The Bubblegum Zombie, Bijou Clare

Name: Bijou Clare
Age (at time of death): 20
Occupation: Apothecary
Specialty: Poisons, medical care, and sword fighting
Kekkei Genkai: Second Wind - Able to raise the fallen and give them their 'second wind'. Also gives her control over the dead.

Appearance: Bijou has pale skin the color of white smoke with light blue eyes and medium-length, wavy pink hair. She wears a nurse's uniform covered in the permanent stains of blood and other grime. (like this). Because of the way she died however, there are stitches all over her body. She goes to great lengths to try and hide them, but there are a few that remain noticeable. The main one runs from the back of her head and crosses her face from the right side, down to her mouth which is sewn at the sides into a 'smile'. Her left eye, both knees, her right ankle, all of her fingers in her right hand, her pinkie, ring, and middle finger on her left hand, her left arm at the elbow are the other noticeable stitches.

Personality: She's quite amiable when she's in an extremely good mood. However, due to her death, she is generally sadistic and uncaring around most people, including patients. Despite her usual grim disposition though, she's a very cheerful and polite person.

History: Bijou was born the daughter of an alchemist and a surgeon in a small, rural village. The lives' of the people there revolved around farming and other jobs necessary for survival. At the time of our story, the people were poor and led very humble lives. Because of this way of living though, they could not afford to pay the doctors of the larger surrounding cities. Knowing this, a well to do surgeon by the name of James Clare and his wife, Marie Clare, moved to this town in order to provide the people the help they needed. The people were not required to pay them in return for their services, but they often gave gifts of food or material.

After years of living this way, the two had a child who they named Bijou. Bijou took more after her mother, learning how elements reacted to one another, but not just elements in the sense of carbon and helium. She also learned the classical elements and how to harness them herself. Despite all of her training, she only really became exceptional with aether, or the power of life, light, death, and darkness. Focusing on this, she decided to turn her interests towards medicine. She would sit in the patient room, taking notes as her father operated. By the time she turned 15, her father trusted her enough to let her operate with himself supervising.

In the meantime, her mother had another child, a boy named Havok. To anyone who had never seen him before, he might have been thought to be only a doll by the way Bijou always carried him around like a plaything. The two were rarely apart and occasionally Bijou would take him into the operating room with her, much to the disapprobation of her father. As he grew up, she became more of a mother than Mrs. Clare herself. When he had a nightmare, it was Bijou he called for and when he hurt himself, it was Bijou he sought out. While their parents never truly liked that, wanting Bijou to go have her own children rather than raise theirs, they accepted it.

In the fall of her 17th year, a war had broke out between two neighboring lands of Agica and Rhodagul. As their own kingdom of Ethum was a close ally of Rhodagul's, the nobles of course offered up all of the lands' resources including doctors. Any person in the field of medicine, from tonics to surgery, was required to go and assist the soldiers of Rhodagul on the battlefield and anyone found hiding would be executed on the spot. This meant that the Clares had to leave their children behind for an unknown amount of time. With no other choice in the matter, they entrusted their home to Bijou before heading off to the battlefield.

Two years went by, but Bijou and Havok never lost faith that their parents would be returning home. Every night before they slept, Havok would ask when would they return and Bijou would reply with any day now. During those two years though, Bijou had been treating the sick of their village using the knowledge her mother and father had passed on to her. With her growing skill with aether, she was even able to bring the dead back to life, no medicine necessary. It wasn't long after the war began that wounded soldiers started to trickle into the village seeking medical attention. It didn't matter if they were enemies or allies, she treated them all.

It was a foggy early spring day, cold with the lingering touch of winter, when she stumbled upon a body lying motionlessly in the surrounding woods. She occasionally came to these parts in order to restock on certain herbs to find the mutilated corpses of soldiers who were not able to reach help in time and died of disease or blood loss. With this being the norm, she marked this body up as yet another one of those lost lives and turned back to find someone to bury him. What she didn't expect though was the quiet wheezing behind her and the choked whisper of someone begging her not to leave. With an audible gasp of shock, she whipped around and rushed to the poor man's side. Dropping her basket of collected herbs and leaves, she mustered up all the strength she could to drag him back to her house.

When the man awoke, the first thing he saw was the relieved face of the woman who'd saved his life. Things being as they were though, he thought her to be an angel of death coming to claim his soul. "Will I be going to Hell?" he asked, a pathetic and fearful whine in his voice. Bijou merely smiled and shrugged. "I cannot answer that. I'm sure you'll find out when you die." And with that, she turned away to retrieve the medicine needed to bring his strength back. The amount of problems with his body was staggering. It was amazing he had survived long enough for her to even save him. It took him half a year for her to trust his health enough to let him leave. Unknown to her though, he had fallen in love with his doctor during that half a year and had no plans to let her be...

Without the man there, the house seemed quite empty causing Bijou to frown and regret the fact that she had never even asked his name. Fortunately, she still had her brother there to keep her company. He had had a bad case of the flu in his earlier years, but despite having gotten over it relatively quickly, he was still a sickly looking thing, contrary to his cheerful demeanor. Because of this, Bijou kept him indoors, away from any germs of the outside world. She kept him busy though, teaching him the same things she herself was taught and making him new toys to play with every now and then. After awhile though, being influenced by the many soldiers coming through their doors, his interests turned towards combat and different types of weapons. Deciding to feed her brother's new hobby, she asked the soldiers to teach her brother certain ways of fighting as payment for her services.

Half a year goes by quickly after the departure of the unknown patient. Becoming quite bored with the sudden decrease in patients, Bijou decided to learn to use at least one weapon and trained diligently with a sword given to her by a patient. For the most part though, the siblings generally hung around the house, playing games or just relaxing in general. It was one of these relaxing days when a loud, impatient knock on their door echoed through the house. Thinking it was a patient, Bijou had Havok to answer the door. After 20 minutes of waiting for both her brother and the visitor to come into the operating room, Bijou took it upon herself to see what the hold up was. Not a second after she passed through the doorway into the main room did the smell of fresh blood hit her and it wasn't a second after the smell that the sound of her horrified scream sound through the small house. Lying it front of the front door were the mutilated remains of what possibly was her brother though you couldn't tell by looking at the hacked up body parts. Standing over him was a older woman, the wrinkles on her face stretched by the look of utter hate and fury for the younger woman in front of her. Bijou's eyes drifted towards the axe gripped tightly in the woman's hand, dripping with the blood of her sibling.

In an instant, Bijou turned herself around, running to the back of the house to grab her sword, but the woman was faster than she had expected. Her axe caught Bijou's left leg, propelling her towards the floor. From this point, trying to escape was futile but Bijou continued to crawl her way to the back. The woman would have none of that though and swung her axe down a few more times, managing to sever both of Bijou's feet and a making a large gash in her back as well as other places. Unfortunately, the wounds were not fatal, leaving the suffering doctor to cough up blood in her suffering. The woman, now having no more patience with giving her a slow death, flipped the dying girl over to hack at her once more. She swung her axe down into Bijou's head, cracking open her skull and nearly severing it in two at a diagonal. She stared down at the lifeless body of the girl she'd just slaughtered and, satisfied with her work, left quietly.

Elise Davoy lived in a slightly better village beyond the forest. Her house was a neat little cottage which screamed of a perfect life. She drug her tired body through the house, her eyes full of sorrow as she watched her husband pack his things. Without turning to face his soon to be ex-wife, he spoke. "Where have you been?" A tiny, crooked smile crept across the Elise's face before a maniacal laugh bubbled out of her. "I went to make sure we could stay together. You have no reason to leave me now." She continued to laugh as the man turned around. "What...did you do?" Her laughter faded away at the serious tone in her husband's voice. "I killed her. I killed that wench doctor you fell in love with. She's dead! I killed her for us! We can live hap---" Her words were never finished as her husband ran up to her, snatching the axe from her hands, and beheaded her on the spot.

Charles Davoy left the house and rushed back to the village where he had met his angel. Lo and behold, there she was, slain in her house as well as the young boy who lived with her. In his sorrow, he knelt near her body, cradling her head and not paying mind to the fractured pieces of her skull and brain falling out as he did. How could this have happened? Why would someone do this? Charles cried, howling in his agony over the loss of her. He stayed by her side for a night before gathering himself and her remains. Creeping out into the night so no one would be suspicious of him, and the large, bloody sack slung over his back, he ran to the closest necromancer he knew of.

The necromancer was not surprised at the sight of the grieving man on his doorstep. It was quite common actually for lovers to show up with the remains of a loved one and ask him to bring them back. It always gave him a good laugh because these people never asked questions about what he does. If they did, they would know that while the person may have loved them in life, bringing them back will not have a happy ending. As stated though, no one asked questions so he never gave answers. He just did his job and watched as the overjoyed man thanked him and ran off with his newly revived companion. ...The fool.

Charles ran back to the Clare house carrying his love in his arms. The necromancer was nice enough to sew her back together, but he wasn't quite skilled at sewing and it showed. The stitches were crude and she looked more like a ragdoll than a human, but that was okay because she was alive now. He entered the house, looking at Havok's remains in disgust. Once Bijou woke up, she could handle it. He walked into the closet that passed as a bedroom and frowned. When she fixed her brother, they were going to move to his house the first chance they got. Charles laid her down on the closest bed and waited patiently for her eyes to open.

By the time Bijou woke up a week later, the house smelt of death and decay. She blinked the fuzziness out of her eyes and sat up. She felt empty, as though her soul had left her body...and then she remembered. She remembered the sight of Havok's 'body', she remembered the psychotic woman coming after her, she remembered the killing blow. Instinct made her want to vomit, but the emptiness in her made her indifferent to the disgusting happenings the day of her death. Then it hit her. She had died. Why was she still alive?

She looked at the wall across the bed which had a small mirror hanging from a nail. She noticed her pale complexion and faded hair, but paid them no mind. Her eyes were drawn to the ugly stitches running down her face and across her left eye before lifting a hand to her mouth and wondering why it had been stitched closed as well. She looked down at the rest of her body, a part of her disturbed by her state of undress, and counted the places where she now had crudely sewn stitches.

She jerked her head around at the sound of footsteps entering the room and recognized the man as the patient who had stayed in her house for such a long time. She ripped the stitches from her mouth, giving him an indifferent look as her words came out harsh. "Are you the one who brought me back?" Charles nodded excitedly. "Yes, yes I am! I'm so sorry you had to die. Don't worry though. The bitch is dead now." Bijou's expression didn't change. "She was your wife," it was more a statement than a question. Charles nodded again. "Yes. But now that she's gone, you can be my new one." Bijou ignored his words and looked around the room. "Where is Havok?" The man looked confused for a second before realizing who she meant. "Your little brother? Well...I couldn't carry both of you so I left him i--" Before he could finish his words, Bijou had gotten up, put on a simple dress, and left the house.

The cemetery was rather ominous that night as if the very air itself knew what was going to happen and was holding its breath in anticipation. The pale form of Bijou walked amongst the graves, a shovel in hand. She was looking for certain graves, and while a part of her knew how wrong this was, she could care less. She stopped in front of the row of graves belonging to children and began her search. That night, she unearthed 14 bodies. The bodies were of people she knew to be strong. Strong muscles and organs that had never been weakened by illness. She used the shovels to cut the bodies up there and shoved them into a sack before walking back home, leaving the mess of bodies for someone else to find.

When she arrived home, Charles was waiting for her, standing in Havok's remains. She looked down to his feet with an angered look. He, however, did not pay any attention to it and stormed through the guts and blood to grab hold of her collar. "You little WHORE! Where the hell did you go?! I brought you back from the dead and this is the thanks I get! You will not walk out on me again!" Bijou merely stood there while the ignorant man screamed some nonsense at her. She gripped his wrist, causing him to shut up instantly. "I thank you for bringing me back to this world, but it was not necessary. Unfortunately, I have no more use for you." His mouth opened wide in shock at her cold words. She grinned morbidly at this. "Remember when you asked me if you were going to Hell? Your answer is...yes." Before he could get a word out, she dispatched him, shoving her hand into his chest and ripping out his heart. She tossed it over her shoulder like trash and stepped over the dead man. Her eyes scanned the remains of her brother quickly before catching sight of his skull. She knelt down and cracked the bone open to pull out his brain. Surprisingly, it was in perfect condition which was wonderful for what she planned to do.

Dragging the sack of pieces into the operating room, she began to piece together a body. She stuffed it full of the necessary organs and sewed it up carefully like the dolls she made for Havok in their younger years. With the mismatched body now put together, she summoned up a wave of aether energy into her hands. Luckily, death had not lessened her abilities. She poured wave after wave of aether into the doll, until she noticed the fingers twitching and the eyes beginning to open. The difference between necromancers and aether elementalists is that necromancy is based on dark arts while aether is natural and generally neutral with its usage. That's why when the doll, now Havok, latched onto his sister, crying and hugging her for all he was worth instead of slaughtering her, she was not surprised.

The next morning, they left, not bothering to hide any evidence of what happened in that house. They traveled, far beyond the borders of that land and into more sophisticated areas. It seemed as though it was only Ethum that still kept such barbaric living conditions as even the poor in the kingdoms they traveled to had enough to at least afford medical care and food. The siblings wandered for years before stopping in the city of Cesesa. It was a pretty high-class place. Poverty was a thing of the past and people were living quite happily. It was a huge contrast to the dreary little place they came from. Bijou quickly set up shop as an apothecary which would leave her in less contact with others than if she were a surgeon. She made medicine and poisons and even did dental work. Overall, it was a happy life and the coldness she exuded when she was brought back faded to a mere occasional cool breeze. Havok was enjoying himself as well, playing with other children in the city and helping his sister out. Of course, they made it no secret that they were not technically of the living anymore, but people didn't seem to care. In fact, her cheerful demeanor and undead state earned her the nickname of the Bubblegum Zombie. Her faint pink hair might have had something to do with it as well.

Bijou and Havok lived there for 5 years before a strange request came to them. A young noble and snake enthusiast came to them seeking a job. She had left her own home, tired of the hypocrites and crooks that surrounded her. However, she had not planned too well for her trip and was running low on money. Hearing about the shop the Clares owned, she figured they could use another hand and because of her time around snakes, she had a little experience with poisons and antivenins as well. If she couldn't get a job as an apothecary, then maybe she could be their personal herb supplier since she her earth element gave her a bit of a green thumb.

Bijou turned her away. Why would someone as skilled as she need another person around? Havok was enough help already. Another was not required. As she began to walk away, however, the dark side of Bijou perked up and wrapped its toxic claws around the sweet person she had been. An insane gleam shone in her eyes as she turned and led the woman into the back of her shop. Instead of going over job details, she offered the woman a proposition. Donate herself to science and become Bijou's lab rat. She promised, she'd pay well. The noble, not knowing what Bijou had planned, agreed readily. Later that night, she found herself strapped to an operating table. "What exactly are you going to do?" She asked meekly, wondering if she should have thought this over. "I'm going to try out a procedure I've been curious about...I'm sure a human would produce very successful results." And with that, she cut into the noble's body, intrigued by how fast her heart beat with fear and pain. She looked up to examine her 'patient's' face and laughed as she noticed Havok had gagged her. The murmured screams didn't go further than that room as Bijou operated all night.

Unknown to everyone else, Bijou had been conducting...experiments in the darkest parts of her shop. She seemed to be interested in chimera and the remains of her beasts hung from hooks in the ceiling. This time was no different, though much simpler than usual. The noble, whose name she never got, had brought a few snakes with her on her trip. Had Bijou been alive, the bites she got from opening their case would have been instant death. With their owner no longer having use for them, Bijou decided to use them in her experiment. She removed the woman's incisors in order to replace them with snake fangs and redid the whole make up of her saliva to be venomous as well as her blood. The venom now flowing through her worked as a steroid, increasing her strength to superhuman levels. Bijou worked on her for 2 weeks before being satisfied with the results. By this time, while she may have looked human, the woman was more snake than anything.

Using her aether, she brought the woman back to life once more, annoyed that she kept dying through the operation. She however could not remember anything from before that moment which Bijou was glad to fill in. She renamed the noble Taipan, after the snake whose venom she used and told the woman she was their bodyguard and servant. The timing was very convenient as people, confused by Bijou and Havok's absence, decided to investigate and found the large amounts of bodies hanging from the walls and hooks. Of course, this didn't go over so well with the people and at that point in time, a large mob of angry citizens was ready to storm through the shop and string Bijou up herself.

She sent Taipan out to deal with the crowd while she and Havok got their own weapons. They had hoped they would never need to use them, but that was being overly optimistic. The two ran outside, ready to assist Taipan, and were met by the sight of the crowd being overwhelmed by the one person. The people closest to them decided to turn their attention on the less dangerous looking people and attacked. Bijou smiled grimly, watching as her little brother ran through the men headed her way with his sword. The 'child', leaving his weapon inside the sheathe of the corpses, grabbed hold of the others headed their way and one by one, ripped them apart with his bare hands.

When most of the people were either dead or not a threat, the three fled. They spent ages just wandering around as news of the massacre spread quickly and people began to hunt them down. They ran into quite a few of these bounty hunters, but each one seemed weaker than the last. As these times went on, the little bit of humanity Bijou seemed to have faded away, the remaining warmth left for her brother. Havok seemed to not care about anything. He became silent and never responded to the constant doting of his sister or guard. He just played with his toy, a dirty black plush body with the skull of a crow attached for a head. Taipan, who was older than them if you were going by the ages they died at, became like their mother. She fussed over them, making sure they remembered to clean the blood off of themselves after battle or reminding Bijou to sew herself up before she fell apart. It was a strange existence.

Somehow, they made it to the Village Lost in the Depths. It was far enough away from all the nonsense and seemed as though it would do well serving as their new home for the moment.

((Info on Taipan and Havok will be with the weapons.))