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 Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:00 pm
Without hesitation, Kurai hopped lithely out the window, following her new teacher. She arrived next to the ripplying waters of the lake not a minute after Nico. The small waves lapped playfully at her bare feet.
"What first, Senpai?" She used an honorific often used to refer to upperclassmen or mentor. It seemed to fit the vice captain better than something formal like 'sensei'.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:12 pm
Nico grinned, "Get into your shikia. I need to see what I am working with."
((Rhia will probaly be mad because this is one line. But what the hell.))
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:19 pm
Kurai winced apologetically. "I'm afraid I haven't obtained shikai. With all that went on with the Shihouins, I never got the chance. I've been fighting with a nameless zanpaku-to for months, now,"
((not that i don't have ideas. i was just never trained..too busy rescuing cousins from the clutches of arrancars ^^))
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:38 pm
"Stay still," Nico told Kurai as she lifted her zanpactu-to from the sand. "If you want revenge, talk to your zanpactu-to." She lifted her her hilt up and striked Kurai's head.
"Hope her zanpactu-to is nice," Nico muttered.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:45 pm
"Wait--" Kurai shifted back, but too late. The hard metal struck her temple and she collapsed in the shallows of the lake, the water swirling around her dark hair.
Everything was quiet. So much that the silence was defeaning. Kurai began to fear Nico's strike had disconnected some vital nerves. She took a breath and almost choked. The strangest thing was happening. When she moved to inhale, she exhaled, instead. It took her several minutes to figure out this way of inverse-breathing. In those moments, she opened her eyes.
To the most extraordinary sight. It made her forget her difficulties. Because it was a real sight. She could see. Real colors. Real shapes. No vibrations or auras to discern. Her eyes were working for the first time.
After the initial shock wore off, she began to realize something else: none of her other senses worked. She was deaf and numb. She looked to her hands to see if they were even still attached. To her intense relief, they were. But the colors she saw were inverted. There was light where there should be shadow and shadow where there should be light. Her normally glossy black hair was a shocking shade of white.
Kurai was beginning to understand this world. An inverse world.
Just as she reached this realization, a voice spoke to her. It echoed in her mind, though she knew her ears were detecting nothing.
You've come seeking me at last, little Shihouin. The voice was layered as though many beings spoke at once. Predominant was a dry female tone, pleasant and commanding. Kurai had longed to hear that voice for a century.
She turned. "Yoruichi," She wanted to say, but, though her throat worked, no sound came out. She tried again, this time in her mind.
Yoruichi? Her brow furrowed as she searched for the source of the voice. A figure approached from the coalescing shadows, and Kurai's eyes widened in surprise.
It was Yoruichi, but not, at the same time. The creature's form was fluid and its appearance was layered. In one moment is seemed to be Yoruichi stalking toward her, then a rosy-bronze lion, walking just as regally, an enormous bird of prey, a midnight-black fox, and even...herself.
Kurai took a step back, and she ran up against a wall of steel bars that had not been there before. She turned halfway around, unwilling to let the creature move from her line of vision.
She lept back in shock as something darted from the shadows of the cage and rammed itself again the impenatrable steel. An arm with tanned skin lashed out, fingers curled into a claw.
It can't be....me? Indeed, there was a copy of herself, snarling viciously from the cage's confines. The Caged Kurai growled, a sound that rumbled deep in her throat. Apparently she was annoyed that her prey had moved away from her reach.
Do not lie to yourself, little Shihouin. You have always known this was inside of you, the voice rejoined in an admonishing tone.
No...I'm not... I'm not like that. Caged Kurai snarled, the sound ripping from her chest, and she threw herself against the bars of the cage. The cage buckled alarmingly, but eventually Caged Kurai fell back, shaking from anger and pain. She had struck the bars hard enough to raise bruised welts on her skin, and a fine trickle of blood traced the side of her chin.
Abruptly, Kurai was in answering pain. Welts and bruises traced themselves over her skin, mirroring Caged Kurai's wounds. A trickle of blood even issued from her lips.
What the--! Kurai stumbled back, staggering under the sharp pain.
The creature watched her with interest. You are connected to her, little one. Her pain is your own. You mirror her fury.
That's...That can't be. Yoruichi fixed me. That part of me doesn't exist, anymore.
Why then, were you imprisoned? If someone could 'fix' you, why bother to lock you away for seventeen long years?
I-I don't--
This side of you has always been in you. It was she who destroyed your family's retainers when you were an infant. And she will take control again if you do not learn to work in concert. Understand that you are a play of light and dark. A chiaroscuro, as the Italians would say. When you harness that contrast, you will understand that power.
I have to do this...now?
The Yoruichi-creature smiled indulgently. There will come a time when you have to face yourself, but for now, I think, some protective seals are in order. Give me your blade, little Shihouin.
Why? Who are you? Kurai was instantly mistrustful of a being that saught to disarm her.
Why, I'm your zanpaku-to, youngling. The Yoruichi-creature was amused. Now hand me over.
Kurai narrowed her eyes but complied, stepping towards her zanpaku-to spirit so that they were no more than a foot apart. She slid her blade from her sheath and put it in the hands of the Yoruichi figure that seemed to have solidified somewhat, though flickers of the animals traveled over her form.
Opposable thumbs, you know... The spirit said apologetically. It gently held the sword by the keen blade, tracing a finger over the blade face. Now, listen closely, for I will tell you this only once.
It touched a finger to a spot a third of the way up the short blade. The faint etching of a rose petal traced into the steel. First, the rose. This is your courage and your weapon. Without it, you cannot live.
The Yoruichi-creature touched a finger below the rose-petal etching. Next are your seals. A miniature maple leaf wrought in gold appeared in the metal. Gold. The first seal. Powerful, but not nearly strong enough to hold your wild side.
Below the gold leaf, a silver crescent moon shimmered into being. Silver. Reinforcing the gold.
Below the silver crescent, the image of a poppy traced into the metal. The poppy. A symbol for death and for sleep. Your dark slide sleeps but does not die.
Finally, the etching of a thin-leafed plant appeared near the base of the blade. Rosemary. That's for rememberance. Never remove this seal, or you will lose yourself.
Kurai's zanpaku-to handed the blade back, and Kurai admired the intricate patterns wrought in the burnished steel. Thank you...
That is not my only gift, little Shihouin. All zanpaku-to have a name. And that name is imbibed with great power. I am Tatsujin noh Kaijuu. Master of Monster.
The image of the inverse world was fading. The zanpaku-to's final words echoed in her mind. But who will you be, little Shihouin? Master...or Monster?
She blinked back into reality, finding herself half-submerged in the lake.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:57 pm
((Holy (Profanity) God! That was amazing! Your writing skills are like heavan in writing!!!)
Nico noticed Kuraime awaken from her small knock out. She stood up and lazly walked towards the Kuraime. "C'mon lets get you out of the water," She grabbed Kuraime's arm and pulled her from the water. Nico picked up Kuraime. Cold and wet, perfect combo for a cat. Nico shuttered and walked her back to shore.
She laid Kurai down in the warm sand, then she sat down beside her student. "How was it?" She asked as she indulegented her self in the sand.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:37 pm
((aw, thanks, chickadee ^^ sorry it took so long))
Kurai shivered from her nap in the cool water, but Nico had kindly moved her into the warm sun. Her chilled skin lapped up the sun's rays hungrily, and she was soon warm, if a little damp.
She passed a hand across her eyes. Kurai had loved that brief gift of sight, but it had gone with the vision of her zanpaku-to. She newly appreciated her own version of sight. It was something, if not perfect.
"It was..." She tried to find words to describe the experience. "I've never seen anything like her... that spirit...she showed me parts of myself I never wanted to see... Was it like this for you?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:00 pm
Nico sighed. Brining back the memories of when she first met Kurogihen was... Horrible. Kurogihen never really liked her. She always critized Nico, and always beat her up on her mistakes. Kurogihen also tried to kill Nico and Lance, but she had also brung out Nico's true power.
"Lets just say it was a hell of a time," Nico muttered.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:08 pm
Though Kurai burned with curiosity, something in Nico's tone made her abandon the subject. Instead, she sat up gingerly. To her surprise, she felt fine. There was no sign of the bruised welts she had recieved in her zanpaku-to's world.
She busied herself with brushing off the dried sand that crusted her back. "So, what now?" She pressed, undaunted by her recent trial.
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Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 10:28 pm
Nico wacked the back of Kuraime's head. "I can't believe you just asked me that..." Nico sighed, "Get into your shikia!"
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:12 pm
Kurai rose laughing, dusting the last of the sand from her back. "Of course," She grinned easily, reaching for her zanpaku-to.
She drew the wakizashi slowly, almost grudgingly. The wild Kurai in her vision had rattled her. It was troubling to realize that animal was inside her. As the blade slid free, the metal sang reassuring song in her mind. The clear notes played along the new etchings of the rose, gold and silver crests, poppy, and rosemary. She hoped they were enough to seal her darker side away.
She held out the blade dubiously. It occurred to her that her zanpaku-to had told her its name but not a release command.
First, the rose. This is your courage and your weapon. Kurai gripped her wakizashi more tightly, focusing on the faint etching of the rose petal. Without it, you cannot live.
Kurai coughed. It felt as though something was taking hold of her throat. For a brief instant, a voice that was not her own surged from her throat. It was layered, as though many voices spoke as one.
"Temper my shadow, Tatsujin noh Kaijuu..." The rose etching glowed a soft, deep red, a strange aura in Kurai's eyes.
You have to break the seal yourself. That was her zanpaku-to's voice. It sounded amused.
I don't know how!
You'll know the command. Now fight Nico. She's waiting for you. Kurai glanced back at her Senpai uncertainly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:25 pm
Nico swung her zanpactu-to infront of her, which usaully meant, I am ready bring it on.
Her reiastu the rose to high level letting the sand twist around her and whipping at her feet. Kurogihen whipped around her a second and then began to form. Squares destigrated on the blade and the tip was sharper then ever. Red seeped into Nico's eyes, and a large fang tatoo appeared on the side of her arm. Her ears became a black and so did her tail. Nico grabbed her nose as a small scare became visible.
"COME INTO THE DARKNESS! KUROGIHEN!" Then the transformation was comeplete. Nico had gone into shikia.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:37 pm
Sensing the transformations with growing apprehensions, the skin on the back of Kurai's neck rose in defiance of the power. This is ridiculous! She glared at the softly-glowing rosy sheen on her blade. What am I supposed to do? Blind her?
Kurai bared her teeth, settling into a decidedly animalistic crouch, but her stance held a strange, savage grace. The wakizashi glowed eerily in a crimson stain.
She was never one to back down from a fight, no matter the odds.
[see fight with Tagg in main forum. basically got the tar beaten out of her ><]
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:40 pm
((End the fight!!! I can't have you die! Your the best shinigami ever!!!))
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:47 pm
[^^ thanks so much! i like your character, too ^^ well, that fight's over. Kurai got covered in arcane mass and received two straight blasts of Tagg's power. In the face. >< Anyway, she's (sort of) recovering in Fourth, but she came in with burns to most of her body, dislocated hip, broken ribs, consussion, probably internal bleeding. not pretty. maybe i'll get you or Rhia to help her out. idk. ^^]
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