[Eunwon]

Naomi watched in awe as Tsukiko's body fell to the ground. For a couple of seconds, Naomi was sure she was dead. Those seconds were surely some of the scariest of her life, if Tsukiko really was dead Naomi wouldn't have a clue what to do. But Naomi could see something else, something over the motionless body. It was a figure, a human-like figure. But she could only catch glimpses of it, sometimes she could see it, but in a blink it would disappear. Then, as fast as it disappeared, it would reappear again. It was all very strange, but she knew deep inside that Tsukiko wasn't dead, against all the logic. Naomi could feel her presence, like she was standing there. As if she was this figure that kept disappearing and then reappearing...

"H-hello? Tsukiko... Is that you?" Somehow though, Naomi already seemed to know the answer of this question. Yes - it was Tsukiko. Ghosts were real.

(( I kinda did it in between. Like, she can see her, but not completely. ^w^ ))

[Elektra]

Interesting... Tsukiko though.  She can catch glimpses of me, but not much else...  When Naomi called out, she figured that since the girl was still standing there, it was time to talk a little.  "I'm not a ghost, you know.  I just asked if you believed in them because you humans tend to have a very narrow-minded picture of all things 'paranormal'.  I'm a soul reaper." she said, walking over to the other girl.  "I guide souls to the next world, and protect you humans from hollows.  I'm also a Bount, which is like a soul reaper, but they don't use Zanpakutos.  I can use both a doll and a Zanpakuto.  And I used to be the Captain of the Seventh great squad that protects the other world, until something happened." she explained slowly.  To be honest, she still wasn't sure if the girl was going to run away, so she paused, giving her time to decide whether to high tail it, or ask questions.


(Feel free to have her ask any questions about the terms and stuff Tsuki just used, she doesn't mind.  xD;   And that should create a couple of posts with explaining, and I can show her the Doll/Zanpakuto from there?  Because if she can sorta see Tsukiko, then she should be able to see her Zanpakuto, and dolls are visible to most humans.)

[Eunwon]

Even though Tsukiko's figure was very difficult to make out, her voice was as clear as could be. But from all these unknown words, Naomi wasn't sure if that was a good thing. She tried to keep a list in her head of all of the words she would need a definition for; Hollows, Bount, Zanpakutos, 'Other World'...  Naomi hesitated briefly before she began to ask questions. Now would be the time to flee, which would probably be the average response in an eerie situation like this. But strangely, Naomi really didn't feel scared - just intrigued and curious."Before I ask too many questions - and I do have quite a few," she spoke, "You mean to tell me... There is a whole other world besides this one!?"

[Elektra]

"Yes, of course.  Where do you think souls go after they've left their original bodies?  Some go directly to the Soul Society, others straight to Hell, and then there are the ones who linger in the World of the Living, this world, because they have some kind of attachment.  The last ones end up turning into hollows, mindless raging souls who have no mind, and devour both living souls and those already dead.  Problem is you humans can't see them for the most part, and fall prey to their hunger.  So we take them out, and use our powers to cleanse them and return them to their former selves.  Either way, all souls either go to the Soul Soceity, or Hell; it's what happens between their deaths and moving on that causes problems."
Naomi seemed to be taking this pretty well, considering the circumstances, and Tsukiko wondered what was going on in her head right now.  She seemed calm enough, and Tsukiko sat down, looking over the eggs they'd found so far, and waited for the girl to say or ask anything else.

[Eunwon]

"Well, I suppose... I guess I just thought that everyone went to Heaven. But I never really considered Heaven as its own world." Naomi didn't add that the whole 'Hollows' thing creeped her out. And though this whole 'soul' thing was brand new to her, she did have to admit what Tsukiko was teaching made sense - minus some of the vocabulary. She was about to ask what Zanpakutos was, but stopped herself. She had a question more important and she could ask that after this question was addressed."So Tsukiko... Are you happy with your job? As a Soul Reaper, I mean? It just seems so depressing and scary and... Well, it just doesn't seem like the most enjoyable thing to spend your life doing.

(( Leave it to Naomi to make sure Tsukiko is happy. xD. ))

[Elektra]

"Hahaha, you must be thinking about that thing all those humans make up, the Grim Reaper.  We aren't like that.  We protect you, we fight together, and we can bond with each other and our other halves, our Zanpakutos.  I'm quite content with this life, and I can't really compare this to the life I had before, since I don't remember it." Tsukiko said in a calmer manner.  She enjoyed her life currently, and even had to appreciate the whole mess that she'd had to come through to get to this point.

[Eunwon]

"Oh, I see. I'm glad you enjoy your job. I think that your job should be something that you really enjoy doing. I mean, it's one of the things you'll spend the most time doing in your life, after all." She said, "So I have a couple of questions for you. What's a Zanpakutos, and what happened that made you lose your position as Captain of Squad 7, or whatever it was called. Also - why do you keep disappearing and reappearing? Its so hard to focus on you!

(( Crappy post is crappy. I'm tired. >.< ))

[Elektra]

Tsukiko laghed, for real, at Naomi's sudden string of questions.  She thought about it, and decided to explain the most... complicated of them first.  "I didn't exactly lose my position as Captain, really.  I guess I resigned unofficially when they put me on death row."  Thinking back on those few hours that she'd spent in the tower of pentance, staring out at the execution hill, it was horrible, but she'd leave those out, for they were for her to bare.  "I got on another Captain's bad side, a crazy one's, and he found out that I was a Bount as well as a Shinigami, or Soul Reaper.  Bounts are like Soul Reapers, but they live off of souls, and become insanely powerful if they consume even one living soul.  The Soul Soceity still hadn't gotten over their fear of the Bounts after they were nearly destroyed by them, and wanted me dead...  So, I fled to the world of the living."

She was about to explain about Miyuki, but then thought about her last question.  "I'm not sure why I'm not clearly visible to you...  My spiritual pressure has gone down quite a bit from spending time in that Gigai, and a lot of it was sealed away for protection of you humans, so maybe that's why?  Most humans can't see any of us though, so you're powerful in your own."

"And, as for Zanpakutos..." she said, getting up.  "It's easier to show you, and then try to explain."

[Eunwon]

Naomi gave a smile when Tsukiko laughed, the women was definitely beginning to open up. For the most part while she was explaining, Naomi nodded her head along to show that she was following along. "So, have you ever... ate a soul before?"

The part about most human's not being able to see Tsukiko came as a shock to Naomi. She definitely wasn't anything different than the average person. That part confused her, but she was thankful that she could even see her at all. "I see. But, I'm sure I'm not anymore powerful than any other person."

Naomi watched expectantly as Tsukiko stood up, wondering what the Zanpakutos could be.

[Elektra]

It was odd, to say the least, that Naomi had no idea what gave her the power to see souls, but Tsukiko supposed it didn't really matter.  She reached down, and pulled out her two daggers from under the ends of her short kimono, and combined them, creating a dual bladed rod.  She twirled it around a couple of times, behind her back and under her leg, and then held it beside her body.  "This is a Zanpakuto.  They're swords, and they are created from us.  There are no two Zanpakutos of the same identity at the same time, and they each have different personalities, powers, and ideals.  They're literally our soul partners.  This is my own, Miyuki, and she's an ice type."  
Tsukiko wondered if there were to many humans around to activate Bankai at that point, but figured that there wasn't much to loose anyway.   "There are three stages of our Zanpakutos: there is the simple appearance of normal sword, then shikai, which is what she is in now, and then there is Bankai, or final release.  Bankai takes tens of years to master, and is a requirement for Captains.  In Bankai, the wielder or their Zanpakuto changes form drastically."
And with that, she picked up Miyuki, and concentrated her spiritual pressure in the sword, until she said, "Bankai! Fukai miyuki no musume hauringu wa, kiba o mukidashi"  The temperature dropped considerably at that moment, and caused a small, condensed fog around Tsukiko.



(That bit of Japanese means 'Final realease!  Howling daughter of the deep snow, bare your fangs)

[Eunwon]

Although Naomi had a difficult time seeing Tsukiko, her figure was clear enough so that Naomi could watch as she took out two daggers from her kimono and later combined them. Then, she twisted it around her leg and kept it there. "You said your sword, Miyuki, had a personality. Does that mean she can.. think? But doesn't that require a brain?"

Naomi listened as Tsukiko explained the different forms of Miyuki. After explaining about the 'Bankai' form, Tsukiko concentrated very hard on the sword before saying words many words which Naomi had absolutely no idea what they meant. She only picked up on 'Bankai' and 'Miyuki', and concluded that Tsukiko was transforming Miyuki into her Bankai form.

Naomi noticeably shivered as a cool rush of air hit her, and noticed a mysterious fog swirl around Tsukiko.

(( Ahh. I am SOO sorry this so late. We had a thunderstorm and the internet went down. Its back up and working now though! ))

[Elektra]

Tsukiko made her way out of the fog, rolling her shoulders as she adjusted to the complete change that she'd just undergone.  Everything around her had been magnified; the sound of the gentle waves rolling in sounded more like violent surges, the rustling of the palm trees sound like the grinding of metal, the salty scent of the ocean multiplied tenfold.  Flinching as she adjusted to the enhanced vision and smell, she twitched her ears, and flexed her fingers and toes with their newly grown claws.  The short tail she had behind her was still a bit annoying, but she figured that the more she used this form, the more she would grow accustomed to these changes.  

"Like I said," Tsukiko started, not wanting Naomi to run because of her new appearence, "our Zanpakuto's form changes drastically, or we change drastically.  At least in most cases we do."  The most annoying part about this change was that she lost her traditional uniform, and received a lacy black dress and heels.  When she had first discovered her Bankai, she'd been dismayed, but with the help of Miyuki, she'd actually become quite nimble in the shoes.

[Eunwon]

As Tsukiko's transformation finished, Naomi couldn't help but retreat slightly at the new figure. She had ears and a tail, claws and fangs? The fangs were what unsettled Naomi the most, though. They were just so different and unlike Tsukiko, Naomi didn't think she'd ever be able to familiarize herself to them. And what about the black lace dress with the high heels? She looked it over quickly, wondering how the ensemble was any use to Tsukiko. It took her a few seconds to take everything in before she stepped back to where she originally stood. Naomi blushed, embarrassed, and hoped that Tsukiko wouldn't take her reaction of withdrawing personally.

"Well I can see that," She replied, while laughing slightly at her own, somewhat sarcastic, answer. "Your just so, different.. I mean, I can change forms from human to Lucain, but you almost seem to have become someone else entirely."

[Elektra]

"I suppose that it's just a matter of the power surging through me when I release Miyuki.  And she's quit the fickle one, so of course it's me who changes forms instead of her." Tsukiko said, rolling her eyes.  She felt the hilt of the sword grow even colder, a sign of annoyance from Miyuki, but just growled slightly.  It figured that she had one of the moodiest Zanpakuto there was.  After all, it fit her perfectly, seeing as how sarcastic and distant she could be at times.

Tsukiko had to admit that she was pleasantly surprised that Naomi hadn't chosen to run at the sight of her new form.  She did, on the other hand, laugh at the look on Naomi's face as she surveyed the dress and heels.  "Yeah, I still haven't really figured out why I always seem to change into this, but it's helpful for when I have to speed up.  To much fabric will just catch wind and slow a person down.  And I've learned from experience that's not a very good thing."