ICHIGO KUROSAKI

i don't fight because i want to win, i fight to win!

template by[color=#2e2e2e] #punki-chan

He wasn't the smartest. The five years that he has been alive was enough to tell him that he wasn't the greatest mind that ever existed. He was impulsive and usually didn't think about what he was going to say a second later. This could easily get him into trouble, but he was getting a little bit better the more that he aged. Experience would certainly do that to say the least. The Shinigami had no intention of trying to stir up trouble when he was dealing with his own personal struggles. It seemed almost natural that he had found the first place he came across and decided to seek shelter there. That was around twenty minutes ago. What had interested him though was the factor that the Ascendants were mentioned of not being on trading terms. Whatever that meant. Ichigo had a vague idea, and having lived through at least four different wars meant that he had seen plenty of them through his lifetime. He was tired of the aspect of war, and whenever he had been the leader of a clan it just meant that he would do everything in his power to try and avoid that option. He had done that pretty well as he knew there were only a war or two during the two years he basically lead a clan that had been considered his home from the very beginning.

Even after his death he had always returned back to there to see what had changed and how everyone was holding up. He didn't have the greatest track record when it came staying around, as there were moments where he would seem to disappear off the face of the earth only to come back moments later. He didn't care about any dispute that the Ascendants and Sunhaven had with one another. It wasn't his business, as he didn't know the groups that were in this area. Hence why one of his objectives at the moment was to try and visit all the clans in the area so that he would be able to form an accurate opinion on them. However, that would take time. It honestly reminded him when he was younger and he would visit a warring clan with the clan that he was with half the time, but he had known nothing about clan politics beforehand, almost being completely feral before meeting the clans for the first time. Ichigo had no intention to try and attack someone and respected their so-called borders so that they wouldn't think of him as a threat. Although, he did have a sword with him at all times and seemed to be fairly intimidating. He couldn't help it though, he needed all the gear that he carried on his back. Ichigo wasn't exactly in the condition to start fighting though thanks to the exhaustion of constantly traveling.

His eyes were slightly sunken from lack of sleep and the voices that were in the back of his head. He was thinner than what a cougar should be, but that was because he was far too tired to hunt most of the time. He had secluded himself from any sentient life for an entire year of solitude. Not his best decision. One could also see that he had two different colored eyes, his left eye being yellow and having a black sclera, while his right eye was his normal brown color with the white sclera. It wasn't hard to hear the armored cougar making his way toward the border. At least he hoped that this was the place he was trying to find. The animal he asked directions didn't seem very confident in pointing him in the right direction. Oh well. He was used to getting lost all the time. The heavily scarred male finally was able to acquire a scent for the border, and slowed his movements. An exhausted sigh escaped his jaws as he sat himself down at the border, his enhanced senses on to make sure that he wasn't about to be potentially ambushed. He didn't know which groups were aggressive and which were fine. He blinked his bi-colored eyes, as he let a yawn part his jaws as he waited for anyone to approach him. His entire body was relaxed, and there was an extremely faint scent of Sunhaven on his body. So faint that those approaching from a distance would only be able to catch the scent of a loner than that of a Sunhaven member. Which he didn't really consider himself to be thanks to the fact that he had only been there not even half an hour at most. Ichigo rolled his shoulders until the blade on his back sat more comfortable in between his shoulder blades. He was only here to have a conversation and know the lay of the land.

//Please OOCly state if it is fine for Ichigo to see your characters aura! And if he is allowed to, please describe your characters aura since that's just the easiest way for Ichigo to identify people because he's terrible with names

ICHIGO KUROSAKI

i don't fight because i want to win, i fight to win!

template by[color=#2e2e2e] #punki-chan

(Thank you!)

Spirits were his specialty. Dealing with living creatures was another business that he wasn't used to dealing with all that much in his lifetime. Of course, he liked talking to those whether they were dead or alive and would try to make conversations with them, but he was terrible when it came to having long outdrawn conversations. Some had once considered him knowledgeable whenever he talked, but Ichigo wasn't quite sure if that was the right term to use. Being a Death God meant that his job was to send souls and ghosts that were still in the world of the living to the afterlife where they could rest in peace. It was easier said than done where there were certain corrupted spirits were always after him and the spiritual power that he constantly seem to give off. He had always been a novice when it came to controlling his spiritual power, but at least he got it under control enough where he didn't have to worry about hurting anyone or making someone sick. He wasn't a complete Shinigami though, as he was half mortal and half Shinigami, giving him two paws in two different worlds. If anyone met another Shinigami they would probably get an entirely different reaction. Most didn't consider those in the world of the living worth anything and only their job, refusing to connect with them and letting their cold demeanor get the better of them. When he was in charge of the organization he had been hoping to change their opinion on that, but it wasn't easy for him to do as Shinigami were stubborn and were rooted in their traditions that most older groups were. He didn't blame them, but that didn't mean they couldn't change either.

The main threat to his life usually wasn't the aspect of other clans, and instead it was the demented entities that could only be seen with those with high spiritual pressure, for what some called Clairvoyance. Ichigo had once called it the Sight to be able to see spirits, and there were only a select few that had that ability, and those that did usually became targets. It had been one of the reasons why all the apprentices he had through the course of his life ended up slaughtered by the corrupted spirits. The corrupted spirits were created when a soul was left in the world of the living too long, giving into anger and negative emotions would transform the regular looking soul into something extremely dangerous. To the point where only certain weapons could damage the beasts, and in order to do their job correctly they needed to cleanse their spirits by killing them with their special weapons, or finding the souls and sending them to the afterlife before they got to that point. The corrupted spirits were usually called Hollows. But there were only a select few that new of the secret society that the former leader was in, and those were the ones that used to work with him. On top of that, the ones that he did reveal the secret to died soon after, so giving up his secret was no longer an option to those around him. Just because he was a Death God though didn't mean that he couldn't die. He was completely mortal, and had actually died once before three years ago. A moment that he would never forget, and he knew the next time that he did die it would be permanent. He was entirely mortal, the only difference was that he aged a little bit slower than most animals. Which didn't help much when he was already old as he was. Ichigo was used to having aggression shown toward him, and if he was younger he would probably spit out threats himself, but he knew better than that.

The armored cougar had at least learned a little bit here and there from his mistakes. It didn't take much for Ichigo to feel the presence of another that was nearby and that immediately took his attention. His ears perked and his bi-colored eyes began to look around for the source of the energy. He was also hearing the sound of heavy breathing, and very slight movements that were coming toward him through the use of his enhanced senses. The cougar shifted his armor slightly, and he could feel a small familiar feeling in the back of his head. His attention was soon drawn toward the leopard that stopped in front of him. A slate gray and scarlet aura flickering in front of him. It was certainly an interesting aura and one that he would be quick to memorize in case he ever came across the soul or had to find them again for any reason. When the leopard spoke, the tone she spoke it reminded him slightly of Lacey. A former comrade of his that usually inhabited a leopard body herself before disappearing and Ichigo evidently meeting her son that had the ability to sense Hollows like he did as he was half-Shinigami too. Ichigo wasn't sure if the other was still alive or not, and that would be the harsh reality of all the friends he knew. Ichigo kept a neutral expression on his face, well as neutral as his scowl could get anyway. The questioning of his sword was something that he got quite often, but if he got into a fight it was his last option to actually use it.

"Yo. I was just wondering if you could tell me what this place is called? I heard there are a couple clans in the area so I'm visiting all of them to get an idea of which ones I should avoid for my own health." Ichigo wasn't lying when he said that. He had obviously been with clans before and spoke in a calm manner, obviously not bothered by the other's suspicion. When he addressed the sword, he would shrug his shoulders. "Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. Its the gear I always wear around and are currently my only possessions. I can put it on the ground if it helps at all." Ichigo would say before he would turn to crane his neck in an obviously slow manner. If the other told him to stop, he would. If Agathe didn't, he would take the hilt of the blade in his hand, the entire blade seemingly wrapped in a cloth, and put it down on the ground to the left side of him. Pushing it slightly away from him. Very few were capable of holding the blade itself, so he wasn't really worried about someone potentially stealing it if they were large enough. Once he settled back down, the cougar realized that he hadn't introduced himself. "Oh. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo." The swordsman would introduce himself with a small dip of his head.

/permission is granted for oni's, as well! his aura, compared to his outward attitude, is a soft blue color with tinges of black and red, signifying aloysius' presence.

Onision wasn't one for intruders, or.. Visitors who weren't looking to join. Still, he had gotten snapped at enough recently to the point that he just didn't have the tolerance to hear any more of it. Really, for such a high rank that he was, he acted like a child. A stubborn, asshole of a child. No wonder his mothers chose to leave instead of stay. He must have been too much to handle.

Nevermind that, he couldn't just let fuckers get to him. The Lieutenant had heard the ear-wrenching, but sadly pleasant voice of Agathe from a distance, ears twitching up then swiveling. His legs moved fast, the felidae racing to catch up to the witch- or whatever she was- just so he could get a good look at what was going on.

"Holy shit, that's a big sword." Onision grumbled lowly as he watched with a large blue eye, tilting his head to the side in shock. How did someone even carry that thing? Did he use telekinesis or something? He sure hoped this wasn't just decoration.

"Name's Onision, a Lieutenant here. So you're just here on a field trip? Fun." Oni snarked, a grin on his face as he sat down, preparing for an earful from Agathe about 'manners' or 'ignore him'. Yeah, like the usual. At some point, the girl would just have to get the fuck over it and get used to it- he was naturally an asshole.

Well, it wasn't like he was meaning to be. He had to act tough, or else others would look down on him. They would think he was weak, just from looking at his small form. Aloysius' voice rang out in his head, and Oni's aura shifted more to the black and red once he spoke.

"Host, got a bad feeling about this guy."
Manners, Aloysius. We don't want him to think we're weak.

Onision rolled his eyes, his aura shifting back to blue before it became obvious there was two presences in this one body. In this one soul, two personas existed, Aloysius being a more demonic entity, a werewolf in title. "Ichigo's a pretty cool name, man. Where'd you come from?"

all you give me is a heartbeat —

ICHIGO KUROSAKI

i don't fight because i want to win, i fight to win!

template by #punki-chan

(Thank you!)

Ichigo often wondered what some creatures thought of him on first glance. Were some of them afraid? Were they curious? Were they happy to see him? The last one probably being held by those that remembered him from back in the day. The wildcat was used to getting stares thanks to the gear that he always wore with him now. His appearance having changed slightly over the years. The most striking change from what he had looks like now compared to then, were the black markings that were on his body. Ichigo, in general, didn't have any crazy markings, as he was just a regular cougar with usually brown eyes. The same went for the rest of his family, although the tawny hue of the majority of his body was a little bit darker and slightly orange than that of a regular cougar, he still obviously looked like one. He now had black markings that were across the bottom portion of his wrists, the fur there having been stained during his latest transformation of getting his powers back from the organization that he worked with. There was a large black X that spanned across the front of his chest and around his front legs before connecting on his back again. His armor had certainly seen better days, metal portions of his armor slightly chipped due to how long he wore and used it over the years. It had certainly looked a lot better back when Riptide gave him the armor when he first made it in the beginning. There was actually once feathers that adorned the sides of his armor that eventually fell off thanks to how many times he would find himself in battle. Or, it was more like battles ended up finding him thanks to how his life worked.

The armored cufflinks that were on his wrists weren't really used all that much unless he was moving to try and block an attack. Obvious signs of cuts and claw marks were evident all across his armor and on the scars that covered his shoulders. His armor wasn't made for exactly offense, and instead it was more of a defensive action in case he got himself into trouble. He rarely used his sword or other methods of fighting unless he was outmatched or was going to get into a lot of trouble. Ichigo had to be careful with this strength, even if it was starting to fleet here and there from his age. He got his powers back though two years ago and he was just glad to be where he was right now. Ichigo had once been like Onision, maybe not as aggressive as so, but extremely snarky and sarcastic at his younger years. He was extremely rebellious, going to talk to what was considered to be the enemy because he didn't care and believed that there was good in everyone and that everyone deserved a chance. He was somewhat merciful, having only killed two animals in the entire time that he was alive. He considered killing and eradicating spirits to be something else entirely. Ichigo had never wanted to prove himself to anyone, he just always wanted to get stronger in order to protect those that he cared about. The Shinigami remembered his father telling him what his name meant when he was younger and that he was supposed to protect his sisters and their mother. Looking back now, he wished he would have known what was to come in order to save his mothers life. When Onision first appeared on the scene, Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle at the other's remark about how big the sword was.

He certainly didn't expect that kind of phrase to come out of the young male's mouth that was for certain. "Indeed it is." Ichigo would remark calmly, and he could hear Zangetsu back in his head thinking to him that it was an insult to call him a 'big fucking sword'. Ichigo ignored it because he thought it was funny. The cougar wasn't strong enough to lift the blade himself, resorting to air and earth elementals to lift the blade easier. If he wanted to transform it, then he could using his fire elementals and turn it back into a katana, but that required a lot of energy and it wasn't something he had perfected in this world either. Ichigo watched the younger male calmly and was easily able to recognize the type that the other was. Reminded him slightly of Aaron but not completely. Ichigo would shrug his shoulders at the mention of a field trip, as in basic terms that was exactly what he was doing. "Nice to meet you Onision. Basically. What is this place by the way?" Ichigo questioned, wondering who would be the first to answer his question of exactly where in the world he was. While he waited for the other to respond though, the Shinigami would eventually turn on his clairvoyance and was due to see a shock. He could hear the two voices in his head come to be completely silent as he looked at the two aura's mingling with each other. This kid had a lot going for him. Ichigo's own aura was somewhat similar in nature, but instead of having two different color, he had three. He had two voices in his head including his own. And sometimes he would give anything just to get them to shut up.

[color=crimson]"Well look at that! It seems like you found a twin. I wonder what kind of soul he has? Do you think he has nightmares as you do? HAHAHAHA" A sadistic voice rang out in his head just to tease him. Ichigo wasn't sure exactly what was inside of the boy, but he did know he had two souls. Whether the souls worked well together or was working to rip them apart he couldn't tell unless he investigated a little bit more. "Shut up. He isn't a Shinigami. This is something completely different and probably not something I can help with much anyway. I doubt he would be the type to even accept my help." Ichigo made sure to growl back to him, and he could hear Zangetsu humming in the back of his head as if trying to think about what Ichigo should do. Right now, he wasn't going to do anything. His eyes did watch as the black and red aura started to overtake the original blue one. The red and black aura similar to his own in a form that he sometimes took. The Shinigami watched as the domestic cat rolled his eyes and then the colored returned back to normal. "They were communicating" Zangetsus voice was the next to chime in. Ichigo realized it too, but he wasn't about to point it out as the other could consider it an invasion of privacy. The other's question made him turn his attention back toward the domestic cat fully this time. Where was his from? Oh that was a difficult question to ask. "Well that's kind of a long story. Grew up with my family in the mountains before going to live with a clan a while back. I haven't been around a clan for around a year now." Ichigo would say shrugging his shoulders again. There was a reason why he had decided that interacting with clans wasn't all that bad. His sanity hadn't been holding up alone thanks to the grief of losing his most recent daughter.

ICHIGO KUROSAKI

i don't fight because i want to win, i fight to win!

template by[color=#2e2e2e] #punki-chan

[Sorry for such a long post! Important interaction stuff happens third paragraph if you wish to skip the two paragraphs of backstory]

Over the years that he has been alive, Ichigo had seen plenty of interesting looking creatures. Some more gruesome than the next. Nowadays, he wasn't all that surprised with those that did approach him on a daily basis. Ichigo had seen horrors thanks to the job that he was currently working in. Although at this point the Shinigami probably couldn't consider it much of a job as he had been doing it for several years and it was like a secondary action for him to look out for. After all, his goal in life is to protect everyone from harm, especially from the likes of evil spirits and those that could do harm to those that couldn't actually see them. The wildcat was probably considered selfish in that matter, but he hardly cared about something like that. Probably one of the strangest things that he had seen in his life would be a spirit that took the form of a rhino and had the ability to corrupt those that they touched. Including himself. At the time however Ichigo had already been infected and it just ended up releasing the spirit inside of him at a quicker rate. He had also managed to get a rhino horn impaled through his shoulder. Which wasn't exactly the best feeling in the world but he had gone through injury after injury and was known by his clanmates and his friends that he was prone to coming back from his injuries. Ichigo guessed that the small amount of regeneration that he had certainly helped him out, and if he was really injured he would just go to the afterlife where Shinigami had more power there to help him. The evil spirits he hunted down took many monstrous forms, and some even took a form that was as big as a skyscraper.

Not the easiest thing to fight, but he had the powers to deal with such threats. When it came to the clans though, there were already a variety of different species he had seen over the years. Cougars, bobcats, servals, even vultures. Hell, it was even common to find hybrid animals that belonged in that world. Two of his best friends had actually been hybrids. O'Fraiser being the hybrid of a strawberry leopard and a seal. Cytus was a mixture of a canine.... and maybe a dragon Ichigo wasn't actually sure. Ichigo had known Cytus since he was just a kid and also knew his father as well. The kid had been important to him, and Ichigo now didn't know where he was. With the clan that Ichigo led, the wildcat didn't remember all that many servals that had graced his company that lived in the forested territory. Maybe one, but the majority of them seemed to congregate toward two different clans, one that was covered in snow and the other by the sea. Not that it bothered Ichigo, he just wasn't used to dealing with certain species. Reptiles were also incredibly rare, although he remembered having a clanmate that was a snake. Ichigo himself had the power of shapeshifting and could change his form, but he rarely used the power because the majority of his other forms were too big or too small for his armor to fit and he couldn't wield his sword. Sure, he could become a large dragon, but that rarely happened unless he needed to turn into a larger body to deal with a larger opponent. Ichigo wasn't all that big compared to larger predators as a lion or tiger. He was only around the size of a jaguar, not in weight class but with height alone. He also doubted that he was the strongest that was out there. Which was probably prevalent with the scars that littered his body to show that he had gone through a lot over the years.

The metal portion of his armor that covered his neck hid the bite marks on the side of his neck. One had been made by his best friend Keylime, the other having been made by a friend that was the leader at the time and turned out to be a vampire. He had been at the wrong place and wrong time and had some of his blood drained in turn. Not that his blood was all that pure and the parasite that was inside of him wasn't exactly happy of having his body messed with either. The former clan leader couldn't help but see as a child began to make her way over. His heart clenched every time that he saw a small child, reminding him of his own children that had perished time and time again, not being strong enough to stop their demise. The wildcat, of course, ended up looking at the female's soul, to see if there was anything interesting. While he did so, he offered the small serval a tired grin from his features. Ichigo was shocked again to see another split soul that resided in this place. But, a split soul could mean many different things, but to Ichigo, it usually meant that there was either a split personality or that there was another soul inhabiting the body. It could sometimes happen when an animal was reincarnated into another body or a body ended up getting possessed. But compared to Onision where their souls were seemingly trying to fight for control, this souls seemed to be fairly tranquil. One section of her soul a pale blue, similar to one of Ichigo's souls that were inside of him. Speckles of white and patterns appeared before disappearing, signifying the other's calmness, even if the other's soul was shuttering at the sight of him. He was used to having youngsters looking at him with fear. The other half of her soul was a soft pink, matching seemingly well with the other part of her soul. This one didn't seem to show that one soul was communicating to the other based on the movements. It was a nice sight to see to see such a nice and caring soul.

It warmed his heart, which wasn't easy to do. Ichigo's own soul, well, he had three of them. This made his body and mind fairly cramped. He had a regular white portion of his soul, albeit cracked, then a light blue soul that moved like flames, and then a black soul that moved like almost an inky liquid. For the most part, they were in equal portions, but the black soul did seem to expand a little bit more than the others thanks to Ichigo's current mental state. Ichigo's analysis only took a couple seconds to conduct before he decided to lower himself down onto his stomach on the ground. Laying down on the ground usually made him less threatening, although his eyes alone could be intimidating thanks to the black sclera on his left eye. After a couple of minutes, someone was able to tell him the identity of this place. The Ascendants. So that was the place he was trying to find after hearing about them from Sunhaven. He didn't know what the issue between the two groups was, but at this point he considered himself to be a somewhat neutral party. He was new to this area and didn't know any lay of the land. "Ascendants huh? Interesting name. What kind of place is the Ascendants? I'm just curious and you can just tell me what you feel like. You guys so far don't seem to be a violent group. I've come across plenty of those." Ichigo would ask the small female calmly, but it was up to anyone if they wanted to answer his question. He was just curious and there was no ill intent in his words. Ichigo tried to speak in a soothing tone, but with his voice raspy from not talking all of the time, it may not come off as soothing. The small white serval finally decided to introduce herself, which he hadn't bothered asking as it was obvious that she was nervous and he wanted her to go at her own pace.

The Shinigami would try his best to remember her name, but her soul and aura had definitely left a lasting effect on him. She had lived in the mountains too. Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at being called 'sir'. He had never been one for formalities. Although there had been some faces that called him with a Japanese honorific to his name, which after telling them wasn't needed they continued. He wasn't going to continue to bug them. "It's nice to meet you, Clementine. There's no need to be formal though, feel free to just call me Ichigo." The cougar would say with the still tired grin on his jaws. At the mention of whether not he liked the mountains or not, his grin seemed to falter some. He didn't have all the happy memories of that place, and in fact, most of them weren't all that happy. Maybe for three months, they were, but that was about it. Ichigo wasn't going to reveal his families death, however, and decided not to give all the details. "It was nice. It was a really big forest area. I lived there with my mom and dad and my two younger sisters. I remember one time I found a dead snake and I put it next to my sister and woke her up in a panic telling her there was a snake. Her reaction was hilarious." Ichigo would reveal a memory with a dry chuckle, a subtle yearning seemingly in his eyes. He missed his sisters. His dad had given him the job of protecting them. And looked where that got him? Yuzu was dead and he was fairly certain Karin was dead as well. As far as Ichigo knew, he was the last living member of his family. Cougars didn't exactly keep in touch with their grandparents when they were almost feral. Not like he knew who any of them were. Ichigo no usually refused to go around mountain ranges despite how his species are so fond of them, after his mother's death in the mountains where he grew up. It seemed like he was drawing a crowd.

His attention turning toward a black and white domestic cat. Another domestic cat in this clan, although Ichigo knew that the most abundant species were domestic cats. It didn't bother him at all. The Shinigami noticed the interest that the other had in his sword, and while the other was distracted, the wildcat would look at the other's aura and soul. He had to admit that this was an interesting one. A red aura and soul flickered across the others form, what seemed like chains spread across it. Was it holding the other's soul together? Or was it holding something back? Ichigo had never seen a soul pattern like that before in his life, and it seemed the Ascendants was full of surprises. A neutral expression was spread across his facial features when Ren arrived on the scene from talking about his time on the mountains where he grew up. Most of these animals seemed to be kind and polite, Ichigo offering a nod in return to Ren in greeting. Ichigo would raise a nonexistent eyebrow at the mention of his sword getting cold, causing the cougar to look down at the massive blade a couple of feet away from where he was laying down. Then he turned his attention back to Ren. "I sincerely doubt that it's cold." Ichigo said in somewhat of a joking manner, keeping a lighthearted conversation. the older male had to admit that he had never heard that before about Zangetsu.

What the other said next actually surprised him again. Excalibur. Ichigo wasn't much of a reader. He had a difficult time reading English and there was a point where he had to physically sit down and teach himself to read English. It was one of the most boring things he had ever done in his life. But he did know of swords of legend. Who wouldn't when they were a swordsman? Although in his opinion, Zangetsu was a lot more important and so much better than Excalibur. A grin returned to his tired features before he shook his head. "Not exactly. My sword is so much better than something like Excalibur." Ichigo seemed to almost brag proudly about his sword. He could feel a subtle warmth in the back of his head as Zangetsu approved of the praise that it was given. Ichigo shifted himself slightly on the ground, curling his long tail around the right side of his body. "Its name is Zangetsu. It's Japanese." The Shinigami would state calmly, and he heard both voices in his head suddenly go eerily silent. He didn't give the name of his sword out all the time. Knowing a blades name as a Shinigami was the means of controlling its power. He learned the hard way of learning the blades name. Ichigo was quick to notice that the other didn't introduce himself, causing the Shinigami to flick one of his rounded ears. "And what's your name?" Ichigo asked calmly with a small tilt of his own head.

ICHIGO KUROSAKI

i don't fight because i want to win, i fight to win!

template by[color=#2e2e2e] #punki-chan

A Shinigami was almost never without their sword. If they didn't have their sword directly on their body somewhere, it meant that it was probably at least placed on the ground near to them. The blade was the only thing that kept them safe from the spiritual beasts that wanted to rip them in half and try to devour their souls. If they didn't have the blade, it was either stolen or the Shinigami died. The sword that they wielded was tied to their own souls, and if a Shinigami died, then so did their sword. A sword can't really die though since its technically an object, but they can break up into shards and could never return to their own original shape. Each one had their own form of the blade, and each one had their own abilities that were tied to them as well. Ichigo had the sword that he had now for almost five years in total. The sword meant a lot to him, and Ichigo would always make sure to take care of the blade and treat it with respect. The last thing that Ichigo needed was for one of his main weapons to break apart, which had almost happened before during a trying time where he was close to death and his blade started to break. Luckily he was able to repair it when he returned to the other realm of this world for a couple of days. The capabilities in that world were a lot different than this world and he was significantly weaker in this world as well being a Shinigami. All Shinigami were stronger where they could get their energy from the spiritual power that existed in the other realm that some religions considered to be Heaven. That wasn't an issue with Ichigo as he was usually able to hold his own when it came to fighting in general, having done it since he was just a cub as a means of defense of wolves that had wanted to eat him when they realized that he was alone. Learning the blades name was an extremely important part to a developing Death God, as learning the name allowed communication between the user and the blade as there was a soul that possessed the object itself.

It took Ichigo a while to understand the name of his sword, and it had been in a life-threatening situation at that. Most of the training that Ichigo had been subjected to either meant that he was either going to have to figure out how his powers worked or die trying. One could say that his mentor may have not been all that sane all things considered. He turned out decently fine after all the training he had been given over several months before he was allowed to do what he wanted. The sword that he carried now looked nothing like the blade that he had started off with. Instead, the blade had taken the form of a regular katana, but instead of a regular silver blade, the blade was as black as tar and the end of the hilt had a broken chain on it. It was much lighter than the blade he had no, but after dying and losing his powers again, he didn't have Zangetsu for around a year. It had been muscle memory for Ichigo to turn his head to try and grab his sword during each battle, and around that time when he went to grab the sword it wasn't there anymore and a wave of sadness would always hit him. The sword had sentimental value and expressed all the hardships that Ichigo had gone through over the several years that he had existed in the clans. If anyone tried to steal his blade, Ichigo would be quick to be upset about it and become violent. He had never been the fan of stealing after all. After getting his powers back, Zangetsu's form had changed to a larger broadsword, and instead of a sheath that it was kept it, it instead was wrapped in a touch fabric that could keep it from any bad weather that Ichigo could come across. However, this wasn't the only form that Zangetsu could come in anymore, Ichigo knew that he was capable of changing the shape of the sword with his powers, and could turn it back into the original shape with some changes in the design here and there. The katana had portions of its blade that were serrated, compared to the regular smooth blade of the original design. It was a nice fit, but changing the blade took a lot of energy and he was working on fixing it all.

Ichigo was glad that there was a child around to talk to, not only because he enjoyed the presence of a child from time to time having been a father once, but it also meant that they were more than likely to spill information about the place that they were in. Ichigo's assumption was correct when the serval began to describe what the Ascendants was like. At the mention of an observatory, Ichigo would tilt his head a little bit to the side. He had never heard of an observatory before and no idea what it actually meant. It wasn't his fault that he was honestly used to living in tree houses. "Can you explain what an observatory is like? I've never heard of one before." Ichigo asked curiously but nodded his head in understanding why she would call a place like this home. Most of the animals that existed her seemed to be fairly nice. They all had interesting auras too them, and some were means of concern but the majority seemed to be in control of themselves. "It's nice that you've finally found a place to call home though." Ichigo said with the still tired grin spread across his facial features. The Shinigami knew that not everyone was lucky enough to have that chance. The mention of a memory of her father made the grin say on his face. Most kids that arrived in the clans usually didn't have family that were around anymore or were simply abandoned. It was nice to know that Clementine had a father that was looking out for her. "I would probably react the same if someone did that to me too." Ichigo stated with a light-hearted chuckle escaping from his jaws. He wasn't exactly afraid of insects, but it would obviously put him in a panic if he felt anything crawling on him at all. It was also nice to be able to see the serval finally relaxing around his presence. He never really meant to be intimidating after all. His ears were perked forward and attentive as he listened to her enjoying the forest, and he nodded in agreement.

His species could thrive in a lot of different environments, but being a cougar also meant that he was great at climbing. It had even been one of his tasks as a test and try-out to become a high position. "Hopefully you didn't actually try to fly and accidentally hurt yourself." Ichigo seemed to tease a little bit, thinking that Clementine would be far too smart to do something like that. Heights could easily injure someone, and he had witnessed a couple times someone falling from trying to climb a tree and injuring their spine. "Trees are nice. I've always felt a little bit safer to have a little bit of cover when walking around instead of being out in the open." He never understood why some clans liked to live in the plains. He stuck out like a sore thumb enough in regular instances, he would much rather have more potential cover than being spotted from a mile away. Her next question didn't surprise him, as he was used to translating those that didn't know his native tongue. It was common, and he didn't find it irritating like some of those that he had met in the past. His bi-colored eyes turned to look at the blade that was on the ground again before looking at the serval, his facial expression turning to neutral. "It means 'Moon Cutting' in Japanese." There were many reasons why the blade gave itself that name. Ichigo didn't name it after all, the soul inside of the blade was completely sentient after all. It may be the fact that one of his abilities and attacks that he did took the shape of a half moon, or that the sword was curved almost like that of a moon. He wondered what the child would think of the name, and wondered if she would consider the name to be threatening or funny. No one could cut the moon obviously.