LIGHT A FIRE - private; ichigo

[MATUAH]

[align=center][div style="0px; width:450px; height:auto; text-align: justify; font-size: 8pt; line-height:13px; color:whitesmoke;"]Fitful sleeping, paws that curl against the wooden flooring of temporary home. Tanglewood as he knew it had had to leave their home for a bit, over ran by daemons that didn't seem to want to leave. It wasn't perpetually night there so he figured they were safe. But it seemed that these creatures didn't even care about the light of the day banishing evil. They lingered on like foul smelling smoke and terrorized the people. It was so strange really to the male after all the times he spent killing daemons that they would just ignore such a common and simple rule. But he didn't say anything for fear of making things more complicated and so he followed along, easily slipping among the ranks and allowing for them to attach the rank of Tangler upon his shoulders. He still wasn't sure about all of that but he wasn't about to question it, not as tired as he had gotten after the traveling and so he had sought himself out a place and immediately turned in for the night. But his sleep for some reason was restless, soft groans leaving his liquor stained lips as his back legs kicked and sharp breathes left his throat. His tail whipped against the wooden floor as he rolled over onto his other side, brow furrowed in a sign of distress that no one would see before suddenly he became still.

Slowly eyes opened up, black scelera setting the backdrop for golden piercing eyes that were tinged with red. After a longer moment still the male rose slowly, shaking out his shoulders as he rolled them and flicking his malevolent gaze around the room. A slow breath issued forth from barely parted lips as a slow smile pulled, a sly look if anyone saw it before the male became almost nonchalant about his own predicament. Well, this was an interesting occurrence to be sharing the same body, same mind, same everything. Such a shame really and he allowed a paw to lift up as he flexed his claws and debating about slitting the throat of this body. It would be a temporary but oh so gratifying experience to end his life while he had control of the ropes. Sure, he may come back but the idea of killing here and now was so overwhelming. But Ardyn blinked once as an idea sprouted up in his mind. No, no, he had the ability to make the young king's life hell. Whatever these lands were, whoever these impudent creatures happened to be there was no way they would accept a murdering creature within their fold. He could destroy him before he even got to make any friends. Oh, he feels so bad about it. A slow chuckle left his muzzle as the male left out of the proclaimed home, claws scrapping against the ground as he moved with a slow and easy pace. As if he belonged there and his eyes shifted around to look for someone, someone who would be an easy target as he had no wish to actively get too messy.

It took him just a short while before he saw someone. A Sunhavener no less whom had gotten themselves in quiet the pickle it seemed with something and by the fountain no less. For a moment he just watched as the water rushed down from the top, spilling water into a deep basin. Pure and untainted. Though he had was cut off from his thoughts as they waved to him, calling him over for help and the devilish male easily walked forward, a greeting lightly falling from his lips. "Why yes, I'll help you. After all we are supposed to be allies, right." His voice was casual always luring others into a false sense of security. He had charisma, built up off of 2,000 years of vengeance and he allowed himself to move near the canine as he lifted a paw to help them with their ordeal. But the paw found purchase on the back of a skull and a sudden splash rang out. The black leopard watched with intrigue as the dog thrashed about wildly, paws flailing and he debated on how long they could hold their breath before needed to take that much needed gulp of air. Though he was rather surprised as time ticked on but after a moment the canine began to stop moving and his body became limp against the rim of the fountain. Such a disappointment. "Tsk, tsk, such a tease. And here I was thinking you'd last longer." Removing his paw the body fell to the side and he rolled his gaze a little before moving slightly back as to not get any water on his ink black fur.

[| ICHIGO KUROSAKI |]

[align=center]

[table][tr][td]

ICHIGO KUROSAKI

HOVER FOR TAGS

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

[/td][td]

template by #punki-chan

[/td][/tr][/table]

Ichigo had noticed the increase of spirits for the past couple of days. It seemed like as the days went on the situation was getting worse and worse. ichigo had no idea what was causing the disturbance as he wasn't really trying to ask around for the souls and spirits as most of them didn't even try to speak to him in the first place. The wildcat didn't know what was happening in the different groups either, having only visited the Ascendants, the Pitt, and the Typhoon. Even then he didn't know a whole lot about them and it wasn't uncommon for other clans to hide if there was something bad happening inside of the clan anyway. Ichigo wasn't the type to really keep track of that, but with everything that was happening with the spirits, it meant that he was going to have to figure out eventually what was happening. He had no way of contacting his fellow Shinigami to inform them that there was an increase of spirits, and some of them didn't seem like they were the ones to get along with those that they met. Some he came across were violent, but they weren't really capable of harming them in their condition anyway. The Shinigami didn't bother to ask questions at this point and would just send some of the spirits to cross over again. It seemed like they were happy that they were out and about and that was concerning him. Was there a breach in Soul Society? What about the gates of hell were they intact? Ichigo wasn't in charge of that jurisdiction when it came to the Gates of Hell, and had only seen them a couple of times during his career. It was never a pretty sight and it was honestly quite terrifying to watch. If all the souls that were coming outside of somewhere and were sent to hell, he would think that majority of them would be covered in chains.

Or at least have masks to hide their faces, which he had heard from in the past that if a sinner was to escape they would have to wear masks so that they wouldn't be pulled back into Hell again. It was part of his job to keep the number of souls and spirits in the area to a minimum as much as possible. Because of the increased number of them, it meant that he was basically working overtime. Which was the last thing that the Shinigami wanted to be doing right now when there was so much going on. Other clanmates were killing other clanmates. Corpses created by the Ascendants were lining the border. His granddaughter was in the Typhoon and he planned on visiting her tomorrow if he could muster up the strength to do exactly that. Now with the way, everything was going it looked like he was going to start sticking around, even if he didn't want to get involved with a war at the moment. The Shinigami was currently out in the territory toward more of the mountain range that cuts through the majority of the territory. Ichigo didn't dare climb the mountain that was there, despite how good of a climber he was, he didn't enjoy the aspect of mountains having grown up on a mountain range where his mother ended up dying on top of him. A traumatic experience that he sometimes looks back to, but never brings it up with those that he knows. It was certainly late at night while the Shinigami was walking around with his blade's hilt in his mouth. He was using his enhanced sight and his clairvoyance to look at the obvious sign that there was a spirit there. It was honestly a miracle that there hadn't been a Hollow outbreak as of late with everything happening. Maybe this was one of the area with fewer Hollows, and if that was the case there was potential for other Shinigami to be nearby. He knew Argus existed among the groups, where she came from Ichigo didn't know. He didn't know what her lifestyle was like and what it consisted of either.

A scowl was spread across his facial features as his brows were narrowed as he began to walk toward a small energy source. No Hollows nearby. He wanted to keep it that way. He arrived to find that there was a small serval ghost that looked around in a confused matter. This one didn't seem to be that aggressive, but he wouldn't hold it against the spirit if it decided to attack him out of pure shock. "Hello there." Ichigo would greet to gather the other's attention toward him. He heard the smaller wildcat let out what sounded like a small squeak as she swung her head around to look at him. As soon as her eyes landed on him, he made it careful to show that he was going to put his blade down. [color=purple]"Where am I? Who are you? I'm so cold...." The serval said as she was shiver, her shoulders raising up as if her body was trying to shiver to get her warm again. Ichigo strode a little bit closer, leaving his sword behind just a couple inches away from him. "You're in the world of the living. My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm here to help you cross over." Ichigo said in a soothing tone, as he had dealt with this over and over again. Her eyes seemed to widen with shock at the thought of where that could be and what that meant for her. She even went to the point of taking a step away from where he was currently standing. "I'm scared. I didn't want to die." The serval would mumble as she started to hold herself to her chest. She wasn't looking at him anymore. Ichigo strode closer till he was directly in front of her before taking a seat. "I know its scary. But crossing over is the best option for you. You don't want to stay around here trust me. You'll have a chance to live out your life in the soul society, it would be like you had never died." Ichigo promised the spirit with nothing but truth in his bi-colored eyes. He heard a sniffle coming from the serval before she finally looked up. The mention of a second chance at left definitely seemed plausible for her and she shifted herself so that she was back in the usual sitting position.

"O...Ok. I trust you. Is it going to hurt?" The female asked, seeming to almost hesitate all over again. Ichigo shook his head at her question. "Not even close. If anything it'll feel nice because you'll be at peace" Ichigo stated calmly again as he got back up into a standing position before moving over toward his blade. Grabbing the sword, he could almost see the serval tense up for obvious reasons. He turned the blade so that it was only the hilt that was pointed at her and the bottom of the hilt seemed to glow. Ichigo would then gently place the symbol against her head, which she closed her eyes for, and a couple seconds later he began to watch as her form disintegrated and took the shape of a black butterfly that fluttered off into the night. A grin spread across his facial features, but he was utterly exhausted. That was all he was going to get done by tonight. He watched as the cloth for his sword moved to wrap around the blade before he sheathed it on his back where the metal strong was that held the blade to his body. A heavy sigh escaped his jaws as he began to move his way back over toward where majority of the houses were to check up on those that were in camp. He didn't like the place because it was directly above the ocean but he didn't really have a choice when it came to protecting this place. He didn't want anyone to die while he was around. He made sure to keep his enhanced senses as that allowed him to see the auras of other animals that were a bit of a distance away from him. It also helped him see whether or not someone was inside of a building. From the way everyone's aura's were, they all seemed to be okay.

None of the auras were reacting violently, at least from what he could tell about this distance. Ichigo approached the dock, his paws just gracing the steps when he watched two auras that were close to one another. He didn't know every aura that existed in this place, and hell he barely knew anyone's name for that matter. The Shinigami noticed that one of the aura's seemed to be slightly unstable. A red aura didn't always mean it was a bad thing, but it seemed almost to be translucent. Ichigo watched as bits of the aura seemed to fall apart before being replaced again. The edges of the soul extremely sharp and the aura itself seemed to be fairly massive. It wasn't anything like Cryptic's aura that was for damn sure. It put the Shinigami at unease, and Ichigo watched walked up the stairs to the main dock. He was going to investigate what was going on, and he didn't have his enhanced hearing on to be able to hear what was going on between the leopard and the Sunhavener. As he got closer though, the aura that was next to the other intimidating aura seemed to fluctuate in a panicked matter. What the hell was going on? Ichigo's heart began to race at the fear of something happening, but he couldn't get a direct visual for him to teleport to. The Shinigami would first teleport onto a nearby building, looking down from the roof only to see behind a wall as the soul that was just there disappeared. Anger flared through his body, causing his own aura to spread out significantly and he leaped from one roof to the next. Luckily, Ichigo wasn't around to hear what the other said, and instead arrived just in time to see the leopard remove his paw from the corpse that was now flowing within the fountain.

This didn't just happen again. "You bastard!" A distorted snarl escaped Ichigo's jaws reveal that he was there on a nearby roof. As soon as he said the words, Ichigo would aim to teleport directly next to the leopard, and since it was so dark it was hard for him to figure out if it was anyone that he knew. Either way, if he was able to teleport in front of the leopard, Ichigo would aim to sink his fangs into the leopard's shoulder, and if that worked he would then aim to drop his head toward the ground in hopes of throwing him onto the wooden dock. If that worked, Ichigo would then aim to place his paws on strategic parts of the leopards body, obviously livid to what he had just witnessed. "What do you have to say for yourself?!" Ichigo demanded. He wasn't a killer. But in his unstable state, he couldn't help himself. He wanted to rip the bastard apart and leave nothing left. It was certainly obvious with his bi-colored eyes with the way he was looking to the similar wildcat. Ichigo wasn't going to let him leave unscathed.

[MATUAH]

[align=center][div style="0px; width:450px; height:auto; text-align: justify; font-size: 8pt; line-height:13px; color:whitesmoke;"]Life was life and it was so fleeting for those that couldn't protect themselves in the face of danger. Or perhaps he shouldn't have used the situation to appear as a mere friend. Couldn't protect himself from a danger he didn't know was there. As humorous as that little show had been he needed to figure out just where exactly the two of them had ended up. Noctis didn't seem to know and he very well didn't know that he was sharing a part of his soul and it was the only reason the both of them was alive right now. What had the Astrals cursed them with this time? Even though he absolutely hated the other he needed to figure things out and perhaps faster before Noctis did himself. He was at a good advantage here considering that he didn't know that he lived inside of him and that was a good thing. So long as he was left in the dark he could cause some interesting problems for the supposed true king. The idea alone was very much and alluring prospect for all of this and he allowed himself to debate over it for just a moment longer. He could dabble here for a little while as well since that was the mandate of these...animals. They had come here to escape the daemons as it was seen and thus he could go back there and possibly take control over them. If only really, but he didn't know yet if these daemons worked the same way as the ones from where he had originated.

Yet even as he puzzle over these factors the sound of a yell shattered them and he turned slightly, a passive motion to see what they were yelling at. The cougar suddenly showing up in front of him was highly highly interesting. Teeth embedding into his shoulder was less so and yet it didn't seem to bother the blackened leopard. Even as flesh tore and blackened blood oozed out of that open sore he seemed to not feel a thing. His body was tossed hard against the wooden boardwalk and his gaze ever present was locked upon the one that deemed it smart to attack him. If his attacker looked closer at his facial features he could see cracks forming along his throat and the left side of his face, some spidering from around his prominent black scelera eyes. There was no fear and hardly any worry for his safety and condition and why would he be? He was here to mess around with dear old Noct after all. His gaze flicked once upward when the cougar attempted to pin him down, body disappearing in a sudden wash of bright reddish pink particles that faded into the darkness and now the male was standing up on top of a roof of a building. He allowed a small smile to play on his muzzle before he glanced to his shoulder. "Oh dear, looks like you tore into me pretty good." His voice was a low murmur of amusement before he looked back down to Ichigo.

"Tut, tut, tut. I didn't know hosts were this bad with their guests. I have questions too, you know." Ardyn tilted his head to the side as he rolled his shoulder, spilling more of that tainted blackened blood down his shoulder before he allowed a grin to pull at his muzzle. "They were going to die anyway. I just happened to...speed up the process is all. Though you look hardly happy for my act of mercy." A fight perhaps was in the air and he allowed himself to relax for a moment. Now he could see if things were as they were before. His eyes lifted up to the heavens for a moment as he became quiet and around him shimmered into partial existence thirteen weapons. They shimmered and spun around him slowly that same pinkish red tint to them before he lifted up a paw and touched a sword that became real. Conjuration was an interesting thing and he easily lifted up the sword through many means before suddenly he was off the roof and speeding at Ichigo aiming to fake a slice to his neck though it turned into a sudden headbutt to force the cougar against the ground. If that work Ardyn would then attempt to stab his sword into the male's shoulder before attempting to twist it and jerk it out. "There we match now. Isn't that fun?" He spoke with an aloof air as he stepped back so casually.

[| ICHIGO KUROSAKI |]

[align=center]

[table][tr][td]

ICHIGO KUROSAKI

HOVER FOR TAGS

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

[/td][td]

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

[/td][/tr][/table]

There were a couple types of personalities that Ichigo didn't remotely get along with. Ichigo had met plenty of personalities over the years and the way that they interacted with him. He had been from clan to clan and knew their goals most of the time and why they did what they did. If they were willing to tell him anyway. He was always terrible when it came to small talk and usually jumped the gun with whatever he was describing. The personality that Ichigo couldn't stand were those that didn't have any regard or respect for the living and the dead. They just killed because they could and never really thought about the potential consequences that would half. It was mortals like that where a Shinigami would be called to deal with them at the end. Ichigo had never been given the task to hunt down someone that was killing too many people, but he had heard stories back in the day of them doing exactly that. Either way, the ones that were usually considered his enemies didn't care about what they had to do to get their goal down. Whether that meant killing anyone that stepped out in front of them or simply questioned what they did, they would simply kill them instead of the idea of talking to them. It made no sense as to why someone would drag others with them only to end up slaughtering them if they looked at them wrong. It was cruel and unjust. He knew that he couldn't speak for every one and half the time wished that everyone just treated each other equally. That would make his job a whole lot easier in his mind. The most recent personality that he had to deal with that was probably Lacie, at least a personal enemy of his. There were plenty of clans that had the same mindset as those that just wanted to kill to try and make a statement. Lacie was the leader of the Chains that wanted nothing more than to destroy him. He tried to get in their way as much as possible to destroy their plans, and they would take every chance they could to make him suffer.

One memory that stayed stuck in his head would be the memory of watching one of his best friends, Keylime, have his head decapitated right in front of him and there was nothing he could have done as he was outnumbered by 4 large dragons and he was the only one that was fighting against them. Ichigo had risked his life to try and protect his friend only for it to amount to nothing as he watched his friends head travel down the ledge that he had been put on. Ichigo spiraled into a depression from that point on, and the wildcat had vowed never to let that happen again. He needed to become stronger and needed so much more power as well. The Shinigami hated Lacie with every part of his being, and he knew that if he was given the chance he would probably kill her on the spot. She was far too much of a threat to be kept left alive, although now his life was a little bit easier as he had yet to come across a Chain in the last three years. Maybe they had finally died off while he had been the one to survive for a little bit longer. He didn't know how much time he would have left, but it wasn't very long. All the Chains acted the same when it came to their personality, and the personality of the guy that he had just attacked resembled too much of that. Immediately marking him as a threat that needed to be death with. The Shinigami felt his long incisors sink into the flesh of the leopard shoulder, and now that he was this close to the other when he threw him to the ground, his bi-colored eyes met ones that were red with black sclera like one of his own. It made him hesitate for a second at the sight of eyes that were similar to his, but he would have no idea that the other's body was being controlled either. When he had raised his paws to try and pin down the leopard, the other teleported out from under him. The other could teleport. That was just great. Ichigo's ears angled themselves behind him as he listened to the leopard talk, Ichigo turning around.

The bottom jaw of the cougar slightly covered in the other's blood. Ichigo was quick to spit out the blood that was in his mouth on the ground as his body remained tense ready for a fight. He had to be careful with the surrounding buildings in the area, as he didn't want anyone to get caught in the crossfire. His gaze would flicker to the dead canine in the fountain before looking up toward the leopard again, their positions obviously being switched from just moments ago. "Come down here and I'll give you worse wounds to think about." Ichigo snarled angrily, every hair follicle on his body sticking straight up. He didn't like the way the guy talked. Ichigo could care less how the other talked about him being a host to a guest. "Last time I heard guests don't exactly murder those that they interact with." Ichigo would point out quickly. Who did this guy think he was? And then he just had to go and say it was an act of mercy, that pissed the cougar off even more to the point that the outline of his body seemed to glow a light blue. His lips curled to reveal his long incisors and exactly how angry he was. "Mercy?! What kind of God complex do you have to where you think you're allowed to make that fucking decision?" This guy was insane. He didn't know what it was, and Ichigo knew what it was like to show other's mercy. This wasn't it. It was far from what it was. The guy had a twisting way of thinking and Ichigo was going to pound his head into the ground until he started to think clearly. The black sclera from his left eye slowly began to bleed into his left eye, but with the low light it could potentially be hard to see. Then the situation just had to get even more annoying as he saw the silhouettes of thirteen weapons. At least he thought he counted right he wasn't sure exactly. Ichigo didn't unsheathe Zangetsu from his back, as he knew that the sword itself could be considered quite clunky and he was dealing with a leopard around the same size as him. The other could teleport out of the way and if he wasn't quick enough he would just miss his attacks.

The guy certainly had an interesting ability, but compliments weren't going to be given to a murderer. Ichigo spread his legs out slightly as the animal came toward him, and he watched as the other slashed for his throat. Ichigo turned his neck to the side instead of completely moving away, and placed the metal portion of his armor that protected the back of his neck toward the sword that he thought was going to hit. He never heard the sound of metal clashing against metal. However, because of the way he had his head turned, their heads would end up colliding. It certainly hurt like hell and caused the over-sized cougar to take a step back, but it wouldn't be enough to knock him to the ground. Ichigo shook his head as he tried to get his vision to clear, only to feel as the sword pierced his shoulder. That was a usual feeling in that area, but it just made him angrier. There wasn't a whole lot of pain in that area thanks to a large amount of scar tissues, and the other hadn't made a gaping hole in his shoulder as Ichigo pulled away before he could twist it further into his body. This guy was asking for him, and his own body was preparing to have a strong fight ahead of him. He hadn't fought against anyone with weapons for a very long time. Ichigo didn't respond to the other's statement as he craned his neck to finally unsheathe the large blade that was on his back. As soon as the blade was unsheathed, Ichigo would aim to teleport above the amur leopard, swinging his word down as he aimed to sink the massive blade along the other's spine. It could be considered to be a killing blow, but right now this was going to help him release all the pent of anger that he had inside of him.