ur world is not, and has never been, a pleasant place to live. It is at least honest about this. The world has never tried to pretend it is your friend, has never put on the false face of a con-man to exploit your hope for a better tomorow. The world already has everything it wants out of you, and so it does not hide the ugly truth: That you are chattel.

Even the "Good Guys", the solemn reapers who defend you from the monsters that would rip you asunder to gain that which is most precious to you, do it for their own reasons. After all, within a healthy body dwells a healthy mind, and a healthy Soul...

Even this harrowing existence is considered a boon, a welcome reprieve from the horrors that the vast majority of humanity across time have had to face. Only one hundred years ago did the Demon-God, the Kishin Asura, have his reign of terror, only to be replaced by what many fear is a more terrible monster even than He.

It was into Shinigami's gentle Hegemony that you were born. It was his broad hands that cradled your weak, vulnerable soul through it's childhood, his sentinels who defended your family from the evil, perverted terrors who stalk the back streets of every city, lurk in every shadow and hidden place of the world. Everything, from the clothes on your back to the food that fills your belly, belongs to him. His face stares, almost comfortingly, from every shoe, every manhole cover and streetlamp, and every day, humanity has to live with the fact that this is simply not their world. It's his.

Some can't handle it. The endless supply of dissidents, anarchists, witches, and just plain criminals, ensure he and his soldiers will always have someone to fight, someone for the cringing masses to fear. They cannot be excused, they cannot be rehabilitated, and they cannot be ignored. For every human so weak as to fall away from Shinigami's protection has the potential to grow into another terror, another Demon-god to stalk the earth. For the only way to live without that skeletal guardian is to gain power of your own, and in this insane world, the only power is Madness.

You are not like these pitiable wretches though. You were strong, strong enough not only to protect yourself, but to defend those around you. Whether by the strength of your soul, or by the unusual shape which allows your body to change it's shape, to become a weapon with which to defend humanity. It is from your ranks that Shinigami draws his soldiers, the Meisters and Weapons who defend humanity from those creeping horrors that lurk in the night.

You were raised in what was perhaps a normal family. You went to school, did homework, ate lunches, chatted with friends. Maybe you were happy, maybe you were miserable. That matters little now. For your life is Shibusen.

Tucked away in it's own desert metropolis, Death City Nevada, the exclusive academy, seat of Shinigami's power, trains and houses the next generation of humanity's defenders. Here they complete their academic training, not only in the maths, sciences, histories and literatures of their "Peers" back in normality, but in the ways of the Soul, and, of course, in personal combat.

It's not a bad life. You have a good education, leisure time, and plentiful friends. One among these will always be a cut above the rest of those in your life. They're your partner, someone with whom you share not only your secrets, but with whom you have literally rubbed-souls. They are your Weapon, or your Wielder. You have charged into battle with unspeakable horrors at their side, and you know them better than the back of your own hand. They're the one thing you can always rely on in this unstable, frightening world we live in...

------------


Lumina took a deep breath of the cool spring air that always filled Shinigami's office, stretching her taut muscles and smiling over what she thought affectionately of as her "Crop" of students, Meister with Weapon, partner with partner, soul with soul. It was difficult not to get choked up, despite how many times she'd seen this very scene, sometimes with these very students.

Shinigami was, of course, his usual self, sitting (Could it be called that?) nearby, teacup somehow held delicately between two of his huge, comically cuboid fingers, the expression on his mask the usual one of polite surprise.

The instructor's chest gave a little bounce as she clapped her arms to her sides, standing at attention as she prepared to recite the standard speech, giving it a little singsong trill as spoke it by wrote.

"Students of Shibusen! Today's missions, like every field mission, are of the utmost importance to the safety and stability of the world, and we entrust this to you, for we know that as proud agents of the Shinigami Meister and Weapon Academy, you will not let us down." she said, before falling into a loose lotus position and taking a cup of tea.

"Bye bye!" Shinigami called, waving from his fingers first "Joint", while the other depressed a button hidden in the teapot's lid.

"Have a nice day!" Lumina sang, as they felt the world go out from under their feet, their bodies falling back neatly into a set of coffins which had risen out of the floor, their lids springing open to reveal them to be filled not with cushions, but mirrors, the one fleeting moment where the lids clamped over them, still in midair, they were immersed in Shinigami's domain, and without the slightest transition, they'd find themselves standing in new locations, places around the world where the scum of the earth needed removing.

Just another day in the life of a Shibusen student.

Daniel Golddman & Chloe Springfield

"Chloe, you alright?", Daniel asked as both Meister and Weapon picked themselves up from the ground. Their teleportation had ended up with them falling and rolling onto a roof. Not the best entrance one could have hoped for. Taking off the guitar case on his back, Daniel took out a pair of binoculars from the black box.

Looking around, it seemed like they were on the rooftop of a very old building. There were a pile of bricks covered in moss rotting in one corner of the place and more barely holding itself from falling from the edge of the roof. A small door into the place was nearby but it seemed to be locked with large rusty metal chains. The binoculars were put back into his guitar case and locked up tight.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay. Just a little woozy", the purple-haired girl got up, dusted herself and stretched in order to relax her aching muscles. Once done, she rubbed her gloved hands together to warm her body. Snow was falling all around them.

"Whoa, is it cold or what", she noted while breathing heavily due to the temperature, her breath turning into white puffs every time she exhaled.

"Didn't I tell you put on a sweater before coming here?", Chloe's Meister said without looking. The boy was dressed in a white version of his usual suit along with a pair of black gloves. Walking to the edge of the roof, he looked around and realized that they were in some sort of ancient residential area with its crumbling houses cluttering up the whole place. Taking out a piece of paper from one of his suit's pockets, Daniel read the details without paying any attention to Chloe.

"Aw come on, how was I suppose to know it was going to snow here?!", Chloe said, clearly annoyed. "Besides...sweaters make me look fat", she said after a while, still affected by the cold around her.

"Right", Daniel replied while putting the piece of paper back into his pocket. "We have to go now. The target's not far from here", he said as he walked back towards Chloe.

"By not far, what do you me-", she didn't get to finish before Daniel quickly pointed a finger towards the west at a large structure. "Wait, you call that 'not far'?", she was annoyed but didn't have the energy to complain. The weather was really taking its toll on her body.

"Less complaining and more moving. It'll warm your body", the boy said before he sped off and headed in the direction of the structure. Before reaching the very edge of the roof, he made a powerful leap and seemingly flew through the air. As he approached another rooftop on the other side, he managed make a grab for the edge and hoisted his guitar case up before himself.

Without complaining, the girl quickly followed and made it to the other roof. By then, Daniel had already worked his way down a fire escape, into an alley and was quickly making his way in the direction towards a street.

Hailing down a cab colored in black and white, both of them got in and Chloe was relieved to be rid of the cold weather outside. "Where to?", the driver asked without looking at his passengers.

"Westminster Bridge", Daniel replied blankly.
"Okay then. You two from here?", the cabbie asked, noticing that Daniel's slightly Cantonese accent.
"No, just visiting", the cabbie gave a nod and started driving.

Checking on his partner, Chloe had already dozed off in her seat. Probably due to the cold weather making her tired. It was a shame she couldn't even make herself look around a little more. After all, this was the first time they were back in London after so much time as a Shibusen student.

Just visiting. Just visiting. Daniel repeated the words in his mind.

Around twenty minutes passed and they reached their destination, Westminster Bridge. After walking for a few minutes more, they came to where their assignment was to be executed, the Big Ben clocktower.

"So, what now?"
"We wait", Daniel said with the paper from before in his hand. "It says here that the target only comes out at midnight", the boy looked up at the large clock. "It's already 10, we got two more hours"
"Well, I'll go get myself a coffee then", Chloe crossed the street and went into a nearby cafe.
"Suit yourself", he said as he followed.

The two hours passed by slowly as the two students sat at the table with their hot drinks which soon went cold. The occasional stares were received by Daniel and Chloe from passer-bys, their way of dressing made them stand out among the people in the cafe. While Daniel was unaware and would probably have been unaffected by all this attention, Chloe was savoring this new found spotlight as long as she could.

At a quarter before twelve, the two exited the cafe as it closed. There were less people on the streets now, probably gone home to rest and the remaining on their way back. The remaining fifteen minutes passed and the streets suddenly became extremely quite and deserted. Daniel and Chloe stood in front of the gates to the palace as the clock struck twelve.

GYAHAHAHAHAHAHA

The frightening laugh was suddenly heard from above and a tall skeleton-like figure stood hunched at the top of the clock tower.

"Kekeke... I am Dr. Death! Massacre! Murder! Maim! Medicine! Kekeke..."
"Dr. Death! Your soul has been listed by the great Shinigami! Please surrender over your soul!", Daniel yelled at the man, Chloe was nowhere to be seen.
"Kekeke...Boy, I won't surrender! Massacre! Mu-", he suddenly stopped halfway when he noticed something heading for him at high speeds, fire was sputing from behind it and it looked familiar somehow. Before he realized it, a large blue-colored explosion incinerated him into ashes. Down below, a blank faced Daniel held a rocket launcher over his shoulder.

"Target eliminated. Time to go home, Chloe"
"That was fun", the girl said as the weapon glowed and changed back into her human form. A small white orb flew down from the clock tower and into the girl's hand which she proceeded to nibble on. She seemed to like eating it.



TIMESKIP

The two students sat at the entrance into the school, waiting for their classmates. They had already completed their assignment and were probably the earliest to do so. Daniel simply dozed off on the bench while Chloe continued to nibble on the soul in her hand.

_________________

Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

So where we're we going again?
Dez

It was a wonder how someone could get mirror travel mixed up. After all the idea was fairly simple. Go through one mirror and exit the other. Well setting theory to practice was much harder for Dez to grasp. And for something so simple one would imagine a Shibusen student would understand the difference between a woman's dressing room and a church. Upon exiting the mirror, Kai's sleeve caught in her grip, the two found themselves face to face. Kai pinning her small form against the wall. Dez gave a nervous laugh realizing her mistake. "Ahaha... opps," she mumbled looking around trying to ignore Kai's stabbing glare. "Looks like I missed the mark...again," she added trying to lighten the forming tension. But Kai only closed his eyes. A light blush formed on his face. Dez tilted her head wondering what was wrong. But she couldn't see anything that would force the male to show any sign of embarrassment.

Bra's and panties lined the room on hooks but Dez was sure that Kai wouldn't mind them. After all he was the one who did her laundry. He always claimed she never did it properly. But to Dez soaking some shirts with dish washing soap in the kitchen sink was good enough to be clean. Dez pushed the thought from her mind and sighed. "K-Kai are you okay? You're making me feel..." but before she could finish her sentence Dez felt a light squeeze to her chest. Her eyes glanced downward and it was then she could see what it was exactly that had the older boy in a frozen frenzy. "...uncomfortable?" she said slowly after. His hands were latched into her breasts. She wasn't sure what to do. But a grin swept across her face. She then set a hand over her face and forced a light moan. "K-Kai... we can't in such a public place~" she teased. "Someone might hear us!" she said loudly. "And you're always so rough!"

This was enough to snap Kai back into his normal self. And after a moment a loud noise could be heard from the dressing room. The sound of glass shattering. "I was joking!! Ow! Kai!! Stop I was kidding!!" Dez cried. Kai was out for blood. Another loud crash and Dez was launced out from the dressing room and into the hall. She rubbed her head with a whimper. Women all were in shock to see the blond girl lain out on the floor. "You see! Always so rough!" she added still teasing. But a hanger flew from the room. Dez stood up throwing another apology when Kai reached out and grabbed his partner by the shoulder. Customers were all in a state of shock. But Kai quietly exited the small boutique, dragging Dez with him. She waved to the women but they all were afraid for her.

"I said I was kidding!" she whined removing herself from his grasp. Straightening up she could see the target location just across the street. "See! At least I didn't miss it by much," she pointed out though it was hardly helping her case.

I swear to god I'm going to fucking kill you...
Kai

To say that Kai was merely angry would be an understatement. He was furious. He was embarrassed. He was going to murder Dez, plain and simple. As she squirmed out of his grasp one they were outside, he looked down at his knuckles. They were bleeding from when he shattered the mirror. Like always, whenever Dez did something ridiculous, he broke something out of anger, to avoid roughing her up to badly. Pulling her by the hair, messing up her clothes, lifting her up out of his way, that was all fine. But he never hit her, not full out.

"Why did I have to wind up with such a stupid partner?" He picked her up by the back of the collar and carried her across the street, odds were good if she tried to cross by herself she'd either get hit by a car or steal the wrong person's wallet. Which didn't seem like a good idea to him. Their assignment was in New Orleans, after all. And judging from the architecture and the humidity, and the church before them, Dez had managed to get them to the right place.

"At least you managed to get us to the right place this time, useless woman. How many times have I had to call for a new mirror portal to be opened?" He kicked the front door of the church open and threw Dez into the gloom beyond, watching with some satisfaction as she landed on her ass with a loud thump. She deserved it, after all. No one asked her to grab him right out of the portal and put them in some awkward position and then make it sound like he was coming onto her. She was going to pay for that, all right, as soon as they got to Shibusen. Starting with a shiny new padlock on both the fridge and pantry. And the key for both was going on a chain around his neck.

As Kai stepped inside, the first thing he noticed was the smell. It was rank, and not of sweat. No, this was the smell of decay, and as his eyes adjusted to the dark, it was easy to tell that the walls weren't red with paint, and the congregation was made of corpses. As he walked farther in, a figure rose above the altar. "Die, die, everyone should die! The Overlord demands it! Men, women, children, he craves to embrace them all! Salvation comes from death!" The figure stiffened, as it noticed the two newcomers in the room, and a painfully shrill cackle reverberated around them. "Welcome, new disciples! Welcome to the Church of the Almighty Overlord, he who reigns supreme through death! With your deaths, may He be glorified! Now, ascend the altar to Hell!" The man spread his arms wide and pushed the body of a woman off the altar, grinning at them.

Kai reached into his pocket, and with the flip of a switch, the music that was always blaring from his headphones fell silent. That meant it was about time to work, and Dez needed to get ready. "Mo Ron Hubbald, you've been placed on Shinigami's list for the murder of the entire congregation of this church."

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

Not so rough!!
Dez

Okay, so maybe teasing Kai was a bad idea. One would figure Dez knew better than to mess with the male by now. He hadn't had the slightest bit of a sense of humor. He always took things too seriously. Dez couldn't say that it was one of his more attractive traits but it did serve useful at times. She only wished that he wouldn't have to resort to violence every time he was frustrated with her. She looked to his knuckles. Bleeding. Guilt settled in her. Breaking the mirror was uncalled for but she knew he broke objects rather than break her. Which is why she ignored his whining about her being his partner. He cared for her, despite him not wanting to say it out loud. She smiled inwardly at that but her thoughts were broken when Kai suddenly grabbed her collar and began to carry her. "Oh come on!" she whined trying to break free. "I said I was sorry... and of course I got us to the right place, I'm not that dumb you know!" she added a bit bothered by his put downs on her mirror travel. She was still learning. And she was still a student.

Before long Kai had reached the church. Dez was still moving about but Kai was sure to keep her on a tight grip. After all she could be more trouble than what she was worth at times. Before Dez could argue again Kai had kicked the doors of the church open and threw her thin frame into the aisle. She landed awkwardly landing on her ass. "Jesus! Damn it that hurt Kai!" she cried instantly rubbing her upper thigh. However the moment was then silence by the instant smell. Dez could smell the rotting flesh of countless bodies. Glancing up toward the alter she could see them. Body upon body. Blood stained into the cracks of the marble while the wild rants of Mo Ron Hubbald echoed through out the hallow walls. Dez was disgusted. The lifeless eyes of children seemed to stare at her. She suddenly felt heavy. The sadness of their souls was enough to force chills on her skin.

"Mo Ron Hubbald, you've been placed on Shinigami's list for the murder of the entire congregation of this church."

The blond straightened up. Her playful energy was gone and now all that was left was he killer intent. "And it is for these crimes..." she said, her tone more stern and forceful. "That we have come to take your soul," she grinned then. Kai took this as his cue and in an instant his body morphed into his weapon form. Dez reached out for his arm and easily swung the full transformed guitar into her arms. She hung him on her shoulder for a moment, taking an interest in the priests expression. He looked deranged. Smiling as she announced her motives.

"Take my soul?" he asked with a snort. "Impossible! I am the messiah! The messenger of the Over lord and I am to bring you death!" he called out laughing. His voice began to change. Suddenly it was hollow and layered with undertones of other voices. Demonic but no where near enough to put Dez in a scare. He continued to laugh and in a flash his body seemed to implode and knives sprang from his fingertips. Dez raised a brow to it and in that moment the priest lunged forward. Dez caught his movement and in a matter of seconds the priest swung, aiming for the blonds neck, but Dez shifted her weight in time, moving back. She maintained balance and whirled a kick to the beasts side.

He flew and Dez grinned. "You are so noisy..." she chuckled. "But if you want demonic...then I'll play something you'll like," she grinned setting her fingers on the chords. The mad being turned and rushed toward her again. Once he was close enough she strummed Kai. The screeching sound was enough to force the priest to his knees. But he still was willing to fight. He pushed through the noise. "Impressive... but it's useless," she sighed. Dez then felt the sensation her own soul wave length at her finger tips. She set her fingers at another chord and strummed, this time, sending out a wave that would be enough to shock the enemy. It hit but not before flashing, needle like knives came raining in on her. "Shit..." she called out feeling one scratch her leg. Dez glared at Hubbald. He was decaying but still fighting. He sent another storm of knives but Dez was prepared. She weaved through jumping into the next aisle and let out another sound waves that took half the church seats.

This time Hubbald was lodged into the wall and in doing so Dez sent the final blow. She played a melody now each wave stronger than the last. A loud blood curling scream could be heard and before long the body of the priest was gone. All that remained was his soul.

That was the lamest thing I have ever heard...
Kai

And so it began. Dez reached out for him, and as he took her hand his body changed into the familiar black and silver guitar. She started out fine, but she wasn't forceful enough and let the priest get a cut in on her. She retaliated nicely though, playing an actual melody instead of just strumming along. He could feel his soul wavelength reverberating in the strings, their attacks were always stronger when Dex wasn't just fooling around.

It didn't take long for the priest to kick the bucket, leaving a red soul floating by the wall. Kai pulled himself out of Dez's grasp and walked over to it, touching the soul and swallowing it, grimacing at the taste. He didn't like having to eat the things, they were airy and slimy all at the same time, but it was the only way for him to get stronger as a weapon. He quickly turned and walked out of the church, straight past Dez. "Stupid woman. I can't believe you went and let yourself get hurt so easily again." He flipped his music back on, and loud guitar riffs began blaring from the speakers around his neck once more. He slouched down so he could hear the music better, and stood on the curb, waiting for Dez to come back outside.

"Hurry up so we can go home. And find a mirror other than the shop we came through, I swear I'll break every fucking one you try to use if we go in there again. Oh, and don't get us lost either." Picking on her was just too easy sometimes.

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

[Nakita&Nikita]

Nakita really wasn’t sure what was going on, but he supposed he had saved someone’s life… or something?

His coffin had materialized in the middle of a small town somewhere – judging from the dialect of its inhabitants – in Russia, or at least one of its neighbouring states. It was a rustic, snow-choked little place, windows constantly etched with ice and horse-drawn carts ambling up and down its old roads. The tallest building he had observed so far was the obligatory church, which seemed from outside a huge, snow-cast shadow. It seemed he had appeared at a pretty fortuitous moment, although the details were sort of hard to decipher from the alien mutterings of the townsfolk. There was a girl, maybe nine or ten or something, who had almost strayed into the path of one of the faster carts. Supposedly, his coffin’s boisterous entrance into this snow swept world had driven the horse off-course in shock, and thus saved the girl’s life.

So now, here he was, sitting at some complete stranger’s dining-room table, the little girl and two other faces (her mother, and maybe her elder sister, he assumed) watching expectantly while he stared down into the steaming morass in the bowl before him. It was goulash, wasn’t it? Beef, onions, lots of paprika, etc? He’d never had it before, but he’d heard that it was something of a staple in these kinds of places. It smelled… kind of nice… but…

He looked up. They were still staring.

…he wasn’t sure that he felt like eating.

He cast his eyes around the room, searching for something that would let him shirk off their stares. It was all pretty meagre – everything seemed to be made of wood, from the cupboards to the bowls to the cutlery. The only metallic object within immediate eyeshot was a tiny kettle whispering thin tendrils of steam on the far side of the room. Eventually, his gaze found itself drawn to the paper half-folded in the middle of the table. Slowly, he felt his brow starting to rise in understanding.

There was a picture taken at the gates of some massive building, most likely the church looming far outside. The pages were in disarray, and it had been covered by white sheet, but the shape lying prone at the building’s threshold was unmistakeable. Wordlessly, and mostly without tasting, too, Nakita found himself transferring the stew to his lips.

He finished quickly, eliciting a few glances of surprise at the sudden switch of gears. Pushing out his chair, he grasped at his next action for a while, before settling on something between a bow and a nod, trying his best to pull the edges of his lips up into a smile. It was probably sort of awkward, but they didn’t seem offended, so it couldn’t have been that bad.

Tentatively, he motioned towards the paper. Their eyes followed. His finger came to rest on the picture, and he pointed questioningly with the other hand, picking out the shadow looming outside. It took a moment for them to get his drift, but when they did, there was a flurry of chatter, and the young girl was sent off into the opposite room. He couldn’t help but imagine that he had done something wrong.

As it happened, he hadn’t.

A few moments of chilled silence later, he felt a tug on the back of his jacket (which, now that his thoughts were drawn to it, was far too meagre for this weather). He turned to see the girl, now wreathed in a thick, red coat. She moved her hand to his and exerted another small tug.

Oh, right.

-~-

The church was an ancient thing, cold and vast and seeming to slump with age. Stone upon stone, it squatted in the snow, its windows – broad arches that once gleamed with stained glass – clenched in frost. Every single angle of its stone was a little bit sordid; a bit clumpy, unkempt, and choked. Except for the bell tower. The bell tower looked like it had been hewn yesterday (at least, it would have, if not for the gratuitous coat of snow). It stood untouched by the world beneath, its shadow a streak of black in an otherwise seamlessly white landscape.

Nakita shrugged and glanced back down the front of the church. Its doors lay almost invitingly open, but there were hints of yellow tape lingering in the snow around them. The girl tugged his hand and they ascended the stubby flight of steps up to the threshold.

Motioning for her to stop a moment, he swept his boots through the snow, brushing a few patches away. It seemed almost futile – within moments, it would all be covered again – but soon there were shapes leering through the white blanket. Etched in chalk, they stared with empty faces, limbs skewed and awkward, like freshly-wrung clothing. He glanced back up at the bell tower, and down again at the chalk silhouettes.

Seemed just about right.

“All right,” He muttered, mostly to himself. “Let’s go inside.”

They shuffled in, the girl lifting her hood and Nakita feeling secretly relieved to be out of the cold. Inside the church was… empty, mostly. It didn’t feel like anyone had really been there in years. The pews, at least, looked well-maintained, but the rest of the place was bleak and grey as the sky outside. Even the gold-hued fineries of the orthodox church, arranged surprisingly sparsely around the church’s heavy arches, seemed matted by a sheet of pervading greyness. If Nakita were to describe the place in one word, it would have been ‘pallid’.

He blinked, suddenly aware that he could no longer feel the girl’s hand in his, and whirled around. A flicker of red fabric escaped through a small archway to his right and he pelted after it, almost stumbling onto his face when it lead straight into a flight of steps. They wound up and up… until…

Wind stung across him as he emerged from the stairway, the bell hanging over him like a gigantic bronze prophecy. His eyes cast about, drawn to the red figure tiptoed at the tower’s edge.

“Hey!” She didn’t look back, and he scrabbled up, darting his way to her with surprising speed. “Hey, get away from there!”

It was only when he grabbed her arm that she looked up at him, and he saw the tears on her cheeks and the choked apology in her eyes, that he realized his mistake. Something slammed into his back and he lurched forward, tipping straight over the edge.

A blur, a scream of wind and snow, and then, Nikita.

‘She’ emerged in an upsurge of ecstatic fury, thoughts whirling just as fast and haphazardly as the descending world around her. She didn’t need to take stock of her surroundings to react – this was a being whose every pulse translated into action. The arch of gleaming metal that Nakita had become tore through the side of the tower, gouging deep into the stone and moss. With a huff of exertion, Nikita swung herself over the breadth of her weapon, landing precariously upon the thankfully blunt side of the blade. Keeping a hand wrapped around one of the weapon’s hilts, she reached up, fingers snapping around the precipice, and propelled herself up in a single elastic motion. The blade followed close behind her, shearing off a chunk of the bell tower in the process and curving upwards to strike whoever had pushed them in half.

It didn’t occur to Nikita that it might have been a normal human, and, to her credit, it wasn’t.

_________________

~Vincent Verwest and Erika Lancier~

Vincent looked at Erika for a moment after they arrived, checking if she was ok, to then look around him while sighing. As she got up, Erika muttered: "Merde, I hate it when teleport us without warning, can't they at least give a little warning? Falling on my ass every time they do that is really a pain." Vincent, in the meantime, walked out of the dark alley they had been teleported into, taking his cellphone out of his pocket, and said "Well, I honestly still prefer it over sitting hours on a plane 'n stuff."

Erika pouted for a moment, but then followed Vincent out of the alley while whiping some dirt from her sleeves. Vincent looked at his phone and saw they were a few blocks off of their target's appearance location. Erika didn't have a gps on her phone, and apparently hadn't really read the mission info either. "Vincent, where are we, exactly?" Looking up from his phone, he replied "Köln, Germany, near the River Rhine." Vincent sighed as Erika went "Uhmmmm...", walked over and gave his phone to her.

Erika looked at the screen for a few moments while Vincent went on about the objective "Our target is said to appear at the Hohenzollernbrücke, around midnight." to then look up and mumble "Sheesh, that you remember all those things..." as she looked at the time on the phone while giving it back. "We've still got a few hours, so what's the rush? I say we go to a cafe near that bridge first."

After a fifteen minute walk, during which Erika had commented on the good looks of 3 guys they had passed, and her pulling off his headphones a few times (Having put them on to not hear her), they arrived at their destination, and entered a cafe just a street away from the bridge.

It was half 12 when they left, a lot less people left on the streets, most of them heading home from cafes and clubs. As they walked over the bridge, they listened to the cathedral's bells chimes. After the twelfth chime, they heard a low, and yet maniacal laugh. Looking up, they saw a creature, alike to a man, but with a truck tire going through it's shoulders, a wheel rim replacing his left hand, his right existing of roller chains and his face locked in a creepy smile. "Ah, another young meal for me, how delicious!" Vincent merely sighed at the thing's words while Erika turned to her weapon-form and landed in his left hand."Volker Eckert, serial-killing trucker, you have been marked by Lord Death, I'm here for your soul!"

"Screw that, I'm gonna enjoy eating you!" The monster yelled as he jumped down and smashed the ground where Vincent was a moment ago. Vincent had already side-stepped the attack and gave a quick jab into the thing's left leg while doing so. While letting out a surprised shriek of pain, the beast swiped to his side in a wild attempt of taking this pest down, but the only thing he hit was air. A small whistle came from above, and the fiend, turning to see where his 'prey' had gone off to, was impaled through the chest right when he looked up.

The body vanished, only leaving a red, tainted soul, and Erika, taking a hold of it the moment she returned to human form, started nibbling it with a smile.

-Timeskip-

Erika and Vincent just got yo the end of the stairs leading up to the entrance of the school, when they saw two other students. "Hey there, how did your mission go?" Erika asked as she walked over, Vincent slowly following in her footsteps.

_________________
- If you don't give a crap, go out and find a reason to.
- Life is as good as your current state permits you to enjoy it.
- To block out the world, I put headphones on, so I don't have to listen, to anyone.

Your face is lame...Now get the lead out!
Dez

The slight sting in her leg forced a low hiss from her lips. She glared at Kai for his comment but took satisfaction in the face he made when he swallowed the soul. She knew he didn't enjoy the way they felt in his throat and the face of pure discomfort was priceless when the time arose. But she had to respect something and teasing him about that wasn't exactly fair. After all she had no idea what it was like to swallow a soul. So if one didn't know then one shouldn't judge. And the fact that Kai would likely beat her senseless if she did had nothing to do with it. She gave the boy a pout before wiping the bit of blood from her skin. It wasn't a deep wound but it did sting slightly was she walked.

But she stood up letting out a sigh as she raised her arms to stretch. She raised a brow as she walked back onto the curb. The loud music was like a buzz coming from Kai's neck and only lead her to know he was relaxed. Which was good. Her amber eyes fell on the shop in which the arrived through and gave a chuckle. "Come one... I doubt they even remember us," she tried to assure but as one patron came out she briefly looked up and quickly glanced away with a slight blush about her cheeks. She could feel Kai cringe and Dez was sure that she was close to the end of her life. "Okay, okay!" she gave in. "A new mirror coming right up!" she said happily looking around.

The blond looked around spotting a bridal shop across the street. Nodding to herself she took Kai by the sleeve again and lead the male toward an area where there were three mirrors atop a small stage. The woman occupying the stage made way for the cheery girl with a puzzled look. The girl breathed on the glass some causing a bit of fog on the mirror. She wrote the number with her index finger and requested a new portal opening. The to be bride stood only in a state of confusion. Once the portal was open Dez lead the two into the mirror and left the bride to faint.

~*~* Later *~*~

"Kai carry me...I'm tired!" she whined walking up the steps to Shibusen. Curse Kai's early bird tendencies. "You woke up too early again!!" she continued with a slight yawn. Dez was never one for the morning. She preferred to sleep in. But he was ignoring her as usual. She furrowed her brows to him and could only force herself to be dragged to school earlier than she would have hoped.

Why, with this harpy?
Kai

"I'm not going to carry you." Kai's voice was blunt, and she could almost see the vein popping out on the back of his head. He slouched into his headphones, trying to use his music to ignore the girl's shrill complaints. "No one asked you to get up at the same time I did, or to walk to school with me." His long strides carried him through the gate and past his classmates, Dez was going to have to move pretty quickly if she wanted to keep up, but the odds were in his favor. If she spotted the other students, maybe she would leave him in peace and go bother them for a while.

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

a a


Our tale today are that of a hero and a heroine, and that of a city plagued by evil.Since the rise of the kishin the windy city had seen many things; both monster and hero alike had walked through it's cold streets, but none could have prepared them for what would come on this most fateful evening.

"Here we are, Chicago the windy city. Now this is my kind of place!" exclaimed the lavender figure as she stepped out of a mirror. Her exuberance shattering the rare silence and tranquility that only settled in that fateful Chicago Police Department once upon a blue moon; causing at least half the department to spill their late night cup of coffee.Sorry! exclaimed the girl as obscenities were spoken and the name of the lord was spoken in vain several times before another figure arose from the mirrored door.

The young man need only take a quick look at the angered cops faces to realize what had happened "Simply amazing we haven't been here for more than a second and you're already causing trouble," he said shaking his head in disappointment.

"I take it you two were the ones shibusen sent our way?" said a middle aged man cutting in before she could defend her honor, the man showed signs of sleep deprivation as did every other officer there.

The girl smiled faintly as she shifted gears, "Elizabeth Rose and Thomas Morison reporting in," she said in a formal tone as she saluted the man, who was a bit taken back by the sudden switch. Thomas rolled his eyes at his partners acting"I take it you're the one in charge?" added the lad casually.

"Yes, Captain Williams at your service. Please come with me," replied the captain regaining his composure as he led the pair away outside.

"What's the status of the target?"

"It's isolated itself on the top floor, though we've blocked off the surrounding block just as per procedure. We've tried gassing the place, but it hasn't shown much effect." explained the captain as he hurried them along.

"Probably for the best; your men would all be dead if it decided to move," she said in a cold matter of fact tone that sent a shiver down the seasoned captain's spine as he just stared at the little girl." But don't worry! We'll get rid of that ol'meanie in no time," she added with a reassuring wide smile,which for some reason, only disturbed him more.

Once outside the pair were taken to a waiting cop car and driven several blocks down. Their drive was peaceful and quiet which was odd given the cities shear size, but given the circumstances it was necessary. After passing through a final blockade the pair reached their final destination. Unlike the rest of their route this place was quite alive. Helicopters flying over head and the chorus of hundreds of cops and nosy city dwellers filled the night air.

Elli practically leapt out of the car when it had come to a full stop, taking a deep breath of the fresh night air. With a smile on her face she looked at the large building which stood before them; at first there was not much to the old building, aside from the several dozen spot lights shinning on it, but she knew it was so much more. Thomas on the other hand was not quite as comfortable, to him the whole blasted block reeked of kishin; he could already feel the adrenaline pumping as he stepped out of the car.

As the pair walked towards the building they were stopped by an officer, but a quick flash of Elli's student id and they where on their way. As they entered the the building Elli could over hear the cop that had stopped her talking to another, "I can't believe they're sending kids after that thing, they're gonna get slaughtered in there," Elli could only laugh at the comment, she might've yelled up a storm, but right now results actions would speak far louder.
************
The air inside the building was dank and smelled of decay, seemed decrepit as it could fall down at any moment, and i she had a say in it that moment would be quite soon. The lobby was quiet, not even the sound of mice or roaches could be heard. "You ready?" said Thomas s he grabbed a hold of Elli's hand before changing into a chain." Always am; and it's showtime," she replied as she took a single forward stride as she began to twirl he partner.

"Henry Herman Mudgett, you are have been charged with the senseless death of dozens and have been sentenced to death. Come forth quietly and we will make it swift,"

The building seemed to groan and shake as a voice rang out, "Why hello there lass, I'm afraid you'll have to get to me first," with those words the panel below Elizibeth fell apart, the young lass barely had time to leap away. She made a mad dash towards the stairs as the rusted chandelier above her began to fall , the young lass spun striking it on the side with her faithful companion knocking it to the side as she he began he climb. All the while the voice laughed mockingly at the pair.

"It's futile you know,, said the mad kishin as the stairs went flat and the first floor finished crumbling to reveal a massive pit of acid. "You'll die and not even leave a corpse to bury."

Not wasting any time she swung the chain and latched it on to a railing on the second floor "We'll see about that," she exclaimed defiantly.

"Calm down Elli, he's just trying to rile you up," commented Thomas as Elli reached the second floor.
"I know that...." she began before being cut off by her partner yelling"DUCK!!". Elizabeth immediately dove to the floor as a silver ware set encrusted itself on the railing. Elizabeth rolled to the side a a table launched itself at her. She dashed down the hallway slapping aside what she could and dodging the rest when possible.

"This place is nuts! she exclaimed five minutes in I think I may have under estimated this guy a bit," she commented as spinning plates of death began being shot out by a nearby cabinet."Ya think?!" came back her partners reply just as a plate shot through the wall.

Elli dove across the opening of the hall as she smashed the cabinet with her chain. "There has to be a better way, to get through this place"

"Sorry girl, but you and your friend are going to die here," replied Mudgett mockingly. Sadly, that last threat would cost the man dearly.

"The sonuva gun's right above us! chimed in Thomas,"And I know just how to level the field. See those column," Elli looked around and spotted a set of wooden beams littered through out the floor, and smiled as she began striking at each one with the chain.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" yelled the voice in outrage.

"Screwing you over," chimed in the pair as the last beam was struck. Elli had just enough time to dash down the hall as the rooms above them began to collapse. Within minutes the dust had settled and the pair thought out their prey.

A single figure rose from among the rubble"You haven't beaten me yet, he said defiantly " Now you will feel my...!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" exclaimed Elli as she skewered the man through the head with Thomas.

Once the figure had collapsed the building gave a sudden mournful churn before setteling. Thomas swiftly devoured the crimson soul it produced. "Mission complete!" she exclaimed joyfully, though her smile was swiftly wiped clean as she came to a sudden realization. "Uhm; Tommy?"

"Yes, Elli"

"Who are we going to get out?" she said pointing out the rubble that had covered the now destroyed staircase.

"Well, crap," sighing deeply as he scratched his head." Well here's hoping the prick put a mirror in here, he added as he started searching the place.

Elli sighed as she joined her companion in his search.

(The next day)

Thomas sighed meekly as he begrudgingly walked to school as his partner hummed the theme song of a Saturday morning cartoon show," How do you do it?"

"Do what?" replied one bright eyed Elizabeth.

"How the hell can you be so dam...energetic? We got back at 1am!" he asked while yawning.

The young lass placed a finger to her chin as she thought deeply about answer while looking at the sky "Lot's of sugary cereal and coffee" she said with a large grin, to which Tom could only shake his head at. "This will not end well,"

Upon spotting the small group Elizabeth called out cheerfully "Good morning everyone!" as she ran to join them. Tom followed close behind "Hi he said half-asleep as he waved to all those present.

There was the sound of slow clapping from the apex of the long stairway, the shadow of their towering gym instructor falling over them as she strode before them, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet as she smiled at them.

"Good, good, it seems everyone has gotten back! The nurses will be glad to hear that there were no serious injuries, and it seems you've all eliminated your targets."

She clasped her hands behind her back then, eyes lidded and all motion ceased.

"However... that is not the only criterion upon which your scores were to be judged..." She said, letting the point hang for a few moments before continuing.

"Several of you inflicted quite a lot of collateral damage upon the buildings in which your targets had taken refuge. Damage which, I shouldn't have to remind you, Shibusen will have to recoup. Many of you underwent pointless delays, eating meals or sitting in cafes while you COULD have been gathering intelligence. This is simply unacceptable." Her voice had gotten low, her manner terse. Any of them could recognize that kind of serious displeasure on their long-time teacher.

She sighed, and leaned back a good deal, staring up at the empty sky the now-drowsy sun would soon be laughing from.

"However... Shinigami disagrees with me on this. You all pass..." She said, almost with disapointment, before leaning forward again.

"Buuut..." she sang, a smile back in place. "That doesn't mean you're off the hook. After class today, I expect to see all of you in the gym for some "Extracurricular" laps. Woe betide anyone who misses it!~" she said, dancing back into Shibusen's interior, a song in her heart at the thought of young people working.

Daniel Golddman & Chloe Springfield

Hearing the sound of footsteps coming up from the stairs, Chloe hurriedly put her sketchpad and pencils back into the small brown satchel before her classmates came up, some energetic and some others grudgingly making their way up with complaints. Walking over Daniel who was still resting on the opposite bench, Chloe gave a small nudge to wake him up.

"Wakey wakey, Dan", she said teasingly as her Meister blinked his eyes and came out of slumber.
"Hmm? Oh, right", he said as he became fully awake to see his Weapon looking at him in a rather close distance. "Uh Chloe...why are you so close?", he said slowly with a blank expression.

"Huh? No I'm not, I mean-", the girl said quickly as she realized that Daniel was telling the truth and backed off. Her face was slowly reddening Spotting Elli as she walked up, she quickly made a greeting with a smile and felt relieved that her face didn't continue to heat up.

"Hi-", she didn't get the chance to continue when their instructor came out and dealt some rather hurtful criticism about what they did on their missions before walking back into the school rather joyfully.

"Why that evil little ... woman! I hate her so much!", Chloe looked at the instructor disappearing into the school before angrily saying with arms flailing.
"Leave it be, it's out fault that we didn't our missions good enough", Daniel said as he got up and gave himself a stretch.
"Yeah, but Shinigami passed us, isn't that good enough?!", Chloe turned around with an annoyed look on her face.
"Not for her, it isn't", the reply came blankly as Daniel walked over to her and looked at his classmates. "And this isn't the best place to discuss this either. Hi to you too", he finished off with a return of greeting to Tom.
"...Fine then", she knew that reasoning with Daniel was useless.

_________________

Captain of Innuendo Strike Forces & Founder of Innuendo Striking Technique

~Vincent Verwest and Erika Lancier~

Erika already was near to the group when she let out a "Goooood morning!" . As she stopped next to Chloe and Elizabeth, while Vincent put his headphones around his neck and walked over, letting out a yawn as he stopped of Dan and said "Morning. And jeez, can ya consider lowering the volume, it's way to early to be that loud..." Erika got a little red and turned to him. "How about this? You take off those headphones of yours for a day, and I'll 'lower my volume'. Vincent raised an eyebrow before answering "Nevermind..."

Before Erika could answer, though, the gym instructor came up and had her 'constructive' talk about their missions, only to then immediately go inside the school, seemingly in high spirits about those 'Extracurricular laps'.

Both meister and weapon were astonished for a moment, only for Erika to break it "What?!" while Vincent facepalmed. Both then listened to the little discussion held by Chloe and Dan. At the end of that, Vincent nodded to Erika, silently telling her Dan was right.

Vincent quietly thought a moment before he spoke, loud enough for the others to hear. "Well, seems we're all not getting home early... I'm sure that everyone's name was called in class already, but I'm pretty bad with names, can we all go over them again, for the sake of knowing them before those 'extra lessons'?" During the entire sentence, Erika glared at him with a look of 'What do you mean, they're our classmates!', even if one of Vincent's bad points was connecting names with people.

_________________
- If you don't give a crap, go out and find a reason to.
- Life is as good as your current state permits you to enjoy it.
- To block out the world, I put headphones on, so I don't have to listen, to anyone.

God damn this is annoying...
Kai

Kai stopped halfway up the steps as the gym teacher scolded them, and growled in annoyance as she left. "Shit..." It was dumb that they were getting punished for something so trivial. The only things that got broken on their trip was a fitting room mirror and a few pews in a building that was likely going to be condemned and torn down anyways. He turned to Dez, his expression completely livid. "This is your fault!"

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

Why do you hate me?
Dez

Dez has merely brushed Kai off as grumpy at times. But as their long time teacher came strolling up and explained the results of their little assignment she felt his usual grumpy aura turn black with pent up rage and embarrassment. Dez figured Kai had thought he could simply forget their little mishap in the dressing room. She began to inch away from the boy as the woman explained their punishment. It was hardly fair but what could they do? Dez only gave the teacher an angered look. "At least we passed?" she tried instantly to try and appease Kai's fowl mood. "And how the hell is this my fault?!" she asked irritated with the accusation. "You were the one who couldn't control himself..." she said in a lower tone hoping he hadn't heard her. But just in case she was sure to keep a fair distance from her partner.

It is several hours later, just as your classes are concluding, and you have made your ways, drudgingly, to the gym for your "Extracurricular" activities. You each note immediately that your sensei has a sour look on her face and is practically pouting on the nearby bleachers. The reason why becomes apparent shortly thereafter, as a long dressing mirror wheels itself into view, Shinigami's jagged image framed within it.

"Hello everybody!" He greets you, waving with one rectangular hand. "Congratulations on passing! Unfortunately, there has been a change of plans..." he said through his ridiculous mask.

For the love of...
Kai

After a lengthy argument, Kai had spent the day in a grumpy silence, his headphones blaring louder than ever in order to drown out the world. He could have put his headphones on and completely ignored everyone, but that was a good way to be snuck up on, so he never actually wore his headphones where they belonged. One of his teachers had tried to force him to turn the music off, but quickly withered under his piercing glare. Of course, the fact that he barely fit in his desk probably had something to do with it too.

Hours later, Kai stood in the gym, his mood radiating off of him so much that one might swear he had a darkly-colored aura around him. He glared at the teacher, noting the pout and surmising that something good might be in store for them. And as a mirror with Shinigami's image in it rolled up, his hunch proved to be right. Shinigami was removing their punishment for something else, though he had not declared what it was yet. So Kai's mood lessened somewhat, since they were no longer going to be punished for something stupid. He wasn't by any means more approachable though, and odds were good he would make anyone who tried feel like an idiot.

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

"You see, I was so impressed with your test scores, I thought there could be no better choice than you to attend to an embarrassing little matter that Shibusen would prefer remain... understated." the masked deity continued.

Lumina rolled her eyes at the statement, but didn't challenge it, as Shinigami hefted what looked like a 1/100th scale model of the planet into his huge, gloved hands. He tried tor each around to indicate a small landmass sitting in the middle of the world's largest ocean, but only succeeded in having the huge model fall on top of him, where it sat defiantly.

"You are familiar with the Free State of Atlantis?" She asked, then, at the looks of incomprehension from certain faces, further explained. "It is the largest community outside of Shinigami's control. It maintains it's own military force of Meisters and Weapons, seperate from Shibusen, with which it polices itself and it's territories, though with fewer strictures than Shinigami's government uses. Consequently, it's gained the nickname "Disturbia" from it's detractors for it's tolerance of those infected by Madness."

Shinigami managed to slide from under his enormous globe and brushed his front in an effort to smooth the jagged, spiky robes he wore about his body. He cleared his throat and continued.

"You see, since it is technically outside my control, to send fully-fledged meisters in without permission could be considered an act of war. Therefore, you all will go as tourists and complete your mission in secret." he said, leaning close to the mirror with his hand beside his face, as if whispering would keep it a secret.