A Brand New Start

[Irene Palmer]

Irene sat in the wheelchair that she had been given by Soul Society to spend the rest of her life confined too. At the moment she was outside sitting at the edge of a bridge that overlooked the small river that ran through Karakura Town. She had only been in this town for a short time and while she felt like she had made her way throughout the majority of it this was her favorite spot so far. At the same time though it was her worst spot. For all it sought to accomplsih was make her even more depressed. The river brought back memories of all of her children playing in the water with their smiles.

It wasn't like there were any tears though how could there be after what had happened to her. There had been times when others had remarked on her natural beauty and that had been taken away from her like everything else. Her power, her family, even her beauty had all been stripped away by others who sought to hurt for the sake of pelasure or gain. Irene was tired of dealing with it all and trying to protect others only to end up in failure and now she truly had become a Failure. A disgrace of a race that no one could understand for the grave danger they posed was unstable and lethal.

Now she couldn't walk now could she see. She had no home nor any family members left. All she had was her wheelchair to accompy her on the pathway of despair that is her life. She was here sitting in the darkness of night with only the light of the moon to caress her form with no response from her as even the light of such a beauty could not pierce through the damage that had been done. She could hear something though someone was walking onto the bridge and they weren't alone. There was another set of foot steps about a dozen feet behind the first set, but the second were approaching faster than the first.

[Nickel Haida]

Training for SP

[Listen to this for full effect]



The moon was high. Partially obstructed by clouds, but still pretty whenever it's guiding light peeked out from its veil. This light held no hope for Haida, for as she was enjoying the night beforehand, she had now been backed to the stone ledge of a bridge. Of all times for her Osen to act up, it had to be during the ritual in which she tried to defy it. This time around, her curse had attracted the attention of six rowdy individuals. "Hey, nice bag you got there. You don't mind sharing what's in there do you?" One of them insisted. Although, considering the pocket knife his friend had retrieved from his pocket, it was less like a request and more of a demand.

Haida looked down worryingly at her laptop bag, knowing it held the one thing that not only stored all her info but also was the only thing she has to make any money with. She looked up at the thugs and slowly shook her head. "Nuh-uh. Sorry, but uh, this thing is kinda essential. I mean, if ya' want I could hand over my wallet, but I am not handing over this bag." She stood her ground, her left leg twitching every few seconds. -Dammit, I thought I could avoid this sort of thing 'till I was ready..-

It only took a moment before the man assumed to be the head of the muggers gave out a boisterous laugh. He stood there laughing for a good 10 seconds before recovering, wiping a tear from his eye. "Ooh man, you're a good comedian lady. You know the situation you're in, yet you're still trying to make demands?" He took a second to laugh again before motioning his men to move closer.

-Shit! I trained with Jak, sure, but I doubt I can take on this many people.- Haida gave a quick glance about as she slowly began to back up. The only person nearby was someone in a wheelchair, and in Haida's limited experience, it looked as if she wasn't going to be able to help at all. There was only one choice now, and that was to scream. "H-HEY! Anyone! I'm being mugged! F-fuck.. Seriously! Please help!" She yelped; the pace at which she back peddled increasing as the muggers advanced quicker.

[Irene Palmer]

Irene sat in her wheelchair trying to block out what was happening further down the bridge. What was happening to the young girl wasn't something that Irene wanted to let happen and yet at the same time if she got involved then she might be weakening the girl for the future. Every action that she took had an outcome and no matter what she seemed to do those that Irene interacted with died. These men were loud and vail creatures that Irene could only compare to the criminals of the Rukongai District and the old gangsters of London.

The one that seemed to speak with the most confidence and authority wouldn't stop laughing and Irene's sensitive ears gave way to some pain from his annoying voice. Irene still wasn't used to having senses like this and thus her control over them was very limited. She couldn't help, but hear what was going on at the moment. When she heard the sound of the bag being ripped away from the girl and the footsteps of the men beginning to move towards her something went off.

Irene was always in darkness her sight had been ripped away from her as had her ability to move. This girl had her livelihood stolen and her pleads for help broke through Irene's sorrow. She didn't even realize what had happened as the men rushed passed her. White reiatsu that looked like fog seemed to just come off of her body and cover the bridge. The men all dropped to the ground immediately and started to scream in pain as the metal of the bridge itself started to squeak from the pressure of her flood.

Irene snapped back to reality though after a brief moment had passed and her flood seemingly returned to her body. The girl a Fullbringer would have been able to see all of it and being the only one unaffected if she had looked at Irene she would have seen something tat even Irene didn't know. Her blood had changed color while she had snapped. Her veins had been visible under her pale white skin as her blood had turned black thus making what appeared to be black lines all over her face that now vanished.

The men were all unconscious from the pressure that they had forced upon them. None of them were severely wounded, but they'd awake with bruising that wouldn't go away for at least a week. Irene had stepped in on the situation though and now this girl wouldn't gain anything from it. She had just taken experience from her and thus Irene returned to her sorrowful despair. No words were spoken and no motion made as she just sat there facing the water.

[Nickel Haida]

Her bag was taken from her hands without much effort after that pocket knife had cut the strap holding it to her shoulder. A thug ran past her to pick it up and the others started running past her. A bunch of low-lives, relying on intimidation and numbers alone to steal whatever they could from whoever looked helpless enough. It was as this realization had dawned on her that she felt an odd pressure, almost like a tug to the ground. While she was relatively weak, she was still a Fullbring, thankfully giving her some resistance against the fog's gravitational effect.

As she turned around, however, she noticed the thieves who had tried to steal from her, even the environment around her had succumbed to some unseen force. As she looked around, there was only one other person who could have helped. The woman in the wheelchair. The person who she had cast aside in her mind as a non-factor had actually turned out to be the one who had saved her in the end. Focusing closely, even with Haida's meager abilities, she could tell that Irene wasn't exactly as helpless as she seems, and the unconscious men on the ground proved that.

Meekly, Haida stepped up to address her, taking back her laptop bag along the way. "Wow, uh, thanks? I gotta say, I was getting a little worried there, and uh, wasn't really expecting you to be one of those supernatural people I keep runnin' into." She admits, hesitating before finishing her introduction. "Sorry for doubtin' you. My name's Haida Nickel. Er, programmer, I guess? I dunno, that sounds a bit formal." She rambled, a little embarrassed to be caught off-guard like she was.

[Irene Palmer]

Irene continued to sit as was the only thing that she could really do anymore. Just constantly sitting in the infernal wheelchair unable to move around by herself freely anymore yet another sorrowful thought that never seemed to really leave her head. She was almost to caught up in her anger towards the thieves that had stolen the bag from the human girl. Had she not been just in control enough to pull back her flood than she could have severely injured all of the men far more than they were now.

As it is they would awake in around an hour or two and suffer only a few bruises from the fall and the pressure that had been upon them. Irene thought for a moment over her new ability. Throughout her life as a Shinigami she had relied on kido that was meant to keep individuals from moving and fighting. This new ability that she possessed due to her drastic change into a Failure seemed to be able to do that very same thing. However, unlike the kido if she wasn't careful it could lead to death.

It was a struggle within Irene that she knew every time that she would release the power within her she'd have to deal with the choices of just how much pressure someone would be able to handle. It would be hard for knowing herself if she ever killed someone with it she'd probably never try to safe anyone again. Although that's the decision that she made just a short time ago and now she had broken her own promise. She had saved this girl without thinking about it when it actually came time to do it.

The human girl approached her and thanked her for helping her out while also stating that she was sorry for casting her off as someone that couldn't help her in the first place. Irene could only listen to the voice of the girl and based on that she could tell that the girl was very young. Someone that had yet to experience some of the worst things about the world. "Hello Ms. Nickel." Irene said bowed her head while still facing the water. Irene didn't want to change the chance that this girl had at being normal. She was a Fullbringer, but from what Irene could tell she didn't have her abilities and had a chance to be normal. Who was she to change that for her?

[Nickel Haida]

Irene's curt reply, while it was in good intention, made Haida feel a little cut-off. She shrugged it off with an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of her neck, realizing that Irene probably couldn't see her either considering how she hadn't moved to face her. As Haida's laughter died off, her stance relaxed a bit as her heart slowed, the former threat being eliminated by the woman who saved her. Feeling hesitant to move away, Haida simply stood there, eventually moving to lean against the stone ledge of the bridge. "You uh, don't mind if I stick around, do you? I've got a monthly ritual sort of thing I do. It's always at a river, and I usually come to this one." She noted, pulling out a small plastic bag.

Inside of this bag were 10 cheap red die, akin to the ones you'd find at a casino. Pulling out a pair of them, she rolled the two right off the bridge, the sound of plastic hitting stone, a pause, and then finally two soft, yet distinct plopping noises could be heard as the dice tumbled into the river, never to be seen again. "..I wonder if I finally rolled a 7? Doubt it." She mused, her words bitter, but not out of malice. She wasn't addressing Irene, either, but rather she talked in that moment as if there was some unseen 3rd party. If there was, Haida sure did despite that 3rd party.

Pulling out another two die, Haida simply flung them as hard as she could into the river, a grunt emphasizing the effort she put into a meaningless toss. She sighed, holding the bag closed for a while. "You know, this isn't the first time this sorta thing has happened, funnily enough," Haida paused, turning around so she could lean against the ledge with her elbows as she looked to the stars. "-a little while back, I was chased by a beast. Hollows, I think they're called. I ran and ran, but as luck would have it, as it usually does, I ended up in a corner, but before I could count my prayers, someone saved me. He was pretty cool, even had an arm that could light on fire. He offered to train me that night, and I did, but not sure if anything came of it." She rambled, not really sure what to say at this point.