." Luca explained; it seemed Bart was fine, and excited even, over the idea of searching the room for a record player.

He had his own personal music room, which were where most of the instruments he had taken were kept, and he'd also organized the ones and tidied up the area where the instruments and musical items he had not taken still remained so it was easy to look around.

Perhaps they would have luck...

"Searching is alright with me, we can search the room with the instruments and such I did not personally take as my own first." It made the most sense to when they began searching...

He knew of all the instruments he had taken, and...he did not believe an item called a record player was among his own.

The others though... Luca had to think on that as Bart moved about, turning and following him towards the door as the man walked.

"I have not really interacted in depth with most of the other Espada, I've spoken with Esmerelda and have gone to the Human World with her once, but I have not had many social interactions overall..."

He had met Yysara as well, and there was also Nuu...

“Is that so? You know, I had a friend in Japan who was fantastic with her viola, she even invited me to one of her concerts a while back. It was absolutely wonderful! I bet you’re no slouch with it either, huh?” Bart said, beaming warmly over at Luca as he finally made his way out of the room and into the large hallway of the tower.

“However, I’m much more of a music appreciator than a player. I can’t exactly play anything, but I certainly know how to dance to it!” He chuckled brightly as he let Luca take the lead on their way to the instrument room. Bart was already bad with directions when he was in a new place, add his newly discovered speed to the mix and he’d get even more lost in half the time! The thought alone brought a slightly wider grin to the Arrancar’s face as he carefully followed behind Luca.

But to have an entire room dedicated to housing instruments? Sarai must have a great appreciation for music indeed! She had already told him how much she liked dancing, but to also be able to perform music as well made him appreciate coming here even more. “I’m sure that the two of us working together would be able to find a good record player in no time at all!” As he continued to talk to Luca, Bart could feel himself getting more used to… well walking at least. He had worked himself up to a steady pace of one step per second by now, which delighted him to no end.

“Oh, is that so? Well I’m sure that I’m sure that the other Espada would be glad to talk with you, Luca! You definitely seem like a nice enough fellow in my book!” Bart nodded affirmatively. Quiet, yes, but nothing that Bart hadn’t run into before! Sometimes not saying much actually said a lot about a person. “But since you have interacted with this ‘Esmeralda’ character, what’s she like? I’m always up for making some new friends, especially now with being a part of this ‘Espada’ thing as well!”

Luca gave a small nod, it was easiest to say music was a hobby, but it was more so a passion; even after death and centuries of no practice he still had his skill...which he was more than a little thankful for.

"Dancing is an art in and of itself... It's something to be proud of..." He answered as they stepped out into the halls; at most, he himself could do formal dances though he was unpracticed in any of...the modern dancing methods...

He led Bart down the halls, keeping at a normal walking rate for the both of them so as not to walk too fast for Bart as he was still adjusting to his new body.

Yes, they would hopefully come across a record player. Bart knew what it looked like...and if perhaps they did not find one he could ask Sarai about one...that or Luca felt he could ask Selena where to find one...maybe?

"Esmerelda? She is the Segunda, she's more...social in a sense than myself, the trip we made was to the zoo... I would say she's...a rather free spirit?"

Bart nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "Exactly! Granted, I don't I've ever had anyone call my dancing an art, but it's just so much fun that I don't mind one bit! And I might be a liiiiiittle proud of it, I was one half of the championship Swing Dancing Team back in Germany a few years back after all!" He added with a big smile. It seemed like this Luca fellow understood it completely, how fantastic!

Bart knew that he would probably get along swimmingly with his new Arrancar friend, but even then, it was wonderful to see it all play out in person! Why, he was so happy, he even had a little skip in his step!

Which threw him forward so fast that he bounced off the closest wall and onto the ground, where he began laughing brightly. "Nope! Still getting the hang of walking it seems!" Bart let out an amused sigh as he laid on the ground, looking merrily up at the ceiling. "So, apparently New Bart comes with even more horsepower than the old model, what sorts of things can you do, Luca? I bet you've had a lot of time to come up with some neat tricks since you've been alive for so long!"

That's how this worked, right? Like how Merlin was quite the old fellow but could still do all that wonderful magic he was known for! "And this Esmeralda sounds fantastic! I haven't been to a zoo in ages, myself. The last time I went was when I was living in Russia. Silly little me must have gotten myself lost and ended up not being able to find my aunt and uncle for a few hours! But luckily there was plenty of helpful zoo attendees that were around to get me back on track!"

Ah, memories... And to think, it was only a week after that when we had our fantastic little picnic in Chernobyl too! I certainly got myself lost a little more that time, that's for sure! But all's well that ends well, right? I'm just glad it was only two days instead of being longer, really!

Swing...Dancing? Luca listened, though he was unsure of what that type of dancing was. It seemed like something Bart was proud of though, and a championship...certainly earned the right to be proud of...

As the Espada skipped forward...a bit too strongly, a surprised expression crossed Luca's features for a short moment before he once again composed himself.

Still getting used to it...

What sort of things could he do though...

"My blood has healing properties... It's what caught the Corona's interest when she encountered me in the desert." He answered; he had the ability to crystallize it, harden it to use as a weapon if need be...or use it to support his allies...

For now, it was used as a base for his medicine, which allowed for swift healing when applied.

"Healing blood, you say? Hmm, that's very interesting indeed! But it's more interesting to find out that you were found out in the desert as well! Although hopefully you weren't quite as lost as I was when I ended up there. Luckily Sarai was right there waiting for me and helped me be a lot less lost." Bart said, chuckling merrily as he lay on the ground.

Oh well, I suppose that's enough lying around for now. We've got to try and find that record player, after all! As if the simple thought of just getting up was enough, Bart found himself rising to his feet with the feeling of a gentle breeze on his back. "Oh, why tank you, Luca! I always appreciate a helping hand!"

Except it wasn't exactly by Luca's help that he was raised. Small swirls of green, airy energy gently pushed the new Espada up from the ground until he stood steadily on his own two feet again, ready for another bout of very slow walking through the tower's hallways.

"You know, I have thought about something that you said earlier though. You mentioned that you're 700-odd years old, but you've only been an 'Espada' for a short while now? So there's a... difference in just being a old but young-looking monster person or something? I apologize if I seem to be asking a lot of questions, I'd just like to get to get a better understanding of my new home and everything as well as I can!"

Home. That was a nice word. One that the boy sadly hadn't been very used to for the years he was alive. Of course, not that he'd ever say that about his living situation. Any place where his family was was home enough for him!

Luca gave a small nod; "I wandered for quite awhile in the deserts, I typically remained on my own until I encountered the Corona." Bart had been found quickly; that was a good thing...

It seemed they were ready to begin walking again as Bart pulled himself to his feet.

He was quiet as the Espada began speaking again, asking about the difference... At the apology, he shook his head; "No, it's no a problem... I'm supposed to be answering your questions, so ask as many as you'd like... It's important you learn how things work here..."

Now for his answer...

"The Espada are a group... Arrancar are what we are known as to most, and depending on our power one can become an Espada; the Corona is the one to decide that, the Espada are the ones numbered one through nine.

The first through the fourth are generally the stronger ones of the group, but the rest hold their own strength as well... If we did not, then we could not be considered Espada...

As a hollow, and later an arrancar I was in the desert... I wandered it for centuries before I met the Corona... Out in the desert hollows will typically devour one another to gain power...

As for our aging... We're technically spirits...so we'll live on for centuries upon centuries at least; our aging is quite slow... While humans may appear different due to age after...say a few years passing... Arrancar, Shinigami, or spirits in general typically will not to appear to have aged much if at all."

“Oh, is that so? Well, I’m glad to that she found you then, even if you had to walk around a bit on your own! Else we wouldn’t have been able to meet up like this, and I that just wouldn’t do at all, right?” Bart said, smiling at Luca. But still, walking that big ol’ desert alone for who knows how long? Must have been quite lonely indeed…

But now Bart was here! And even in the brief amount of time that he spent here, he already made new friends, so this new home of his was going to be anything but as far as he was concerned.

As Luca began to explain the Espada in greater detail, Bart listened, enraptured at the finer details of this wonderfully strange new society that he found himself a part of. The mention of numbers was especially interesting to him, as he looked down at the large number “4” that Sarai had imprinted on his chest just a few minutes ago. The stronger ones, eh? Hmm… I don’t really picture myself as a ‘strong’ person per se, but then again, considering how unique this place is, they probably have different types of powerful as well!

“Goodness, centuries? That’s quite a long time in the desert indeed! “ Bart put a finger on his chin as he began to think. “Hmm, but you know, I don’t really recall any of these “Hollows” that you mention either. When I was in the desert, I found myself quite alone, until Miss Sarai came along, that is!” He nodded again and smiled ever wider. Perhaps he just had the best of luck when it came to this place!

“And wow, that certainly sounds like a long time to be alive as well! I bet you must have seen tons of things from being alive that long, Luca!” Speaking of seeing things… Bart suddenly snapped his fingers and gently knocked his fist against his head as he smiled sheepishly. “Whoops, here I am rambling when we still need to find that record player! Shall we be off then?”

"Yes... It was quite boring, wandering around after so long... It was one of the things I was promised upon coming here...a life without boredom, well... I certainly wasn't let down." Luca answered, giving a small nod.

Another was given as Bart responded to his explanation of things, as well as the amount of time he'd spent in the desert. The hollows part though... "The deserts are large, possibly more large than you can imagine... You might have been in one of the safer or deserted areas when you were found... It was lucky..."

He shook his head at the Espada's assumption though; "Other than desert there isn't much I've really seen... It was only recently I even recalled events from my life as a human, and that was long ago, other than that... I'm still learning about the modern world as the days pass...

Before becoming an Espada I was not entirely familiar with forming gargantas...ah, right... Gargantas, those are portals we can create... I assume you entered one with the Corona when you were out in the desert to get back here?

You can use them as well, once entered though you need to keep control over your reiatsu, your spiritual pressure, and form a path at your feet to walk otherwise anything that falls within them will be lost..."

That was something to be advised on... Gargantas were useful, and it would be best for him to learn to utilize them.

"Yes...the record player." Luca gave another small nod, "I'll lead you to the room... You need not apologize for rambling, talking is fine..."

"I can definitely agree on that! This place has been anything but boring since I found myself here, that's for sure!" Waking up in a strange place, being greeted by a mysterious woman covered in bells, who can open giant glowing doors and then invites you to her enormous comfortable baths? Yeah, anything but a boring day.

"Oh yes, that desert was just fantastic though! I never had really been in one before, so it was a wonderful experience to start my new life here directly in one! I had really lived in nice countrysides for the past few years, before moving to Japan, that is!" And to be frank, it was definite a big change from living in the hills of Germany. More cars and less horses, for starters. And people. And... well a lot of things.

Bart followed behind Luca as he slowly lead the way towards the musical storage room, his mind totally focused on both taking each step at a time and also taking in everything that Luca said. Hmm, still learning about the human world, huh? Well it just so happens that I'm a resident human world expert, having just left there myself! Huh... Kind of a weird way to put it. 'Just left.'

The talk of these 'Gargantas' Perked Bart's ears up though, and he soon found himself drawn out of his previous thought and instead focused on what apparently those magic doors were actually for! "Oh wow, that certainly sounds like a lot to remember! But I'd like to think that I'm a pretty good walker, so I bet that I'll get it down in no time at all!"

Spiritual pressure? Reiatsu? It didn't exactly sound... Well like anything that Bart had dealt with before. But if had people like Sarai and Luca around to help explain things to him, he was sure that he'd be able to get the hang of things in no time at all!

"The deserts can be nice... I often looked up at the sky while I wandered... The fact that it was always night had made the sky quite beautiful..."

The sands of the desert along with the night sky, while...wandering had become boring, and his life had been rather full of that bored feeling... Looking up at the night sky had always been pleasant.

Bart had lived on countrysides before moving to Japan, it seemed he'd traveled some in his human years? That was what Luca assumed anyway.

As they walked, their steps taking them closer to the storage room for the instruments as the time passed, he glanced back at the man as he spoke up about the gargantas.

"It will feel as natural as breathing once you're used to it; so there isn't much to worry about." He answered; he should probably explain what reiatsu and all was as well... Bart was new to...literally all of this, so...

"When it comes to forming reiatsu, its rather simple... It may take a little practice, but at your power I don't think it will be an issue. Reiatsu is the amount of Reiryoku we exert...while Reiryoku is the spiritual energy we hold within ourselves, and can be controlled through our willpower...such as..."

Saying that, he opened his hand, a shadowy, black and grey, glowing orb appearing in his hand; "I'm concentrating some of my own reiatsu here... Yours will likely appear as a different color though..."

“Mhm! The moon was especially beautiful tonight, that’s for sure! But the fact that it’s always night here is a new thing for me. I’d question that it wouldn’t be too good for all the plants around here, but I don’t think that I saw any as I walked around the desert. But then again, I suppose things don’t work exactly as they used to in the human world, now do they?” He added with an amused little chuckle.

Judging from how Sarai had said that they’d have to appropriate things from the human world so that he could cook, and the fact that he was in a sort of ‘land of the dead’ situation, it seemed kinda likely like they couldn’t grow their own food here. Which is really a shame, there was nothing like cooking a meal that you helped grow the ingredients for yourself! Then again, Bart wasn’t a green thumb by any stretch of the imagination either… Oh well!

“Oh too right! I’m not exactly worried about it at all, just mostly excited! I’ve never been able to do anything like that before, so I bet that it’ll be even more fantastic to learn how to do! I was more of a parkour person personally, finding new and exciting ways to get from place to place on foot and all that. So this “Garganta” thing will be another neat trick I can use to get around places!’ At least for now! Until I can find some better places to try parkouring again. The desert is beautiful and all, but it doesn’t quite give me too many places to try it. But I’ll keep searching just in case!

Bart’s eyes opened wide as Luca summoned a fascinating black and grey orb-ish thing into his hand as he told Bart about the differences in Reiatsu and Reiryoku. The new Espada stepped oh-so-slowly up to the new object and looked at it from every possible angle, a huge grin on his face as he looked up at the Tricera. “Well now, that’s a fancy trick as well! I bet that you’re a hit at all the parties, Luca!” He nodded happily and took a small step backwards as he held his own hand out, studying his palm carefully.

“So all it takes is a little concentration and willpower, eh? Hmm, sounds like a good time!” Now humming a flighty tune to himself, Bart looked deep down into his new self, searching for something that seemed like this “Reiryoku” Luca had talked about. It only took a brief second for Bart to sense something was there, and the grin on his face grew even wider. Suddenly, an airy, light green sphere sparked to life in Bart’s hand, giving off a slight breeze as the young man beamed over at Luca.

“Haha, look at that! It looks like I’ve picked up a little magic of my own!”