Journey to Karakura: Beginning of an Epic

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

- Tagline

Abrupt Collisions, The Red String of Fate?
It was the glorious city known as ; the city where everything buzzed with activity no matter the time it was. Truly, it was a wondrous place, perhaps even one of the Seven Wonders of the World? There was a young man among the large crowds in this extraordinary city. He was on his way home from University, and was simply maneuvering through the masses as he normally would.

His name was, Thomas Allan.

Thomas was one of the most influential and powerful minds of this decade, if not, the century or millennium! He was a genius, a true genius who had excelled in anything and everything as a child. He was only 18, and he had already finished University, and just had to finish the nitty gritty bills that he had to pay. He was the heir to an extremely influential family, and as such people expected alot from him. But; Thomas was a young man with his own goals and ambitions. He continued forward in the glistening night of New York City, not knowing what would happen next.

It was so warm! The air conditioning was being tinkered with by a round-bellied repairman, meaning the entire cafe was without the cooling effect of the air conditioning unit. Naoto Shirono walked around taking orders and clearing tables while beads of sweat broke on her forehead. Why did it have to be so warm!? Outside the sun was splitting the stones! But at least there was a nice breeze. The inside of Cafe Rendezvous would draw many a parallel with classic portrayals of hell.

She did her best to cope though. After all this was the only job she had even if she didn't particularly enjoy it. Waiting tables? Who would? She had to wear this stupid little dress. Hadn't anyone ever heard of trousers!? "Why me?" Said a voice in her head. "Because you need the money." The voice answered. "You'll miss the rent otherwise." So she continued to slave away in the heat.

"....Huh." A certain rose-haired figure puffed her cheeks out in exasperation; she had just moved here- racist jokes aside, she was beginning to see New York City as her new home. For that matter, what happened to Old York? But those questions were left for another day. Straightening her hair, the one known as Giselle Nagareboshi- 1/2 Japanese, 1/2 Australian, B99-W58-H90 cm continued to walk- though, absentminded as ever, the cherry-haired woman lost her sense of direction...

WHAM! Without any thought for where she was headed, Giselle Nagareboshi slammed into another figure, her head impacting upon their chest. She was sent barreling across the ground, before landing firmly upon her rear end, rubbing her nose in complete and utter confusion. "O-Oi, watch where you're going, you dumbass..." Giselle spat bitterly, as she stood to her feet, about to give the person a good ol' walloping...

Thomas was briefly astonished, he saw a young girl bumping into him and he felt rather embarrassed. Quickly he raised his arms up in defense and apologized, "H-hey, I'm sorry, alright?" Thomas quickly put his hand out for a handshake. His blond hair floated in the wind, his amber eyes looked sincere and he had a smile on his face." Well, for compensation, wanna go to a nearby cafe? I'm Thomas, Thomas Allan. How about you?"

Naoto whipped her forehead on a nearby napkin before downing an ice-cool bottle of water from the refrigerator in the back. The round-bellied repairman was slowly but surely making his way onto her hit-list. It should not take two hours to repair an air conditioner!

"I'm not paying you to drink water," the cafe's owner reminded her.

"I know, I know." She said back. So she went back out front where she immediately began whipping down the nearest free table which had just been vacated. "Dirty slobs. No one ever leaves this place clean and tidy!" It was bad enough she hated cleaning her own mess. But now she had to clean others too? Thankfully she got off in an hour.

Giselle gritted her teeth in frusteration, slapping Thomas' hand away angrily- though it could easily be seen that she was blushing. "...Tch!" She clicked her tongue in exasperation, while crossing her arms. It was always nice to score a meal for free- all she needed to do was talk the talk and walk the walk, something that she had mastered, "....Fine, then!" She responded with the greatest un-smile of all.

Thomas sighed...this girl was far too unappreciative. But, he then told her,"Alright, follow along." Thomas began to walk along the small pathway, and he soon reached the cafe with Giselle, who, unappreciative as ever walked in proudly with her head up high...not to mention that she banged her head on the door by accident as well. Thomas chuckled slightly, before taking her hand before she slapped it away angrily as usual. They took a seat in the corner, and Thomas had called out." Waitress!"

The words pierced through Naoto's skull like a bullet through glass! "Gragh! I hate this job!" She was treated like a goddamned servant. Get me this, get me that, oh, and be quick about it. It didn't half piss her off. But she smiled regardless as she made her way to the customers. "May I take your order... Thomas!?" It was him! "What's he doing here with... No way!" Her eyes narrowed on the young girl and her hand moved in a blur!

CRACK!

"You lolicon pervert!" She hit him hard enough to leave a hand-print emblazoned on his cheek. "What age is she?" She was whispering now and, thankfully, the cafe wasn't all that full. The manager hadn't heard either.

Giselle twiddled her fingers seemingly innocously, stoically responding as if she were polishing manure right in front of their faces, "...12, ma'am." Behind that mask of youthfulness was the harsh, ugly truth at her manipulative nature. Giselle was the hidden dragon among the tigers; she was somehow able to get to the top, and it wasn't done cheaply. All she had to do was sit and watch while chaos ensued; in the meantime, she could stealthily sneak in and have herself a nicely earned meal.

And Thomas' sane world had ended...one chance meeting had broken apart every reputation he had ever gained. Thomas had become...a lolicon pervert? Hell, he didn't even know what lolicon meant! He attempted to sort out things, he opened his mouth, and some random words fumbled out of it," Um...Naoto, you see, um..." Thomas was dying on the inside, and he couldn't do anything to help himself. Unless there was a way to reverse time of course...

There wasn't. Naoto knew her friend well enough to have a guess at what he was thinking. But the girls comments threw her for a serious loop! Naoto stood open-mouthed for a good two minutes before the full implications of what the young girl had said crashed home! "12 years old!? Thomas...! You idiotic simpleton of a man!" She could have struck him again and nearly did. Her hand was halfway through the motion before she decided to calm herself down with simple breathing exercises. "... We need to talk, Thomas. I get off in an hour. Now, my boss is watching, so what is your order?"

Giselle sighed; tugging at Thomas' shirt childishly, prodding at him incessantly, demanding, "Get me an iced-tea this instant. Now."

Thomas stood up, attempting to bring out the "inner man" within him, Thomas put his foot down and told Naoto." Oi, Naoto, I did no such thing! And you, little girl! Sit down and wait patiently until we've done talking alright?! If you don't...consequences will be pretty bad, got it!?" Thomas' voice sounded absolutely stupid! He tried to be serious...but he kinda failed at that, sadly, Thomas didn't know how to assert any authority, despite his origins.

Thomas would've got another crack had her boss not been watching. "Count your lucky stars," she swore mentally. Naoto narrowed her eyes, closed her fist around her small notebook, and gently pushed her childhood friend back onto his seat. "Iced tea? Would you like some chocolate with that? And how very thoughtful of you, Thomas! I'm to have some myself as well? You're so sweet." Let that be a lesson to him.

Giselle let off a sincere (not) smile, grinning perfectly innocently while taking Thomas' threat with the value of a grain of salt. "Why, thankies." She politely curtseyed, as expected of a girl her age, before sitting down on a seat almost nonchalantly. Gazing out through the window, she noted to herself, "......Huh. Something's amiss." Of course, it could be her hair being unevenly layered, but then again...

Thomas regrettably sat down, he was on the verge of tears, well...metaphorically anyway. Today was a bad day, and it hadn't even finished yet! Looking upon the sky, he thought," I wonder...what the strings of fate decided for today?" Though he might have been scientifically inclined, Thomas believed greatly in fate...and, he knew, he had bad luck today.

"Slapping customers are we?" Her boss asked her when she came round back again.

"He's my friend," she replied with a sweet smile. "Besides, I got some chocolate out of it. Here's your share."

"Bribing me, eh? Meh, whatever. I'm too old to care." Her boss waved her away as he bit into his half of the bar.

"Here you go," Naoto said as she took a seat opposite Thomas. "Iced-tea and some chocolate. Oh, and I decided to throw in some sprinkled donuts as well. Utterly free of charge, of course." Not. Her smile betrayed the lie.

Giselle remarked in a sweet tone, "...Thank you very much." Shooting Thomas a quick, teasing glance that portrayed her true self. No one was better than her in manipulating human feelings, rationality, interests, ethics, and necessary values; at least in her own mind. Whenever she smiled, a kitten died. Almost as if she were a pig going after a troth, Giselle grabbed the whole plate- it was possible that she could even eat the table.

Thomas just sat back and watched his two...friends chomp down the food with his money. He couldn't be bothered to do anything else, and just waited until these two were finished. He'd torture them so badly...he had already known what to do. An evil smirk appeared on his face briefly before he hid it, and asked," You two want to come to my house? Parents aren't home, and I'm pretty lonely while gaming, sadly."

Naoto stopped mid-chew. "Did he just ask..." She spent a moment processing it and then her eye began twitching. "He did! Ooohhhh!" She emblazoned the opposite cheek with another slap! "Perverted lolicon simpleton!" She then threw her iced-tea over the top of him. "I should spill your rotten guts!" The fact her hand was close to a knife didn't lessen the impression any.

Giselle, dissonantly cheerful, replied, "Yes, that's right! He let me into his house and promised candy in exchange for company." Now, that of course, was polishing manure right in front of Naoto's face. Then again, who wouldn't trust a 12-looking-15 year old? At this point, she was trying too hard. "...Then again, there's some things in his room you wouldn't want to see..."

" Naoto, you can't believe this little girl. You have been in my room over a thousand times in these years, you know precisely what's in my room! And it's only been 6 months since we last saw one another, do you really think that this girl knows what was in my room? Goddammit, why did I show her any sympathy!?" Thomas began to get really annoyed, he seriously thought of just closing this entire store...he even could! But then, Naoto would feel offended. Sadly, Thomas was a softy...his greatest weakness.

"Oh, put a sock in it, you!" She was back to proper fierceness, with eyes narrowed and fists clenched. Had she been standing her hands would likely be on her hips. "Now, little girl, I've know Thomas a long time. He is an idiot, true, but not a pervert in the way you're making him out to be. Nor is he a lier, like some around this table." She smiled at Giselle sweetly. It had taken a while for her to notice but this "girl" was no 12 years old.

Ah, crap. She was boned. Immediately, Giselle inched back; it seemed as if tears were welling up in her eyes before she burst into a sparkling stream that certainly portrayed innocence and vulnerability- there was no, no way—no way they could harm an "innocent" person, especially a child. "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..." When in doubt, bawl your eyes out and things will go your way- that's how "children" worked.

Thomas didn't like being mean, but he had to take this opportunity. He took out his phone, and took a quick snapshot. He had the latest, well, not actually publicly released, iPhone 5. The picture quality was amazing! He quickly had a smug look on his face, as he declared." Well, I gotta run. See ya two later!" Thomas flipped over the chair as he began to run off at pretty fast speeds away from the cafe and towards his house. He decided to play a little game of... tag.

The look Naoto cast her boss was understood immediately. "Sure, we aren't busy, so run along. But! I expect an extra thirty minutes tomorrow."

Naoto didn't hear him. She had already grabbed her coat and stormed out the front door before he'd finished speaking! "I am going to kill him!" She knew him well. He might not be a pervert along the lines little Giselle was saying, but he was still a pervert. There was only one place he'd be going... and thankfully Naoto knew a shortcut. The funny thing was that she'd forgotten completely about Giselle.

Giselle's eyes sharpened. For a moment there, it seemed as if the air had gone cold before she rushed after Thomas, eyes blazing. Before anyone could see her, the pink-haired girl had dissapeared in a flash of light- seemingly moving faster than the eye could see; she seemed to tear up the ashpalt as she shot forward like a bullet, screaming in a gravelly voice that honestly sounded like Samuel L. Jackson's, "I'll destroy you, boy!" Before Thomas knew it, Giselle shoulder-barged him to the ground with frightening force.

Thomas widened his eyes in awe, there were not many people around, and Thomas could just buy them out if anything rose up." Judge and Jury!" Quickly golden energy shrouded him and dissipated almost instantly! His Fullbring changed his eye color to a unique azure, along with spiking his hair backward. In terms of attire, he is seen wearing; a blue kosode with a lighter blue collar and lining, detached sleeves, a pair of off-white hakama and black tabi and waraji. Finally, a nodachi was seen equipped onto him. He quickly shrugged off Giselle and asked her," You wanna do this?"

Naoto skidded to a sudden halt. Her shortcut went through a small clothes shop and an alleyway with a musician playing; but even so she glimpsed a sudden flash of... well gold... blink across the skies. "What the...?" It came from the direction Thomas had originally bolted. "What is that idiot playing at?" She could either go forwards or backwards: towards Thomas' house, or towards that flash of gold. She was torn over which though.

Giselle smirked, "Oh, how unfortunate that you managed to mess with me. You're not a funny guy, y'know." An aura of azure crackled around her body. "However… You can't advance! All you can do is get your puny arse back to where you came from! You're going down a one-way-road!" Giselle channelled her spiritual energy into her bodily systems, using her energy to age herself from the inside out, allowing her to transform her normally underage frame into that of a late teen- her true form, to be precise. Her rose hair grew to reach down to her ankles- now, she could be compared to one of those 'tall, dark and bishojo' women in anime, becoming curvier. Her eyelashes had grown longer, and her hips were slightly wider. Her legs were longer, and as she noted in dismay that her butt had become curvier as well. Her breasts seemingly inflated as her clothes nearly tore themselves.

"...Why don't you just try me?" Giselle smirked; manifesting spiritual energy into her arms, the woman formed a minature forearm shield, from which folded out a large broadsword. She grinned in anticipation.

A Cut Cord; Harvesting Life
Thomas had died inside, he wanted to nosebleed...so badly! But he kept it concealed...but, he muttered one word."...FUCK!" Swiftly he kept his sword towards himself, drawing the blade, he muttered," Bring it bitch!" He quickly charged towards Giselle, using Bringer Light to accelerate his steps and began to try and slash Giselle.

Swiftly dodging out of Thomas' way, Giselle smirked as she grasped his blade- though her hand began to bleed. Nevertheless... At that moment, light gathered and roared around that blade, as white feathers surrounded the blade.

"Glänzende..." Giselle's eyes sharpened, focusing on Thomas as the white feathers converged, before immediately hardening. "ANSTURMS!!" a loud *CRACK!* resounded throughout the air, as Giselle Nagareboshi unleashed a spinning, cross-shaped blast of feathers at Thomas; which was almost point blank. This technique was the signature move of Giselle Nagareboshi- Glänzende Ansturms.

Thomas calmed himself down and took the most rational option. Swiftly twirling around, his Fullbring passively absorbed the energy that was emitted from the attack Giselle fired at him, though it wasn't the entirety of it, Thomas created a barrier around the entirety of himself, allowing the majority of the impact to be diverted away. Additionally, Thomas propelled himself away using the force provided by the attack upon the barrier. With a few somersaults, he gained his balance once more.

Thomas looked upon Giselle with slight fear, Giselle possessed monstrous power compared to his own; but could she use it properly? That was the difference between strength and power. Thomas smirked, and asked her, " That it?"

When Naoto skidded around the nearest corner she couldn't quite believe her eyes. The idiotic and perverted young man she'd grown up with was clad in some kind of... armor?... while the little girl she had earlier eaten with wasn't young anymore! "What in the name of all that's holey is going on here!?" Is what she would have shouted. Her words, however, failed to reach anyone for they died on her tongue before she could say them. All of a sudden she couldn't move. She could barely breathe. It was as if someone had caught and constricted her throat so that only a mere trickle of air reached her lungs.

"What's wrong with me?" Was her first desperate thought. "Why can't I move?" She stood as if she where playing musical statues. There was a pressure of some kind pressing down on her frame, holding her tightly in position. But she couldn't see it! The air around her was getting heavy and despite her best efforts she was pushed down to her knees. "What... is... this...!?" Then she heard it. A bestial roar cut through her eardrums, and a cold chill crept up her spine. In that instant Naoto knew she was dead.

Giselle's jaw just...dropped. Without a word, she rushed over to Naoto's body, full of concern for somebody she'd just met- it could be seen that Giselle was completely and utterly shocked at this occurance- clutching her body in her arms, she screamed out for something, anything to save her. Blowing despair; that was the feeling of the chilling winds resounding throughout the area. Quickly, she glared over at Thomas, screaming at him, "WELL! DO SOMETHING!!"

Thomas' eyes went absolutely blank...his weapon dropped, his entire being felt lifeless all in a matter of a second. The entirety of his being was directed to that one feeling, the emptiness of life suddenly began to surge towards him. His hands couldn't move, his legs began to tremble and his face became a deathly pale that outshone even vampires!

Thomas collapsed...onto the ground with even his knees buckling to the very blow he had received to the center of his heart. He attempted to move, but could not do so...he had lost the most important thing in his life...more important than his mother, father, grandfather...his best friend, his best friend had lost her life right before his very eyes!

"How...How...Why...Why...WHY!?!?" Thomas broke down, screaming as tears began to race up into the amber eyes that once shone with confidence and happiness. They had lost their glow, they...had become nothing more than an empty silence, the silence that echoed throughout this spectacle.

Thomas had completely broken down, bawling in tears he was barely able to raise his body, exerting only enough effort so that he could crawl towards Naoto's...corpse. His arm was raised ever so slightly, trembling as it clutched the...dead hand of Naoto Shirono. His tears dropped onto Naoto's fair skin as the rain drops upon the ground. It began to drench her body, he screamed, above his lungs, above the world..." NAAAOOOOTTOOO!!!!!!!"

Her eyes where unmoving spheres of dark blue light staring towards the heavens, darkened before their time; snuffed out like candlelight. Her skin was still warm but all traces of the life that had was gone from that stare. No matter how hard Thomas pleaded the only movement Naoto showed was when his hand brushed against hers...

Giselle immediately noticed the invisible creature taking upon physical form. She gritted her teeth as that a gun swivelled underneath her miniature forearm shield while a trigger and guard extend to allow her to take manual aim. "...I know all too well the pain of losing a loved one. But now, just can the tears and focus on eradicating this bastard from existence!" Howling, Giselle unleashed an overwhelming blast of spiritual energy from her gun, a surging torrent capable of ripping through the air and seemingly engulfing the creature...

Those words pierced through the empty soul that Thomas just possessed. He realized that sitting here crying like a young infant wouldn't do. He had to do things his own way, and he did! His eyes once again possessed the fire they did for all those years. Naoto would be avenged, and with Thomas' own hands for sure!

His body regained its soul, his spiritual energy buzzed alight, its golden fury extending outwards in an aura of brilliance. He threw his sword away, and uttered merely one name." Naoto: Han'no Kinhira!" His hands clasped in an aura of immense spiritual energies, they covered his hand before he expelled his palm outward, creating a pulse of immense spiritual energy which blasted the monster backwards while making another hole through it that was in the shape of a palm.

He looked at the monster heartlessly, and told it just one thing," When a person dies...they don't die alone..." His eyes were alight with the flame, but these flames were cold...they looked at the monster dispassionately, they did not achieve a victory, but they were mourning a loss...a loss of a dear one.

Giselle immediately shrunk back into her younger form- remarking, "It'll be back soon. It's a good idea we grab her corpse and skedaddle, m'kay? Don't wanna beat around the bush here, but we gotta hurry, boy. At least, I know a place where we can bury her. Follow me, got it?" With that in mind, Giselle Nagareboshi dissapeared in long strides of her legs, blazing a trail before Thomas' eyes. With that in mind, she quickly reached the forest, snapping back, "Well!? What are you waiting for?! Hurry the hell up...unless you're doing "things"! Pervert..."

Regrettably, Thomas began to pick up Naoto and followed along Giselle's path...slowly and steadily, but surely, Thomas was on his way to bury his best friend. He was carrying her as a husband would carry his wife soon after they got married...except his days weren't so fortunate. Continuing on his path, he surprisingly dismissed the words of Giselle. Reaching the forest next to Giselle, he asked, "So, where to?"

Giselle glanced around; noticing the stream flowing gently to the side, heading forward, she bluntly stated, "Follow the damn stream." After...fifty minutes of doing so, the two reached a small shrine; Giselle froze up upon seeing it; a surge of memories flashed back into her small mind—though it quickly departed. She started to get her head in the game and attempted to remember her past- what was she before all of this? Was she a saint? Was she a demon? Or was she just your run-of-the-mill average girl? Nothing. Absolute nothing came up; no matter how hard she tried to remember at least a fragment of her memories. "Gaaaaaah…!" Giselle cried out in sharp pain, collapsing to her knees.

Ressurection; Inklings of Memories and Lives
Thomas was astonished, his eyes widened briefly, before he put down Naoto briefly as he attended to Giselle's condition." Oi, Giselle! Giselle!" Thomas exclaimed, he put his hand on her shoulder, hoping that she wouldn't fall down and become unconscious.

For a moment there, her eyes seemed to dilute as her breathing became more and more ragged- inhaling and exhaling, Clutching at her heart, Giselle cried, "...What, who am I?" In her mind, the room was always the same. A white room. Everything's white. The floor, the ceiling, the walls, the bed. Even the clothes she was wearing. She was waiting there, but she wasn't sure why. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She never knew what's going on. Sometimes that worried her; it was always like that.

The figure in Giselle's mind pointed towards a mirror. She could see herself in it. She had no idea there was something like this in here. She couldn't turn away. At first she assumed it was herself, but the person in the mirror...it was someone else. It wasn't her, yet it also was her. She knew them...a very long time ago...Before she lost her memories...A long, long time ago...Before she was born. But...she couldn't remember them anymore. "Who..."

" Giselle! Far out, what happened!?" Giselle's confused state caused Thomas to be puzzled for a moment. He then looked at the stream near them with intent, and picked up a handful of water before spraying it at Giselle's face." Giselle! Wake up! What happened!?" Thomas continued to spray water at her face, not bothering with the consequences of his actions.

Giselle felt rather groggy; her head continued to spin around- felt as if she were stuck between two rocks. But between the rocks she caught a glimpse of something beautiful with cleavage that could hold up a Christmas tree. But once she'd caught up with it and they'd started making out, all its teeth fell into her mouth and gave her scurvy. That was the state of her mind. She began to hyperventilate, barely containing herself. Lying through her teeth, Giselle snapped, "Yes, yes! I'm fine, I'm fine. Just keep walking, I'll be there in a minuuuuuuuuuuu-"

Thomas sighed, he was going through such tough times and then there was Giselle. To be honest, he didn't know how Giselle maintained such a calm, nor, rather, such a humorous disposition at this time, but it didn't bother him. Quickly he picked up Naoto's corpse and began to walk towards the nearing shrine.

"Righty-o. Anyways..." She quickly grabbed a shovel, before throwing it to Thomas. "Start diggin', boy. Unless some Norweigans come over here and revive her with voodoo, we'll be fine. Just bury her real deep in the ground. It decreases the chances of that happening." She paused. "...Don't look at me like that. It happened once. Nothing's stopping it from happening again."

Thomas blinked, blinked again AND again. Did he really listen to what Giselle just said, or was he just imagining things? He thought to himself...while looking at Naoto." Has the world gone upside down, or do I just need a slap in the face?" Thomas then did what Giselle instructed, and began digging the grave needed for Naoto.

Once the grave had fully been dug, Giselle quickly grabbed Naoto's corpse, before throwing her in the hole, ordering, "Quickly! Before she rises from the dead and becomes a hipster!" It was clear that Giselle wasn't taking this seriously at all- after all, she had an inkling that something unique was about to happen. "She'll think we're too mainstream." As was her morbid sense of humour.

"... the unnecessary..." A voice whispered faintly. The sound was no louder than the wind on a calm day. "... Hear me..." The voice grew in intensity until it was as clear as a chiming bell at her ear. "... I am potential. Yours is not yet spent. Move..." She couldn't. Wasn't she supposed to be dead? "Would you hear my voice otherwise?" The voice was clear and distinct now with a bass tone. "All you need to do is find me... Search me out! Your potential!"

Naoto found herself in a world ruled by long cylindrical towers. The tips pierced the heavens so she couldn't see them, and their bases where obscured by a mass of blackness that was beginning to slowly climb upwards. "I can only hold the decay back so long, Naoto. You must find me before my power wanes." Again with the voice!

"Where are you!?" And who was it? She'd never heard the voice before in all her life. Yet somehow... she knew it. Understood it. She felt drawn by it, by the salvation it offered. Somehow she knew that this voice was her only chance. So she closed her eyes and... something rushed past her! Thousands of little boxes floated all around her and each was identical to the one beside it! How was she supposed to find anything amongst this!?

"Look not with your eyes... Seek with your heart, your very soul." Now how in the name of all that was holey was she supposed to do that!? Damndable voice. Couldn't she hear one that didn't speak in riddles? Reluctantly though she did as she was bid. By the time various ribbons appeared around her the blackness she'd saw earlier was near enough that she could feel the building she was on tremble. When she opened her eyes a lone red ribbon stood out amongst the rest. Thinking it prettier than the boring white, Naoto followed it to a single box. Opening it carefully she discovered the hilt of a sword, which she immediately tried to pull free!

A shockwave spread through the earth and a single hand pierced the earth...!

" ...!" Thomas felt a surge of...life! It was from the direction in which Naoto was buried! He looked, his eyes were blurred from a sudden turn, but...he could see something strange...very, very strange! He saw...a hand...rising out of the ground?

He sprinted towards the hand, and clutched with his own, he screamed." Naoto!? Is...is that you!?"

The earth parted as Thomas pulled and there she stood at last! Naoto was covered in dirt and a worm had dug its way through the mud to slither down between her eyes. Her vision went cross-eyed, her muscles tensed, and then she screamed! Her hand moved so quickly it happened almost instantly!

CRACK!

Thomas done a complete three-sixty where he stood before dropping to his knees, another hand print emblazoned atop the old. "WHAT THE HELL!?" She roared! "Who in their right mind BURIES someone ALIVE!?"

All the while, Giselle remained completely beside herself in laughter, cackling uproariously. "Oh, it was all Thomas' idea!" She remarked sarcastically, though she couldn't help herself as a smile slowly dawned upon her delicate face. "I'm just glad you're okay, got it? Nothing more, nothing less. Don't take it as anything special, lady." She politely curtseyed, once again betraying her true persona. "...Alright, now that's out of the way..." She gazed around. "...I am so damn lost. I said I knew the way here, not the way out." She laughed. "But seriously, we should find out more about that thing that killed you. I doubt there's only one of 'em out for our blood."

Thomas' eyes teared up once again, sniffling at the recent outcome." Naaaoootoo!!!!" Thomas screamed once again, he embraced her tightly and he clomped his head into Naoto's chest. His tears ran down Naoto's outfit, as it began to soak. It was as if Thomas was a little baby in his mother's arms all over, he regained his stature and exclaimed." You don't know...how happy I am...to see you alive!!"

Lovely. Just lovely. Now she was dirty and soaked! And it was her work outfit! "Have you any idea how much this cost me!?" Amazing how she said that instead of something more relevant to the fact she had technically been dead only minutes before. She caught Thomas in a headlock and started to squeeze, mostly because it helped hide the fact she was crying too. "This. Is. Coming. Out. Of. Your. Own. Pocket." She even filched the wallet from his pocket before releasing him. "Don't EVER do that to me again! And you!" Naoko rounded on young Giselle. "What the hell are you!?"

Giselle merely smirked, before transforming into that stunning woman once again. "You see...like a lot of things, there's more to people than meets the eye. That thing you were attacked by...It was something composed of spiritual energy. Spiritual energy is inherant in all beings, even you. Though..." She gazed up at the skies. "The largest collection of spiritual energy is located in the Soul Society. Don't ask how to get there, I can't go there. But first...we should find New York City's protector. That's all. So don't ask any more questions or else you'll pay for it...shame if somebody was missing shoelaces, wouldn't it?" That was quite possibly the most non-effective threat ever declared.

Thomas fell on the ground, he couldn't take it...not anymore at least. That stunning woman had appeared...again! From tears, to nose-bleeding, his entire body had been drenched with some sort of liquid today, on top of that...it began raining. Thomas needed to be taken home, before he himself died and was buried into that shrine...though knowing these two, he doubted they cared.

"I'm dirty and I'm getting soaked... How did this happen again?" Her day had started like any other. Up until Thomas and a child who wasn't a child showed up. Then she died, came back again, and was now walking around near a shrine of all places. Some day! Thomas was on the floor like the perverted pig he was... "He isn't moving, is he?" She sighed. She didn't know why but she felt stronger than she ever did before. She lifted him clean like a fireman might and started walking. "If you get blood on my clothes I'll break your nose."

Giselle couldn't help but giggle at such a sight, teasing, "So...you two have one of those kinds of relationships, huuuuh? Kinda cute if I do say so myself. Reminds me of this time...Never mind. I call dibs on the bed if there's one~" This (not) little girl chimed, hoping to provoke a reaction, troll that she was.

As she walked Naoto's eye began to twitch in irritation. But she wouldn't give in. No sir. She could jibe and poke to her heart was content, but Naoto wasn't going to rise to the occasion. Her face, though, told a different story. "One more word... One more word." She vowed mentally with a sadistic smile.

Giselle, like a certain devil woman, couldn't help but prod at Naoyo. "...So, when's the wedding?" All this, with a malicious grin. Her body tensed in preperation for the inevitable bitchslap. "Hehe, I kid, I kid. But you really are cute together, you know that?"

Naoto stopped all movement. Comments about wedding bells and the like she was used to. Their parents had often joked about that too when they where growing up. But they where cute together!? That didn't only cross the line, it leapt clean over the top of it! Naoto whirled, discarded Thomas who fell in a heap, and rounded with one of the best slaps ever which connected Giselle right on the cheek! "Shut your pie hole!"

Giselle immediately reverted to the form of a little girl, before bursting into tears. "How could you hurt a child!? For shame!" After that, she did decide to shut her 'pie hole', for now. Soon after, the two reached Thomas' home...or what Giselle thought it was. She wasn't sure if to ask for direction from Naoto or not- considering their bad chemistry.

Thomas looked up, he found his house right before him and inside he was as happy as a little bird returning to his nest. He commanded, "Open..PPA." The large fence opened, and Thomas and the others began to walk into the house. They went into the living room and Thomas sat on his signature couch, sinking into it as someone's mouth to chocolate.

Naoto bullied her way past the "child" and made a b-line straight for the reclining chair caked out in black leather. "A host is supposed to offer his guests a seat, moron!" She scolded Thomas as usual before literally throwing herself into the recliner and reclining back to relax, where she flicked off her dirt-caked shoes towards Thomas. "No one gets my chair but me." She explained to Giselle. "I've been sitting in this thing since I was five!" The sad thing was she wasn't joking. She had laid claim to more than half of the things in Thomas' house.

Shame nobody, not even Giselle knew her true age- though she quickly crossed her arms, and nonchalantly hopped on top of a table, laying down with a 'haters gonna hate' expression about her. "...So..." she motioned to Thomas. "...Come here often?"

Thomas was sitting in a grand gaming couch, full with exactly what he needed to live his life for entire months while gaming...Thomas tended to do that, he wouldn't lie." Well...if you're talking about Naoto, last time she came here was three months ago...or was it two? I don't remember. Anyways, wanna beer, Naoto, Giselle?" From his red seat, a small blue button was on the left side, he pushed it as a number of different beers popped out. Thomas preferred the classics, taking out a nice Heineken, he opened it with his automatic beer-lid opener.

He pressed a yellow button, as another sofa popped up near Giselle's location, it was a nice comfortable purple sofa, with an additional massage function on it." Go ahead, sit down. So, whaddya want?"

"I haven't seen you in six months you dolt," but it didn't stop her making herself at home. She already had a glass in-hand, a bottle of black current dilute, and a bottle of Morgin's Spiced rum in the other. "... What? I like my drink strong, jeez." Just to prove her point she took a swig of the rum raw and hiccuped in reply.

Giselle was too young to drink...or was she? Either way, she mixed a Long Island Iced Tea- which seemed to appear straight out of nowhere, and quickly drank it down in the matter of moments. Her eyes seemed to glaze over as her skin became a faint shade of scarlet, stammering unintelligibly, "I forgot! We have to go to Liverpool! Jimi Hendrix is calling for me! To defeat the Klingons-ASAP! Oh Captain Picard, here I come!"

Thomas looked at Giselle for a moment, and laughed exuberantly, "Hahaha! You're drunk! Poor thing..." Thomas turned around, and told PPA." Big Screen time Missy, what movies do you recommend today?" PPA responded systematically, " I recommend the Avengers, Prometheus, Men In Black 3 for today. What would your guest and Naoto Madam like to watch today?"

"I'm going to the shower, so surprise me." Naoto said in reply. Apparently she got on well with PPA. "If you peep like last time, Thomas, you won't be fit to have any future kids." With that she wandered off to the shower room, dropping her clothing outside.

Giselle chimed, piss drunk as usual, "Sarah Palin is holding an anti-war sign in the nude!" Slothfully, the young(?) girl egged on, "Peek! Peek! Peek! Peek! You know you want-zzzzzzzzzzzzzz" with that, Giselle happily banged her head against the table before drifting off to sleep. ...What a weird kid...

"Yep...both of them two are goners. So, that mean I can enjoy the movie myse...!" Thomas cut himself right there. If he started to watch the movie without Naoto...she'd make him infertile, and he wasn't kidding." Well then, PPA, turn on Hyperdimension Neptunia V for me; my recent saved file thanks." Thomas took out his controller, as on the big screen...a number of rather scandalously dressed "Goddesses" were present, quickly he was in a battle, and Thomas was smashing on the buttons of the controller rather professionally, while waiting for Naoto to get out of the damn bathroom...she took his again, which annoyed the hell out of him.

Why did she take Thomas' bathroom and not the one he had set aside for her own use? Laughs and giggles probably. "I love my life..." Even though she rented her own apartment she pretty much owned half of everything in Thomas' house. She had her own bedroom, her own bathroom, her own seat, as well as her very own place in the fridge. She even had clothes here... or so she hoped. Clean of dirt and rain, Naoto toweled off before making the journey to her bedroom with nothing to conceal her modesty but a skimpy towel.

Giselle, half-asleep, murmured in a drunken stupor, "Where're you ladies takin' me? Could it be? Could it? The legendary nude beach?!" It was clear that she'd lost her mind- or she couldn't get a half-decent sleep.

Thomas looked towards Giselle again...before focusing on the game." Come on Neptunia! Neptunia, win this!!! Oh friggin' hell, I lost again!!! Gah, kill me now!!" Thomas smashed his fist on his seat, as he stood up and threw the controller behind him with surprising speeds in a "ragequit" fashion, unaware of where it would land...

Naoto was walking along to her room blissfully unaware of the thing flying towards her. The controller struck the hand holding the towel, causing it to spill to the floor in a heap. M- m-m- My... towel... THOMAS!" She sprinted uncaring of her nudity straight towards Thomas' unsuspecting form, where she immediately tossed him th the floor. "YOU PERVERT!" She roared in an utter fury. "Stuff you and your controllers!" She was busy strangling him now.

For a moment, Giselle batted her small eyelashes, waking up "temporarily", muttering, "What? My application for the Black Panthers was denied again?!" Of course, she quickly withdrew a camera, taking several snapshots, before feigning sleep once again.

"Na-na-naoto...l-l-let go....I will die!!!" Thomas struggled to hold back Naoto's assault, at the moment not caring whether she was naked or not, after all, he didn't particularly care; he'd seen her bare body so many times before it didn't matter. Heck, they even shared the same shower more than once! Thomas saw Giselle taking snapshots and literally died inside, before letting himself go to the hell...which was made specifically for perverts like himself.

Giselle couldn't help but smile at seeing Thomas' reaction- letting out a small grin, before sighing. It seemed like she'd forever be able to get away with such things.

"That's the point of strangulation!" She screamed at him! But her rage died quickly. Naoto got up quickly without even looking at Giselle or Thomas, stalked off to retrieve her towel, and stalked into the bedroom she owned. Once inside she started kicking things! The mattress of her bed, the shoes at the beds base, and finally the wall. That made her curse in agony. "What happened to me today?" This was the first time she'd actually sat down to think about it.

Thomas cursed, and dragged himself to his large and elaborate room. It was very comfortable, had a nice cream color to it, with a large king-sized bed that had majestic covers and the like. Thomas stripped down to change, his muscular and attractive figure was bruised heavily by the events of today...

He put on some standard pajamas, including a striped collar top and some cotton pants, both the color blue. He left the buttons open, because...well, he was just too damn tired. Falling onto his bed, he just remembered that Giselle was left in the lounge...but then his eyes fell off, and away he went to a deep slumber.

Giselle groggily stood to her feet, before jumping into Naoto's bedroom. "You know..." She slinked forward. When you were brought back, did you hear a voice? ....Anyway, when a girl and a guy really like each other, they- wait-wait-wait, wrong speech. Ahem, I think you awakened your spiritual powers when you died by that monster's hands. Spiritual energy...it's like, to put it in RPG terms, your "magical energy". It's used for all sorts of stuff like defending yourself. Since you're still human, sorta, you won't die if you run out. Anyway, that concludes today's lesson. G'night, chump~" With that, Giselle disappeared.

Naoto watched blankly as Giselle burst in without so much as a by your leave and gave her a lecture regarding RPG's and spiritual energy that started out suspiciously close to the birds and the bloody bees! "What do I look to you? Five!?" But she was gone before she could say anything else to her. "... Thanks," she whispered finally. Any explanation was helpful, and she had certainly heard a voice of some kind. "But spiritual powers? What are they?" She dressed quickly in some of her older clothes -- a pair of denim jeans that where cut at the knee and a sleeveless tank top. In the mirror she seen the scar. It was a large jagged X set between her breasts. Somehow she'd forgotten about it. When she left the room she had a jacket on as well. "Where's Thomas?"

Thomas had been sleeping, peacefully and quietly. He snored quite loudly, rather unsettling for any girl who'd...well, wanna get in bed with him would be the most appropriate term. In any case, Thomas seemed to be sleeping quite peacefully, his hands were outstretched, legs outstretched, and well...his stomach was completely open for the view. Hell, even his pants were lower than they should be! He spoke.."N-N-Naooto? D-don't slap me again...please!??"

To be honest, Giselle was still half-asleep. Letting out a final, "Hipsters! There are exactly one hundred hipsters! Starting from the nineties! It's the attack of the Hipster Army!" the young woman fell asleep.

With the Suns Rays...SPIRITS ARE WITH YOU
Her friends really where useless. Giselle was out for the count after a whiff of alcohol and Thomas was a pervert. How was she supposed to talk to any of them when they where flat out on their backs? "Grrrrr! Tut. No choice, then." Her parents wouldn't understand: they'd call her crazy. She lifted Thomas' house phone and dialed the number of her landlord...

BRING, BRING, BRING. "Would you answer already!?" BRING, BRING, BRING. "ANSWER THE FUCKING-"

"Hello, Akira speaking."

"Mr. Nakamura, it's Naoto."

"Well, Naoto! I should have know with a greeting like that. Did you break the sink again?"

She blushed red. "I didn't do it the first time!" She lied. "But not important. Can you meet me? I really need to talk to someone."

Silence greeted her question for a handful of agonizing seconds. "Sure. Where do you want to meet?"

When she hung up Naoto slipped out of the apartment quietly...

Thomas had just gotten out of the shower. Clad only in a towel, he wandered throughout the house, Naoto had taken his goddamn shirt...again!" Jeez, this Naoto is always taking my favorite shirt...why doesn't she keep anything to herself!" Making a crossed face, he walked across the lounge towards Naoto's room where accidentally...

Giselle's eyes widened- her rosy hair fluttered in the slight wind. She couldn't help but stutter, "...Damn, boy, you're more ripped than a hobo's drapes." as a shade of crimson crossed her face.

" Um...thank you??" Thomas was slightly confounded...and quickly moved away from the area. Having a girl like Giselle...well, complimenting him in that manner was kind of awkward for him, especially since the only real girls he knew were...well, Naoto and his mother. To be honest, Thomas hadn't even had a girlfriend in his life!

In any case, Thomas got into Naoto's room, put on his shirt and then quickly ran back into his own room. Then, he put on a pair of underwear and light jeans and was ready to go. Drying his hair with his towel, he through it out the window as it hanged perfectly on the line." Ahh, a Flush again huh?" Despite what he looked, Thomas liked playing basketball, and was quite the pro at it, well...in some people's terms.

The front door opened quietly to permit Naoto, who looked more than a little tired. Not surprising though. Akira and she had spoken for hours about what had happened to her. "I was expecting him to call me crazy. If anything he seemed to know exactly what was going on..." Strange. "Anybody home?" Whether there was or wasn't she threw herself into her recliner and was soon sleeping soundly.

Giselle, now apparantly sobered up, couldn't help but find the nearest pool cue, and prod Naoto with it in the hopes of stirring a reaction from the young woman. "...Stop acting like a nutter, then?" Dear, god, she could read minds. Not.

Thomas walked out of his room...and he found quite the "pleasant" sight indeed. Naoto...was chasing Giselle around the entire lounge...well, with a pool cue to be precise. She was attempting to stab her repeatedly in any area possible and well...was quite successful. Thomas looked at this scene intently...and then accidentally imagined something pretty nasty.

Giselle was...well, in a swimsuit, and Naoto was....WELL, in her underwear. And...Giselle was running right towards Thomas...?

Giselle gritted her teeth as a wicked smile crept up her small face. "...Take my turkey!" With that, she leapt into the air, almost decapitating herself on the fan, before thrusting the pool cue lightly towards Thomas, with the intent of knocking him on his ass.

Naoto watched with a mixture of horror and fear which slowly gave way to complete hilarity! One second Giselle was flying through the air with the stolen cue while the second she had knocked Thomas on his perverted ass. "Heh... We might get along yet." She thought with a grin. Picking herself up off the floor Naoto made use of Thomas' television and started channel hopping in the hope something good would be on.

Almost instinctively Thomas flipped backwards and with a low sweeping kick he knocked the cue away. An angered look came on his face before he just stopped, and asked the two." Are you two kidding me? This isn't some goddamn lesbian hentai is it? Well...if it was, I wouldn't have minded...but in any case, we should just sit down and watch some T.V, no? Yesterday was far to hectic for us to have another session like that." Thomas then sat on his chair, told PPA to turn on the big screen, offered both Naoto and Giselle a seat, before flicking through the channels, all in a matter of seconds.

Giselle's eyes widened in such a manner that it seemed as if they'd pop out of her skull. "...Whaaaaaaaat? What the hell are you thinking, you creeper!" With that, Giselle lightly tapped Thomas on the forehead- not hard, but enough to show her displeasure.

Any other time and Naoto would have opened Thomas' skull for a comment like that, but she was so distracted that she barely even heard him. The T.V was mostly just something to concentrate on and, sadly, not even that was helping. "... Fullbring... Shinigami... Hollow... and a place called Soul Society." She had gone to Akira to clear her chest and had come away with a whole new spiritual awareness! "Hmmm?" The T.V was showing some spiritualist from Japan going on about bad spirits.

" Oooh! It's Don Kanonji!! I've always wanted to see his shows, you know?" Thomas exclaimed before looking at the show. He noticed something peculiar and shouted in glee." Oooh! A live show!! We should all go! It's only in a few days, and, I already booked a trip to Japan a little while ago. I can always buy two more tickets. Whaddya girls say?"

Giselle crossed her arms, snapping, "....Tch! Are you high or something? That guy is a has-been. Why don't we just go to a strip club, bring pennies, and make it rain instead?" Of course, Giselle wasn't a big fan of this man.

"Now that sounds interesting... But-" Thoughts of her conversation with Akira came flooding back. "This man could give me some answers." Or that was her hope at the very least. "Sure, why not?" She said as she stood. "But you're paying." She lightly tapped Thomas' cheek and smiled at him sweetly -- and manipulatively.

Thomas sighed, and told both of them." Fine, but remember. We only have a few days. Start packing!" And with that, Thomas left to his room...waiting for a new journey...