The Final Frontier [NDE, Med]

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Name: [The Final Frontier] - The Adventure Name

Participants: [Soul Society Affiliated] - Who can participate?

Location: [Rukongai Wilderness] - Where does this take place?

Difficulty Level: [Medium] - Easy, Medium, Hard, Extreme. How difficult is this adventure?

Setting: [NDE] Is this DE or NDE? Death Enabled or Non Death Enabled?

Plotline: - Explain the plot of your adventure.

Estimated Enemy Strength: [Class 5-3] Estimate the strength of the NPC's people will fight in this adventure. Class 7-1, what is their strength on average?

Estimated Time Until Completion: [Unknown] - How many pages do you think this adventure will run for until it is over?

Starts: [Any time] - When does the adventure begin?

Special Conditions: [Four RPCs Maximum, can come in at any tme] - Any special conditions, limitations, or other things.

[Deleted]

It was a peaceful day in the Seireitei. Clear skies, calm winds, warm weather. It was a day that should be spent outside and in the sun. It was one of those days that held promise and excitement. A group of three Shinigami were chosen to go out on a scouting mission in the wilderness of the Rukongai. The reason they were going to be going out there was because there had been a growth of the Rukongai and the higher ups wanted the area to be checked out. So three Shinigami were picked to head out there and see what sort of new territory was formed.

Raygin let out a content sigh as he leaned against the wall beside the gate. It really was a wonderful day. Ray lounged there with his eyes closed and a piece of grass in his mouth. His zanpakuto lay beside him. Raygin was in a truly cheery mode. He was excited to be heading out into the Rukongai. He would get to see the people who lived out there and then get to see the new frontier. Maybe there would be animals. Maybe there would be dogs! If there was a dog Raygin was taking it back with him. He wanted a dog so badly. He opened his eyes as he spit the grass out and sat up. I wonder who else will be coming with me? Raygin thought as he looked over at the gate. He decided to check over his supplies again. So he got up and took a few steps to the bag he was bringing. It was about the size of a gym bag and was stuffed with stuff he thought his group might need. He expected the others to be bringing stuff as well.

Inside the bag were various canned foods, medical supplies, a map, a compass, a book on what kinds of plants to eat, a roll out bed, and a few other necessities. This was almost going to be like camping, which put a big smile on Rays face. He zipped up the bag and picked his Zanpakuto up and strapped it over his shoulder. "Where are the others? I wanna get going." Raygin commented and bounced up and down on his feet.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [150] (90) Points

Speed - [200] (350) Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [300] Points

Light Aura - [80] Points

Dark Aura - [20] Points

Instinct - [55] Points

Senses [50] Points

Energy sensory - [100] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1055] Points

SPOILER: Click to show

[Battle Analysis] {4}

[Pain Tolerance] {2}

[Special Skill - Kido] {2}

[Calm Mind] {1}

[Lack of Fear] {2}

[Special Skill - Hoho] {1}

[Weapons- Sword] {2}

[Raion Souretsu]

For the other two Shinigami who went to explore the new Rukongai wilderness, the trip was likely exciting and in the interest of charting out new territory. But for a certain drunken Vice-Captain, this trip was an excuse for the higher-ups to get him out of Seireitei for a bit and curb some of the chaos he caused on a daily basis. Upon being caught rearranging his Captain’s office, including the fastening of many fixtures to the walls and ceiling, Raion had been finally gotten on everyone’s nerves to the point where he was just asked to leave the room so that they could discuss what to do about him. Drunk as ever, the big Vice-Captain hadn’t had the sense to listen in at the door to understand what was going on, and had been pleasantly surprised when asked to accompany the exploratory squad as an officer to provide a measure of security. What he didn’t know was that it was just a way for Seireitei to get a breath of fresh air from the drunken lion.

Raion had been happy to accept the assignment, not understanding the underlying reason for it, and thought of it like one big camping trip. Naturally his mind drifted to nights under the stars, drunken fun in the firelight, and S’mores. God, S’mores. If the Spirit King himself came down with a special jar of sake for Raion, it would only barely be better than S’mores. Chocolate and marshmallow and graham crackers all mixed into a marvelously sweet treat that was just a must for camping… wait, wait. Even Raion could tell that his mind was going off on a far tangent, instead of worrying about this mission and what he was supposed to be doing as a leader. The lion imagined that he was just going to be pointing directions out or something, though he didn’t have a map to help him out, either.

I guess I’ll figure that out when I get to that! Right now I gotta get packed, make sure I’m ready for this trip!

Two hours later, Raion was almost ready, but he found himself in an unusual dilemma. He had packed his bedroll, two canteens for water, a first-aid kit that mostly had bandages and such for minor injuries, as he couldn’t handle delicate treatments very well with his thick fingers; a tinderbox complete with a lighting flint, two changes of clothing, a full ensemble for making S’mores a few nights on the trip, and a few other odds and ends like non-perishable foods that one of the lower-seated squad members recommended. However, when Raion had finished packing his bag, he realized that there was no room for the three jugs of sake he had planned to bring along. The lion found himself having to make a difficult decision, wondering what to leave behind, and that left him sitting in his room for another half hour before he finally made up his mind. Leaving the canteens and a change of clothing behind—he refused to go without his S’mores!—Raion hefted his large pack over his shoulders, the weight hardly evident on the massive feline as he squeezed out the door and towards the exit from Seireitei that he would be meeting his temporary teammates at.

The gather of the trip seemed like it would be almost normal, which in itself was odd when Raion was involved. Of course, it was unlikely to last long; immediately the big lion was drinking heavily, taking long swallows from the sake jug always left at his side. Soon his golden eyes went from clear to misty and his entire posture seemed to shift. Steps were no longer in a straight line, but accompanied by minor meanderings here and there, and the lion didn’t hold his shoulders up as much as before, letting his arms slouch except when he went to take another drink from his jug. The Vice-Captain let out a loud, wild laugh at nothing, clearly finding something funny despite his thoughts going in every direction but towards the upcoming mission.

And then, chaos struck in a moment. Raion came upon a dog that wasn’t very happy to see him, taking the big cat as an intruder into its territory. It wasn’t a small dog, either; a big German Shepherd, the canine took offense and started barking loudly at Raion, who paused and squinted in confusion as he caught sight of the big animal. Of course, the lion was a much bigger animal, both naturally and because of his excessive size and weight. He leaned forward and flicked the dog on the nose, earning a snap of the canine’s jaws that could have been painful had the big cat not pulled his paw back and smirked at the animal. Raion snapped his fingers in the dog’s face again and walked off with a smug expression on his muzzle, the flush of liquor still visible on his face.

What he didn’t expect was that the dog did not take well to being teased.

The snap of a rope was all the warning Raion got before he heard a loud barking behind him again. Turning, the lion saw the big dog lunging at him, teeth bared. Panicking despite the fact that he was a Shinigami who could easily take down a dog by himself, the big Vice-Captain turned again and ran, his pursuit right behind him, snapping at the trailing, tufted tail before it. Raion kept running as fast as he could, though he found himself out of breath quickly, the negative effects of the excessive weight his life of luxury caused showing quickly. Still the dog continued to pursue, even as they began to approach the gate out of Seireitei.

“Heeeeeeeeeeeelp! Someone get this crazy mutt away from meeeeeee!”

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [200] Points

Speed - [250] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [(200 x 2) = 400] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [(250 x 2) = 500] Points

Light Aura - [100] Points

Dark Aura - [0] Points

Instinct - [(100 x 0.5) = 50] Points

Senses [(100 x 0.5) = 50] Points

Energy sensory - [(100 x 0.5) = 50] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1200] Points

[Aramis Tezuka]

The two shinigami would meet the final member of the scouting team-- and the only non-shinigami among the group (but Sssh! Spoilers!). Aramis Tezuka, a new, unseated officer from Squad 6. Unlike other members of the squad, he had yet to adopt the Kuchiki name, though it was certainly being considered by the Nakabakki. As usual, his long left sleeve and glove covered his arm completely, and hid it from view. Not that it needed to be. The shackle, given to him by Squad 6 to disguise his arm and make it appear like any other shinigami's, did its job well enough, but Aramis couldn't be too careful.

As Aramis approached the Seireitei gate, he heard someone yelling and screaming behind him. Showing a surprising amount of nonchalance, he merely stepped out of the way, allowing Raion to continue to run past him, chased by the canine. He watched after them for a moment, before musing aloud. "Why do people say it rains cats and dogs? That seems an inappropriate unit of measurement." He commented, and began to continue his walk towards the gate.

As he approached, he noticed Raygin but did not say anything. He merely lifted his right hand up to his face to adjust his glasses a little bit, the sunlight catching the lenses and giving that classic white-glasses look. Aramis had an unusual appearance. The sleeve of his shinigami uniform was sleeveless on his right, but possessed a far longer sleeve than usual on his left arm, so much so, that it overtook his hand. On the rare occasion he might lift his left arm and reveal it, it would show a black fingerless glove, and what seemed to be an iron shackle around his wrist. Oh and he had green hair. Not particularly common at all.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength: 60(30)
Speed: 50
Spirit Pressure: 40
Reiatsu Strength: 50
Light Aura: 100
Dark Aura: 0
Senses: 50
Instinct: 50 (75)
Energy Sensory: 0
Healing: 0
Total: 300 SP]

SPOILER: Click to show

Martial Arts: Fencing—3
Poetry—2
Analyzing—3
Disguise—3
Illusion Resist—2
Lack of Fear—2

[Deleted]

Before the rest of his group could arrive Raygin had checked over his supplies three times. He just wanted to make sure everything they might need was there. It was really just to help with his boredom. Ray wanted to get moving and soon. He ended up sitting back down and looking back up to the sky. The clouds brought a peace to Rays mind that clouded his boredom. “Mmmm” Raygin let out a content sound as he relaxed and closed his eyes. He decided to take a nap.

He hadn’t fallen asleep but his mind wandered. Memories of his old life started coming back. When was it? Oh right it was November. Ray had gotten his first job thanks to his friend Greyson. The two would be working together in a restaurant busting tables. Ray remembered the good amount of tip money he would get. Between twenty-five and thirty dollars, that was a good amount of spending cash for Ray. Working at that restaurant was fun.

Someone was coming. Raygin opened his eyes and looked over at the oncoming person. He blinked a few times as he got a good luck at the young man. Green hair and glasses plus he didn’t look that intimidating. Raygin gave the guy a warm smile as he stood up and walked over. “Hey. I guess you’re one of the guys sent to help out? My name is Raygin Sakubara. I’m the 4th Seat of Squad Ten.” Raygin explained and extended his hand out for the other guy to shake it. Then something caught Raygins attention.

At first Ray thought his eyes were fooling him. But after blinking a few times it dawned on him that his eyes were, in fact, not fooling him. A large lion was running around screaming, being chased by a dog. Raygin stared dumbstruck at the situation. He looked at both animals and ended up just staring at the dog. “Hold on!” Raygin shouted and ran at the animal. He charged right past the lion and grabbed the dog by its collar. “Hey, calm down buddy.” Raygin told the dog then looked over at the lion. “Who are you?” Ray asked.

There were lions in the Gotei 13? That was something he was not expected. Wait, if there was a man-lion here then that means that animals had souls. So Ray was right after all. But still, the fact a lion could become a shinigami was something of a surprise.

Remaining Reiatsu: 2000

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

OOC: Zou's had a great idea in Canon -99 it would seem, so I'm going to hop on the bandwagon and give it a try. Here's how this thread is going to work. All three of you can post whenever you want, then I'll post after you and you can post again. You guys can interact with each other as much as you want or you can all go your separate ways too. This helps those who may have a big exam come up because they can trail off for a few days and the other people can still post. So, feel free to be flexible.

IC: With the two Shinigami and the Nakkabakki gathered, and the dog taken care of, everything seemed ready for the full mission briefing and the onset of the exploration. A non-seated officer from the Twelfth Division quickly arrived with their orders. "Gre... greetings fellow Shinigami, fukutaicho-Souretsu it is an honor. It is common knowledge that the Wilderness of the Rukongai is steadily increasing in size, however it is usually fairly constant. Last night we received a report on the size of the Rukongai that showed that a portion outside District 37 had more than tripled overnight, which is definitely uncommon. Thus, we want some of you to check it out and report back to us the cause, if you can, and any inhabitants, if you find them. It should be pretty routine."

The thirty seventh district of the Rukongai was far from impoverished, though it wasn't extremely wealthy either. It was a middle class district that had a large quantity of souls that could live mostly average lives. For this great expansion to occur would be definitely interesting to their mundane lives, especially if the land was free of inhabitants and could be used for public affairs. All in all, it seemed to be a basic scouting mission, and thus the non-seated officer, the fourth seat, and the Vice-Captain were not given any other instructions, for scouting was fairly straight forward. The trio could go as a group, they could split up, they could do whatever at all that they wished. The non-seated officer of Squad 12 left without any more information, and they were left alone as the Guardian of the Seireitei gate opened it up for them to exit.

[Aramis Tezuka]

The man spoke to Aramis, introducing himself and telling him that he was a member of the expedition squad to which Aramis had been assigned. However, when he extended his hand, Aramis seemed to instantly lose interest, and walk past him, allowing him to deal with the cat and dog issues. Another shinigami approached to brief them on their mission. Again Aramis seemed rather spaced out, and appeared as though he wasn't paying any attention to their mission briefing.

However, it seemed he was still paying attention, as, the moment the shinigami concluded, he began to walk towards the gate to depart from the Seireitei. Aramis appeared to show no signs of surprise to Raion, nor any sign of being impressed by his rank. Research on human-animal hybrids had been performed by squad 12 in the past, and Aramis was well versed in the matters. They held no interest to him whatsoever. Very little, actually held any interest to Aramis. He appeared to be a very nihilistic individual at a glance.

He appeared to be uninterested in talking as well, as he had yet to speak a single word to his companions. Perhaps he was mute? Unlikely as he could be heard speaking by an attentive listener only moments before. But already he seemed to have fallen completely silent, in lieu of commencing their mission. He was direct at least, if nothing else. But the vacancy of his eyes betrayed no thoughts that Aramis may have possessed regarding their, apparently simple, assignment.

[Raion Souretsu]

Help came in the form of an unknown Shinigami that Raion hadn’t met before, the young man grabbing the dog’s collar—why hadn’t Raion thought to do that? He was several times bigger than a human, and could easily back down any canine—and holding it back. The Vice-Captain let out a sigh of relief, the action enough to send him slightly off-balance as his stance relaxed. Though he wasn’t disheveled and dirty like most that were too deep in their cup, as the lion was very fastidious about personal cleanliness for the sake of comfort, it was more than obvious that he was also drunk. Very drunk, in fact, as his eyes refused to focus in one spot and he was unable to fully maintain his balance at any point.

It became even more obvious a moment later, as he wrapped one arm around the young Shinigami and pulled him in with a wide grin. Raion’s free paw dipped down to the sake jug at his waist, and he held it up to his new friend, shaking it and letting the Shinigami hear the liquid slosh inside. “Ah… t-thanks bud, that ugly mutt coulda gotten me!” Raion’s words slurred slightly as he spoke, and as his balance remained unsteady the young Shinigami who had “saved” the Vice-Captain found the lion’s impressive weight resting fairly heavily on him. Seven hundred pounds of lion leaning against a much smaller human was not a fun scenario, but it would be one that the young man would find himself in.

After dropping his sake jug into the Shinigami’s hands with a wink that suggested he could have as much as he wanted—and it was potent sake, Raion had the budget to go out of his way for the good stuff!—Raion caught sight of another young man, one with green hair, and gave him a big grin. Unusual characters tended to draw the lion’s attention, and as he was fascinated with humans or humanoids in general, naturally this Shinigami—he was a Shinigami, right?—drew the big feline’s attention too, earning a wave and a wide, drunken grin. Said grin also came with the revelation of many sharp, pointed teeth that was natural to a predator’s jaws, a smile that tended to put off people for some unknown reason.

“Hullo there! You wanna come along on this camping trip too? I got S’mores!” Raion’s deep voice was raised, as he had no natural sense of subtlety while drunk; it took too much thinking to moderate his words. Unfortunately, the green-haired man didn’t seem to show any interest or inclination to respond, but thankfully Raion’s dissatisfaction with the reaction was diverted by the arrival of yet another Shinigami. This one went on about exploring the wilderness, and how it had gotten bigger, and something like that. The lazy Vice-Captain found himself losing interest quickly, and mentally summed up the mission in one sentence: they were going camping. What more was needed?

Once the speaker was gone, Raion started walking towards the gate immediately, his mind on the trip ahead. For the moment, the lion had forgotten that he had his arm around the other Shinigami, pulling him forward without really noticing the extra drag from tugging a person behind him. He did notice, however, when he reached for his sake jar, only to find it missing and in the hands of the young man he had handed it to… and promptly forgotten about. Narrowing his eyes, the lion took it back and took a long drink from it, grumbling to himself about people stealing from him even as they set off out the gate from Seireitei.

It was going to be a long mission, one way or another.

[Deleted]

OOC: Forgive the short post. Being rushed, I will make up for it next post

Raygin stood there in silence and listening as the inferior Shinigami showed up and explained what was going on. Raygin couldn’t help but start looking at the clouds as he talked. What a wonderful group. An emo, a drunk lion, and a day dreamer who seemed to always be high on something. Raygin blinked when the lion walked over and ended up giving Raygin his sake. At first he didn’t know what it was but instantly smelt the alcohol. Raygin didn’t know what to do with it honestly, should he drink it? He was never a big fan of sake, but soon enough the decision was taken from him by the lion who snagged the sake back. Raygin once again blinked and watched the lion. “I’m still getting over the fact there’s a werelion in the Gotei 13. I didn’t know animals turned into humanoids when they died.” Raygin said to himself then ran to catch up with the other two.

Raygin grabbed the bag and dashed in front of the other two Shinigami. “Alright, I never did really get to introducing myself to you” he said to Raion “my name is Raygin Sakubara. I am the 4th Seat of Squad 10. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Raygin said with a large grin. “Now then, who are you guys?” Raygin asked the two. He was interested in them both, equally. The green haired mute held an air of mystery, while the lion seemed to somewhat of a character. Meeting new people was always fun, but Raygin needed to get to know them and get along for this mission to be a success. After all, if you did not know your comrades then how where you supposed to work together?

This mission would probably just end up being a camping trip almost. Nothing ever happened in the Rukongai since, after all, everything was happening in the Human world or Hueco Mundo. So why worry? A Hollow or two were no threat to the group. And Raygin was actually interested to see the new Rukongai territory. He might even put a flag up marking Raygin as the first Shinigami to settle it.

[Aramis Tezuka]

The Vice Captain attempted to get Aramis's attention, but he only gave him a cursory glance. "Oh Brave New World that has such people in it." He commented under his breath. It seemed the other shinigami tried to introduce himself. He was a fourth officer in squad ten. That means he outranks me. Aramis recognized, and so when he asked for Aramis's name, he provided it readily. "Squad 6, officer Tezuka." He replied simply and bluntly. Nothing more or less than that which had been requested of him.

Aramis definitely didn't seem the talkative type, but perhaps that was because they hadn't found a topic he was interested in yet. Either way, he looked like he'd be a moderately unsettling comrade to work with. His vacant eyes suggested that much. As well as that, he seemed to give off an unsettling air. Something alien and sinister, despite the vacancy of his expression. "So, what is wrong with you?" Aramis asked. It wasn't spoken offensively, but more as a curious statement, as though he was interested in finding out.

....It was gonna be a long trip. And they were only now leaving the gates of Seireitei. Aramis set foot on the soil of Rukongai, barely glancing back at his comrades for this mission, heading in a beeline for the desired location. Straight and down to business it appeared, that was for sure.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

With a cheery little exchange of introductions, and seemingly without a care in the world, the trio set out for the 37th District of the Rukongai to start their little scouting mission, or as Raion saw it, a camping trip. S'mores and sake would make for perfect campfire memories if there was enough time to sit around and enjoy them. Maybe they would taste funny if combined, but who was to question the Soul Society's resident drunk anthropomorph and his tastes? The Vice Captain's Shinigami companion seemed to have no opinion on the drunkenness of his superior officer, though the fact that he was a walking, talking lion seemed to be the bigger issue. And, as always, the secretive Nakkabakki was, well, secretive and offered up little social conversation.

The first steps into the 37th District would appear normal, the usual hustle and bustle of ordinary souls, but as the trio made their way towards the new area, the density of the souls decreased rapidly. For one reason or another, the souls of the Soul Society were purposefully avoiding the new territory. When they got within a quarter mile of the area in which they had been sent to scout, they were utterly alone in the abandoned streets. For the most part, there looked to be no cosmetic difference between the streets that they currently traveled and the streets that they just had walked through, however there seemed to be a thin layer of dirt coating the cobblestones and a bit of mud splattered on the walls of the empty buildings that they passed.

Whether or not they stopped or slowed down or sped up, eventually they would have to keep on moving forward to get to their actual mission, and as there was no threat at all that could be perceived it made no sense to tarry any longer in the soul-less alleys and walkways. Within a matter of moments, they'd be at their destination, the new land that had appeared literally overnight. Whereas the old land had been developed with cobblestone and concrete, all of that suddenly ended as there was a massive dirt field in front of them. Far out in the distance, hills and trees could be seen, but for at least three and a half miles there was nothing but a flat plain of dirt. As they passed the last of the buildings, they'd see that it stretched from horizon to horizon in the east and west directions, and the north direction was the forest, with the abandoned District to the south.

As they approached the threshold from stone to dirt, a fog came in from the north. It was a low fog, quite cold to the touch and an eerie green color as well. Out of the fog rose a figure, more clothes than man, wearing overalls and a large straw hat. Upon close examination of his skin, it would be revealed that it wasn't skin, but rather sack cloth. If any of the trio was familiar with the Land of the Living, they'd immediately recognize the figure before them as a scarecrow. It looked at them with eyes made out of buttons, which somehow blinked curiously at them before its mouth opened up, revealing nothing but straw inside. "Fleshlings..." With that one word, it retracted into the ground and the fog faded away, as if it were never there.

[Raion Souretsu]

“What… what… whazza werelion?”

Raion was well and gone into his liquor by now as he continued to stumble along behind the others. He hadn’t even noticed that he had forgotten to introduce himself to the others, but at least his Vice-Captain’s badge that was tied to his arm would denote his rank, if nothing else. The flush of drunkenness was visible on his face, even through his golden fur, and his eyes were slightly glazed over. A goofy grin seemed to be perpetually planted on his muzzle as they started off through the Rukongai, making their way towards the new territory. For now they were making their way through an already-mapped district, which in the end didn’t seem too different from District 15, where Raion had first come to the Soul Society. There were plenty of buildings, some taken care of and some decrepit hovels, while people of all kinds moved between them.

Raion waved at the various souls as he passed by, grinning and unthinking, and as a result wasn’t a bit confused by the lack of panic at a giant humanoid lion walking about. Normally, Raion’s first introduction to people was spent calming them down and explaining he wasn’t a Hollow; in the Rukongai especially, the big feline had a hard time since he seemed to cause fear and chaos whenever he ventured out of Seireitei; and that was just when he was sober! Drunk, the lion caused much more confusion as a result of his foggy thinking. In fact, the last time he had been to the Rukongai, he had fallen asleep while drinking. After being dragged to a bed—he still had no idea how many people it took to manage that!—and twisting and turning through the night, Raion had found himself tangled in his bedsheets when he had awoken and panicked, thinking he had been kidnapped. A powerful Raikoho had destroyed a wall and drawn Shinigami to investigate, only to find out that it was a familiar drunk that was causing all the trouble. Raion was essentially banned from going out into the Rukongai to go drinking for about a month, until his superiors thought he could “learn his lesson.”

But with Raion, things never changed.

Soon the buildings seemed to change, but to the Vice-Captain it just seemed like they just got dirty, and that there were less people. Beneath the surface, his brain was starting to work on the unusual situation, but with his thoughts befuddled by alcohol, it would be a few minutes before the observations would reach his awareness. In the meantime, he was just content following the others, making the occasional joke or drunken wager, and even hitting on the Shinigami that had stolen his sake jug as a sign of no hard feelings. Life seemed good for a moment, and their camping trip had certainly gotten off to a better start now that they were on the road.

Suddenly things changed enough that even Raion noticed them right away; they were in the middle of an enormous dirt field that extended quite a distance. North of them was a large forest, and from that came a greenish, cold mist. Immediately Raion had two thoughts; the first was the phrase “tree-mist,” which made him giggle for some reason even he didn’t understand, and the second was that this fog must really be pea soup, and not just as thick as it. After all, it was green! Naturally the lion opened his mouth to try it, only to find his jaws snapping down on nothing. He wasn’t even embarrassed by the action, but more curious and a little bit confused.

And then he caught sight of the scarecrow. Raion knew what scarecrows were; he spent some time in the human world, and had once been watching a moving set of pictures in a large box, something people called a Teevee. One such show had been about a little girl and three unusual companions, one of which was a scarecrow. Raion still didn’t understand exactly what a scarecrow was, just that it was full of straw. People weren’t made of straw, so it wasn’t a person, that was for sure, but the Vice-Captain hadn’t been able to get anything else from it. Oh, and scarecrows burned really well too, but then again straw was pretty flammable, wasn’t it?

Immediately Raion remembered the show, and noted that there was now a lion and a scarecrow. He cast a drunken sideways glance at his companions, wondering if one of them was made of tin too, just to keep up the similarities. Without taking the time to think of it, he quickly moved up to the green-haired Shinigami—Aramis was his name, the lion thought—and attempted to make a few prods at the smaller man’s arm, wondering if there was tin hidden beneath the long sleeve. Raion had crept up rather quietly, at least for someone his size, and so if Aramis wasn’t paying attention, he’d soon find the much larger Shinigami prodding at his concealed arm. Raion was so distracted, he didn’t even notice the scarecrow sinking into the ground again.

[Aramis Tezuka]

The moment the fog rolled in, Aramis's eyes drifted-- almost boredly, around the group into the mists. "Obviously unnatural. Unknown intent or source." He stated, as though an automaton. "Caution is advised." He stated, sweeping his shinigami sleeve across like a fan to try and prevent the fog from touching him. When the scarecrow-like creature appeared, Aramis scanned it briefly. "Interesting. Ability to produce sound without discernable vocal cords." He stated. He seemed thoroughly un-creeped out by it.

When Raion attempted to poke him, however, Aramis simply moved forwards, so that he would poke at air. "Hm. D." He remarked as he approached the location he had seen the scarecrow-like entity, and began investigating the location for any signs that had been left behind. "No remaining traces of the mist for analysis. Unfortunate." He stated as he continued to scan.

[Deleted]

This trip was turning into something fun. Raygin had tried talking to the green haired kid, but was met with silence. This made Raygin pout but then he turned his attention to Raion. The lion was a funny guy. Raygin enjoyed talking with the drunk and blinked a few times when he started hitting on him. Raygin just laughed and blew it off. Being hit on by a lion was definitely odd, but Raygin had seen weirder and experienced weirder. Either way, Raygin still had fun with Raion. But then the environment changed from the Rukongai districts to a large amount of dirt. Raygin looked around and scratched his head. ”It’s dead out here.” Raygin then looked down at his feet. ”We better be careful. There might be giant worms under our fight that will try to eat us!” Raygin joked.

But then something caught his attention. It was a scarecrow. Raygin stared at it as it spoke then sunk into the ground. ”There aren’t any crows in the Rukongai, right?” Raygin asked. Ray blinked and narrowed his eyes. Serious time. He followed the green haired guy and listened to him speak like a robot. Raygin got down on one knee and felt the ground where the scarecrow sunk. He even started digging a small hole, seeing if the thing was just beneath the surface. ”Weird. You think it was a Hollow? Or something else?” Raygin asked. Scarecrows were not something you would see in the Rukongai, and if you did see one they weren’t supposed to be capable of speaking. This meant that this trip might just get interesting. Or they might end up being sacrificed to a pagan god so the people in the districts would have good crops for the year.

Ray looked at Tezuka before standing up and whipping the dirt off of his hand. There was also the problem with that fog. Could it have been what summoned the scarecrow? Was it poison? A hallucinogen? Raygin crossed his arms and thought. There isn’t much point making a big deal over something like this. Sure, it is odd but it didn’t attack. It said fleshlings then left. If it had meant us harm it would have attacked, but it didn’t. It’s something to look out for that’s for sure. “If I had my ocarina I could play the Scarecrow Song and get him back here.” Raygin said to Tezuka, trying to get the unseated shinigami to at least smile or chuckle. Ray looked at Raion and looked around. There might be a few hours left of sunlight, so Ray did not know whether they should set up camp or not. ”What do you guys wanna do? Set up camp or keep going for a little bit?” Raygin asked. He looked back down at the small hole he dug in the dirt, wanting to make sure he didn’t see a scarecrow looking right at them. He was for making camp.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

As soon as Aramis and Raygin stepped upon the dirt that was in front of them, they'd find that something was different about it. It was soft and springy, which was strange for dirt, almost like a thick brown moss. The two Shinigami got to the spot where the scarecrow had been, finding no evidence of its existence. When Ray began to dig into what looked like dirt, he would find that though it was soft and springy, it was incredibly dry. Digging the hole didn't provide any evidence or proof that the scarecrow had actually been there. Both Aramis and Raygin seemed to either turn away from, or not pay attention to the hole that had been created. About ten seconds after the fourth seat finished digging the hole, it filled itself in to go back to the perfectly flat environment.

In between the drunken lion and the other two Shinigami a bump in the dirt started to form, small at first but gradually increasing in size. Another bump appeared next to this one until there were eight of them, all in a row. The bumps became small hills until they grew large enough to pick themselves up off of the ground, quite literally. The creatures were of a yellowish brownish color, their backs and the tips of their heads a dirt brown color. The backs and the tips of their head were made up of stone, whereas the rest seemed to be made of highly packed dirt. These creatures had red eyes, and no mouths, but rather strange stitching across their faces where a mouth should be. On their chests was the chess symbol for the pawn.

SPOILER: Click to show

Of the eight in a row, two on each side started to curl into what seemed the fetal position. Their stony backs and the tips of their heads were all that was visible. Two of them turned towards Raion and began to roll at him, and the other two that had hunkered down began to roll at Raygin and Aramis. It seemed like they were quite intent on a collision course, not caring about their personal safety in the matter. The other four that had emerged from the ground just sat there in silence, two of them watching Raion, two of them watching the fourth seat and nonseated officer. Their eyes were non-blinking and their faces were without emotion, as you would expect a dirt beast to be.

SPOILER: Click to show

Class 5, nontyped



Strength - [200] Points

Speed - [50] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [0 - But Immune] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [50] Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [50] Points

Senses [50] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [400] Points



Special Ability: Speed is doubled when in ball form