Konsō (Saephera)

[frost]

It seems that his body was regaining its effect on people again. People without any spiritual power, or something similar, couldn't see, hear, or interact with him. It was how it should be. It was hard to do his job with everyone's gaze piercing through his skull. What brought him to the shopping center was a wandering soul that did not find peace in death and refused to go on, or couldn't go on. It was a child's spirit, who had drowned after bullies had shoved him in a fountain nearby, not knowing he couldn't swim. The boy drowned and the bullies laughed at him as he did. The spirit never found peace and caused trouble here in this marketplace.

Xemnas sat on the same deathly fountain, hood hiding his face. He had let his spiritual pressure to be felt subconsciously by the shoppers here, who left in a hurry because of it. Only workers stayed. He sat there and he waited, and finally he felt a presence sit next to him. Then he felt a tug on his sleeve...

"Mister?", said the boy's spirit, whose brown eyes and curly brown hair made Xemnas remember about his own childhood. After all, the boy looked similar. "Did they send you to come get me?", the boy asked curiously.

"No.. I came on my own... but before I send you on your way.. know this... life in the afterlife can be challenging, but if you believe you will succeed, then you will", Xemnas said, drawing his white-hilted Zanpakuto and moving in front of the boy. He softly placed the bottom of the hilt on the boy's forehead and then removed it. The boy's spirit began to glow in a blue light and shot up into the sky. It was done, he felt the boy's spiritual pressure disappear. However... another spiritual pressure had revealed itself... and it was getting closer.

[Saephara]

It was that time of the year for her, the time that she splurged what money she had saved up to go shopping. It was the one thing that she gave herself. Saephara had gone from store to store, a bright smile on her face as she purchased shirts, pants, jackets, and accessories of all colors and variety. Needless to say, she was like a little girl in a candy store. In addition, she had wandered towards the weapons store, showing her holding permit to the owner before they had even asked. Her attention wouldn't be diverted for such a menial thing. In the end, she had bought 13 different tops, 14 pairs of pants in varying styles, 3 jackets, 7 pairs of shoes and boots, 4 necklaces, 5 pairs of earrings, and a new crossbow with halter. With ease, Sae had gone back to her home and showered then played with her new items. In the end she decided on keeping her treasured cure around her neck and wore her new pair of blue skinny jeans with a ruby red low-backed halter, a new pair of soft leather boots riding up her calves. She had decided on braiding her now thigh length black hair so that the thick braid ran between her wings.

It was finally time to head back out. Her wings had gotten wet, and she had needed to wait before going out, in case she needed to fly. With a grin, she grabbed her helmet and keys, closing the door behind her. With smooth movement, she hopped onto the seat of her beloved bike and kick-started it into life, making it roar with joy before taking off. She had been at Tony Stark's penthouse for a bit, but had left for her scheduled shopping spree. She would return, if only to give what knowledge she had that surely would help the scientist with whatever crazy ideas ran through his head, but first it was some personal time.

She had torn through the city at neck-breaking speed, spotting the wandering souls along the roads as a result of the plague. It seemed as though embracing her darker side had not eliminated her ability to send souls on to whatever afterlife there was. It wasn't long before she arrived at the small square. It mainly held some food shops and a few small clothing stores, but it was not as large as the others. In the center was a medium sized fountain that trickled water down the tiers into the large basin at the bottom. Sae found herself bringing her bike to a stop, but not parking as her gaze was transfixed on a figure at the fountain. He wore silver hair that peeked from under the hood of the black cloak he wore. Next to him was a little boy, another spirit. She simply watched as the man spoke to the boy, then brought his sword up and touched the soul's forehead with the hilt. The soul disappeared in an instant and the man seemed to tense.

She kicked the stand down on her bike and stood from it, removing her helmet slowly. With agile fingers she locked her helmet into her bike and walked forward, towards the man. He has the same ability as she? There hadn't been anyone with the same power until now and she was intrigued. As she approached, she began to sing softly to ease the strange man. It was a lilting melody that was soft...

[frost]

The pressure was getting closer. It was a strong power, but then again, many pressures within the city were strong. He sheathed his Zanpakuto slowly, ending with a metallic click. He turned toward the newcomer, and removed his hood, allowing all of his silver hair to spill over his shoulders. His emotionless orange eyes looked over her observantly. He wore this emotionless face in front of strangers for a reason. For one, He was the only Soul Reaper in this world as far as he knew.

"You are not human, that much I know. Niether are you a mod soul or a soul reaper. You are obviously not a hollow... so then.... what are you?" Xemnas said to himself softly, thinking aloud. His eyes widened slightly at the realization that he was thinking aloud, and scratched his chin slightly. "Ah.... Forgive me, It has been awhile sense the last time anybody could see me. My name is Xemnas... I am a Shinigami, also known as Death Gods or Soul Reapers. My job is to send lost souls on to the after life. There are so many souls here...", he concluded, his voice trailing off into silence as he thought some more. What could this newcomer do?

[Saephara]

Sae stopped singing as soon as he began to speak. It was strange for someone like him to simply begin talking about random things and introduce themselves like there was not a care in the world. She chuckled and thought him a bit of an airhead simply based on his sentences. She could at least be polite and respond in turn.

"I don't know what Shinigami's are or any of the others things that you have said, but at the very least I can tell you my name. Saephara." She didn't offer her hand to him due to her not knowing exactly what he could do. What if he inadvertently took her powers? She would stay cautious and listen to what this person had to say. After all...he did just send a soul to the afterlife, it seemed like.

[frost]

"A pleasure to meet you. A shinigami's main duty is to make sure lost souls find their way again. Our second is to cleanse tainted and hollowed souls by striking them down with our Zanpakuto. " Xemnas ssaid, motioning to his katana to make clear that it was his Zanpakuto. Then he examined her spiritual pressure It was. like that of a soul reaper, only tainted, like a vizard's soul when they don their hollow mask.

"Your spiritual pressure is similar to that of a Soul reaper, but their are a few minor differences. It is also tainted... heavily." Xemnas said, putting emphasis on that last word. He wante to make it clear that if she was dead, he would have no choice but to strike her down.

[Saephara]

Sae simply stood with a hip jutted out to the side, her wings relaxing against her back. He simply was giving too much information way too quickly for her comfort. Something just was not right. "It seems that you are new here. How is it that you can be so new to this area yet be so quick to judge whether or not one's soul is tainted? You do not know the denizens of this area, do you? And like I have said before, I don't know what you are talking about. I would suggest taking it lightly from here on out."

She jumped up and onto the fountain, climbing to the tallest tier. She quickly spun around, creating a bow and arrow purely of her energy and shot an arrow towards the man named Xemnas, narrowly missing him to land in the ground at his feet. A empty expression had taken the place of her usual nonchalant look, her demeanor becoming that of the fallen angel she now was. "A lot worse than that can and will happen to you if you don't tread lightly. There are powerful beings in this world, beings that you may not have dealt with yet. Learn to keep your tongue in check, Xemnas." In an instant, she appeared next to him and whispered in his ear while caressing his face with one finger.

"You may just buy yourself another day." With those words of advice, Sae began to walk away. That had been the first time she had been that quick. Was it simply her abilities coming to fruition?

[frost]

Before she could turn completely forward, he was already there, some ten feet from her. He wore a soft smile. "Forgive me once more Saephera, when one is alone for over a century, one can forget how to speak to another. I meant no ill intentions for you. I am rather joyful to find another of my kind, or rather, one of a similar race. I care not that you are tainted, for your intentions are good. I knew that from when you sang. I sense your power rising, rapidly. This usually happens after a barrier is broken. I hit my limit long ago, and I cannot break it. Perhaps by learning from what you did, I can progress again." Xemnas said, scratching his chin.

[Saephara]

This being was fast. Almost too fast. The words he spoke may have been true, but she was still wary of him. Placing a booted foot behind her, she stood in a protective stance. Sae spoke briefly to the man, stating, "Similar race? There are no others like me. I am of a mixed variety, for lack of better explanation. Now, I must be going. I do believe we will run into one another again. I have a gentleman waiting for me." She began to walk past the man and as her wing brushed his side she looked at him with a blank face, darkness peeking through her eyes. Her irises flickered from sapphire to violet and back. "My name...You've been saying Saephera. My name is Saephara. Saephara Crosswell. Now..."[/color] She quickly moved towards her bike and placed her helmet on her head, eyes still pinned on the dark robed man. She made quick work of bringing the machine beast to life and revved it, taking off past Xemnas and continuing on towards Harker Industries. It was time to return back to Tony.

However...that being was interesting indeed. Sae would have to be careful of him.

[frost]

Xemnas would have accepted it right there, and move on to the next soul nearby. A ringing noise sounded, piercing the silence. Xemnas quickly pulled it from its pocket and examined it with a serious look in his eye. A hollow had appeared.... right in the path of Saephara's route. Xemnas closed the detector and flash stepped his way toward her position. Hopefully it wasnt too late...

Meanwhile the "Hollow" that appeared simply stood in the middle of the road, its eyes staring directly into the motorcycle's light. The hollow wasnt really a hollow, but an Arrancar, a hollow that had taken its mask off. The arrancar lifted its han and pointed it at the incoming motorcycle, gathering a large amount of spiritual enegy within the palm of his hand. With almost a giggle the arrancar said under his breath, "Cero". As a result the energy was released, sending a large wave of energy barreling toward her.

Luckily, he did, with only split seconds to spare. He had to act quickly if he was to block the cero. He moved in between the path of Saephara and the cero with Zanpakuto drawn. With his sword in hand, he deflected the cero upward and, like a spear, threw his Zanpakuto at the arrancar. It took it by surprise and impaled it on the spot, killing it instantly. As soon as it died, it began to fade away into spiritual dust, but he was concerned more about the dense, high speed projectile about to his him. as the being could interact with spirits, the motorcycle would hurt Xemnas... a lot.

[Saephara]

It hadn't taken long for Saephara to notice the figure in her path in the distance. Through her darkened motorcycle helmet visor, her eyes had narrowed and bled to a deep violet. Who was this being to trespass in her path? Their energy worried her only minutely as she steadied her speed. She pulled her wings in tight as she pulled her hands off the handles of her motorcycle, controlling the balance with a mix of her thighs and her darker power. Sae removed her helmet and locked her eyes on the person in the street, the wind whipping across her body to split in different directions. The tie on her braid had loosened in her two rides and in only a second, her hair fell loose to join the wind, flying in the air.

The one in front of Sae giggled and as he moved, Sae climbed on the seat of her bike with a bow and arrow of her mixed energies pointed at the man. Her left calf settled against the dark blue steel of the gas tank, the other leg bent and swept out so that the vee of her legs was a 90 degree angle. Her helmet rested between her waist and left arm as she took aim. Time seemed to slow as she focused on that target in front of her. He seemed innocent looking but there was something dangerous about him... suddenly he let loose energy towards her. That was it. He was dead.

Just as she had pulled her arrow back on the bow, Xemnas appeared in front of her and as quick as he had arrived, he blocked the energy and threw that sword of his at the enemy, causing it to fade away. What was the reason for that? There was no time for that. She was about to collide with him. Quickly, she climbed back onto the seat and took positive control over her speeding rocket and steered the bike to the right of him, applying the brakes hard and forced the rear end of the bike to go around the man. As Saephara maneuvered the bike, she took note of her front tire brushing the guy's black robing. She looked up at him and grinned, still skidding several feet before coming to a stop. She put her left foot to the ground and kicked the stand down before climbing off again. A quick inspection around her vehicle and Sae was pleased. "Ah...not a single scratch."she sighed. Purple eyes turned to Xemnas with excitement as she asked, "And what was that? She could tell her hair was disheveled but she could care less. She couldn't wait to tell Tony what she had done.

[frost]

"That is what happens if a lost soul does not find its way. Eventually they morph into monsters called hollows who seek to devour the souls of others, living or dead. If a hollow figures away to removed its mask, it can become humanoid again, but it is still a hollow. these are known as arrancar." Xemnas said walking toward his blade and taking it from the ground.

"My sword has the ability to send souls on to the afterlife. Striking a hollow down purifies it and forgives any sin committed as hollow. As the gates to the underworld did not come to recieve this arrancar, it has moved on to the more pleasurable place." Xemnas continued, sheathing his sword and turning to her. He was glad she was alright, for that arrancar was just around a lieutenant's in terms of power. However he felt this one could have fended for herself against it without a problem.

[Saephara]

Sae simply giggled to herself then laughed aloud as she thought about it. Souls that became evil if they were not sent? Sounded absurd but it was plausible as noted in her family's books. An image of them came to mind and she turned away from him, quickly and suddenly spreading her wings. "Leave me be now." Her voice carried a deep sadness as she pushed down with her wings and flew off into the sky.

[frost]

Xemnas sighed at her reaction to his truth. THE truth. He concluded the truth must have sparked a troublesome memory of some kind and decided to leave a note on her motorcycle.

it said:Dear Saephara,

I am sorry for causing the sorrowful reaction that you had performed earlier. I am also sorry that you think the truth is ridiculous, but maybe the truth is sometimes. I stayed within the area to keep your bike from being stolen.

- Sincerely
Ex-Lieutenant Xemnas