Welcome to Gaia! ::

.::. Under this crushing wait, I'm sinking
It never goes away, the thinking
Echoes in empty rooms decaying
Alone to face the rest of me .::.

Temperance Kohlrusch
Lady Frost.

My own kind...

Three simple words had just opened up a realm of possibility. It wasn't too hard to add two plus two together. The woman may not have even been aware of it, but she had already told Ryuunosuke a lot more than he had expected. The swordsman may have been cut from the Gotei 13 or aware of the recent invasion of Soul Society, he had heard of the apparition of 'Quincies' in the human world.

It wasn't the first time the Shinigamis had caught wind of the spiritually aware humans, but their past encounter had been wiped out of all history books and Ryuunosuke had never really wondered how the twelfth division managed to unearth so much information on them in such a short span of time. Of course, such information was greatly outdated, but nevertheless, he had a general idea of what spiritually aware humans roamed the world of the living.

The woman made a move to leave and he let her. Whether or not she was truly as ignorant as she claimed to be mattered little, but she may lead him to where the ones behind it. However, she said something that caught his attention as she departed. "Vizard?" he repeated, mind racing. How could she have known that term when he had only learned about it after being turned. Was there more of his kind in Karakura? Were they the ones Lieutenant Kiyoshi had warned him about? "Wait!" It was too late once he finally snapped out of his stupor: the woman had taken to the skies in a blur of silver.

The Vizard made a move to follow her despite having witnessed her incredible speed, but just as he gathered the necessary Reiatsu in his feet to push off the ground, his inner demon struck. The effects were immediate: blackness seeped into his vision, breaking his concentration and turning his jump into a clumsy stumble. Pallid hands, invisible to all but him, wrapped themselves around Ryuunosuke's feet and robes to ground him.

Another man was unfortunate enough to choose that moment to step into his line of sight with what he perceived as a casual drawl. Adrenaline still in his system and quite twitchy from it and his superfocus, the Vizard had drawn his long nodachi from the umbrella that had served as its sheathe before the other man had even finished his first question. "Who the ******** are you?" he snapped, Reiatsu levels increasing uncontrollably despite how hard he tried to contain it. It was hard enough for the ex-Kenpachi to keep it below that of a lieutenant-level Shinigami with an activated limiter on a good day; it was now almost impossible with an overly excited inner Hollow playing tug-of-war with him. He needed to retreat and fast. If he was lucky, his Gikon had not made it off too far with his custom Gigai. Ignoring the samurai, he shouted upwards, knowing that the rascal enjoyed hiding on high grounds, "Gringo! Get down here."

His sword was still drawn, held up before him in a defensive stance, something that was quite a contrast to his aggressive tone. He was not planning to say anything anymore to the man standing before him. To be able to walk around in such garbs without attracting any attention, the newcomer was a spirit, something invisible to the humans. If not for the absence of the traditional Shinigami black robes, Ryuunosuke would have cut him down already. The lieutenant that had saved his life had told him that Hollowfication was taboo and he would most likely face execution should he stay or get caught by the Gotei 13, but it still didn't tell the rogue to who the other man owed his allegiance to.


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Gigai-free posts left:
11/15

Despite the fact that he was dealing with a grumpy arse that was mentally unstable, the unknown reaper's calm tone had somehow managed to do the impossible and appease Ryuunosuke enough for him to lower his blade. "I am a Shinigami, nothing more," he shot back with a bit more venom than what would qualify as tactful. He was still in denial and was convinced that he would one day be able to get rid of his Inner Hollow and, until then, he would only need to bid his time as a human and avoid detection.

Now that he had had the chance to get a better look at this unidentified Soul Reaper in spite of the blackness bleeding into his vision and turning the sclera of his eyes black. Though Ryuunosuke and Yasuo had served the Gotei 13 at the same time prior to the latter's 'defection', Ryuunosuke did not recognize the man at all due to the little attention he gave to anyone outside of the small group of Shinigami he had been working with at the time. He had heard of a captain being slaughtered by a wind user, but had paid little attention to it. Executing another Shinigami wasn't the eleventh division's business after all.

The man's wild hair and armor combined with his tall stature jolted awake Ryuunosuke's combative instinct once more; before he even realized it, he had already started calculating the man's reach and possible sword style from the man's stance and weapon. Like his opponent, Ryuunosuke's focus had sharpened, allowing him to register every breathe the man took, every shift of the man's muscles. The wind had picked up at an unnatural speed The pungent smell of civilization hit him hard, barely drowned out by the sound of nearby car horns. 'Superfocus' Ryuunosuke had called it, was both a gift and a curse depending on how well it was wielded. Unfortunately, in Nagisa's current state of mind, it left him vulnerable to mental assaults.

A blink sent him standing on a familiar boat in a boundless ocean that mirrored the skies above it. The usually deadly still waters and clear sky had been replaced by turbulent waves and storm clouds. A blade whip shot out from the waters beneath him and wrapped itself around the Shinigami's left forearm, cutting into pale flesh. Reflex had him lean back, hand wrapped around the wire connecting two blades to hold it in place. Just as he swung his sword to bring his nodachi sword down onto the wire, a long, serpentine tail surfaced right in front of the small vessel, unleashing a tidal wave that jolted Nagisa, for that had been his true name, back into reality, forearm still bleeding from a wound inflicted from within his soul and zanpakuto slicing through the air as though he was lashing out at the man who had just calmly and peacefully asked him for information.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, Gringo, the Gikan known for its...rowdy personality, was busy answering a call from 'Ryuunosuke Taoreta''s workplace. Something about temporarily replacing the Japanese litterature teacher.


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((OoC: My resort's wifi is ridicuously slow and they charge for 'premium services to bump up the download speed 3mb/secs...))
Gigai-free posts left:
10/15

It took a few seconds for Ryuunosuke to regain his balance and notice the wound on his forearm. Damn, this was like Bankai training all over again except, back then, he had been positive the colossal sea creature had been trying to help him grown unlike the monster that had crept out of some God forsaken abyss within his soul. "I...don't think so," he ground out stubbornly, eyes closed in an effort to let them rest. He could move freely once more, but his reiatsu was a mess and he wasn't too sure he could properly use his zanpakuto at this stage. Take away his inhibition and he was positive that he would lose what little control he had left over his spiritual power. Police sirens had gone off in the distance and were approaching at an alarming rate, but he paid little attention to them so sure he was that none of the nearby humans would be able to interfere with them. The whine of an ambulance was quick to join the alarming ruckus, however, and Ryuunosuke took that as his cue to bail before anymore damage was done.


"You don't have to worry about me. I'll be out of your hair now and I highly doubt that you will see me once again." Eyes still closed, he turned to flash-step away, but stopped abruptly. Sure, now that he knew that there was another Shinigami around to oversee the humans' activities, Ryuunosuke could return to playing human with his mind at ease. However, the other swordsman was even more out of the loop than he was, a feat considering the fact that Ryuunosuke had had no contact with the spiritual community since just a few hours ago. As much as he wanted to leave, he couldn't leave the fate of humankind in a misinformed emissary.

Slowly, he turned back to face the swordsman, the intensity of his gaze directed at Yasuo once more, assessing, appraising. "Why are you here?" he asked, not bothering to ask for a name that may invoke any hearsays. Rumors were powerful things that could easily ruin one's reputation. Ryuunosuke was always quite confident of his ability to properly profile another individual and he was not about to let any rumors cloud his judgement."I highly doubt the Gotei 13 would take one of their soldiers' departure too well. You say that you are no friend of them, why is that?" As nosey as he may sound, giving information to an unknown warrior he knew nothing about wasn't his style. Information and knowledge could be used as weapon and, as ironic as it may be, the young Vizard did not think too highly of those that are outlaws in the eyes of the Gotei 13.

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((OoC: I'm actually working with 0.5 mb/sec because I refuse to pay for the premium. >,> It is only sold for a minimum of 7 days and I will only be there for half as long.))
Gigai-free posts left:
9/15

Hunted for a crime he did not commit...it did not surprise Ryuunosuke in the least bit. As someone who had been raised in the midst of Seireitei's aristocracy, such schemes were an unavoidable reality. As high and mighty as the Gotei 13 may act, they, along with Central 46, were not immune to corruption and political warfare. The man had asked him about his own conflict with the Gotei 13 and it would be only fair for him to answer the vagrant Shinigami except Ryuunosuke knew all too well that one could be acquitted for crimes in return of favors or remarkable contribution to the Gotei 13's cause so he had to choose his words very carefully. At least, the man did not seem too inclined to fight for now though Ryuunosuke did keep an eye on the hand that had disappeared from view. "I have this condition," he said simply, gesturing to the white of his eyes that had only just been cleansed of all signs of corruption.

Using Hollow means was a taboo that warranted immediate execution should he be caught or, if he was lucky, lifetime imprisonment. Things may have changed since his departure of Soul Society what with the Shinigami's need for information on the invaders that had captured one of their captains, but he was unaware of that. All he knew was that, should the man before him know too much and play his cards right, outing him would be the perfect ticket to be acquitted of most severe crimes. The least he revealed about himself, the better.

The man had, however, proven himself to have a sense of duty and honor, making him a trustworthy individual in the cynical Vizard's eyes when it came to dealing with the problem at hand."Something happened a few miles from this place. A farming village just disappeared. None of the humans could come up with a decent explanation and an old bozo just sent out a message that somehow managed to get into all communication channels. He chose that moment to reveal the existence of all spiritual beings to the whole world and asked that people join him to fight back." The explanation was a quick summary of what had been important from the message and Ryuunosuke had greatly toned down the pompousness of the message. Just thinking about it irritated Ryuunosuke and, now that the rush of adrenaline was wearing off, he was itching to get his hands on another kiseru pipe he could modify to smoke water fumes. He caught himself trying to dig through his robes to find it, knowing full well that it had been shattered in pieces and resigned himself to rest his hands on his hips. "Most people think it's a joke and still believe that something called ew-effows are behind the mess, but some have grown restless due to the international scale of the broadcast. Spiritually aware humans are rare and, the last time the Gotei had spotted any, it was a disaster."

As far as the Gotei 13 was concerned, they were unaware of the existence of Fullbringers so the culprit had to be, by default, the Quincies in their eyes. He was referring to the bits and pieces he had heard of the Quincy war that had taken place around 5 centuries earlier. The Shinigami had not been too proud of it so most of the information were left to rot in dusty archives, but Nagisa's parents had lived through it and it was impossible to hide all emotional and physical scars that had been born during the gruesome war. "I am positive that the Quincies are attempting to raise an army. For vengeance perhaps." There had been sightings of Quincies in the past few centuries, but how had they managed to survive extinction was still a mystery as was their current location and state of affair.

"You know as much as I do now so, good luck," he said before moving to flash-step away. He had had the intention of returning to his Gigai, one that would make his spiritual presence undetectable to all but those within a 50 meters radius of him. It would allow him to pass as a human with no connection or ties to spiritual creatures. He would live a normal human life and 'Nagisa Amatoki' would simply vanish from existence. His great departure and escape into anonymity was greatly ruined, however, by his Giko that chose that exact moment to drop down from a nearby roof in his Gigai, clutching the mobile phone he had only figured out how to use and babbling anxiously.

"You! We've got a problem. Who's that pineapple head? No time to dillydally. You're to replace Mrs. Fujiwara for Japanese Literature back at Karakura High in less than 3 hours!" it growled, scowl in place, unaware of the fact that he had just given the vagrant swordsman enough information to track them to their workplace.


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Gigai-free posts left:
8/15

唯一の死があります...

鉱山やユアーズ。

It was to be expected that Krin's rather brash actions weren't well received however the stakes of this mission were too high to maintain politeness with every spiritually aware being he interrogated. Somewhere his dear Captain Mana was more than likely being contained in a holding cell, being interrogated by Noire which was highly ironic considering Mana was used to being on the other end of interrogations as the warden for the Sereitei prisons. The very thought of his own captain being tortured was enough to make Krins blood boil in anger which made being polite even more of a challenge but it was the wise words of his dear friend Miharu that echoed within his mind 'The world is filled with enough hate Krin'... As he exhaled his breath Krin began to lower his Reiatsu with his aggressive point being made and also to not cause any unwanted attention on his rather taboo mission in the world of the living. The two men in question seemed to contrast each other greatly both in mannerisms and appearance wise. The first clearly looked like a warrior ready for battle with what appeared to be a sword sheathed at his side wearing armor on his limbs while maintaining very light mobile clothing appearing as if he was clearly experienced in combat. That assumption was further proved correct by the man quickly laying his hand on his rather strange blade the moment Krin approached which helped guide Krins eyes toward the odd sword. It didn't hold the appearance of a normal Zanpakuto but the mans Reiatsu was similar to a Shinigami's. After noting how he did not care for Krins abrupt approach the man claimed he did not know of Noire. Oddly enough Krin could detect that this mysterious man was not lying and yet the man seemed so suspicious, he carried an unusual sword, was similar to a Shinigami and yet he did not wear traditional Sereitei robes much like the men who allied themselves with Noire while clearly holding a disdain for Shinigami. On the other hand his partner reacted to Krin in the opposite way. After the Lieutenant landed the mans mannerisms were very reserved for someone being so aggressively approached. His spiritual presence was held back considerably from when Krin first sensed the two as he hid underneath his umbrella giving a very brief answer to the Lieutenants question. Both of these men were setting off big red flags in Krins mind and they clearly were not ordinary spiritually aware beings so he decided to test the water just a tad further while being careful to not let on that he was alone. "Well I'd assume the rest of the team wouldn't be thrilled with me missing a check in...Now who said I only had one question? I don't suppose either one of you guys has had a close encounter with a Hollow at some point in time have ya?" his half closed smokey gray eyes shifted between the two mysterious men looking for reaction to the word 'Hollow'. If these guys were related to Noire or the hybrid Shinigami in any way then that word would make those memories come rushing to the surface.