Dogs: Good for the Soul.

[manic]

Tora #1

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With multiple Leashes in hand Tora was doing her weekend ritual with a mind full of things to thing about. She'd gotten into fights with monsters called Hollows, brawled with a Ghost Cop, found out that the guys in black weren't Cops but still ghosts called Shinigami and then kicked one of them in the jaw during practice. It had been a weird week even by the standards of a schoolgirl who could see ghosts.

She was thinking about so many other things that she made the number one mistake of any professional dog walker, she had taken her eye off the ball and let the cute doggies encircle her, their leads wrapping  tight around her ankles while she was a million miles away, leading to the delinquent's inevitable collapse with a "Oof!" Sensing their chance for freedom the pooches bolted off despite Tora's shouts for them to stay. What was a casual walk in the park had turned into a doggy stampede! And to make matters worse they were zooming towards what to Tora looked like flames around a corner, someone's barbeque in the park was about to get destroyed.



(This layout is Gaz's fault)

[Gaz]

Kin #1

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Today had been a particularly long day for Kaida Kin, she had been caught up in an escort mission! She was protecting this one poor soul from all kinds of hollow attacks. All that the local Shinigami couldn’t deal with because they were ‘bUsY’. It was all over… for now. All she had to do was get home without any more incidents.

The young woman had left home this morning with the goal of training her sword skills with the Shinigami Ishifude, but that didn’t happen as the warrior poet was a called to deal with an exceptionally dangerous problem… or so Shinobou said. That left Kin to practice alone, casting her spell to forge a sword and swinging it around where people weren’t likely to see. Well Kin’s spiritual nature being quite the treat for most hollows she was attacked, and the training went from practicing to learn by doing! One thing led to another, and this soul got caught up in it, leading Kin to help them fulfil their final wish while protecting them.

This park was a nice detour away from the crowded streets, somewhere to just deflate after her day. What she wasn’t expecting was the army of dogs to come charging her down while a girl was shouting while barely being able to hold on to their many leads. The sudden shock made her spiritual fire skin flare in a rainbow of colours as her emotions flitted between confused, to scared, and all the way to happy as she noticed the puppers. She let the biggest one approach and fell backwards with his weight and momentum. It didn’t hurt but it let her get a good grip as she gave as many ear scritches to as many dogs she could. “Hahahahahahahhaha!”

---

Kin: e68819
Shinobou: bbecff

[manic]

Tora #2

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"COME BAAAAACK!" Tora shouted to no avail, as the dogs chased on, sensing their target as the flames got brighter and... blue-er? The heck? This was no normal flame the dogs were finding, no wonder no-one else seemed to mind the inferno in their midst, this was some spirit fire! And those were probably way worse than regular fires, and changed colour to... pink apparently. She had been paid (modestly) to keep the puppers out of harm and in headpats and no spirit shenanigans were going to stop her!

What the spirit shenanigans didn't stop was the dogs as Charlie, the biggest one of the bunch imported from America tackled the source of the fire to the ground, revealing it to be... a girl barely older than her. And not a ghost.

Wow her spirit senses suuuuucked recently "Sorry..." She apologized as she gathered the leads again, trying to pull them away to little success. They were getting scritches and would not be budged until scritches were had. That and to her 6th sense getting close to this girl was looking like putting her hands in an oven with how bright that flame stuff was... wait, was that all coming from her? "I guess they uh... liked your shower gel or something?" Tora ad-libbed.

[Gaz]

Kin #2

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Some of the dogs had been pulled away by their caretaker, it was enough to let Kin see the light of day from under all of the muzzles and their friendly tongues that were giving kisses. In that moment she shuffled and managed to wrap one arm around the big dog and with the other heaved herself up and onto her feet. Now carrying the big American dog, she used that one hand to scratched the dog behind the ears again before moving to put him down.

“Don’t worry about it!” Kin replied, the fiery aura around her body thrumming between warm and happy colours as it flickered around her calmly. “I’ve a way with animals.” She added as she moved to grab what loose leads there were and hand them back to the young girl who looked familiar.

“You go to Murasaki High don’t you?” She asked, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly. Kin herself was outside of her uniform and was in a comfortable short black tank top that showed off her arms and toned midriff abs. Her legs were covered in comfortable looking baggy orange jogger trousers. “First year right?”

“I’m Kaida Kin.” Kin announced with a bright smile and a nod that made her slightly dishevelled ponytail bounce behind her.

---

Kin: e68819
Shinobou: bbecff

[manic]

Tora #3

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At least this living fireball was taking being pounced upon pretty damn well, thanked in no small part by the fact that these doggies knew better than to start biting people under the dog pile. Still, Tora did her best to clear up and pull them away, trying to get them all to just relax in the shade of a tree instead of bursting with animal energy "Come on Charlie," she called as she crouched down, letting the big lug give her some more affection before moving on... and finding that this girl knew something about her.  


"Oh, uh... yeah. I just got transferred from Toshima, how'd you know?" she asked, forcing herself to see past the aura and got the full sight of her apparent senpai, struggling to think how she'd know her "Did you see me talking to Devereaux-sensei?" Tora suggested pulling at straws. Maybe being a transfer of infamy had caused some people to know of her but not know her.

Wait, Murasaki High? Big ball of fire? "Were you um..." she stumbled "Were you the one who blew up all the windows?" She asked. Random question that probably made sense in context.

[Gaz]

Kin #3

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“Oh, I am good at remembering faces!” Kin replied, now that she was dog free, she started to brush away all the hairs that the animals had left behind on her outfit. “Oh, that’s her name! I never got it before.” The young woman chuckled as she leaned down to focus on getting her legs as fur free as possible.

Then the younger student said something that made Kin stop in her tracks and nervously giggle… so anyone at the school who could see the spiritual realms of this world were going to put two and two together. Hopefully it was only this new girl and Millie that knew about the spirit world… otherwise she could be in A LOT of trouble.

“I… Uh. Yeah!” She said, running a hand behind her head and smiling nervously. “I got a little excited and put too much energy into a fireball.” Kin admitted, moving to stand up tall now. “A total accident, I just have to keep a lid on my power.” Said the girl that was wreathed in a magical flame of protection that shifting colour was linked to her emotions and right now it was pink with embarrassment.

---

Kin: e68819
Shinobou: bbecff

[manic]

Tora #4

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Mystery solved! She now knew who blew up the school the other day. Well, not the whole school, just most of the windows. But that still raised important questions "So you're human, right?" She asked piecing everything together, letting the gears whirr in her head as she pieced everything together "Not a ghost, Shinigami, Hollow, whatever. Definitely human." She was certain of that at least. Ghost cops and masked monsters didn't go to school outside cheesy romance mangas.

Then that left the most important question: "Can you teach me to do that?" Tora squeaked out "Like holy crap You can make spooky ghost fire and blow stuff up! That's the most awesome thing ever and I kicked a Shinigami so hard he almost puked!" She rambled before finding her arm getting pulled away from the rest of her body "Wah!" She yelped out as the pack of dogs went to move on and burn more energy "Uh, follow me please?!" the delinquent called out to the blonde as she joined them, if only to maintain some semblance of control.

[Gaz]

Kin #4

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Kin watched the dog walking girl with an inquisitive eye and a wry smile as she asked if Kin was a human. To which she let out a bark of a laugh that flared the colourful fire around her in a brilliant yellow to match her happiness. “Yeap! As human as they come.” She replied just before the younger student blurted out her question.

The praise about Kin’s power reddened her cheeks and caused the licks of spiritual fire to deepen to a soft pink colour to show her embarrassment. She laughed in response to the energetic dogwalker and made a move to follow without any hesitation or need to be asked. With so many dogs dictating where the girl was going it was quite the sight.

“I could teach you.” Kin said as they walked along, she was surprised there was another student that had any form of spiritual powers. She had only recently learned of Ken and the fact he was a Quincy. Millie was a new student that transferred in… which got her excited and caused the explosion that shattered the windows.

“But I don’t think it’s a good idea to do it when you’re walking so many dogs!” The senior student said, keeping perfectly inline with her new friend. “By the way… I don’t think I got your name.”

---

Kin: e68819
Shinobou: bbecff

[manic]

Tora #5

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"Awesome!" Okay, so Kin was definitely human and that was still something Tora was going to have to wrap her head around. Being able to punch monsters and ghosts was one thing, she was already punching people before she knew she could see and talk to ghosts with BRAINBUSTAH's help. But making fireballs with just soul energy was a completely different level to what she was capable of... and probably not a good idea to do around innocent doggies "Oh, right. Yeah, bad idea." Tora admitted as she managed to get back into a rhythm with her charges.

"I'm Tora," She introduced herself "If anyone at school gives you any crap you can come find me and I'll kick their ass." the underclassman nodded with enthusiastic sincerity "I'm guessing that fire stuff comes in real handy whenever Hollows show up, huh?"

[Gaz]

Kin #5

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Kin was in the middle of unzipping her hoodie and taking it off to wrap around her waist as Tora introduced herself and made her offer to beat up people who got on Kin’s wrong side. The irony of the younger more delinquent looking girl offering to beat up people who gave Kin crap was not lost on the older schoolgirl who frequented the gym and was visibly muscular.

“The fire does, but it’s even stronger when I cast spells with it.” She explained, looking down to the girl and her many dogs. “Everyone has their own power deep inside, my fiery passion altered my Reiryoku to be fire like.” She explained, using the terminology her teacher uses. Now she was close to Tora Kin could feel that latent power she had, the spirit and will to never give up.

“It takes a lot of stamina to use the energy like I do, because we have a body it takes a lot more to use it.” She said cryptically, knowing full well it was going to confuse the girl that she was walking with but wanting to see what she was going to say as a reaction.

---

Kin: e68819
Shinobou: bbecff

[manic]

Tora #6

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The whole explanation was a lot to take in for Saeko Toramori, she'd mostly been flying blind other than a couple of encounters with Shinigami where only 1 was a Ghost Cop and neither of them had gone into details about why she could kick ghosts in the head so hard they ran away but all this stuff about being able to do magic with Soul energy was a whole different level "Everyone has it huh..." Tora mumbled, taking advantage of a nearby fence to anchor all the doggies before pacing out away from the path "Okay, let me try!"


Taking a deep breath, Tora stomped down on the grass as she entered a wide stance, holding her fists down by her sides as she tried to concentrate some soul energy herself! "HHHNGGGHHR!" The tiny schoolgirl grunted as though she was trying to go Super Saiyan, the pitch slowly increasing as she tried to feel something only for her to give up before her lungs did. "Pahhh..." she gasped out. Lesson learned: when trying to channel the internal energies it would really help to know what those energies are first before trying. She was just lucky that she hadn't burst a blood vessel.

Or at least that's what it looked like to Tora. To the more soul sensative among the impromptu gathering like, say... the numerous dogs that she had been looking after, they certainly felt something coming from the young girl even if she didn't.

[Gaz]

Kin #6

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The Tokyo witch of fire cracked out a massive grin as she watched Tora try to force out her Reiryoku into Reshi, this wasn’t going to work. Tora was going to need more time and patience, while she was able to see and channel her energies within her body getting it outside of it was a whole different game. Kin leaned down to start petting the array od dogs that were tied to a post, keeping them occupied.

“Magic is hard to do. Did you ever read the Mitosis arc of Lizard Cube? Or watch the anime Lizard Cube X?” She asked now looking up at Tora properly. “The scene where Hango was teaching Lidel and his brother how to fly is a good example.” She explained, hoping that her new friend was as much an otaku as she was. It was a very good example where Hango expressed how to control his internal Ki through his palms with meditation and focus.

“That is a good method of training to get the hang of bringing out your energy so be used for magic. After that it’s just practice and practice to get more out. It takes a lot of energy to do it because our bodies aren’t good at letting it out.” Kin explained as she posed with her hands just far enough apart to pretend she was holding a football and focused her gaze. In a moment a spark of reddish light flashed and then became a solid line of shimmering fiery light. The Raw Reishi that she produced flickered away after a moment and her hands fell down to the side.

“If you want, I can take you to my teacher?” She asked moving over to ruffle the hair of the younger student, a smile on her face as she did so.

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Kin: e68819
Shinobou: bbecff

[manic]

Tora #7

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"Of course I watched it!" Tora snapped at Kin, still puffing and panting from her failed attempt at focusing her Ki into something more corporeal than just a tingling sensation "Sorry, sorry. Shouldn't have yelled..." She quickly apologized, hanging her head in shame. It was clear that she had a lot to learn if she wanted to do any sort of magic. Maybe getting a dedicated teacher would be the way forward, after all she needed her Dad to teach her how to do martial arts well enough that when she found out about Hollows she could put the hurt on them, this seemed like the next step.

"Probably not right now," she said, untying the dogs from the post "Gotta get these guys back to their owners soon-ish, but if you tell me where you're studying magic and stuff I'll head over there... after I tell my dad where I'm going." The 1st year student added.

[Gaz]

Kin #7

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It was somewhat adorable seeing the tomboy snap in frustration. Kin was like that once when she was younger and just getting into doing the magic part. It took a long time for her to get a good grasp for magic, that only came after she managed to merge it with her imagination.

“Chifu Shrine, it’s not terribly far from here. It’s right next to my house.” Kin explained as she pushed a hand into her pocket and pulled out a smart phone, with a few taps she smiled brightly and pushed it forward to the little tiger. On the screen it showed a map app with a rough route from here to the shrine in question. “I need to go and get a quick shower; I’ve spent too long today chasing hollows and escorting a lost spirit.” She said, her smile wavering slightly.

After a few moment she pulled her phone away and slipped it back into her pocket and gave a strong nod to Tora. “If I don’t see you later tonight, then I’ll see you tomorrow. Yeah?” Kin asked, pushing her hand forward in a balled-up fist for a bump. She had to show the younger student that she respected her and was on the road to considering her a friend after all.

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Kin: e68819
Shinobou: bbecff

[manic]

Tora #8

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Tora nodded at the small screen, even if she had to put her hand up to block some of the glare so she could see the map but the place didn't look too far to find, plus if it was spiritual shenanigans she was looking for then she could always get a little bit of backup "Got it," The little fighter let out "I'll see you later then." She promised. 

"Say goodbye guys," She instructed as she waved goodbye to her new friend, letting the various doggies get their barks in only to have to suddenly dig her heels in as the big one wanted to give a big goodbye tackle as well "CHARLIE!" 

- 

The next time Kin would see Tora holding a leash would be a much more relaxed time. One dog was much more manageable than half a dozen and even so BRAINBUSTAH was very well behaved, mostly, he was very good at sniffing out the spiritually significant place though: pulling Tora straight towards the shrine before she could pull out her phone for a map "Hello?" She called out, carrying the Akita like the oversized baby he could into the shrine be while he sniffed around at the various stuff left out for sale "Kin! I'm here for the spirit stuff lessons."