Karin Quest (Bleach)

You blink. Standing before you is a woman with long, dark hair, ocean-blue eyes and a full formal silk kimono in navy and patterned with white blossoms. She completes the outfit with an ornate gold hairpiece, decorated with sparkling sapphires. Something about her makes you think of both trips to the seaside when you were younger and the ominous feeling of the air before a storm. In her right hand, she holds a silver trident, decorated with a blue tassel at the base of the prongs.

What...

You realise you have been staring with your mouth open for several moments and you close your jaw with a click. Snapping yourself out of your fugue, you look around. You are standing on what seems to be one tiny island – meters across if that – amidst many others spread out among a vast ocean that stretches from horizon to horizon. The sky directly above you is clear, although there are storm clouds approaching from every direction.
You look down at yourself – you are still wearing your school uniform from earlier, and there seems to be no sign of the broken chain – did you imagine it all? Is this a dream, even now, you wonder – relief striking you at the thought.

"Alas, no. This is very real, Karin" says the woman, your eyes snapping up to meet her own. She smiles briefly, before continuing, "As I said, welcome to this world – that is to say, your world."

Your world? What is she talking about – aren't you dead? And who the hell is she, anyway!

"As to whether you're dead…that's a matter of perspective – and my name is [___]" she says – wait, is she reading your mind?! What the hell, lady! Rude. Her eyes narrow at you, and she fixes you with a stern look.

"You can't hear my name yet? And I am not 'reading your mind', as trite a way of phrasing it that is – I am part of your soul, it is only natural that your heart and mind are open to me" she huffs, crossing her arms in front of her. Hey, you're not happy about this situation either! And anyway, what are you supposed to think when you start hallucinating about oceans and strange women! The blue-clad woman brings her hand to her face and sighs.

"It seems someone has been lax in their duties. I will explain this at a later date – but first I have a very important question for you" she says, a solemn expression overtaking her features. "Do you want to live?"

The air hums with suppressed energy. The storm lies in wait.

What…what kind of question is that – of course you do! What kind of person would answer no to that question! Your hands clench into fists as you remember what kind of beast awaits you outside…and what has already happened.

The monster swats you away, your body shattering underneath its might.

"It's useless, isn't it" you say bitterly – after all, you're already dead. The broken chain is proof enough of that.

"Oh? Giving up already – what happened to that defiant spirit of yours?" the spirit – for she can be nothing else – inquires. "Where did that will to live disappear to?"

"I do want to live!" you shout, angrily. "But there's not a damn thing I can do about it, is there? I know what that broken chain means!" She smiles at that – as if she knows something you don't.

"I told you, didn't I? It's a matter of perspective – if you desire to continue your existence, you have the power to do so. It is your birthright after all – that is to say, I am your birthright" she declares, before looking up at the sky. You follow her gaze with your own – the storm clouds that you saw earlier are closing in, leaving but a small gap of blue sky visible. "We don't have much time – resolve yourself, Karin Kurosaki, and attend to the sounds that surround you. You will learn my name or you will perish."

With that declamation, she points her trident at you – you have to bite back a hysterical giggle – watery tarts handing out power is no basis for a system of government – you calm yourself, close your eyes and listen.

The wind howling, the air thick and heavy with the promise of destruction, the waves crashing upon the shores.

Trusting in this woman seems strange – but you can't help but feel that every word she speaks is the absolute truth. Listening to the sound of the approaching storm, the ocean's quiet rumbling, something clicks in your head.

You understand now. She called it your world before, but you didn't understand. This is your soul, the very core of your being. If you can't understand something – that means you don't understand yourself. You couldn't hear her when she told you her name before – but that's because you lacked comprehension of your own self.

"Now that you understand…it's time to wake up."

Reaching deep into yourself, you draw.

You open your eyes and stand. The wind howls around you as the monster that had so easily incapacitated you reels backwards before your unleashed power. You take the time to examine yourself briefly – you are clad in black robes, with a sword at your side.

You're not done yet. Keep moving forward. If you hesitate, you'll die.

The monster howls, but unlike previously, you do not cower before it. You draw the sword at your side, holding it in a unfamiliar-yet-familiar two handed grip. Instincts not your own come to the fore as you prepare to fight.

Strike now, while it is unprepared.

You lunge forward, a bone arm coming out to sweep you aside-

Dodge to the left, then strike!

You step to the left, the clawed appendage whistling past your head. Gripping your blade in both hands, you bring it down over your head in a vicious slice. You won't let it hurt anyone ever again!

Your blade cuts into the limb and severs it completely, it falls to the ground in a spray of brackish, black blood.

Now step forward – my name is…

You bring your sword up – there's no need for her to tell you her name, how can you not know it?

"Rage through the seas and skies, Nejibana!"

The sword – no, the Zanpakuto – in your hand glows and elongates, the sound of crashing waves filling the air around you as it transforms into a picture perfect imitation of the trident Nejibana was wielding in your inner world, water pouring from its base and head.

The three-armed beast roars defiance as you prepare to do battle.

[] You'll end this in a single blow - aim directly for the mask with a strike from your spear.
[] No need to take risks, you'll wear it down with Nejibana's ability to control water before going for the kill.
[] If overwhelming power doesn't solve the problem, you're not using enough - use as much power as you can to crush it in an instant.
[] Write-in?

A/N - So, you guys picked Nejibana - this is effectively a tutorial battle, I'll be frank and say you can't lose it without a really dumb write-in. Each choice has its own upsides and downsides, as with the previous choice, and each will have different consequences in the next update. I'll be sticking around to answer questions for a fair bit if people need/want more information, although I'll only provide Karin's IC information in regards to what's actually happening in the scene. More meta questions in regards to how I want write-ins structured I'll answer with full information.

Also, I saw a couple of people mention this in-thread - yes, there is a reason Karin has Nejibana, and it's a plot point.

Edit: I should have mentioned this when I posted it, but I'm copying it in now:

Stormwhite said:

In retrospect, I should probably have mentioned this in the A/N, but as this is a tutorial battle it won't have that much effect on the next update what option you pick - all roads lead to Rome, although there will be minor differences and some knock-on effects that will appear later. So, while it's important, there is no vast difference in what will happen next update (at least in my notes, the update might run away with me).

The main thing this is doing is letting me define your character sheet.

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