Kaen Naomi

the other kaen sister || female || heterosexual || non-rogue || third
late teens || twelve || two-hundred and six

APPEARANCE

PERSONALITY

Naomi is a fairly introverted person only opening herself up to the people that she considers to be her most trusted friends. She often finds it difficult to retain eye contact with people she has just met and conversation is limited to a few words with plenty of silent pauses. She is often hesitant to enter into social activities but will feel better if she is accompanied by someone she knows and likes. Many would label her bashful as she finds it difficult to take compliments or kind words without going bright red and shying herself away. This especially happens with men with it sometimes rendering her unable to communicate with them at all. She generally has little trouble talking to other women but she has on occasion been completely silent because someone accidently brushed her breast whilst walking past her. Most of the time her shyness is due to feeling out of her depth, for example she would have little problem with talking to someone one-on-one or speaking to a group of close friends but she cannot talk in front of a crowd. This recessive attitude can be attributed to the fact that she is frightened of embarrassing herself and saying the wrong thing and generally thinks it is best to say nothing than say something wrong.

Her lack of self confidence could be linked to her shyness but in actuality it is something far deeper than that. It stems from the fact that she has never been able to save the people closest to her heart despite trying her hardest to protect them. She finds it hard to take complements from people without feeling like she doesn’t deserve them fully or at all. In fact when receiving praise Naomi generally begins to worry that she is appearing better than she is. She lacks confidence in almost every aspect of herself whether it be in her physical capabilities, her control over her reiatsu and the Kido arts or just simply whether it’s talking to a fellow Shinigami. However this lack of self belief does have its plus points as it only serves her determination to improve herself in every way and strive to perfection, even if she wouldn’t be convinced she had when ultimately achieved.

Despite lacking confidence in her abilities and being of the shy persuasion, Naomi would still rather die than see the people she loves be harmed. Putting her own safety on the line for her companions is second nature to her. Naomi is particularly protective of her sister, Toppa, and would die for her knowing that she would do the same for her if the time ever came for such actions. Even though she knows it pains her friends and squad mates to see her risk her own safety for theirs she does it regardless. She does not necessarily expect others to protect her and would normally be insulted if someone felt the need to step in and fight her battles for her.

Naomi is somewhat of a nerd when it comes to learning or performing her various duties. She enjoys nothing more than reading an educational book and the feeling she gets from learning more about the world around her. There are few things that she has no interest in and it doesn’t take too much to get her completely sucked into a book, even ones about the origin of sandals. She holds the general belief that there is nothing not worth knowing and that there is no excuse for ignorance. Her studious nature was most prevalent during her time in the academy where she spent almost every second of her free time in the library brushing up on her Kido and knowledge of the inner workings of Seireitei. This served her well in the fact that she passed all of her exams with flying colours however it meant that she had no friends and found herself increasingly isolated. Naomi preferred it this way however, as graduating the academy was the only thing that truly mattered.

To the annoyance of Toppa, Naomi believes very much that things should happen romantically and if you want it enough it will probably happen. For example she knew that she would one day be reunited with her sister and that they would share a sisterly bond together one day. This has caused her much joy in her life, urging her to continue fighting despite the slim chance that she will achieve her goals, but it has also caused her much hurt. Regardless of this fact, she still continues to view the world through her rose-tinted glasses and genuinely believes that everything will be as it should in the end. She tends to base all of her decisions on this theory which often means that her actions seem a little strange and poorly thought out, when she is really doing what she thinks she has to. Probability doesn’t factor into her decision making as she is totally convinced that if fate deigns it to happen it will.

Naomi’s determined nature is evident through many aspects of her personality, primarily in her push to prove she can look after herself. As mentioned above, she is determined to prove she is able to protect her own life without the need for others to intervene. Her determination is also reflected in her want to gain a seat in her division and to show the Sanbantai that she is a deserved member despite doubting it herself. In general Naomi focuses herself on her goals and puts everything she has into completing them as quickly and effectively as she can. Whether this is learning a new Kido spell or earning herself a seat in the Sanbantai, no matter how small or large the goal, her outright determination is always the same.

Naomi hates fighting, and especially killing, but sees both as a necessary evil especially when the lives of fellow Shinigami and the safety of Seireitei are at stake. If there is another way to resolve a conflict that doesn’t involve either of the above she would strive to follow that route. She would like to believe that violence is never the answer but knows all too well that it often is, and has gone down its path more often than she’d like. She knows that her duty as a Shinigami is built around the basis of taking the lives of others, but she knows that their souls live on and in the process she is preventing those she protects from harm. When in combat she almost always has a feeling of regret within her (unless she is using a Shikai technique which controls her emotion) and once she has defeated or killed her opponent she will proceed to apologise or offer a prayer to her defeated opponent. She takes a general disliking to anyone who enjoys fighting which means she hates (although she wouldn’t admit as much) the Juuichibantai and anyone else who likes nothing more than to hurt someone.

Naomi’s love for her sister far outweighs her love for anything else in her life. She would happily sacrifice her life for Toppa and knows that she would do the same for her. Ever since finding her for the first time after decades of searching she swore that nothing would ever get between the two of them again. Naomi admires her sister’s power and strength and aspires to one day emulate her and reach her level of skill. She dislikes the fact that they are in different divisions and they therefore can’t see each other too often but knows that when they both have some spare time Toppa doesn’t mind a visit from her imouto-san.

Naomi sees life as a journey and one that goes through emotions of every type and that this is part of the fun. She knows in her heart that to have happiness you will inevitably endure sadness and that without feeling depressed you would never feel happy. She believes that life is the greatest gift one can receive and to take another’s is a very serious crime even if it is justified. She takes her role as a Shinigami very seriously and her mission to destroy Hollow to a level that is almost religious, praying for its soul every time she kills one. She also sees her life as a blessing to share with others trying to aid anyone she can whenever possible. As a general rule she tries to not let things get her down as she knows that sadness is not permanent and joy is just around the corner. She also tries to live her life to the fullest and try to make some ground on reaching the objective she has set herself to attain. She always has long term goals to achieve and lots of small goals that can range from getting something to eat to learning a new Kido spell. She rarely ever has nothing to aim for.

HISTORY

Noémie’s life began like many other Shinigami’s existences, in the world of the living as a mere human living in ignorance of the Soul Society. She was born into a family of noble birth, quite a blessing in a period of time as volatile and wretched as late 18th century France. A time of great discontent especially in the city of Paris, a city once filled with culture and wealth but now much of this was forced into the neighbouring countryside, leaving the poor to swim in the filth that remained. Noémie’s family was one of the few of the rich to remain within the boundaries of the city walls. She lived a life of relative comfort being raised under the caring hand of her tutor; her father distanced himself from the care of her ever since her older sister left home.

Noémie’s memory of her older sister was very limited as when she ran away Noémie was a mere four years of age. However she knew that she loved her, she was very loving towards her and that she would do anything to see her again. Whenever she asked her father of the disappearance of Claire, her sister’s name, she would only ever receive severe beatings and told that bad things happen to nosey girls. This didn’t stop her from asking everyone she could about her whereabouts which only got her into more trouble. One day after a particularly violent beating she gave up her inquiries and instead concentrated on her studies, at which she excelled. She continued in her life as normal until one day her tutor paid her a complement that caused her to remember her sister once more. Her tutor, against his better judgment gave into her pressures and told her of how he had heard a young woman called Claire had married a man of royal birth and that they were living across the other side of the city.

Filled by this new hope, Noémie ordered a carriage to be called at once to take her to where her sister was believed to reside, without her father’s permission of course. She arrived there late at night (to ensure her father was asleep) and stood outside the royal household, her 12 year old heart beating rapidly in her chest. She was both scared and happy at the same time and was about to knock on the door and ask for entry when she felt a crushing presence suddenly weigh down on her body. It wasn’t long before she heard a scream of terror, a scream that she identified quickly as her sisters. Noémie quickly ran to an open window that she saw near to the door; slipping in a puddle of muddy water as she did so and becoming covered in the fetid liquid. As she pulled herself into the room and attempted to run to where she thought her sister was, she bumped into a well dressed looking man who quickly grabbed her by the neck claiming that he had ‘caught the familiar that the witch must have summoned’. She was dragged out of the house by the man and quickly dealt with, straggled to death, her lifeless body thrown into the river Seine.

As her soul left her body she felt a plethora of emotion flooding her body. Fear, anger, sadness and yet at the same time happiness, love and comfort for finally finding her sister. But she was confused by the predicament she was now in; looking at her body she realized that she was no longer alive. She began to panic; if she was dead shouldn’t she be in heaven or hell? She did not have long to mull on her predicament as she saw what could only be her sister being pulled out of her own house covered in blood. Before she could get close to her a man robed in black jumped in front of her and knocked her on the forehead with the pummel of his sword causing her to feel a sensation like floating, before she passed out.

As Naomi awoke she found herself in a place that was in stark contrast to the wet and dark streets of Paris. The city may have still been a little dirty but its sky was a bright blue and only a few fluffy white clouds were found amongst the clear cyan. The buildings were also strange being made primarily wood rather than the dark stone that the multi-storeyed houses of Paris were made of. But as the initial shock of her sudden death and rebirth in this strange world wore off, she began to cry uncontrollably. She had been so close to being reunited with her sister but had ultimately failed. It wasn’t long before the same man who had seemingly sent her to this world returned to tell her of her fate and how she was to be assigned to a family where she would live her life in the Soul Society. Naomi refused to accept this fate and demanded to be sent back to see her sister. The man, who called himself a Shinigami, explained how this was impossible as only a Shinigami like himself could go to the human world and that her sister had died soon after she had anyway. The man reacted strangely after divulging this information slapping his hand over his mouth and beginning to go red in the face. Rather than being sad about hearing of her sister’s death, Naomi began to perk up and demanded to know whether her sister would have come to this world as well and that she should be taken to her immediately. The Shinigami explained that he would do this if he knew where she was taken to, but he was not the one who sent her here and therefore had no knowledge of her whereabouts leaving Naomi to settle in.

Initially Naomi gave up on her sister, deciding that perhaps she was fated to never see her sister ever again. She began to settle in with her new family growing to love them and even starting to forget about her previous life, but a small part of her longed to be reunited with Claire. She particularly enjoyed her new older brother’s company following him almost everywhere he went even when he went to work at the blacksmiths. She soon became interested in becoming a blacksmith herself and became her brother’s assistant helping him whenever she could. Her work under him continued normally until one day the smithy was attacked by a gang of thugs who tried to rob them of all their weapons after being refused service for knowledge of their crimes. Her brother fought bravely against the robbers but failed to repel them from the store falling victim to a strong blow to the head. Naomi was returning to the smithy to bring a cart of coal for forging the weapons only to find her brother unconscious on the floor and his assailants looting the store. She dropped the coal and ran to his aid grabbing a hot iron from the forge to use as a weapon. She managed to hit one of the robbers on the head with it but was quickly intercepted and tied to a post and left with her brother as they removed everything of value.

She awoke to her brother untying her and her adoptive parents trying to clear up the mess that the thugs had created. It was apparent that they had failed to defend their livelihood and that it would take them several weeks to recover and be back to business as usual. As Naomi attempted to help her family repair their damaged store she began to feel weak and her stomach began to feel empty, a feeling she began to recognize as hunger. She found it strange that she had not felt hungry for so long and asked her family why she felt this way after not needing food for so long. Her mother and brother admitted that they had no idea why she felt this way, but her father remarked that he had heard that the Shinigami frequently require food to replenish their energy and that perhaps she should ask them for help. She continued to try and help with the store, but was again affected by her hunger and was forced to rest and wait for the Shinigami who her father had asked to come and see her. On visiting her, the Shinigami explained that this feeling was due to her having spiritual pressure or reiatsu and that by joining the Shinigami Academy she could learn to control it and become a Shinigami herself. Naomi refused stating that she wanted to stay with her family and help them run the smithy but later changed her mind on hearing that the Shinigami had seen a girl who resembled Naomi in the Academy last time he had been there.

His words had reignited her desire to find her Claire and, despite the Shinigami not being certain that this girl was indeed her sister, she was certain that it must be her. Perhaps fate would design that she would be reunited with her sister in death?

Soon after entering the academy Naomi found herself the target of serious bullying by some of the boys in her classes. Each time they saw her they would hurl abuse at her about how she was weak and how she’d never become a Shinigami to which she could only break down in tears. One day the bullying became so bad that she tried to take her own life by hurling herself from the roof of the Academy building, but she was stopped by her sensei who demanded to know why she wanted to do such a thing. Naomi explained how she had been the subject of great torment and how she believed the only way she could end her pain was to end her life. Her sensei laughed at her, saying how she was stupid to let these idiots bother her and how she should simply ignore them and they would leave. He also explained how by crying she was encouraging them and that showing her emotion and letting it consume her was the only thing stopping her from becoming a truly great Shinigami. She took his advice and for a while the tormenting stopped, although she suspected this was largely due to her sensei having a word with her bullies.

With the bullying over, Naomi could continue to search for her sister but she quickly found out that she had graduated from the academy several months before she joined and that she had also changed her name to Kaen Toppa. Naomi was relieved to hear that it was indeed her sister who the other Shinigami had seen but was nonetheless disheartened to hear that she had left and that she would be unable to pursue her until she graduated herself. After hearing that her sister had changed her name she decided that she herself should copy her surname so as to increase her chances of finding her thinking that perhaps Toppa would come and find her if she had the same name. Her time continued fairly smoothly in the Academy with her achieving grades above the average of what was expected of someone here age. However when it came to her final year she was failed on account of her “not being mentally prepared” to become a Shinigami and was sent back to complete another year so she could learn what it truly was to become a Shinigami. It wasn’t until she met a certain someone that she would come to understand what she lacked.

Naomi always had the feeling that her emotions were far stronger than anyone else’s. It was as if they were amplified somehow. When she was happy it was as if she was atop the tallest mountain with nothing there to trouble her. Conversely, when she was sad it was like being at the bottom of the deepest ocean, no light able to pierce the murky depths to bring her some joy. It was during a normal day of learning the art of combat in the academy that she discovered why this was so. She was pitted against Mikashi, a boy whom she was apparently enemies with, or at least that’s what he told her every day when he teased and tormented her. The aim of the session was to learn timing and finding openings in your opponent’s stance, but Mikashi used it as an opportunity to humiliate the girl he bullied. As Naomi attempted to strike him gently with her wooden practice katana, Mikashi parried her blows with relative ease, knocking her on the head each time without relent. Naomi did her best to avoid his vicious blows but was constantly outclassed. Eventually Naomi succumbed to the beatings toppling to the floor, her eyes slowly becoming heavy as her conscious faded, hitting the wooden floor with a thud.

As she awoke she found herself unable to remember what she had been previously doing. The only thing she was certain of was that she was in a place that she had never been before. She scanned her surroundings with a worried look upon her face, finding herself in a foreign landscape of a grey world that’s only source of light seemed to be that of the lone moon that pierced the cloudy sky with its solemn silver light. On closer inspection she realised that she was on some sort of pathway that led up to a huge stone building that dominated the tree filled landscape. A large lake flanked the left side whilst the right was blocked off by a wall of densely packed fir trees that looked somewhat out of place. After a minute of examining her surroundings it began to rain and Naomi found herself running towards the looming building for shelter, for an unknown reason she found herself wanting to call it a chateau. As she approached the building she began to hear the howls of wolves piercing the pitter-patter of rain and began to sprint towards the huge building not wanting to wait and see if they meant to attack her. She finally found herself in the porch arch of the strange building and quickly settled on entering it rather than waiting outside.

Naomi pushed open the large imposing doors that led into the interior of the chateau not believing what she saw. Rather than a huge open hallway which she had come to expect from huge chateaus, it opened up into a large theatre which was dominated by a huge stage. In the centre of a stage stood a grand piano which suddenly came to life with the sound of the most sombre music the young girl had ever heard. Every note sounded as if it was filled with sorrow and sadness, and as she came closer, walking past the rows of seats, the person playing came into view. The player was a very slender woman who appeared to be dressed like a jester, no a harlequin would be far more appropriate. As Naomi made her way up the steps onto the stage she could see the woman’s face, tears were streaming down it and her body was slouched over the keys. The fairly timid Shinigami took a few more steps forward coming within a few feet of the piano player before eventually deciding she should attempt to talk to her.

“Ano…”

“Ooh! How woe fills every cell in my body! How sad thoughts consume my mind!”

Naomi jumped back in surprise as the harlequin woman stopped playing and reared back in distress covering her face with her hands. The now very confused and slightly scared Shinigami was a bit puzzled as to what to do but decided that perhaps it would be best to try and console the woman, placing her hand on her shoulder and thinking of something nice to say.

“Eto… why are you sad when you play the piano so beautifully, if I could play that well I’d be happy.”

However it appeared her words did nothing to change her mood as the harlequin woman threw her hands up into the air in despair before shifting round to face Naomi. The delicate girl could not help but notice the small droplets of tears that were painted onto the woman’s face along with her very bizarre outfit.

“How can you sound so normal when inside of you the deepest sadness fills your very soul? Why do you not allow the emotion inside of you to be released? How have you survived so long without allowing yourself to show the world how you truly feel?”

Naomi looked deeply into the harlequin’s eyes, wondering how this woman could possibly know how she felt, even though she was certain she was hiding her emotions when it hit her. She knew who she must be! There was no doubt in her mind that this was her inner world and she was standing in front of her Zanpakuto spirit. She began to become a little excited at the prospect of learning more about her sword which had been quiet for so long. Perhaps this was her opportunity to gain the power that she needed to graduate and go after her sister who she had failed to find more times than she cared to remember.

“Wait, I know who you are and how you know how I feel! You are my Zanpakuto spirit! You must have been feeling everything I have… I’m sorry for being so weak… I try to be strong by hiding how I feel but I can’t…”

The harlequin stood up straight and wiped the tears from her eyes somehow removing those painted on as well before giving the Shinigami a stern look.

“But that right there is the problem. You see girl, unlike what you may have been told by your teachers, emotion is not weakness but strength. Those that use their emotions, who funnel and channel them to their advantage, have real strength. If only you could see this you’d be more powerful than that idiot Mikashi.”

Naomi tilted her head to one side as her spirit spoke with a voice that was quite unlike how she had spoken before, in fact it was completely different, but aside from the voice change Naomi understood her words. She clenched her fists tightly and nodded to show that she had understood what she had meant.

“Thanks Ren’ai, I think I’m beginning to…”

She stopped speaking suddenly surprised at what she had just said. For some reason she had named her Zanpakuto by a name she had never heard before but nonetheless fully believed that it was her name. The harlequin seemed to be equally surprised, her face changing from a picture of seriousness to one of shock with a hint of happiness. Somehow Naomi knew her name but it didn’t matter too much how she knew but that she did at all. Soon after this revelation Ren’ai taught Naomi how to harness her sadness and woe into her Zanpakuto and use it to attack those who caused her depression. As she began to grasp the concept of the technique she started to feel herself awake until she eventually regained her consciousness she found herself in the recovery wing of the Academy. Soon after Naomi returned to her lesson and the next time she was pitted against Mikashi she enacted her revenge and he never bullied her again.

Soon after discovering her Shikai, Naomi graduated and she immediately joined the Sanbantai. However, soon after her joining, her Taicho was revealed to be a traitor and she was left in a division that was in chaos. Being someone who believed heavily in fate, she began to believe it was her own fault and that her joining had in some way affected Ichimaru Gin. She began to train religiously with the intention of becoming a seated officer seeing it as the only way she could amend for what she had done. In fact her obsession with reaching this rank led her to forget completely about her sister focusing herself solely on training and becoming the greatest Shinigami she could. She began to skip meals and even sleep sometimes, obsessing with her training so much that she began to isolate herself from her division. When she was confronted by squad mates about this issue she simply denied it and that they should concern themselves with their own training rather than worrying about her. Naomi continued to learn everything Ren’ai would teach her until one day she refused to her teach her at all. Naomi begged her Zanpakuto spirit to give her more power but the harlequin refused, stating that she would not teach someone who is only concerned with themselves.

These words hit Naomi hard and she began to realise what she had become. Her sudden urge to reach a seated position had consumed her and she had forgotten why she had become a Shinigami in the first place. Ren’ai consoled her Shinigami partner explaining that there was no way it could be her fault and that the only way she could help the Sanbantai was to work with those around her rather than ignore them. Naomi began to realise how foolish she had been and amended for her stupidity by beginning to become a more active member in her squad, training with others and helping with its administration.