Buraddorasuto Shinmon

Where all it begins and ends, a Reaping of the Thirsty
Ryuketsu often wandered the World of the Living to preform diagnosis of its current Spiritual plane condition, specifically in areas of known high populations of Spiritually adept populace and incidents of paranormal activities beyond the norm for any small town.

This one such place has been home to many legends and infamous sites of terrible power, heroes, and despicable acts of tragedy and evil. One place, even after the rise and fall of civilizations of man for the past seven centuries has changed despite technology being as advanced as it is. The name of the place...is Karakura Town.

Ryuketsu's appearance had made it easy to infiltrate and become part of the populace of the out-of-the-way town, its various styles of architecture still remains verily 21st century midwestern, another oddity that this Japanese town holds. Even the style of clothing had remained almost inexplicably 'normal', no collar-less suits, not hover cars, no instant media-insertions.

Most of the technology had stopped being advanced in appearance since the 22nd Century for the town, and Ryuketsu preferred that he wore his hoody, dark gray shirt and fading jeans as he walked nonchalantly down a sidewalk street, ignorant of the cold breeze the blew by and kicked up some autumn leaves, as fall came to the town in its own unique way as well.

He stopped by a place he knew as the bookstore, a place only home to small towns as most information of any kind was transferred into digital-input around the turn of the 22nd Century, and even so, a gread deal of the 'books' were now digital lap-pads of sorts, terminals with plenty of access of downloadable media, literature, games, and even local daily news came through while books were still stacked on shelves, still bought and sold here. It baffled him how stubborn some people were to keep using parchment when the world kept moving on without it.

He stopped by a book aisle and began to browse, blocking out his senses for a bit and allowed some sense of normality to grip him as he enjoyed looking through the hardcover bindings of the store and the feel his fingers felt against them as he skimmed through piece by piece of literature, looking for a very particular piece he's been hunting everytime he came by here.

If there was one thing the Queen of the Damned hated more than anything, it would have to be history class and technology. She walked into the bookstore, hoping to find anything on the past six hundred years of life. To her, the technology was too much, prefering the feel of a book in her hands that made being immortal somewhat more bearable in the process. The only thing that hadn't changed was clothing styles, and for that, she was grateful. Having to buy more outfits would have destroyed what little money she had to her name.

Myst, the aformentioned queen, found a section dedicated to around the time she had left human kind, except for the case of food. The mere thought of the crimson liquid that sustained mortal life made her hungry, even after her bottle of blood that she passed off as tomato juice had entered her system. Picking a large tome off the shelf, she scanned the pages hoping to find anything related to her brother or his family anywhere, having lost contact almost fourty years after she walked away, and ever since, just wanting to know drove her mad enough to go back to school and observe humanity to find perhaps a trace of those she loved.

As Ryuketsu was about to check another aisle, he heard or rather felt the presence of a enigmatic Spiritual Pressure entered the bookstore. He had heard tales of her but he never encountered her, but he could be musing himself as he put on a simple curious look from the aisle as he watched a scarlet haired girl walk in, and had a perturbed look on her face, one of which Ryuketsu knew anyone else would find charming or funny, or plain scarry.

When he saw the section she went in to pick up a book, he recognized the binding and cover of the book she picked up, seeing its arcane contents during his years past and dictated most of it as mythology and pieces of it as fact. He casually morosed over to her aisle, passing by to turn and have his back to her, sliding his forefinger across several bindings of books he had read before, giving the facade he only just come here, as he spoke aloud in a casual bored tone, "I wouldn't put much fact in these books, miss. Most of the stuff you read in them is mythology, highly inaccurate, but not bad for good reading."

Myst frowned. "If there is a myth, there needs to be something true behind it. No one created a religion without something that they had seen beforehand. The Christian faith, for example, tells the tale of a Jewish man who could redeem sins, I don't follow it, but I do know that there was a man named Jesus Christ, and he was a good speaker in public. He won converts to his side easily by just speaking, and even in these days, words still have power." she said, trying not to let her true nature reveal itself, spoiling her ruse and causing an uproar.

"True...but if all it takes is words to win people over, than why not name Muhammad of the Islam faith or Bhudda of his own theology? Both of which have had many converts through total faith in their religion or beliefs yet they didn't claim to be a god either," he looked over at her, eyeing her skeptically before saying, "funny...I didn't think you were the philosophy type."

"Christ was just the most famous. Over one billion people from all over the globe claim he's something worth following." Myst begain, looking over her shoulder. "Besides, there's alot you don't know about me, strange one." she added before returning to her book. Damn, nothing of them. she thought, placing the book back and grabbing another from around the same era of time.

"Oh, is that so?" He asked with genuine inquiry, a small smirk adorned his face as he reached over and placed his hand on the book she was grabbing, holding it fast on the shelf while leaning close to her, piercing brown eyes stared towards hers, asking, "enlighten me how I'm a strange one, miss?"

Myst smirked, baring her fangs. "I'm sure you've read the story of Vlad Tepes Dracul? You would better know him as Dracula. I'm a very distant decendent of his, and I carry his curse. To me, you beings are very strange. Six hundred years, I've been away, and now I don't really know what to think of you." she said before returning to her peaceful facade. "Sorry, I don't have time for these games, I need to find a very important piece of information. Excuse me." she bowed politely and walked around the shelf to check a later series of dates, knowing how long her family lived, even without her own power, after all, half of them were part Demon.

Ryuketsu arched a brow at seeing the fangs, displaying a sense of unsurity in the realism in her fangs or story, but then again, humans have had stranger abilities than to live for years on end. He remembered the Bounts, after all what happened to them...

"So, you're Dracula's great great great great great," he kept on for a minute, adding a smile at the end, "...great granddaugther then? And what makes you think I don't know anything about vampires or demons," he leaned agains the shelf while crossing his arms and looking at her curiously.

"Because, my kind is dying out. I've outlived my kin thanks to this power, and I haven't made another like me in six hundred years, nor have I felt my bloodline being used for such. I would know if any of my desendents used my gift to spread this, so great is the connection we share, and again, as then, I am truly alone." Myst replied, restraining the welling emotions as she told her life story so crypicly to a stranger. "Of course, I doubt you believe me. You probably think I've just read too many books on vampires, don't you?"

Ryuketsu heard her tone, feeling like she was yearning for love and affection...as well as kindred spirits and comrades, a feeling sheer and utter...isolation. Something that Ryuketsu wouldn't admit, but it was one thing that he has felt for countless years before, but now, he found someone just like him. It was certainly...strange, to say the least.

He then said with a shrug, saying nonchalantly, "Anything is possible...I mean, with the strange things that happen here of a all places, what's to say there isn't such a truism to your story or your lineage? You might surprise yourself of what you might find out just by looking around the corner," he hinted vaguely, ushering a small wink and smile, before moving to walk out of the book store, aimlessly grabbing a book with a archaic set of letters, Latin, before throwing the book towards her direction, "here. Its a book I've read of the past bloodlines of those supposed to be of Dracula and other famed vampiric families. You might find something about your family in it."

Myst knew that the strange book would give her the answers she sought so she quickly purchased the bundle of papers and ran outside, trying to find the man who had just thrown her probably the most valuable piece of information she ever could need. Where did he...he must be a Shinigami to move this fast. Wherever he was, he was outside her vast range, or perhaps cloaking himself to prevent her from following.

"Hello there girl," came a sickening, chilly voice from above the shop, the sheer presence sent a cold feeling in the air, as a man in dark cloak and hood, smiling in a predarorial gleam, "care to tell me your name...or shall I say it aloud myself, Myst?"

Myst jumped as the man said her name. "How the Hell do you know who I am? And who are you?" she said, panic evident on her face. Whoever this guy was, he was giving her goosebumps in the extreme.

Kaze smiled chillingly, saying in a false-pleasant voice, "I'd be careful not to talk to someone who's not there. It tends to draw attention, if you know what I mean," he chuckled in a eerily manner, as indeed a few bystanders looked at Myst strangely before returning to their buiness and walk.

"If you'd like we can take this conversation to a place a little more...quiet. There's a old temple with a pagoda north of the city, about 3 kilometers from here. Meet me there if you want to know how you're found and known so easily," he then clacked a silver skull and obsidian bodied cane onto the roof above before disappearing with a high-pitched scream as his form disappeared in a blur. The initiation of Flash Step was apparent, for those who knew anything of Soul Reapers...

Myst gulped before using her variant of Shunpo, which had the sound of bats taking wing in hunt, and traveled the entire distance in less than three minutes. She stood beneath the pagoda and caught her breath. She had pushed herself beyond her normal limits, but it was important to her to get any information from the Shinigami before it was leaked.

A low series of chuckles was heard as the Soul Reaper clacked his cane down and walked at a casual pace towards Myst, the lower half of his face visibly pulled into a grin, "You sure got here quick. Are you that worried that you're secret would get out...or are you so lonely you want to know of your lost kindred?"

"You know of them?" Myst asked, excited to have a lead. "And yeah, if the Shinigami figured out I'm still alive I'm screwed. I may be powerful, but that many people attacking at once would be a challenge." she added, bragging to quell the unease forming.

"Now now, my dear...that would be telling, now wouldn't it?" He chided her with a chilling smile, chuckling after her twisted his cane around in a casual manner, "Truth be told...I was actually hoping to lure you away from the meddlesome human populace. They tend to be populated with...heroes and the like...and is monitored by the Soul Society, so they would've been alerted to our...reendevous."

Myst was offically scared by the man in front of her. It felt like a much more twisted version of her favorite movie from ages past Labyrinth starring David Bowie, and she was Sara to the man's Jerith. Gathering her courage, she decided to see what exactly was going on. "Then answer this, who are you and how do you know me?"

The man smiled, saying, "You know how the saying goes? Knowledge is power. Going off how that saying means that if I gave you that knowledge you would be more powerful, now wouldn't you?" He then held up a brown gloved left hand towards her, saying, "if you come with me now, I will tell you about your family...after I keep you locked away and safe, so I can study on you about your rare species in the safety of my laboratory."