Bleach: Online World is a fun and exciting way to exercise your creativity and escape into a world you help build! It is an expansive roleplay experience depicting the entire Bleach Universe, but this time we control what happens. This is a great place to meet new people, make friends, and come to have fun and relax for a few hours as you lose yourself in the mind of a character that you design!
Here, you decide your own destiny as you forge your way through Soul Society as a Shinigami, or through Hueco Mundo as a Hollow. Travel the world as a human, or corrupt it as a Bount. Hunt your prey and escape your enemies as a Quincy, or put on your mask and roar as a Vizard. Whichever path you choose, your role in this expansive, alternate Bleach universe is up to you! There are no canon characters to deter or impede you, and everyone can help each other build their story! So what are you waiting for? Hop on in, and get started!
Post by Kazura Uzaki on Feb 17, 2016 23:45:38 GMT -5
Something about what Katrina said made Kazura's heart skip a beat, and may or may not have gotten him excited under the belt. Thankfully, the Shinigami had dashed off someplace before he could embarrass himself in front of her. Or worse, get involved with her without going to Paris. That would have been the real tragedy. You can only have so many flings and one night stands in your office before every inch of it is boring to bone on. That is, if they were planning to get it on, which they totally weren't. This was simply Kazura treating a Client as a thank you for donations, work, and plans of future business. It was just a perk of being a client to one of the wealthiest men in the world. Not just some hook up. That's what Kazura convinced himself before moving onto planning the items that Katrina had for him to work on.
He got some basic sketches and made some rough measurements before calling it a night and preparing for the trip. He put on a fresh suit, one that was significantly more fashionable than the kind he used for working, got the wheels rolling to have the jet ready by the time they were to leave, and spritzed himself with some cologne and combed his hair. Feeling like he was looking pretty good, he quickly stopped that train of thought once he saw Katrina again. The man was nearly floored, and he had seen a lot of attractive women in his day. He scrambled for a proper adjective, and settled on one that didn't do her looks justice at all. "You look absolutely stunning. Ready to leave?"
Well. If she wasn't mistaken, it seemed Kazura liked what he saw. She tried hard to conceal the weird mixture of heat and excitement this revelation sent skittering up her spine, but wasn't entirely successful, eyes sparking under the influence of her emotion. ”Calm down, he just complemented you … even if he does look gorgeous in that suit. Oh, Christ.” Said suit fit Kazura like a glove -custom made, she realized. Katrina, despite her best attempts to the contrary, couldn't quite meet his face, her gaze stubbornly locked onto his body.
”Uh …” Oh Christ it really should be illegal for a man to look that good in a suit. It made certain Shinigami completely lose her train of thought - which was a shame, because she certainly wasn't at her most eloquent with him. ”Of course.” Reluctantly her eyes left his chest as looked him in the eye, the smile growing mischievous. ”We can conduct our business on the way.” Despite her clipped, precise tone, their was a current of something more primal that Katrina would completely miss, but Kazura most likely wouldn't. And with that she took his hand and looked to him to lead.
Post by Kazura Uzaki on Mar 7, 2016 12:25:24 GMT -5
Kazura noticed what was going on with the Shinigami Noble. She was powerless to keep herself from checking him out. His body, his fine clothes, his skills. She couldn't even meet his gaze she was so focused on his appearance. She tried to keep her lust out of her voice as she mentioned the business that they could work on as they changed the scenery to Paris, but Kazura could analyze people well, especially women. There was years of practice in reading and wooing women. Even dead souls like Shinigami weren't immune to his charm, apparently.
Not caring about the consequences that could arise from such a night, Kazura let go of his reservations and his hesitations. Sure, they had decided on being just business partners, but she wanted him and he wanted her. Mortal women were getting a bit dull anyways. They didn't understand the life that he was living, and he didn't want them to either. Katrina understood the fight against Hollow-kind, she had lived it for longer and in more depth than he did. It would be nice to be intimate and passionate with someone who could understand.
Katrina placed her hand into Kazura's and he lifted it up to his mouth and kissed it before putting it back at their sides. Leading her to the airstrip where the jet was prepared took only a few minutes, but he would leave her in silence so that her thoughts and her imagination ran wild. It was the fullbringer's experience that women tended to be more aroused by their own machinations rather than his, especially when the woman was new to him. Kazura knew a little bit about Katrina, mostly only a few buttons to avoid pushing, but he didn't know what made her purr and melt.
Electricity sparked from his fingers, fire danced in his eyes and charm spilled from his lips, but Katrina ignored it, letting herself be led away and contention herself with a small smile. She ignored the heat crossing the almost nonexistent gap between their bodies, ignored the way his muscles jumped underneath his suit, ignored the reluctance she refused to admit feeling to moving whenever their bodies touched … or at the very least, tried to. She really wasn't doing a great job of it. Inquiring eyes probed the fullbringer, wondering at what gears were running in that brilliant brain. ’Oh I should be ashamed! Kazura is young, even by human standards. This is practically robbing the cradle; no matter my apparent age, I am still several times his senior.’ But despite her many years, the young Shinigami had the hormones and desires of a teenage girl, and it was this part of her that prompted the irrational and hormone-driven thoughts.
”Why isn't he speaking? I haven't offended him, have I? I wasn't too mean, was I? Not for me, no, but maybe for human girls? I wonder if he's dated many girls.” The very faintest of sneers crossed her lips at the thought. Not (only) from jealousy, but also from disgust. It was no secret she found the vast majority of humans pathetic, and “human girls" instantly sprung to mind images of a pampered schoolgirl with no skills other than her prodigious bust. ”Uh, Kazura-san …” her voice was tentative as she broached through new territory. The exchange of secrets and ideas that could shape a whole new generation of war? No big deal. But talking about your history? Now that's scary.
”Exactly … how many girls have you taken? To Paris, I mean!” She amended herself quickly, cheeks glowing red. Kami, she didn't even want to think about that.
Post by Kazura Uzaki on Feb 17, 2017 21:23:10 GMT -5
"You'd be the first I take to Paris."
He wasn't lying. He usually met local women and then left them where they were and went back home. He almost never took a lady somewhere else, he just wasn't the type. Katrina was something special, in that she had a lot of money, a lot of resources, and had a lot of knowledge that Kazura wanted. He could gain access to so much research through this Shinigami woman, and if he had fun along the way so be it. He welcomed the Kawada into his private jet and they took off towards Europe. Kazura removed a few papers from his suit (the ones that Katrina had given him earlier) and began to examine them again.
"This 'safe' explosive, in particular, I find needs revisited. I've thought on it some more, and I'm not quite sure how mortal materials would create it, but spiritual materials might just be able to detonate and then fade from physical existence. I know of a contact who may be able to help create a fading metal. Did you have any other business you wanted to talk about before we arrive in Paris? I don't expect much business to happen there, it'll be nice to just take in the sights."
She stared for a moment, her blue eyes conveying her surprise. She felt for sure that she couldn't be the only one. She was new to this world, after all, and Kazura has had a long time to develop a menagerie of girls if he wanted to. And just the fact that he would bring her to a place he's never brought anyone else brought a warm flush to the pale cheeks of the Shinigami. It showed he cared and, perhaps most importantly, that he was intelligent not to repeat a date with a girl who can fire lightning from her fingertips (or, at the very least, lie about not doing so.) The shock turned into a warm smile, a smile that was absolutely breathtaking to behold.
"... well, I guess I suppose I should feel lucky then."
And the certainly did. As she clutched his arm through the brief walk to the airplane, she felt like the luckiest girl alive, even if the tiny voice inside crying out refused to be silenced. Her gaze was drawn to the airplane; the exterior was nice. Streamlined, without being overly gaudy, it was certainly an impressive bit of machinery by Katrina's limited view. The inside, however, spoke more to Katrina's taste, and with a fiendish smirk she stepped from his side, only to reappear almost instantly on one of the cushioned seats, her blue eyes aglow with mischief. But as the first words of business left Kazura's mouth, she too grew serious, leaning back in the chair and contemplating the young man with thoughtful eyes.
"Hmm ..." That simple, non-verbal sound held more thought in it than most people entire vocabulary. She was faced with a choice; though, if she were honest with herself, the choice had been made the moment she agreed to Paris. AFter all, if the Soul Society - or, god forbid, her family - found out just what exactly she's doing, they would be furious, if she were lucky. "I trust you, Kazura. If you feel this ... contact of yours can be trusted, then I give you permission to do what you must. But, Kazura ..." She laid a hand on his, her blue eyes burning with intensity as they bored into his, willing him to understand the seriousness of the matter. "Some of the things I'm telling - hell, some of things I'll be gifting you - are of the utmost secrecy. If any Soul Reaper knew how you came upon them, I would be executed - if I were lucky. There are far worse fates for traitors."
She let her hand rest on his for a moment before pulling it back, hiding herself behind a mask of indifference once again. But her voice was just as soft as she said "I thought you should know just how much trust I am putting into you."
Post by Kazura Uzaki on Feb 17, 2017 22:15:41 GMT -5
"Hmm..."
There was that sound again. In response to Katrina's confiding in him that she could get in serious trouble for what she was doing. He had to be honest with himself, especially given so much trust that she had in him. He didn't know how well he could trust P, his "pen pal", or Taien, or Taien's Commander. All three of them could probably enchant a metal to only last a certain distance, but he had no idea if they could be trusted well enough to handle such a request without digging into where it came from... Which could probably be traced back to Katrina if Kazura wasn't careful. He already knew that Shinigami could walk through walls and float through ceilings, so what was stopping them from snooping in his stuff?
"Forget that, then. I'll handle it myself. It may come at a higher cost to produce, but I'll make it myself and won't expect you to foot any more of the bill."
Lacrima crafting, though dangerous, highly theoretical, and potentially costly, could result in an explosive made of pure reiatsu that only existed for a certain radius. Kazura would have to hand craft each one, though, and he'd failed multiple times in the past. But with funding, he could make whatever she needed. "Since you put so much faith in me, let me tell you a secret that no one else in the universe knows." First, he had to release his Main Fullbring in front of her. The belt he wore became a glowing symbol on his chest, a visor on his face, and energy circuits up and down his arm and leg. He used it to completely disable any sort of intercom system on the plane so that nothing could be heard of their conversation.
"I have found a way to Bind a soul to an Object. So far I have only given up my own soul to this science, but in time I may find a way to take threats against the world and turn them into devices that I can use to further protect the world. A positive feedback loop. Defeat threats to then defeat bigger threats. I'm not asking for your opinion on the science of it all, but know that I may be able to create your safe explosives with it."
He changed his mind. Katrina felt a wave of relief flood her; this was it, the proof that Kazura was worth the faith and trust she put in him. The fact that he willfully recognized and - more than that - admitted that his companion wasn't trustworthy spoke much about his character and integrity, and Katrina felt a rush of affection for the young human. And he was willing to foot the bill. This little tidbit amused Katrina, and the bemused smirk shown through her stoic expression. Of course she couldn't let him spend the money; not only for altruistic reasons (Katrina had to admit that she would pay for most anything at this point simply to impress Kazura) but because, should someone investigate Katrina and, by extension, Kazura, that could leave a money trail; Squad Seven was very thorough, and it's methods were outright miracles.
"Let me show you a secret no-one else in the universe knows."
Katrina froze; her Energy Sensory, as undefined as it was, could sense the sudden flare of reaitsu, and she reacted instantly, flashing from her seated position to the back of the plane, crouched in a position meant to protect her and golden knife glittering in her hand. Her breath came heavy and adrenaline flooded her veins, causing her chest to heave as her body instinctively prepared itself for battle. Mentally, she cursed for allowing herself to be caught off guard. She should have researched him - or watched him, at least - to ensure he wasn't a threat. And if he wasn't, she should never have gotten involved. For all she knew, his powers could be indirectly related to their first, ill-fated meeting. MOre importantly, however, came the realization that he wasn't hostile and still friendly. Feeling slightly foolish, she straightened, though notably didn't loosen the hold on the knife.
Her voice was soft as she spoke, though her back was straight, like a deer caught in the headlights. "I apologize for my reaction, Kazura. Where I'm from, it is ... not uncommon for deceit and misdirection to be used to take someone by surprise. I reacted out of instinct, and I am deeply ashamed." She lowered her head a notch, though her blue eyes still blazed defiantly at him. "However, this revelation only serves to heighten my caution. Since you have powers, it only makes tracking you all the easier; I would not be surprised if Squad 12 doesn't already have a file on you." As she waited for her words to sink in, she took a calming breath before trying a coy smile.
"However, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. What ... exactly can you do? What do you mean you can "bind a soul to an object? Like my zanpakutou?" She drew it in a flash, lying it lengthwise on the table. The beautiful blade, black as night though with a distinctive golden phoenix on the blade, was very short, though anyone with any amount of spiritual sensory would be able to detect the unique reaitsu signature oozing from it.
Post by Kazura Uzaki on Feb 19, 2017 20:45:16 GMT -5
As Kazura made the airplane more secure, all of a sudden he noticed that Katrina had vanished and was clutching her weapon while huddled in the back of the cabin. He tilted his head, utterly confused at what was going on. She eventually calmed down after when felt like ages for the man. It broke his heart, really, to see the woman so torn up just because he released. Sure, he should have been more careful, but was it really so much of a problem? There was a frown on his face as she apologized, as if he was disappointed. Disappointed that a human and a Shinigami couldn't just talk business and show off without one of them having a panic attack. But, if that's the way the world was, he would strive to fix it one life at a time.
"Ah, is having a file about me so bad? I, at least, haven't been attacked recently by Shinigami." Katrina was now even more cautious, which meant that Kazura was at risk of losing this client. This was starting to go downhill, and he was getting antsy. His usual cool and calm attitude was starting to slip. He didn't want to lose access to what Katrina was offering him, and he didn't want to lose her yet. The night was still young, and he still had to figure out just what it was about her that made his heart flip upside down when he first saw her in that dress. He wasn't quite sure how much more of the night he could take, though, if she was going to be that jumpy. At least he'd enjoy the sights around Paris, and she could always up and go back to the Soul Society if the night went that bad. He was expecting the night to improve, though.
"And no, I can't bind souls to just any object. Has to be made of a special crystal that I've designed that can soak up reiatsu like a sponge. I'd show you, but I have no samples with me. Just imagine a sponge where changing the liquid gives it different aspects. For example, binding a crystal with the soul from a Fire would allow me to create a light bulb that never goes out."
Katrina smiled at the naivety of her human companion. She may not look it, but she’s been embroiled in this world since before he was alive. She knew exactly what some of her fellow Shinigami thought of humans, and what they thought about those who degrade themselves by cohorting with them. Traitor. Slum-rat. A whole host of slurs followed those that let it be known they enjoyed the company of humans, and honestly Katrina couldn’t blame them. She herself had thought much the same about humans, until she met Kazura. She had yet to discover what about Kazura made her feel this way, but it wasn’t something she wanted to end. It was … special. It made her feel special, and there weren’t many things in her life that did that.
”It’s not the file that’s bad, it’s what happens to you if they decide to investigate. Honestly, I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you because of me …” The last half was said in a softer voice, more to herself than anything. She found herself imagining, just for an instant, the sight of his broken and mangled body handcuffed and dragged away by Squad 2 and she could have sworn her heart stopped. ”Ah, tut tut tut, Kitty-kat, you seem to have been struck!” ”Shut it, feather-brain. I’m busy.” She ignored the echoing laugh that followed.
”But let us calm down, yes? I reacted badly. I should trust you, as you’ve trusted me with this secret.” Again, she let her hand rest on his, her cool hand dwarfed by the young man’s, though the long blue nails vibrant against his skin. This time, she didn’t remove it, instead biting her lip as she waited for him to snub her; even now, in his airplane - in this dress - she couldn’t help but feel this was a mistake. Her overreaction didn’t help, and it was only then that she realized she was clutching the knife in her spare hand. A bright flush spread up her cheeks and, hastily improvising, she laid it on the table next to her zanpakutou.
”... what do you call these crystals? They sound … intruiging. They could revolutionize warfare, you realize this? If we could create some sort of …” She searched her mind for the right terminology. ”... reaitsu circuitry, and wire it into weapons, like my dagger here …” She stopped suddenly, an almost shameful look crossing her face. ”Honestly,” She began, and her voice sounded much less guarded and almost free of restraint. ”I feel ridiculous discussing business dressed like this. I’ll tell you what.” She smiled then, lips painted red shining bright with impish joy. ”I find youutterly fascinating, and that doesn’t mean what you can do for me. For the rest of the night, let it be about me and you. Not your inventions, not my money. Just … two young people, flying to an impromptu trip to Paris to enjoy the night life. Deal, Uzaki-chan?” She teased his name as she said, biting just the tip of her tongue in a rather capricious gesture. His continued trust of her loosened her. It caused her to drop her guard in a way that only two other people had in her long life.
Post by Kazura Uzaki on Feb 19, 2017 21:55:21 GMT -5
So she did care.
Kazura softened at the woman's hand resting on his. She did care about him, in a way that gave him hope that Fullbringers and Shinigami could work together. And more than just work together. They were partners in crime now. Binding souls to objects wasn't a big deal yet, but if he started to take living beings and do so then the Soul Society might start to object. But he knew that he would never use an innocent being. Just murderers, criminals, hell beings... Those sorts of threats and scum that deserved justice. "I call these crystals Lacrima. They have already proven to be great wires for circuitry. I'd be happy to augment your dagger if you have an effect in mind. Right now I don't have the equipment to make it anything more than warm to the touch, or cold to the touch, or a similar effect as that."
”I find you utterly fascinating, and that doesn’t mean what you can do for me. For the rest of the night, let it be about me and you. Not your inventions, not my money. Just … two young people, flying to an impromptu trip to Paris to enjoy the night life. Deal, Uzaki-chan?”
"Deal."
There was still plenty of plane ride left, so what would they do? Kazura was great with small talk, but they had already gotten past that part of the night. So, instead, Kazura went out on a limb into a territory that he had never been before with a woman. "So tell me more about yourself, Katrina. I want to know more about you. Tell me... I don't know. Tell me everything. Tell me nothing. Tell me whatever you want to tell me about you. Then, if you want, I'll tell you about me?"
She looked out the window, hair like liquid ink obscuring her features from view. Her voice was curiously flat; she wasn't asking a question, it was more like she was confirming a suspicion. She was silent for a long time, the only sound the sound of the engines. It was several minutes later before she finally stirred, waking from her thoughts to look at him with one piercing blue eye, the other hidden by her hair.
"... alright. Why don't I tell you why I became a Soul Reaper ... and about my family." She took a deep breath and looked out the window again. He couldn't see her face as he talked, hidden by her hair again as she watched the clouds roll by. "I was born fifty-six years ago to Takeru and Selena Kawada." This information alone would probably come as a shock to Kazura. "The Kawada family is ... not close. My father was a black sheep, completely unlike his siblings, and for it he was ostracized. He was kind, and warm, and everything a little girl could ever want in a father. We were the closest of friends, but my mother ... she was everything my father was not, and that includes jealous. See, the moment I was born, she was no longer the most important thing in my father's life." Her voice was flat and cool, but an edge of bitterness was discernible.
"Until I was eight years old, I was happy. My father hid the unrest in the family from me, and I knew nothing of the death and chaos surrounding us." She paused, letting her words hang in the air. The next words she said spoke of a deep, unhealed sadness. She looked at him, tears glittering in the corners of her eyes. "Have you ever felt as if the entire world collapsed because of you? That the world is ending, everything beautiful and kind once in your life is burnt to a crisp because of something you did?" She shook her curtain of black hair, letting the tears fall but refusing to acknowledge them by wiping them away. "To this day, my fathers' fate is on my hands. If I hadn't- I couldn't-" The lump in her throat got bigger, and she had to turn away to hide the tears now streaming freely down her face.
It was several moments before she felt able to speak again, and when she did her voice was once again a flat and emotionless monotone. "My mother and I got into a fight, and I ran away to spite her. My father ran after me." She glanced at him again, through her hair, to see how he was reacting. The emotions swirling through her were so great, her self-control slipped; her reaitsu, falling like golden rain, poured from her, streaked through with her pain and regret. ”In … in th Soul Society, there are places even there where powerful Hollow are numerous and I, like the idiotic child I was, ran there for sanctuary. My father, though he may be a Soul Reaper, was not powerful, and he was not prepared for the monsters he faced. By the time he reached me, it was … it was too late.” Her voice broke at the last word, and she couldn’t stem the fall of tears again. When she spoke again, her voice quivered in every word.
”I … I don’t remember much about what happened, I just … I just know that after that day, my father lost everything. What little respect he had in the family evaporated, he lost his sanity, and … he lost me.” Another deep sigh wracked her frame as she fought to keep control of her emotions.
”I lost the use of my legs. The Hollow it … it tore right through my leg, the doctor said I would never walk again. I was confined to a wheelchair for three decades - longer than you’ve been alive.” She ended this bitter statement with a sardonic laugh. ”I only was able to walk again out of a sheer miracle, and even now I cannot overexert myself or risk pain and possibly even permanent damage.” Her fists knitted in her dress. She was in obvious distress, but she forged on ahead, determined to make him understand. ”I became a Soul Reaper. But not because of my family, and not out of a sense of personal justice or a desire to do the right thing. I became a Soul Reaper - I wield my zanpakutou - out of revenge.” She let this statement hang and, for the first time for the duration of the story, she looked at him. Her face was contorted in a fierce, wild grimace as she struggled against the onslaught of emotion that came with reliving her past.
”My father still hasn’t recovered, but my family … they refuse to care for him, and he is rotting on the street. To continue living with them - to continue with their support - I had to tell him goodbye. The look in his eyes as the last person to care for him walked away … it will haunt me forever.” The look focused then, becoming razer sharp. Her voice followed, sharpening to be barely above a whisper, but cut like a knife. ”This is something I want you to understand, Kazura. I am not a good person. I may fight on the side of the angels, but do not think for a moment that I am one of them. I do not fight this war to right the wrongs of the past; I do it for vengeance, and one day it will consume me. But not until the creatures and the monsters that destroyed my family burn in Hell as well.” The summation of her story ended with the sudden sealing of her reaitsu, and her turning abruptly back to the window, hiding the tears that now pooled on her lap.
”If you want me to leave,” She said, in a voice barely above a whisper. ”If you think worse of me, or think I am despicable for abandoning my father, then I will leave you, never to be seen again. But this is not what I want.”
Post by Kazura Uzaki on Feb 21, 2017 21:10:33 GMT -5
Kazura sat very still, taking all of the information in. He could see that it was painful for her to talk about, especially with how long it took to even start the story. While he was shocked by the story, in multiple places along its entirety, it didn't affect him outwardly all that much. He bottled up his emotions, forcing himself to grit his teeth and not interrupt during the whole story. Even when her reiatsu started to pour out, he held back. When the story was finally finished he got up from his chair, slowly moved across the plane to stand right behind her, and attempted to wipe her face with his hand. "You only did what you had to do... There's no blame in that."
Kazura honestly believed that. He had done some shady stuff in the past, such as forging a temporary partnership with that crazy fullbringer in Vegas (which went nowhere, but still) to making deals and equipment with the Vandenreich. In the first situation, he was protecting Yoko and the other lives in that hotel by pacifying a crazy man. It had worked, too. And with the Vandenreich... Vannan just wanted his sister safe, how could Kazura say no to that? So the man just tried to comfort Katrina. To hold her from behind and just be a wall she could press her face into and cry into. He would be her rock she could stand on. "It's okay. I'm not going anywhere, and I won't ask you to leave. I see no fault in your youth."
His words and his embrace pushed her over the edge and the tears leapt unhindered from her eyes. A strangled cry leapt from her throat and she spun, hair spinning like a fan, to bury herself in his chest. Her slim arms wrapped around him and squeezed with all her strength. His acceptance of her, despite her flaws and her past, meant more than he could ever know. There was nothing more important to her than just being accepted for who she was. Her entire life, she spent under the thumb of her family, and Kazura was beginning to show her a better way. A happier way. She stayed there for many minutes, sobbing into his chest, letting the pain and the rage of her past leave her. It wasn’t a permanent gesture by any means, but it was a start, and she loved him for it.
”You really want me to stay?”
She sounded like a child asking her father for another ten minutes before bed. She was aware of this, but she didn’t care. Her eyes, wide from her vulnerability, looked up at him through eyelashes beaded with tears. She was, for a brief, glorious moment, completely vulnerable before him, her thinly muscled body pressed into his, her scent like roses wafting slowly from her. She blinked once, and that seemed to make her notice the tears. Like she was bit her arms leapt to her face, wiping away the tears. ”Ah … stupid …” She admonished herself, flicking the last tear away before smiling sheepishly at Kazura.
”So … I told you my life story. Why do you do what you do, Mr. Uzaki? Why do you fight the good fight?” She asked him coyly. She didn’t move away, instead leaning against the wall. Her hand entwined in his, her pulling his hand to lay against her heart. It was beating quickly; she was nervous, after all, and having him so close and smelling so good was making it hard to think straight. She felt lighter than she has since … forever, really. She never shed tears for her father, or her own failures, and it felt good to talk to someone. Kazura provided her that outlet. While she doubted he had a story like hers, she found herself genuinely interested in it, and not for the first time today, smiled at her own reactions.