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He felt it clearly, that drawing power that came from the spring winds.
As the sakura fell, swirling around his feet and eventually engulfing his body, Umeda Noe realized something for the first time in centuries...
This year... was going to present something different.
Dark eyes watched as the tiny pink petals danced in the breeze, flitting around his head and getting caught in the long black locks. A soft smile graced his lips, and for a moment... a fleeting moment... Noe forgot that he was in his human guise.
His attachment to all sakura ran deep, for Noe was hardly human.
"I bet the Kodama are happy with this breeze." came a voice not far away.
Noe's gaze turned, focusing on a young woman, more like a girl, who was standing there, smiling, as she gazed up into the branches of the sakura trees that lined the road. Her hands were clasped behind her back and she was swaying with the wind, her school uniform skirt swishing in the breeze.
With a coy smile, she turned her head, looking directly at Noe. "Am I right?"
He mirrored that smile, "Well... I suppose it depends on the kodama, Zashiki-Warashi-chan."
For a moment, her smile faultered, but then she shook her head. "I'm not..."
"You died here." Noe spoke, carefully pulling a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket and tapping one out.
He held it between two lithe fingers, lighting the end and carefully taking a pull.
"Did you fall?"
She shook her head again, gaze focusing on the sakura trees once more. "I tripped... and there was a bus in the road. It was a long time ago, demo..."
Noe's own coy smile turned to one of soft understanding. He moved forward until he stood next to the girl, his eyes on the sakura now as well.
"I don't even remember my name..." the girl spoke, obviously trying not to cry.
Looking to her, Noe shook his head. "You should leave this place. Find a priest, Zashiki-Warashi-chan. Find some peace for your spirit. There's a shrine not..."
"IIE!" she screamed at him, a reaction that caused the man to take a step back. "How do you think I knew what you were?" the girl asked, turning her tearful gaze on him. "I was sent to give you a message... but all I'm doing is feeling the pain of... of..."
Carefully, he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. His human corporeal form would have passed right through her... if he WERE human, but his spirit was so strong, that he could easily interact with another soul. "What message, ojou-chan?"
Noe hadn't been ready for the girl's deep penetrating gaze, and he felt like he might fall into it for a split second. But as the words left her lips, the kodama realized that this message was, perhaps, the very thing he felt was coming.
"Iemon lives again."




TRANSLATIONS:
Demo = But
Iie = No
Ojou-chan = Young lady

(((OOC: Noe is actually loosely based on a compilation of characters. Firstly, from the man who he draws his surname from, Umeda (based on how he carries himself) from the manga series "Hana-kimi". However, Noe is also loosely based on both the character of Youji from "Weiss Kruez" (he enjoys many of the same things as Youji) and on Durand from "Le Chevalier D'Eon" (based on his loyalty). So aspects of those characters may pop up and be recognizable to some readers/RPers. There's also a tad bit of an original character of mine named Hikaru in him... but that really only makes sense to me, hehe. The name Noe struck me as an interesting Japanese name... because I had a friend in high school by that name (and he wasn't Asian in the least). So when I saw that name in "Hana-Kimi"... I knew I wanted to design a character with the same name. Just thought I'd throw that out there, hehe.)))

(((OOC: "Ii ya da" has more of a "stop it" type intonation with it, which isn't what I was going for. She just said "no" really loud." It was a reaction to a certain word in his sentence. He said it, she screamed "no". As for "ojou-chan", Noe's not THAT polite. He's to be seen as more of a 'bad boy' type at this point, so I went for the -chan ending since it's far less formal. And no, she's not getting a profile, cause I was just using her to deliver the message. Nothing more really.)))

(((OOC: What you should do, is go through the Role Player listing thread, and see what sorts of original RPs people like to do. Then PM some of the ones that seem to have an interest in paranormal RPs.
Meanwhile, we should just post to keep the RP alive. Well that, and because it's far more fun to RP than to bump a thread.)))

(((OOC: Well, my friend has finals this week, and I plan on asking her when I see her on MSN next. She may be busy through the holiday season with work, but I'm trying to convince her that posting is a good way to release her stress over rabid holiday shoppers, hehe. I'll see if I can't dig up a couple other people who might possibly be interested.)))

~ ~ ~



"Mo ippai."
Sighing, the bartender pulled another bottle of Sapporo from a fridge beneath the bar, popped the cap off, and slid it across the counter to the customer.
"That's your eighth one, and it's only noon, Umeda-san."
Black eyes glared up at the man through equally dark hair. "Urusai..." he hissed before taking a swing of the amber liquid. "I pay my tab on time, don't I? Besides... not like you have any more customers, sensei."
The man shrugged.
He did have a point.
"Something happen?" the bartender, called 'sensei' by his regular customers, asked as he wiped down the counter again.
Sighing, Noe ran his fingers through his hair, pushing the dark locks out of his vision. "An old acquaintance. One I'd like to forget. Nothing big."
'Sensei' laughed, "It's big enough that you've finished off a six pack and are well on your way to finishing another one, in less than an hour."
Noe shrugged, "Tastes good is all... plus it's dark in here. Everything outside is 'bright and cheery springtime'." he said, imitating a love-struck girl's voice. "Makes me sick..."
"I thought you liked trees and nature and stuff." the man asked.
Laughter wafted through the bar as Umeda simply tilted his head back and let it out. "Trees, sensei. Just trees. The rest of nature can go screw itself."
"This acquaintance is that bad, huh?"
Nodding, Noe focused on his beer, already over half finished with it.
"Koibito?"
The word literally made the kodama shiver.
"Guess I was right." 'Sensei' replied with a knowing smirk.
Umeda nearly hit his head on the bar in reaction, but turned a murderous glare on the bartender. "He's a b*****d."
For a moment, 'Sensei' didn't reply, but then he shrugged. "Didn't know you were into men but... then again..." he seemed to look Umeda up and down for a moment before shrugging again. "Figures."
"The hell does that mean?" Noe slurred slightly as he sat up straighter, the bartender now getting his full attention.
But the man just shrugged again, "Should've figured it... the way you dress and all that. Like some glamorous visual kei rocker and..."
What started as a snicker turned into a laugh as Noe's sudden amusement at the entire situation bubbled over. "Hai hai... You know, not all visual kei performers are gay or bi."
"Are you?"
To that, Umeda could only shrug.



Translations:
Mo ippai = One more (asking for another beer in this case)
Urusai = Shut up
Koibito? = Lover?
Hai hai = Yeah yeah

Note: I'm not implying that Visual-Kei performers are gay or bi. But their outfits do scream of something a little... out there. Thus the comment. I like Visual-Kei to be honest, heh.... blame Gackt... his fault...

He felt it again.
That sense of being drawn...
Of being called somewhere...
Grabbing his black fitted trench coat and pulling his arms through, Umeda Noe headed out of the bar and into the breezy spring sunlight.
Of course most people stopped to gawk at his choice of clothing, since Noe had the tendency to stand out/
With the hem of his jet black leather jacket resting just a half inch above the ground, black faux fur lining the hem, as well as the cuffs and the neck, it was easy to see why such a jacket stood out in a crowd.
It was also easy to see why the bartender had likened Umeda to a visual kei performer...
Sighing, hands in his pockets, Noe headed down the street until he finally got away from most of the gawking onlookers.
'God, people annoy me sometimes.' he thought to himself.
Umeda walked for a while, letting his feet direct him toward the pull.
If the little messenger girl was right... that pull had to do with Iemon.
Just thinking about it made Noe angry all over again, and he quickly pulled a cigarette from the pack in his pocket.
Stopping to light the end, he had just taken his first puff, when it hit him.
The feeling...
Looking to his right, Noe noticed that he had come to a stop in front of a school.
"I wonder what the name of this..." but before he could begin to look for the High School name, Umeda was overcome with a strong urge.
It wasn't exactly a bad urge... more like an maniacal want to control.
Quickly looking around, Noe slipped through the gate once he realized no one was around.
By slipping through... he forced his human body into a spirit form. It was something humans would be unable to see, but still allowed for him to maintain his appearance without having to revert to his true kodama identity.
Living so long had it's perks sometimes, after all.
He walked across the school grounds, heading for the direction of the feeling...
Laughter?
Well, it sounded like laughter but shouldn't class have been in session?
Rounding the corner, the sensation hit him full on, nearly forcing Noe to take a step backward.
Without hesitating, Umeda passed through the building and somehow found himself standing in front of three spirits and a boy.
"Mind telling me why your intents can be felt a block away?" Noe asked, his arms crossed over his chest, cigarette between his lips.
Of course the kodama figured that only the spirits would see him, since he wasn't exactly corporeal at the moment.
If only Umeda had known, or been able to sense, that this kid was exactly what had put him in such a sour mood...




(((OOC: His coat looks like this...
http://umeda.shattered-seasons.net/th/u-th012.jpg
The one on the right. It kinda flares out at the bottom too. I looked forever (2 hours) to find what that coat's called, but I couldn't and so I settled on what I typed.
But I LOVE that coat!)))

(((OOC: After it loads, if you click on it, it should enlarge. At least that's what it did in mine. Hehehe, but yeah. I wants a coat like that. I think it's a vintage from the 60's or 70's actually.)))

~ ~ ~



Frowning, dark eyes focused on Izanagi. "You can see me?" he asked darkly.
Umeda looked hardly pleased at this notion, but thought better of making himself completely visible to all people.
Of course he would have said more, but at about that time one of the spirits seemed to have suddenly become a little too infatuated with him.
A look of disgust appeared as Noe's expression, "You're not my type." the kodama said angrily, trying to turn his attention away from the three spirits and to the strange human.
A human that could see him.
How long HAD it been really?
"Who are you?" Umeda asked, taking a drag of his cigarette before flicking the burnt ashes to the ground. "You're the first person to have actually seen me in more than a few centuries. So spill it."



~ ~ ~

(((OOC: Gomen! It was short, but since now Noe's interacting with someone, there's not as much to type. PLUS... I'm sleepy... Zzzzz... Been working too hard on Gundam 00 fanfiction the last few days. OYASUMI!)))

Not sure what is happening here. A man appear from nowhere asking weird questions about this and that. Why does he think Izanagi cannot see him? He is not a human or spirit? Is he something else? This is all just confusing..."I can see you clearly, sir?" He reply to the man honestly, not caring what he is. And it seems like Hanami found her new prey...or not.


After dead for so long, Hanami thought she finally found someone she has been dream of to be her lifetime partner. Yet, the dream is crushed. Her heart broken like she was shot by a machine gun. "Urgh...I am going to die one more time.." She said with depress...and borrowing Izanagi's emo corner for a day. The twins are there for her, patting her shoulder, showing concern and sympathy.


"Me? Why do you want to know about me, sir? Are you a kidnapper?" Since young, Izanagi has been taught well by his grandfather to not talk to strangers too much. Pausing a while...He feel like he saw this man somewhere before, but he couldn't remember. Was he a friend? Did they know each other? "...Izanagi." Suddenly showing seriousness. "Tamiya Izanagi." He tell the man his full name while sliding down his headphone.

Izanagi raised his eyebrow when the man was telling Hanami that he is not looking for a girlfriend. Clearly, he is gay. And Izanagi shivers a bit. Well figures from the outlook and since...the twins are gays too. So he doesn't really mind what the man just said. Beside that, he thought What is kodama? Suck me into his tree? Some sort of plant ghost? Strangely, he feel something very weird inside himself when combining all the sentences so far the man just said together. No way? He was looking for me? Izanagi is not sure about that, he is keeping quiet all the time. Until he tell the man his name...


The man's face look pale but slightly pink after knowing his name. He mentioned the name of Iemon too. "Descendant of Iemon? What are you talking about?" It seems like this man know something about Iemon...But how?