Game 2 - Chapter 1

Ximenez fixed his obscured eyes on the tall brunette tentatively making her way back into the room.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about her, Zetsumei-san," he spoke up, slowly stepping over to the two of them. "She's a tough girl, aren't you, Kasahara-san." Even as tall as Kasahara was, Ximenez was still taller.

Ximenez tilted his head and smiled over the rim of his glasses at Kasahara. "At least... I hope you are." His eyes were red. Dark, malicious red, the color of fresh blood. "If you're afraid of your own zanpakutou, Kasahara-san... I can't say you're ready for the much, much more frightening things that exist outside the walls of this city."

There it was again. The feeling of concern and worry for Kasahara. Now that she had calmed down and already prepared herself for those sorts of questions, she no longer felt defenseless enough to be effected by them the way Izuru-sensei's questioning effected her earlier. She appeared confident and in control now. "Yeah. Everything's fine. Don't worry about it."

The tomboy gave Oushou a grin to back up her words so that he wouldn't continue to worry about her. And then there was Ximenez. She enjoyed his compliment as he called her a tough girl, but then frowned as he implied that she was afraid of her Zanpakutou. She stared back into the eyes of Ximenez as she replied. "It won't happen again." Kasahara would make sure of it.

His words rang true, but the brunette set on proving herself stronger than what the Cardinal or anyone else had thought.

Rikiki drummed her fingers on the desk. Nothing had changed since the first of class. It seemed Uzumaki only ever spoke when it was profitable for him. Rikiki was wondering if this ment she failed, when she slumped over.

Rikiki was lying face-down in the grass. She got up, and found that she was in the grounds of a large, spooky manor. Lovely. At least the grounds were pretty, with green flowers everywhere..

"Heh heh... Your mind has such lovely architecture. Now, just remove the flowers..."

Rikiki hopped up. A middle aged man wearing a very faded pink cloak was standing behind her, staring at the manor.

The man continued, "Remarkable how this house could be in someone so weak."

This got a weak "Hey!" from Rikiki, but the man continued.

"Don't fool yourself. You've known my name for years and you still haven't achieved shikai. Face it. You are weak.

And with that, reality dissolved back, and Uzumaki and the manor was gone.

Kaito, as focused as ever, was still determined to make contact with his sword. Suukemuru, don't fail me now. Let me in, talk to me. Kaito could tell he wasn't getting anywhere. He let out a loud sigh and opened his eyes. To his disappointment, the classroom was still there. Nothing had changed, it looked as though he failed. He stood up to go outside the class and let out some steam.

"Hey sensei, you mind if I head out for a minute?" Nothing. "Hello? Can you here me." Still no answer. Kaito, confused with this strange behavior began to walk up to him. "Ahh, sorry." He had bumped into one of the students, seemingly breaking their concentration. To Kaito's surprise, it seemed as if the young man had just fallen over. He held his meditation position while lying on the floor. "What the hell is going on?"

He continued his walk, still confused about the awkward behavior of the student. "Umm, I was wondering, would you mind if I take a quick break." Still, no response. Kaito outstretched his hand to poke the teacher on the shoulder. He still didn't seem to notice. How strange. Kaito pulled his hand back with disgust. What the hell? Black liquid dripped from his fingers, making a reflective pool on the tile.

Suddenly, everything changed. Spinning around, the room melted right before Kaito's eyes. The walls, the doors, the students, everything in the room was dissolving around him, becoming nothingness. In a matter of minutes, everything was dark. Kaito stood bewildered at what had become of his setting. With a look around, he saw no entrance, no exit. Only darkness.

Except. A small dim light caught his gaze. He turned to face it with a curious mindset. A lamp. A simple lamp. Held up by a thin walking stick, slumped over the shoulder of a hooded figure. "Hello?" Kaito called to him and awaited a response. Nothing. The figure lifted his left hand straight out and pointed forward. With this, he began to walk, slowly. I've seen him before, he must be my...

His thought was cut off when the figure turned around, revealing a man of similar height. "Hello young man." The voice matched the figure, causing Kaito to become cold. Dark. That was the best way he could describe it. "The ambiance of this place is a little excessive, no?" spoke Kaito, feeling very uncomfortable. "Our time is short, let us make haste." The man sidestepped Kaito's comment, ignoring him completely. It seemed as if he was talking to himself. "You know my name, but you can't speak it, why?"

Wrapped in thought, Kaito did not have any idea how to answer this question. "Suukemuru. See, I can say it without a problem." Confused, Kaito waited for the man's response. "You may be speaking the name, but your words have little meaning. You have potential, but you must unleash it. I'm familiar with your beliefs, but when you need to fight, you must give it your all. Back your words with feeling and emotion. SAY MY NAME!"

"SUUKEMURU!" Kaito looked around. He was standing up with his blade unsheathed, pointing straight up. I'm.....back. The classroom was again under his feet. It seemed that he was so enthusiastic, he had broken out of his trance and acted without thinking. He regained his composure and sat back down, hoping no one would say anything.

Cardinal Ximenez wrote:

Ximenez fixed his obscured eyes on the tall brunette tentatively making her way back into the room.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about her, Zetsumei-san," he spoke up, slowly stepping over to the two of them. "She's a tough girl, aren't you, Kasahara-san." Even as tall as Kasahara was, Ximenez was still taller.

Ximenez tilted his head and smiled over the rim of his glasses at Kasahara. "At least... I hope you are." His eyes were red. Dark, malicious red, the color of fresh blood. "If you're afraid of your own zanpakutou, Kasahara-san... I can't say you're ready for the much, much more frightening things that exist outside the walls of this city."

"You're right Ximenez, she does seem much better now."

*Zetsumei was surprised the cardinal had spoken to him. He was not afraid but very curious. This man had a similar air about him that his zampakto had had.*

"Ximenez... I'm curious. You don't have to answer me, but are you really just a third year student? Did you transfer here from somewhere else? ..."

*Zetsumei stops chatting as he realized he was probably asking too much. He smiled and put his hand on his head again.*


"Sorry I'm being nosy. I'm just curious about you."

Maka Kasahara wrote:

"Yeah. Everything's fine. Don't worry about it."

"It won't happen again." Kasahara would make sure of it.

"I'm glad you're fine. I hope Kira-sensie can help you with whatever trouble you were having."

I'm not qualified to help her with zampakto problems.

Even though he had finished making contact with his Zanpakutou, Igarashi had merged himself deep in thought for the rest of the class, barely paying attention to everything that had happened so far, including people shouting and leaving the classroom. He was very confused about what he had just experienced, never before in his life had he witnessed something like that, he had no idea that making contact with his sword could transport him to someplace else... and what a place, it felt all so.. unreal, and still, he was sure about that all that had happened, and that it was not something his made made up... or was it?

He was so focused thinking in this that he barely heard Lieutenant Kira ask them :

Izuru Kira wrote:

"Besides, class is almost over. How are all of you doing?"

When asked this, Igarashi simply nodded, not even looking back at the lieutenant, he was frankly more interested in figuring all that, he had been so focused in just living, not questioning much else, and not even thinking what his purpose was, he just lived, and acted accordingly, that encounter had left him deeply in thought, and remained like that for the remainder of the class.

At the Lieutenant's words, Junshirou blinked. He tried to remember all of the sudden outbursts that had happened so far during the course of the class - he hoped it wouldn't lead to more fires. Still, it probably provided a deep insight into the class as a whole. He looked around.

It seemed like a lot of people had made contact, although there was quite a sizeable proportion that obviously hadn't had much success. So much shouting, though. Even if he'd finished his meditation some time ago, some peace and quiet would still be appreciated, and there were the other students to think about as well. He was quite surprised that so many had achieved contact with all the distractions around them, actually. All of this would no doubt have to be committed to memory and noted down at a later date, plus this would make a good conversation point, including reconnaissance about the zanpakutou of the other shinigami.

...huh, he thought, he'd better respond to the teacher's inquiry. He looked at him and gave him a cheerful nod to indicate that he'd managed to contact the spirit of his zanpakutou successfully. There was a slight reluctance that he hadn't managed more than that, though, although he wasn't sure exactly how much more there was to manage. What was there in between contact and shikai anyway?, he wondered.

Satoko had ignored Kasahara once she returned, watching with little emotion as Zetsumei persued her, leaving him there, and then their speak with Ximenez, it was all so useless. What's the god damn point? They all keep talking, but none of them are saying anything. This is all so pointless, why do I even wish to become a Shinigami? To pay back the debt I feel I have for when they saved me? And what happened when they saved me, I was sent here, without myself, practically a newborn child, hardly able to stand on my own two feet! I had to grow up again, then I came here, but what for? Was it for you? Satoko looked down at Ryuunosuke, feeling it truely was one of the only reasons he was here. He needed to know what it knew; the sword knew who he was before.

Satoko shook his head, rage is unecessary when not being used to fuel need, but even then it's useless if used to excessively. Satoko held up his sword infront of him, touching the handle to his forehead, and spoke softly under his breath, "Why do you deny me... What have I done wrong? Or maybe it is not you who denies me, but I who refuses you passage... I apologize, next time I will be stronger."

Takeshi watched as Kaito, who had fallen earlier, made success now; so how many people did not succeed then? I myself am a failure, that blond boy has encountered a set back, he will surely overcome it. That girl next to him has shared his and my luck, while her sister appaears to be excelling. And Chiken must have had trouble as well, hmm, so four of us have failed? What a small sliver of us. This speaks well for the rest of class.

Satoko could not feel good for the rest of the class, for he did not know how, just as he could not experience pity for Kasahara had he known what she had experienced, or give himself hope, for he knew known of these things. To be proud, happy for others, to pity them, to be sad for them, and hope, to feel as though there is a chance of success. These things where not for Satoko.

Stretching slightly, Satoko decided it was time to tune back in, and he removed his blade's hilt from the contact it had on his forehead, he had not contacted it, but it did feel less angry, and he could tell it expected him to make contact next time. Sighing, hoping he did not let it down again, Takeshi strapped it to his side, it's pitch black, spotless sheath swinging a few seconds at first, before settling into a stationary hanging posisiton. Satoko watched it closely, wondering what secrets it held, he leaned up against the wall, his eyes resting on his sword, which wobbled from every movement he made.

Naomi stood with her weopon. She was about to make her swing, she wanted to make a good first impression. She pulled back and lunged forward.

Letting her gaze leave Ximenez's, she felt her fear of him subside. Kasahara still felt that he harbored ill will towards her, but atleast she was able to stand up to him... sort of. She found herself watching Takeshi speak to himself with the butt of his sword pressed gently against his forehead. Stepping away from the other two males, she waited until Takeshi appeared to be unoccupied with himself. Why was she compelled to talk to him? What was she going to say to him anyways?

She couldn't ask how his meditation was because she knew he had not made contact with his zanpakutou yet. She could only imagine how he must've felt when he had learned that he was not yet ready to speak with his weapon. Kasahara was sure that Izuru-sensei had said something encouraging to those who had failed the exercise but by the look of Takeshi, he still felt down. As he sighed to himself, the brunette took it as a sign that he had resigned towards the exercise and no longer wished to participate in today's class activity. She chose this time to speak up to him. "Perhaps next time, ne?"

Kasahara tried to give him a grin to lift his spirits. "We'll be better prepared the next time." She lifted a fist in front of her to show that she was determined to do better during the next Zanpakutou class too.

Naomi was attempting a rocking cradle motion with hers. She swung it back. WHACK! It hit her head. She fell to the ground knocked out. While she was knocked out she seen a small fairy not evan a meter long. It was a very excited little thing kind of reminded Naomi of Rikiki. Naomi talked to it and then came to. She awoke to realize she had come in contact with her weapon. She was very happy.

After hearing the Sensei's comments, Chiken sighed set Myounahanashi down. 'I guess Kira-Sensei was telling me your name because he knew I wouldn't be able to make contact.' Chiken thought, while letting all of the nagging fears from before out. Seeing that there was still more time before class ended, he took off his watch and started tinkering with it to fill time. He wasn't paying full attention to what he was doing and his hands were leading him rather than his head for once. He wasn't even looking at it when it made a click. He looked down at it and heard a faint noise. tick Chiken just stared at the watch, confused. tick Again he was still confused and blinked at it. tick Slowly, he turned the watch over to look at the clock face. tick With each tick, the second hand moved, getting closer to the twelve where both the hour hand and minute hand were resting. tick Finally, Chiken realized that the watch was fixed, he had fixed it! TOCK

Then, Chiken had no clue what happened next. Once he blinked, things rapidly got blurry. What was the classroom, was just a blur now. Each blink had made it worse, too. Feeling around, Chiken meant to grab his Zanpatukou. Instead, his hand wrapped around a small parcel. Feeling for it's opening, Chiken brought it up to himself, confused. After opening it, he felt inside to feel something small and cool to the touch. Picking it up, he moved it around in his hands, trying to figure out what it is. After a little turning, Chiken found a small movable arm. Opening the arm up, he found another going the other way. He opened the other arm and felt a different substance in two places, separated by the cool material. Chiken brought them closer to his eyes to see better, but even bringing them closer couldn't help him decipher what they were. Then, he heard a lovely voice ring out to him, "Silly, you're supposed to put them on." Chiken looked around to see who was talking, but couldn't see anything. Taking the person's advice, Chiken open the arms of the device and tried wrapping it around his wrist. Nothing happened. "No, on your face, silly." Taking the device off of his wrist, (it didn't fit anyways) CHiken did as he was told and put them onto his head, both arms wrapping around his head perfectly, leaving the cool material on his nose as the second substance was right in front of his eyes. Looking through the substances made everything clear. It took Chiken another second to figure out the the 'device' was not more than a pair of glasses.

Looking out, what was a blur was now a large, rolling plain. Looking left and right, he saw nothing but sky and grassy plains in all directions. Looking up and down, he saw that above him was the grassy ground and that below him was the sky. Frightened, Chiken put his arms out, expecting to fall much like in the cartoons where the character only falls after they realize they were upside-down. After staying like that for sometime, Chiken deduced he wasn't going to fall. Relaxing, he took a better look around. In all directions there was only the rolling plains in place of the sky, and the sky in place of the ground. He decided to take a step and nothing happened. He took another, and another and still, he didn't fall or anything. He looked up and noticed that there were footprints on the grass, its only imperfection. They just started from one spot and stopped directly above him. Puzzled, Chiken reached out to touch them. Although it looked like they were right within reach, Chiken couldn't touch them. Slightly annoyed, he decided to continue walking. After taking a few more steps, Chiken looked up again and gasped. The footprints were there still, but more than before. They, again, ended directly over his head. The realization hit Chiken like a train: they were his footprints. He patted the empty space he was standing on with his hand and saw the grass above it flatten, as if patted down by a hand. 'What? How? What is this? How... interesting!' He thought.

"Tee hee! You're funny." Looking around, Chiken could not find the originator of the voice, until he looked down. Floating below him was a large butterfly with many wings of white and a few wings of a brown-orange. Chiken was mystified with the creature and wanted to get closer to look more, yet he was above the creature and therefor not able to get closer to it and observe. Dismayed for a second, Chiken the decides to try something. He called out to it, "Hello you beautiful butterfly. You would come closer so I may see?" Chiken was a small bit loopy, with nothing making sense anymore to him. To his surprise, the butterfly did start floating closer. "Well, since you did call me beautiful, I'll come to you this time, but next time you should fly to me." Again, the soft, but beautiful voice called out to him. As the butterfly came closer, a small trail of beautifully colored ether followed it. Holding out his hands for the butterfly to land in, Chiken was still dumbfounded with the whole experience. Rather than landing in his hands, the butterfly landed on Chiken head, moving around some hair to get settled. As the butterfly flew onto his head, Chiken noticed that the white wings seemed to be paper thin and have strange markings on them. For a second, one of the wing's markings looked like writing, but Chiken lost that wing among the many others. After the butterfly landed, the song-like voice called out again, "Took you long enough with that watch. You never would've finished it without my help. Turns out, you misplaced a small gear. However, it's your watch so I'll undo it for you to figure out yourself. You're just such a sweet Myounahanashi, a mysterious tale."

At this, the glasses shattered and Chiken found himself back in the classroom, the glasses having no signs of being there. True to the zanpatukou's word, the watch was broken again. Chiken didn't care, though. He had met his zanpatukou.

Satoko was wondering who he may have been before he died, how old he actually was, when he had died, someone he had met on the street had otld him looked sixteen, so he had gone by that. he pondered what things he may have done, if he may have known any of the people around him before he had died? he wondered who his mother and father may have been, he could net find an answer no matter how hard he thought, but he wondered anyway.

Satoko found his thoughts interupted before they could drift itno anything bad, he looked at the brunette infront of him, he had been so deeply in thought with himself for such a long time proceeding this, it took him a amoment to remember the name of one of the only people he had met yet. He then listened to Kasahara speak, her name back where it belonged in his mind.

"Perhaps next time, ne?"

"..." Satoko looked at her, wondering what she meant by 'perhaps' he couldn't help but feel that a more dismal word was in order, but he couldn't think of one. I shall do it next time, no matter how little odds there are of it, I will succeed, through raw determination, I will speak with Ryuunosuke. No 'perhaps', 'definately'

"We'll be better prepared the next time."

"You contacted your Zanpakutou, it caused you to react strangely, but at least it would contact you. I failed, for I am simply a failure. And I do not believe that I should need a next time, I should have been prepared this time." Satoko looked upwards as he spoke, lowering his head and making eye contact with Kasahara as he finished. In his eyes, there was a jumble of things, but what loomed over all emotions that could be viewed there, and not on his face, was depression.

She failed at making him happy even though she was trying to be optimistic for him. The brunette felt a little disappointed, but brushed it aside; it was an unneeded emotion right now. His answer to her optimism was blunt, but also somewhat correct. She had contacted her zanpakutou and Takeshi failed at contacting his. By his words, the boy in front of her was beating himself up and she disliked it. She pursed her lips, wanting to hold back from hitting him and literally beating some sense into him.

Atleast Kasahara was successful in prevented herself from hurting Takeshi. She also bite back the words that wanted to fly right out of her mouth. She wanted to call him a moron and tell him that not being able to do ONE exercise does not make him a failure. Giving up would make him one. Her thoughts grew harsher as she recalled a conversation she had with Oushou yesterday. She absolutely hated people who give up!

"Do you really think of yourself like that?" She asked through her teeth, having them clenched tight. "A failure?"

Kasahara turned away and left him alone, believing that he would give her an undesirable answer. She thought that he would say that he was. There was an unspoken pact between them that Kasahara had not forgotten. Her need to be stronger grew. She'll have to speak to Izuru-sensei after class.

Rising quietly, as a few of his fellow students were still deep in concentration, Ryouichi walked softly over to the wall where Satoko and, until a few seconds ago, Kasahara had been standing. "You look down, Satoko-kun." he murmured, his voice barely audible, "How about I give you a hand? I could teach you how to meditate." He leaned in closer, so that he could see the younger boy's eyes, dulled by depression. "I could show you the way to contact your zanpakutou. How does that sound, Satoko-kun?"

*Zetsumei watches Kasahara leave to talk with Satoko.*

I want to go try and cheer that guy up. He looks like a cool guy. However, my attempt failed earlier and anything I say won't help. He has to realize his own strength. Everyone has a strength. Even Yuri, who was not a fighter, had her strengths.

*He watches Kasahara and Satoko interact, a strange feeling comes over him. He's not sure what to make of it. He pushes the feelings aside. He decides to try to engage Ximenez in conversation again.*

"Well now, looks like I got left. You said you were on speaking terms with your zampakto for a while right? That's impressive. Are sure sure you haven't already graduated before? You're very strong, I can tell. If you have nothing to learn... why are you here? I know you said it was for power before, but you seem to have a lot of it already."

I still feel that coldness from him that I felt from my zampato. However, there is more malevolence from this guy. He is dangerous, but I want to learn more about him. I'm not afraid, but hopefully I won't say something that will get me killed. That would be... unfortunate.

Daisuke sat cross-legged on the floor, somehow managing to contort his enormous body into a perfect lotus position. His zanpakutou was in his lap, just as it was for everyone else, and his eyes were closed tight, meditating deeply. Daisuke was well-versed in meditation. The idea of contacting some sort of mysterious 'persona' locked within his sword seemed rather... unnecessary, though.

"What does a sekitori need a sword for?" he said to himself. But no sooner had he thought this than an image popped into his head of his first time performing the duties of a tachimochi, not long after his promotion to sekiwake. Standing to the right-hand side of his stablemaster, the great yokozuna Chiyonofuji. All yokozuna received a sword, symbolizing their status as a samurai, although it was only ceremonial.

"I never got a sword," Daisuke said to himself. "No one ever had the honor of being my tachimochi." He shook his head. "No. A sekitori needs no weapon." Daisuke glanced down at his large hands. "The only weapons I need are these. My own hands, my arms, my legs, and the muscles behind them. That's how I fight."

He went back to meditating quietly, his mind a total blank, shutting out any thoughts of the tempting power locked inside the weapon in his hands.




sekiwake: the third-highest sumo rank, after yokozuna and ozeki
tachimochi: a ceremonial sword-bearer that accompanies a yokozuna into the ring, usually a high-ranking sekitori

Duggo arose late, as usual, and missed much of the headmaster's speech. Whoopty fuck. He did see the Ryoka, though, and thought she was pretty hot. Duggo liked redheads. He was hungry from a missed breakfast as he made his way to his first class of the year.

There were words and suggestions and exhortations and mumblings from all around him. The one thing Duggo really wrapped his head around was the idea that he had to connect mentally, somehow, with "Lucille".

AWESOME.

Duggo unsheathed "Lucille" laid her across his lap, and, rather than concentrating, did exactly the opposite. He let his mind wander.

cars

acceleration

the sweet, sweet noise of 13-inch cherry bombs

a lamp

poor throttle response

gotta adjust that

look at that asshole pull ahead

he knows i can stomp him on the straightaways

goddamn carb is still bogging

did i break a spring or something

no wait i think this is a mixture issue

yeah

it's that new air filter

shoulda known it wanted re-jetted

lamp brighter

is that a train

hoshit it is

brakes locked

smoke from tires

loud noise

blood

noise

the radio never stopped

neither did the train

window smashes into diamonds

there is a moment of flight

a tree

light darkness light darkness light

a flash of another life

somebody else's life

orderly, boring

rigid, inflexible

For a moment it all goes dark.

There was a moment of diffusion, where Duggo passed from uncertainty to certainty.

It was terrifically humid, and Duggo could hardly breathe. He stripped off his leather, but found himself sweating even in a t-shirt. The sky was a leaden grey, and the air as thick as mud. Shortly it began to rain. Duggo had never seen such a downpour. He could see perhaps 50 feet in front of him. He was aware enough of the uneven agricultural terrain beneath his feet that he resisted the urge to run. After a few minutes, he saw a dim shadow through the rain. When he arrived at it, it turned out to be a live-oak tree. He huddled under it for shelter.

The rain stopped almost as suddenly as it had started.

About 1/4 mile away Duggo saw a wooden structure. It was not quite a barn, but was somehow more than a mere "shack". Duggo made a bee-line for this structure, hoping to find a place to dry out.

There was a door on the building which was secured with a rusty padlock. Duggo looked around for a few moments, and saw a length of rebar, rusty, lying in the scruffy weeds surrounding the building. The mosquitoes were eating him alive. He didn't hesitate a moment to use the rebar as a lever to break the lock. It cracked open with a satisfying sound.

Duggo swung feebly at the lock bits to clear the hackles so he could open the door. It was obviously an old door, weathered and faded, with rusty hinges. Duggo's ears popped as the barometric pressure dropped. The rain began again. He swung the door open. Behind it he saw darkness.

A sudden crack of lightning very close to him pushed Duggo through the door perhaps a bit before he was fully committed to the idea.

Midori had been exceptionally quiet over the past few hours. Much of this was due to contemplating the events of the previous day and the presentation this morning. Her mind was reeling with all the new information, it felt like she'd missed several hours and suddenly had all the knowledge slammed into her head all at once... very disorienting, and left her in a daze for most of the day. It was almost as if she was sleepwalking, simply going through the motions, everything on auto-pilot and acting more by instinct and habit than actual thought and action.

When she finally came to herself, she was in another classroom sitting across a mat from Daisuke, who appeared to be meditating with his zanpakuto in his lap, as she herself was also doing. She vaguely remembered the instructor telling them something about how to get in contact with their weapon, but she wasn't sure she could remember the exact instructions. Ah well, won't be the first time I've just winged it. Seems Kokobunji-san has an idea of what to do anyway. So she closed her eyes and attempted to concentrate on the green-hilted blade in her lap, leaning her head slightly down so if she opened her eyes she'd be staring at her feet, her chest over the sword's blade in her lap so that if it was suddenly standing straight up it would be piercing her heart. And waited and concentrated to see if anything would happen....

------

She was in the middle of some kind of forest or dry swamp. Everything was green, but not green like grass and woodland trees, but the deep dark green of exotic forests and... well... reptile scales. Because that's what it all looked like. Massive tiles, huge slate shingles, gigantic plates, all the shade and shape and texture of gargantuan serpent scales. And it was moving, undulating up and down and seeming to pulse and writhe with its own living energy. What sort of place was this!?

Almost as if to answer, the ground beneath her began to shift more rapidly, and appeared to be flowing away from her. It was a struggle just for Midori to retain her footing. Ahead not too far away a large section of the ground began to pulse and surge, rising up above the rest of the ground in a dome shape that quickly became a pillar instead. Then this pillar suddenly had a head... it was no pillar after all, but rather the massive head of some god-sized snake. A pair of gleaming red beacons appeared in its sides, crimson pits that had to be the creature's eyes, and its jaw splitting open to reveal massive fangs easily bigger than she was. Its devilishly-forked tongue flicked at the air between them, as if tasting her scent from a distance before closing for the kill; she couldn't pull her eyes from its gaze, it was as if those blood-red gems had hypnotized her.

"You know who I am," the serpent said in a deep, sibilant voice, dropping a heavy hiss on the end of the last word.

Midori began to say no, but the answer came to her before she actually did so. "You're my zanpakuto." The serpent shifted, an action Midori took for a nod of affirmation, and the entire landscape shifted with it from horizon to horizon. I'm standing on its coils!? her mind reeled, finally putting two and two together as she struggled to retain her balance. "So I'm finally here to meet you," she said, after reasserting her footing on the shifting ground beneath her.

"A massster of the obviousss," the massive snake said, the hissing more prominent with words that depended on letters that shared the sound. "You sssimply haven't been trying. Thisss is simplicsssity compared to what liesss ahead." Its tone was both chastising and one of benevolent warning. The great snake's world-body shifted once more, and Midori found herself being rolled towards its gargantuan head. Another failed attempt to retain her balance later, she was sitting atop one of the serpent's coils and being lifted so that she was at its eye level. "You know what you mussst do, Midori...."

Despite understanding - or at least having a vague idea of - what was really going on, Midori couldn't help but feel a sense of terror at being this close to the gargantuan monstrosity. And apparently, the zanpakuto could sense this as well. "If you fear me, Midori, what will you do when facsssed with greater horrorsss? What of when you meet with a Hollow oncssse more? Will you be paralyzsssed in terror once more as you were when you woke up in Ryoukongai? I thought you ssswore never again to feel so helpless, so worthless, so weak." The great jaws opened again, baring those fangs and that flickering tongue in her direction. "Ssspeak! Conquer your fear and your doubt! Rissse above your limitationsss and your barriersss! You have worn me with pride on your arm and at your ssside for long enough in sssilence. Ssspeak or forever hold your peacsse, and eternally be bound to never reach beyond this plane! Ssspeak my name!"

And then without warning it was coming at her, gargantuan serpent with bared fangs bearing down on her helpless form. Steeling herself, Midori shoved the feeling of helpless terror aside and reached out, grabbing one fang at its tip in both hands. "Onorinowai!!"

------

Midori's eyes slowly opened back in the classroom, and instead of sitting with her sword in her lap she was now holding it in both hands by the hilt, the reverse edge of the blade's tip resting against her forehead just below her hairline. She made no further comments, just returned Onorinowai to its scabbard, then rested her left hand on its hilt while running her right hand's fingers along the serpent tattooed on her left bicep. She then closed her eyes once more and returned to meditation, not wishing to disturb any of the other students who hadn't yet completed this delicate task.

The door to the training hall slides open, and a smiling young girl who appears to be about 14 or 15 years old steps quietly into the room, holding a cup of tea.

"Morning, Izuru," she says cheerfully. "Almost done with your class?"

Maka Kasahara wrote:

"Do you really think of yourself like that?" She asked through her teeth, having them clenched tight. "A failure?"

"Do you?"

Satoko watched as Kasahara departed, he felt defeated, had he just lost a friend? He sighed once more, the cloud of depression looming over him even more effectively after speaking wiht Kasahara. I may be failure, but I will keep pushing onward, even if it's only to another failure. I will keep doing my best, even if it's not good enough. For the few he seem to think I can succeed. Satoko breathed in deeply, tasting the air where Kasahara had been standing, he wondered how much he had annoyed her, what an ignorant baffoon he was. He was about to slip back into thought when he heard another voice; Ryouichi.

Ryouichi Kanue wrote:

"You look down, Satoko-kun." he murmured, his voice barely audible, "How about I give you a hand? I could teach you how to meditate." He leaned in closer, so that he could see the younger boy's eyes, dulled by depression. "I could show you the way to contact your zanpakutou. How does that sound, Satoko-kun?"

Satoko looked at the boy he had so visciously attacked earlier, watching as he offered his assistance, Satoko was to upset to think of anything but the benefit of help, he wasn't thinking of eveyr possible motive Ryouichi could have for doing this, he thought only of edging closer to success. If he succeeded, then he would apologize to Kasahara for whatever he may have done to upset her. "That sounds... Nice Ryouichi, thank you."

Satoko's attention was diverted momentarily by the girl who had enetered, she appeared to be a few years younger than him, but appearances were often deceiving, especially in this world. He saw her speak to Izuru without using the term 'sensei', she must not be a student then. Strange. Satoko turned back to Ryouichi, to whom it would be easy to tell he had lifted Takeshi's spirits slightly, not by simply saying he would be better, but by offering to help better him.

Junshirou noticed Kanue rising quietly, and saw him walk over to Takeshi. "...this could be trouble", he thought. Hadn't Ximenez and Oushou also been over there? At least Kasahara was there in case anything broke out, though, and it was unlikely that there'd be a fight or so much as a hostile outburst so close to where the teacher was sitting.

Looking round, the rest of the class seemed to be doing well. Chiken and Midori both seemed as if something had happened... even Duggo was in some form of trance. Kokubunji looked to be deep in concentration, and Naomi was smiling, which was probably a sign of success. He felt sympathetic for those who hadn't achieved contact along with the rest of the class, as they seemed to be a minority. Even Ximenez had apparently achieved contact... Junshirou tried to imagine the man deep in concentration, sat in a lotus position, but the two concepts seemed totally incongruent. If he was really as strong as he claimed, then he could be a valuable asset.

Seeing Kasahara walk away, he thought that perhaps it would be best if he went over to make sure everything was okay. Kanue and Takeshi really didn't seem to get on very well, so some damage control might be needed. Junshirou gazed intently, wondering whether to rise and go over, or whether to let Lieutenant Kira handle it if anything happened. A new person had just appeared, after all, and Junshirou could be doing other things with his time.

Hmm? It appeared that Kanue and Takeshi were getting along well, judging by the latter's smile. This was a surprise, but it meant that he wouldn't have to stop any fights, so it was a welcome one. He focused his attention towards the new girl.

Naomi seen the teacher walk in. Naomi wanted to be friendly so she went up to him and begain to speak. "Hi my name is Naomi, nice to meet you".

"Just about, Momo." Izuru nodded to the girl that had just entered. "Alright, that should be enough for today. I must say, I'm quite impressed by your progress, all of you... only on the first day, even!" He stood up and put his zanpakutou back in his belt. "We'll pick this up again day after tomorrow. After lunch..." He nodded toward the young girl in the doorway. "You'll be with Hinamori-sensei for Advanced Kidou.

Kira cast one last look around the classroom. "Alright, that's it. See you day after tomorrow. Class dismissed."

The students began to stand and shuffle out the door toward the cafeteria, but Kira put a hand on the shoulder of the short-haired brunette who'd left earlier. "Kasahara-san, do you have a moment? If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to you about what you saw in your mindscape."

Experience has been awarded!

All players who successfully contacted their zanpakutou gain 30 exp.

Rikiki Brown: +30
Duggo: +30
Rokurou Kaito: +30
Ryuichi Kanue: +30
Maka Kasahara: +30
Chiken Kazenosei: +30
Ashibue Kijou: +30
Naomi Oxen: +30
Igarashi Sakimoto: +30
Junshirou Tenkawa: +30
Midori Yuansuzaku: +30
Oushou Zetsumei: +30

All players who did not contact their zanpakutou gain 20 exp.

Hikari Kijou: +20
Daisuke Kokubunji: +20
Anshou Mizukin: +20
Satoko Takeshi: +20
Cardinal Ximenez: +20

Roleplaying/Description bonus:

Rikiki Brown: +10
Duggo: +25
Rokurou Kaito: +20
Ryouichi Kanue: +15
Maka Kasahara: +30
Chiken Kazenosei: +30
Ashibue Kijou: +20
Hikari Kijou: +15
Daisuke Kokubunji: +15
Anshou Mizukin: +10
Naomi Oxen: +10
Igarashi Sakimoto: +25
Satoko Takeshi: +22
Junshirou Tenkawa: +30
Cardinal Ximenez: +15
Midori Yuansuzaku: +30
Oushou Zetsumei: +25

===================

Maka Kasahara has gained a level!

More people made contact, more noise and voices were heard, even a new teacher had come in, and now everybody was leaving the classroom, But Igarashi Sakimoto was Oblivious to all of this, still deep in thought, he didn't pay attention to all that, and was still seated in his lotus position when everyone else began getting up and leaving the classroom.

His grasp of reality and what he wanted of his staying here before had been put to the test today. In truth, Igarashi had never made contact with his zanpakutou because he simply thought it was not really possible, he used to believe it was a state of mind, nothing more, but that encounter he had made... it felt so real, and yet, so ethereal at the same time.

But what truly bothered him were his zanpakutou words... Heart's wishes... trouble figuring out what i really want... why???. He refused to believe that his zanpakutou knew that about him, especially since he did not think that, he just simply had not really thought about what he really wanted to do before, or what was his purpose overall. Igarashi never liked to bother with these thoughts, but know, he could not stop pondering about it. His eyes were open, but staring at nothing, he truly did not knew he was supposed to be leaving now, making him the only one still sitting in the classroom as Kasahara and the Lieutenant Kira waited for the class to get out.

Daisuke rose to his feet, moving more quickly than a man of his bulk should be able to. He strapped his zanpakutou to his back and began marching for the door. He hoped that the cafeteria served miso ramen, his large stomach lightly grumbling. Oh, or maybe some horumonyaki... he stopped for a second, looking back at the other students, and spotting Midori on her way out the door.

Daisuke stopped in front of her, bowed politely, and said "Care to join me for lunch?"

Kasahara nodded quietly towards her teacher, but eye'd Sakimoto suspiciously. Even thought class was dismissed, he was still sitting on the matted floor. She wasn't sure about speaking her problems outloud to the teacher while he was still in the room, but she dismissed the feeling. After all, Sakimoto didn't look like he was paying attention to anything at all. The brunette turned her attention to Izuru-sensei and held a very serious look upon her face. "I saw something..." That was an obvious statement.

"The world around me was darkened and hideous.. I wasn't ready for what I saw." She remembered a flash of green running straight at her with the rattle of chains. Now that she had already seen what her mindscape consisted of and the appearance of her Zanpakutou, Kasahara felt that she was ready to speak with her weapon. "I'd like to try again. I was fearful and fled the first time, but I'll try to stay in meditation this time."

She looked into Izuru-sensei's eyes, almost pleading. Kasahara knew that she could probably repeat the class's exercise on her own time, but she felt like she needed her teacher's approval and opinion before doing so. She wanted to get better at what she was trying to accomplish and be stronger for multiple reasons; the urge to do so was there and she wasn't going to push it aside. "Please, may I?"

Izuru closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

"I see," he said solemnly. He took a few paces away from Kasahara, then turned back. "It's not uncommon at all to be nervous about your zanpakutou. It involves a sense of losing control. Of experiencing something that most people in Soul Society could never even dream about. Even I was a little apprehensive about Wabisuke the first time I met him."

He shook his head. "But... to be truly afraid of your zanpakutou... that's what I see in your eyes, Kasahara-san. You're scared. Not of the power, not of the responsibility, not of the experience. You're afraid of your zanpakutou itself, and that's rare. I see it in the way you hold your zanpakutou... gingerly, like you're holding a sleeping infant that you're desperately trying not to awaken. And the way you strap it to your back, it doesn't fit with your personality, Kasakara-san. It's as if you're trying to avoid even seeing it." Izuru looked deep into Kasahara's dark brown eyes. "I've only seen a handful of Shinigami that were truly afraid of what their zanpakutou was. Not even... half a dozen, I don't think. And without exception...," he paused for a moment. It seemed to Kasahara that a memory had been dredged up, something that the teacher didn't want to remember. He seemed to be rethinking his words. "Nothing ended happily for any of them," he finally spoke.

"As you know," he continued, shifting the subject in a different direction. "Your zanpakutou is a manifestation of four things: Your heart... that is, your feelings, both rational and irrational. Your mind... that is, your thoughts, both conscious and unconscious. Your legacy... that is, your words and actions, whether or not you remember them, no matter how insignificant they may be. And finally, your influences... that is, the spirits that surround you, whether you realize it or not." He touched his index finger to Kasahara's temple. "These four things are what created that world in your mind and that terror that you saw."

"If you're as afraid of your zanpakutou as it seems you are," Izuru continued. "It means that you have a darkness... somewhere in your heart, your mind, or your past." He shook his head. "And until you can figure out what that darkness is and then move past it, I'm going to have to ask you not to try and communicate with your zanpakutou again. It could be disastrous. Do you understand?"

Naomi was also in the room. Naomi was dissapointed that she did'int talk to much to her weapon. She overheard Kasahara speaking. Naomi thought she would like another shot at it. She really wanted another chance. She walked over to Izuru. She waited for Kasahara to finsih speaking, then she asked the question.
"Would you mind if I also repeated todays class? I could stay with Kasahara and help her out if she needed help with something. I also feel that I did not really conect with mesuokori." She looked up at the teacher hoing she would get another chance.

The expression on her face changed from being focused and serious to that of doubt as she listened to her teacher. She took his suggestions and words to heart, even though they didn't please her. Kasahara felt a pang in her heart; it was the feeling of disappointment, knowing that Izuru-sensei had asked her not to contact her zanpakutou again. She wondered how she was going to continue the class if she could not communicate with her weapon. For now, she had to trust the teaching of the man in front of her. ".. I understand." Her friend, Naomi, had also appeared by her side, asking for another chance too. The blue haired girl suggested that she could help Kasahara, but the brunette knew that it was futile.

She was not going to disobey her teacher. Kasahara left the classroom and wandered aimlessly through the halls with a disheartened appearance. Her situation wasn't completely hopeless; Izuru-sensei also suggested that she look deep within herself to uncover the darkness that she held. The problem was that she wasn't sure where to start. The brunette could hardly remember her past and her current life in the soul society was filled with optimism. She looked forward to a future in which she could aid and support others.

Kasahara didn't feel like eating lunch with the rest of her classmates and proceeded to wander outside of the academy. She found the stump from a tree that Duggo had cut down earlier. As she sat there, she tried to think back to her previous life. "Who was I?"

Naomi ran after Kasahara she caught up with her and she was in a fallen down tree. "Hey cheer up, you will figure it out I promise." Naomi hoped she was being a help to her friend. "Alls that we need to do is figure out where the darkness is from. Try telling me about your past as much as you can. Mabey it will trigure more memorys that may help".

Kasahara left her mouth ajar as Naomi spoke to her. Apparently her friend had overheard their conversation and followed her outside. She was hoping that her talk with Izuru-sensei had stayed between him and her, but she wasn't sure about how she felt now that Naomi knew of what they had said. Even though Naomi was her first friend, and probably the only person whom Kasahara was sure to label as a friend, the brunette wasn't ready to disclose her secrets to the blue haired girl.

"Thanks." Again, Kasahara wasn't sure where to begin when looking for the 'darkness'. Perhaps she could start with a subject she was comfortable with sharing. "Promise me you won't tell anyone about what I'm about to say?"

She took a deep breath and sighed. "When I was living in the soul society, before I came to this academy, I saw someone... My district was a really good one, always following the rules and making sure everyone was behaving. Because we behaved, Shinigami's never came by..." Kasahara paused. She was starting to have second thoughts of telling her story. ".. You know what? Nevermind.. It probably didn't have anything to do with the darkness."

*Since Zetsu was in the very back of the class still, it took him a little longer to leave the class room. He couldn't help but over hear Kira-sensie's words.*

It's a manifestation of self huh? considering all the violence around me, that makes a certain amount of sense. However, Yuri helped to change me, to cause me to be a better person with her kindness. Although revenge s important I have vowed to let it not run my life. I don't have enough power yet to avenge Yuri's death. Until that time... I just need to study. I cannot assume that everyone is a bad guy. Yuri gave that same kindness to me and I need to repay her.

There is no reason to fear something just because we don't fully understand it. I'm training to be a shinigami after all, so my zampakto and I are the same in that aspect. He doesn't have any ill will from what I can tell, so he's not a bad guy. Even knowing all that though, it's still a little unsettling. If my zampakto is like that, something might be wrong with me. I still like my zampatko though. I hope we get a chance to understand each other more next time.

I should thank Kira-sensie before I leave.

"Kira-sensie, thank you for today. You gave good instructions, and I feel like I learned a bit more about my zampakto. Even if he is an unusual character, I'm happy to have finally made contact. Please look after me in the next class as well. See you next class"

*He realizes Kasahara left and decides to catch up.*

This is my chance!

"Kasahara, can I walk with you to the next class?"

I need to try to cheer her up.

"I heard what Kira-sensie said to you. You just need to do some thinking on what that part of you could be and over come it. I know you're strong. You can find the courage. Just like you helped me earlier, I'd like to help you. If you need someone to help you figure it out, I'll be here for you."

Was that too obvious...?