[War for Australia] - Darwin

“ Hold up, you mean you are a Shinigami? Possibly even graduated from the school, and you have no idea how to talk to your zan spirit? You musta been one of those lame Shinigami, that passed by the skin of their teeth. I am Natalia, though i am not in any faction of the Shinigami or otherwise, though they must be getting desperate if they let idiots like you join this war... now i am going to have to get all mentally focused again to even attempt to go to my inner world... And to let you know, the inner world is where you meet your zan spirit. It’s the world within your mind. So just go do something useful while i attempt to get prepared for this again. Oh yeah, and do not bother me with such ignorant questions again, or it may be the last thing you ever do. The lady stated. Tsumi’s happy mood was unfazed. “I flunked out of Zanjutsu, but they told me I was good at getting around, and put me in Squad 3! It’s been lotsa fun being in the Gotei 13- and now I get to go on a real-live mission to earth!” he said.

She seemed somewhat insecure, and seemed to resort to threats and assumptions, as a sort of defense mechanism. She also seemed incredibly rude, which further confirmed Tsumi’s fear of women. This is why he didn’t talk to people often. “Well, we’ve found a team-player.” said Z, sarcastically. Thank goodness no one could hear him, otherwise Tsumi would be in constant trouble. Alas, this was not the case, and that was a blessing. While Tsumi was tuned out, he offhandedly heard the rude lady say something about relaxing, and focusing. Perhaps he would try it, too.

Suddenly, the leader-ish-looking guy spoke. "It is time to move. We are to find those who are in danger and get them to safety. We also have two scouts out and must find them as well. For now, we will stay together and move as one. Keep your eyes and ears open, call out anything you see; no matter how small it is." he said, followed by volunteering to keep watch over the rude lady. A few seconds later, he turned to Tsumi. “I don’t believe I’ve met you before?” he said. “Oh, my name is Buredo, Tsumi, of Squad 3!” Tsumi said. “and what’s YOUR name, Mister leader-san?”

After his reply, Tsumi spoke again. “This is a bit abrupt, but I’d like to try speaking to my Zanpakutō, too. Mind if I join you guys? I won’t be any trouble.” he asked, an imploring (but still rather goofy) expression plastered on his face. “Please?

What happened next happened in kind of a blur. A giant ball of lightning came out of nowhere, taking down at least ten of his comrades. He cringed a little- he hated death. More than anything else, he hated death. That was why he joined the recon squad- so he wouldn’t HAVE to kill things. Alas, he supposed, it was the fate of a Shinigami to have dominion over death, and thus, death would follow him everywhere he went. He could see the winged lady, bent over on her knee, one of her wings broken. His protect-the-friends instinct turned on, and his stance widened, ready for anything.

Well, almost anything.

A strange-looking person flew above them, approaching, and saying "Hey, you two! What are you doing on my lands?! Now, you take your Shinigami butts off my new property, and there won't be any trouble."
“I doubt that.” Z said. The man continued. “Now, I can't believe you’re still standing after my attack, but your troubles have only just begun." he said. “Case in point.” Tsumi ignored his sarcastic alternate personality, and instead reacted to what the man said. “That was you? Attacking random people is bad, if you don’t have a reason!” Tsumi said, taking a fighting stance. He began to analyze his opponent- he wasn’t preparing to strike, which puzzled him. Perhaps he was waiting for something to happen. Perhaps he was waiting for Tsumi to make the first move.

However, before he had the chance, the leader-person (who Tsumi would later find out was named Corgan) made his move first. “Natalia, go. Tsumi, you go as well." he said, beginning to use various Kido, the names of which Tsumi didn’t catch, due to the sudden protective dome that appeared around him and the rude girl, who he presumed was Natalia. The protective dome was then added to, making this spot a veritable fortress. The dome blocked out the sound outside, instead treating them to the sound of crashing waves. “Welp, I guess now’s do or die time.” Tsumi said, flashing a slightly frightened grin.

Following this, and whatever remarks Natalia may have cared to make, he knelt down on the ground, flattening his palms against the tops of his thighs. He took several deep breaths, allowing his mind to be, for once, completely silent. At first, there was nothing. However, the more he focused, the more he could hear a faint voice talking. It was as if the voice had always been in the back of his head, but he’d never been quiet enough to hear it.

“Tsumi! You’re actually willing to talk now?! Do you KNOW how LONG I’ve been trying to talk to you?! MONTHS. LITERALLY, MONTHS.” The voice said. It sounded rather feminine, but it wasn’t Natalia who was speaking. Could it be… was his Zanpakutō a GIRL?!
“Yes, I’m a girl! And if you have a problem with that, you can take it up with me, face-to-face!” she said. Tsumi opened his eyes, expecting to see Natalia in front of him. However, he received a…rather unexpected visual. He was in a forest, but it wasn’t a normal forest. It was like…a forest in negative image.

The trees in this forest were all black, with iridescent white leaves, that blew in a nonexistent wind. The ground also tool on a pitch black hue, with flat, white grass. Any plant life that could be seen took on the same pattern: Black base, with white leaves. Rather than a sun or moon in the sky, there was a large, flaming Z, which hung low in the sky. Random Japanese kanji could be seen flowing upward, from the horizon into the sky. This world… it was his inner world? An embodiment of him? A voice boomed across the area. “Come to the center- underneath the flaming Z.” it said.

Wasting no time, Tsumi sprinted toward what he presumed to be the center of his inner world. Upon arriving, the world’s full appearance was revealed to him. In fact, the world was split neatly in half, with one side being the dreary negative-image world that Tsumi had seen, and the other being an upbeat, normal-looking forest, full of Sakura blossoms. It seemed rather serene, especially in contrast to the negative-image forest that connected to it. In the middle of these two polar-opposites sat a tower, which ran further up than the eye could see.

The same feminine voice he had heard before came from behind him. “It’s so great to finally meet you, Tsumi Buredo.” The voice said. Tsumi turned around, finally able to put a face to that voice. The woman had long, straight, pitch black hair, which went down to her legs. On this hair, there was a white flame design, which rose from the bottom. Her skin was very pale, which only complemented her other features. She had red eyes, and black makeup, which was painted on in the design of tears, which came from the outer side of each eye. Black lipstick covered her lips, almost masking the single white fang that jutted out from the right side of her mouth. Next to her face, two silver earrings in the shape of W’s gleamed brilliantly.

She wore a black gown, with a white spider web design that encompassed the entire dress. The gown appeared to be in the shape of a wedding dress, save for lack of occasion. The dress was quite modest, covering up her entire body, save for her face, feet, and hands. On her feet, she wore silver slippers, which were encrusted with diamonds. She wore a black and a white ring on each of her two hands. These rings were carefully placed to alternate both color and finger, thus, they were placed as follow: A white on her left middle finger, and a black on her left pointer, and the opposite on her right.

“I suppose there’s no need for an introduction, then.” Tsumi said, holding out his hand for the woman to shake. She took it, seeming incredibly eager. “I understand you don’t have much time, but I’d still very much like to talk to you. What’s your favorite food? What’s your favorite color? Who’s your best friend? What on EARTH makes your hair do that?” The questions were relentless.

“Er, let’s see…. Ramen, silver, don’t have one, and it does that naturally.” Tsumi replied.
Their conversation continued for what seemed like hours, discussing absolutely nothing at all, though in the end, Tsumi managed to make friends with his Zanpakutō.