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17 posts
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Sanbantai
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ML
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Oblivious
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Tomohiro
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New Soul
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Offline
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Post by Naomi Kaen on Jul 26, 2015 17:47:40 GMT
OOC: This may seem like a bit of a random thread, but I felt like it needed to be done. There’s no way Naomi would not immediately want to see Toppa and I thought this thread was the best way to block up this little plot hole. I’ve tried to keep it as accurate as possible based on what I’ve managed to find out about Toppa’s character development after I left the site originally. It’s also deliberately vague in places so as to leave it open for Toppa’s return or in case I’ve misinterpreted events.
Naomi examined her surroundings for the fourth time. There was little else to do as she had been left alone in a lobby of the second division’s barracks for almost half an hour now. It was lavishly decorated, no doubt due to the Ōmaeda family influence. The current lieutenant’s family was renowned for being wealthy and not afraid to display it. Naomi had been both surprised and impressed by the automatic doors that slid open to allow her in. She had only come across the invention in the World of the Living once or twice before, having been startled by it there before. The air-conditioning had also been a welcome discovery. Her own division’s barracks were stiflingly hot at this time of year and it was a relief to be somewhere cool. The décor of the barracks was also considerably… fancier. Every wall seemed to be draped in scarlet cloth and anything that was metallic appeared to be gilt.
She had been quickly greeted and asked as to why she was visiting the division. Naomi had briefly explained that she had recently awoken and recovered from a coma, and was excited to see her sister, Toppa Kaen. She imagined she would be delighted to see her and was eager to catch up with what had happened to her over the past three years. The man stationed in the lobby had said he would look into it for her and left, offering for her to sit on one of the many plush seats positioned against the walls. Naomi had selected a chair facing the direction that the man had left, hoping to see him as he came back. She had been sitting in the chair since and was now bored and more than a little frustrated.
“How can he be taking so long…,” Naomi muttered under her breath.
No sooner had she said those words, the man came marching back into the lobby with an equivocal expression on his face. “Thank you for waiting Kaen-san,” he said somewhat apologetically, taking a seat on a row perpendicular to where Naomi sat. “I’m afraid there is very little that I can tell you about your sister. She was a member of this division, but that is no longer the case.”
“Oh,” the rose-haired shinigami said rather taken aback. His tone was a little bit too blunt for her liking, and the comment about there being ‘very little’ he could tell her was worrying. He had taken so long though. Surely he must have found out something to tell her in all that time. “Well, what can you tell me?”
“The last major assignment your sister had that we can discuss in any measure of detail is the one in which she was tasked with travelling to Hueco Mundo. All we can tell you in regards to that mission, however, is that she was there for quite a considerable amount of time and that it was part of the wider campaign against the traitor Sōsuke Aizen.”
“What about recently?” Naomi said hopefully. “You said she left your division, but-”
“We are not at liberty to disclose information on her whereabouts since returning from Hueco Mundo and leaving the Nibantai, and besides, we know very little regardless. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who could tell you anything of any real use to you.” The man stood up, not too subtly motioning towards the exit.
“I’m sorry we weren’t able to give you all the information you desired, now would you like me to show you to the door?” the man said grinning. It was the sort of grin that said ‘thank you for coming, but you’ve overstayed your welcome.’ Naomi wasn’t in the mood for arguing now. Hearing what limited information the man had given her on Toppa had completely knocked the wind out of her. She felt empty.
“That’s ok,” Naomi said passively. “I know the way out. Thank you for your time.”
Moving robotically, her head bowed and eyes staring blankly at the ground, Naomi left the lobby. Slowly, she made her way back towards the Sanbantai barracks, not knowing how to feel.
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IN CHARACTER
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OUT OF CHARACTER
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17 posts
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Sanbantai
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ML
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Oblivious
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Tomohiro
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New Soul
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Offline
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Post by Naomi Kaen on Aug 2, 2015 0:38:09 GMT
A field of white stars stretched out above Naomi. Her back ached. It felt as though she were lying upon uneven wooden slats. She shifted, trying to get more comfortable, but she stopped no sooner than she started; becoming acutely aware that she had no idea where she was. Naomi remembered the hopelessness of finding very little about the whereabouts of her sister. She had left the Nibantai’s barracks and returned to her quarters, falling to the floor after sliding the door behind her. She had not cried, or screamed, or wept, or shouted. She had simply lain there on her side, her legs pulled tightly towards her by her arms. Naomi had stayed there motionless in a foetal position until… She didn’t know or care how long she had lain there for, but now she was here. Wherever here was.
Naomi again paid attention to stars. They looked so uniform and evenly spaced out. Each one seemed to be the same white with five equal points. “They don’t look real,” Naomi thought out loud.
“That’s because they’re not.”
Naomi jolted upright, the slats beneath her creaking with the sudden movement. The voice was unmistakably that of Ren’ai, her zanpakuto spirit. The blue-eyed shinigami turned to face the harlequin. Naomi noted that rather than sporting her usual colourful outfit, Ren’ai was instead wearing a monochrome ensemble. She wondered whether she should ask the spirit why she had chosen such a dull costume, but she lacked the motivation to. Instead she decided to ask about their location.
“Where are we?” Naomi said flatly.
“Does it matter?” Ren’ai said without turning to face Naomi, her face blank.
The female shinigami was a little taken aback by Ren’ai’s bluntness. The harlequin spirit was often eager to talk and full of energy. She rarely spoke plainly and was never rude.
“What’s wrong, Ren’ai?” Naomi said, genuine concern creeping into her voice.
“You’d think after all these years you’d know by now. Have we not formed a bond of companionship and mutual understanding?”
“Huh?”
“To think I’m a part of you. How pathetic. If only you hadn’t awoken from your coma.” The tone of Ren’ai’s voice was incredibly dark when speaking the last phrase. Naomi’s heart wrenched to hear her zanpakuto spirit speak so negatively, wishing that she were dead. She was sure that she should feel angered or at least saddened by what was said, but again she felt very little. She found herself agreeing with Ren’ai; maybe she would have been better off dead. Naomi empathised with Ren’ai’s nihilism.
Suddenly it clicked. How could Naomi be so stupid? One of the first things she had learnt about her zanpakuto spirit was that her emotions were dictated by her own. The young shinigami cursed herself inwardly for being so absent-minded. She began to feel a flame of hope within her heart. She was within her inner world, in the theatre’s rafters judging by her surroundings, and this was no coincidence. Despite Ren’ai often seeming flaky and frivolous, she would never call Naomi into her inner world for nothing.
“I’m sorry, Ren’ai,” Naomi said apologetically as she shuffled towards the harlequin. “I should have known that would be depressed too.”
“Depressed?” Ren’ai laughed humourlessly. “This isn’t mere depression, girl, this is how it feels to have nothing! No purpose in life. No aims. No goals. No friends. No family. Nothing!” the harlequin screamed swinging an arm at Naomi as if to fend her off. Her eyes were streaming with black tears.
“But… I… I,” Naomi stuttered, reeling back in shock. The glimmer of hope within her abruptly died. A pit of emptiness formed in her stomach as she staggered to her feet, leaning up against a wooden barrier for support. Ren’ai was right, she truly had nothing. Nothing to live for. No one who cared for her. ‘No, I can’t think this way,’ Naomi thought desperately. ‘There must be something to live for. Toppa is still out there, even if I don’t know where.’
“She’s gone. You’ll never see her again,” Ren’ai said, lumbering to her feet.
“I’ve got my division. I’m a shinigami. My purpose is to protect Seireitei. That’s something,” Naomi said weakly.
“There are thousands of other shinigami. You’re replaceable. And where was your precious division when you were in hospital? I’m sure no one came to visit you.”
“Shut up!” Naomi screamed. “You don’t know that! I… they…,” her words slurred and she began to feel herself weaken. Naomi’s legs buckled and she tried frantically to keep herself upright by locking her arms and tightening her grip on the barrier. But it was rickety and weak, breaking under her weight. Her consciousness faded as she toppled over the wooden platforms edge. Within seconds the blackness consumed her as she hurtled towards the distant floor. She couldn’t stop herself. All she could do was fall.
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