Raion [Yuri and Shino only]

Yuri sat quietly on a bench in the park where she'd met Saito-dono, hugging a knee to her chest. It had been weeks since she'd last heard from her supposed leader. The last contact had been a goodbye, and a release from her role as the other girl's samurai. The phone number was still logged in her cellphone, but when she'd tried to call it, the number had been disconnected.

Since then, Yuri hadn't been able to figure out what it was she should be doing. Of course, she'd continued on as normal... she hadn't even told her father about swearing loyalty to Saito Pakusu, so naturally, she didn't want to worry him. However, since the loss of her leader, she'd felt a growing sense of emptiness. It had felt right, to be serving as the girl's samurai.

Even so, she wasn't about to randomly swear herself to someone again. The only way she would do that is if she got the same feeling from the new person as she did with Saito-dono. That sense of rightness had been comforting.

She tilted her head back, looking up at the clear, twilight sky with a soft sigh. Really, she should have been getting home, but she just didn't feel like it. She wasn't even hungry.

This town...was strange. The buildings, the clothes people wore, and even the people. Nothing like home, not a bit, and this whole time she'd become so lost within the giant metal constructs and temples that at times she was sure she was walking in circles. Yet civilization was better than wandering about hopeless in the woods as at least back home she'd become accustomed and quite the expert travelers. Then again, when you can regain your starting point upon will then of course it was easy to try again and regain one's position.

'Oh wait, the gods were kind enough to let me stay in the Farplane upon desire...but I can't dilly-dally there either when I need to find him...' there wasn't time to stay in places of comfort when there was work to be done. That's how it had always been back home with her duty to aid adventurers and the world without rest until it was accomplished. But....at this rate how could she perform her duties when she couldn't find her way around this town without the aids of the Epitaphs? She might need help from a more knowledgeable local.

How would one go about requesting such aid? And know who to ask, seeing as last time she'd talked about demons the human had runaway and some men in blue had tried to take her captive. They'd reacted funny when she'd suddenly disappeared, if only thanks to Skeith and disappearing momentarily through the dimensional wall. Tiring though, so she'd rather not do that again if necessary. She'd have to be more...cautious then, this time.

Right now she was scouting through the park, currently her favorite place to be as there was less human activity than out on the streets, and therefore meant less strange looks at her attire. Looking around she knew better than to walk up to any of the families since all animals would become protective over young, and also more likely to call those blue clothed men. A girl on a bench....who appeared forlorn. Why, she didn't know, though something told her that perhaps she'd be one to ask. Intuition, if you will.

'I'll have to be careful about asking her, but if she doesn't run off then I'll take that as a good sign.' Right now he'd be laughing at her for sure, always with the uncertainty with new people and new surroundings. Willing her feet to move towards the girl and unsure what to do, she found herself plopping her bottom a foot away from the girl and staring up at the sky as though trying to see the interesting formation in the sky the girl was seeing.

"Tell me...what do you know of your world?" Shit! 'Your world' sounded really weird coming from another human! Or someone who appeared human since she hadn't been one for quite some time...

Yuri's head tilted back down as she heard someone sit on the ground not too far away. Usually, people tended to avoid her due to the swords resting at her waist. Not this person though. She was dressed strangely, wearing very little, though she honestly couldn't blame the girl. The weather HAD been hot lately. Then the odd girl asked her a question, and Yuri had to do a double take at the wording. 'Hm... strange wording. Maybe not human then. Shinigami, maybe? Or some other supernatural race? Not Hollow, that's for sure,' she thought, tucking a lock of pale pink hair behind her ear.

After a moment, Yuri decided to speak. "Enough, I would imagine..." she replied, not really sure how to answer such a question. "What exactly, do you want to know?"

Looking at the girl, this time she noticed the swords and was a bit surprised. Not many of the folks around here - beyond those invisible to most - were carrying such blatant weaponry. Not uncommon home but a bit out of the ordinary here it appeared. Since the girl hadn't run away at the mere wording of her question perhaps her constitution was better than most, or was at least tolerant of the strange. Still the need to be cautious, but not overtly so now.

"I'm wondering to what extent your 'eyes' can see, I suppose. I...err...need help, but I need it from someone who's more knowledgeable of this world than most seem to be. Tell me if you can really see that which is behind you or not."

Though the request would sound simple enough to anyone, and most would describe the scenery behind them with relish in the assurance of having the correct answer. They would be deemed 'wrong' and she'd leave them, but if the girl was perceptive enough then this would be worth both of their time. Behind her lay not only the average park scenery of some trees - including a weeping willow by the stream below the tiny incline, a pile of boulders that most children would adore climbing, and the grass - but another figure loomed there. Large in size compared to humans, his head appeared somewhat small and adorned a pair of curving horns that didn't end points. Arms were long, with large and round shoulders, decreasing to a small width and then increasing again into something similar to an accordion shape with large, clawed hands. The wide chest was adorned with a pair of horns curving downwards and behind him, tapered severely into a tiny waist that turned into a pair of legs, knees having large horns jutting from them and then tapering into fine points. Behind him floated a translucent cape, floating around his waist and legs.

He floated, as though nonchalantly behind the bench were the two sat, not disturbing the scenery in any way beyond blocking it for those who could actually see him. But to see him required being spiritually aware, and if the girl wasn't, then Shino would move onto another individual.

"Behind me?" Yuri questioned, raising an eyebrow. She released her leg, setting her sandled foot down lightly on the ground before standing and turning. Upon laying eyes on the creature behind her, her chocolate-coloured eyes widened and her hand automatically flew to Sakura-no-Ame, her power flaring before she calmed down, realizing that she hadn't even sensed the creature, let alone any malicious intent. This wasn't a Hollow. "What... is that?" she asked, turning back to the girl, who appeared to be rather calm. She judged that the other girl must have at least seen this beast before. There really was no other explination for the calm way in which she pointed out what was there.

The reaction was promising as this girl knew to hold suspicion when right - after all one didn't see such strange things behind them often - as well as being able to see it at all. A small smile appeared on her face as this meant she didn't have to search much further then, although she spared a momentary thought at the ability to once again feel such a sense of strong relief, or strong emotions at all. Probably the lessening ties to the other world gods then. "If you can see him then this is perfect. As for what you see before you, his name is Skeith, and he is known as an 'Epitaph' by myself and the gods I serve...or did. The Epitaphs are a series of beings that I can summon to fight for me or along side me when fighting demons and corrupted souls. They tend to absorb those corrupted souls until they have lost their corruption and can be released into...well whatever world souls go to in this world. Much like 'Hell' for this world only kinder." Much better considering this 'Hell' some person on the street had been preaching about sounded rather torturous.

Skeith's eyes glowed and he slid to the left...yet as he moved he looked to be moving behind some invisible wall until he could no longer be seen or felt in any way. "Just to make sure though...you can also see the demons in this world, right? I worry since it seems like a lot of the general populace can't." Very strange since the demons were visible to all back home. "And also....do you know about those strange people dressed in the black robes? I can't figure out if they're another form of demon or demon killers. Back home some demons were known to eat others so its hard to fully tell...."

Yuri listened quietly as the other girl spoke. Once it seemed she was done, the chocolate-eyed girl thought silently for a moment before speaking up.

"Demons?" the samurai questioned, looking confused momentarily. Then understanding lit her eyes. "Oh! The Hollows! It's been a long time since I've thought of them as monsters or demons. They are human souls that have lost their soul chain due to a strong negative emotion. As for the people in the black kimono, they are Shinigami," Yuri explained, sitting back down on the bench. "And also, according to the Shinigami that explained everything to me, there is no hell. The closest thing to hell is Hueco Mundo, which is the Hollow world. All souls get sent to Soul Society and eventually enter the reincarnation cycle," she added.

"Hollows, so that is what they are called in this world?" Shino blinked a few times, trying to make sure she'd remember this for later. And Shinigami....strange name, as for Hell - "Someone should tell some of those yelling on the streets then that this 'Hell' doesn't exist and that they have the name all wrong." Realizing the poor man likely couldn't see the de-Hollows that this might be a pointless endeavor. So she'd let him have his pretend world then.

"So it sounds like the system isn't entirely different, though the names are naturally different and there is an actual home to the...hollows. And what is this 'soul chain' you spoke of? Although usually if a soul couldn't be found and sent off soon enough they'd turn into demons in my world. Is it similar here?"

Yuri laughed, shaking her head. "Don't try it. They'll just rant at you, saying you'll go to hell if you don't believe in "The Saviour". Religious nuts. If you don't believe in their god, then you are automatically going to be sent to the firey pits of Hell for all eternity. What kind of god would condem his "children" for not believing in something when there is no proof of it's existance?" she replied, then looked thoughtful for a moment, thinking back on what she'd been told again, as well as all she'd seen.

"Mmm..." Yuri murmured, then pointed to her chest. "Soul chains are a short chain extending from a metal panal about right here on a ghost's chest. Negative emotions cause the chain to rip out. This causes Hollows to come into being. However, a ghost can wander around for a long time so long as they aren't feeling any strong negative emotions like anger, hate, or anguish," she explained.

"At least I know differently. If I die again then I'll simply go to the Farplane....don't know if I can be saved by the gods anymore if I'm taken out by an enemy here. Guess it just means trying harder," she muttered to herself.

Listening to the explanation she could only wonder at the rules that govern this world, "Really? How so very strange....I don't believe we rely on such things back home. Though to each world their own rules and ways of functioning. Although we did have something similar in our world concerning negative emotions and not reaching the dead in time in which they'd turn into fiends that would then attack the people." Probably the same tragedies here of once family members turned demonic attacking those they once loved.

"So then I suppose these 'shinigami' would be the guides to the next world from this one? Or so I'm guessing...

"You'd be right about that. They also hunt Hollows in order to free the souls... Humans like myself, unfortunately can only destroy Hollows..." Yuri replied, then shook her head, deciding to change the subject, starting with an introduction. "I don't believe I caught your name... mine is Hoshizora Yuri."

"Oh...right!" Shino's expression turned to surprise and mild shock. Introductions always were awkward, and she didn't want to give out her name in case this girl had gone for the men in blue...much easier when they didn't know your name. Now that the girl's perception of her world had been discovered though introductions were...necessary lest they devolve to referring to each other as 'Hey you!' and 'Yo, girl!' or what not.

"My name is Shino Kasumi. It is a pleasure to meet you Yuri. I may take it that you are a human then of this world, and not one of those shinigami? You don't seem to hold the dark aura of those hollows. And...is it safe to assume you know your way around here?" More than anything she still needed a guide around...as well as someone who might be able to explain some of the odds and ends of this world for and to her.

"It's a pleasure, Shino-san," Yuri stated, assuming that Shino was the other girl's family name. It was odd, hearing her given name used by someone who was practically a stranger, but she'd let it slip, since Shino likely didn't know the customs around Japan. "Also, it's best to refer to people by their family names with the suffix '-san' unless given permission to do otherwise," she informed with a small smile.

"I am, indeed, human... though not exactly a normal human. I know this city very well, having been born and raised here. I can show you around. Also, do you have a place to stay? We have plenty of room where I live, and so it wouldn't be hard to ready a room for you if you wish to stay with me," Yuri offered.

"Really now? Hm....well all right then...Hoshizora-san....does that mean you're going to call me 'Kasumi-san' or staying with 'Shino-san'?" If this was the custom then why had she used her first name? Then again from the sounds of it she'd use the girl's first name. Not fully uncommon where she came from but for higher up families one would call them by their last as a sign of respect. "Oh I fear I will make many mistakes before I make the right choices," she muttered under her breath. Annoying, like being a child again, and she hadn't been that in well over 200 years.

"For the moment you are in my current residents as I've just been sleeping here at this little patch of forest. Although an actual place might be nice...might even eat a bit or two of your interesting looking food if this is of no major trouble. Though if it is I'm perfectly fine on dining on tidbits of spiritual energy in the air. People seem to let it leak so easily." A bed was nicer compared to a tree branch no matter what, just that the branches worked when all else was denied.

"Oh! Your given name is Shino? How silly of me to assume," Yuri replied, blushing in embarrassment. "I appologize, Kasumi-san. I'm used to hearing the family name given first, and Kasumi is a common girl's name, so I'd thought..." she trailed off, her cheeks flushing a bit more as she realized that she'd been rambling. "Um... it's fine if you wish to call me by my given name. I was just informing you for anyone else... also, it will be less confusing when we reach my home. Is it all right if I call you by your given name? It'd probably be best to let my father assume that you are a friend from work who needs a place to stay for a bit..."

"Of course...most call me either Shino or Shade so either of those is perfectly fine. And I thank you for the permission of using your first name...sorry about that though, I'm used to the first then last giving of names so pardon my ignorance on customs. As to posing as your friend that sounds fine, although tell me where you work and what you do so I might have an answer if so asked." It was possible she might be 'quizzed' in sorts in case of suspicion. Usually higher families were the more suspicious, but then again with the rather interesting manners of this young lady she could very well be of a high family too.

"I do hope my presence won't be of too much bother for you and your family. Its been awhile though since I've had traveling companions save for..." she paused, a pang in her chest making it almost too painful to continue, "...awhile. So your company is at the very least appreciated." At the end she made sure to tack on a smile, feeling some of the real feelings behind it. She'd have to become accustomed to emotions again.

"I work in a resteraunt as a waitress. Otousama won't ask. He knows what the job is like from what I've said," she replied, smiling lightly, grateful that Shino wasn't upset with her. She then stood again, her hand resting on the hilt of Sakura-no-Ame. It was obviously a habitual motion, as her other hand remained by her side. "Hmm... normally I'd fly, as this park is a good distance from home... We'll have to catch the bus..." Yuri said, her tone absent as she thought. It'd been a long time since she'd used any sort of transit system, so she wasn't sure if the busses were still the same or not. She pulled a black cloth wrap out of the small bag she'd been carrying with her, and unhooked the katana and wakizashi from her belt, then wrapped them before tying off the wrap. "There. Easier to get around in public when my swords aren't obvious. Shall we get moving?"

'Hmm....I wonder what this 'bus' creature looks like, but it must be reliable transportation if we're choosing it over flying.' "A waitress? All right, but its best to know the back story in case I might need it for later. At least that's a profession that's crossed the barriers of worlds." From what she gathered this 'bus' must have a strict policy on bearing weapons, or at least having them out in the open so she'd have to be good and only resort to summoning an Epitaph and not its accompanying weapon should a fiend...err, hollow attack them.

"All right...um, this won't take too much currency will it? I fear that I haven't gained much beyond a few strange coins from here and not sure how much the cost is." Some strangers had been strangely kind in giving the coins to her, something about an 'interesting cosplay' or asking if she was a street performer. "And I take it that they have a strict, binding of weapons policy?"

"I can explain my job more clearly for you later. Maybe even get you hired by my manager. She's special, too, so I'm pretty sure I can explain the situation to her with little problem," Yuri replied, looking thoughtful. "And don't worry about paying. I wasn't even aware you had any money, anyway," she added as she started walking. Then she heard the comment about weapons and stopped, laughing nervously. "Actually, there's a pretty strict NO weapon policy. I sneak by it by saying I take kendo," she said, scratching the back of her head with another nervous laugh. "Thus the reason I usually fly..." She trailed off, a thought suddenly coming to her. "Hey, you wouldn't have any method of flight, would you? It's so much simplier than riding the bus..."

"Yeah, some nice people gave me some, something about cosplaying or being a street performer...although I have no idea what 'cosplay' is. And I do know what a waitress is at least, so it'd likely be the food I'd have to figure out if its too terribly different." The nervous laughter had her worried for a moment and then the "NO" part was worse. Hmm...must be mostly for civilians then.

"Yes, I do actually. I thought we were taking this 'bus' as it was more convenient or far more efficient than by flight. But I can just as easily ride Innis or Magus to your place." Which one though, well, Innis was the faster of the two so Shino would use her, in case Yuri was rather speedy. If not, then she'd still enjoy a ride, and Innis was the usual transport unless she knew she'd need a quick and decent shielding.

Behind her a dark shadow appeared and then lightened. Once again the head was small, this time with something of a thick halo floating above, and this one's upper body was slimmer than Skeith's had been, widening significantly at the hips with what appeared to be petals. From there, rather than legs, its body tapered in again before widening into a diamond shape, an eye design on the front. The upper arms were nothing but skinny pole-like objects, while the other half were large, curved pieces like arm armor and more human shaped hands. Under the hands was an orb with two rings between the hands and orbs, and behind was a larger version of the halo and six, large, skinny petals floating behind in a circle. This one stood higher than Skeith, if only due to its skinny length and tail to legs in design. Leaning over heavily Shino walked up one of the bent arms to climb onto it's back, "This is Innis, my second Epitaph, and the fastest of all the ones I've ever used."

Admittedly, Shino was excited at being able to ride Innis again at possible high speeds. Although doing so at all was a kick for her.

Yuri breathed a sigh of relief, hugging her swords to her chest. "Great. I hate public transportation," she said with a laugh. "I've nearly been arrested way too many times," she muttered, watching as Shino climbed up on Innis. "So, if that's your fastest, I take it you want to go fast?" the samurai girl asked, smiling slightly. Without waiting for an answer, she activated her power, her body beginning to glow before the glow began to seep off her, concentrating at her back, where the energy formed four pulsing faerie-like wings. Once the general form was set, the energy hardened into solid wings with a softly glowing network of veins.

"This is my style of flight," Yuri said, then took off, pausing to hover in the air above Innis and Shino, the wings cutting through the air so fast that they were just faint a faint blur in the air behind her, as well as making a quiet humming sound.

Never in her time had she seen such things as wings as beautiful as those. Not even some of his summons or hers, not such crystalline...shaking her head she felt something of a bug attracted to a light and had to shake herself of the momentary trance. "Fast...is fun...no?" And their movements were so fast her eyes couldn't keep up with it, how was this possible? This world was looking more and more promising if there was such an array of abilities amongst the humans. Like some of the warriors back home.

Just different customs.

Clothes.

Landscapes and towns.

Yeah.

"Shall we then? You have to lead the way," easily translated to 'time to go.' Shino was a bit curious to see the interior of a home in this world, so many curious sights after all and she'd only seen so much out of fears of becoming lost beyond aid.

"Fast is fun, as long as you aren't crashing into things," Yuri replied with a laugh. She'd had more than her fair share of crashes when she'd been learning the mechanics of flight, so she knew that fact for absolute sure. "Well, then, let's go," she said, spinning gracefully in mid-air before shooting up, high into the air, where they wouldn't be noticed by people...

[Continued in a topic in Hoshizora Temple.]