~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~
"And who are you?" The man in the pink kimono demanded.
"Mai Taniyama…" Mai answered faintly, glancing around the ornate room that the 'Head Captain' called his office.
"And why did you wish to meet with me?"
"I didn't, actually. Miss Rukia just said I should be brought to you…"
The man looked over at Rukia.
"She is not one of ours, Sir. She is alive, and yet here, so I thought it best."
"Hmmmmm?" He formed the sound into a question.
Mai blinked twice. Alive? Uh… "Erm… thats… correct?"
The man 'Hmm'ed again, this time sounding amused.
"And how did you come to be here?"
"I was on a case with my team - I'm a parapsychological researcher. We took a case at a Shrine just outside the Karakura area, where people have been disappearing. I went to look at the old shrine…" And suddenly I was in a mountain pass, then there was this glowing doorway, and I was here. Yeah, they'd totally believe that, Mai!
"You mean the Nozomi Shrine?" Rukia asked with curiosity.
I stared at her. "Yeah. You know it?"
"Yes! And that explains it! There's a naturally - occurring Senkaimon there."
"A what?" Mai asked blankly.
"If I answer that, will you answer a question or two of mine?" One of the people working in the office said curiously. There were a few scattered around, watching her instead of their work. Mai felt a twinge of jealously - Naru would have yelled at her for that.
"Sure." Mai agreed.
"A Senkaimon is a Gate that connects two worlds."
Worlds. She was in… a different world.
"Captain Ukitake, should you really be…" Rukia began worriedly.
"She deserves explanations, Rukia. If you suddenly were tossed into some other dimension you didn't know existed, you would want to know where you were and how to get home, wouldn't you?"
"Yes, Sir. I'm sorry." Rukia looked down at the floor.
"Do you have any other questions?" Ukitake asked her in a kind tone.
"…What about that… grey place? When I accidentally walked into the… Senkaimon… it took me to this weird cliff pass."
"Ah, the Dangai. It's the rift between the two worlds. The passage, I suppose. You didn't have a guide, so you had to go that way. Now it's my turn. Whats a parapsychologist?" Ukitake asked curiously.
"Someone who studies ghosts…"
"Oh! You mean like on those TV shows, where they go into dark houses that are falling down, and scream whenever someone knocks something over?" Rukia asked excitedly.
"No! I'm a researcher. Those people pretend to hear ghosts to entertain people. I research them in a scientific manner. There's a huge difference."
Rukia's curiosity only seemed to increase. "Is that possible?"
"Of course. It's rare to find a case of an actual haunting, but they are there."
"And have you found proof yet?" Ukitake asked, seeming amused.
"Yes."
"How many ghosts have you found?"
"We've only run across about a dozen or so Poltergeists. Most times it's something different. We even investigated a tainted one once."
"What did you do once you discovered one?"
"We get as much data as possible, and then exorcise it."
"You can exorcise spirits?" Ukitake asked, eyes widening a bit.
Mai giggled. "Me? No. But some of my teammates can. I'm a Psychic, not a priest or monk. I know a little Onmyodo and a bit of warding magic, but thats about it."
"You're a Psychic? So you can move stuff with your mind?" Rukia asked excitedly.
Mai laughed. "No, thats PK. I don't have any of that, it's an entirely different area. PK, psychokenesis, is the ability to effect the world around you with power of will. Psychic is Spiritual ability, such as the ability to see the spirits of the dead who have not moved on, or Astral Projection, the ability to have your spirit leave your body when you're asleep and do something such as search out another's soul who you want to talk to."
Ukitake and Rukia's expressions became even more curious. As did the Head Captain's, who was listening intently.
"That kind of stuff is real? But… then why don't we know about people like you… I think we would notice, if there were people who could have their souls leave their bodies."
Mai pushed aside curiosity about why they would expect to know something like that for consideration later. "Because the ability is incredibly rare, and on top of that, most never discover the ability in the first place. And then even more, there are varying levels of power, most being weak. And certain abilities are rarer than others, Astral Projection one of them. Most people don't believe in it because there are so many fakes, who ruin it for the rest of us. So, we use cameras, blueprints, thermometers, night-vision cameras, heat-vision stuff, mikes, and other stuff to gather evidence that the paranormal kind of thing actually exists so we have prof to back up our claims of spiritual activity." Mai explained at length.
"Huh. You weren't kidding about handling it scientifically."
"Nope. See, the general population-"
The Head Captain set down the cup he held, and all of us quieted. "Girl." He said. "The only way you would have been able to pass through that gate is if you had Reiryoku. But, you are from the World of the Living. It is incredibly rare one of you has any. As such, it is best to hone your skills, or it may end up overflowing and harming those around you."
Whut.
World of the Living.
Different dimension…
Your kind.
Oh my Lord… I'm in the realm of the dead.
Mai blinked. What the heck did I just think? If anyone here is insane, its them... and not the fun way either, though to them it probably is, and wouldn't that make it the fun kind then, at least in some way, so wouldn't that make it the fun way after all? Gah, I'm confusing myself. Mai's brain decided to shut down instead of contemplate, and she stared at the Head Captain uncomprehendingly instead. "Eh?" She squeaked. "Um. Train… how… whaaat?"
Rukia just looked shocked.
"Shouldn't we send her to Ichigo then?"
Captain Ukitake seemed to smother a laugh. "Rukia, Ichigo learned his training methods from Urahara and Shihoin."
Rukia blanched. "Nevermind." She blinked a few times, as if clearing her mind. "Sir, I don't think academy life is the best for her, either, but thats just my opinion." She tried, slightly hesitantly.
"Speak your mind, Lieutenant Rukia." The Head Captain approved her.
"Well… she is alive, sir. The new recruits don't need to eat very often, and definitely not enough for a living human…"
Mai stowed away yet more questions, so many tangling in her head now that she felt dizzy. She reached deep into her instincts and re-assed them, but her instincts weren't telling her what she wanted them to. They said these people were telling the truth, as confusing as the truth may be.
"What do you suggest, Lieutenant?"
"Er… well, she could still take classes there, but… she needs to live from a place that has food more often…"
"Squad barracks? I don't think the trained officers would take kindly to that."
"Then… well, I don't know, Sir…"
"Rukia." A cool, low voice interrupted. Everyone in the room looked to the door, where a figure with a new face stood. "You like this girl, do you not?"
"Yes, Nii-Sama." Rukia nodded to him.
"She may stay with us." The man said simply, glancing once at the Head Captain.
"Thank you, Captain Kuchiki. Your offer is accepted."
"What?!" Rukia yelped, her voice wavering as she seemed to make a conscious effort to not squeak. "Thank you, Nii-Sama!" She continued, and bowed to him. Mai stared blankly, looking back and forth between the two, having no idea what was going on.
"Um… th.. thanks?" She tried, her confusion showing plainly. The man's eyes seemed to lighten ever so slightly with amusement, before he turned and walked away. Rukia snatched my arm, and towed me along with her after him.
~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~:✧:~
